I need to do some housekeeping here at Monkey Bear Reviews. Here are a few mini reviews of books I read in June, but haven’t yet featured on the blog.
They’re a mixed bunch. I enjoyed Meljean Brook’s Demon Night, and Helen Brenna’s Next Comes Love. The Blaze anthology, Born on the 4th of July, had a fun novella by Jill Shalvis, but I didn’t find the other two stories as interesting. Jaci Burton’s Riding Wild didn’t do it for me. It’s an erotic contemporary romance set around a group of bikers, but there was too much sex and too little plot for my personal preference. Readers who read a lot of erotic romance may not have this issue.
Here are my mini reviews in order of preference.
DEMON NIGHT (2008)
BY
MELJEAN BROOK
Blurb: Charlie Newcomb worked hard to get her life back together. But all that is shaken when she’s set upon by three vampires desperate to transform her beauty into something evil. Because Charlie is the vital link to something they want—and need. It’s Charlie’s flesh and blood sister, a medical scientist whose knowledge could be invaluable to the predators.
But to get to her, they must first get to Charlie, now under the intimate protection of Ethan McCabe. As her Guardian, Ethan is attracted to her vulnerabilities—as well as her strengths. The closer he gets, the more protecting her becomes not just his duty, but his desire. But will it be enough to save Charlie when the demon night falls?
My Thoughts: Charlie is a refreshingly original heroine. She’s a recovering alcoholic with a few other kinks to her psyche. She’s needy and weak, but fights against this side of her personality. Ethan is a hero in the hot-as-hell category. I really liked him, especially his interesting back story. What didn’t work so well for me was the Charlie-turns-into-a-vampire storyline. Yes, I know: this is an Urban Fantasy. I just preferred her before she grew fangs. My Grade: B
NEXT COMES LOVE (2009)
BY
HELEN BRENNA
Blurb: Streetsmart city girl Erica Corelli spent the three best days of her childhood on Mirabelle Island. Now her sister has disappeared and Erica’s on the run with her sixyearold nephew. The boy’s father, an abusive Chicago cop, will stop at nothing to get his son back. Erica can only hope this unforgettable island paradise is a safe place to hide.
Garrett Taylor, the island’s chief of police, takes one look at Erica and thinks, Trouble. The mysterious, sexy kind that disturbs a man’s peace and instantly complicates the simple life Garrett came to Mirabelle to find. But no matter how hard he tries, he can’t keep his mindor his handsoff Ms. Couldn’t Be More Wrong for Him.
My Thoughts: This is the second book in Helen Brenna’s Mirabelle Island series, but I’m reading them out of order. This is a bitter-sweet story which has some very sad moments, but ultimately provides the characters with a credible HEA. I definitely want to read the other books in this series. My Grade: B
BORN ON THE 4th OF JULY (2010)
Blurb: Friendly Fire by Jill Shalvis
Permanently injured on a black-ops mission, Cord Madden is furious at the world. Then Lexi McGowen reappears in his life to nurse him back to health. Little does he guess that she’s about to reveal a whole new world to him, one touch at a time….
The Prodigal by Rhonda Nelson
When Rorie Beddingfield meets up with her first love, Chase Harrison, she realizes there’s no better time to find out what she’s been missing. And wow—she’s been missing a lot! Still, she’s thoroughly enjoying making up for lost time. But can she tame the battered heart of this wounded warrior…without losing hers?
Packing Heat by Karen Foley
Megan O’Connell’s letters were the only thing that kept U.S. Marine sniper Matt Talbot sane while he was overseas. And now that he’s home, he intends to get to know Meganmuch better. Too bad a lot of other people have the same idea. Only it’s him they can’t seem to get enough of….
My Thoughts: Three weeks later, the only story which sticks in my mind is the one by Jill Shalvis. The other two were readable, but Friendly Fire made the anthology worth purchasing. It introduces the Madden brothers, who will each feature in future Blaze titles. Ethan gets his story in August 2010 in The Heat Is On. My Grade: C+
RIDING WILD (2008)
BY
JACI BURTON
Blurb: He’s a Harley-riding ex-thief working undercover for the government. She’s a gun-toting ex-socialite hired to protect a valuable museum exhibit. But in her attempt to stop a heist, she never anticipated having her breath and her heart stolen…
Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But here he was, the bad boy who’d broken her heart years ago-still a thief, this time high-jacking a priceless artifact–and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.
Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl-next-door all grown up, threatening to shoot him on the spot. Little did she know she was blowing his cover-and now he had to figure out how to get her out of harm’s way without succumbing to his crazy desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.
Unfortunately, Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac. Which means he has to resort to kidnapping. Unless, of course, she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild…
My Thoughts: I really liked the premise, but the book didn’t live up to my expectations. I don’t read much erotic romance and my preference when it comes to sex scenes in romance novels is that less is more. I’m referring to frequency, by the way, not the level of explicitness. I felt the plot in Running Wild got short shrift in favour of pages and pages of sex. This book might appeal more to people who read a lot of erotic romance, but it didn’t do it for me. My Grade: C
{ 1 comment }
Oh, I agree with you about Demon Night. I thought Charlie was a fabulous protagonist and, for the most part, really liked the book…but could have done without the vampire thing. (I have a serious aversion to vampire romances. When it comes to adult romances, anyway.)