Tumbleweeds by Chastity Bush

A Review by Guest Blogger Margaret Whelehan 

            This is a little different from the other books I have read so far. In the beginning, our main female and male characters met under odd circumstances. He was trying to break up a fight and she was trying to start one. They seem to be an extremely odd pair.

            Berry has grown up in a house under the care of a madam and her girls since her parents died. She has come to know how men act and does not want any part of it. She has decided to be single for as long as she lives.

            Tavis is our town sheriff. He is the type of person who knows what he wants. He wants to settle down and have a family. He is the type of man that we all want to have; the loving and trusting type. It will be interesting to find out who he sets his eyes on to be his wife.

             Berry is always up front with them and her feelings about marriage. Lily wants her to get married and move out of the whorehouse. Tavis wants her for himself. Berry tells everyone that she is happy the way she is and does not need to be married. I am wondering who will change Berry’s mind. To help try to convince Berry that she needs to get married Lily sets her up with the single men in the town. Berry, uses her up front and honest attitude, and tells them that she will never get married. I am wondering how Tavis will try to convince her that marriage is not what she thinks it is.

            After the first time Tavis and Berry made love, I was actually worried that instead of their relationship taking a step forward, it actually remained the same. A walk in the morning for errands in town and a picnic at night while making love under the stars. There are times while I am reading this that I actually want to be in Berry’s and Tavis’s time. I want things to be as simple as they have it.

            Finally, halfway through the book, Berry had a light bulb moment. She is finally starting to realize that Tavis might actually be a good man. With the help of her friend Mrs. Elm, some sense was knocked into her. What is still frustrating is that she still does not think that he will be faithful to her if they were to be married. I am wondering how Tavis will convince Berry that she is the only one he wants for the rest of her life.

            There is nothing like a good kidnapping. It is always interesting when someone from the past shows up to interrupt the present. I feel sorry for Berry because she was the one kidnapped and for the last thing that she saw. She probably thinks that she is going to die because no one will come for her. No one has followed her and they have no clue where she is being brought to.

            I cannot believe who came to Berry’s rescue. That group was the last group of people that I expected to show up and save her. But I shouldn’t have been surprised because this specific group would do anything for the people they consider family.

            After Berry was rescued, there was finally a wedding. And of course, as the song goes, first comes love then comes babies in a baby carriage. It was the perfect ending to an extremely good read. 

~MARGARET~

My Wild Highlander by Vonda Sinclair

In My Wild Highlander by Vonda Sinclair, we find the handsome but philandering Lachlan MacGrath, younger brother of Laird Alasdair MacGrath has found himself in a rather odd position. He finds himself engaged to be married, something he never ever foresaw would ever happen to him. The Lady Angelique Drummagan, a half Scottish half French beauty fights tooth and nail not to be married off to Lachlan, to no avail.

With marriage to The Lady Angelique comes title as Laird and lands but danger as well for there are many against the new Laird and his new wife when they arrive at Draughon Castle. Other things conspire to make the quick marriage of Lachlan and Angelique difficult, most importantly Angelique's mistrust of him and her belief that he will only be unfaithful to her even after he has sworn he would be faithful. The people of Draughon  Castle aren't thrilled to have Lachlan as their Laird and make their feelings known. Will Lachlan gain the respect of Angelique's people? Will he chip away and her cool exterior and find out all her secrets and find his way into her heart?

My Wild Highlander is yet another amazing and action filled story in Vonda Sinclair's highlander series. The reader is drawn in from the first sentence and I guarantee you won't be able to put the book down until the final word. I very much enjoy Ms. Sinclair's writing and I think you will as well. Thank you Vonda Sinclair for the sleepless nights I had reading your books, and please hurry with the next one.. I am a very impatient reader!

~KIMBERLY~

5 Stars (Hook Line and Sinker)

4 Orgasms Read (Awesome!!!)

An Era Apart by Chris Lange

A REVIEW BY GUEST BLOGGER JENN

What an interesting, intriguing and unique story by Chris Lange! Tracy travels through time from modern day San Francisco back to 1899, all in search of her kidnapped father. While there, she meets Garrett, a principled, but passionate man charged, along with a motley group characters, with protecting her father and his work. She and Garrett are instantly attracted to one another, but come from different worlds, both temporally and socially. They struggle with their relationship while racing to rescue Tracy's father. 
I've always loved the fish out of water aspect of time travel stories and this was no exception. It's fast-paced, exciting, and surprising! I never expected to see a vampire in 1899 San Francisco, along with a vampire hunter and a gunslinger. Tracy and Garret have a smoldering relationship with some very erotic moments between them. The sexual tension is superbly done. Tracy is a strong, no nonsense woman who's easy to identify with. Garrett is the proper Lord, who, when he lets down his walls, becomes a passionate and generous lover. Very hot! I so want to see what's in store for the two of them in the future. So many possibilities! Highly recommended. There better be a sequel coming Chris Lange!!

5 Stars (Hook Line and Sinker)

~JENN~

My Fierce Highlander by Vonda Sinclair

In Vonda Sinclair's My Fierce Highlander, we find Gwyneth Carswell, the English widow of a Scottish brute, searching for survivors of a MacGrath-MacIrwin clan skirmish. She finds one lone man alive and he isn't from her clan. With the help of her reluctant friend and fellow healer, she brings him back to the small cottage she shares with the friend Mora and her own five year old son and tends to his wounds. While doing so, the young widow finds herself inexplicably drawn to the rather handsome Scot.

Laird Alasdair MacGrath finds himself in a precarious position when he awakens the following day from a fever due to his injuries. He has no weapons, no clothing and is on enemy land.If he is found by the MacIrwins, he will surely be killed and his presence also puts Gwyneth, her son and Mora is danger.  When he is introduced to the healer Gwyneth and her son Rory, he is wary of their loyalties and lies about his identity. He also finds rather quickly that he is attracted to the widow, even after he realizes that she was the wife of the man who murdered his father. Alasdair returns as soon as he is able to his lands and people, leaving the young widow behind, but very much still in his thoughts.

Tragedy strikes while Gwyneth and Rory are away from the cottage. Evidently the evil Laird Donald MacIrwin discovers that she helped the enemy and the cottage was burned. Gwyneth takes Rory and escapes on foot to the only possible place for her to go for help, the MacGrath holdings. The MacGrath takes her in, but there are many complications in doing so. Will Gwyneth be able to keep her attraction to the Laird at bay?   Will she be able to find a place for her son  and herself that keeps her safe from the MacIrwin clan? Will the Laird give in to temptation after a few years as a grieving widower? So many questions that can be answered if you only read this book.

My Fierce Highlander is a wonderful first book in Vonda Sinclair's Highlander series. There isn't one moment of boredom, no fillers, just action and intrigue. The wide range of emotions and the excellent story line make room for an adventure.  I highly recommend this read to all. What an awesome first book! Getting right into the second one, My Wild Highlander as soon as I finish this review.

~KIMBERLY~


Vonda Sinclair's Website: http://www.vondasinclair.com/
Vonda Sinclair's Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/VondaSinclair

4 Orgasms Read (Awesome!!!)

5 Stars (Hook Line and Sinker)

Kilted Desire~ Sands of Betrayal by A.B. McKinley

First I want to start by saying that I was very skeptical about this book. I have a "thing" about men writing romance. Maybe it's my hangup, but that's how I feel. When A.B. McKinley approached me, I did voice my opinion, but I did say that I would read it then debate my feelings.

In Kilted Desire~ Sands of Betrayal we meet Scotsman, Scott Mclaren, a former British Special Forces soldier who moves to rural Ohio after being badly wounded in Afghanistan and having his wife leave him for another man while recovering from his injuries. While in Ohio, Scott places an online advertisement on a dating website and is quickly found by local almost divorcee and mother of two, Katie Johnson.

Both Scott and Katie are wary at first, but soon their relationship blossoms and they quickly find themselves in love with one another. Scott takes no issue with Katie still being technically married and jumps headfirst into the love affair. Soon Scott sees that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Katie, but in order to do so, needs to be able to take care of Katie and the girls. He takes on a six month contract in the Middle East protecting an American business woman.

Britney Parnell, the American business woman is a spoiled little rich girl who is used to getting what she wants, and she quickly decides she wants Scott. The only saving grace for Britney is that she is smart enough to take all of Scott's advice on her protection. When Scott rebuffs Britney's advances over and over, it only makes her more determined to have him, regardless of the known fact that Scott is with Katie.

Back home in Ohio, Katie is having her own difficulties keeping it all together. Her almost ex-husband refuses any support and she is faced with losing her house. The separation from Scott is hard on Katie, but she seemingly holds it together. When she finds out about Britney Parnell she immediately tells Scott she knows the business woman has her sights on him, but Scott laughs it off at first.

There are several twists and turns in this story that have the reader wondering what will happen next. Of course from the title, we know there is a betrayal of sorts but I won't be giving spoilers. I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and finding out that it was 90% factual, just made me enjoy it more. This is A.B. McKinley's first book and at the moment he is writing another. I definitely will be watching Mr. McKinley closely in the future as I feel he has a great career as an author ahead of him.

Slàinte

~KIMBERLY~

4 Stars (Brilliant)

 3 Orgasms Read (Very Good)

All Bets Are Off by Mahalia Levey

 

Here is another Guest Blog by A Book Obsessed Chick Club Member Margaret Whelehan

From the beginning you can tell that the characters are going to be together. The book starts with them being like oil and water because they keep competing for the same jobs. You can also feel the chemistry between them already and it’s not even half way through yet.
Janyie, the main female character, has a lot of guts and spunk to dress up in the costume she was in. if her costume did get eaten, she would have probably ended up naked at the party. Brendon, the male lead comes across, as an egotistic knows it all. It is will be interesting to see how these two complete opposites come together.
Brendon and Janyie have brought a new meaning when it comes to quickies in an office during a party. They also brought new insight to cotton candy. I doubt I would look at the tasty treat the same ever again.
I loved how she found out that he was following her from the moment she joined the same company he is with. It seems that everyone that they work with knew he was attracted to her but her.
I completely enjoyed reading this. I am glad that I had the opportunity to read a different author then what I am use to reading. The one thing that I did not like about this was that it was too short. I wanted to know what happened when they finished their job and went back to her house. The innuendos implied more sex and cotton candy; I just wanted to read more about it.

Margaret Whelehan

In Bed With a Highlander by Maya Banks

HEY FOLLOWERS... HERE IS AN AWESOME REVIEW BY FIRST TIME GUEST BLOGGER DAWN PEACHEY!!!  THANK YOU DAWN!!

From the moment I started this book, was entranced. I was unable to put it down. I only did when real life insisted or I could no longer keep my eyes open. I first fell in love with the character of Alaric in the first book In Bed with a Highlander. This book just confirmed what the first book alluded to; Alaric is fiercely loyal and protective. This is evident in his loyalty to his clan, but also to Keeley. You could feel the love Keeley and Alaric have for one another radiating off the pages. It is that love that allows Keeley to let go of Alaric so he can fulfill his duty to his clan, even though it is killing her on the inside. Through the entire book I was praying that things would work out, that God would not allow something to come between a love this strong. This book made me laugh out loud; it made me weep with sadness, and joy. I highly recommend it. I look forward to reading the third and final installment in this lovely trilogy.

Dawn