Category Archives: romance reviews

When Somebody Loves You by Cindy Gerard

When Somebody Loves You by Cindy Gerard
Publication Date: July 1, 2013
Reviewed by: Reading In Pajamas/ Cori
Rated: 3.5 Stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Now available as an eBook, a sizzling two-book collection of previously published classic romances, Temptation from the Past and Slow Burn, by New York Times bestselling author Cindy Gerard.
Temptation from the Past: Intrigued by the enigmatic lawyer who defended abused children with passion but who seemed untouched by his charm, Michael Hayward wanted to thaw January Stewart’s cool demeanor and rouse the heat he suspected lay underneath.

Michael was the sexiest man January had ever seen, but she knew the renowned journalist was trouble. Was this man her worst nightmare come back to haunt her—or the one who would break down the defenses of a lifetime and cast away her pain?

Slow Burn: He was a wanderer whose troubled gaze barely hid his anger and despair, but Joanna Taylor knew she’d offer Adam Dursky the handyman job at her Minnesota lodge. Drawn to a loneliness in him that echoed her own, she couldn’t fight the desire his touch awakened in her.

Adam had battled his ghosts and shadows for months, but only Joanna’s touch kept the terrible memories at bay. Determined to convince her that forgiveness was better than regret, Adam insisted she make peace with her own past. Could a redheaded rebel who’d given up on love heal the pain of a hero who thought he’d lost his courage?

REVIEW:

You get two of Cindy Gerard’s previously reviewed books in one with this release of When Somebody Loves You.

The first book is Temptation from the Past, which is January and Michael’s story. January has recreated herself with a new name and is now an attorney who fights for women and children’s rights. Michael is a journalist and wants to do a story on January after hearing her speach about her work with abused women and children. He doesn’t remember her from 18 years ago, but January remembers him from the darkest time of her life and the past she wants to keep buried. Michael has a way of getting under her skin and making her want to open up though. I loved their story!

The second part of the book is Slow Burn and Adam and Joanna’s story. Both Adam and Joanna have a past they are trying to get over and when they come together find love and passion together. Slow Burn was a good romance read.

Overall I liked both books and recommend them for romance lovers.

Review copy provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

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Forgotten Sins by Rebecca Zanetti

Forgotten Sins by Rebecca Zanetti
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Reviewed by: Reading In Pajamas/ Cori
Rated: 4.5 Stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

His Secrets Can Destroy Her

From the moment Josie laid eyes on sexy, mysterious Shane Dean, she was in love. Their desire ignited a passionate affair, and within weeks, Shane had slipped a ring on her finger. It seemed her every fantasy was coming true . . . until her new husband disappeared without a trace. Now, two years and one broken heart later, Josie is shocked when the hospital calls: Shane has been found . . . at a crime scene with no memory of how he got there.

Her Love Can Save Him

Shane can’t remember the blue-eyed angel at his bedside-or who he even is-but he knows something isn’t right. His hearing is razor sharp, his physical strength incredible, and the urge to protect Josie overwhelming. For powerful enemies are hunting him, and Josie is the key to discovering why. As Shane struggles to unravel his past, dangerous new truths come to light. Can he protect the only woman he’s ever loved? And can Josie trust a man she thought she knew-one who carries such a deadly secret?

REVIEW:

I was blown away by Forgotten Sins! It hooked me from page one and kept me on edge through out the entire story. Forgotten Sins is filled with action, danger, mystery, drama and steamy romance. Rebecca Zanetti pulls the reader into the story with her characters. I not only loved the main characters, Shane and Josie, but Shane’s brothers as well and can not wait for their story. Shane wakes up in the hospital with no memory of his life and a wife at his bedside that he left 2 years ago with no warning or explanation. He has no memory of Josie, but instantly feels his connection and his need to protect her. Their story will take the reader on an emotional adventure. I loved this book and cannot wait for the next book In the series! I highly recommend this story for all romance lovers!

Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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FORGED IN STEELE by Maya Banks

FORGED IN STEELE by Maya Banks
PUBLICATION DATE: June 25, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading In Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
The Kelly Group International (KGI): A super-elite, top secret, family-run business.
Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military background.
Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can’t…

Steele, a KGI team leader, is an enigma not even his teammates understand. His emotions are tightly locked down and nothing can break that icy exterior. Nothing except Maren Scofield, a doctor on a mission, a woman who has gotten under Steele’s skin and threatens to crack that unflappable cool he’s legendary for.

Steele is determined not to allow Maren past his carefully guarded defenses. But when she’s in danger, there’s no way he’ll allow anyone else to protect her.

Maren’s hiding something. He’s sure of it. But he isn’t prepared for the shocking discovery her secrets reveal. Or how they will forever alter the course of his destiny. He has a decision to make. Hold tight and shut her out. Or take a chance on something more powerful than he’s ever faced: Love.

REVIEW:
The KGI Team is more than a random group of people, they are a real team and I enjoy how they interact with one another. They crack me up and I love how they support each other through everything. I enjoyed how Steele, the ice-man, gives in to his emotions with Maren. Their romance melted my heart as it was real, strong and heated. It was a very nice counterpoint to the drama and danger which kept me on the edge of my chair. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. My favorite KGI story so far!

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REBURN by Anne Marsh

REBURN by Anne Marsh
PUBLISHED: July 18, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

He Battles The Flames. . .

Nobody messes with Sam Clayton–or his territory. The big bruising ranger is the last line of defense in forest infernos and he’ll go up against anyone who gets in the way of putting them out. Even the FBI tracking a terrorist through the heart of a blaze. But when Sam discovers the agent is ex-lover Olivia Albert, saving himself will be more dangerous than any fire he’s faced before. . .

She Lives For The Heat. . .

Olivia needs Sam’s help to survive the heat, but when it comes to keeping her quarry from detonating a major strike, this Bureau agent is calling the shots. Except when Sam’s hard body and expert hands are reigniting a second chance that could be hot enough to burn forever. . .

REVIEW:

A well written quick-paced story where the author seamlessly introduced the backstory on Sam and Olivia. I enjoyed the Hotshot firefighter angle and the fact that Olivia was a strong successful woman who could meet him step by step. The romance was warm and heartfelt without taking away from the action. An enjoyable read.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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THE LONER by Lindsay McKenna

THE LONER by Lindsay McKenna
PUBLISHED June 25, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
In all her years as deputy sheriff, Shelby Kincaid never met a man as stubborn as Dakota Carson. Practically eaten by a grizzly bear and still that man insists on returning, alone, to his isolated cabin in the Tetons. Shelby’s not even sure why it ruffles her—but she suspects it has a lot to do with the instant, powerful connection she feels with Dakota. If only he’d let down his guard with her….
Ten years as a Navy SEAL took its toll on Dakota’s body, his mind and his heart. Since being released, he’s endured months of painful physical therapy…and brutal nightmares. Dakota wants nothing more than to hide from the world, so why does Shelby’s gentle presence suddenly make him question his seclusion? But when Shelby’s life is threatened, Dakota knows his warrior spirit won’t hide any longer. He just hopes it’s not too late….

REVIEW:
The action started on page one and wove in nicely with a returning SEAL’s struggle with PTSD. I liked how the author dealt with this topic and didn’t make it stereotypical. The romance was both tender and fierce as they dealt with so many emotions. Two strong people faced with ongoing danger and finding each other through it all. I couldn’t put this book down.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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MINE TO TAKE by Cynthia Eden

MINE TO TAKE by Cynthia Eden
PUBLISH DATE: June 14, 2013
REVIEWED BY: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Skye Sullivan knows that someone is watching her. Not just watching—stalking her. Months ago, Skye was involved in a dangerous car accident. The accident ended her dancing career and sent her fleeing back to Chicago. Skye is convinced that her stalker caused the crash, and she fears that he won’t stop pursuing her, not until she’s dead.

When someone breaks into her apartment in Chicago, Skye turns to the one man she believes can protect her—Trace Weston. Once, Trace was her lover. Two lost souls, they’d come together in a firestorm of need and desire. But then Trace had pushed her away. He’d joined the military, vanishing from her life. She’d put all of her emotion into dancing, and she’d tried to forget him.

Now Trace is one of the most successful men in the United States. Rich, driven, and carrying dark secrets, he agrees to help Skye. He’ll protect her from the danger that lurks in the darkness, but Trace wants more than to just be a guard for Skye.

He wants her. And he’ll take her. The years have changed him, hardened him. He’s not just a poor kid from the streets any longer. Now, he can have anything—or anyone—that he wants. And the one woman he has always wanted has just come back into his life. He won’t let her go again.

But with the threats mounting against Skye, she suspects that her stalker may be intimately close. He’s a man who knows her too well. As his attacks grow ever more dangerous, she realizes that if she trusts the wrong man, she could be making a fatal mistake.

REVIEW:
This story is full of action, drama and suspense. It really kept me guessing and on the edge of my chair… and I loved it! There may not have been a lot of steamy action but I didn’t really notice that while reading. The author made the sexual and emotional tension between Skye and Trace intense and seamlessly part of the story. I’ll be thinking of this book for a while.

*ARC provided by Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

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**Special Release Week Sale – MINE TO TAKE will be priced at .99 until 6/24.**
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Excerpt:
“H-hello, Trace.” She hated that stupid break in her voice. Trace made her nervous. Always had.He stopped in front of her. He stood at several inches over six feet, while she barely skimmed five feet three. Skye tilted her head back so that she could meet his stare.

“It’s been a long time,” Trace said, the words a deep, dark rumble. His voice went perfectly with the rock hard body and the sexy face—a voice that a woman could imagine in the darkness.

She swallowed because her throat was suddenly dry. “Yes, it has.” Ten years and three months. Not that she’d counted.

That assessing gaze of his slid down her body once more. There was an awareness in his stare that she hadn’t expected. A heat that made her remember too many things.

He was close enough to touch. Close enough for her to smell the crisp, masculine scent that clung to him.

His nostrils flared, as if he were catching her scent, too.

“You look good, Skye.” Again, that heat was in his stare. A heat that said he knew her intimately.

She wished her heartbeat would slow down.

“But you’re not here for a friendly chat, are you?” And he stepped away from her. He waved to the open chair near his desk and returned to his seat.

“We’ve never really been the friendly chat kind,” she said softly as she eased into the leather chair.

She didn’t take off her coat. She just pulled it closer to her.

A faint furrow appeared between his brows. “No, we weren’t, were we? More the hot sex type.”

Her lips parted. He had not just said that to her.

His faint smile said that he had.

“I’m not here for that, either.” She’d been wrecked after her last go round with Trace.

He leaned back in his chair. The leather groaned beneath him. “We’ll get to that…”

Uh, no, they wouldn’t. She wasn’t ready to feel that burn again.

He tapped his chin. “You’re not here for pleasantries, you’re not here for sex, then why have you come looking for me?”

This was where she’d have to beg. Because there was no way she had enough money in her account to cover his services. Not with the guy sporting this high rise building and looking like he’d just walked off the cover of GQ. How things have changed. “Someone is watching me.”

He stilled. The heat banked in his eyes as his whole expression instantly became guarded. “And what makes you so sure of that?”

“Because I can feel him.” Wait, that sounded crazy, didn’t it? When she’d gone to the cops, they’d sure looked at her as if she were crazy. You couldn’t feel a stalker. So they said.

She disagreed.

Wife in Name Only (Entangled Indulgence) by Hayson Manning

Wife in Name Only (Entangled Indulgence) by Hayson Manning
Publication Date: April 1, 2013
Reviewed by: Reading In Pajamas/ Cori
Rated: 4 Stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Trapped in a loveless marriage, Zoe Hughes escaped to make a new life for herself on the tiny island of Tonga. Now she runs a successful boutique honeymoon resort. Selling true love is easy. No one needs to know she’s married in name only. At least until America’s premier honeymoon magazine wants to publish a feature on her perfect marriage. Now she must convince her estranged husband to rip himself away from plotting corporate takeovers in LA to save her island paradise.

Rory agrees to come for forty-eight hours, but only because he needs the positive PR. To his surprise, the wife he finds in Tonga isn’t the same woman he married. Now she’s so much more…

When a storm strands Rory in Tonga, will he win back his wife or leave paradise empty-handed?

REVIEW:
I really enjoyed Wife in Name Only! Hayson Manning is a new author, but after reading the description of the book and reading that Entangled Publishing was releasing it, I said yes to the offer to send me a copy for review. I am so glad I did! This book caught and held my attention from page one. The writing style was really easy to read and the descriptions painted a vivid picture for the reader. This is a second chance for love romance. Rory and Zoe are married, but Zoe left after feeling neglected by Rory. After leaving Rory, Zoe starts over on an island running a resort, Honeymoon Haven and after a year a magazine approaches her with a request to interview her and her husband to promote the resort. She wants the publicity for the resort so she contacts Rory after a year of not speaking to him and separation to asked him to come to the island and pretend they are happily married and in love for the magazine. He needs the publicity for his image as well so he agrees and comes to the island. Rory and Zoe have their problems, but they have a strong connection and chemistry they can not fight for long. They get a second chance with each other and the chance to fix the mistakes they made the first time. This is a great afternoon read that will sweep the reader away to an island romance! I really enjoyed it and look forward to Hayson Manning’s next book.

*Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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MY NOW AND FOREVER by H. J. Bellus

MY NOW AND FOREVER by H. J. Bellus
PUBLISHED: June 2, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading In Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Whose parents abandon them in a trashy trailer when they are five years old? Oh Yeah! Mine do!

Hey Hoochies! I’m Milly, and I am tired of taking kicks to the gut. A broken family, an asshole husband and the loss of loved ones have left me crying Uncle, and declaring a serious case of the Fuck-Its!

I had my heart broken, stomped on and shattered before I ever started on my journey to find my little piece of happiness. With a bucket list, a ’66 Ford and wild dreams, I set out on an adventure that changed my life forever. Follow me on my journey that resurrected my inner badass.

I found my soul sista from another mista, and opened my dream shop along the way. Just when I gave up on finding true love, a pirate and a princess swept me off my ever lovin’ feet and filled my world with sprinkles, mac n’ cheese and the courage to live again. They forced my fragile heart to trust and love without fear.

Truth is, nobody’s past stays hidden forever. It’s an invisible monster waiting to attack and destroy. It has the capability to ruin everything you’ve worked to set right. All it takes is one final blow to the gut to end everything.

***Sexual Content and Adult Language***

REVIEW:
I truly enjoyed this book. Her snarky sense of humor and friends she surrounds herself with reminded me of myself. For all that happened in her life, she picks herself up and faces the world head on with bucket list in hand. I laughed, cried and cringed….but mostly smiled. The first-person writing style took me a little bit to get used to but when I did it was fun. Written from her perspective only, like it is in real life. Yep, I enjoyed this book and H.J. Bellus is now added to my list of authors to watch.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Playing the Part by Robin Covington

PLAYING THE PART (Entangled Brazen) by Robin Covington
Publication Date: June 10, 2013
Reviewed by: Reading In Pajamas/ Cori
Rated: 5 Stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The harder they play . . . the harder they fall.

After publicly self-destructing over a heartbreak a year ago, bestselling romance writer Piper James is now making nice with her publisher by agreeing to teach Hollywood’s favorite action star how to act like he’s in love. Only playboy Mick Blackwell has no clue what love looks like.

When a seductive heat ignites between Piper and Mick, she jumps at the chance for a bit of fun between the sheets, but with two stipulations: she’s kept out of the public eye and things end when she returns to New York. Only Mick keeps changing the rules on her. Tempted by America’s favorite bad boy, Piper is wondering how far she’s willing to bend…

REVIEW:
I loved Playing the Part! I have read Robin Covington’s The Boys Are Back In Town Series and I loved them, so I was really excited to get an ARC of Playing the Part. I devoured it in a couple hours! Robin Covington knows how to write smoking hot romance! Playing the Part is one of those stories that sticks with the reader and leaves a smile on your face when you are done. I loved the plot for Playing The Part! It captured and held my attention from the first page. I also loved the characters. Robin Covington has a way of writing her characters that really draws the reader in and makes them feel the characters. Piper and Mick have instant chemistry when they meet on the set for the movie based on Piper’s book that Mick is starring in. Mick is having trouble with the love scenes and Piper has been sent in to coach him though the scenes. I loved their interactions with each other. They had smoking hot chemistry and passion. Playing the Part is a fun, steamy romance that left me wanting more when it ended. I am hoping some of the secondary characters get their own stories. You don’t want to miss this book! Robin Covington’s books are on my must read list!

*An ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

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FIRE INSIDE: A Chaos Novel by Kristen Ashley

FIRE INSIDE: A Chaos Novel by Kristen Ashley
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Reviewed by: Reading In Pajamas/ Cori
Rated: 5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Lanie Heron isn’t looking for love-no surprise, considering her last serious relationship nearly got her killed. So when Lanie propositions Hop Kincaid, all she wants is one wild night with the hot-as-hell biker who patrols with the Chaos Motorcycle Club . . .

For Hop, Lanie has always been untouchable. She’s too polished and too classy for his taste. But when she gives Hop the once-over with her bedroom eyes and offers him a night in paradise, he can’t say no. And he doesn’t regret it when he finds that Lanie is the best thing that’s ever happened to him-in or out of bed. Now the trick will be to convince her of that.

REVIEW:
I loved Fire Inside! Kristen Ashley is one of my favorite authors. She always gives the readers hot, alpha men and lots of romance and she delivered with this book. This book is part of her Chaos Series and takes place after Motorcycle Man. Lanie is Tyra’s best friend who is married to Tack, the leader of the club, and Hop is part of the Chaos Motorcycle Club. I recommend reading Motorcycle Man before this book to understand Lanie’s story. After losing her fiancé and almost dying herself, she is not looking for a relationship, but is attracted to Hop and decides to proposition him for a night of hot sex. They have an intense attraction and passion when they come together and after that one night, Hop decides he wants to keep her. He just has to convince her she belongs with him. Hop was not what I expected and really surprised me in this book. I loved him! This book was a little different then Kristen Ashley’s usual writing style, but I still loved it. Fire Inside is a hot, sexy, explosive romance that kept me captivated from start to finish. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next one.

*Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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