Too Far Gone by Marliss Melton
Why I read this: Nath review it on her blog and even though she didn't like it I thought that I would like it, so she sent it to me.

Ellie Stuart's life ended the day her children were stolen from her. Driving on a Virginia backroad, Ellie was ambushed by two men who violently pulled her from her car and drove off with her three sons inside. Devastated, Ellie begs the police to bring her babies home. But the authorities wonder if this stressed-out single mom may not be telling the whole truth about what happened that day...

Navy SEAL Sean Harlan agrees to help Ellie find her children, but vows to keep their relationship professional. He's got no room in his life for a woman and her kids--no matter how beautiful she is, or how desperate their situation. But when a sinister organization begins pulling strings behind the scenes, the investigation suddenly targets Sean. Can he and Ellie rescue her children and save themselves? Or are they already...

Three words--Nath was right.
First off, the blurb is misleading. The way it's written makes it sound like she asks him for help, or that he didn't know her before the kids were taken.
A few things; She never asks for his helps. He volunteers, both before and after the kidnapping, to care for the kids. Sean spoils them them toys, games and outings. Once they are kidnapped he is livid and goes out of his way to get them back.

If you look up the word 'inconsistent' in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Sean. (who does not sound at all attractive by the description of him.) He is extremely attracted to Ellie, but over and over again we hear about how he does not date women with children. Then why does he hang around so much? It doesn't make sense that he wont date a mommy because of her kids, but he will still get attached to the kids of someone he is lusting over.
An explanation about that would have been nice, but the author didn't give us one.

Ellie was not an easy character to relate to. As a mother I tend to get emotionaly involved when children are hurt in books. The feeling that come off the pages usually go right to my heart, but that was not the case with Gone Too Far. Anytime Ellie showed grief about her kidnapped sons it rolled off my shoulders. Something was missing, not once did I feel anything for the charaters that would allow me to realate to them.

Romantic Suspense books are a favourite of mine, but this time I could have done without the romance. The sex scenes were misplaced and felt awkward. Almost as if they were thrown in because they had to appear somewhere.

As much as I wanted to like Gone Too Far, and as as much as I thought I would enjoy it, I did not. It's a D book. Everything that one looks for in a romance was missing. Everything one looks for in a good Hero and/or Heroine was missing. IMO, of course.

Unlawful Contact by Pamela Clare
Why I read this: At the start of this month I noticed that a few of this authors books were on several Best and worst lists (in the best category, of course) so I put an order in for them with Chapters. Untamed is the other book I bought.

Taken hostage by a convicted murderer while reporting at a prison, Sophie Alton has no idea that the man holding the gun to her head is the bad boy who was her first love in high school. Condemned to life without parole, Marc Hunter finds himself with no choice but to break out of prison after his younger sister disappears with her baby.

Though he regrets what he has to put Sophie through, he can’t let anything get in the way of his stopping the corrupt officials who are set on destroying what’s left of his family. But being near Sophie rekindles memories for both of them. As the passion between them heats up, so does the conspiracy to put both of them in their graves.

Marc, the hero of this book, is who kept me drawn to Unlawful Contact. He is the prime example of the perfect tortured hero. He had a hard childhood and had some terrible experiences in prison. What he went through in life turned him into a hard man, but it didn't turn him into a sissy man-boy.

The suspense parts were well written. I can usually pin point the bad guy during his or her first scene, but that only happened with one of the bad guys this time.

My favourite part of the whole story was the very end. I'm a sucker for a baby ending. I've made it no secret that, to me, the best love stories wrap up with a pregnancy or a birth.

Sophie was hard to deal with. For someone who is supposed to be such a smart journalist, she sure did have a few too many TSTL moments. For that reason, I'm going with a C+. I liked this book, but Sophie prevents me from ever wanting to read it again. However, I did enjoy it enough to recommend it to others, and I absolutely plan on getting the first two books in the series.

Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard
Published by Simon & Schuster
Why I read this: I heard it was good.

Jaine Bright and three close friends share dinner one night and during casual conversation, create a list of qualifications for the perfect man--some logical, some hilariously funny, some racy. Within days, their tongue-in-cheek wish list of attributes for Mr. Perfect has been leaked to the press and the resultant publicity is overwhelming. Coworkers, TV crews, and reporters barrage the quartet with comments and criticism.

As if Jaine doesn't have enough to cope with, she has a new neighbor who she suspects is a criminal. She's relieved to learn that her neighbor is really an undercover cop, but she's still wary--because smart, sexy Sam Donovan handles her sharp witticisms with easy humor, and Jaine suspects that he may threaten her heart. What Jaine doesn't know is that she's about to need Sam desperately for something other than romance because her circle of friends is in big trouble. Unfortunately, that list of qualifications for Mr. Perfect has touched off a madman's rage. All of their lives are threatened and some of them are going to die, maybe all of them, if Sam can't stop the unknown killer.

Two words. KEEPER SHELF.

Jaine and her 3 best friends put together a list of what the perfect man to them is. It gets out of control when the list is made public and there is a huge uproar. Like the women in the novel, I can't figure out what the big deal was about the list, but hey, it still made for a great story.

One of the women is killed by someone who has a big problem with the list. I figured out the bad guy very early on, and I felt kinda proud of that, because I usually always have the villian wrong.

Sam, who is a police officer and Jaine's next door neighbour helps to protect Jaine and catch the killer. I absolutleye loved the back and forth banter Jaine and Sam had. They are indeed the perfect match.

Mr. Perfect had me sucked in right from the get go. This novel is romantic suspense, but there is just the right amount of both to even it out. Something that surprised me was how many times I laughed out loud. What a pleasant surpise it was to find so many laughs when I least expected it. Every comical moment fit in perfectly with the story line and each scene. Nothing was forced or out of place.

That brings me to another thing about it. The romance. In true suspsens fashion, the H/H fell in love fast, but the flow of it, while reading, felt natural. The love scenes were not just thown in there at odd moments.

Everything from the story, the H/H, the writing style was great. No doubt in my mind that Mr. Perfect is an A book.

Are all novels by this author so good? If so, I have some major back list buying to get to.

Trapped by Chris Jordan

Published by Mira

Why I read this: I was in the mood for a good thriller.

"Mom, I need your help. Please call--"

That's it. The call cuts off in mid sentence. No static. Nothing. Just an
overwhelming silence.

Long Island single mom Jane Hartley is frantic when her sixteen year-old daughter, Kelly, a survivor of childhood leukemia, disappears from her bedroom one night. To Jane's frustration, the police believe that Kelly ran off willingly with her boyfriend, Seth. Unaware that her daughter even had a boyfriend, Jane soon discovers that Seth is no boy. He is an adult -- a man who, after meeting Kelly on MySpace.com, took the teenager on one thrill-seeking ride after another. From motorcycles to skydiving, Jane's little girl has been hiding some dangerous secrets. Like mother, like daughter. Adamant that Kelly is not a runaway but, rather, is being held against her will, Jane hires ex-FBI agent Randall Shane to follow the trail of her missing child. But every step brings
them closer to a cold-blooded predator lurking in the shadows . . . coiled around Jane's shameful secret . . . waiting to strike.

Trapped was not what I expected. To tell you the truth, I thought I had bought a romantic suspense thriller. Turns out that this thriller was just that. A thriller. No romance at all.

Jane (BTW, the last name on the back of the book..Hartley...is not the same name as in the book.) is the single mother of teenager. A good kid who has been hiding some stuff from her mom. You see, she met this guy on the net and started hanging out with him. They went sky diving, rode motorcycles without a helmet, etc.

Kelly runs off somewhere with the guy and they go and get themselves kidnapped.

Jane goes to the police, but they are of little help. She contacts a former FBI agent who agrees to help Jane find her daughter.

The suspense is great, but most importantly, the characters were believable. Shane, the FBI dude, messed up at one point. A hero who actually screws up and isn't perfect. Gotta love it.

Trapped is not without flaws. There are too many villains, and I got mixed up a few times not knowing who was who.

I'll give it a solid C. It was entertaining and interesting while I read it, but not all that memorable

Tag, you're it by Penny McCall
Published by Berkley sensation

Why I read this: I liked the first book by this author so I wanted to read the second.

FBI Agent Tag Donovan isn't your typical hero – oh, he has a bit of a tortured past, and despite his sarcastic wit and laid-back attitude he's making no secret of the fact that his number one priority is finding the man who killed his partner and left Tag fighting for his life. And he'll do whatever it takes to get justice, including using a completely innocent woman. Alexandra Scott was just minding her own business, studying mountain lions in the Colorado Rockies and keeping her distance from the rest of humanity. It's not that she has anything against other people, she just likes being alone more. What she doesn't like is having an FBI agent tossed out of a low-flying plane and into her life. She’s really not thrilled that he's trying to charm – or trick - her into looking for an infamous buried treasure left over from Colorado's gold rush days. In fact, she’s not too fond of Tag at all – and he’s equally wary of her, because, after all, he wasn’t dropped on her by accident...

It starts off good enough. Alex is an ex-Miss USA who lives by herself in a cabin studying mountain lions. One afternoon she sees a man fall out of a very low flying plane, and like any normal person, she decides to save him. Tag wakes up tied to her bed in her little cabin and tries to get Alex to untie him, but she is smart and doesn't trust him. She is right not to play right into his hands, because he is just using her to find something, and their 'chance meeting' with him being rescued by her was just a set up.

Alex's cabin is soon set on fire, and since she pretty much lives out in the middle of nowhere, she has no choice but to set off with Tag and try to figure out what is going on.

As much as I liked the first book, All jacked up-(read my review of it here.) I did not care too much for this one. Half way through the book I started skimming the pages, and I only finished it because I can't stand to have another DNF. I really don't like those.
The dialogue started to drag, the inner turmoil got repetitive, and the plot was rather boring.

I'll give Tag, you're it a C-. The first half of the book was worthwhile, and Jackass, Alex's horse was a hoot, but I'm afraid that this book lacked the snappy dialogue and excitement that was plentiful in All jacked up.

All jacked up by Penny McCall

Published by Berkley Sensation

Ever since Jack Mitchell barged into her life, librarian Aubrey Sullivan
has been abducted at gunpoint, taken on a death-defying car chase, and kissed silly. She's starting to think that maybe she should try to shake the brawny hunk... But Aubrey doesn't realize she's ticked off the biggest mobster in the western hemisphere. It seems that somewhere in her photographic memory is something he'd kill to keep quiet. And Jack can't exactly go to the good guys because, well, suddenly they think he's a mole. Now, Jack needs Aubrey to help clear his name. If only she'd do what he says, they might just get out of this mess alive. That is, if they can keep their hands off each other long enough to think straight...

One day while at work Aubrey is kidnapped by Jack. Jack says that he is only protecting her because there is a contract out on her. She is instantly suspicious and can tell that he is not telling her everything and she fights him every step of the way.

They do a great amount of bickering. She calls him a meat head who has no neck and he calls her a bony egghead. The teasing is rather funny and even though they started off doing it in order to annoy each other, it turns into pet names for each other. There are no hurt feelings, so it's all good.

This book was non stop action. Car chases, guns, fighting, bikers, Harleys, sleeping in caves, breaking into hotel rooms, mean dogs, a drug lord, dumb & scary hit men, dirty cops plus one tough sarcastic FBI agent and a smart sassy librarian. A fun read that I'm giving a B-.

There were a few minor inconsistencies that I had taken a mental note of, but as I write this review I can't remember what they were, so they must not have been that bad.

Please highlight area below for ending spoiler,

My favourite kind of ending is the classic happily ever after ending. Yeah, it's cliche, but that is what I like. In Jack me up, the Hero and Heroine do fall in love, but they never say it to each other. They have a "You tell me, and I'll tell you" moment, but the words are never said. I thought that I would hate that, but it worked better than I expected. It fit the couple rather well, as they are pretty unconventional.

I liked Jack me up, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Lean mean thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Published by St. Martins

MISTAKE #1
Dickie Orr. Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before she caught him cheating on her with her arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt. Another fifteen minutes after that Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping to never see either one of them again.
MISTAKE #2
Doing favors for super bounty hunter Carlos Manoso (a.k.a. Ranger). Ranger needs her to meet with Dickie and find out if he's doing something shady. Turns out, he is. Turns out, he's also back to doing Joyce Barnhardt. And it turns out Ranger's favors always come with a price...
MISTAKE #3
Going completely nutso while doing the favor for Ranger, and trying to apply bodily injury to Dickie in front of the entire office. Now Dickie has disappeared and Stephanie is the natural suspect in his disappearance. Is Dickie dead? Can he be found? And can Stephanie Plum stay one step ahead in this new, dangerous game? Joe Morelli, the hottest cop in Trenton, NJ is also keeping Stephanie on her toes-and he may know more than he's saying about many things in Stephanie's life. It's a cat-and-mouse game for Stephanie Plum, where the ultimate prize might be her life.

Stephanie Plum is back in Lean mean thirteen. I am very happy to finally be caught up in the series. I'm not sure when the next book will be out, but now I get to wait around for it with the rest of you.

My man Ranger is the reason Stephanie gets into trouble this time. He asks her to plant some bugs on her ex husband, Dickie. She ends up getting into a fight with him at his office and when he goes missing, she is the first person they suspect of hurting him.

Lean mean thirteen is very much like every other Plum novel. Not much has changed. Well, instead of her cars getting blown up, some stuffed animals get blown up. Ranger is still stealing kisses from Stephanie while she sleeps with Morelli. She still has very bad luck when it comes to being a bounty hunter, but she gets the job done.

Ranger talked a lot in this one. We learned a little bit about his childhood, and he once again makes it clear that he like and respects Morelli, but he wont hesitate to jump between Stephanie's legs should she and Joe split up. Gosh, Ranger is hot! Babe.

I wish that there had been more Lula and Grandma Mazur. Even better, more of them together!

I mentioned in a previous review that I thought Stephanie was over stepping when it came to how she acts with Ranger while she is on again with Morelli. It made me feel bad for Morelli and now I find that I like him better than I used to. Before, I would rush through scenes with Stephanie and Joe, trying to find one with Steph and Ranger. Now I happily read Joe moments. I'm still a Ranger girl at heart though.

As funny as hell, but very predictable. Janet Evanovich has written other Plum books that are predictable, but still interesting, so I know she can do it. C+. this time. I don't want the author to change the Plum formula, I like it. But I hope to see some of the older characters come back, and please please please give us some more Stephanie and Ranger sex. Please!

I also wanted to add that I love the voice of Lorelei King, who reads the Plum books on audio. It took me some time to get used to her Ranger voice, but I have really grown into it. I have only been able to get 3 or 4 of the Plum books on audio, but each time has been a great experience.

My reviews for books 1-12,

One for the money

Two for the dough

Three to get deadly

Four to score

High five

Hot six

Seven up

Hard eight

To the nines

Ten big ones

Eleven on top

Twelve sharp

Hot & Bothered by Susan Anderson

Published by MIRA

Socialite Victoria Hamilton had hers with a sexy Marine she knew only as Rocket.
But now her father's been murdered, her brother's on the lam, and the PI John Miglionni, whom her lawyer hired, turns out to be none other than the man she stole away from as the dawn broke over a Pensacola beach six years ago . And he wants answers. About a lot of things. But mostly about Victoria's daughter--the little girl with his dark eyes.

6 years ago Victoria had a week long fling with 'Rocket'. After her father is murdered, Rocket is hired to help track down Jarod, Victoria's brother , because he is wanted in questioning of the murder. Victoria also asks him to solve her father's murder. I guess the police think it's Jarod, so they have pretty much closed the book on it.

Rocket thinks that it will be a good idea to pretend that he and Victoria are engaged so that he has a valid 'in' when investigating things.

Deedee is Victoria's step mother, and even though Deedee has never cared one way or the other about Victoria, she all of a sudden is sweet and wanting to throw an engagement ball for Victoria and Rocket. Some guy with an agenda shows up at the ball drunk and lets it be known that Victoria gave her virginity to him when she was 17.

We get to see where Jarod is during all this...living on the streets with some little 12 year old girl. I gotta say that the little street girl is the most interesting person in the whole book. She doesn't even seem to have anything to do with the actual plot though.

Oh yeah, there is a kid, too. A 5 year old that Victoria got knocked up with during her fling with Rocket. She talks like a college student. A drunk slurring college student who has forgotten how to pronounce certain words.

This book is guaranteed to put you in a slump. I don't know if I even want to pick up the next book in my TBR for fear that it will be as bad as this one.

For a title like 'Hot & Bothered' you would think that it would at least be hot. It just bothered me.

So, who killed the dad? Don't know-don't care.

Ten big ones by Janet Evanovich

Published by St. Martins

Grade: A

It begins as an innocent trip to the deli-mart, on a quest for nachos. But Stephanie Plum and her partner, Lula, are clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. A robbery leads to an explosion, which leads to the destruction of yet another car. It would be just another day in the life of Stephanie Plum...except that she becomes the target of a gang. And the target of an even scarier, more dangerous force that comes to Trenton. With super bounty hunter Ranger acting more mysteriously than ever (and the tension with vice cop Joe Morelli getting hotter), Stephanie finds herself with a decision to make: how to protect herself and where to hide while on the hunt for a killer known as the Junkman. There's only one safe place, and it has Ranger's name all over it-if she can find it. And if the Junkman doesn't find her first. With Lula riding shotgun and Grandma Mazur on the loose, Stephanie Plum is racing against the clock in her most suspenseful novel yet. Ten Big Ones is page-turning entertainment and Janet Evanovich is the best there is.

I read through book 10 very fast. Stephanie is witness to a crime. She saw a gang member rob a store, and then she ran over the leader of the gang. A hitman is working with the gang to kill Stephanie. At first she isn't worried because there is always someone trying to kill her, but then she finds out that the other people on his hit list have all been taken out in painful ways. Steph is still living with Morelli at this point, and after Joe's house and Steph's car got spray painted full of threats towards Stephanie, Joe tries again to make Stephanie quit her job. They get into a fight, and Steph decides to move out.

Ranger had gone out of town a day or so earlier, giving Stephanie permission to use one of his vehicles. After she gets behind the wheel she plays around with the GPS system, and finds a route back to 'home'. Thinking that she has found the Bat Cave (What they all call Rangers place, because no one has ever seen it) Stephanie is very excited.

She makes her way to a building with 7 floors, and the top floor being one big apt. Since Ranger is out of town, and she needs a safe place to stay, she decides to hide out there.

For days, Stephanie gets to sleep Rangers bed, under Rangers sheets, using Rangers shower gel, and she even gets to wear his clothes! Lucky bitch.

Once Ranger comes back she finds out that it's not really the Bat Cave after all. It's just a building that Ranger owns for his security business. He keeps the apt to sleep in becuase he spends so much time there.

Oh yeah, Ranger isn't at all upset find Stephanie sleeping in his bed when he comes back.

Like the other Plum books, this one has many laugh out loud moments. My absolute favourite happens after Connie (the admin person for Steph work) and Lula (Steph's side kick) kidnap a gang member to find out why the hitman is after Stephanie. They plan to tie him to a chair and beat the answers out of him. Well, when it comes time to do the actual beating they can't do it. Connie is able to lightly slap him across the face, and then Lula stick a pin between 2 toes. After the pin thing, Lula faints, and Connie throws up. They weren't getting any answers that way, lol.

Steph does end up getting her answers after she lets Ranger talk to the gang member. They are told that the hitman plans to pass Stephanie around to all the gang member before doing her himself. Stephanie is pretty sickened at the idea of being gang raped. Ranger isn't too pleased with the news and tries to force Stephanie to stay at his apt. He even instructs his buddies who work for him to stun gun her if she tries to leave.

A few stolen kisses from Ranger, laughs from Granda Mazur, and an unlikely hero (Sally Sweet) saving the day makes Ten big ones, my favourite book out of the series so far.

In order the books in the series are

One for the money

Two for the dough

Three to get deadly

Four to score

High five

Hot six

Seven up

Hard eight

To the nines

To the nines by Janet Evanovich

Published by St. Martins

Grade: B

Stephanie Plum may not the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way... and she always gets her man. In TO THE NINES her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing,
Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word "hunter... " In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life.

There is a really good ebb and flow with series. Even though I am finding the books repetitive, I'm still totally addicted.

In To the nines, Ranger and Stephanie are trying to bring in Singh. A man who is missing, and has been provided with a visa bond. Steph still isn't very good at being a bounty hunter, so she gets into lots of trouble.

There is no less drama on the family front. Val, Steph's sister, is nine months pregnant. The baby daddy is the silly lawyer from Hard eight.

Here are a few of my favourite Ranger moments.

While talking about the case..

"The dog could be a coincidence"
"I don't think so. My Spidey sense tells me the disappearances are
related"
Ranger grinned at me. "Your spidey sense tell you anything else?"
"Is that a mocking grin?"
"it's the grin of a man who loves you, babe."
My heart skipped around a little and I got warm in places only Morelli
should be warming. "Love?"
"There's all kinds of love," Ranger said. "This kind doesn't come with a
ring attached."
"Nice, but you avoided my question about the mocking grin."
He gave my ponytail a playful tug.

Steph and Ranger go to a restaurant that sells good pie. Steph orders her pie, but Ranger only orders a coffee..

"Excuse me?" I said, palms down on the formica table top. "Coffee? I
thought we came here for pie?"
"I don't eat the kind of pie they serve here."
I felt a flash of heat go through my stomach. I knew firsthand the kind of
pie that Ranger liked.

Steph gets a haircut. A really short type of pixie cut..

When we were back in the car I turned to Ranger. "Is it really cute, or
were you just trying to keep me from shrieking?"
He ran a hand through my hair. "It's sexy," he said. And he kissed me.
Tongue and everything.
"Hey," I said. "We're not supposed to be doing that."
A smiled hovered over the edge of his mouth. "Morelli told me you were all
mine today".
"That was a figure of speech. He trusts us."
Ranger turned the key in the ignition. "He trusts you. I haven't
signed on to the trust me program."
"How about me? Can I trust you?"
"Are we talking about your life or your body?"
I already knew the answer so I moved on.

Here is a little excerpt from a dinner at Stephs parents house. Kloughn (Val's baby daddy) was talking about how much gravy Val was eating..

Valerie glanced sideways at Kloughn. "You're not going to lecture me on my
diet, are you?"
Kloughn sat up straight in his seat, eyes wide and birdlike. "Me, no. Honest. I wouldn't do anything like that. I like fat women. Just the other day I was thinking how fat women were soft. Nothing I like better than big, soft, squishy pillows of fat."
He was nodding his balding head, trying hard, running down dark roads of
panic. "Look at me. I'm nice and fat, too. I'm like the Doughboy. Go ahead, poke
my stomach. I'm just like the Doughboy," Kloughn said.
"Omigod," my sister wailed. "You think I'm fat."
She went into open mouthed sobbing and the plate slid from her stomach and
crashed onto the floor.
Kloughn bent to retrieve the plate and farted. "That wasn't me, "he
said.
"Maybe it was me," Grandma said. "Sometimes they sneak out. Did I fart?" she
asked everyone.

Here is a moment with Joe Morelli. He is not happy that Steph is again in danger..

"I hate this,"Morelli said. "Why can't I have a girlfriend who has normal
problems... like breaking a fingernail or missing a period or falling in love
with a lesbian?"

Bob the dog is still around. I like him. Since someone is trying to kill steph she has moved in with Joe (again) She takes Bob out for a walk..

Lesson number one when cohabiting with a man and a dog: Never be the first
to arrive home.
I went to he backyard, got the snow shovel to flip the poop into the
street. Then I sat on the stoop and waited for a car to run over the poop. Two
cars drove by, but both of them avoided the poop. I gave a sigh of resignation,
went into the kitchen, got a plastic baggie, scooped the poop up off the street,
and threw it in the garbage. Sometimes you just can't catch a break.

This next excerpt is from after Val baby is born. Valeria is breastfeeding baby Lisa, looking all cute and sweet..

And just like that, as of that instant, I wanted a baby.
I didn't care if it had to come out of my vagina.

Joe and Steph are 'on again' in this one, but she spends so much time with Ranger because he is acting as her body guard. He did have two of his team watching her, but one got his leg broken, and the other fainted after he saw baby Lisa's foot coming out of the birth canal. Poor guys.

So, when Steph wasn't with Joe she was with Ranger. Lucky girl.

In order the books are,

One for the money
Two for the dough
Three to get deadly
Four to score
High five
Hot six
Seven up
Hard eight

Hard eight by Janet Evanovich

Published by St. Martin's

Grade: C

Fugitive Apprehension Agent Stephanie Plum has a big problem on her hands:
Seven-year-old Annie Soder and her mother, Evelyn, have disappeared. Evelyn's estranged husband, Steven, a shady owner of a seedy bar, is not at all happy. During the divorce proceedings, he and Evelyn signed a child custody bond, and Steven is demanding the money guaranteed by the bond to find Annie. The money
was secured by a mortgage on Evelyn's grandmother's house, and the True Blue Bonds Bail Agency wants to take possession of the house.
Finding a kidnapped child is not an assignment for a bounty hunter. But Evelyn's grandmother lives next door to Stephanie's parents, and Stephanie's mother and grandmother are not about to see their neighbor lose her house because of abduction.
Even though Stephanie's plate is full with miscreants who missed their court dates,
including old nemesis and violent drunk Andy Bender and an elusive little old
lady accused of grand theft auto, she can't disappoint Grandma Mazur! So she
follows the trail left by Annie and Evelyn-- and finds a lot more than she
bargained for. Steven is somehow linked with a very scary Eddie Abruzzi. Trenton
cop and on-again, off-again fiancé Joe Morelli and Stephanie's mentor and
tormentor, Ranger, warn Stephanie about Abruzzi, but it's Abruzzi's eyes and
mannerisms that frighten Stephanie the most. Stephanie needs Ranger's savvy and
expertise, and she's willing to accept his help to find Annie even though it
might mean becoming too involved with Ranger.
Stephanie, Ranger, Lula (who's not going to miss riding with Ranger), and Evelyn's lawyer/laundromat manager set out to find Annie. The search turns out to be a race among Stephanie's posse, the True Blue Bonds' agent, a Rangerette known as Jeanne Ellen Burrows, and the Abruzzi crew. Not to mention the fact that there's a killer rabbit on the loose!

I read through this book super fast. Mostly because I wanted to see Ranger and Stephanie have sex. I have to admit that it was pretty anti climatic. I expected something more..maybe of recap of Ranger having to save Stephanie again after she gets handcuffed naked to the shower rod. Now that would have been cool. If anyone could have pulled off that position, Ranger is the man.

I like how it was made very clear that Joe and Stephanie were totally over before she slept with Ranger. I don't have the book in front of me (because I 'stole' it off the holds shelf at the library, I had to return it ASAP) but, I remember Stephanie trying to talk to Joe about their relationship and he said something along the lines of "There is a you, there is a me, but there is no us."

Unfortunately, I found that the laughs were lacking in Hard Eight. Maybe it needed a little bit more Lula and Grandma Mazur.

There was a killer rabbit..okay, a man dressed up a rabbit suit, who is making Stephs life hell. He tries to kidnap her, and Stephanie's mom runs him over with her car. That scene should have been hilarious. Instead, it was kinda sad.

There is the introduction of a new character who I hope makes an appearance in future books. He is a lawyer who talks a lot, and is starting to date Steph's sister. He is cute and ditzy, and I want to see him again.

My favourite part of the book is the very end. Ranger kills someone for Stephanie. Oh, be still my heart! Some bad dude had kidnapped Stephanie and her sister. They got away (beaten and bruised) And Ranger goes off and kills the guy. Awesome!

My previous reviews of the series

One for the money

Two for the dough

Three to get deadly

Four to score

High five

Hot six

Seven up

Forbidden Pleasure by Lora Leigh
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Grade: C+

The Club is private, exclusive and only for those men whose fantasies run to the more forbidden side. . . People have heard only fleeting rumors about The Club. Located just outside Washington, D.C., only its members know where men go when they want to indulge the desire to share their women with a carefully selected male partner. Former FBI agent John ‘Mac’ McCoy resigned his membership from The Club when he married Keiley Hardin. Tempting and innocent, sweet and sexy, she would never accept Mac’s desires to share her with another man. However, Keiley’s growing curiosity and Mac’s own fantasies of sharing his wife haunt his dreams. And his passions.
Unable to wait any longer, Mac invites his best friend Jethro Riggs, to their home with the intention of drawing Keiley into the pleasures that can only be achieved when two men love the same woman. But there’s more going on in Mac’s neck of the woods than a little additional pleasure. A past case involving astalker who likes to play games has shown up again, but now Keiley is in the middle of it all. Passion and pleasure, danger and desire combine as the forbidden becomes an addiction none of them can escape.

I'll never again be able to hear the name Jethro without getting a hot flash. I started off hating the name, but by the end of the book I was all into it.

Jethro met Keiley first, but he knew that he wasn't sensitive enough to take care of her properly. He knew that Mac would fall for Keiley, and since Jethro and Mac have often shared women, he thought that it wouldn't be long before he had the chance to sleep with her. However, instead of calling him to invite him to bed, Mac was calling to tell him that he was going to marry her.

Even though Keiley was aware of the rumours about them, Mac never introduced her to it. She was an innocent little virgin and he didn't think she could handle it.

So now, it's been three years. Mac took Keiley away from the big city, and moved her to his home town. It's been difficult for Kailey because a women that Mac rejected over 15 years ago, hates Keiley and is always starting rumours and being snotty to her. For the most part, Keiley is able to ignore it all.

Things start to get really bad after Jethro comes for a visit. The rumours of a menage are on everyone lips, plus a stalker is after them. Stalker is a man who wasn't able to make it into the FBI, so he stalks the wives/girlfriends of men in law enforcement in order to prove that he is smarter than them. He challenges the men to see if they are good enough to protect their women from him.

What I liked best about Forbidden Pleasure, was all the emotions running through the heads of the trio. Keiley was afraid of falling in love with Jethro, and thinking that it will be a betrayal to her husband. Jethro is afraid that Keiley wont love him, and he isn't sure he can just walk away from her once his vacation is over. Mac is playing mind games and pushing his wife and best friend together.

When Keiley realises what it is that Mac is up to she really lays it into him. I had a 'You go girl' moment when she started yelling at him.

Seeing as this Lora Leigh, you know that the lovin' is hot hot hot.

This is book eight of the Bound Heart's series.

Ready by Lucy Monroe
Published by Brava/Kensington Books
Grade: A+

They're the good guys fighting the bad guys. They'll get the job done--if the price is right and so is the cause. And what cause could be nobler than the heart's desire? Rough and ready, tough and tender--when it comes to love and security, these hunks are definitely for hire... As a writer, Lise Barton is used to coming up with wild scenarios for her characters, but the one that's playing out for her right now is no fiction--it's frighteningly real. Someone is stalking her, someone who knows where she lives and what she does. Someone who has even threatened her family--her brother, his wife, and their precious baby girl. Lise isn't about to let someone hurt them, so she packs up and leaves Texas for the anonymity of Seattle. And then the threats start again… Joshua Watt's mission is simple: Go to Seattle and bring Lise home for Thanksgiving or he'll never hear the end of it from his sister. It's not like "Aunt Lise" to stay away from their adorable niece, and Joshua's pretty sure he's the reason for it. He's spent months trying to forget the taste of her lips, the feel of her soft hair in his fingers. Yeah, okay, he wants her--badly--but family comes first. But the minute he sees the fear in Lise's eyes, his survival instincts kick in. The former Army Ranger isn't about to let some creep terrorize an innocent woman--not on his watch. He's going to do what it takes to protect Lise and try to keep his personal feelings out of it. Because if there's one thing he's learned, it's that sex and work don't mix. Not ever. So far…

This was one of the first LM books that I read. I loved it as much this second time as I did the first. Lucy is the queen of Alpha Heroes. All her Heroes are uber yummy and not the type of men you want to cross, but you know that they will have your back if you need them. I constantly have 'dreamy sigh' moments when I read her books.

In Ready, Nemesis is stalking our Heroine. Lise is a writer, and Nemesis feels that her book is the reason his wife left him. Nemesis is a bastard wife beater. He couldn't hang on to his family like a real man, so he has blamed Lise. He has her so scared that she can't even leave her house. Little does she know that Nemesis has a camera and some mics hidden in her apartment. He is watching her.

At a family gathering Lise and Joshua kissed, but Lise pushed him away. She wasn't about to start a relationship, and Phillip wasn't really looking for one either. So, when Lise tells her family that she wont be going home for Thanksgiving, Joshua thinks that she is canceling in order to avoid him. When he arrives at her apartment to make her go back home, she tries to club him with a fire poker.

Joshua takes the job on of being her bodyguard. Even though he has a rule about no sex while on a job, he can't keep his hands off of Lise.
This book is hot! I'm so glad I picked it as my first re read this month.

(Not really a review) I decided to read this after Holly posted about it. She wasn't too impressed and wanted another opinion.

At first I was liking it. Then it started to drag on, and I got bored pretty fast. I kept putting it down to read the other book I'm reading. Thats not good. A well written book should have no problem holding my attention.

It ended up being a DNF for me, but at least I got furthur than Holly did, lol. She stopped reading after JT was introduced.-The FBI dude that went to school with Evan and Nick.
I stopped reading after Nick and Kayla got into a car accident after the brakes were cut on their car.

Just to add a little bit more of the plot from where Holly left off...Um, Johnny..the original watch owner, is really Kayla's grandfather. There are other watches that each have a key hidden in them.

I skipped to the last few chapters and skimmed them really fast. Evan is obsessed with Jenny. He had gotten her pregnant, but the baby died during her 7'th month of pregnancy.
Evan was arrested in this book, but he escapes from jail.

Absolute Trouble by Michelle Jerott
Published by Avon
Grade: B-

At six-feet-tall, red-haired, and an ex-cop, Dulcinea Quinn isn't someone you
want to mess with. But she meets her match when a friend on the police force
asks her to hide a valuable eyewitness to a murder on her New Orleans houseboat.
Julien Langlois is tall, dark, and dangerous--a man who hides secrets he doesn't
want Dulcinea to discover--and he's willing to use all his Cajun charm and
seductive persuasion to convince the beautiful redhead to free him from
protective custody. Neither Julien nor Dulcinea are prepared for the powerful
force of attraction that pulls them together--nor for the danger they'll have to
face before they can learn if their love will survive the threats to their
lives.

I was surprised at how much I liked this book. It was a free ebook release of the authors fist published story.

Dulcie was forced to retire from the police force after she was beat with a bat and had her back broken. She now lives in a house boat, and makes dolls.

As a favour for her friend, Dulcie agrees to let Julien, a yummy Cajun stripper who is witness to a murder, stay on her houseboat for a few days. It's not long before it's realised that Julien isn't just an innocent witness. His plan all along was to kill the Dragon..the man responsible for the death of his little brother, as well as the injury to Dulcie's back. Something went wrong at the hit, and instead of killing the Dragon, Julien saw the Dragon kill someone else.

Julien tries to use his charms against Dulcie in hopes of getting her to let him leave the boat. Dulcie isn't an innocent miss. She knows what he is up too, and she doesn't mind playing around with him in the sack. She makes it clear that no matter how many times they have sex, she wont be letting him off the boat.

The book is not without flaws...

- Dulcie thinking that she can't have babies because her back was broken. Um Ok.
-If you know anything about police procedure, you'll probably roll your eyes at the way Julien's 'protection' was handled.
-Dulcie falls in love in only 2 days even though she knows he is a liar pants on fire.

I was able to overlook those things because the story was enjoyable, and in the end I really did believe that they loved each other deeply.

Satisfaction guaranteed by Lucy Monroe
Published by Brava, April 2007
Grade: B-

Anytime, anyplace, Ethan Crane's your man. An agent's agent, he’s tough, smart, and fearless. Exactly the guy you want when the stuff hits the fan—and precisely the kind Beth Whitney avoids like the plague. It took a fiancé (make that ex-fiancé) in the business to teach her, but she's learned her lesson: Don't. Date. Agents. Ever. It's this little rule that's kept her gainfully employed at the agency, doing her part for world security from behind a desk. So when a case throws the two together, Beth's determined to keep it strictly professional. So far, so good—except for the steamy kisses, the red-hot phone sex, and...What was that rule again?

Every time I sit down with a new Lucy Monroe book I think, is this going to be the one that disappoints me? Is this going to be the one that forces me to skim pages and skip to the end because of boredom?
No, it was not.

Beth Whitney's father is the head of a spy agency. After his daughter is stood up at the alter by an agent who was on a case, she vows never to date another agent again. It's been three years and Beth still hasn't trusted anyone, agent or civilian, to start a relationship with. Mr. Whitney wants some grand-kids, and he knows the perfect man for his daughter to make that happen.

Ethan Crane.

He is a tough, sexy agent who is into extreme sports, beautiful women and tough assignments. For two years he has lusted after sweet Beth Whitney, but the fact that seems so innocent, plus she is the daughter of the boss, has kept him from asking her out.

Mr. Whitney decides to force Beth and Ethan into a situation where they will have to spend lots of time together. Even though Beth is just a administration agent she has taken the required basic training through the agency. Her father puts her in the field to post as Ethan's girlfriend. From there the sparks fly.

Beth isn't the simpering innocent he first thinks she is, and she proves it by standing up for herself after Ethan starts playing his little man mind games with her. You go girl.

There is a phone sex scene that is so good that as soon as it was over, I flipped back 7 pages to read it again.

The best part was that even though there is action and a bad guy, the story concentrated on the relationship between Ethan and Beth, rather than what was going on with the assignment. Very often with spy books, there is so much going on that the love story sits on a back burner. That didn't happen with this one. Our Hero and Heroine have starring roles in this story, just as it should be.

The secret lives of Doctors wives by Ann Major

Published by Mira, December 2006

Grade: C

Pierce Carver was one of Austin's richest, most successful surgeons. And he
was going to marry trauma nurse Rose Marie Castle and put her aching feet into
glass slippers. Unfortunately, the doctor had a weakness for the allure of youth
and feminine perfection. He jilted Rose Marie three years ago, and she's still
dreaming of revenge . . . Things are looking bad for Rose Marie. The night
Pierce died she was inside his magnificent home, half naked and very willing to
accept his apologies. Now she's the prime suspect. Worse, her high school
sweetheart is the investigating detective. But if Rose Marie didn't kill the
not-so-good doctor, who did? Between his ex-wives, his angry stepchildren and
the deep, dirty secrets driving their lives, somebody resorted to murder. And it
looks as if Dr.Carver kept the biggest, baddest secrets of all . . .

On that day of her 40'th birthday Rosie's ex fiance is murdered and it's pretty clear that she is being set up to take the fall. Lots of great suspense, a good Hero and I was only half way through before I figured out who the bad guy was. Usually I know right from the start.

As much as I liked the storyline I was really disappointed with the Heroine. She was completely superficial and immature. I would never be her friend in real life.

She not only has a 21 year old daughter with the Hero, but also a granddaughter. 21 fregan years and she didn't tell Michael that he was a father. There is even a part in the book where he tells her that he always wanted children..and she didn't say anything! The poor guy had to figure it out by himself...Right after seeing his daughter naked in a strip club!!

Rosie kept going on and on about not trusting Michael, he is just going to put her in jail, etc. Meanwhile she is having sex with him. Her big reason for not trusting him all these years is because he got her pregnant after telling her that a condom would keep her safe. Um, it's been 21 years and you are a nurse. GET OVER IT! Condoms don't always work-I'm sure you learned that in nursing school. Besides, at least he thought enough to use protection!

I could have also done without the 5 year old who talks like she is 12. I don't mind kids in books, but come on. Be realistic.

I'm sure that with a different Heroine I would have very little to complain about. Great story. Crappy Heroine.

Cold as ice, by Anne Stuart
Published by Mira, 2006
Grade: C-/ D+

The job was supposed to be dead easy -- hand-deliver some legal papers
to billionaire philanthropist Harry Van Dorn's extravagant yacht, get his
signature and be done. But Manhattan lawyer Genevieve Spenser soon realizes
she's in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that the publicly benevolent
playboy has a sick, vicious side. As he tries to make her his plaything for the
evening, eager to use and abuse her until he discards her with the rest of his
victims, Genevieve must keep her wits if she intends to survive the
night.

But there's someone else on the ship who knows the true depths of
Van Dorn's evil. Peter Jensen is far more than the unassuming personal assistant
he pretends to be -- he's a secret operative who will stop at nothing to ensure
Harry's deadly Rule of Seven terror campaign dies with him. But Genevieve's
presence has thrown a wrench into his plans, and now he must decide whether to
risk his mission to keep her alive, or allow her to become collateral damage . .

I ordered Cold as ice right after I read this review at Don't talk, just read. I'm afraid that I didn't like it as much as I expected to.

Genevieve is a lawyer who is supposed to get some papers signed by one of her firms clients. Client is a rich good looking pervert terrorist named Harry. Genevieve doesn't know he is really a bad guy. Once aboard his yacht, she is tricked into spending the night, and when she wakes up the next morning she finds out that the yacht has been taken over by Harry's assistant, and that he plans to kill both her and Harry.

Our Hero has many chances to kill Genevieve, but Peter keeps putting it off. Even though he is a stone cold killer he has never had to kill an innocent woman who simply happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Genevieve is an idiot! Halfway through the book I was begging Peter to put a gun to her head and pull the trigger. She is supposed to have graduated from an Ivy league law school but she is TSTL.

I liked Peter at the beginning of the book, but then he kept trying to help Genevieve. Gah! Just let her die. He was also mean. He kept saying cruel things to her. I know he was just covering his own feelings, and trying to make her like him less, but I don't enjoy head games.

Call me a sappy romantic, but I don't like how this romance ended without the Hero telling the Heroine he loves her. That is just wrong wrong wrong.

Two for the dough, by Janet Evanovich
Published by
Grade: B-

About the book:

Stephanie's back, armed with attitude -- not to mention stun guns, defense
sprays, killer flashlights, and her trusty .38. Stephanie is after a new bail
jumper, Kenny Mancuso, a boy from Trenton's burg. He's fresh out of the army,
suspiciously wealthy, and he's just shot his best friend.

I reviewed the first first book of this series here, and gave it an A. I think the problem for me is that this one was not as funny as the first. One for the money had me peeing my pants, it was so funny. This time the only funnies were from Grandma Mazur and Stephanie's mom. Plus I really wanted Joe and Stephanie to bang. They came close, but no cigar.

In this book Stephanie is after a guy who shot his best friend. Kenny, the bad guy, has jumped bail. With help from Joe and Grandma, Stephanie is on the job.

Our girl still can't keep out of trouble. She gets into a fight with the slut who her ex husband cheated with, her apt is vandalised (again) She is sent a penis in the mail. Oh, Granny and Mrs. Plum were funny when that happened! Stephanie still sucks as a bounty hunter, but she gets help from Ranger, and of course, Joe is always there sticking his nose in things.

I didn't like how Kenny attacked Grandma Mazur, not once but twice! I can't handle it when old people are abused. It really bothers me. I agree that it was fitting for someone close to Stephanie to suffer some sort of backlash because of her job. I just wish it had been written differently.

Overall, still a great read and I wont wait long before I devour the rest of the Plum books.

All u can eat, By Emma Holly
Published by Berkley, 2006
Grade: C+

About the book:

When the body of a wealthy woman is discovered in an alley near Frankie
Smith's diner, Frankie realizes she's one of Chief Jack West's prime suspects.
The truth is, Jack's attraction to the sexy proprietor of All U Can Eat is
all-consuming-though he knows hauling her into custody isn't going to improve
his chances with her.

What neither of them realizes is
that the town of Six Palms is full of secrets that would shock even the raciest
residents. Determined to clear her name-and to get to know the police chief
better-Frankie joins Jack on a rollercoaster ride of an investigation. And soon,
letting go of their inhibitions seems like the most natural thing in the
world.

Diner owner, Frankie (I hate her name, btw) is dumped by her super model boyfriend. She mopes around for a while and then meets super hottie who she bangs a few times...against a wall, in a bed, and on a bathroom floor. Fun. She also has a threesome with a couple guys who not only own a mechanics shop, but also secretly tape their threesomes with various women in the city. She has sex with the Hero, Jack. Plus she also has sex with the guy who dumped her-That episode happened before he did the dumping though.

Someone kills a woman and frames Frankie for the murder. Jack the cop sucked at his job. I knew who the killer was way before he did.

I liked the story over all, but it was predictable, and the threesome she had was boring and weird. It didn't fit into the book at all. I didn't like the Hero. He didn't come off as attractive, and I really wanted her to end up Mike...the second dude she screwed.

I'm still a Emma Holly fan though.