Affair of Risk by Jayne Castle
A strange flash of elemental recognition arced between them. The shock was staggering. Kendra Loring gasped as she met the full force of Case Garrett's night-dark gaze. Yet they had never met!
And once she finished her business, she promised herself, they would never meet again. Danger and darkness lurked just beneath the glittering surface of the elegant Lake Tahoe casino. Kendra had sworn that no man would ever take advantage of her again. If she let herself go, if she fell under his mesmerizing spell for just one minute, the stakes would be impossibly high, and she would be gambling far more than she could afford to lose.
Kendra is in Lake Tahoe to pay a portion of the debt owed by her cousin to casino owner Case. She wants to get in and get out, but Case is intrigued by the mystery that seems to surround Kendra. He wants to know all about her and she simply wants to get back to San Francisco. When a shady man confronts Kendra later at her hotel she finds herself in a tricky situation. Who should show up to help her sort things out? Case. From there Kendra finds herself being pulled further and further into Case's life regardless of how uncomfortable it makes her. Kendra is determined to keep her past private and to protect her cousin who is caught up in a messy divorce situation. Case, who is not content to be brushed off, keeps showing up and making Kendra's life both easier and more complicated. This book was published in 1982 and its age shows in some of Case's comments and actions but overall I found this to be an enjoyable read.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades
Monthly Mix Up Mania
Monthly Motif
Reading Road Trip
I purchased this book with my own funds.
The Main Attraction by Jayne Ann Krentz
Filomena Cromwell's return home after ten years set small, sleepy Gallant Lake on its ear. Gorgeous, successful and driving a flashy Porsche, she was no longer the mousy girl who'd once found her fiance in bed with another woman. And Fil was determined to show the town just how irrepressible she'd become!
Trent Ravinder, a guest at the Cromwell family lodge, observed Fil's escapades with amusement. In her quieter moments he knew she was warm, sincere and loving. He'd let her have her day, as long as she reserved the nights for him...
Nine years ago, Filomena left Gallant Lake humiliated at finding her finace in bed with her high school nemisis and tormenter. Since then she has come into her own as part owner of a successful design firm that specializes in women's wear for petite figures. Fil is back in Gallant Cove for her sister's wedding and is enjoying everyone's reactions to her confidence and outgoing fun. She has arranged several fun events for the local women and is having a ball showing everyone that she has not spent the past nine years pining over the jerk who did her wrong.
Fil is having so much fun that her family is worried about her taking things too far and once again becoming the target of unfriendly speculation. They are relieved when vacationer Trent Ravinder takes an interest in Filomena as the family believes that he might be able to keep a rein on Fil's wilder ideas. Filomena reacts with humorous good nature to their ploys and finds herself both liking Trent and worrying that he might not be so easily led as many of the casual friends she has back in Seattle.
Things slowly get more serious for Trent and Fil and watching them come together was a pleasure. Trent takes great pride in standing behind his word once it's given and Filomena is proud of what she has accomplished but also loves her family and friends with a fierce loyalty. All is well until a situation arises in which Trent doubts Filomena's intentions and asks her to prove her love and loyalty to him. Filomena is incensed that Trent demands trust but is unwilling to give it to her. Both find themselves holding out for the other to apologize with neither being particularly happy with their current circumstances. I will admit I was pretty solidly on Filomena's side as Trent's reasoning was weak and at times borderline insulting towards Filomena, however, I was happy with how everything was resolved. Filomena and Trent are a couple that I think it would be fun to revisit as they both had strong personalities that completely complemented each other in the best of ways.
Reading Challenges
Genre Decades
Contemporary Romance
Monthly Mix Up Mania
Reading Road Trip
Bookish Bingo
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Bargain With the Devil by Jayne Castle
Every line of his face, from the deep-set eyes to the arrogant nose and harshly carved cheekbones, declared that this was a man who lived by his own rules. He hadn't come to Tuscon for his health. Hunter Manning wanted revenge.
Stacy Rylan looked into the eyes of the man who meant to ruin her father. She made a bargain--agreed to marry him if he would stop his threats. With a coolly possessive air that defied protest, his hands settled on her small waist and moved slowly upward. How could she go through with it? She despised him. His touch made her tremble with outrage--and desire!
This Candlelight Ecstasy Romance written by Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) in 1981 shows its age in some places with the interactions and comments between the male and female characters. Hunter has waited fourteen years to get revenge on the man who took over his father's business, and apparently, his father's reason to live. He remembers going in and begging Mr. Rylan not to fire his father but was rejected and his father died a year later. Now, Hunter has a plan to bring the Rylan patriarch to his knees and he's going to enjoy every minute of it. The plan includes seducing Rylan's daughter-in-law, wife to the newly appointed company president.
Stacy sees the beginning salvo in Hunter's plan to turn Leanna's head and knows she must do something to protect her family. She offers herself up instead knowing that her father has pretty much given up on her ever doing what he wants her to do, and therefore mitigating the possible consequences of Hunter's revenge. Hunter accepts Stacy's plan with some terms of his own, an affair won't be enough--he wants marriage and for Stacy to become a Manning with all of her loyalty belonging Hunter.
While the overall premise was rather ridiculous, I still enjoyed many of the interactions between Stacy and Hunter (although not necessarily the one where he quasi-manhandles her on a public street believing she has just eaten lunch with ex-boyfriend--although it was fun to see him grovel when he realizes he is wrong). Stacy was a smart, independent woman who truly cared for her family and Hunter, while 80's style macho and butch, was rather sweet at times such as moving all of Stacy's plants to their new home or putting together her greenhouse when it was in a hopeless pile of pieces with indecipherable directions. Not my favorite JAK title but still a worthwhile read.
Reading Challenges
Genre Decades
I purchased this book with my own funds.
What I Read, July 11-17
- Once More With Feeling by Nora Roberts
- A Gentleman by Any Other Name by Kasey Michaels
- Running Wild by Linda Howard and Linda Jones
- Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton
- Little Miss Innocent? by Lori Foster
- Bargain With the Devil by Jayne Castle
- The Main Attraction by Jayne Ann Krentz
- Affair of Risk by Jayne Castle
- Whirlwind Courtship by Jayne Taylor
- Man With a Past by Jayne Ann Krentz
- A Woman's Touch by Jayne Ann Krentz
- Gift of Fire by Jayne Ann Krentz
- A to Z by Marie Sexton
- Coming Home by Jay Northcote
- Somebody Nice! by Raine O'Tierney
- Afterglow by Cherry Adair
- Warrior's Cross by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux
- Fitting In by Sylvia Violet
- Against the Wall by Rebecca Zanetti
- House Calls by Abbie Zanders
- Disarming Detective by Elizabeth Heiter
- The Souls Hollow by Paula Graves
- Under the Covers by Rebecca Zanetti
- Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple
Little Miss Innocent? by Lori Foster
For Dr. Daniel Sawyers, sex therapist Lace McGee is a puzzle. While she keeps putting inappropriate ideas into his sister's head, Lace is even better at putting naughty thoughts into Daniel's head. But just how down 'n dirty is Lace really?
Daniel Sawyers is not thrilled with his sister's friendship with Lace, as he finds her too feminine, too noticeable, too lush, too distracting, you get the idea. He is sure that her job makes her someone he doesn't want around his sister and he makes his disdain for her pretty clear. Lace goes out of her way to needle Daniel knowing very well what he believes about her. It isn't until Lace comes into Daniel's ER with a dog bite that they start to spend time together, breaking down their misconceptions slowly but surely. This story is a pretty quick one but there was one major issue that I just couldn't get over: Lori Foster chose to make Lace a virgin. This bothered me because Daniel has a rather major hang-up about her work as a sex therapist--he often made assumptions about who she was and they were not positive. Rather than have him come to the realization that he was mired in double standards and that part of what makes Lace so wonderful is her full acceptance of herself as a person, sexuality included, Lori Foster chose to have him come to the realization that he was wrong only because Lace was innocent all along. What if Lace hadn't been a virgin? Would Daniel have felt vindicated in his beliefs? Would he still have changed his mind about her work? Would he have fallen in love with her or would she have become another short term relationship? I felt that Daniel needed a slap upside the head, to have a major epiphany that he was a judgmental idiot, and to grovel on his knees. Unfortunately, none of those things happened.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades Challenge
Monthly Mix Up Mania
TBR Pile
Story Sprites
I purchased this book with my own funds.
The Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton
Before the Special Forces hero has even unpacked his bags from twelve years of active duty, he's embroiled in murder--corpses bearing the brutal trademark he's seen only once before--on the worst night of his life.
The last time Detective Anna Pallino saw Dante Renaldi, they were in love. Now, he's part of hte connection to a string of fresh homicides and a horrible assault that Anna only survived thanks to him.
More than anything, Anna wants to trust Dante. But as the bodies and the coincidences stack up, Anna will have to decide, and fast: Is the man she owes her life to the very same one who wants her dead?
Twelve years ago, Anna was attacked in an alley. Her attacker had time to carve a heart into her chest before she was saved by her four friends, foster brothers who would protect her with their lives. When her attacker dies in the alley, Anna worries that the brothers will get in trouble and she hides their involvement with the help of her cop father. To keep from being implicated in the crime, Dante leaves despite his deep love for Anna.
Now Dante is back and before he can even check into a hotel room someone he knows well is found dead in the same alley where Anna was attacked--a heart carved into the chest wall is another unmistakable sign that someone knows about the past and is dragging terrible memories into the present. When Anna is assigned to the crime as the detective in charge, Dante is amazed at the changes in the sweet loving sixteen year old he had to leave behind. The current Anna is tough and ready to take on whatever and whomever she has to to solve the mystery of who knows about that night from twelve years ago.
Dante has a lot of ground to make up with Anna--she doesn't trust him after he left her and his unwillingness to share what he has been doing for the last twelve years does not endear him to her either. Soon Dante is a suspect and as more crimes occur, Anna and Dante find themselves getting deeper--both in the case and with each other. However, as the mystery continues and people close to what happened in the past are put in danger, Dante's innocence becomes more clear while who is really perpetrating the crimes remains frustratingly unknown.
I liked the first half of this book and then the story began to drag. The story felt like it began going in circles without ever getting closer to any type of resolution. And then BOOM at the very last minute the bad guy was revealed and taken out. The reason behind the "who" and "why" of the killer wasn't enough for me--it felt like the person was only chosen for shock value and not because of the reasons outlined in the book. I didn't buy it which made me regret sticking with the book for 400+ pages. Bummer.
Reading Challenges
Official TBR Pile Extreme
Reading Road Trip
Romantic Suspense
TBR Pile
Bookish Bingo
Story Sprites
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Alphabet Soup: A Completed Reading Challenge
The Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas has been a fun one...I hope she hosts it again next year, I would happily participate again! Here are the books that I have read:
A: At Home in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller
B: Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston
C: Capturing Peace by Molly McAdams
D: Desperate Game by Jayne Castle
E: Embrace the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy
F: Fatal Fortune by Jayne Castle
G: Guarding January by Sean Michael
H: Hot Zone by Jayne Ann Krentz
I: Icebound by Julie Rowe
J: Jordan's Desires by Lynn Hagen
K: Kobe by Lynn Hagen
L: The Lady and the Lion by Cynthia Kirk
M: The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston
N: No Ifs, Ands or Bears About It by Celia Kyle
O: Once Perfect by Cecy Robson
P: Pack and Mate by Sean Michael
Q: Rock Stars and Size Queens by Sean Michael
R: Rough Around the Edges by L M Somerton
S: Stone Creek Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
T: Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
U: Underground: Special Teams by Sean Michael
V: Valentino's Cowboy by Lynn Hagen
W: When Darkness Comes by Alexandra Ivy
X: Xavi's Wild Ride by Bellann Summer
Y: Yuri and Liam by Stormy Glenn
Z: A to Z by Marie Sexton
All in all, a very fun reading challenge!
