Last week Kate and I (Anne) were on the phone and she mentioned that she’d checked her FIRST out from the library again. Her FIRST, the very first romance novel she’d ever read, the one that made her fall in love with romance. We both wondered if it would still be as good now as it was then. (I’ve never read it, I just wondered with her.) So, she read it, loved it, and decided to write up a review for us. So here’s to firsts! What was your first romance novel? Would it still be good today? ~Anne
Grade-A
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Genre-historical, touch of paranormal
Series – St. Leger #1
Reviewed by Kate
When I was 19 or 20, I ran across The Bride Finder in the check out lane of our local Shopko. The title alone fascinated me. I bought it without even reading the back. It turned out to be my first romance, one of my best impulse buys, and still one of my favorites to this day.
Anatole St.Leger comes from a rather strange family. Some of his ancestors have been conjurers, clairvoyants, exorcists, sorcerers, etc. Anatole’s own powers include seeing visions of the future, sensing a person’s presence, and levitating objects.
One of the family’s unique members is the Bride Finder, a person able to locate the one true mate for each St.Leger male. Anatole’s father chose to marry someone who was not chosen by the Bride Finder. Anatole’s mother ended up being terrified of her son and his powers. As a result, Anatole grew up feeling unloved and shut off from the world. Reluctantly, he sends the Bride Finder out to find his one true bride, determined to keep his powers a secret from her. It would crush him to have another person he loves be terrified of him.
When Madeline arrives at Anatole’s castle, she find herself facing a husband who won’t open up to her and a house full of secrets. Ever a logical person, she is determined to show Anatole the truth behind all of his family’s legends and myths. Little does she know…
A magical journey of Madeline fighting her way to the heart Anatole locked away years ago, and Anatole doing his best to keep himself from falling in love. I don’t think I can say enough to recommend this book except:
1. This is the book that I most regret donating when we moved, and
2. When I checked this book out from the library, even my husband got excited about rereading it (I made him wait until I had finished it though).
A Reviews
Comfort Reads
Grade-A
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Elite Ops #2
Reviewed by Kay
Micah Sloane has no family. He is an Elite Ops agent and a former Mossad agent. He was a former Mossad agent because he’s no longer alive. By that, I mean that he was reported dead but he is actually still living. He is part of the group that Noah Blake is from. He has a chance to catch the killer that murdered his parents, but to do so he has to use Risa Clay as a way to lure out the killer.
Risa Clay has had the most horrific things happen to her. She was a victim of a kidnapping, she was drugged, she almost died, she was brutally raped while her father watched and she was wrongfully institutionalized to keep her quiet. She was raised by monsters who told her she was so ugly no one would ever want her and and she should never procreate and pass that ugliness on to a child.
She decides it’s been long enough after her rape to embrace her sexuality. She’s given the rest of her life six years to settle and now it’s her sex life’s turn. She meets Micah and from there her life will never be the same. As the situation is explained to her, she is resentful towards Micah, as she should be. But the part that hurt me was that she was accepting of the fact that there was a contract on her head. She was willing to go along with being the bait, she just didn’t want Micah posing as her love interest.
I rank this book right up there with Lora Leigh’s Wild Card. I even cried harder in this book. Every emotion is felt while reading it. You cheer for Risa because no one else ever has. Even at the height of betrayal for Risa she conducts herself with as much dignity as possible. You have to read the entire Tempting SEALs series to fully understand what’s going on but I encourage you to do it. This novel is worth that and so much more.
Anne’s Best Books of 2012
My Top Ten of 2012 list includes books I read this year. Not all of them were originally published this year; these are the books that stand out in my memory. Clearly contemporary is my favorite genre.
1. Willing Victim by Cara McKenna (contemporary)
2. Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha (contemporary)
3. Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb (audio, futuristic, mystery)
4.Deep Desires by Charlotte Stein (contemporary, novella)
5. Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy (contemporary, m/m)
6. Delicious (in Cherished) by Lauren Dane (contemporary, novella)
7. Tart by Lauren Dane (contemporary)
8. Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward (paranormal)
9. Riveted by Meljean Brook (steampunk)
10.Beguilement (The Sharing Knife #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold (audio, fantasy)
Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon (contemporary, mystery, m/m)
The Witness by Nora Roberts (audio, contemporary)
All He Ever Needed and All He Ever Desired by Shannon Stacey (contemporary)
Slow Summer Kisses by Shannon Stacey (contemporary, novella)
Playing for Keeps by R.L. Mathewson (contemporary)
Bear Meets Girl and Howl for It (novella) by Shelly Laurenston (paranormal)
Forever and a Day (Lucky Harbor #6) by Jill Shalvis (contemporary)
The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden (contemporary, novella)
Never Have I Ever by Alisha Rai (contemporary/paranormal, novella)
Dirty Girls' Good Books 