The Last Boyfriend

In Nora Roberts's The Last Boyfriend, the second installment in the Inn Boonsboro trilogy, this novel focused on Owen Montgomery and Avery MacTavish.They knew each other, when they was little; and as a grown up, they never thought they would fall for each other. Owen was a take-charge middle brother in his family, working to build an inn and a home extension for the center of Boonsboro, Maryland. His brother Beckett was getting ready to tie the knot with Claire, a widow with three young sons, to form a blended family. His other brother, Ryder, had strong feelings for Hope, who took charge of the inn, and still giving over a past heartache. During the past months for the completion of the inn, the friendship turned into romance for Avery and Owen; Avery took charge of a pizzeria and now two new restaurants, when her mother who abandoned her, since her father took care of her when she was young. There's also a little ghost story that Avery came across, just like in In the Garden trilogy. This is a heart-warming romance about life, friendship and family.

I loved this new trilogy from Nora Roberts. I loved how everyone came together to get the inn up and working and ready in time. We do get to care about Owen and Avery and their families. I did, when they went through so many emotions between those two families. I loved the backdrop of Boonsboro, Maine. It was so picturesque and grand for sure. I didn't care for much for Avery's cold-hearted mother. But Justine and Willie together was a hoot.

Ready to reserve your spot for the inn? Grab a copy today!

Special review: Lifelines from March 2009

If you loved shows like ER, you'll love be in the front and center of an Emergency Room in a Pittsburgh. In CJ Lyons's Lifelines, this book launched the first book in her Angels of Mercy series.  Lydia Fiore was new to the area and hailed from Los Angeles. When she first arrived on the scene on Transition Day, things took a bit turn for the worse as attending nurse, when the Chief of Surgery's son died on the table. To save her career, she needed to get behind the truth behind his death. Lucky for her, she wasn't alone. She formed new and fast friendships with Nora, Gina and Amanda, and developed a new love interest of her own with a paramedic. While the mystery of her mother's death haunted her, get ready to take a seat in front of the hospital with non-stop medical drama.  You'll be in for a thrill ride.

This is a fantastic new medical thriller series. It had all the real life dealings of the behind the scenes  of the Emergency Room in a hospital setting. I loved the Philadelphia location and how we get to know Lydia and her co-workers personally and outside of the hospital. I loved how they bonded and get to know each other. I hated for Lydia to wonder about the mystery of her mom's mystery. This medical thriller had a lot of action, drama and sparks of romance, all wrapped up in one in tense package.

Special review: The Theft from July 2008

Best-selling romantic suspense/thriller author, Andrea Kane, introduced a new tale to us in her historical romance, The Theft, the second book in the Thornton-Bromleigh series. We were introduced to Lady Noelle Bromleigh, who was determined to find out the truth on her biological mother from her loving adoptive parents to Franco Baricci, the blackguard who seduced and abandoned her mother. She was set out on the path to destroy him. But the knowledge wasn't enough for her, when she defied society to travel to England alone and unchaperoned. Danger and excitement awaited her there, when she met the earl of Tremlett, Ashford Thornton, who seduced her and awakened the wildest passion in him with suspicious eyes. From there, Thornton couldn't believe Noelle who lead him to his enemy on his own darkest mission.  He couldn't afford to let sweet innocent Noelle steal his heart, when he had his own secrets to keep and to keep his at arm's length from danger.

This was an exquisite historical romance from Andrea Kane. I did feel some strong emotions for Noelle on the search for the truth on her biological mother. I sensed this journey was dark and perilous to do it alone. I loved the sensual chemistry between Thornton and Bromleigh when they met and came together. Ashford was a dangerous and mysterious earl with some eye-catching qualities. I loved the backdrop in 18th century England for this tempting journey. Great suspense, hot romance, and an intriguing mystery wrapped up in one package. You'll love this one from the first chapter to the epilogue.

Ready to uncover a mystery? Check this out today!

Twisted

In Andrea Kane's Twisted, she told us a twisted and warped tale of kidnapping, obsession and murderous mayhem in the first FBI trilogy. Sloane Burbank was a former FBI agent now turned consultant, due to a hand injury in her latest case. When her close friend's parents asked her to look into her disappearance from a year ago, she would be more than happy to oblige. But she'd gotten more than she bargained for. She teamed up with her former boyfriend, Agent Derek Parker, to work on this more difficult and complicated case. Someone's been kidnapping young women and giving them a royal godly treatment as goddess. He had a sick obsession on Sloane and with Greek mythology too. When she suspected she's been watched like an eagle with hang-up on her phone, it was up to Derek and Sloane to pick up the twisted pieces of this wicked jigsaw puzzle, while they resolved old issues and turn up the heat on their dormant sparking chemistry. Sloane didn't see this coming, when she became the next one on his list and who wanted her for himself.

This was a fantastic FBI thriller. I loved knowing Sloane's background of how she injured her hand and how she dealt from recovering from it. I loved how she teamed with her former flame, Derek, when there's a burning flame of desire for both of them. The mythological goddess twist was quite interesting as well. I loved the tri-state area for the locations. I hated to see how one of Sloane's friends was killed and another could be  quite evil. Great dramatic twists, excellent suspense and terrific romance between Sloane and Derek.

Ready for a twisted novel? Go out and check out a copy today!

I Scream, You Scream

In Wendy Lyn Watson's I Scream, You Scream, the first book in the Mystery A La Mode series, someone didn't really scream out loud for ice cream. For Tallulah "Tally" Jones, she wounded up with that predicament. She lived in her grandma's home and worked at her own ice cream parlor in a small town in Texas. Recently divorced from her husband, she no longer lived in the lap of luxury. When her ex and his new squeeze, someone much younger than her, asked her to cater ice cream at his company's luau picnic, she'd gotten much more than she bargained for. His new flame accused him of flirting with Tally and had a row with her, later she wounded up dead. And that placed Wayne and herself on the hot seat. To clear both their names, she did some digging of her own on who wanted her dead and learned some shocking revelations. Things do heat up with her former flame, Finn Harper, when new sparks fly between then. When she discovered who was the culprit, she came close to become the newest victim on the list.

This was a delightful introduction to the culinary cozy series featuring ice cream recipes. I liked Tally and her sister and her niece Alice. I didn't like Brittany for awhile. I cared for Tally and her feelings for Wayne, when she helped to clear his name. Even if she had to go undercover for it, she became close to the killer itself. I loved the ice cream flavors as well. But Finn, he was an interesting catch for Tally.

Ready for a scoop or two? Dig into this delicious culinary cozy today!

One of Us

Welcome to the dark side of town in Tawni O'Dell's latest thriller, One of Us. For Lost Creek, a small mining town in Pennsylvania, it had been haunted by a grisly history. More than fifty years ago, eight rebellious Irish miners were once hanged by the gallows from Walker Dawes. Residents of the town believed it was haunted from ghosts, especially from their descendants. This tale was told in present-day by two people who have been affected by the town's hidden secrets, past and present, with flashbacks of their former lives. It all started when Sheridan "Danny" Doyle, Prosperity McNab's great-great grandson, a prestigious forensic psychologist from Philadelphia, who came home to visit his 94-year-old grandfather. He also hailed from a dysfunctional family and a lot of heartache. When he visited the gallows near the mine, he came across a dead body. For Danny and his mentor, Rafferty "Rafe" Malloy, it was up to them to find out who's behind the recent spree in their neighborhood. On the flip side of the coin was Scarlet Dawes, the grand-daughter of Walker Dawes the first, the richest family in the small town who had an agenda of her own and stirring up a lot of trouble. When the past collided with the present, a whole lot of mayhem and family secrets were unearthed to shake this town up. When Danny figured it out the disturbing truth, his life was at stake. There's a shocking twist you didn't see coming in the end!

For starters, you really do care for Danny and his family in a small mining town. We become shocked on how he overcame obstacles to make a life for himself. I felt bad for his mom and didn't care much for his worthless father. As for Scarlet Dawes, I didn't like them either. Even when she revealed her true intentions, it sent chills down my spine and left me on edge. I knew she was nothing but trouble. I loved the scene in Ireland at the end and the small mining town itself, except for the gallows.  This is as dark as it can be.

Ready to take on a difficult case? Give this one a quick read!

Special review: Move to Strike from January 2009

In the 6th installment of the Nina Reilly series, Move to Strike, she tackled another compelling and difficult case for her small one-person woman. Her newest client was her son's best friend, who was the niece of a prominent plastic surgeon, and a thief. She wanted to find out, if she stole something and later killed her uncle with it. While the DA's office wanted to try her as an adult, Nina had other ideas. She counted on her former lover and ally, Paul Van Wagoner, to find out about the plane crash that killed the surgeon's son. It was up to Nina to sort through the lies surrounding her client and put them to rest, while she tried to get a hold of a mining claim, former clients, and trying to tie them together to old cold cases. At the bottom of them all, Nina would soon later discover on what did her client see at the night of her uncle's murder ... and be shocked by the latest zinging twist.

This was another great  installment in this legal thriller series. I continued to love the South Lake Tahoe series that's centered between California and Nevada. I loved how Nina's clientele continued to build and how close she was to her son Bobby.  I believe there's some sparks between her and Paul. I liked the plane twist angle and how it tied to the case in hand. I cared about Nina and Bobby and Paul, and wondered if they would make it out okay. This had plenty of intense action, nice drama and good storyline to even it out.

Ready to strike for a good book? Check this out today!