Review: Retribution by Anderson Harp

retribution by anderson harpFormat read: paperback provided by the publisher
Formats available:
Genre: Thriller
Length: 528 pages
Publisher: Pinnacle Books / Kensington
Date Released: February 25, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

The remote and impenetrable Pakistani mountains have offered refuge to the worst enemies of civilization since the time of Alexander. Now, the world faces a new challenge. Reared from birth to harbor a seething hatred, a lone man is about to unleash a firestorm that will rage for centuries. And the window of opportunity to stop him is shutting much faster than Washington D.C. can hope to deal with.

My Review:

If you’re looking for a way to get your Tom Clancy fix, Retribution is a great place to start!

I read the early Tom Clancy books, and loved the fast pace of the adventure, as well as the neverending skullduggery involved in the politics, but the later books felt a bit bogged down to me.

The action in Retribution never lets up.

Although the story focuses on ex-Marine William Parker, the point of view switches between Parker, the man he is hunting, and the politicians who want to make sure that there are no loose ends when his mission is completed.

Retribution is a complicated story, because “retribution” is something that every character seems to want–they just have wildly different perspectives on who should get retribution for what.

The plot and counter-plot revolve around a man who wants to become a second Osama bin Laden, but his ambitions are greater. The goal of Yousef al-Qadi’s jihad is to recreate a mythical pure Muslim kingdom in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, without giving a damn about the governments that currently hold those territories. He also wants to wipe out the Western influences from Saudi Arabia and its rulers.

He already has an army, he’s planning to use that army to steal nuclear material from Pakistan and hold the world hostage.

The plan that William Parker comes up with to eliminate the threat is equally as deadly; Parker plans to infiltrate Yousef’s inner circle and expose everyone in it to a disease as deadly as the black plague, and nearly as infectious.

Getting in turns out to be much easier than getting out; especially since there are plans back in Washington to make sure that Parker doesn’t survive his mission. And there are forces in Yousef’s camp willing to do anything to ensure that Parker pays in blood for his acts.

They wanted the best for this mission, and they got the best. The best at surviving, the best at succeeding, the best at turning the tables on his enemies.

Escape Rating B+: Parker is a great point of view character not just because he is so good at what he does, but because his reasons for doing it are so complex.

He is an adrenaline junkie who still takes missions just to feed that particular habit. He’s also intelligent and multi-talented, that’s what makes him both a hero and a survivor. But this particular mission has a goal for him beyond removal of the threat. His parents went down on Pan Am Flight 103, over Lockerbie Scotland. His reward for the Yousef mission is to find out the unvarnished truth about the Lockerbie bombing conspiracy, by seeing the secret and unredacted U.S. Government files.

It’s the one mystery he’s never been able to solve, and he needs to know–even if the truth includes culpability on the part of the government he serves.

If Parker is a bit larger than life, so is Yousef. It’s difficult to know whether his particular jihad, or the reasons behind it, have a basis in a real person; I definitely saw him as a threat, but his character felt more like an amalgam of possible dangers than a complete character. (YMMV)

The last third of the book goes along at a “can’t stop reading” level of adrenaline, especially as the action focuses in on the actual mission and relatively few characters. In the beginning, when a large number of people and a lot of background are thrown at the reader all at once, I would have killed for a dramatis personae list.

By the end, I was practically biting my fingernails to see if Parker’s mission succeeds, and the various missions to stop him are finally foiled.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Q&A with Carla Neggers + Giveaway

cider brook by carla neggersMy guest today is Carla Neggers, the author of today’s featured review book, Cider Brook, and also the author of one of my new favorite romantic suspense series, the Sharpe & Donovan series.

Q:      You have more than two dozen books on The New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. What does it feel like to have such a loyal fan base that keeps coming back for more?

A: It’s wonderful! My first readers were my three sisters. They found one of my early works-in-progress and read it aloud and then urged me to finish the story, which I did. It was great to have them connect with a story I’d made up. Since then, I’ve met and corresponded with many, many readers, and I’m truly grateful for each and every one. It’s an honor and a pleasure.

Q:      You have taught writing workshops across the country. Do you have anything currently planned for the future?

A: I’m going to be at Thrillerfest in New York City in July. It’s a gathering of writers and readers put on by International Thriller Writers. It’s too early to know my exact schedule, but I look forward to hanging out in New York and talking books and writing!

Q:      What is your strangest writing quirk?

A: I don’t know if it’s strange or a quirk but I don’t eat when I’m writing. You won’t find breadcrumbs or BBQ sauce on my keyboard or notepads. I don’t know if it goes back to my days writing up in a tree as a kid, but it’s one of my few rules. I sometimes will write at a coffee shop or restaurant, but I’ll stick to a latte or pot of tea when I’m actually writing.

Q:      We know you love to travel, but where is a place you haven’t been that has high priority on your list?

A: Italy! I want to see Tuscany, Rome, Venice. My husband does, too. We love to travel. We visit

Ireland often, We head back there this spring. We’ll also take a week to walk in the Cotswolds in England. Of course, there’s the Netherlands, too. I have lots and lots of family there, including in one of the cutest Dutch villages ever. And Montana, Wyoming, the Pacific Northwest…I could go on and on!

Q:      What are you reading right now?

A: I’m reading Home to Seaview Key by my good friend Sherryl Woods. I loved Seaview Inn and couldn’t wait to revisit the endearing people and beautiful scenery of Seaview Key.

Carla NeggersAbout Carla NeggersCarla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 novels, with translations in 24 languages. Born and raised on the western edge of the beautiful Quabbin Reservoir in rural Massachusetts, Carla grew up with tales of her father’s life as a Dutch sailor and her mother’s childhood in northwest Florida.At a young age, Carla began penning her own stories on a branch high up in her favorite sugar maple. Now she enjoys spending time at the family homestead (now a tree farm) with her six brothers and sisters and their families. When she’s not writing, Carla loves to travel, hike, kayak, garden, and, of course, dive into a good book. She lives with her family in Vermont, near Quechee Gorge.

To learn more about Carla, visit her website or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Carla is giving away a copy of Cider Brook to one lucky (U.S.) commenter. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter below:
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Review: Cider Brook by Carla Neggers

cider brook by carla neggersFormat read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook, audiobook, large print
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Swift River Valley #3
Length: 379 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: January 28, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Unlikely partners bound by circumstance…or by fate?

Being rescued by a good-looking, bad-boy firefighter isn’t how Samantha Bennett expected to start her stay in Knights Bridge, Massachusetts. Now she has everyone’s attention—especially that of Justin Sloan, her rescuer, who wants to know why she was camped out in an abandoned old New England cider mill.

Samantha is a treasure hunter who has returned to Knights Bridge to solve a 300-year-old mystery and salvage her good name. Justin remembers her well. He’s the one who alerted her late mentor to her iffy past and got her fired. But just because he doesn’t trust her doesn’t mean he can resist her. Samantha is daring, determined, seized by wanderlust—everything that strong, stoic Justin never knew he wanted. Until now…

My Review:

After having finished this story and had a chance to think about, it feels like the theme of Cider Brook is finding peace with the ghosts of the past. And that applies whether they are they are the ghosts of the long-dead past, or your own past.

A lot of the characters in the story are seeking redemption for something that they feel they did wrong, or think might have been the wrong thing. Part of the story is that the people they think they wronged have died. So they are searching for peace within themselves.

I feel like I should start the way that A Christmas Carol starts; Duncan McCaffrey was dead, to begin with. Yet the story centers around him and his death, even though he isn’t still around.

Duncan was a larger-than-life treasure hunter and explorer. And so was Harry Bennett, Samantha Bennett’s grandfather, also lately deceased. While cataloging and processing her grandfather Harry’s huge and disorganized collections, Sam comes across a painting of a mill over Cider Brook and a handwritten romance novel between a pirate and an English Lady.

Sam recognizes the scene in the painting and is fascinated with the book. She has been hunting pirates all of her professional life, and the story points her towards Knight’s Bridge. Sam was there once before, when she briefly worked for Duncan McCaffrey.

That’s where Sam feels the need for redemption. She concealed her investigation of Knight’s Bridge and her identity as a member of the slightly infamous Bennett family from Duncan. He fired her because he couldn’t trust her after that.

Now she’s back in Knight’s Bridge chasing her pirate legend, and everyone is pretty wary of her and her motives. She wasn’t exactly above board the last time, after all.

A freak thunderstorm forces her to break into that very same Cider Bridge mill for shelter, and when the place catches fire, she gets rescued by Justin Sloan, the same man who outed her presence to Duncan.

The Sloans do their level best to keep her around while Justin investigates what she is there for. He wants to keep her from treasure hunting, and she’s out chasing pirate legends. They strike sparks from the beginning.

As Sam investigates the local legends, she discovers that her pirate may really have been part of the history of Cider Brook and Knight’s Bridge. Her confirmation of that history lies in a little secret that Justin has been keeping from her all along.

Escape Rating B: In the end, it’s the historical story that turns out to be more interesting than the slow-burning love story between Sam and Justin in the present.
I enjoyed the way that the entire Sloan clan adopts Sam and involves her in the wedding and the other events going on while she is there. Even though I haven’t read the first two books in the Swift River Valley series, Sam’s introduction to everyone served as my introduction as well. (Although I am curious enough about the previous stories that I’m planning to read them!)

Sam and Justin arrive slowly at a relationship; they need to trust each other, and at first they really, really don’t.

But the historical investigation is what held my interest. Sam is trying to find a 17th century pirate, and her trail has led her to Knight’s Bridge. The more she digs, the more she discovers, and the closer she comes to a piece of her own past. The way that this thread circled around to the present was very cool.

Sam’s past with Duncan, and why she felt so bad about what happened, is never quite clear. But the subplot it introduces with Duncan’s lawyer, Loretta, and how she felt about encouraging Duncan to fire Sam, as well as Loretta’s inability to move on after Duncan’s death, was a poignant side-plot.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Q&A with Lori Foster + Giveaway

Lori FosterToday, Reading Reality is part of Lori Foster’s Getting Rowdy Blog Tour! Read my review of Getting Rowdy here and enjoy this Q&A from Lori.

Marlene: What is your favorite scene from the book and why?

Lori: I based the video book trailer for Getting Rowdy off my favorite scene: Avery showing up at Rowdy’s apartment, soaking wet from a furious rain, insistent that he follow through on sensual promises. :::sigh::: Rowdy needed her to do that, and somehow Avery knew. If you haven’t seen the book trailer, it’s here on YouTube.

honor's splendour by julie garwoodMarlene: Book you most want to read again for the first time?

Lori: Honor’s Splendour by Julie Garwood. Ooooh, I just love, love that book! Also Lion’s Lady and The Bride and… well, all of her historicals. I also love historicals by Catherine Coulter and Johanna Lindsay and Amanda Quick… good stuff!

Marlene: What projects do you have planned for the future?

Lori: I just finished Dash’s story. Dash is the brother of the hero from the first book, Run the Risk. I think readers will be surprised with Dash now that it’s his turn to reveal his soul. I know I was surprised! I kept thinking, Dash, you devil! Lol.

And now I’m ready to get started on Cannon’s book. Cannon (You met him in Getting Rowdy) will actually star in the first book of a new series set for Sept 2014. I really enjoyed him in Getting Rowdy, and he has a larger role in Dash’s book, Dash of Peril (April 2014) so I hope readers like him as much as I do!

Marlene: What are some words your family and friends would use to describe you?

Lori: Hmmm… I actually just asked them, and here’s what they said:

Compassionate, considerate, kind, animal lover, grounded and organized, and from one of my sons: Small and Feisty, but also faithful and considerate.

Awww… I have such wonderful family and friends!

Marlene: Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Lori: Morning! I’m usually up by 4:30 am and by 9:00 pm I want to be in my PJs. I’m usually dragging off to bed by 10 or 10:30 pm. I’ve always been something of an insomniac, and about 6 hours in the bed is all I can take.

blog-tours-Lori-Foster

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Lori is kindly giving away a paperback copy of Getting Rowdy to one lucky winner. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.

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Review: Getting Rowdy by Lori Foster

getting rowdy by lori fosterFormat read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, paperback, audiobook
Genre: Romantic suspense
Series: Love Undercover #3
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: September 24, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Charismatic bar owner Rowdy Yates isn’t the kind of man women say no to. So when he approaches waitress Avery Mullins, he fully expects to get her number. However, the elusive beauty has her reasons for keeping her distance—including a past that might come back to haunt them both.

Avery spends her nights working for tips… and trying to forget the secret Rowdy is determined to unearth. But when history threatens to repeat itself, Avery grows to rely on Rowdy’s protective presence. As the sparks between them ignite, she will be forced to choose between the security she’s finally found… and the passion she’s always wanted..

My Review:

506px-Clint_Eastwood-Rawhide_publicityI love that the main character of Getting Rowdy was named for the character Clint Eastwood played in the old TV western Rawhide, way, way back, Rowdy Yates. There is even a resemblance between the book cover picture and the character.

And it’s all too possible to think of lots of Eastwood’s western heroes riding to the rescue of Avery Mullins the way that this Rowdy Yates does, whether Avery consents to being rescued or not. Because Avery needs a little help from a friend, and Rowdy is willing to be that friend, or even “friends with benefits”, if he can get Avery to let him get that close.

This a story of two people who don’t let anyone close, although they have totally different reasons for why they keep people outside of their inner circle and exactly how they each define what “close” means.

Run the Risk by Lori FosterRowdy has his sister Pepper. We’ve already read her story in Run the Risk (reviewed here) Because of the childhood abuse that Rowdy protected Pepper from, he grew up not trusting anyone. The last several years he spent hiding in plain sight while he guarded Pepper did not make him more trusting. After all, it’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you. And the mob, along with some corrupt cops, really were out to get him. But that’s finally behind them and Pepper is married to one of the good cops, Logan Riske.

So Rowdy has started to put down roots in order to stay close to Pepper. He’s bought a bar and is cleaning up the place. Not clean up as in dirt, but clean up as in getting the low-lifes out of the area. It used to be a place where the owner did drug dealing and flesh peddling. Now it’s a middle-class place where people can get a halfway decent meal and the drinks aren’t watered down. It’s a safe place and Rowdy keeps it that way.

It’s also where he picks up too many women for his bartender’s comfort. Avery Mullins is the one woman he really wants, but she keeps turning him down. Rowdy uses sex as a way of keeping his nightmares away. There’s just been too much crap in his life. He doesn’t sleep much and no-strings-attached sex is his way of finding oblivion.

Avery has demons and secrets of her own, but no-strings-attached sex with Rowdy Yates is about the last thing she’s going after as a way of getting past anything. She wants him, but she has no interest in being just another notch on his much-marked bedpost. And her job as bartender at his place is too good to jeopardize with a one-night-stand, no matter how terrific.

One-night-stands are all Rowdy ever does. His friendship is more important to Avery than sex. Then she discovers that his protection is an absolute necessity, because her past comes back to find her.

And once Rowdy discovers that Avery needs him, he realizes that he wants to protect her much, much more than he ever thought he wanted to escape. The man who never had a home may have finally found one, if he can convince himself that he’s worthy of keeping her.

Escape Rating B+: I always look forward to another Lori Foster book. Her romantic suspense series deliver marvelous stories that fulfill both parts of that equation every single time! She always tells a delicious romantic story that also includes spine-tingling suspense, and Getting Rowdy definitely was another story in that marvelous tradition!

Rowdy and Avery have been dancing around each other since they first met in Run the Risk, so it was terrific to see both what was keeping them apart and how they finally managed to get together. While we know a lot of Rowdy’s history from Pepper, it was different seeing things from Rowdy’s perspective; he protected her from a lot of the worst of it, which means he had a lot of healing to do.

Avery might have been a bit more understanding about Rowdy’s parade of female bed partners than other women would have been. While he doesn’t owe her anything until they start seeing each other, it would have been more than unnerving to have a man hit on you nearly every night and then pick someone else up when you turned him down. Only to rinse and repeat the very next evening.

Avery’s situation starts out chilling and only gets squickier. No wonder she ran. I like her character and the way she took charge of her life a lot. I was a bit surprised at just how creepy her enemies turned out to be. The evil-dude turned out to be a bit over-the-top, to the point where I was amazed that if he was that much of a creepazoid, I wondered why he hadn’t dragged her back earlier.

Bare It All by Lori FosterThe group dynamics as a whole are loads of fun. It was great to see Logan, Pepper, Reese and Alice (especially Cash!) from Run the Risk and Bare it All (reviewed here) again. Rowdy’s reluctant bonding with the rest of the guys is a hoot.

I can’t wait for book 4, Dash of Peril.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Q&A from Author Carla Neggers + Giveaway

Today I’d like to welcome Carla Neggers, who recently published the third novel in her marvelous romantic suspense Sharpe and Donovan series, Declan’s Cross (reviewed here). Here she is to do a bit of Q&A!

carla-negger-BT

Where do you do most of your writing? Do you have a certain place that inspires you most?

Carla: I do most of my writing in my office at our house on our hilltop in Vermont. I look out at a huge old maple tree on the edge of the woods. Great view when I need to think! But I don’t stay in my office. I migrate to other parts of the house, local cafes…and Ireland. Ireland is an incredible place to write.

How did your own trip to Ireland inspire this book? What inspired you most?

Declan's Cross by Carla NeggersCarla: When I started thinking about Declan’s Cross, I knew that Emma and Colin were taking a break in Ireland. What could go wrong? I had no idea but I knew that something would! Then my husband and I visited Ardmore, a lovely village in the heart of Saint Declan country on the south Irish coast…and I got to thinking what if Emma’s grandfather, a renowned art detective, had investigated an unsolved Irish art theft, and what if an American with no apparent connection to the theft disappeared? Throw in Julianne Maroney, the hotheaded marine biologist with an on/off relationship with Colin’s lobsterman brother, Andy, and Declan’s Cross started taking shape.

Your books have been described as being very down-to-earth. Do you think your strong sense of roots and your big family have something to do with that?

Carla: No doubt! Having six brothers and sisters helps keep me grounded. We grew up in rural New England but our father was Dutch — he’d been a sailor -– and our mother is from the Florida Panhandle. Imagining their lives before we were born, in such different places, fueled my imagination. My Dutch cousin Christine and I were pen-pals as kids. I used to try to picture her life in Holland. We finally met as adults when I visited her in her pretty Dutch village, not unlike the one I’d imagined for her. “Roots” don’t necessarily involve people down the street!

Favorite place to read?

Carla: In bed, under a cozy comforter…whether it’s at home or on the road.

Carla NeggersAbout Carla Neggers

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 novels, with translations in 24 languages. Born and raised on the western edge of the beautiful Quabbin Reservoir in rural Massachusetts, Carla grew up with tales of her father’s life as a Dutch sailor and her mother’s childhood in northwest Florida.At a young age, Carla began penning her own stories on a branch high up in her favorite sugar maple. Now she enjoys spending time at the family homestead (now a tree farm) with her six brothers and sisters and their families. When she’s not writing, Carla loves to travel, hike, kayak, garden, and, of course, dive into a good book. She lives with her family in Vermont, near Quechee Gorge.

To learn more about Carla, visit her website or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Carla is kindly giving away a hardcover copy of Declan’s Cross to one lucky winner (U.S. and Canada only). To enter, please use the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review: Declan’s Cross by Carla Neggers

Declan's Cross by Carla NeggersFormat read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, paperback
Genre: romantic suspense
Series: Sharpe and Donovan, #3
Length: 317 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: September 1, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

For marine biologist Julianne Maroney, two weeks in tiny Declan’s Cross on the south Irish coast is a chance to heal her broken heart. She doesn’t expect to attract the attention of FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan—especially since a Donovan is the reason for her broken heart.

Emma and Colin are in Ireland for their own personal retreat. Colin knows he’s a reminder of everything Julianne wants to escape, but something about her trip raises his suspicion. Emma, an art crimes expert, is also on edge. Of all the Irish villages Julianne could choose…why Declan’s Cross?

Ten years ago, a thief slipped into a mansion in Declan’s Cross. Emma’s grandfather, a renowned art detective, investigated, but the art stolen that night has never been recovered and the elusive thief never caught.

From the moment Julianne sets foot on Irish soil, everything goes wrong. The well-connected American diver who invited her to Ireland has disappeared. And now Emma and Colin are in Declan’s Cross asking questions.

As a dark conspiracy unfolds amid the breathtaking scenery of Declan’s Cross, the race is on to stop a ruthless killer…and the stakes have never been more personal for Emma and Colin.

My Review:

saints gate by carla neggersDeclan’s Cross is the third book in Carla Neggers’ Sharpe & Donovan series, and just like the first two books in the series, Saint’s Gate and Heron’s Cove (reviewed over at Book Lovers Inc. here and here), the suspense part of this romantic suspense story involves both a case from Emma’s past as a art recovery expert for her family’s firm from before she became an FBI agent and a mystery out of her grandfather’s murky past.

The case also explores more of Father Finian Bracken’s backstory in Ireland and naturally uses the investigative talents of both Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan. As well it should, as they are both FBI agents.

Emma and Colin came to Ireland to get away from their jobs, but their jobs have found them. It seems as if the past and present have both collided and sought them out, when the last few days of their vacation are interrupted by a message from Maine. Someone from home is coming to a small village in Ireland on vacation, and is planning to pursue an internship in a few months.

It shouldn’t be their business, except that Julianne Maroney is leaving Rock Point to get away from a broken relationship with one of Colin’s brothers. The place she is coming to in Ireland, Declan’s Cross, is the site of the first of a series of unsolved art thefts; and the thief is still active and still taunting Emma’s grandfather. Last and finally, the person who is supposed to meet Julianne at Shannon airport is missing.

Julianne’s plan was to mend her broken heart by finally finishing her master’s degree in marine biology as far away from Rock Point, Maine as she could get. Her acceptance of an impulsive offer to open a marine substation in tiny Declan’s Cross with the woman Lindsay Hargreaves is seen as the act of a young woman looking for a quick way out of her troubles. Then Lindsay turns up dead, and it opens up an investigation not just into her death, but into a crime that has haunted Declan’s Cove and the Sharpe family for ten years.

Some troubles just refuse to stay buried.

Escape Rating B: One of the things I enjoy about the Sharpe & Donovan series is that even though this is romantic suspense, not only is the emphasis on the suspense rather than the romance, but Emma Sharpe definitely does not play into the submissive female stereotype. She’s an FBI agent and she does not lose her gun or need to be rescued. The romantic tension in the story is about how she and Donovan will balance their careers and the different secrets they have to keep from each other.

I also like the way that the cast of characters has been expanding over the three books so far. There are two romantic side plots in Declan’s Cross; one involves Colin’s brother Andy and Julianne (Colin has two other brothers, this has possibilities!) and the other involves Father Finian’s garda friend Sean Murphy and Kitty, the woman who owns the inn. There are a lot of past issues that come out and affect the present, including the romances.

One thing that fascinates me; every story so far has involved, not just Emma’s past working for her grandfather’s art recovery firm, but an actual case that her grandfather worked on back in the day. I wonder how many of his old cases are going to come back to haunt her new FBI team? While her boss’s comment about wishing he could do a Vulcan mind-meld on the old man was hilarious, the team does need to get some cases that aren’t generated from her grandfather’s storied past sooner or later.

That being said, I still had a great time watching Emma and Colin work out more of the kinks in their relationship and investigate a murder while trying to work both around and with the rules since they did not have jurisdiction in Ireland. There were plenty of hints about the future and I’m looking forward to more.

carla-negger-BT

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Can’t Help Falling In Love by Bella Andre + Giveaway

Can't Help Falling in Love by Bella AndreFormat read: paperback provided by BookTrib
Formats available: ebook, paperback, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: The Sullivans, #3
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Originally self-published; expanded edition published by Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: December 9, 2011 (original edition); July 30, 2013 (expanded edition)
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

How much is worth risking?

Gabe Sullivan risks his life every day as a firefighter in San Francisco, but he knows better than to risk giving his heart again. Especially not to the woman he saved from a deadly apartment fire…and can’t stop thinking about.

Megan Harris owes everything to the heroic firefighter who saved her and her daughter. Everything except her heart. Because after losing her pilot husband, she has vowed to never suffer through loving—and losing—a man with a dangerous job again.

But when Gabe and Megan meet again, how can he possibly ignore her courage, determination and beauty? And how can she deny not only his strong bond with her daughter…but also his sweetly sensual kisses, challenging her to risk everything she’s been guarding for so long?

My Review:

What makes someone a risk-taker? An adrenaline junkie? A thrill-seeker? What makes another play it safe?

Can you change your fundamental nature from one to the other? Can you make someone else change theirs?

Those are the questions at the heart of Bella Andre’s contemporary romance, Can’t Help Falling In Love, the third book in her Sullivans series. As the title says, Megan Harris and Gabe Sullivan can’t seem to keep from falling in love with one another from the moment they meet.

But it’s not that simple, or we wouldn’t have this marvelous story to read.

From this Moment On by Bella AndreGabe Sullivan is a San Francisco firefighter. He risks his life every time he goes out on a fire call. The story begins when he is called out from his brother Marcus’ engagement party at the end of From This Moment On (reviewed here).

But Gabe is not necessarily an adrenaline junkie. He does his job the safest way he possibly can. His goal in fighting the fire is to save people’s lives.

On that fateful fire call, the lives he saves are those of Megan Harris and her little girl Summer. He admires Megan’s bravery, because Megan’s actions kept Summer alive, not just until he could reach them, but kept him from having to carry two unconscious bodies out of a third floor walkup in an inferno–otherwise, they would have all died.

But no matter much he admires her courage, or how beautiful he believes her to be, he has one ironclad rule–he never becomes involved with fire victims. The expectations have proven to be too high.

Summer wants to thank the firefighter who saved their lives. When Megan takes her to the hospital to visit the injured man, she discovers that he is attractive, adores her daughter, and seems to detest her.

It shouldn’t matter to her. Megan has sworn off any man who chases danger for a living. Any man who might be like the fighter pilot husband who died and left her with a two-year-old to raise alone.

But little Summer is determined to keep on seeing the man who saved them. She’s way smarter than both of the adults in her life. She also knows that rules are made to be broken.

Summer is the biggest risk-taker of them all. It’s lucky for everyone that she’s absolutely right!

Escape Rating B+: One of the things I like about Andre’s Sullivans series is the way that each story starts smoothly from the previously one and leads equally smoothly into the next one. They’re not cliffhangers, it’s feeling that they really are a family and that their stories intertwine.

Although the Sullivans stories I have read so far rely on the insta-love concept, Can’t Help Falling In Love makes it work. Gabe and Megan meet under just the kind of circumstances guaranteed to make two people feel an instant connection–Gabe holds Megan’s life in his hands. They almost die together. The heightened emotions demand a heightened response.

But the reasons they resist any involvement make equal sense. Gabe’s previous attempt at a relationship with a fire victim ended in utter disaster, and Megan’s husband left her a widow because he loved danger more than his family. Megan’s response has been to play the rest of her life “safe”, and to suppress her own need for a little adrenaline in her life.

Megan is an amazing parent. Even though fear has controlled her own life, she has been vigilant about not letting that fear rule Summer’s life. Summer is fearless. Summer is a very well-drawn character in her own right, and not just a prop to match-make the two adults. Summer schemes and connives to get her way, but she’s indulged rather than spoiled. I’m glad that she gets a HEA out of this story too, to be part of a big family.

The next story should be even more fun than this one. The heroine of I Only Have Eyes for You is a librarian!

Bella Andre Blog Tour

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Bella is giving away one paperback copy of Can’t Help Falling in Love to one lucky winner (US only)! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: From This Moment On by Bella Andre + Giveaway

From this Moment On by Bella AndreFormat read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, paperback, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: The Sullivans, #2
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Originally self-published; expanded edition published by Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: August 30, 2011 (original); June 25, 2013 (expanded edition)
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

For thirty-six years, Marcus Sullivan has been the responsible older brother, stepping in to take care of his seven siblings after their father died when they were children. But when the perfectly ordered future he’s planned for himself turns out to be nothing but a lie, Marcus needs one reckless night to shake free from it all.

Nicola Harding is known throughout the world by only one name – Nico – for her catchy, sensual pop songs. Only, what no one knows about the twenty-five year old singer is that her sex-kitten image is totally false. After a terrible betrayal by a man who loved fame far more than he ever loved her, she vows not to let anyone else get close enough to find out who she really is…or hurt her again. Especially not the gorgeous stranger she meets at a nightclub, even though the hunger – and the sinful promises – in his dark eyes make her want to spill all her secrets.

One night is all Nicola and Marcus agree to share with each other. But nothing goes as they plan when instead of simply tangling limbs, they find a deeper connection than either of them could have anticipated. And even though they both try to fight it, growing emotions – and sizzling attraction – keep drawing them closer together.

Close enough for them to wonder if stealing one more secret moment together can ever be enough?

My Review:

With a family like the Sullivans around, how would anyone in Northern California between the ages of puberty and, well, death, get anything done?

Seriously? Eight handsome or beautiful siblings, all adults, all unattached and all pretty decent human beings, concentrated in a pretty small geographic area. This family would be too good to be real, outside of fiction.

It’s not just that their parents raised them right, but after the tragic early death of their father Jack, oldest brother Marcus stepped into the fatherly role at the tender age of 14, and he did it well.

From This Moment On is the story of Marcus’ very much earned happily ever after. He earned it by the way he put off his own happiness to help his mom raise his brothers and sisters. He kind of makes a hash of things with Nicola, the pop star who turns out to be, not the woman of his dreams, but the perfect woman for him.

Not that Nico doesn’t help mess up the road to a relationship!

Look of Love by Bella AndreFrom This Moment On picks up the exact same evening where The Look of Love (reviewed here) ends — after Marcus’ brother Chase’s engagement party.

The Look of Love was kind of a “rescue” love story, even though in the end Chase doesn’t rescue Chloe half as much as he gives Chloe the time and space for her to rescue herself. Still, the element is there.

From This Moment On starts out with a classic rebound relationship thing going on. Marcus has just broken up with his long-time girlfriend because he discovered her in flagrante delicto. As I said, classic. He goes out to a club, very much against his usual behavior, after that engagement party, in the hopes of picking up a one-night stand. Just out of a two-year relationship, the last thing he thinks he wants is to start another one.

Instead, he picks up Nicola. She thinks she’s just there for a one-night stand, because the last thing that she can afford is a real relationship. She can’t believe she’s picked the one man in the place who doesn’t know who she really is, the pop-princess Nico.

But instead of hot sex, Nico falls asleep on Marcus. Which is totally ironic considering that he’s a decade older than she is. A fact that undoubtedly contributes to his non-recognition. He’s outside of the target demographic for her image.

When she wakes up in the morning, he’s all too aware that the young woman she really is, once she’s scrubbed clean of her makeup, is much too young for his 36 year old self, even if she is 25, and whatever she might say she wants. Whatever he might really want.
Even if the one kiss he allows himself is a kiss he can’t make himself forget.

Fate doesn’t let the perfect romance get away from either of them. Pop-princess Nico is in San Francisco to shoot a music video with choreographer Lori Sullivan. Lori brings her big brother Marcus down to meet the terrific singer she’s working with.

Neither Marcus nor Nicola are able to resist temptation a second time, no matter how much they both believe that they should.

The real question is whether, after spending a perfect week together, can they get past the belief that a real relationship between them is impossible?

Escape Rating B: From This Moment On takes a bundle of lovely romantic tropes and weaves them all together into a sweet and sensual story.

Marcus and Nicola are two people whose worlds would simply not intersect, but they do. Opposites attract. Opposites attract a bit instantly, but Bella Andre does make it work by starting with sex and working up to love, a love that both people resist kicking and screaming.

Nicola doesn’t romanticize the loneliness and fun of being a star. She has to watch her back all the time, and thinks of fame as the price she pays to play her music. Even though she is younger than Marcus, she tries to protect him from the damage her life can cause. She goes a bit overboard, but it’s an understandable reaction.

They both push each other to re-think some of their life choices. Nicola has had to grow up more than someone normally would at her age, and it makes her and Marcus more equal. One thing that Ms. Andre did well was to portray the way the age-difference worked in the relationship.

can't help fallin in love by bella andreThe Sullivan family as a whole is terrific to read about. I enjoy seeing them interact. It’s also great that they didn’t come from money. Several of the siblings made their own money as adults, and we’ll get to read some of those stories, but they’re not spoiled rich kids. It makes their family story more heartwarming.

I like the way that the end of each book leads into the next one. It’s not a cliffhanger (thank goodness!) but it does let the reader know who’s up to bat. Firefighter Gabe’s story will be next in Can’t Help Falling In Love. It seems like readers can’t help falling in love with the Sullivans.

BlogTour-Bella-Andre-2

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Bella has TWO giveaways for you. One is a print copy of From This Moment On. The other, in celebration of her 7-figure deal with Harlequin to reprint The Sullivans, is a beach bag full of goodies:

  • Not Your Mother’s Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream
  • Jade & Jasper Women in Style Bracelets
  • O.P.I Nail Lacquer Suzi’s Hungary AGAIN!
  • Unisun Eyewear Rager Sunglasses
  • Evian Mineral Water Facial Spray
  • Solemates High Heeler
  • Vapur Classic Reflex water bottle
  • And your very own copy of The Look of Love by Bella Andre

To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Look of Love by Bella Andre

look of love by bella andreFormat read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, paperback, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: The Sullivans, #1
Length: 184 pages
Publisher: Originally self-published; expanded edition published by Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: June 13, 2011 (original); May 28, 2013 (expanded edition)
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Sometimes one look is all it takes

Chloe Peterson has vowed never to make the mistake of trusting a man again. Her reasons are as vivid as the bruises on her cheek. So when her car skids off a wet country road straight into a ditch, she’s convinced the gorgeous guy who rescues her must be too good to be true.

As a successful international photographer, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women. He’s satisfied with his life—until he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley.

With every loving look—and every sinfully sweet caress—the attraction between them sizzles, and Chloe can’t help but wonder if she’s met the man who may be the exception to her rule…

My Review:

The Sullivans are a family that readers will want to fall in love with. So it’s a good thing that there are so many of them! Six handsome brothers and two beautiful sisters, plus mom is a widow (I confess to wondering if mom will get her own story somehow).

This first story is brother Chase’s story, and contrary to convention, Chase is not the oldest brother, he’s number three in the family. He’s also a playboy but falls into the trope of suddenly ready to settle down when he meets the right woman. That’s okay, it works when he meets Chloe.

I think all the Sullivans are going to turn out to have a “knight in shining armor” streak. Their mom definitely raised them right. Chase rescues Chloe from a car wreck in the middle of a major storm. She’s also sporting a killer bruise on her face, so it’s pretty obvious that she needs some other kind of rescue, but that’s more than she can accept.

Automobile service in the middle of nowhere is pure necessity. Her cell phone is dead and it’s freezing. What she doesn’t count on is getting swept into Chase’s world of fashion photography, because that’s what he does.

Chloe doesn’t trust the instant attraction between them, because she’s made that kind of mistake before. But she needs a place to retreat, and Sullivan Winery turns out to be the perfect place. By slow degrees, Chloe becomes an integral part of Chase’s photo shoot at his brother Marcus’ winery.

She doesn’t want to explore the feelings that Chase arouses in her, either the physical sensations or the emotions, but the more time they spend together, the harder it is for her to resist.

Chase is nothing like the ex-husband who abused her. It just takes a few days for her head to catch up with her heart to tell her what she really feels.

While Chase spends all his time making sure that Chloe understands that he wants the best of whatever part of her he can have…on her terms.

Escape Rating B: The Look of Love is a fun, hot, sweet romance. The relationship between Chase and Chloe starts out slow and then builds a lot of heat pretty quickly. Emotionally, it’s a sweet roller-coaster ride. Chloe is naturally reluctant to get emotionally involved, but Chase is hooked from the beginning. Their push-pull is well-done.

The family is terrific! Chloe at the Sullivan family dinner brought out all the family dynamics and made me eager to find out what happens to everyone else. (I admit I really want to see the librarian daughter get a fantastic HEA!) But brother Marcus is suffering at the moment, so I hope his story resolves soon. The sibling banter was loads of fun. This is a tremendously likeable family and it will be great to read each story and keep up with everyone as their lives unfold.

From this moment on by bella andreBut I’m glad From This Moment On is Marcus’ story. From the backstory of the family, he’s suffered long enough!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.