{Review} Full Contact by Tara Taylor Quinn

FULL CONTACT
Tara Taylor Quinn

Published: Harlequin Superromance, August 2011
FIND IT ON: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N


Blurb:
From good to great…to forever

Ellen Moore has a good life. But she wants a great one. One that's full, not just safe. That means stepping outside her comfort zone to take a risk.

And it doesn't get much riskier than Jay Billingsley. He has all the trappings of a rebel—the leather, the motorcycle, the restlessness. Every instinct tells her to run in the opposite direction—fast. Yet when she's with him, she feels something very different. Emotions this intense have to be right. She senses he could hold the key to helping her put that last piece of her great life into place. But first, she has to change his mind about leaving Shelter Valley.




My Thoughts:


DO NOT be fooled by this book's description as I was.  When I chose to read Full Contact, I thought it sounded like a light read with a good girl looking for an adventure with a bad boy.  I was wrong.

Jay Billingsley is a medical massage therapist who moonlights as a private investigator.  He's in Shelter Valley on a personal mission to find the father he believes abandoned him as a baby and to meet the son Jay never knew he had.  While there he takes on clients in need of his therapist skills.  One of those clients is our heroine, Ellen Moore.

Ellen's come a long way since she was brutally raped seven years ago.  She's still suffering from PTSD and she knows she has to move past it or she'll never be able to live the life she wants with her five year-old son.  Ms. Quinn does a remarkable job of guiding you through the physical and emotional effects of rape.  Ellen's triggers, panic attacks, and anxiety made me ache for what she was going through.

Jay is gentle and understanding.  He allows Ellen the time needed to become comfortable with him, to trust him; both professionally and personally.  So many rape/abuse/trauma books represent the women in very unrealistic ways.  You cannot go from fearing touch one day to having hot and steamy sex the next!  I thought Full Contact to be one of the best depictions of overcoming rape, learning to trust, and to love.  Jay never once oversteps the boundaries while treating her.  There isn't a single lusty kiss or heavy petting moment during treatment.  He fears -- as he should -- that going too far would be a setback in her recovery.  The romance is very gradual, but I never once doubted the connection between them.  Once Ellen trust him, begins to get to know him, and feels safe, she opens herself up to love.

Jay's investigation helps the story to flow along.  I really thought it'd be a distraction, but the more I learned about Jay's past, the more I hoped he'd find his father.  I don't know about anyone else, but the end shocked me.  I was so surprised by how the entire storyline plays out into a full circle moment.  In hindsight, I should have caught on.  I think I was more focused on seeing Ellen's recovery than what appeared to be a more minor detail of the book.  It was a very satisfying ending to a very good book.

I found it hard to like the people of Shelter Valley.  The entire town wrapped Ellen up so tightly she couldn't trust her own judgment.  The townspeople, and most especially Ellen's mother and stepfather, were overprotective to the point of stifling her.  It's a very closed-minded small town that tried numerous times to throw Jay and his motorcycle out. I was thrilled to see Ellen stand-up to them.

Give this book a read sometime.  It's worth every bit of the few hours spent reading it.

GRADE: A+
HEAT LEVEL: PG

{Review} The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton

THE PERFECT PLAY

(Play-by-Play, Bk #1)

Jaci Burton

Published: Berkley Heat, February 2011

FIND IT ON: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Blurb:

The last thing event planner Tara Lincoln needs is the jet-set lifestyle of a football pro like Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand proved that Mick is an all-star-both on the field and in the bedroom.

Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a certified heartbreaker. But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind to catch this sultry vixen.

My Thoughts:

Gimme just one moment to drool over this cover before I get to the juicy details.  Just one more second...there, okay, I think I can focus.  I've had this book in my possession since its release back in February.  I've read it approximately 3 times.  That doesn't include the amount of times I've skipped through it to read my favorite parts!   

Mick Riley is the man in San Francisco.  As quarterback of the SF Sabers, Mick's lifestyle is unlike what most of us can imagine.  He goes where he wants, does what he wants, and dates the hottest Hollywood starlets.  Most of it is staged by Liz, Mick's agent, and he's steadily growing tired of all the publicity.  When Mick meets Tara he's instantly intrigued by her.  She doesn't fawn all over him like every other woman he knows.  She doesn't expect him to swoop in and take care of her.  He can't resist the pull of attraction, nor does he try to.  I'd say he's smitten, but the big, bad football player would probably take offense. You know how sensitive they are about their tough reputations.

Tara Lincoln is an up-and-coming event planner.  As owner of the Right Touch Event Planners, she's worked hard to better her life and her son's.  She's as independent as a woman should be; not asking for handouts or expecting anything to come easy.  But, Tara's been hurt.  First by her son's father when he left her as a teenage mother.  Then, by her parents who couldn't accept her for who she was and the son she had.  She can't imagine a man like Mick would be interested in her.  

Mick's pursuit is hot.  Tara's willing to succumb to the passion she feels for Mick, but she protects her heart -- and her son's -- at all costs. Their relationship progresses much like a real relationship would with twists, turns, and conflict (ie. one bee-otch of an agent).  Watching as their love grew and layers of their previous lives unfolded kept the book flowing at a nice pace.  

To say I loved this book is an understatement.  The storyline is great, the sex kindled my Kindle, and all the secondary characters were just as interesting as the main players.  Mick's hunky brother, pro-baseball player Gavin, will be the man-candy in the next Play-by-Play novel, CHANGING THE GAME.  I'm a little conflicted because Gavin's lady love will be none other than Liz (aka the bee-otch agent).  Just incase you missed it, I'm no fan of hers.  One must have faith, though, and I'm certain -- considering my love for this book -- that Ms. Burton will pull it off.

GRADE: A+
HEAT LEVEL: R

{DNF} Too Hot to Handle by Robin Kaye

TOO HOT TO HANDLE (Domestic Gods, Book 2)
Robin Kaye
Published: Sourcebooks Casablanca, May 2009

FIND IT ON: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Blurb:
He sure would love to have someone to take care of…
Dr. Mike Flynn's single mom taught him early how to cook and clean, and there's nothing like vacuuming or doing dishes to help a guy relax. Annabelle Ronaldi is an artist without a domestic bone in her body. Since her fiance's death, she can't paint, and life looks hopeless.
Until the day after her sister's wedding, when she wakes up with Mike next to her in bed, and then she's really beside herself - because the handsome stranger is a dead ringer for her dead fiance.
After their mind-blowing one night stand, Mike is sure this is the woman he wants to take care of forever, but she acts like she's seen a ghost. While Mike sets to work wooing Annabelle, she sets to work sniffing out the truth of the convoluted family secret that turns everybody's lives upside down.


My Thoughts: 
This is one of those books, it pains me to say, I couldn't finish.  I really thought I'd enjoy this one, too.  After-all, I do love men with a domestic gene.  What struck me the wrong way is it didn't seem like Annabelle was over her deceased ex.  I read half of this book and I never got the idea she was at a place in her life where she was ready to open up to a new relationship. 

Is it possible I put it away too quickly?  Of course.  So, why put it down?  Despite the fact that I think Mike's character was love-worthy, I never connected to Annabelle enough to feel invested in what happens.  I didn't like where the story was headed with Mike's lineage, either.  It felt too contrived; like a ploy to explain-away Annabelle's confusion.

I'm not saying I'll never pick up another Robin Kaye book.  This particular book completely missed the mark for me.

GRADE: DNF

{Review} Hunter's Choice by Shiloh Walker

HUNTER'S CHOICE
Shiloh Walker

Published: March 2010 (originally part of The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance)

Find It On:  Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Blurb:
One year ago, Sara’s twin brother and his wife were brutally murdered. By vampires, creatures that can’t exist. But Sara knows better and she’s on a mission to kill as many as she can…until she comes across a man from her past.





My Thoughts:
Hunter's Choice has been on my Kindle for a month or so just waiting for me to give it chance. I gave in. I read it. Then, I read it again. Yes, it was that good.

Sara's on a mission to kill vampires before they get a chance to kill. A year ago, her twin brother and his wife (her best friend) were murdered by a vampire while on their honeymoon. Plagued by nightmares and alone in the world, she fights these soulless creatures. But she's unable to forget the one man who gave her solace after her family was taken from her. The one man who's passion consumed her.

Wyatt has missed Sara every single day since she left. He knows her pain and fears. But, as a hunter in The Council, he has to stop her from killing innocent vampires. In order to do that, he'll have to tell her he's one of the creatures she fears most.

I am hugely picky when it comes to vampire romances. I'm a Buffy fangirl from way back! I needed a support group when the show ended. Then, Mick St. John swept in with his sexy vampire bod and stole my heart in Moonlight. I cried when the show was canceled. This book was like the best of both shows! The Buffy references made me smile. Sara hides her loneliness behind weapons and a fearless attitude much in the same way Buffy did. Wyatt is strong and steadfast in his belief that not all vampires (and definitely not himself) are bad. He made me swoon every bit as much as Mick did.

I will not hesitate to read the rest of Ms. Walker's THE HUNTERS Series. In fact, I think I'll head over to Amazon right now...

Grade: A