Guardian Cowboy by Crystal-Rain Love

Title: Guardian Cowboy
Author: Crystal-Rain Love
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: January 2010
Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Length: 116 pages
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Rating: 4 diamonds
Heat Level: sensual
Reviewer: Dana Dean
Date: March 2010

Presley West walked away from the bodyguard business to return to his roots as a cowboy. He does not want to go back to his other life. Too bad fate has other ideas. When he rescues a woman stranded on the interstate, his protective instincts roar back to life.

Amber Barlow doesn’t need or want a man to tell her what to do. She’s had enough of that from her abusive ex. But violence and degradation lurk behind her, and whether the man hunting her finds her or not, the past could destroy her future and the sweet guardian cowboy she longs to share it with.

Guardian Cowboy offers exactly what readers of this genre look for – a handsome, tough cowboy with a tender heart and a feisty woman to make him face his soft side. Amber’s fluctuating self-image and Presley’s need to save the world complement one another nicely. Although a bit cliché in places, overall Ms. Love’s story is a sweet, gentle and well-written love story that will tug at your heart strings.

My Love Eternal by Liz Strange

Title: My Love Eternal

Author: Liz Strange

Publisher: Lyrical Press, Incorporated

Publication Date: 2009, electronic publication March 2010

ISBN: 978-1-61650-132-7 digital

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Vampire

Length: 166 pages

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Author Email: lstrange@cogeco.ca

Rating: 4.5 Diamonds

Heat Level: Sensual

Reviewer: Starla Kaye

Date: 3-6-10

Rachel works nights in a hospital, preferring the nights to days. One night she meets a man who haunts her dreams, just as she haunts his. She longs for him and yet can’t understand the strength of her feelings. Giovanni needs her, stunned by how she can see his thoughts and feel his emotions. He needs her, wants her and she wants him, too. But the life he leads and can offer her will change her forever.

One of the emotional lines that captured my attention was “I touched a blood-tinged tear as it slipped down his face.” From that moment on I was drawn into their story of a complicated love. This is book one of a trilogy that I look forward to reading.

Cover of Darkness by Kaylea Cross

Title: Cover of Darkness
Author: Kaylea Cross
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 1-60154-603-3
Genre: Sensual
Length: 348 pages
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Rating: 5 Diamonds
Heat Level: spicy
Reviewer: Dana Dean
Date: March 2010

Though born and raised in the United States, half Lebanese and half American, Bryn McAllister understands the diplomatic world her lives in. Or so she thinks until that world explodes around her and launches her into danger unlike anything she has ever experienced before. On the other hand Navy SEAL Lieutenant Declan McCabe realizes just how deadly the war torn Middle East can be. He’s lived, fought, and watched fellow soldiers die there, but he’s never experienced anything or known anyone he could not distance himself from until Bryn. Can he keep her alive long enough to get her out of the country and into his arms?

Wonderful. In Cover of Darkness Ms. Cross did exactly what a writer should do. Almost from the first page I wanted to be the heroine even when danger and chaos lurked around every corner. I admired Bryn’s dedication to a father she rarely saw, her strength and determination to do whatever it took to survive, and her compassion. Mostly, I envied her opportunity to be rescued by several hunky men. Although Dec is obviously and spectacularly the hero in this story, the other men who circle Bryn like satellites should not be disregarded. In fact, I suspect they won’t be. Cover of Darkness tells Bryn and Dec’s story, but it also drops tantalizing hints about the lives of several others and left me wanting more. I enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to see whose story is next. Well done, Ms. Cross.

The Bewitched Cowboy by Tess Quinn

Title: The Bewitched Cowboy

Author: Tess Quinn

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Publication Date: 2009

Genre: Paranormal

Length: 99 pages

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Rating: 4.5 Diamonds

Heat Level: Spicy

Reviewer: Starla Kaye

Date: 2-28-10

Two independent people from different lifestyles who don’t ever want to marry are faced with needing to do just that, and to marry each other. Complicating the situation even more, they are witches and both will face dire consequences if they refuse to bond and marry. Matt will lose his powers with controlling the weather, which he needs for his vineyard. Destiny will lose part of her soul and die.

The story idea was intriguing and I found myself feeling the same frustrations Destiny and Matt dealt with. The magic elements made their trials interesting, their emotions hotter, and their struggle to come together harder. All in all, this was a heart-tugging story that I enjoyed reading.

Trouble Under Venus by Autumn Piper

Title: Trouble Under Venus
Author: Autumn Piper
Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc.
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: 978-161650-117-4
Genre:Time Travel Romance
Length: 211 Pages
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Author Email: piper.autumn@gmail.com
Rating: 5 Diamonds
Heat Level: Sensual
Reviewer: Sky
Date:2/27/10

When Randi arrives at the Feng Shui Inn in Sedona, she only has one thing on her mind. Travel back through the space-time continuum and find out what happened to her father, who disappeared when she was only two years old. But she hasn’t counted on taking along Mitch, an undercover fed, who seems on the trail to stealing her now grownup heart.

This tale of time travel romance takes Ms. Piper’s heroine from modern day Arizona to exciting Miami, at the height of its glitzy, slinky disco mania. Randi and Mitch, modern to a fault, meet the people of thirty years ago, featuring some of Miami’s finest underworld characters. Add in the fact that Mitch is actually working on a case, which may involve Randi’s long-lost dad, and you have all the ingredients for a great rainy day read. The only problem will be putting the story down long enough to go get more cocoa. Of course, this would also be fun to read on a hot day, with a tall iced glass of something. I just don’t recommend anything these characters had to drink in 1980. I doubt we have the head for it. Either way, this book is a fun ride with great characters and wonderful background.

Off Limits by Lia Slater

Title: Off Limits
Author: Lia Slater
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: 2010
Genre: Contemporary, erotic
Length: 23 pages
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Author Email: lia@liaslater.com
Rating: 5 Diamonds
Heat Level: Erotic
Other: Oral play, older woman
Reviewer: Starla Kaye
Date: 2-21-10


Kara had been young and stupid, and she’d married the wrong man ten years ago. The “right man,” her husband’s younger brother, had warned her. Now that she is divorced, she’s once again swamped by fantasies of Austin, who has become her friend. He’s still eight years younger and that’s still a problem, isn’t it?

Austin had a crush on Kara ten years ago and knew she shouldn’t marry his older brother, a man that even he didn’t trust. During the last few years of her marriage, he and Kara had become friends. His crush had turned into an intense love. He wants to have a future with her, but first he has to get around her reservations.

If you enjoy second chance at love stories, you will enjoy this one. It is short, packed with emotion, and you can’t help finding yourself pulling for the younger man intent on convincing the woman he loves to give him a chance. If you’re a woman beyond the “perfect body” stage in life, you’re going to identify with the heroine and understand her doubts. This is a quick read and a feel-good story where hope for that magical happily-ever-after shines bright.

Picture Me Perfect by Stormy Glenn

Title: Picture Me Perfect

Author: Stormy Glenn

Publisher: Noble Romance Publishing

Publication Date: 2010

ISBN: 978-1-60592-087-0

Genre: Contemporary

Length: 104 pages

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Author Email: stormyglenn@hotmail.com

Rating: 5 Diamonds

Heat Level: Spicy erotic

Other: Anal/oral play, M/M

Reviewer: Starla Kaye

Date: 2-20-10

Like most people, Nicky Everson just wants to be loved and to love someone back. It seems like such a simple thing, but it hasn’t been for Nicky. He picked the wrong person in his last relationship, a bully who used and abused him. And when that relationship turned really sour, when his boyfriend beat him up and he left their home, he had nowhere to go. His older brother loved him but always believed Nicky made bad choices. He was tired of hearing “I told you so.”

Troy Summers is Nicky’s brother’s partner as a cop. He, too, has been struggling with finding that special someone to love and share a life with. He met Nicky once and felt an immediate attraction, but getting involved with Nicky would be complicated. He didn’t think it could happen. And then one night he receives a call from Nicky, a plea for help.

I was drawn into the story by two people searching for love, such a complicated thing. Both men wanted the kind of relationship where you didn’t judge the other person for their likes or the things they did. Troy was a good, strong cop, what some might see as a man’s man, but there was so much more to him than that. He accepted Nicky and all of Nicky’s interests that others belittled him for. He desired Nicky and would fight to protect him. In contrast, Nicky was physically nowhere near as big and strong as Troy, and had been often wrongly accused of being “girlie.” He might be smaller, yes, but he loved with all of his heart and prided himself in taking care of those he loved. His strength came out when he was put to a test, when he defended the man he loved. I enjoyed all of the characters and the storyline. The author did a wonderful job of showing the struggles of a finding that special someone and of finding a way to make the relationship work.