SEAL of My Dreams

This is an anthology of stories that is dedicated to our Navy SEALs. All sale proceeds of this book go to the non-profit foundation the Veterans Research Corporation. I loved how they used an actual Navy SEAL for the cover.

I usually skip reading the forward and go right to the story but not this time (and I’m glad I didn’t). Robyn Carr gives a tribute to our unsung heroes. Please make sure that you don’t miss this fitting tribute. This anthology is a great way to read authors you never may have before.

Please make sure to read all the way to the end. You will learn some things about the authors that you may not have known before. After that is information on the Veterans Research Corporation. You may want to even check out their website http://www.veteransresearchcorp.org/.

You will not be disappointed by adding this anthology to your collection. I give “SEAL of My Dreams” 4 1/2 stars. If you check back to my site, I will be giving reviews of each individual story. I will get them completed by the end of this week (if not before).

Lady Northam’s Wicked Surrender by Vivienne Westlake

This is book 1 in the “Rekindled Passions” series.

Rowena Sharpe and Delphine are sisters.  Lord Simon Rutherford is brother to their friend Alice.  He’s also the man that jilted Rowena.

Rowena’s trying to sleep and has a late night visit – and it’s not her sister.  Or is it all a dream?  Simon has missed Rowena but blames their distance on his old friend, Paul.

Vivienne is like an artist.  She’s painting us a picture of what our characters look like.  She does the same thing with their location.  These “pictures” are what help us to visualize what is going on and is why we keep turning the page.

Vivienne also puts a little mystery in the mix – why did Rowena choose Paul over Simon.  In order to solve the mystery, you need to keep on reading.  And like all good mysteries, nothing is as it seems.  Will Simon and Rowena let go of the past and finally be where they should be.

I was left wanting more.  Did Simon and Rowena get married?  What became of Delphine?  What about the sister’s brother Victor?  We can hope that at some point some of our questions will get answered.  Look for book 2 of the “Rekindled Passions” series to come out in January.

I give “…Wicked Surrender” 4 1/2 stars.

The Legend of Michael by Lisa Renee Jones

This is the first book of the “Zodius” series.

Cassandra Powell comes to work for her father and to evaluate some of the soldiers at the military facility.  Not two minutes after literally bumping into one of the soldiers he’s hitting on her.  His name is Michael Taylor.  She then goes to meet her assistant Kelly who tells her something interesting about the GTEC soldiers that she will be working with.  I love how Kelly tells Cassandra how to have protected sex – ok Mom!

Cassandra’s father seems to be one of the evil forces in this story.  He’s done some experiments on the soldiers that Cassandra must now see what the effects are.  He seems to think that he can play God and not be held accountable.  But there is someone who is much more evil than he is.

Michael goes on a mission with two brothers, Adam and Caleb.  Adam shows us how the experiment can take a turn for the worse.  What’s even worse is that there is a woman, his wife, who’s as evil as he is.  Lisa paints Adam as a very dark sadistic man.  He gets pleasure from other people’s pain.  Lisa doesn’t make it too graphic but just enough so the reader will understand the type of evil man he is.

Lisa takes the reader on a very suspenseful ride.  From one chapter to the next we don’t know what’s going to happen to Cassandra and Michael.  But we have to keep reading so that we can find out.  You have to love a hero that in the midst of a war going on, he has time to make love to his lifebond. 

Cassandra’s father isn’t happy on how his soldiers have turned out, now he wants to create a super soldier.  This is one more reason to keep reading.  Was this latest experiment a success?   And how does Michael’s mother fit into all this?  Lisa gives us a glimpse into a world where if you fool with Mother Nature, you will suffer the consequences.

I love how Lisa has given Cassandra a strong personality.  She either fights by Michael’s side or she’ll just go out on her own.  They also love each other – no matter what.  This is the type of love we all long for.

The story ends with us wondering whether good was able to defeat evil.  Who will prevail?  You will have to keep reading the series to find out the answer to this question.  I definitely recommend reading this series.

I give this book 4 stars.

A Shot in the Dark by Christine d’Abo

This is the second book in the “Long Shots” series.

Main Characters:  Paige Long is part owner of a coffee shop along with two of her siblings.  Carter is a firefighter who frequents her shop.  Right away he likes what he sees and invites her to Mavericks, a local sex club.

Paige walks into the coffee shop’s kitchen to find two of her employees having sex.  Now what would you do in her shoes?  She ends up working the rest of the night shift and this guy starts to hit on her – his name is Carter.  In talking with Carter, it finally dawns on her that he is a Dom.

Her brother Ian comes to see her the next day after hearing what happened the night before.  She’s concerned about him.  Is this what leads to Christine’s third book?  Can’t wait for number 3 to come out so that I can find out the answer.

On her way back to the coffee shop, guess who she meets again.  This time in a uniform.  Don’t you just love men in uniform?  He’s also back to hitting on Paige.

One thing I love about Christine’s writing is that she sticks to her scenes.  There is no going off on tangents that don’t have anything to do with the interaction of our main characters.  Or that don’t add anything to a scene. 

Things start to happen quickly for Carter and Paige – another good thing about short stories.  They both know that they can give each other what they want.  This is what makes Carter a good Dom.  You will find that the BDSM is very subtle in this story. 

If you are more of a sensualist, this story will be good for you.  None of the sex scenes are over the top and unbelievable.  If you have an adventurous sex partner this story may give you some ideas.  And isn’t that what some of our romance/erotic novels do?  Give us ideas that spice up our lives a little.

The story ends with us wanting more.  I can’t wait to see how Christine is going to end this trilogy.  Will Ian finally be happy and find love?  This is definitely a series that you will want to read again.

I do have questions for Christine though, is Josh going to have his own story?  He seems to be a link between our main characters.  I would love to see him connect with someone.  Is Maverick’s going to show up in other books? 

I give book 2 of the “Long Shots” series 4 1/2 stars