Review: Sparring Partners - Leigh Morgan

Genre: Contemporary romance
Pages: 198
Published: September 2010
Review by Lis

What if everything you always thought you wanted could be yours simply by saying "I do"? Billionaire Jordon Bennett needs to find a wife, now, to secure his position as CEO of B.H. Holdings. Reed Mohr could use a miracle to help pay for her alternative elder care facility, Potters Woods. Inside and out of the dojo, can these two survive sparring with each other?  

This book has been in my possession for a while now, but as some of you know (or are most likely in the same situation) my to-read pile is rivaling Mount Everest. Sometimes I even dream about which book to read next and in my dreams all the (e-)books are jumping up and yelling “me first!” Most of those books feature hot men is various poses and states of undress, so they are very tempting. That is why this book was hiding in the back in a corner, because the cover for this book is a bit unremarkable and it felt left out in between the hotty covers.


However, where the cover of this book might be unremarkable in my eyes (you know me, I'm shallow as a baby-pool) the story behind the cover is everything but unremarkable. I have to admit, I was surprised and that doesn't happen all that often anymore. Let me tell you why!


The book starts with the words: 'You need a husband.' Which is true for Reed Mohr. She needs a husband to help her pay for the elderly care facility Potters Woods (like she needed a husband two years prior to help her adopt a troubled 14-year old teenager.) Just as the words 'You need a wife.' ring true for billionaire Jordan Bennett, otherwise he's out of a job.


Not exactly the most promising start of a romance book, mesa thinks. As is the first meeting between Reed and Jordan shortly after Jordan receives the news he needs to find a wife in less than four days. Though the instant Jordan meets Reed, he sees something in Reed's eyes that he thinks he can work with. He reads Jordan correctly, because she is a fierce independent woman who stands for what she believes in and fights for those she loves. After some witty word bandying (and Jordan's thought are brilliant: Jordan heard enough. The art museum needed to post a sign saying: No redheaded elven harpies with great eyes escorting yogurt throwing, overgrown teenagers allowed. Violators will be spanked by the throw-ee) the first date is set and off we go on an intriguing journey!


This was a rocky start of the book for me. My eyebrows were raised almost the entire time and I was wondering where this would go. However, the witty conversation between Reed and Jordan, as well as Jordan's thoughts kept me intrigued.


Within no time at all the two are married and this is when the fun starts. The story evolves in a quite the romance (hmmm...hot steamy sex scenes) with believable conflicts throughout the book. I loved the underlying use of the Dojo where Reed and Jordan spar. It fits the title, because they are partners in more than just holy matrimony. They keep each other on edge, but also complete each other.


Sparring Partners also has a solid support cast, one of whom is Jesse, Reed's adopted son who saw a lot more in his younger years than any kid deserves. Jesse was one of my favorite characters. He's a quirky teen who is smart and compassionate and doesn't let what happened in his past rule or ruin him. One of my favorite scenes is the one towards the end in which he stands up for his mom.


The other characters are not just there to be pretty either, they all have their part to play. Like Reed and Jordan they grow throughout the story.


Underlying the main story is that of Reed's new agey, free spirit aunt Finn and Henry, an employee of Jordan. While I liked it and it fit the story, I'm not always a big fan of a story in a story.


The books centers around Potters Woods, the elderly care facility Reed set up and it is a beautiful place. It had me hoping there would be a lot more places like Potters Woods in the world. It would make life for the elderly so much better. The author really put some thought in Potters Woods and I loved that.


As a last comment, I liked the use of the popularized poems of Rumi throughout the story. Rumi is Jalaluddin Rumi a 13th Century Sufi poet. Usually I'm not a big fan of the use of poems or quotes at the beginning of chapters, but these fit the story.


Sparring Partners is a funny, witty and beautiful read that offers a unique story with lovable characters. It's a book I can really recommend!

 

LIS

Review: Want to know a Secret? - Sue Moorcroft

Genre: Contemporary romance/chick-lit/fiction
Pages: 336
Published: November 2010 Choc-Lit

Money, love and family. Which matters most? When Diane Jenner's husband is hurt in a helicopter crash, she discovers a secret that changes her life. And it's all about money, the kind of money the Jenners have never had. James North has money, and he knows it doesn't buy happiness. He's been a rock for his wayward wife and troubled daughter - but that doesn't stop him wanting Diane. James and Diane have something in common: they always put family first. Which means that what happens in the back of James's Mercedes is a really, really bad idea. Or is it?

I do like Moorcroft, she keeps it real.

Plot:

Diane's husband is in a helicopter crush, and what he did in it in the first place she does not understand, until all the lies come out at once (almost all). He has been keeping some big secrets from her, and because of these secrets she meet James, loyal the core, nice, and there is something there.

My thoughts:

Like I said, Moorcroft keeps it very real, I can see all these things happening so easily. Romance is there, but it's slow, truthful and filled with doubts.

Diane thought she had it all, sure she had struggled to put food on the table, but other than that everything is ok. Until secrets come out. Her husband is a petty ass, and an egoistic swine. If he hasn't been in a crash she would surely given him what he had coming. So she is nice, he is not, and I doubt he ever was. Idiot.

Then there is James, with an alcoholic wife who he can't leave because he is afraid his depressed 20 year old daughter will become more depressed. They are both so nice and loyal, and stay in marriages that should be over. They become friends and I keep on wondering how they will become more, because these are two people that have sacrificed so much and deserved to be loved.

The lies keep on coming in this one, and I keep on reading. It was so easy to just get lost in this one, sure there is drama, and emotions all over the place, together with some serious trouble, but it doesn't get dark or anything. It keeps that feeling of reality, because humans can so easily act like idiots, and she shows it here.

Recommendation and final thoughts:

I would recommend it. To romance fans, to fiction fans, and to those who just like a good British story, they do have their ways of writing. If you are tired of world win romances, and over the top scenarios, then read this one. Big lies for sure, but also basic human emotion and feelings. It is very close to a 4, but I will still go with 3,75 for some reason I don't even know. Recommended yes, hard to put down, yes.

Reason for reading:

I have read Moorcroft before, and I enjoy her books. It feels like I am stepping out in the real world, but there is still happiness, they just have to work for it.

Cover: Simple is good sometimes

Review copy from choc-lit

Review: Devil's Desire - Laurie McBain

Genre: Historical romance
Pages:
Published: November 2010 Sourcebooks Casablanca

In a rousing, unforgettable saga that sweeps across the valleys and peaks of human destiny, the stormy alliance of beautiful young Lady Elysia Demarice and Lord Alex Trevegne plumbs the depths of raw human emotion -- lust, jealousy and hate -- for though Lord Alex has married Elysia, he cannot possess her in flesh or spirit. Out of the turbulence of their clashing wills comes one of the greatest love stories ever written, as their twin passions mingle at last, in a rippling tide of liquid fire!

Plot:

Elysia is an orphan and is staying with her horrible aunt who treats her like dirt. Trying to get away she is caught in a marriage of convenience, with Lord Alex Trevegne, a man called the Devil. She takes her away to his castle, and they clash at every turn. 

My thoughts:

I am going to be brutally honest, I hated the hero. I mean I love a good tortured hero, but Alex, was an ass. He was cruel, angry, hot tempered, mean, hated him. He wants her, he plays games with her to get her to succumb to his will, he is jealous, and ok I can't seem to have anything nice to say about him. Except that he is good to his servants and horses.

Elysia was sweet, and she didn't let him put her down, her tongue was poisonous, and I liked her. The Devil got what he deserved from her. Their love affair, suddenly she knew she loved him..why? And even when he expressed his love, I didn't know what to feel. Also the first them they had sex, I was not approving of it. Even lost in passion, the way he brought it forward didn't suit me. I fear it might come from the book being published in the 70s. Like that was how men should be then.

I am not hating the book, no it was actually ok, I enjoyed it even when hating her aunt, him, and his evil ex mistress. Then there was action because of a smuggler ring, and that brought the tempo up. And I still wanted to see if these two could get a HEA, cos honestly it seemed impossible, and I would just have left if I was her. He was never physically enforced his will or anything, no no, then I would thrown the book at the wall. I just wished he could have been nicer, but the thing was, he just needed a wife, he didn't need to love her.

Final thoughts and recommendation:

No here it's where it get tricky, if you have read something else by her then you will surely enjoy this one. But I feel there are more romantic books out there. I will give it a 2,5 because, it was ok, and I would like to see if she has a hero that is a bit less of a Devil. I liked the book, I just didn't like him.

Cover: ok.

review copy from Sourcebooks

Review: The Taming of the Wolf - Lydia Dare

Westfield Brothers, book 4

Genre: Historical paranormal romance
Pages: 384
Published: November 2010 Sourcebooks Casablanca

Lord Dashiel Thorpe has fought his true nature his entire life, but whenever the moonlight proves too powerful, Dashiel is unable to control the werewolf within him. It is on one such moonlit night that Dashiel accidentally bites the beautiful Scottish witch, Caitrin McLeod. Though now bound to him irrevocably, Cait decides that she wants nothing to do with him. When she flees to her native Scotland, Dashiel has no choice but to follow her and convince her that it was nothing short of destiny that has bound them together body and soul.

First my usual reassurance. Yes this is actually book 4 but fear not! You can read this as a standalone with any problems, the facts that are important are there, and of course it's a good way to get surprised too. But if the OCD hits you bad, then go and read book 1 and work up to this one. Or just jump in and have fun.

Plot:

Lord Dashiel is staying at the house of the Westfield brothers. He fears himself for what the beast could do and without thinking he bites Caitrin McLeod, a Scottish witch who flees from me. Now he must follow as he has claimed her as his mate, and there can never be anyone else.

My thoughts:

I liked the book from the start, but it took me a while to really enjoy it. Let me explain. Dashiel has claimed her and he knows he will never look at anyone else, but is he in love? That thought bothered me as he chased her and tried to get into her heart and bed. He needed to prove himself a bit more before I started enjoying the book, and then I did not stop reading before I hit the end.

Dashiel is a womanizing rake with a hidden side and he has a sad past. And no one ever taught him what a Lycan really is, so he has got issues and is afraid to harm Caitrin. I was on my guard when it came to him, but I must confess that it was fun to see him try anything to get near her. While Cait is not afraid to tell him what a brute, and hound he is. And that he should just go away, but at the same thing there was something there, building up, and those two needed each other. My fav part of the book were the chasing part, he is not a man to back down. Slowly I did what she did, I started falling for him, and as I did that I saw that he was changing too. Into a real man, and a real Lycan. I liked it. And what he needed was a woman that would speak her mind and not fall all over him.

Something else shows up in this book, I shall not say, but it bodes well for the next series from Lydia Dare. I wonder how that will be handled. I am rather intrigued. 

The Lycans are an interesting bunch, and I do love and feel sad over the fact that they only love once. So beautiful and yet so tragic. Then there are the witches, and what is a book without real Scottish witches. They are a fun bunch, and I can't wait to see them fall in love too.

Recommendation and final thoughts:

I still like book 3 the best, the bantering was just so fun there. But this one comes as my second fav from Lydia Dare. It's fun, there is passion, and hearts that can't make up their minds. It will get a 3,5 from me, because I always reach that point where I do not want to put it down anymore. The book also feels very different from usual paranomals. It's lighter some way. So both paranormal lovers and historical lovers can like this book.

Will I read more, yes.

Cover: The cover actually differ from mine. It's nice, but I kind of liked my cover more, she looked a but more..nice. Still the yellow is really nice and it has the same format as the other covers.

The Quote might differ in the actual version of the book.

Quote I remember: 

"Naughty little girls who tease big, bad wolves deserves to be mauled," he said, a half-smile upon his face.

Review copy from Sourcebooks