Secret Santa 4U by Paisley Scott

Title: Secret Santa 4U
Author: Paisley Scott
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: 2007
Genre: Holiday Romance
Length: 45 pages
Buy Here
Author website
Heat : Erotic
Reviewer: Emma Edwards
Date: 6 December, 2009

 Thirty-three year old Sophie Mulligan is looking forward to a quiet Christmas. As she tries to make her way home with several boxes on hand she's startled by a voice. It turns out to be her upstairs neighbor, Brody Jacobs. They have a friendly flirtatious relationship but Sophie is always eager to point out their age difference teasing Brody about the fact that he's a younger man.

I thought this was a sweet but spicy holiday story. You could easily understand Sophie's insecurities as she attempts an online relationship yet at the same time, see a glimpse of the mischievous yet sensual side of her personality . You can also feel Brody's deep frustrations at not being able to convey to Sophie of his sincere intentions. There are a couple of nice surprises that Sophie discovers and that raises hope for a possible future for the Brody and her. The story contains some very naughty moments that you'll enjoy and the sex scenes are definitely on the hot side. Enjoy ladies.

Read more »

Not Just Make Believe by Sandra Sookoo

Title: Not Just Make Believe

Author: Sandra Sookoo

Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-936000-41-8

Genre: Contemporary

Length: 100 pages

Buy Here

Author Website

Heat : Sweet

Reviewer: Emma Edwards

Date: 30 November, 2009

Andrea Petercheff is an Assistant Manager at the Stansbury Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is assigned to oversee a young child, Piper Hamilton, who resides in the hotel. Piper is an orphan who lost her parents in 9/11. Her uncle, Max Gildenthall is her guardian and a total workaholic. Max battles his own nightmares and memories of the aftereffects of the tragedy. Andrea, Piper and Max each struggle to find happiness among the distrust and disillusion.

This is a heartwarming story of three individuals trying to find love and acceptance. Andrea is a character who is easy to like and you can identify with her insecurities as she comes into her own. Ms. Sookoo is able to impart an image of a woman who's striving to make a life for herself and tends to find herself in humorous situations. Piper is a love-starved child who is seeking love from her uncle and wanting a stable environment to grow up in. Max is a man overwhelmed by his grief and unable to face his responsibility to Piper fully; he's provided for all her material comforts but her emotional needs are far from fulfilled. As Andrea and Max interact, Piper sees a glimpse an alternate potential future. I really felt for Piper, such a brave little girl trying to define her own sense of normalcy. I didn't like the fact that Max indicated to Andrea that he was hiring also as his paid girlfriend, didn't really like the implications there. There were also a couple of moments in the story where it didn't flow as nicely as I would've liked it to but overall an easy read for a quiet afternoon. The story gives you a strong glimpse into the lives of the family members and friends of the 9/11 tragedy. It also showed you that in the worst of times, it is important to care for the living and to foster hope.

Read more »

Racheal's Christmas by Jennifer Robins

Title: Rachael's Christmas
Author: Jennifer RobinsPublisher: Hearts on Fire Books
Publishing Date: 2009
Genre: Holiday Contemporary
Length: 37
Buy Here
Author website
Heat : Sweet
Reviewer: Emma Edwards
Date: 30 November, 2009

Philip Marshall, a man of no great means with the exception of his father's pocket watch comes upon a lovely lady viewing a department store Christmas display. Rachel Gordon, a young lady who works at the fresh market is also drawn to this charismatic man who approaches her. As the times are rough, they strive to find ways to be with each other.

This was a very short and sweet love story. The characters were true to the time period and easy to identify with. Philip is a lovely man with a simple yet charming disposition. Rachel, a kind and vivacious character is easy to like and quite relatable. I found that the story was very simply written and that the interaction between the characters were as par of their nature. I did wish that there had been more depth to the story because I believe it had the potential to be a classic romance story.

Read more »

Hunted Mate by Kari Thomas

Title: Hunted Mate

Author: Kari Thomas

Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing

Publication Date: 2008

ISBN: 1-934912-03-4 / 978-1-934912-03-4

Genre: Shape shifter fantasy

Length: 160 pages

Buy Link

Author Website

Heat Level: sensual

Date: November 2009

Tara Stuart knows her destiny. She was marked by the goddess to mate with the wolf shifter Prince Damian, but she hates the idea of marrying because fate demands it. Tara wants to make her own destiny rather than have it thrust upon her. Poor health and concern for the inner turmoil threatening his pack force Damian to call in a life debt he never expected to use. Feline shifter Logan Cross has no more choice than Tara does. Honor demands he follow through with Damian’s request. He shouldn’t notice the way the beautiful little human smells or the way she calls to him. Duty demands he turn her over to the wolf, end of story. Nothing can change the fate the goddess has established for her people, but then again free will can be a powerful thing.

Hunted Mate tells a powerful and compelling story of four people who face forbidden love, the darkness of greed, the lust for power, and the power of faith and selflessness. Logan, Damian, Tara and Emily all face a loveless future, yet Tara’s compassion for others and her desire to do what’s right for the shifter clans offer a glimpse at a future filled with possibilities. Kari Thomas’s novel will keep readers enthralled as they try to figure a way to a happy ending, but Ms. Thomas gives nothing away and makes the reader search for answers to the last page. Bravo. This is a novel worth picking up and reading more than once. If you’re looking for a sexy, shifter fantasy that will having you hoping for a way to overcome destiny, then buy Hunted Mate.

Read more »

Honor Thy Neighbor - A Myerson Mystery by Valerie J. Patterson

Title: Honor Thy Neighbor - A Myerson Mystery

Author: Valerie J. Patterson

Publisher: Book Strand

Publication Date: September 2009

ISBN: 1-60601-541-9

Genre: Mystery

Length: 232 pages

Buy Here

Author WebsiteHeat Level: Sweet/some sensuality Reviewer: Emma Edwards Date: 29 November, 2009

Mystery writer Ashlynn Taylor already recovering from a tragic family incident is once again swept into the middle of a troublesome situation. Although, she's very interested in entering the Police Academy especially after the death of her friend Eliza, her husband Sean Myerson, the Captain of the Homicide Division is far from convinced that this was a wise move on her part. However, he does have her join him while going undercover as a newly wed couple to continue work on a case where one of his co-workers was severely injured. Ashlynn in the midst of all this notices various suspicious activities taking place in her neighborhood and tries to get Sean to investigate. She isn't successful but in the mean time, people who were bothered by her curiosity kidnap her to figure out exactly what role she is playing. It becomes a game for survival as Sean desperately tries to figure out a way to save his wife before the worst happens.

This story had a good mystery scenario plotted out although at times there were too many questions left up in the air. I liked Ashlynn's character, she was quite relatable and you could definitely identify with her many ups & downs. She is a very brave and courageous individual and this story definitely needed that. In fact, I would say that she was the key character that drove the story. Sean's character was also quite easy to like and I certainly empathized with him as he struggles internally about whether he did the right thing by involving Ashlynn in his work. One of the big downsides to the story for me was the lack of heat between the two characters. I wanted there to be more emotion and sensuality in the story. It felt a little outdated to me in that sense but other than that it was an interesting and sweet mystery.

Read more »