Savage Secrets by Cristin Harber

Savage Secrets (Titan, #4)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Titan #4
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
298 pages

Cristin Harber, you crafty author you. I’ve read all of your books and enjoyed them but this one is my favorite so far. Everything clicked for me with this story. I loved all the characters, old and new alike. Loved the story and the pacing of it. I was never bored or felt like I had to force myself to read. Action packed from beginning to end.

Caterina is a woman with a terrible past. Her family was murdered in front of her at her birthday party by an up and coming mobsterish type. She’s dedicated her whole life to vengeance. She doesn’t have a home or close ties because she’s always on the move, tracking the Dog killer. I know it’s kind of an odd name but when you read the story it all makes sense. She finally has a great lead but then the lead dies. She quickly comes up with a plan B. This is where Titan comes in.

In the previous book, Rocco Savage was injured by stabbing. Since then, Titan found out that the knife used to stab him with was laced with a high powered hallucinogenic. Rocco has had spells since then that leave him pretty incapacitated. He’s kept this a secret from his teammates in fear for his job. He sees an angel that helps him to his room one night during one of his spells. This angel was Caterina. She asks for Titan’s help with this case and picks Rocco as the one to pose as a couple with her.

From that point on, buckle your seat belts, because this is a roller coaster of a story. High suspense, questionable content for some, hot sex, a creepy bad guy with minions, and a very deserved HEA. If you haven’t read this series yet, you really, really should. Lovers of military romantic suspense will be singing it’s praises for the roof tops.

Flirting with Disaster by Ruthie Knox

17156702
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Camelot #3
Published: 6/10/13
Reviewed by Anne
298 ebook pages

Sean stuttered so badly in his childhood that he was essentially not speaking at all in high school.  This is why Katie, who went to high school with him, just always thought he was a quiet guy and never realized he stuttered.  This is why, when Sean comes back to town and ends up working with Katie that he chooses not to speak to her rather than reveal his stutter.  

Katie doesn’t really know what to make of Sean.  She hears him talk to other people, but he never speaks to her.  (His stutter is selective, and only shows up in certain situations or around certain people, such as his secret high school crush, Katie.)  She wonders if he’s just rude and mean, or if she has done something to offend him.  Then she tells herself not to worry about what HE thinks, because she’s done living her life for someone else.  Baggage from a failed marriage left Katie hurting, but she’s getting stronger each day and discovering what it’s like to live life for herself, not in service to someone else.

I loved these two and this story.  And the more I read, the more I liked them.  In fact, when I got toward the end and the confrontation between the two of them that had been building throughout the story… it blew me away!  I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy about how a situation played out.  I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say Katie and Sean both have issues and they work through them in this book.  The way they do this is so wonderful!  Neither can save the other;  they have to fix themselves!  And it just happens that they’re falling in love at the same time.  That really was a wonderful story to watch unfold!
The secondary story line in this book worked less well for me.  Judah is a rock star who has been receiving threats and Katie and Sean are helping figure this whole situation out.  I think I just never really liked Judah, but I felt like I was supposed to.  So for me, this story line just provided a reason for Katie and Sean to road trip together, and I didn’t care about it a whole lot more beyond that.
One thing I really appreciated about this story is that there was no magical mystical healing of Sean’s stutter.  I think whenever I read a book where a character his some sort of disability, I cringe and worry that the author will use the Voodoo of the Magical Vagina or the Power of the Healing Penis to “fix” that problem.  Not so with Ruthie Knox and I LOVE that.
I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to read this installment in the Camelot series.  The others have all been favorites of mine.  I’m looking forward to more writing and to finishing up my reading of Knox’s backlist.  This is the 3rd story in the Camelot series, but it stands alone well.  I recommend this book and this series!

Playing To Win by Shelley Munro

Playing To Win

        

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Blaze?
Kink Level-No Kink
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
228 pages

This was not at all what I expected from Shelley Munro.

A rugby player finds out he has a son he didn’t know about and sets out to confront the boy’s mother. When he meets her, he finds out that the mom isn’t his biological mother but his aunt. His son’ s mother died years earlier and his aunt adopted him. Lane, the hero and Kate, the heroine try to figure out sure paternity and who leaked the story to the tabloids. They are also try to figure out the dynamic of this new family and who is stalking Kate and why.

I really did not care for this book. I found it tedious and boring. Do not even get me started on the love scenes. They were pretty much sleep inducing. It wouldn’t recommend this to someone who likes graphic love scenes but maybe to those who like a simple romance.