Saddled and Spurred by Lorelei James

Title : Saddled and Spurred
Author : Lorelei James
Genre : Contemporary Romance, Erotic
Pages : 336
Series : Book #2, Blacktop Cowboys
Publish Date : March 01, 2011
Publisher : NAL Trade
Started Reading : March 14, 2011
Completed Reading : March 15, 2011
Book Rating : 4/5


This beauty is no greenhorn-and she's about to rope the man of her dreams.

Cattleman Bran Turner is left shorthanded during busy calving season when a bull tramples his hired hand. Rural Wyoming isn't exactly a hotbed of qualified candidates, and the only applicant for the position is the pampered town beauty, Harper Masterson. The curvy cowgirl gets under Bran's skin at every turn, but with no other options, he reluctantly hires her.

When sexual sparks ignite, down-on-her-luck Harper enjoys convincing Bran that not only is she capable of pulling calves, feeding livestock, and handling backbreaking ranch chores, but she doesn't mind getting down and dirty, either. Harper also discovers the hot-bodied cowboy isn't all work and no horseplay...and he's got more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

Bran will learn quickly that Harper is no country mouse-and that she might just have what it takes to stick around for the long haul.

*****

Wow! This was racier than I thought. LOL.. and that would be saying something since I've been reading all these romances lately. Hahaha.. Anyways, I guess it just caught me off-guard and wasn't expecting this to be that. Hindi ko na-research si writer. Nyahahah.. Anyways, overall, I did enjoy the story and I'm not even a fan of Cowboys.. I really loved Harper's character - her strength, her loyalty... her trying to push herself up as being more than a beauty queen. And of course Bran is all-male hot cowboy. hahaha... :)

Really enjoyable read.. I should go and now look for Coralled, the first in the series.

Yours For The Taking by Robin Kaye

Title : Yours For The Taking
Author : Robin Kaye
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Pages : 384
Publish Date : January 01, 2011
Publisher : Sourcebook Casablanca
Started Reading : March 13, 2011
Completed Reading : March 14, 2011
Book Rating : 4/5

Gina is convinced that he is either gay... or her perfect match

He might be too good to be true...

Ben Walsh should be single. Handsome and wealthy, Ben is equally at home in Idaho where he grew up and in Manhattan where he's now an art dealer. Suave and successful with impeccable taste, he normally has women beating down his door. But the one woman he wants can't be convinced that he's for real...

And she doesn't have the luxury of believing in fairy tales...

Gina Reyez has fought for every bit of her success, and it's about time for things to start going her way. So when Ben makes a proposal that will allow her to take care of her family the way she wants to, she agrees. Besides, a guy this perfect would never be interested in her...right?

By the time Gina figures out that she's read Ben all wrong, their lives have become intertwined, and seriously complicated...

*****

I really loved this book. Gina was kick-ass :). I find her cute and sassy and strong. Ben Walsh is gorgeous, sweet and so-not gay! haha.. :) I enjoyed how they got together. And as always, I enjoy not just the main characters but also the rest as well. I love Ben's family (I wonder if the upcoming books of R. Kaye would feature them?.. hope so!). I love Ben's grandfather as well.

This is really one entertaining book. I really hope I get to see R. Kaye's books in our local bookstores! I definitely would love a hardcopy of them :)

Turn It Up by Vivian Arend

Title : Turn It Up
Author : Vivian Arend
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Series : Book #2, Turner Twins
Publish Date : February 08, 2011
Publisher : Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Started Reading : March 13, 2011
Completed Reading : March 13, 2011
Book Rating : 3/5


She wants it. He’s got it…and a whole lot more.

Maxwell Turner considers his stubborn and resourceful attitude a plus. After all, it usually gets him what he wants—except for Natasha Bellingham. The long-time family friend may be ten years older than he, but so what? He’s plenty old enough to know they belong together. Now all he has to do is convince her.

Over the past few years Natasha’s love life has degenerated into a series of bad clichés. Her biological clock is ticking—loudly. As a proven architect with her own house-design company, she’s financially ready for a baby. Who says she needs a permanent man in her life for that? She just needs a “donation”.

When Max discovers Natasha’s future plans include artificial insemination, he’s outraged. She wants to get pregnant? No problem. He’s more than willing to volunteer—no turkey basters involved.

But there’s one non-negotiable clause: He wants forever. And he intends to do everything in his power—fair and unfair—to make it happen.

Warning: This title contains one younger man ready, aimed and hell bent on giving one woman everything she wants. Includes interludes against the wall, in a Jacuzzi, on a car hood and even—shockingly enough—on a bed or two. Oh, and about that porch swing? Yup…

*****

I find this story funny and sweet. Max is such a sweetie :). Doing everything to get the girl he wants since time eternal. :) Ang haba ng hair ni Tasha ha! :) LOL.... The Turner family is cute as we see glimpses of how close-knit they were. What I really did not get was Lisa, supposedly Tasha's bestfriend. I mean, what's the deal with her? Why is she so bitter? Why can't she be happy for her Max and Tasha? And I guess, I was kind of hoping that they would be able to close that rift by ending.. Oh well....

Can't Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards

Title : Can't Stand the Heat
Author : Louisa Edwards
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Pages : 368
Publish Date : September 01, 2009
Publisher : St. Martin's Paperbacks 
Started Reading : March 12, 2011
Completed Reading : March 12, 2011
Book Rating : 2.5/5

For sharp-tongued food critic Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an exposé is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. But she never expected Adam to find out her most embarrassing secret: she has no idea how to cook.

Adam’s not about to have his reputation burned by a critic who doesn’t even know the difference between poaching and paring.  He’ll just have to give the tempting redhead a few private lessons of his own—teaching her what it means to cook with passion…and doing more with his hands than simply preparing sumptuous food.

*****

 

It was a cute, OK read. There had been funny and sweet times. I liked Adam but I'm not so taken with Miranda though. I felt like there's something missing with the book. I enjoyed Jess and Frankie's story though...

Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

Title : Fast Women
Author : Jennifer Crusie
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Pages : 436
Publish Date : April 15, 2002
Publisher : St. Martin's Paperbacks 
Started Reading : March 02, 2011
Completed Reading : March 12, 2011
Book Rating : 3/5

Nell Dysart is living a too small life in a too small apartment with no visible evidence of a reason to get up in the morning. Weighed down by an inexplicable divorce and a loss of appetite for everything, Nell is frozen in place, and she’s not alone: Her two closest friends and sisters-in-law are as stuck as she is. Suze is married to a controlling lawyer who keeps her housebound while she perfects an almost zen-like denial, and Margie has been stuck in foggy limbo since her husband disappeared seven years before with a lot of money that didn’t belong to him. Good thing Nell’s new job is with a down-and-out detective agency that has huge potential and a boss who looks easy to manage.

Gabe McKenna isn’t doing too well, either. His detective agency is wasting time on a blackmail case, his partner Riley has decided he hates watching cheating spouses for money, and his ex-wife has just dumped him . . . again. Good thing his new secretary looks efficient, boring, and biddable.

But soon Nell and Gabe are squaring off over embezzlement, business cards, bribery, interior decoration, vandalism, dachshund-napping, blackmail, and unprofessional sex, all of which turn out to be the least of their problems. Because shortly after that, somebody starts killing people. And shortly after that, they start falling in love.

*****

 

No mistaking the writing.. this is from Jennifer Crusie. As always, I enjoyed the quick wit and the funny lines. That the story is not just about the main characters but we also get to know the other characters - Riley, Suze, Chloe, Lu and Jas. One thing though is that for me, I think there are too many things happening or there had been a lot of characters to take note of that I sometimes got lost in the story. LOL...

Dare to Love by Jaci Burton

Title : Dare to Love
Author : Jaci Burton
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Pages : 216
Publish Date : May 01, 2009
Publisher : Samhain
Started Reading : March 10, 2011
Completed Reading : March 11, 2011
Book Rating : 3/5

A romantic game of chicken-and they're both too stubborn to flinch. Lucy Fairchild, lawyer and heiress to the Fairchild fortune, has just had the worst day of her life. Her father has found the perfect man for her to marry. Yes, she's thirty and single, but that doesn't give her father the right to run her life. She'll choose her own husband-someday. Jake Dalton is struggling to make his fledgling construction company a success. Ever mindful of his father's derogatory comments that he'd never amount to anything, he's spent his entire life trying to prove he's not a failure. From their first meeting on a construction site, verbal sparks fly. Their argument escalates into a dare for a date-and the game is on. Lucy thinks Jake is the perfect fake boyfriend to parade around in the hopes of getting her father off her back. Jake is amused by the chance to annoy both Lucy and her dad-he doesn't intend to take the dating thing seriously. But the heart is a fickle thing, and not above playing dirty. In their quest to prove something-to each other, or maybe to themselves-they find themselves building a case.for love. And suddenly all the rules have changed. Warning: This book does NOT contain hot monkey lovin', threesome action or anyone swinging from the chandeliers (sorry 'bout that). It does contain sexy romancin' on a trampoline under the stars, fun one liners, a dog named Rascal and a smokin' hot construction worker named Jake that the author is convinced you're going to fall madly in love with. She dares you to read it.

*****

Sweet and romantic.. another great read from Jaci Burton. People from two different worlds collide. I find Jake and Lucy's story endearing... There's really nothing more to say.. just that I enjoyed it :)

Fridays....

... always give the most awesome news :) :)....

Another update to seal the deal. Konting tiis at antay na lang at malapit na to! :)

Gambatte!

Breakfast In Bed by Robin Kaye

Title : Breakfast In Bed
Author : Robin Kaye
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Pages : 384
Publish Date : December 01, 2009
Publisher : Sourcebook Casablanca
Started Reading : March 10, 2011
Completed Reading : March 10, 2011
Book Rating : 4/5

He'd be Mr. Perfect if he wasn't a perfect mess…

Rich Ronaldi is almost the complete package-smart, sexy, great job-but when his girlfriend dumps him, Rich swears he'll learn to cook and clean just to win her back…

She'll be happy to make him over, but not for another woman…

Rich is the only guy Becca Larsen's ever met who hasn't tried to change her. She's glad to help him master the domestic arts, but she'll be damned if he'll start cooking in another woman's kitchen-or bedroom…

*****

Of the new authors that I've tried for the past week, this is probably my favorite. I was only at the beginning and I know that I like the book. I enjoyed Rich and Becca. I love their bickering, their exchanges. I love the other secondary characters as it also built up the story. And this is what I like about the male lead wherein we found out early on that he loves her but he doesn't become sappy. =p

And now, I'm looking for Robin Kaye's other books ;)

Game For Anything by Bella Andre

Title : Game for Anything
Author : Bella Andre
Genre : Romance
Pages : 304
Publish Date : July 22, 2008
Publisher : Pocket
Started Reading : March 09, 2011
Completed Reading : March 10, 2011
Book Rating : 3/5

He's the Super Bowl hero men idolize and women lust after...the bad-boy quarterback with a dangerous edge. But behind his devil-may-care grin, Ty Calhoun hides a desire that only one woman can ever fulfill -- and a memory he can't shake: high school graduation night...and mind-blowing sex with the untouchable girl of his dreams. He would trade every trophy to feel the heat of her sensual, uninhibited lust once more. And he may get that chance...because she's just been hired by the San Francisco Outlaws' new owner to make over Ty's less-than-angelic reputation.

The country's top image consultant, Julie Spencer is a total pro at cleaning up the messes of the rich and famous. Even working with the man who took her virginity and broke her heart ten years ago can't rattle her. Until he touches her again. One caress -- and one very hot kiss -- is all it takes to spark the same knee-quaking electricity, and soon they're mixing business and extreme pleasure. But knowing the danger this bad boy poses to her heart, Julie is determined to keep her distance.

But Ty has a game plan of his own. The more he misbehaves, the more Julie will have to keep tabs on him -- and the more he can give his dream girl some very real thrills, by showing her just how fun it is to be bad. This time around, he's game for anything...especially winning her heart.

*****

This is an OK read, my first from the author. How the story turned out in the end is something I didn't expect though. I felt like there could be another better turn or twist to it somehow. I wouldn't mind reading another of Bella Andre's books though, maybe I'll find something better... =p

Whatever You Like by Maureen Smith

Title : Whatever You Like
Author : Maureen Smith
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Pages : 288
Publish Date : November 01, 2010
Publisher : Harlequin
Started Reading : March 08, 2011
Completed Reading : March 09, 2011
Book Rating : 2/5

By day, Lena Morrison is an ambitious grant writer. By night, she's an escort to some of Chicago's most successful men. Sex isn't on the menu—Lena's job is to provide her elite clients with comanionship and sparkling conversation. She enjoys the extra income, but even more, Lena loves the empowering feeling of being appreciated for her beauty and her brains.

When tycoon Roderick Brand hires Lena as his date for a private party, their electric attraction leads to the most erotic night of her life. Incredible as the experience is, she vows not to mix work and pleasure again. But Roderick is relentless. His irresistible proposal: three weeks fulfilling all his fantasies, in exchange for a million-dollar grant that will guarantee Lena a major promotion.

Lena can play that game. She'll give him the hottest, wildest sex he's ever had, then she'll walk away, leaving him aching for more. But when it comes to desire, rules—and hearts— are easily broken. And the best-laid plans have a way of working out in ways neither could expect…

*****

It was ok... Though there aren't many characters that were played out in the story. It's just mainly Lena and Roderick. She wasn't going to sleep for money.. but then she did. Oh, and I was little taken-aback that they were black. Simply because the cover didn't look like they were one. I guess, the cover does matter to me on how I'd see the characters. ;)