COCKED AND LOADED by Desiree Holt

Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Date published: September 2009
ISBN: 978-1601547125 (print)
Erotic contemporary
E-book or Print
Obtained from publisher
Reviewed by Valerie


When Jamie Randall returns to Amen, Texas after a scandal, she doesn’t expect anyone to welcome her home. Most of all, the town’s bad boy, Zane Cameron. But, it’s been over ten years and Zane is now the town’s sheriff. Zane just wants her to leave. After she gave him her virginity and then left town, Zane hasn’t been able to forget her. He just wants one more night of passion then she’ll be out of his system. But that one night changes his whole mind about his relationship with Jamie. He wants more. But someone else is looking to run Jamie out of town and they get pretty violent about it. While all Zane wants is for Jamie to give him a second chance, murder, mayhem and dirty secrets are getting in the way.

It seems that Desiree Holt gets better and better with each book. This one was just so mouth-watering good! If I had had the time, I would have turned around and read it all over again. I loved Zane...what a hunk of a man. And I could really feel for Jamie. Her situation was very difficult and she also had a lot of emotional baggage to get rid of. These two were a perfect pair and Zane’s take charge attitude was just right for Jamie. The sex scenes were smoking! You might need a fire extinguisher next to your computer. Emotions were running high and the sex scenes let us look deeper in the souls of Jamie and Zane. The plot is so exciting. I had to read this book in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. Toward the end, I was almost holding my breath to see just how everything would work out. I can strongly recommend this book to all you readers who like a good crime story with two wonderful characters and some really hot sex.

THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE UNBIASED REVIEW.

FINDING HOPE by Katie Reus

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Date published: August 2009
ISBN: not listed
Romantic Suspense
E-book
Reviewed by Tammy


CLICK TO PURCHASE! Katie Reus’ FINDING HOPE is a romantic suspense filled with determination, persistence, danger and destiny.

Photographer Hope Jennings has not had an easy life, from what she can remember of it. Her childhood before the horror of foster homes is a blank. But now, she has put her tortured past behind her and her career as a photographer is finally starting to take off. So when the frightening phone calls begin, she is more than happy to take the job offer to photograph a wealthy family’s ancestral home in the islands. She has no idea what she is about to uncover.

Luke Romanov is having a hard time believing is it coincidence that the woman he is sent to hire so closely resembles that family’s long lost child, Anna. With every intention of finding some answers, he travels with Hope to the ancestral home she is to photograph only to find them attacked and with Luke on the run with the sexy doppelganger. Now the big question is whether it is Anna or Hope that is being chased and what Luke plans to do to keep her safe.

Katie Reus’ FINDING HOPE has everything you would hope to find in a romantic suspense: danger, mystery, a breakneck storyline, and questions, questions and more questions. Luke and Hope are wonderful, multifaceted characters. Luke has lied to Hope for her own good so many times, she doesn’t know who to trust and yet at the same time, she is falling in love with him. Her strength and bravery, given her past, is a beautiful thing to behold. Hope’s adopted father is also a pleasant addition to the story. The interaction between him and Hope’s newly found mother leaves readers wondering.

The storyline is twofold; a madman is chasing her and it appears she may be the missing child the Santiagos have been searching for without a clue for so long. Because of these dual storylines, the story moves at lightning speed with constant twists and turns.

The only negative this reader had with this story was Mr. Santiago. He comes across cold and uncaring and a poor excuse for a father both to Hope, who he hasn’t seen for twenty-some years so we might understand, but also toward Maria, Hope’s twin sister, who has lived with him her entire life. Perhaps his character was written in this manner to cast suspicion on him, and if so, it works. However, it also left a lot of unanswered questions. Yet again, maybe Ms. Reus is simply a very clever writer and is setting up her next book. Hmmm…

Katie Reus’ FINDING HOPE is action packed romance and suspense from first page to last. This is one author that this reader will be keeping a close eye on.

MAGIC MAN by Marie Treanor

Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Date Published: July 15, 2009
Print: 1-60154-697-1
Erotic futuristic romance
E-book
Reviewed by Valerie


Catriona Whithorn escapes to the forbidden Old Town to become ‘Cat’, a singer in a bar. She’s tired of her boring life and she’s just getting over a divorce from a man who always said she was frigid. While in Edinburgh’s Old Town she meets and is drawn to Magic. A street magician who is as mysterious as he is handsome. Catriona needs his help to find her ex-husband when he goes missing but Magic is not sure he can trust her. Finally, he takes her into his way of life and together they spend time in bed. Catriona finds pleasure she has never experienced before and Magic opens himself more and more to her. Together they uncover a secret that could change the whole world for the Old Towners and the rest of the communities. Cat’s own family is involved in the intrigue and she and Magic have to make some life changing decisions.

This is a story you want to read slowly and savour every word. The story flows so smoothly, the characters are so engaging and the plot keeps your eyes glued to the screen. Marie Treanor has written a story that will engage all your senses. You’ll be rooting for Cat and Magic as they race to uncover the truth and get the help the people in Old Town so desperately need. I was captivated by this story and it held me until the last word. The ending is very climactic, you may find yourself holding your breath! The romance between Cat and Magic is...well...magical! It simmers and slowly comes to a boil. The love scenes between these two are explosive and highly erotic. There is a wonderful BDSM scene that really got me going. Magic is a man that many readers will fall in love with I’m sure. Marie Treanor never fails to give her readers an absolutely marvelous story and I am sure there are many more great things to come from this talented author.

HUNTRESS OF MY HEART by Phyllis Campbell

Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Date published March 2009
ISBN 1-55410-612-5
Genre Historical Romance
E-book
Reviewed by Valerie



CLICK TO PURCHASE! Phoebe Alphius is the daughter of the governor of Turkey. She is the youngest in a long line of daughters. Her father thinks she is the reincarnation of Artemis. She has the silvery hair, the stubbornness and she can hunt better than her brothers. But she wants to be a normal girl who finds love and happiness. It looks like she may die a virgin, like the Goddess herself. One day, dressed as her maid, she creeps outside and meets with Lord Barrington Winter and finds herself on his boat. Attraction ignites, sparks are flying and if she makes love, the temple will crash to the ground. Then there is that pesky rule that she must wait until her older sisters have married until she can too.

Phyllis Campbell is well known for her historicals and this reviewer has had the pleasure of reading and reviewing some of them. In this story, Ms. Campbell has written not only a very nice short story, but a pretty hot one too! She has done a superb job of bringing the reader into Turkey and has conjured up an exotic backdrop to this lush romance. Lord Barrington is a wonderful hero and Phoebe is just perfect for him. She is a minx who goes against tradition and finds her true love. The sexual tension runs high and the love scenes are sensual and very romantic. This reviewer enjoyed this treat very much and recommends Ms. Campbell’s fans to pick this one up right away.

ORDINARY ME by June Sproat

Publisher Wild Rose Press
Date published March, 2008
ISBN 1-60154-205-4
Thriller, mystery, teen
E-book
Reviewed by Aryn



CLICK TO PURCHASE!In the novella, ORDINARY ME, young Kate Sterns thinks that she will be one of the “just ordinaries” in her high school. And she is… until the dreaded day that she actually has to drive the car in drivers-ed and accidentally stops a criminal from escaping. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she had, by accidentally turning left instead of right when there were two police cars coming at her from both directions, made a convict horribly mad at her. The hottest guy in school was in the backseat of the car when she did so. When she and Scott, the hottest guy in school, start hanging out she also starts to feel as if she is being stalked...

So with such a build up like that, why did the book only get three stars? Well, this is because this book did have a plot and everything, and was very interesting, but the books characters sometimes became very confusing. This is not the only reason though, this book also overall was not that great. Don’t get me wrong, this book was not by any means horrible, but the author definitely could have done better. June Sproat did a beautiful job with the characters and has done quite a good job with the plot also. This book just didn’t seem that great to me. Another thing was while the tension about them finally kissing was fine, why drag it out that long, finally one just gets’ bored waiting for them to kiss. However, I would definitely recommend it to any teenage girl that likes books that have a great mystery in them.