Publisher: Berkley
Reviewed by: Kate Garrabrant
3 stars

Rafe Ramsey’s brother is the Earl of Axebridge, but because his older brother hasn’t produced any children after ten years of marriage, Rafe is feeling pressure to marry and secure his succession. Although all his friends have fallen in love and are happily married, he believes love is for fools and has no interest in marriage. With a betrothal on the horizon, Rafe has one last chance to enjoy his freedom as a bachelor.

Meanwhile, Lady Cleeve believes her missing granddaughter is alive after twelve years. After her son died, she thought she was all alone in the world, until an artist who visited his family in India six years ago showed her a sketch of a father and his daughter. This man and his child were living in Egypt and now Lady Cleeve wants someone to venture to Egypt to see if this girl in the picture is still living and is her granddaughter. Rafe happily volunteers to go on this wild-goose chase.

There is a girl who looks very much like Lady Cleeve’s granddaughter and lives on the street of Cairo dressed as a boy. She is Ayisha and when word gets out that an English man is looking for the thirteen year old girl in the picture, she knows she is in trouble. Six years ago when her father was still alive, one of his friends from England stayed with them and drew her. She never thought the drawing would amount to anything. Ayisha may be poor and pretend to be something she is not, but she is content with her life. She thinks she can stay in the shadows and wait for Rafe to give up on his search, But Rafe is too persistent and cunning. He finds Ayisha and wants her to return to England with him.

Ayisha refuses to do what Rafe wants. She has a very big secret and if she goes back with Rafe, it will come out and her life and identity will be in shatters. Rafe finds Ayisha to be a mystery he wants to solve. He can’t understand why she would want to stay in a place where she is always looking over her shoulder, when she could be protected and have everything at her fingertips. Rafe will do whatever he can to make Ayisha see reason, even if he has to seduce her to get what he wants.

To Catch a Bride has moments of intrigue and mystery that readers will enjoy. It was a nice change of pace to read about a different setting than the normal everyday scenario of London, England. Rafe and Ayisha are very intelligent, sneaky and stubborn characters. They refuse to back down from what they want and it was enjoyable to see them dance around one another.

The main question regarding Ayisha and who she really is will have you guessing throughout the story. Anne Gracie does a pretty good job at that. Ayisha seems to have it too easy and pat with the way her life has gone. She is one of those amazing heroines who is able to make the best of things even though she is surrounded by danger and men who wouldn’t mind using her body in horrible ways. She is a pretty well rounded and a tough young woman with a great deal of luck on her side.

I wish I could say I enjoyed the banter and chemistry that Ayisha and Rafe have, but after awhile I found these two had nothing really in common. Rafe does admire Ayisha and she cannot deny her attraction towards him, but other than that, I really can’t see them so in love with one another. There is nothing really between them that pulls them towards one another. I just can’t see their relationship as a lasting one. Rafe reminded me too much of a knight rescuing a damsel in distress, but at no point was Ayisha ever really in danger. I actually preferred the secondary story more with Ayisha’s adopted mother and the English gentleman she goes to work for over Rafe and Ayisha’s romance.

To Catch a Bride has its moments, but towards the end, I found my mind wandering and wanted to move onto something else. But, if you are in the mood for a plucky heroine and the strong dashing man who wants to save her, as well as an exotic locale, give this one a read.

Publisher: Avon
Reviewed by: Kate Garrabrant
Stars: 2.0

The former leader of the Bastion Club, Dalziel,  has returned to his childhood home after the death of his father. Dalziel is the new Duke of Wolverstone and has been estranged from his family for sixteen long years. When he discovers Minerva Chesterton residing at Wolverstone castle as its chatelaine, he is pleasantly surprised. He barely remembers Minerva as the young girl who used to follow him around. Now she is an attractive and intelligent woman and one Royce would like to get to know better.

Minerva will not be romanced by the likes of Royce. She is very much out of his league and he must marry an established woman that can run his household. Yet, Royce thinks Minerva would be perfect as his wife despite the fact that she runs from him at every turn. Royce will not be denied. He is use to getting what he wants and he wants Minerva. When it comes to a man like Royce, former spymaster, Minerva won’t be able to keep Royce from seducing her into his bed.

Mastered by Love is the final book in Stephanie Laurens Bastion Club series. I was anxiously awaiting Dalziel’s story because he was such a mystery in the previous books of this series. Dalziel is a typical Laurens hero, the kind of hero her readers have always enjoyed, but after so many books they seem to have a strange sense of déjà vu, I would have to say that Mastered By Love was a big disappointment. The majority of this book is very cut and dry with the reader being privy to Royce’s internal muses about his angst over his father and his desires to get under Minerva’s skirts. Again, this has a strange sense of been there, done that.

Minerva is a spunky character who is very much Royce’s equal. She acts as a proper young woman of her station but the moment Royce’s smoldering eyes touch her body, she is lost in his spell. We have seen this before in a Laurens’ novel; the heroine will fight tooth and nail to deny the hero, and after many long winded scenes of kissing and touching that go on for countless pages, the heroine finally succumbs to the touch of the lusty hero.

Once upon a time I found Stephanie Lauren’s writing and books to be some of the most luscious reads on the market. Mastered By Love is a very pale comparison to what was once great writing by an author who made historical romance the best it could be.

Those who are still fans of Laurens will probably not mind the long winded paragraphs of internal dialogue and longing from both the hero and heroine. I for one could not keep an interest and was close to not finishing.

Jessica Trent, from Loretta Chase’s 1995 historical romance Lord of Scoundrels, reminds me so much of Scarlett. Jessica is just as tenacious. She will not fail and will do whatever she can to achieve greatness and acceptance. Whereas Scarlett wanted a physical place to belong, Jessica wants to belong and be accepted by one man who is not afraid to take what she has to offer. Sebastian Ballister, the Marquess of Dain (a hero unlike the historical romance heroes I have read in the past) is just such a man; and his tortured personality and good looks make an impression on Jess. What’s refreshing about the way Jessica is with Dain is that she is just like him in his thinking and desires. Some may think Jess and Dain are complete opposites but I don’t see that at all. And when it comes to Dain, Jess is a woman who is there to take control of the situation and take Dain in hand.

The initial reaction I had to the way Jessica “handles” Dain, is that she wants him pussy whipped. Jessica is able to make Dain into a whimpering lust addled fool because she is a woman who uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants. She tortures Dain just by existing. The way she talks and walks and won’t allow Dain to step all over her is what makes her an amazing heroine. If Loretta wanted, she could have written Jess as spoiled and a bit of a harpy, but she makes sure Jess never enters into this territory. While Jessica is in combat with Dain, mainly because Dain refuses to let Jess into his heart, she also treats him with consideration and respect.

My favorite scenes are the ones where Jess admits her attraction to Dain even when he can’t see what is so appealing about himself or what would make Jess want to be with him. Jess’s reaction to Dain is not one where her heart thumps faster or she is overheated and feels like she will swoon whenever he enters the room. Instead, Jess is a woman who has a very strong physical reaction to Dain, as much as he has to her, and she would love to seduce Dain. If she were allowed.

Dain is lost the moment he meets Jess. He tries to shock her, but she is not easily shocked. And half way through the novel the tables are turned and Dain is shocked by what Jess does to him.

One of my favorite scenes is where they are engaged and where Jess has the final say and all she has to do is crook her finger and Dain will come running. They become engaged when Dain ruins Jess during a ball, she retaliates and shoots him.  That is when they decide to marry. Dain takes Jess out in his curricle. She is jealous because she refuses to share Dain with any woman, especially the tarts he has been with in the past. Jess has to resort to dirty tactics and hit him where it hurts. She will make Dain suffer just by describing what she is going to wear on her wedding night:

“I should not have put the modiste to so much trouble about the negligee.”

“The what?”

“It was ghastly expensive,” she said. “but the silk is fine as gossamer, and the eyelet work around the neckline is exquisite… only Cyprians wear such things, and it leads nothing to the imagination.”

Jessica heard him suck in his breath, felt the muscular thigh tense against hers.

…”What color?” he asked. His low voice had roughened.

“Wine red,” she said. “With narrow black ribbons threaded through the neckline. Here.” She traced a plunging U over her bosom. “And there’s the loveliest openwork over my… well, here.” She drew her finger over the curve of her breast a bare inch above the nipple…”

“Jess.” In one furry of motion, he threw down the reins and hauled her into his lap.

… She looked up. He was scowling malevolently at his big, gloved hand. “You,” he growled. “Plague take you.”

She tilted her head back. “I’ll return it, if you wish. The nightgown.”

…”No, you won’t.” he said. Then his mouth, hard and hungry, fell upon hers, dragging over her lips and through to punish her.

But what Jessica tasted was victory.

That is one of many scenes where Jessica controls the situation. From the tone of the conversation to the way she acts, she leads Dain to the point where he sees red and pounces on her, and from there, well you know what happens. And the thing is, Jess wants it all. She is always in control and will give herself, totally and without reservation to a man who knows his worth. She is one heroine from literature that cannot be compared to any and has a permanent place in my heart as one of my all time favorite heroines.

How does Jessica rate with you? Is there another heroine you can think of where the hero is putty in her hands?

Reviewed by: Kate Garrabrant
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
3.5  Stars

Ally Giordano is ready to leave New York City and move to San Francisco where she has her dream job teaching English to the tenth-grade at one of the most progressive and successful high schools in the country. The only down side to this is leaving her eighty-four year old grandmother Donny. Ally has always relied on Granny Donny ever since she took Ally in when her parent’s split when she was barely a teenager. But Granny Donny has been acting very strange lately. Granny has dementia and thinks she is living during the regency period in the 19th century. She wants Ally to find a duke and that is where playboy Sam Carson comes into the picture.

Sam is from England and has lived in American ever since he was disowned from his family after he married a woman who was less than ideal. His marriage was very short lived because his wife became sick and died. Sam never wants to get married again and when he meets the very stiff and proper Ally, he knows she is the least likely woman he would ever consider. He goes along with Granny Donny because he doesn’t want to hurt the old lady and enjoys teasing her granddaughter. Ally thinks Sam is a womanizer and would have been perfect living in the regency period as a rake. Granny Donny wants to vacation at her summer home in Long Island and instead of using a car, she decides on a horse and carriage to take her there. Sam feels very protective of Ally and Donny and will join them for the ride even though Ally acts like she can’t stand him.

By accident Sam picks up and reads The Dulcet Duke. This is the book Donny read which made her think she is living as a Lady of the ton. Sam is insulted because after reading this regency romance, he comes to the conclusion that Ally doesn’t like him because he is so much like the rakish hero in the book. Sam will act like the Duke and treat Ally like the heroine Veronica. Ally at first finds it disturbing that Sam is play acting, but she can’t help but get swept off her feet by Sam’s undertones, which lead to some interested bed play between the two.

Soon Sam and Ally become close and Sam wants Ally to remain in his life and allow herself to love him. But Ally is afraid to love someone like Sam who she thinks goes through women like Kleenex. It is up to Sam to show Ally that he may be a cad in spirit but he is really her prince charming she has always been waiting for.

How To Tame a Modern Rogue is a light and fluffy romance that will bring forth the laughs. Sam is delightful and a wonderful man who is caring and sweet, but a bit of a rogue in the sense that he thinks he has so much to offer women. He gets flustered because he can’t understand why Ally won’t fall into his arms. He has to work hard at gaining her respect. Because Ally has been hurt in the past, mainly because of her parents, she is wary of allowing Sam into her life. He acts too smooth for her tastes but she changes her opinion when she sees how respectful he is towards her grandmother.

Diana Holoquist builds the attraction between Sam and Ally to the point you can’t wait for them to act on it even if they are playing roles. The love scenes are spicy because Sam pretends to be a duke who has seduced Veronica. And because Ally has some reservations because of the person she is, allowing herself to have a bit of fun with Sam was pleasant to read.

Granny Donny is a hoot and her horse and carriage driver, Mateo has some great insight on what Sam and Ally are experiencing. The journey from Manhattan to Long Island makes for great reading. I found myself chuckling a few times.

How To Tame A Modern Rogue is perfect for Summer reading or a trip to the beach.

My Wicked Marquess is the first book in “The Inferno Club” series from Gaelen Foley. Max. St. Albans, Marquess of Rotherstone has returned to England after Napoleon has been defeated. Max is part of a top secret group called the Order of St. Michael. The Order is in a constant fight against the evil Promethean Council who want to take over Europe. These two groups have been after each other for hundreds of years. Max is now retired from the Order and has a new mission. He must find the perfect woman to marry and settle down with and begin to produce some heirs. He has been given a list of five suitable women from his solicitor. One candidate from the list, a Miss Daphne Starling, catches his eye. Daphne is the darling on the ton and is very kind and generous. Daphne helps those who cannot help themselves. She ends up going into dangerous places where no respectable woman should even know about. Daphne enjoys helping the orphan children who are close to ending up on the streets.

While Daphne is tending to her orphans, she is almost attacked by some unruly men. Max, who has been watching her from a brothel, comes to her aid. Max is very good at donning disguises and pretends to be a drunk and takes on the gang who would do Daphne harm. Daphne is grateful to this mysterious stranger, even though he looks like he can’t hold his liquor and has just come from a house of ill repute. Max saves the day and decides that Daphne is the woman for him.

The next time Daphne and Max see each other is at a ball. Daphne is surprised by the change in Max. She is not sure what to make of him and when Daphne hears the rumors about Max, especially the one about him being nicknamed the Demon Marquess, she knows she should keep her distance from him. Max likes a challenge and he will do whatever he can to seduce the fair Daphne so she has no choice but to become his wife.

These two try to outwit each other. Daphne doesn’t want to settle down and Max wants her to become his Demon Marchioness. Max has quite a handful with Daphne on his hands and also has to make sure that Daphne never finds out about his affiliation with the Order. In order to keep her safe, he must lie to her. And when Daphne figures out that Max lives another life full of spying and intrigue, she is heartbroken. Max may have thought spying was hard, but when it comes to a woman’s heart, he will have the ultimate challenge in gaining her trust and love.

I have found the past few books by Gaelen Foley to be either hits or misses. You never can tell with an author like Ms. Foley. But I am happy to say that My Wicked Marquess it not one of the misses. This book is better improvement that has some laughs and great interaction between Max and Daphne. Max is an adorable hero who has a nice personality and doesn’t venture too far into the tortured and angsty territory. He is a well rounded character even with his past where he was forced into joining the Order and has never forgiven his parents for making him. But Max rolls with the punches. Daphne may come across as too perfect because she is the type of heroine who wants to save every parentless child in the world. If she saw a sick animal on the street, she would probably take it home and care for it. I loved how Daphne doesn’t fall right into Max’s arms. Max has a bit of an ego and can’t understand why Daphne wouldn’t want to be his wife and give her all the things in the world.

The only downside to My Wicked Marquess is the way too overused storyline of various English lords who are spies for the country. Foley ends up using a great deal of unneeded pages all about this Order Max is a part of and a secondary plot about one of his spy friend being tortured and taken by the enemy. I found that to be incredibly boring and wanted to action to stay on Max’s wooing Daphne. Foley is a very talented writer, especially when it comes to the relationship between the hero and heroine, but this whole drama about underground spies is getting a bit out of hand.

My Wicked Marquess has some nice moments and Max and Daphne have great chemistry. If you don’t mind waddling through pages of spy action, this is one historical romance you will enjoy.

Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont has an interesting history with Lord Lexham’s daughter, Zoe Octavia. When a ten-year-old Lucien lost his parents, his father’s best friend, who happened to be Lexham, took him and his brother Gerard into his home. Lucian and Gerard were quite welcomed into the Lexham brood. But the child who makes the most impression on Lucian, is five-year-old Zoe Octavia. Zoe was there always annoying Lucien and getting into trouble. She had a bad habit of running away and not doing what she is told. And because of that unfortunate trait, Zoe Octavia goes missing for years. When she was twelve, her parents took her on a tour of the eastern Mediterranean. It is public knowledge that Zoe bolted from her parents and was kidnapped, lost forever, never to be found again. Lexham spent years trying to find his youngest daughter, but failed. Lucian grew up, trying to forget the young girl that found her way into his heart. Twelve years later, Zoe Octavia is found, and Lucien’s life will change in so many ways.

The Lexham family, especially her sisters, don’t know what to make of this young woman who was held captive and part of the harem in the palace of Yusri Pasha. Zoe was able to escape and now her parents have welcomed her back with open arms. But in the eyes of society, Zoe is ruined. They need to hire a tutor to teach her the ways of British society. And that is where Lucien comes in. Lucien has no choice but to accept because he owes Lexham so much. He will help Zoe find a husband and teach her the acceptable ways of a proper British lady.

Zoe Octavia knows how to navigate her way around people, especially Lucien. She wouldn’t mind marrying him. She tells him of her skills at lovemaking and is very knowledgeable about the ways between a man and a woman. Everyone around her seems shocked by her blatant words. Lucien is at his wits end because Zoe constantly does what she wants to do without any concern for her safety and well being. She refuses to listen to him and tries to handle him. He will not be handled by some blonde goddess whose kisses are sweet and is willing to enjoy more pleasures in parks and secluded carriages with him.

Zoe wants Lucien and she definitely knows he wants her. She will try her best to tempt the man who always held her heart, waiting for her to return to him.

Loretta Chase is a master storyteller and she has done it again with Don’t Tempt Me. Her words and characters are amazing to read. This is one historical romance you will not want to miss especially with Zoe Octavia, who has one of the best names for a heroine I have read in years. It is great to watch Lucien, who is so set in his ways, become so topsy turvy because of Zoe. Lucien walks through life bored, that is until Zoe comes along and makes him feel again.

The way Zoe and Lucien interact is oh, so good. It was so fun to watch Lucien become jealous because Zoe’s father thinks she should meet more single men. Lucian can’t stand it and decides to claim her in one hot and scorching love scene in a carriage.

Zoe Octavia is a character you will not soon forget and Don’t Tempt Me is one of my favorite historicals I have read this year. Don’t miss out on this wonderful book. It is a very tempting read.

Every woman in Texas has a dirty little secret that could destroy her reputation and ruin her name forever. Kathleen Connor King’s major secret is that she is dirt poor even though she was born a King, as in “the Kings” from Houston. Her family owned most of the oil in the surrounding counties. Kathleen is also considered eccentric, but in a good way from the clothes she wears to the charity events she is in charge of. She is known as a trendsetter even though she can barely rub two pennies together.

Kathleen lives with her long term boyfriend Dylan Grant who is the love of her life. Dylan is the only one who knows her dirty little secret and still loves her desperately. Kathleen is his sunshine and joy all rolled into one. He couldn’t imagine lying in bed with anyone else or sharing his life with anyone else. Dylan’s father, Butch Grant suddenly dies and with him leaves behind a whole world of woe. Dylan hated his boozing, gambling, womanizing abusive father with every sense of his being and even in death Butch is giving his son the middle finger. It seems that Butch lost a mineral lease that has been in the Grant family ever since they settled in Texas in 1874. The interest from the lease that keeps Dylan and his younger brother Wyatt in style was gambled away in a poker game fifteen years ago to Bo Harlan. Butch and Bo made a deal that Butch would keep the rights to all the minerals flowing from the well until he died, then all the remaining mineral interested would pass to Bo Harlan. Dylan is enraged but can’t do anything about it. He is now dead broke just like Kathleen.

Wyatt has a plan to steal back the lease from Bo even if it means breaking the law. Wyatt has a lot riding on this because he owes five-hundred in gambling debts to a slick Vegas bookie. Dylan has no choice but to join in on his brother’s crazy scheme. And then there is Kathleen who has her own plan up her sleeve to save her man. And, if she can get an engagement ring from Dylan out of the deal, all the better.

Don’t Let It Be True is a rip roaring laugh out loud tale that will have you hooked from page one. Jo Barrett sure knows how to bring out the laughs and with characters you can’t help but love to pieces. Dylan and Kathleen have to be my favorite couple of the year because of their love and devotion to one another. And they also don’t mind each other’s wackiness. These two are everything you would hope a loving couple would have with one another. Even though times are tough, they still have time to turn to one another and have some hot sex.

This is one screwball comedy that would be great on the big screen. Not only will Dylan and his brother’s antics have you in stitches, but their other partners in crime, who are out for the next big thing also bring out the laughs. Every single one of Jo’s characters are endearing and basically good people. By the end you can’t help but want the story to continue because they have all touched your heart in a wonderful ways.

Don’t Let It Be True is an outstanding read that I will not soon forget.

Anna Randall has traveled from Los Angeles, California to a charity event in Chicago, Illinois to confront the vampire Conde Cezar. Anna blames Cezar for changing her into an immortal almost two-hundred years ago. Anna first met Cezar during a ball in London in the year 1814. Cezar took both her virginity and blood that night. When she awoke the next morning he was gone and her life was ruined. She wants Cezar to pay for what he did to her. But when she sees him again after all these years, a rush of lust for him flows throughout her body.

Cezar paid the price for seducing the innocent Anna. Cezar is at the mercy of the Oracles who have made Cezar’s immortal life hell. The Oracles were protecting Anna from harm because she possesses the blood of the ancients and a very strong magic that Morgana la Fay, the Queen of the Fairies wants. She will even kill Anna if she has to. Now that Anna has come back into his life, Cezar won’t let her go. He will protect her or die trying.

Anna longs for a normal life but now that she is being chased by some crazed fairy queen and is surrounded by Cezar’s friends who live in the darkness and kill without warning she has no choice but to embrace the part of her she has always ignored. Cezar is so protective of her and longs to make Anna his mate. But because of his destiny and the danger that surrounds Anna, they may not have a chance at a future together. Cezar will not lose Anna even if he has to defy the Oracles to have forever in her arms.

Fans of this on-going series by Alexandra Ivy will not be disappointed in Darkness Revealed. Her vampire world and the men that inhabit it are a woman’s dream come true. These are men who would die for the women they love and so is the case of Cezar and his love for Anna. I found this couple to be a nice pair. Their chemistry was fabulous and Cezar is a great hero. I couldn’t seem to warm up to Anna because she comes across a bit too naïve for being over two-hundred years old. She also wasn’t as dimensional as Cezar was. I think part of the problem was that we know nothing of how she survived as an immortal. We are given a very brief overview that wasn’t satisfactory enough for my tastes. Also I find it a bit too perfect that both these characters haven’t been intimate with anyone else after their brief night together. The reasons for Cezar abstaining makes sense, but for Anna I found it too pat. If I were a two-hundred year old immortal, I would have some experiences under my belt. But on the other hand it is pretty romantic that Anna didn’t want anyone else by Cezar.

The dialogue and interaction between Cezar and Anna are nice, especially when they talk about their passion for one another. Of course that leads to some loving between the two and Alexandra excels with her love scenes. The other characters that appear are a lively bunch. The evil Morgana is a bit of cartoonish villain, but she serves her purpose in bring drama and tension to the story.

Overall, Darkness Revealed was a pleasing read.

Lady Caroline Wynn is a widow who has a horrendous marriage. Now that her husband is dead she wants to enjoy life and live by her own rules. There is a rumor among the Ton that London’s two most notorious rakes the Earl of Manderville and the Duke of Rothway have placed a very scandalous public wager on which one of them is the better lover. Now they need to find a woman willing to test their expertise. Lady Caroline is willing to take the biggest risk of her life and be that woman and find the ultimate pleasure in either of these men’s arms.

Nicholas and Derek are the best of friends and have made the bet all in good fun. They don’t expect a woman to actually come forward. Derek is suffering because the one woman he loves beyond all reason is engaged to another man and Nicholas has become so disillusioned ever since a woman he loved in his past betrayed him. They are both in for a surprise when the well known icy widow Wynn comes to them to welcome their seductions.

Caroline will be at the disposal of Nicholas first for one week at his country estate in Essex. There he will teach Caroline the pleasures of the flesh and show her that sex can be a wonderful thing between a man and a woman. After that week, Caroline will be with Derek and afterward she will pick the better lover. Nicholas finds Caroline to be one of the most intriguing women he has ever met. He doesn’t find her cold at all as they enjoy each other for the week. They both learn about each other’s wants and desires. Nicholas can hardly believe Caroline when she talks about her marriage and how unloved she felt, especially by a husband who found her so lacking in bed. Nicholas doesn’t find Caroline lacking in anyway and as the week comes to a close he wants her with him always.

Caroline doesn’t want to be tied down to a man in either remarriage or as a mistress. Already she has broken her own rules by falling for Nicholas and now must go to Derek to finish the bet. But Nicholas wants Caroline all to himself and it kills him that Caroline will jump into another man’s bed after their incredible and passionate love affair. Nicholas must try and show Caroline that he is the only man for her that will cherish her and love her and not settle for an indecent proposition.

In the mood for a luscious love story with two amazing men who are superior in bed and in life? Then Emma Wildes’ An Indecent Proposition is the book for you. Emma Wildes has written a lovely historical romance where sex and love is the ultimate game where winner takes all. You really feel for Caroline who was treated so callously by her deceased husband. Most of the men in her life are horrible. Caroline’s father has practically disowned Caroline after she became a wife and now as a widow her husband’s vile cousin Franklin is yapping at her heels for her fortune and body. She is not sure how to handle Nicholas because all the men she has known have been the worst kind and she can’t help but group Nicholas with them. It is up to Nicholas to show Caroline that even though he may be a rake, he has a heart and wants Caroline to see it. He helps her heal by listening to her and with his kisses and touches.

The secondary storyline with Derek and his undying love for Annabel, his uncle’s ward will tug at your heart. Derek yearns for his Annie, but because of something that happened between them years ago, she has turned her back on him thinking he is the worst kind of man. It is up to Derek to show he has changed.

I have always been a fan of Emma Wildes’ books when she began writing for various on-line publishers. I am so glad that she had branched out into the mainstream print world. An Indecent Proposition is one book historical romance fans will not want to pass up.

NYPD Office Lara Boucher and her partner are called to the Plaza on Fifth Avenue to break up a loud and rowdy party. What she finds there is quite shocking. The man who answers the door is the most beautiful man she has ever seen. But even though he may be quite the looker, this won’t stop her from investigating a party gone too wild. She finds a man on the floor covered in blood, swords and knives lying around and a sex doll in one of the beds. Mister sexy pants has some explaining to do and she is going to cuff him and hail him down to the precinct for some questioning.

Two hundred year old Giacomo, also known as Jack, can’t believe he was left to clean up his friend’s mess of a bachelor party. Things got a little out of control because everyone got drunk on too much Blissky which is a drink for vampires made of synthetic blood, mixed with alcohol. Now it is up to Jack to erase the memory of these two police officers even though he is distracted by the lovely Officer Boucher. But Jack has a small problem; Lara will not succumb to his mind powers.

Things become even more confusing for Lara because she remembers everything perfectly about that night, especially Jack, even though her partner and other people in the hotel don’t. Something strange is afoot and Lara won’t rest until she finds out what it is. Lara may be a former Miss Teen Louisiana, but she also has quite the brain along with her looks. She is so tenacious that she even finds a way to sneak into a wedding where Jack is. Jack doesn’t know how to get rid of Lara, even though he would love to have her around, but can’t for the obvious reasons.

Lara is put on a case where female college students have gone missing. No one seems to know anything. It is like they have memory loss, exactly the same situation that happened at the hotel. Lara decides to go undercover to expose the criminals responsible. Everywhere she turns, Jack is there. He wants to help her because he knows that one of his kind may be behind the kidnappings. These two team up and Lara begins to fall in love with Jack. He even shows her a small part of his world, but wonders if she can accept him for who he is.

I can always count on Kerrelyn Sparks to deliver a great story. I have been a fan of her  Love at Stakes books since the beginning. They never get old and they are nice vampire romances with some laughs and wonderful characters. Secret Life of a Vampire will not disappoint her fans, especially with Jack, the sexy Italian vampire who is the son of Casanova. Jack is at odds with his sexual nature because he doesn’t want to be like his father who was quite the seducer of women. Jack wants to be a one woman type of guy and the woman he decides on is Lara.

Lara is a great heroine. She reacts to Jack exactly as I would. She is very attracted to him, but so unnerved around him because of his abilities. At one point she thought he was an alien! That gave me a good chuckle and she is not too thrilled that he can enter her mind and whisper those oh so naughty things he would love to do with her. Even though she knows Jack is not a typical human, she tries to accept who he is, and the way he woos her is wonderful.

The mystery of the missing college co-eds was a bit out there, but what I really enjoyed was the fact that Lara rushes to their rescue. She puts her life in danger to help those in trouble because it is part of her job. Kudos for Kerrelyn for writing a female character who doesn’t necessarily need a man to keep her safe. Lara could handle things quite well on her own and made sure Jack understood this.

Secret Life of a Vampire is perfect for vampire fans where the woman finds the man of her dreams but makes sure that he knows they are equal partners in their relationship. Kerrelyn has written another book that will make you laugh, sigh at the love scenes and have you wishing for you own sexy vampire, especially one that can teleport you to Italy at a moment’s notice.