Review of Only His by Susan Mallery

Only His
Susan Mallery
Harlequin
ISBN 13:9780373776016
344 pages

Only His is the third in the Hendrix triplets trilogy.

Nevada Hendrix has always been more comfortable in a hard hat than in high heels and she’s proven her worth as a construction boss working under her older brother, but she has dreams too and to spread her wings means flying from the safety of the family business nest. Nevada accepts an interview with Janack construction, a global company with a great reputation expecting to interview with company owner Elliot only to find herself face to face with his son Tucker. This wouldn’t be a problem because Tucker is friends with her older brother and she’s known him for years, it’s just that she also happens to know him in the biblical sense in a decade ago debacle one-night(mare) stand that she’s never quite gotten over.
Tucker wants Nevada to take the job, a local is always valuable on a job site, someone who knows the ropes and the rules, but to convince her he’s got to let the past go even though seeing her again is stirring up feelings he’s not happy about and the word lust comes to mind every time he sees her.

Susan Mallery has got this romance thing down to a science because I could not put this book down, plus you get more than one romance for your money as she brings us other couples tales as well in this one for the books contemporary romance. It’s a plot that’s sure to engage the true romance lover with the normal anxiety and angst with a little added bonus of that second chance at romance. Her dialogue is easy to read, easy to understand and will keep you turning those pages as fast as you can read them. Her characters are all impressive, all entertaining and all imperative to the story. Her hero Tucker is a real guy’s guy and our heroine Nevada is a guy’s guy too although she has no trouble being female either. The love story is two worlds colliding impossible and super nova spectacular and you’ll be kept on the edge until the very end. The love scenes are sensual but tasteful.

Come back to Fools Gold for this last of the Hendrix triplets trilogy, reconnect with old friends from the fictional town and meet a few new ones as well. You don’t have to be an already fan to enjoy this but you will become one if this is your first visit. My suggestion is to read the trilogy in order for the best results, then if you haven’t get all the novels in the Fools Gold series.
Thanks Ms. Mallery for another fun trip through the estrogen enhanced town of Fools Gold.
Buy the book here visit the author's website here.

Review of Bonnie by Iris Johansen

Bonnie
Iris Johansen
St. Martin’s Press
ISBN 13:9780312651220 Pub date October 18, 2011
416 pages

Bonnie is the culmination of the trilogy dedicated to the disappearance of Eve Duncan’s daughter Bonnie. It will answer many of the questions that fans of this incredible series have been asking for years and yet we will be left with some unanswered as well.

Years ago a struggling single mother Eve Duncan had one shining light in her life, that was her daughter Bonnie and in an instant that light was extinguished. Eve could have easily given into the darkness that followed and at times she was close, but instead she gave her life to the finding and bringing home of lost children by becoming the worlds best and most sought after forensic sculptor, hoping that one of those lost would be her Bonnie. In the previous two novels we’ve discovered the personal stories of Eve and Joe Quinn, they go back in time to the crime and bring forward the events happening now. In Bonnie the players involved , Eve, Joe, Catherine and John Gallo are closing in on the answers some have been asking for many years and some have just begun to ask. And as we get closer to those answers there are also more players introduced to us to fill in the puzzle pieces left so long ago by Bonnie’s kidnapping. Will Eve finally get the closure she so desperately needs, will Joe be able to protect her like he needs to do, can Catherine fulfill her need to repay Eve for the rescuing of her son Luke and will John Gallo be the villain or is he a victim too. It’s not an easy journey but believe me the it’s worth the trip.

Iris Johansen has been writing about Eve Duncan for many years and in each of those novels we’re given glimpses into the whys and wherefores of what made Eve what she is today, the one thing that never changes is her deep need to find Bonnie and bring her home. Bonnie is one of Ms. Johansen’s brightest lights, it’s a tale for all readers and will not leave a dry eye in the house. Her plot, right out of the worst nightmare of any parent is interweaved with covert operators and shadowy figures that makes the thriller fan tingle and her hardboiled narrative fit these characters and this novel like a glove. Her characters are so pragmatic that even the more unlikely are believable, old fans and new alike will relish the intimacy she gives to them and in turn gives to us. Eve, Joe, Catherine and Gallo share equal amounts of stardom in this novel and what it will leave you with is the desire to hurry the clock forward to read what she has in store for them next time. Because if my guess is correct this is not the end but a new beginning.

So if you’re looking for an edge of your seat, action packed, danger filled thriller, look here. If you want great characters and a plot not easily forgotten choose Bonnie.
This does okay as a stand a lone but is meant to be the third of a trilogy and that’s the best way to read them.
Thank you Ms. Johansen for one of the best trilogies I’ve ever read, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Buy the book here visit the author’s website here.

Review of The Pub Across the Pond by Mary Carter

The Pub Across The Pond
Mary Carter
Kensington
336  pages
ISBN 13:9780758253361

Carlene Rivers is unlucky, at love and at life it seems but something told her to buy a raffle ticket at an Irish fair in Ohio, only $20.00 to win a pub in Ireland.
Ronan McBride is a rogue and a gambler, he’s never found the right woman to settle him down but when he looses the family pub in a poker game the women in his family take matters into their own hands, they offer the pub in a raffle, in America open only to Yanks.
Carlene and her winning raffle ticket show up in Ballybeog Ireland to take ownership of her new pub, she leaves the baggage of her old life behind determined to become a new woman. Will she run screaming back to the US or will the locals welcome her with open arms, will it be more than she hoped for or worse than a nightmare at A Pub Across The Pond.

Get ready to kiss the Blarney Stone with this fun, quirky, entertaining Irish Adventure, full of spirit and energy. Mary Carter takes us across the pond to the most unremarkable yet quaint little village in the middle of nowhere Ireland and tells us a tale for a Celtic story lover. Her plot is an amazing mix of intrigue, romance, family drama and Irish hospitality. The narrative goes between the yank speak of Carlene and the Irish brogue of Declan and the rest of the locals, it will keep you in stitches and give you a rare authentic taste of real Ireland, it can get a bit raw but that’s what authentic is all about. Her characters all deserve Oscars for their performances as they are all amazingly believable and utterly charming. Her heroine Carlene is a wonderful portrait of a woman aspiring to be her best by reinventing herself. Her hero Ronan is an irresistible cad that woman  can’t help fall in love with and men want for their best friend, he’s also a genuine caring person who just can’t seem to make the right choices.
It’s a romance, a drama, a contemporary piece of literature and it’s a whole lot of fun. So if you’re in the mood to take a closer walk with the wee folk, or to walk in the Steps of Brigid or Patrick pick up your own copy of this memorable novel.
Thank you Ms. Carter for my must read of October
Buy the book here visit the author’s website here.

Review of Bad Boys Do by Victoria Dahl

Bad Boys Do
Victoria Dahl
Harlequin
377 pages
ISBN 13: 9780373776023

Jamie Donovan loves his family and the family Brewing Company that came down to he and his siblings with the tragic death of their parents 14 years ago. His bad boy, screw up image has cost him the respect of his big brother, but now it might just cost him his future and not just in business.
Olivia Bishop has been the dutiful daughter, dutiful wife and now the dutiful ex-wife and she’s fed up enough to change her image, with her first sighting of Jamie she thinks she just might have found someone who can help her.
Jamie and Olivia start on a path of lust and desire but soon it becomes more for both of them, they have many obstacles in their way and both with stigmas to deal with. Will luck be on their side or will their pasts predict their future.

Welcome to book two of Victoria Dahl’s Donovan family trilogy with middle child Jamie’s story and like in book one she delves deeply into family dynamics and dysfunction where roles and rules are constantly changing and not always for the better. Her dialogue is trendy, fun and at times a bit raw but it goes too well with the tales to not fit. Her characters are brilliant in the novel as they seem so three dimensional you’re surprised they don’t leap off the page and not just the stars of the story but the minor players as well. The romance, ah the romance is complicated, it’s engaging, it’s emotional and it’s a balm for the true romantic. Her hero & heroine are two parts of the same coin and as the romance progresses you’ll be able to see for yourself how much they belong together. The love scenes, well I’ll  suggest you read them near a source of extreme cold as it will produce extreme heat, combustible heat.

The balance between the romance and the family drama is what makes this novel and it’s trilogy siblings so remarkable as is the way in which this very talented author tells her story and that makes this my first must read for October.
This reads well as a stand a lone, but they’re called trilogies for a reason.
Thank you Ms. Dahl for another wonderful visit to the Donovan family, their brewery and their loves.
Buy the book here visit the author’s website here.

Review of Where All The Dead Lie by JT Ellison

Where All The Dead Lie
JT Ellison
Mira
368 pages
ISBN 13: 9780778312380

As Taylor recovers physically from the injuries she sustained at the hands of the ultimate madman serial killer known as the Pretender (So Close The Hand of Death) she finds her mental health not healing as well. She fights between feeling betrayed by Baldwin’s secrets to quilt over the harm to Sam and other’s she believes she’s responsible for. She’s been offered solace from a place she’s not sure she should trust, but it’s either run to Memphis Highsymthe or run screaming from all her demons.  With more reasons to go than to stay she finds herself on the bonnie Scottish shores only to find more than she bargained for in more ways than one.

 JT Ellison knows how to keep her audience not just perched on the edge of their seats but nearly falling off them from the tension. We’ve seen the ultimate warrior and strong Taylor in the past and now we’re exposed to a very vulnerable, and much more insecure side. Her story line is exquisite as she shows us her talent front and center where she deals with the ghosts that haunt Taylor and at the same time slipping in another all together different unbelievable plot point that JT is such as expert at. Her characters all deserve awards and not only the good guys because her bad guys could go into the Hall of Fame of evil doers. Her dialogue always impresses me but she goes above and beyond in that aspect too and as you read the novel you will see the not so subtle changes from the US to the UK speak she uses, in fact I can almost hear that Scottish Brogue rolling off the characters tongues. Taylor is the ultimate complex character and one that after all these years I’ve never tired of and with Baldwin as her counterpoint they steal the show.

Fans of Lisa Gardner and Lisa Jackson will love this series, these characters and this phenomenal author. If this is your first journey with Taylor it does okay as a stand a lone but the backstory is especially important to this novel and reading the previous in the series will answer the many questions that you’ll have.

JT thanks once again for shortness of breath, pounding heart and racing pulse, I’m never the same after finishing one of your books, but that’s a good thing.
Buy the book here, visit the author’s website here.

Sample Recipes from Debbie Macomber's Christmas Cookbook

Here are some recipes compliments of Harlequin
Thanks HQN
I think I'll get a head start on my holiday cooking.
Enjoy!!

Review of Debbie Macomber's Christmas Cookbook

Debbie Macomber’s Christmas Cookbook
Harlequin
240 pages
ISBN 13: 9780373982396

Whether you’re looking for old favorites or new traditions to add to your Holiday table it will be in this wonderful cookbook. It covers anything and everything you need to make a Holiday table something special from Merry Morning Breakfasts to Cooking with Grandma, Baked Gifts and Crafts plus you’ll find plenty of room in the back to add your own favorites to refer to year after year.
Inside it’s hardbound pages you will also find beautifully illustrated photos and many recipes that came down from Debbie’s family. At the introduction to each section Debbie will tell a special story that will bring back your own special holiday moments and memories I know they did for me. It’s obvious that she put something very special of herself inside this cookbook just like what her fans expect every time they open one of her novels and she takes this one step further by putting something very personal on each of these 240 pages of treats for the palate, the eyes and the stomach. She covers everything from sweet to savory and all the in between too from table setting, place holders and gifts from the oven and from the heart.
To share a personal note, when mine arrived in the mail my mother happened to be visiting and she was planning on spending most of the Christmas season with my sister, but upon seeing the wonderful recipes inside the book she altered her plans and will be instead staying with me, which makes me very happy.
It makes a wonderful gift as well as a keepsake and if you want your mother to spend the holidays with you make sure you have a copy she can see, or if you happened to want her to stay, say at your sister’s home instead make sure you get your sister a copy for a very early Christmas present.
If you didn’t love Debbie Macomber before you will now as she shares with us a very personal part of herself. Thank you Debbie!
Buy the book here, visit the author’s website here.