"Hearts In Darkness" by Laura Kaye (originally written June 17, 2012)

4 - 4.5 stars

Story:
Suddenly caught in a broken elevator Makenna and Caden don't know what hit them, but from one second to another it's pitch black dark around them and nothing is moving. They don't know each other, they don't know what the other person looks like, but they definitely need each other to get sanely through this disturbing experience.

This was short, sexy and sweet, with two very likable characters and an appealing storyline. It's just the book you need if you have a bit of free time in the afternoon because despite of the smaller amount of pages (112) there was a suprising depth to the story, the characters' pasts and the budding feelings between the protagonists.
I really enjoyed how the author used the short amount of time to build the relationship between those two. She took her time to let the two of them get to know each other (while they were talkig to distract themselves), but there was always this pleasurable and understated tension between them. Still, they didn't just jump each other, but instead thought about the possible consequences (but don't worry, there are still some very well written love scenes).
Something else I appretiated was the fact that they were both honest enough to admit that the looks of the other person had some importance, but at the same time they didn't let it stop them from "falling in like" with each other. They were honest to themselves and to each other, which made me like them even more!

The only thing that bothered me a bit was the abrupt ending. I didn't feel like their story was finished. It wasn't unsatisfying, but I still would have wished for a more detailed ending.

This story was romantic and to the point. I'll definitely have to check out other books by the author!

"The Many Sins Of Lord Cameron" by Jennifer Ashley (originally written March 9, 2012)

5+ stars

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I don't know how it's even possible, but I liked it even better than the first two books in the "Highland Pleasures" series. Especially "The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie" is one of my all-time-favorites, but "The Many Sins of Lord Cameron" was (and is) still in it's own league of great historical romances.
It's definitely one of the best books I read in 2012 and I've read quite a few already.

I'm a fan of Jennifer Ashley's heroines in this series. I wanted Beth as my older sister and would have been happy if Isabella had taken me under her wing, like she did with Ian's wife. But I simply adored Ainsley. She's honest, witty and has an open and warm heart. The gentle, but insistent way she helped and coaxed Cameron was heart-warming and emotional.

Then there's Cameron. In the first two books I wasn't too sure about him. I loved Ian and Mac from the beginning, but Cam just seemed too callous and brutish to me.
Now that I've read his story I can understand why. I won't say too much, but just know that he truly suffered in his former marriage.
I'm touched and amazed by the depth of his character Jennifer Ashley revealed to us in this installment. One minute I just wanted to take him into my arms and tell him that everything would be alright, while in the next second I found myself grinning at his funny and sexy antics. He's a fabulous hero - gorgeous, strong, but riddled with his own set of doubts and fears. But the thing is, he overcame them with the help of Ainsley and I loved reading about the whole progress.

Like a lot of other readers I enjoyed the lack of unnecessary drama. There were no overdone misunderstandings or any kind of deceptions. Yes, they had issues to overcome, but they did it together, while staying true to themselves.

Like I said, this book was fabulous and I truly enjoyed revisiting the characters from the previous books. Quite a few times I found myself laughing about something Daniel did or said and the whole setting with the horses fit perfectly to the romance.
And even though I'm not a big fan of Hart I'm still interested in his book. The glimpses we got of him made me really curious and the way Jennifer Ashley convinced me of Cameron's character doesn't leave a doubt in me that she will do the same with Hart's.

"Nine Rules To Break When Romancing A Rake" by Sarah MacLean (originally written January 5, 2012)

5+ stars

Story:

After ten unsuccessful London seasons Lady Callie (short for Calpurnia) is definitely considered a spinster, but lately she is tired of her boring live and pristine reputation. This is the delightful story of her finding a way to finally start living her own life. Delightful, but not exactly unproblematic because for some reason she stumbles over the infuriating and rakish Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston, every step she takes. 

The story of the sweet spinster and the notorious rake might not be the most original, but that is widely beside the point here. The truly remarkable thing about this book was the affectionate way of the author. You just know that she loves her characters and there's no way for you to resist this lovely tale.

I simply adored Callie, as well as her older brother and younger sister, who just happily announced her betrothal to a duke. Even her slightly eccentric mother was oddly likable.
This book has a crowd of lovable secondary characters, like Nick - Gabriel's brother, or their lively halfsister Juliana.

But what definitely stole the show, was the budding relationship between Callie and the sympathetic rake Gabriel. Once I started reading their story I just couldn't put the book down anymore.
The way they interacted, and the way Gabriel reacted to Callie's imfamous list was just hilarious and heart-warming.
Everytime Gabriel called her "Empress" (in reverence to Calpurnia, Caesar's wife) I was amused and ridiculously touched at the same time.
His transition and development in this book was an believable, if not always easy one. You just had to respect him for his former "decision" to never fall in love. Even if you sometimes wanted to shake him and tell him to get over it.

Thankfully the amount of drama was blessedly moderate, without costing the book in suspense and power. There wasn't a big, awful climax, completely blown out of proportion, but a little twist that gave the story the necessary punch.

You can definitely say that I truly loved this book. It was funny, sweet, written in a flowing and enjoyable style and had just enough great love scenes to keep things interesting. I would recommend it to everyone who... well, just EVERYONE! :]

"Good For You" by Tammara Webber (originally written June 15, 2012)

4.5 stars

I didn’t read the first two books in the series (“Between the Lines” and “Where You Are”) because I hate, hate, HATE love triangles and I wasn’t interested in the whole Reid-Emma-Graham drama. But I thought that a story about Reid after he “lost” to Graham sounded like a potentially good story. Apart from that I have a weakness for the popular-guy-good-girl-storylines.

And Reid is extremely popular. He’s a Hollywood star, legendary womanizer and known to find trouble wherever he goes. That’s the reason he and Dori meet in the first place. He has drunkenly driven his car into a house front and the following court order was for him to help with the rebuilding of the house – a project that Dori is in charge of.

I didn’t like Reid in the beginning, mainly because he was acting like an arrogant jerk. Even though I gave him some slack for at least being honest about it and for the fact that he is a Hollywood star and a bit of his arrogance might be founded. When people are constantly telling you how great you are it’s only logical. But still, it doesn’t change the fact that his behavior left a lot to wish for.
He’s well aware that Dori is a “good girl”, she takes love seriously and stays true to her values. But still he’s going after her because he likes the challenge, while still hooking up with other girls. Call me stuck-up, but that’s one of the meanest things a guy can do in a situation like that.
But for me as well as Reid there was a big turning point in this story. I’m not even sure when it happened, but suddenly I felt like he showed some genuine interest in her, like it suddenly became more than just the thrill of the chase.
After that the book turned more beautiful with every page. The way Reid tried (and succeeded) to become a better and more deserving person for Dori’s and – what’s even more important – his own sake, was touching and so wildly romantic that at times I had problems to control my inner fangirl. I felt like squealing happily more than once and I don’t do that, ever!

I had some problems with the writing style at first. The story is told from ever changing POVs (Reid’s and Dori’s), there were parts of the book where every third page was told from a different person’s POV. It made it hard for me to really get into the story and made me feel a bit restless, but once I got used it I wouldn’t have wanted to change it for the world. They were both ruthlessly honest with themselves, so the insights we got into both of their feelings were extremely valuable for the development of the story.

The only thing I REALLY didn’t like was the whole story arc with her older sister.

***Mild SPOILER***
Maybe the author thought that making Dori’s sister and best friend fall into a coma that left her as an unresponsive invalid for the rest of her life was important for the development of the story and Dori’s and Reid’s relationship, but if you use a character like that to generate some drama (which I hate in the first place), why do you have to make her find the love of her life just before the accident? The whole thing was so heartbreaking I actually had tears in my eyes and more than a few of them were out of anger. That part of the story was completely unnecessary!

***SPOILER END***

Apart from that I couldn’t have been more delighted with the story. Dori’s and Reid’s relationship developed with a natural pace and I could understand all of their actions and decisions. They didn’t mindlessly rush into anything, but at the same time there was a pull between them that made it almost impossible for them to stay apart.
This was a beautiful and touching book about growing up, showing strength in the face of disaster and staying true to yourself through all of it.

"Tangle Of Need" by Nalini Singh (originally written May 29, 2012)

This is the first of my older reviews that I'll post on this blog, so I thought starting with a book from my favorite author would be a good idea. I edited the review a bit, so this isn't the original, but the updated version of it.

5+ stars

Story (part of the synopsis from Goodreads):

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past--one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.
For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

Before I start with my actual review let me just tell you about my thoughts and expectations BEFORE I started reading "Tangle of Need":

• I really didn't like Adria. She seemed overbearing, cold and bitter and even though I tried to tell myself that being in a BAD relationship could do that to you I just couldn't shake my feelings of dislike towards her.

• I was completely convinced that the fact that Riaz had already found his mate, but couldn't be with her would ruin the love story in "Tangle of Need". There are just some things that absolutely don't work for me in romance books and a man who wants another woman while having a relationship (or even just sex) with someone else is one of them.

• There was just no way any story could measure up to the standard Nalini Singh set for herself after writing a book as perfect as "Kiss of Snow". It's just not possible.

But since Nalini Singh is one of my favorite authors and I just had to know what happened next in the Psy/Changeling-series I bought a copy as soon as it came out. Of course.

These were my thoughts AFTER I finished "Tangle of Need":

• Nalini Singh is a genius and I'll never ever doubt her again!

I can't even describe how much I loved this book. It did definitely measure up to "Kiss of Snow". I was so convinced that the mass of issues and prior bad experienced that Riaz and Adria dragged into their relationship would make it impossible for me to fully enjoy their love story. But while there were some painful moments, their individual and shared developments were utterly satisfying and heart-warming. Unbelievable but true, this was a truly happy story. I found myself smiling throughout this whole book and at the end I almost cried some happy tears. But since I'm made of harder stuff than that I didn't. Of course. I just had something in my eye.

Riaz is just as adorable (in a very feral way) as all her other heroes and even though I had my reservations about Adria I couldn't hold on to them for more than 20 pages. She's such a strong and affectionate person despite the things she has gone through. I respected her for her courage and was amazed by the way she handled Riaz's dominant and instinctive antics.

What made me almost as happy was the fact that we got to read a lot about the Arrows (especially Aden and Vasic), as well as Kaleb. For the first time I had a feeling that I actually got a glimpse at the person behind the icy exterior of the teleporter, while Kaleb is still as big a mystery as he was before, but let me just say, after reading the last chapter of the book I simply can't wait for his book. The fact that I have to wait at least until next year is driving me crazy!

Other than that I was delighted that Nalini Singh gave all of the Snow Dancers, as well as some of the Dark River cats some page time in "Tangle of Need". Especially Hawke and Sienna have been featured generously and I'm happy to announce that they are just as great as the were in "Kiss of Snow". Prepare yourself for some delicious scenes.

So logically the focus of the book wasn't entirely on Adria and Riaz, it was more like a book about the whole Snow Dancer pack. I didn't have a problem with that, since I love to read about characters from previous books, as well as get to know the rest of the pack a little bit better. In my opinion Nalini Singh still did a fabulous job of highlighting Adria and Riaz's relationship.

If you haven't already ordered the book you should do it now. I mean it, do it right this second because this is a story that you just don't want to miss! :D 

So, have you read the book or something else by Nalini Singh? Did you love it as much as I did? If you haven't yet read something by the author, what's keeping you from it? ;]