Sugarbeat's Books

The Home of the Romance Novel

Harlequin Blaze

Breaking the Rules by Tawny Weber

By

Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – The Home of the Romance Novel

Today is Steamy Saturday! 

This is the day when I post a review for a book that I’ve read that is on the steamier side of romance.  I’ve said it before, but I love my subscription to Harlequin Blaze!  This little books are like mind candy!  They can be read in a few hours and they are small enough to pop in my purse!  Today’s book is an older one – from a few months ago.  Enjoy!

Breaking the Rules by Tawny Weber
ISBN: 978-0-373-79596-3
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Release: Feb 2011
Source: I purchased this book to read and review

Subject: Max St. James, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class

Current Status: On leave after a year in Afghanistan.

Mission: Take some R & R. Check up on a buddy’s little sister.

Obstacle: Sophia Castillo. Independent, stubborn…and hot enough to make him forget she’s anybody’s “little sister”!

Max may be off duty, but he still has one last job to do. He’s promised to look in on—but not fool around with!—his best friend’s kid sister. Only once he meets Sophia, all thought of keeping his hands to himself go out the window.

Sophia, however, has different ideas. A recent widow, the last thing she needs is another man telling her what to do. Even if that gorgeous man leaves her drooling in a puddle of lust….

It’s a battle of wills. Who will end up on top? Max breaks every rule in the book to keep Sophia in his bed. After all, all’s fair in love and war.

And Max is counting on life with Sophia being a little bit of both.

Sergeant Max St. James is heading stateside for some leave after a year in Afghanistan, but promises to check up on one of his friend Rico’s sister. Although he’s aware that this promise seems to smell of a set up, he feels responsible for his friend being injured and wants to help him out however he can.

Sophia is the youngest of a large family of boys. She’s now a widow after years of living with a controlling man who cut her off from her friends and her family. She’s not interested in another controlling man!

This is a steamy little book. The sex is hot enough to steam up your glasses and warm those cold winter nights. The conflict between Max and Sophia is delightful to read! Throw in a controlling uncle, a whole bunch of erotic art and someone who is trying to destroy Sophia’s Art Gallery, and you have a book that is difficult to put down.

As I’ve said in the past, these Harlequin Blaze novels are hot little pieces of mind candy. Something that I can throw in my purse for a couple of hours of entertainment while sitting at the dance studio, or the skating rink, or where ever I’m waiting. This book is from the Uniformly Hot series that has recently been started at Harlequin. If all these books are this good I’ll have my Men In Uniform challenge done in no time!

 

Cowboys Like Us by Vicki Lewis Thompson

By

Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – The Home of the Romance Novel!

Welcome to Series Sunday!

My favorite day of the week, because I get to post a review for my personal favorite type of book – a book that is written as part of a series!  For the past few weeks we have been working our way through the latest series written by  Vicki Lewis Thompson – The Sons of Chance series.  As you’ll read at the end of this post, I thought the series was done with this book, but a bomb is dropped at the end of the story that makes it clear that there is more to come.  There isn’t anything on Ms. Thompson’s website, but she can’t possibly leave us hanging like this!!  I’ll just have to post a review for the next book whenever I can get my hands on it.

For today, sit back and enjoy Cowboys Like Us!

 

Cowboys Like Us by Vicki Lewis Thompson
ISBN: 978-0-373-79634-2
Release: Aug 2011
Publisher : Harlequin Blaze
Source : Netgalley

Real cowboys aren’t born. They’re made…

Logan Carswell has just kissed his professional baseball career goodbye. Goodbye dreams, career and future. For now, though, he’s working at the Last Chance Ranch and the town saloon, where sexy bartender Caro Davis is definitely taking his mind off his troubles…

Caro’s days have been so hectic, she’s forgotten all about the finer aspects of life. Like men. And sex. And really smokin’-hot sex with men like Logan. But when their two worlds collide—and boy, do they ever collide—they both realize that once the gear is off, a cowboy is still a cowboy!

Vicki Lewis Thompson shoots another one out of the park with this latest episode in the Last Chance Ranch saga!

Logan Carswell was in town for the wedding of his best friend, Alex Keller’s wedding to Tyler.  Logan is recovering from an injury to his knee that has ended his professional baseball career.  Still dealing with the pain, and still searching for what he’s going to do next, he decides to get away from Chicago (and the press) for a while and take some R&R in Shoshone, Wyoming.  While at the wedding he flirts with bartender Caro Davis. Caro is bartending at night and visiting with her grandmother during the day.  She has recently had to put her grandmother in a home and her grandmother isn’t settling in too well.  This creates alot of stress and guilt for Caro.  Josie, the owner of Spirits and Spurs, where the reception is being held, is married to Jack Chance – a relationship that was featured in another book in this series.  Caro isn’t opposed to some fun with Logan as long as he is in town, but it looks like he isn’t in town for long.  Will the magic of the Last Chance Ranch work on this couple?

I have been really enjoying this series of Vicki Lewis Thompson’s.  It has cowboys, it has sizzling sex, and the books are all well written.  Some of the heros are a bit damaged, some of the heroines need a bit of TLC, but all of the matches are good ones.  In this story, Logan Carswell is the damaged one.  Searching for the “what next” now that his knee is damaged to the point that he won’t be able to continue his career.  He finds what he needs in Caro.  Caro is a simple woman who has always put her grandmother first.  Logan helps her see how family can be important, just not all consuming.  I loved how these two characters are written so that they work together well.  The chemistry between them sizzles from the beginning and sets sparks off the pages.

This is yet another great story in this series.  Although I though this would be the last one,  there is a bomb that is dropped at the end that makes it obvious that this series is not done yet!

Amazon Purchase Link for Cowboys Like Us: Cowboys Like Us

Should’ve Been a Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson

By

Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – The Home of the Romance Novel!

Today is Series Sunday, my favorite day of the week!  I love books written in series as I get the opportunity to follow a set of characters – often a family – as they find their true loves – these are romance books 🙂  Today we continue with the Sons of Chance series that Vicki Lewis Thompson is slowly releasing!  The book I’m going to review today is the 4th in the series – Should’ve Been a Cowboy.

Should’ve Been a Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson
ISBN: 978-0-373-79622-9
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Release: June 2011
Source: I purchased this book to read and review

Party organizer Tyler O’Connelli is on the fast track to her dream career. She’s so close she can almost taste it. But when she returns to her family and sees her one-night stand, Alex Keller, all done up in his cowboy gear, her self-control is stretched to the breaking point….

They’re worlds apart. She’s a busy career girl, and Alex is a cowboy. But while getting together might not bode well for anything long-term, it more than makes up for it in sheer hot chemistry! Problem is, this is one wrangler she might want to get tied down—and tied up—to…indefinitely!

Should’ve Been a Cowboy is another book in the Sons of Chance series.  This series follows the lives and loves of the sons of Archie and Eleanor Chance and various other people that appear at the ranch called Last Chance.   Aside from this series of books being great reads, just look at the covers!  Should’ve Been a Cowboy’s cover is simply yummy!

This book tells the story of Tyler O’Connelli and Alex Keller.  As you can read from the blurb, Alex and Tyler had a one night stand 10 months ago when Tyler was at the ranch for her sister Morgan’s wedding to    Tyler was at the ranch while taking a leave from his radio job in Chicago, recovering from his divorce from his wife.  He had followed his sister Josie to the ranch – who then married Jack Chance.  Alex served as DJ at the reception.  Now he lives permanently at Last Chance and serves as the Marketing Director.  Tyler showing up at the ranch without warning, threw Alex for a loop.  He was still as strongly affected by Tyler as he had been 10 months ago, and the feeling is mutual.  They are paired up to help an open house Alex is planning for Last Chance go ahead.  This gives them plenty of opportunity to explore their attraction once again!

I enjoy almost everything that Vicki Lewis Thompson writes!  I might as well admit that bias up front!  From her Nerd books to the collection of hot little Blaze books, I’ve enjoyed them all!  I am really attached to this Sons of Chance series.  The characters in this book are almost healed from whatever their issue is by the ranch.  It’s almost a case of “bring me your sick, bring me your injured….”  I think that is one of the attractions of the series.  I certainly love any series with cowboys in it!, but this series of characters seem more real than other cowboy books I’ve read.  They have a gritty feel to them!

Alex is still recovering to a certain extent from his nasty divorce and the ranch seems to be healing him!  Tyler is a career girl – similar in many ways to Alex’s ex-wife.  He needs a woman who will be happy with him at the ranch and he doesn’t feel that he can ask Tyler to leave her job to be with him.  Because of that, he takes the few days he has before Tyler heads back to work and makes the most of them.  The chemistry is sparkling between Tyler and Alex!  They certainly shoot sparks off one another that creates quite a spicy read!  All the secondary characters form a closely knit family type unit.  Although this is one book in a series, it is easily read as a stand alone as the connections between the various characters are easily understood and explained.
The story moves along well, making the reader want to finish it in one sitting.  Keep a kleenex box nearby as it has a two tissue worthy HEA ending.  I highly recommend!

Amazon Purchase Link for Should’ve Been a Cowboy (Harlequin Blaze)