Certified Bed Reader...

Take a look at my keepershelf and you'll find more than a handful penned by Lori Foster. She's been an auto-buy author for me for years, and when Harlequin & Netgalley offered me the opportunity to review this first book in her new Love Undercover series, I jumped at the chance!

Logan Riske is on an undercover mission to track down a possible witness to his best friend's murder. He's had no luck in finding Rowdy Yates, but has managed to locate Rowdy's sister, Pepper. Pepper is also undercover as apartment manager, Sue Meeks. From the start, Pepper's cold/hot, shy/bold attitude leaves Logan intrigued. His plan is to get close to Pepper and hopefully flush Rowdy out.

There was no flow for much of the first half of the book. Pepper succumbs to Logan far faster than I guessed it would take. They have some pretty hot, restrained (because Pepper refuses to show her body and is in complete control) sex. Rowdy, the ever-watchful brother, sees her getting close to Logan and, as Logan hoped, makes a move. Once Logan has Rowdy, secrets come out, and it turns out that Pepper is hiding more than just her body.

I did not like Pepper's lightning quick turnaround. She went from being this shy, little, plain Jane to a knockout with tons of attitude. I get that she was undercover, but it was such a drastic change in personality that I had a hard time believing it. I just never connected with her.

Logan made for a good hero, but he was nothing compared to Foster's previous alphas in her Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series. While it may be unfair to compare the two, I couldn't help it. I'd hoped for another killer romantic suspense series. What I got was an okay start to what I really hope will be a series that gets better.

Foster does a fabulous job foreshadowing the upcoming books. I found Reese to be an interesting hero. However, it's because of Rowdy (who captured all my attention) that I'll continue this series when Reese's story releases in April 2013.

• 2½ stars!

• 3½ Stars!

Better than the first book, but not by much! I skimmed the last third of this one just to find out what happens. I may have to skip ahead to the Rock Chick stories I'm more interested in reading, and then come back to the others at a later date.

I struggled with the idea of starting this series because I wasn't sure if it would fit my taste. By now I've read quite a few Kristen Ashley books, love them, and decided it had to be better than I thought it would be.

Rock Chick has a few things going for it. I love Indy's taste in music and style! Of all Kristen Ashley's heroines, Indy is the one who's fashion sense I get, lol. Jeans, boots, and rock & roll tees -- hell yeah! Aside from that, Rock Chick is pretty much the same wild ride I expect from this author, but it was a little wackier with even crazier characters, and one really off-the-wall storyline. Loved the friendship between Indy and Ally!

Lee Nightingale has been a man of mystery to me since starting Kristen Ashley's books. He's popped up in some other books and every time I "saw" him I thought, "Wow, who is this badass?" I'm happy to say I now know who he is and he's every bit as hot, alpha, wonderful as I thought he'd be. I liked that Indy & Lee grew up together. It was sweet knowing Indy had been in love with him for so long. Even sweeter was when Lee clued-in on why she'd avoided him for ten years. I love with K.A.'s heroes claim their women!

Indy, gosh I don't know what to say. I liked her, but I didn't like her. She was TSTL throughout most of the book. I wanted to slap some sense into her at times and I couldn't figure out why so many guys were dying to have her/rescue her! It reminded me of Gwen from Mystery Man. I just didn't see all these great alpha men wanting a chick, even a rock chick, like her. She had good moments, but they were few and far between.

I'll continue with the series, I just hope not all the heroines are quite so annoying!

• 3 stars!

I'm fairly certain there's nothing I can say about this book that hasn't already been said in the 1500+ reviews here on Goodreads! I just want to make a few comments on how I felt about this book.

I didn't connect with Roarke right away. It may be that it's something that grows over the series. The relationship between he and Eve developed a lot quicker than I thought it would, but this is more of a suspense with romantic elements so it'll be interesting to see how relationship develops over time.

I enjoyed the mystery, characterization, writing style, and even the futuristic aspect of Naked in Death. She did a really good creating this future in a way that was easy to "get."

Eve's a strong, gutsy heroine and her background tugged at my heartstrings. I'd like to continue this series just to see how her character grows!

• 4 stars!

Okay, babes, let's get the negatives out of the way.

1. Lucie has some body image issues. Issues that she never fully overcomes by the end of the book, and that is a huge bummer.
2. There's an overabundance of cheesy lines--in bed and out.
3. Reid has low self-worth and that causes him to say a really asinine thing to the heroine.
4. I felt let down after all the build-up to his fight and then I didn't get to "see" it!
5. The ending is corny, but cute.

Now, the hard part is out of the way and I can tell you what I did like!

1. Lucie may be clueless, but she's a good woman. My feelings are that after losing her parents at such a young age and marrying an asshat in college, that she never was able to develop confidence in herself.
2. For every cheesy line, there was a good one around the corner. Which prompts me to mention my love of Reid's mouth...and thumbs. Still thinking about that!
3. Reid's low self-worth comes from having a bitterly jealous father and a mother who abandoned them. I was happy to see that his character grew in the end of the story. Even more thrilled when his father tentatively extended an olive branch.
4. Okay, so we didn't get to see the fight, but we learned the results and the choice Reid makes about his professional future. By the way, Reid has many talents, and a clear passion, other than fighting.
5. Nothing makes me happier than when a hero pays (and in this case literally) for doing the wrong thing! It was a sweet, fairytale ending.

• 3.5 stars!

I love small towns. I've lived in the same small town my entire life and it's even smaller (less than 400 people) than Virgin River! There's a comfort that comes in knowing your neighbors, seeing the same faces every day, knowing these people will have your back if you meet trouble, and there's always trouble to be found -- even in a small town. So, my love of rural America is what led me to read this popular series by Robyn Carr.

I had a real hard time getting in the mindset that this book was, in fact, set in modern times. Mel wears $450 boots, $150 jeans, gets $300 highlights, and loves Starbucks. Despite all that, I kept feeling like I was watching an episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"! In my opinion, the author went too far trying to develop a small town atmosphere. I know they were in the mountains, zero cell reception, and it would have to take a while to get into town, but everything just seemed outdated. Even rural clinics are equip for all kinds of things these days.

Also leading to this old-fashioned vibe, was our perfect hero, Jack. I liked Jack. What's not to like? He's a tough-guy, decorated, ex-Marine with a good ol' boy attitude. Problem was, he was too perfect and he didn't act like a tough-guy, decorated, ex-Marine even with the good ol' boy attitude. The man said "fanny" and "frickin'".

I found it increasingly difficult to like Mel the further I got into the story. Her grief was spot-on considering it'd only been a year since her husband's death, and this carried on until the last 50 or so pages. Because of this, I spent the majority of the book feeling bad for Jack who was falling for a woman who considered herself someone else's. The first time they had sex, I couldn't see it happening like that it was the 1-year anniversary of her husband's death, she'd broken down into a soul-cleansing sob that lasted at least 1/2 hr, he took care of her, and then she invited him to bed with her. I really couldn't grasp what he was thinking when he crawled in that bed. He just seemed like he didn't mind settling for whatever she would give him. I don't know about you guys, but I want my H/h to have a connection, and other than a great friendship (with some added benefits) I never really saw that between Jack and Mel.

It wasn't only the H/h that didn't do it for me, the rest of the townsfolk didn't either. These characters had no interesting character traits. I didn't really care much about these people and I blame it completely on the writer's habit of "telling" instead of "showing." She switched tenses a lot and it became so irritating I skimmed throughout the last half of the book. By then, I'd already guessed everything that would happen and was so bored with the writing and the predictability of the story-line that I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Overall, I was really shocked by my feelings towards this book. With so many amazing reviews/ratings, I fully expected to enjoy it. Her writing style just didn't cut it for me, and I'm uncertain if I'll continue the series. If I do, they won't be top-priority on my reading list. However, the only character in the entire bunch that stood out for me was Jack's friend, Preacher, and I would like to read his story sometime.

• 2½ Stars!

4½ Stars! Review coming soon...

Breathe will forever hold a special spot on my keepershelf. I think there's a little Faye Goodknight in all of us girls, and that's really not a bad thing. If a fairy godmother suddenly appeared to grant me the man of my dreams, Chace Keaton would be the result! I am not lying to you, my friends, he's all that! I want you to trust me on this, and because of that I'm going to choose not to give you the 1000 reasons why this book rocks. It deserves to be read spoiler-free! If you have a chance, read the other books in this series first for a fully satisfying experience.

After I finished Breathe, there was a song that kept running through my mind. Faye calls Chace her hero, but he refers to her as his angel. He may not be a true cowboy (he does wear the boots!), but he has a cowboy's spirit. He's a man with a staunch set of morals and a code he lives by. A complete package that's sexy as hell.

Cowboys and Angels
Dustin Lynch

There's a want and there's a need
There's a history between
Girls like her and guys like me
Cowboys and angels
I've got boots and she's got wings
I'm hell on wheels and she's heavenly
I'd die for her and she lives for me
Cowboys and angels

We ride side by side
A cloud of dust, a ray of light
My touch is her temptation
Her kiss is my salvation
She's sweet, I'm wild, we're dangerous
Cowboys and angels

I'm not sure why her path crossed mine
Accident or grand design
Maybe God just kinda likes
Cowboys and angels

We ride side by side
A cloud of dust, a ray of light
My touch is her temptation
Her kiss is my salvation
She's sweet, I'm wild, we're dangerous
Cowboys and angels

There's a want and there's a need
There's a history between
Girls like you and guys like me
Cowboys and angels

Make the time to read this one. In fact, move it up your TBR list and be prepared for laughter and tears! You won't be sorry you did.

It was past time I revisit the residents of Lucky Harbor!

Oh, Chloe and Sawyer. The two of them danced around it, fought it, and nearly let it pass them by, but in the end, their passion and love prevailed!

Will write a full review soon...


• 5-Stars!

Judging by the blurb, my first thought was that Lady Luck would be about vengeance. An eye for an eye. To a point, it is, but for me Lady Luck is about family -- the one we make, not the one we're born with. It was such a wonderful feeling reading about these two people, both had been dealt the crappiest hands ever, who were able to finally turn their luck around when they found each other. Absolutely beautiful!

And...Can't wait for Chace & Faye's book! The little bit of teaser with them in that diner, each looking longingly at the other, freakin' hooked me. I'm ready to see Chace get his girl!

Edited 05.10.13
So, I was scrolling through hot pictures of guys (it's a hard job but someone has to do it) and came across this picture. Immediately, I thought of Ty! Guess he left quite the impression on me, lol.

If you looked up the words "stubborn", "fiesty", "opinionated", and "attitude", the definition would be: Nina Sheridan.

Nina is my most favorite Kristen Ashley heroine (to date)! The woman practically sparkles with sass, and she isn't afraid of giving it to ANYONE she sees fit to give it to. Case in point, Nina tells Max what I've been thinking during every KA book I've read...

"Babe," he replied, grinning then said no more.
Still being helpful, I explained, "I know you think that word speaks volumes but, I have to tell you, it actually doesn't."

LOL! See, total sass. She doesn't shy away speaking her mind; probably the lawyer in her. And I loved it! Every hero needs a mouthy woman. It keeps things exciting! ;-)

Max had the ability to make me melt and break my heart all at the time. When he finally opens up to Nina about his deceased wife, I was a basket case. He ripped my friggin' heart out, stomped all over it, then somehow managed to heal it and make everything better. I'm pretty certain Nina felt the same way.

Okay, so let me break down for you all I intensely loved about this book (besides the H/h):

♥ The part Nina plays in helping to heal Mindy; including a physical altercation with Mindy's ex-boyfriend, a terrifying dive into a raging river and the subsequent intervention.
♥ Nina's confrontation with her father.
♥ The moment Max tells Niles (Nina's ex) off in a very point-making way.
♥ Nina's mother & her husband, Steve! If you think Nina is a little nutty, just wait'll you meet her mom.
♥ All the secondary character that are so vividly written I swear I knew them all.
♥ Speaking of secondaries, I have special love for Norm and Gladys.
♥ Max & Nina have some serious chemistry that will leave you breathless!
♥ The conversations Nina has in her head with her deceased brother, Charlie.
♥ The part Charlie plays at the end of the book! *grab lots of tissues!!!!*
♥ Another fantastic epilogue! *again, grab lots of tissues!!!!*

There's things I didn't like, too. Such as how long it took Max to tell Nina about his deceased wife. I, also, wanted to throw him off his precious bluff when they fought after he found out she knew about Anna (the deceased wife) and hadn't told him she knew. Men! Hmmph! While there was a lot of stuff in this book I hadn't read before in a KA novel, there were things I'm beginning to realize might be in every KA novel--tons of descriptive things I could care less about, overindulgence of endearments, scene backtracking (I find it stunts the flow of the story at times when she goes back to tell us something that happened hours/days/months before in lengthy detail), and the climatic kidnapping where the hero must save his woman!

Really, I can't complain about these things too much. It's obvious I keep coming back for more and loving it. I've decided to face the cold, hard, truth. Kristen Ashley's books are like a drug and she's the dealer. Let's just hope I don't go into withdrawals before I get my next fix of uber-alpha yumminess!

• A very impressive 4.5 stars!
I deducted a point out of sheer frustration over the whole Nina/Max/deceased wife/big fight thing. Then, I awarded half a point for the way Max tracks Nina down afterward and makes it better.

Excuse me while I *sigh* for the wonderful Detective Mitch Lawson. I swooned the entire way through this book. He's a little softer around the edges than all the other KA heroes I've read, but that doesn't make him less perfect. Mitch is 100% alpha-male!

Living across the breezeway from Mitch, for 4 years, has been both heaven and hell for Mara. One, because the painfully shy woman has fancied herself in love with the yummy detective. Two, she doesn't believe she's good enough for him. And, three, because the parade of hotties he enjoys makes her certain she'll never be the woman he kisses at his door. I'll admit, at first, Mara's low self-esteem and irritating rating system ("He's a 10.5, I'm a 2.5.") really bothered me. I got where she was coming from even before I knew her backstory. When you're told for years that you're worthless, you begin to believe it no matter how many people tell you otherwise. When you're told that while you're a child, it's imprinted in your psyche and is damn hard to get rid of.

I soldiered on, and boy was I glad! When Mara takes on the responsibility of her little cousins, Billy & Billie, my heart opened to her. She pushed aside every doubt (even while having doubts) to take in those kids! My respect for her skyrocketed about the time she started referring to them as her kids. And Mitch, God love him, he dove right in and never looked back. I fell so in love with him; his support of Mara and how he was with Billy & Billie just did it for me. I was a sniffling fool throughout the book!

Just like with any great Kristen Ashley book, we get lots of family drama, wonderful friends, cosmos aplenty, the added suspense of a foiled kidnapping/successful kidnapping by the Russian mob, an alpha-hero that will make your heart race, and some hot lovin' between our H/h! For me, I, also, got to find out what Tack did (since I read Motorcycle Man before this one) that Mitch owed him for. It's a doosy!

Law Man is one for the keepershelf, ladies!

• 5 Big Ol' Stars!

In my early 20s, I hung around a group of bikers. They were my brother's "bros" and simply because I was his little sister, they took me under their wing. There I was, a book geek even then, around a bunch of badass bikers, their old ladies, parties complete with classic rock jammin' sessions and plenty of tequila to help you lose your inhibitions. I never let loose quite like Tyra did that first night with Tack (not for lack of trying by a certain biker badass named Bull...lol), but I can assure you, I felt as out of place in that world as she did!

Motorcycle Man was so much more than I expected! In fact, I hadn't even intended to read it when I did, but I was led to by some strange whim or gut instinct. Barely five pages in, I was hooked and couldn't put it down! Tack's scariness would light a fire in any woman's fight-or-flight response. And, let me tell you, Tyra does plenty of both. She alternates between verbal spars and trying to run. Tack loves her mouth, but he isn't too keen on her flighty ways. He refuses to let her leave on more than one occasion. In reality, this would be a red flag, but in KA World, it's done in a way that so friggin' sexy it'll melt you into a puddle of love for Tack! I hated when he'd grab her around the throat. He never hurt her, but it was such an aggressive move that it was hard to overlook it -- until KA wove her magic and left me in tears! Jesus, I did not expect that and it left me reeling in a wonderful way. Tyra, too!

While Tack does the majority of transforming in this book, Tyra has amazing character growth. When she turns all lady dragon on Tabby's (Tack's daughter) behalf, swear to God, I was rootin' her on! Tyra became a great heroine that may, at first, have seemed an odd match for Tack, but really is his dream woman. BTW, their chemistry sent me to a cold shower more than once! Whew, Tack wasn't only a dream man, he was a dream lover!

Motorcycle Man is littered with KA's trademark style. She has a way of writing beautiful moments and dialogue that leave an everlasting impression. MM is only the 5th KA book I've read. After book two, I realized she relies on the same speech patterns for all her heroes. After book two, I decided it would annoy me every book after. After book three, I realized it doesn't really matter because I actually like knowing what I'm going to find in a KA book. The uber-alpha possessive hot heroes, complete stories with H/h's learning to navigate their relationships, likely a heroine with some annoying personality traits, studded dialogue, amazing epilogues, and plenty of cameos from previous characters. It works for Kristen Ashley. And, it works for me.

Yes! A million times better than I thought it would be! I mean, Valiant is one scary dude, and I was worried he'd be hard to love. But, it was the exact opposite! Valiant is the easiest to love because he gives love so fully.

Valiant is more beast than man, but he's a better man than most. From the moment, and I do mean the very moment, he scents Tammy, Valiant knows she's his. The first few chapters had my heart racing! I wasn't sure their initial meeting would end well, but I wound up loving what transpired. I felt so bad for Valiant when he's faced with the prospect of being alone. Once Tammy comes back to him, I admired the determination she has to make it work with him. I couldn't fault her for being confused. Had I been in her place, I would've done the same thing!

I'm enjoying the world Dohner is creating, and can't wait to continue on with the series.

• 5 stars!

Leanne and Brandon appear to be complete opposites, but couldn't be more alike. They each struggle with feelings of being good enough. I enjoyed Learning Curves, mostly. There were inconsistencies that drew me away from the story.

For example:
- At one point, Leanne is standing and Brandon takes a seat on the couch. In the next instance, he's apparently standing in front of her and she's wrapping her arms around his neck. However, there was no mention in the change of his position.
- Brandon mentions how he saw Leanne's resemblance to her father in her eyes, and some other features. Then half a page down, he says Leanne looked just like her mother in her eyes and hands. So, whose eyes does she have? Her father's or her mother's?

It was little things such as those that jarred me out of the story, but overall, it was a pleasurable reading experience. Especially, when the evil Gillian gets what's coming to her!

• 2.5 stars!

Wow, this novella hit all my happy buttons! It's also the first Pamela Clare book I've read. Before I even finished Skin Deep, I'd added every single one of her books to my TBR list! That's including the historicals--which I never read. That should tell you how much I enjoyed her writing.

Megan and Nate tugged at my heartstrings throughout this book. I didn't want to put it down, and it put me in a crabby mood when I had to! The pain Megan's endured in her life broke my heart. She felt damaged, broken, and as if no one would ever be able to forgive her for her past mistakes. Nate's scars, and his worry over never finding someone who could look past them, put tears in my eyes.

When Nate first kisses her, and she's shocked by how it made her feel, I wanted to hug her and tell her it would be okay. I needed to know it would be okay. The little kissing experiments they have was so sweet, special, and hot! Normally, I would be peeved at how quickly they make love. Nothing destroys a book faster for me than seeing abuse survivors--who are still exhibiting signs of PTSD--jump into having sex. I'm telling you, it did not feel rushed between Megan and Nate at all!! He lets her come to him, he lets her set the pace, he swallows his insecurities (with her help) so that she can feel in control, and they give so much to each other. It was beautiful, and okay, I had tears in my eyes...then, I needed a cold shower!

There is an added element of suspense as Megan's past comes back to haunt her. It is very well done, and really progressed the story to a satisfactory conclusion.

I adored all the secondary characters. I'm late to the party, but from what I gather, all the guys are part of the I-Team series. I really loved Nate's father, Jack; he reminded me of my grandfather. Megan's sweet, little Emily was so precious, and watching all the men fawn over her made me smile.

Surprise, the epilogue made me cry! I know, I think I needed a box of Kleenex while reading this. There's just some books that strike a cord on my tear reserve, and this one seemed to keep the floodgates open.

Really, just read this book. You won't be sorry!