Book Review: THE MARRIAGE MERGER by Jennifer Probst

Book Review:  THE MARRIAGE MERGER

Author:  JENNIFER PROBST

Publisher:  Gallery Books

Category:  Adult Contemporary Romance

“Do you like to shock women Sawyer? You won’t find me that easy to manage.  I’ve been harassed, propositioned and insulted.  And I’ve dealt with an array of masculine temper tantrums.  I’ve seen it all and I can handle it.  I prefer to keep our relationship mutually beneficial for all involved, but if you want to play hardball, that’s fine too.  Capisce?”- Julietta

“Let’s get something straight.  I have no need to threaten or bully a woman into bed.  I enjoy sex and giving pleasure.  I find you fascinating, complex and hot as hell.  I also think you may be the only woman I’ve met in the past few years who made me crave to break a few rules just to put my hands on her.  In her.  Over her….  Capisce?  Now breathe.”- Sawyer

Description Via NetGalley:

Author Jennifer probst

Her sisters have found wedded bliss with their wealthy, wonderful dream men, but not Julietta Conte. She’s stayed on terra firma as top executive of the family’s corporation, La Dolce Famiglia bakery. Work is her passion, and her trendy Milan apartment her sanctuary . . . until Sawyer Wells, a masculine masterpiece in a suit, lures her out of hiding with an irresistible offer: an exclusive partnership with his international chain of boutique hotels. 

Julietta’s been burned before—and trusting her brother-in-law’s friend, whose powerful gaze alone has her rethinking the best use of a conference room, is the riskiest proposition. But with a once-in-a- career chance to take the bakery global, will she mix stone-cold business with red-hot seduction?

My Summary:

Both Sawyer and Julietta are tough business people.  But from the very beginning an intense attraction is already there, especially for Sawyer who can’t seem to stop wanting Julietta.  So he propositions her.  One sex filled night in exchange for Julietta’s free rein on all things business.  Julietta, ever ready to expand her family’s business, agrees.

They explode together many times over.  What they do not expect is for that one night to damn them together in matrimony courtesy of Julietta’s mom, Mama Conte, whose help was vital in Sawyer’s success and change of direction many years prior.  He owes her everything, and so he gives her his future, a life with her daughter.

They fall in love fast, though neither would acknowledge what everyone else already sees.  Until Sawyer’s past comes back to threaten what they could have together.

My Review:

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION

That’s what these two have together.  The story is scorching hot with lots of thrilling (i.e. very sexy) moments. I have been eagerly anticipating this novel since I loved all three previous books in this (Marriage to a Billionaire by Jennifer Probst) series.  I knew my expectations for a hot romantic novel would be met and I was not disappointed. I loved the story and I loved the way it was written.

The only thing I did not expect was the touch of BDSM ala Fifty Shades of Grey that was peppered in The Marriage Merger.  I believe that it could have stood without this, but then again to each his own.

Apart from the 3 couples from the 3 older books converging in this story, there’s also a bonus character that I grew to like, that of Wolfe, a former homeless and directionless boy that Sawyer pretty much adopted from the streets, all because Wolfe reminded him of his younger self.  This boy helps Sawyer become the man and husband Julietta deserves…but that’s getting ahead of the story.

I also like how this last book neatly ties up all the four novels together.  There is a happy ending for each that we suckers for romance would surely appreciate.

I do recommend all the books in this series.  If you have a few hours to spare, begin with The Marriage Bargain, follow it up with The Marriage Trap and The Marriage Mistake.  Then finally read The Marriage Merger.  If nothing else, this will leave your face with a silly grin.

You may visit the author’s site at:

http://jenniferprobst.com/

All photos have been lifted from the author’s site

Book Review: PLUS ONE by Brighton Walsh

Book Review:  Plus One

Author:  Brighton Walsh

Publisher:  Carina Press

Category:  Adult Contemporary Romance

“I don’t understand.  What’s got you so upset?”- Livvy

“Us.  This thing between us.  What’s missing here Livvy?”- Ian

“What do you mean what’s missing? Nothing, I…”- Livvy

“you have me, all of me.  Always have, always will.  But I’m tired of not having you… I have been in love with you for twenty goddamn years.  I can’t pretend I’m not  anymore.  I want to be yours, Liv.  Not just your plus one.”- Ian

Description Via Netgalley:

Olivia hates the singles scene, so when her best guy friend, Ian, offers to be her plus one to a series of weddings she has to attend, she agrees. Although she doesn't want to complicate their lifelong friendship, she can't pass up the chance to have a steady date without the dating drama. What she doesn't expect is to now find Ian so incredibly sexy.

When Ian sees his old friend Olivia dolled up for wedding #1, the boyhood crush he once nurtured transforms into smoldering attraction. It doesn't take long for their no-strings arrangement to turn physical. But as Olivia's desire to stay "just friends" becomes clear, Ian's feelings are deepening. In the time they have together, how will Ian convince Olivia that one plus one can make for a lifelong pair?

My Summary:

Volunteering to be Livvy’s plus one to the many weddings she has promised to attend, Ian finally has an excuse to have her to himself.  He has been secretly in love with his sister’s childhood best friend since he’d been in braces but has never had the guts to admit the truth to her…or to himself.  Thinking his crush would eventually go away, he became Livvy’s dependable best male friend instead.

Author Brighton Walsh

The more time they spend together, the more he spirals back into love.  And apparently, lust, as he and Livvy engage in explosive friends-with-benefits sex…. Or at least, that’s what Livvy thought.   But Ian falls deeply in love.  Will he just be relegated in the friend zone forever?

My Review:

Short, sweet and sexy.

Those are the words that best describe this book.  Not exactly earth shatteringly unusual, the plot has been used many times over.  However, the way it was written attached me to the characters, specifically Ian.

This book is unusual in that unlike the usual male protagonist in novels who more than anything else grunt instead of talk and use sex in place of romance to show emotions, Ian is more out there, more in love, and uncharacteristically communicative and accepting of his deep feelings for the girl.    He is the one who gives in first, the one who cracks and mourns ala Bridget Jones.  The one readers end up rooting for.  I certainly did.

At some points I felt rushed through so I do feel that the relationship could have been further developed, but I do like the ending.
Plus One is a simple, feel good read that women would surely enjoy.

You may visit the author’s site at:

http://www.brightonwalsh.com/

Book Review: THE ETERNITY CURE (BLOOD OF EDEN BOOK 2) by Julie Kagawa

Book Review:  The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden Book 2)

Author:  Julie Kagawa

Publisher:  Harlequin TEEN

Category:  Young Adult Dystopian Fiction

“People are food.  You know it as well as I do.  so don’t expect me to feel terribly guilty about killing your humans, not when you reek of blood and death.  You’re not any less of a monster than I am.”- Jackal

“A human?  Ready to die for a vampire? What a loyal little pet you are.  But your master has no control over you now….Run, little human…Run.”- Sarren

“….I’m not as strong as you are.  I can’t do what you do, what’s required to be a vampire.  Please.  If it comes to that, let me die as a human.  Promise you’ll let me go.”- Zeke

Description via NetGalley:

Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie’s birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever — and possibly end human and vampire existence.

There’s a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago — deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time...

Allie thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must choose between the mortal world and her immortality.

My Summary:

Blood calls to blood.  That’s how Allie knows she’s on the right path in looking for her maker Kanin, who was forcibly taken by an ancient, psychotic and powerful vampire named Sarren.  But another blood calls to her, that of her vampire brother’s, Jackal, the one who destroyed many of those she cared about before they found Eden (The Immortal Rules: Blood of Eden Book 1). 

Desperate to find Kanin, she and Jackal form an uneasy alliance, to last only until they find their maker and stop Sarren from releasing the red lung virus on the remaining humans. 

What she didn’t expect to find on her search was Zeke, the human she left behind in Eden despite the fact that she loved him.  Zeke left assured safety for the unknown for one purpose only: to find Allie and bring her back with him. 

Zeke goes where Allie goes, even in the company of Jackal, whom he despises and blames for the death of his kin.  When they reach New Covington, Allie’s former home, they find crazed humans more dead than alive.  The virus has been released and Kanin is near death.  They have to confront Sarren for the cure before it’s too late.  But what if the cure does not exist? What if their world is finally at its end?

My Review:

The Eternity Cure begin months after the end of Book 1, and upon reading the first few words, I was hooked.  The pace is perfect with twists and turns that kept me up all night. 

Julie Kagawa is a consummate storyteller.  Her words on those pages play like a movie in my head, I can actually imagine scenes playing out as I read her books. That's how good she is... Books filled with imagination, suspense, adventure and love. 

If you are a huge fan of Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Fey series (Me! Me!) DO NOT expect this to be at all similar to it.  This is a total departure from the Iron Fey. It is much more violent, gory... Bloody. But still with as much heart and romance you'd keep coming back to.  To say that Kagawa is good is not enough. To want more from her is to be expected. 

If based alone on the books she has churned out so far, we can already be guaranteed a lot more thrilling rides in the different worlds created by her.  There is only one more book in The Blood of Eden series and I cannot wait to find out more about the mystery that is Kanin.  Also beware of the cliffhanger.  The end might just make you scream.

That said, I can only hope and wait for more of The Iron Fey, for although Allie Sekemoto and Zeke Crosse are great characters, there's none I love more than Meghan, Ash and Puck.

Happy reading!

Here is my review of THE IMMORTAL RULES:

http://readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2012/05/book-review-immortal-rules-by-julie.html

You may visit the author’s sites at:

http://juliekagawa.blogspot.com/

http://www.juliekagawa.com/

Book cover photos lifted from www.goodreads.com

Book Review: THE TEMPORARY WIFE by Jeannie Moon

Book Review:  The Temporary Wife

Author:  Jeannie Moon

Publisher:  InterMix

Category:  Adult Contemporary Romance

 “Meg, I don’t want to let you down.  I’m afraid that I will, but I want to give you everything, absolutely everything.”- Jason

“Have faith Jason.”- Meg

“I have faith in you, just not in myself.”- Jason

“Then I’ll have enough for both of us.”- Meg

Description via NetGalley:

It was an offer she couldn’t refuse…from a man she couldn’t resist. 

Kindergarten teacher Megan Rossi is devoted to being a mother to her best friend’s five-year-old daughter, Molly. When the child was orphaned, Meg became the little girl’s legally named guardian—over the objections of Molly’s wealthy grandparents, the Campbells. Now the Campbells are petitioning for custody, and Meg is faced with a long and expensive legal battle. The last thing she expects is for her former high school boyfriend—and the Campbells’ estranged son—to offer a solution: marriage.

Billionaire software developer Jason Campbell knows his parents don’t have Molly’s best interests at heart—it’s all about control for them. There is one way he can ensure that his sister’s last wishes are honored. He will offer Meg the protection of his name and lawyers until the custody arrangement has been finalized , then he’ll secure his niece’s future with a very generous divorce settlement. Jason’s considered all the scenarios, except one—that the sparks that once flew between he and Meg might reignite a burning passion. And that his confirmed bachelor heart might just melt away from the heat…

My Summary:

Meg’s heart was broken at 16 when, believing she was pregnant, Jason left her to the wolves, also known as his rich, holier-than-thou parents.  And though Meg grew up with the Campbell kids as her father was their longtime employee, they never saw Meg as anything but a social climber.   Years later, the wounds have not quite healed, especially since the Campbells are once again after Meg, this time for Molly.

Even through years of separation and hate between their parents, the friendship between Meg and her best friend Grace, Jason’s sister, never wavered.  So much so that Grace named Meg guardian of her one and only child Molly, should anything happen to her and her husband…. and it did.  A car accident left Molly in Meg’s care, something that the elder Campbells are out to contest.

Enter Jason. Again.  To do right by his sister, make up for his mistakes with Meg and thwart his parents, he proposes to Meg a marriage of convenience.  A year of marriage that would secure Molly’s future as well as Meg’s.   Out of desperation to keep Molly, Meg agrees, despite knowing that her strong attraction to Jason still exists and is in fact, even stronger now 15 years after their failed relationship. 

Things quickly crossover from pretend love to real.  But what will they do when what they fear most confronts them? Will letting go be easiest for both?

My review:

This plot has been used and abused by so many that it’s easy to exchange one book for another.  What does make this different is it has heart. Both lead characters Meg and Jason are endearing in that they are good people with bad experiences who are otherwise perfect for each other.  And Molly is a total sweetheart.  The other characters were okay though they felt unimportant because they were so under developed.  I liked Grant, the guy Meg dated before she married Jason.  But he was used for a couple of thrill points and that was it.  As for Harper, she was a b**ch for the most part then unexpectedly comes through as a heroine in the end, her total turn around just left me baffled.

That said, I did not like the pace of this story.   I felt as if the writer wanted so much to get to the next that she rushed through scenes and points.   Scenes that could have pulled in the reader more.  Add to that the many, and I mean many, flashbacks and moments of doubt by Meg and Jason that was just overdone.

As a whole though, the book is still worth the read.  The chemistry between Meg and Jason alone is enough to make me pick me up the book again.  The book is sweet and romantic with an ending that may leave your eyes with a tear or two... if you don’t mind repetitions that is.

You may visit the author’s site at:

http://jeanniemoon.com/