I’m pleased to announce the winner of Jill Shalvis’s The Trouble with Paradise.

The winner is Nicola O. Nicola, send me your contact info and I’ll send the book out to you.

My thanks to all of you for helping me celebrate my blogging anniversary!

Lucy Monroe is an author I count on for a solid read. That’s why I picked up her 2005 book Touch Me when it came time to choose a book for this month’s TBR Day.

Outspoken, opinionated Thea Selwyn is no ordinary lady. Raised in the exotic West Indies, she has none of the starchy propriety Pierson Drake is accustomed to—rather, there is a lush sensuality about this impulsive beauty that tempts him unmercifully. Her delectable curves and wide, innocent eyes are enticing enough, but her breathless response to his touch is a lure he can’t resist.

On a voyage that takes them from a tropical paradise to the glittering ballrooms of London, Thea and Drake are pulled into a firestorm of illicit passion. Thea knows that once they reach England, the secrets she’s been keeping will kill whatever Drake feels for her. But Drake’s own history has taught him the value of acceptance and the desolation of loss. Thea is the one woman Drake has ever trusted with his heart, and he has no intention of losing her—not to the ghosts of the past or the threats of the present. But can he convince Thea to forget the hard lessons she’s learned and take a chance on love?

Monroe is usually an author I can depend on. Her stories tug on the emotions, and I find it easy to lose myself in her books. However, Touch Me turned out to be an average read.

Thea is much the reason for that. She is an unconventional beauty, a feisty and knowledgeable businesswoman, and an outspoken opponent of slavery. In short, she’s a bit of a stereotype. As I read Touch Me, I kept thinking I’d read this story before. Not because I’ve read this book before, but because Thea is such a familiar character.

Despite this, the writing style kept me reading. Touch Me isn’t one of Monroe’s best, but it’s a pleasant enough way to pass a few hours: 3 out of 5. Still, I’d recommend one of the other books in the Langley trilogy over this one.

It’s week three of my blogging anniversary celebration. The prize for this week’s contest is a signed copy of Jill Shalvis’s The Trouble with Paradise.

To enter, just post a comment answering these questions. Where did you go on your last vacation? If you could go anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go?

Note: This contest ends September 21, 2008. The winner will be announced sometime next week. Only one entry per IP address. Multiple entries from one IP address will be disqualified.

The winner of Bitten & Smitten is kimmyl. Kimmyl, send me your contact info and I’ll send the book out to you. Watch for the next contest tomorrow!

Book reviews are subjective. I was exceptionally aware of this fact as I read Chris Marie Green’s Night Rising.

Stuntwoman Dawn Madison is a girl with a lot of attitude and a lot of issues, mostly about living up to the legacy of her mother, a world famous movie star and sex symbol, whose untimely death left Dawn to be raised by her dad, Frank, nobody’s notion of single-father-of-the-year. Now that she’s all grown up, she and Frank aren’t on the best of terms, to say the least.

Still, he is her dad, and when he vanishes while investigating the bizarre sighting—caught on film—of a supposedly long-dead child star, she comes home to Tinseltown to join the search for him. Working with his colleagues—a psychic short in stature but big in dreams of stardom, a beautiful Latina techno-geek, and the PI firm’s never-seen-boss—she discovers an erotic and bloody underground society made up of creatures she thought existed only on the screen.

They are devious. They are deadly. And some of them are dangerously attractive . . .

I’ve spotlighted one of the covers in Green’s Vampire Babylon series , and I was drawn to this one as well. Having read one of Green’s books before, I hoped I would enjoy this one. The overwhelming feeling I had as I read, however, was that I’m not the right reader for this book.

Explaining why is a bit difficult. Green finds a unique niche in the vampire world, and the characters are interesting . . . you know, as I write this, I think that maybe the heroine is the issue. I’ve read urban fantasy that I’ve enjoyed even if there is no clear-cut romance involved. But I have to really love the protagonist, and in this case I just didn’t. I admired Dawn’s resolve to find her father—and found that the most interesting element—but wasn’t sufficiently impressed by her. Night Rising also includes the makings of a love triangle, but I wasn’t enough invested in the heroine to want to follow it.

To Green’s credit, the characters feel very real. Even the secondary characters have depth, history, and individual quirks. Kiko and Matt are my favorites.

In short, I read Night Rising and was intrigued by certain developments but remained emotionally detached. I don’t think I’ll read the next two books, but I can see how others might find this series appealing.

Night Rising: 3 out of 5.

Fool Moon is the second book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. As I mentioned before, I actually read this one before the first book, but it stands alone nicely. Fool Moon is even better than its predecessor.

Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn’t been able to dredge up any kind of work—magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can’t afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses—and the first two don’t count . . .

Since the Dresden Files books aren’t romances, I was pleasantly surprised by the romantic thread in this story. Susan is a fantastic character—strong, witty, and stubborn, qualities that make her a good choice for Harry.

Some of my favorite moments:

“You need a distraction,” Tera said. “I will do it.” . . .

“What are you going to do?” I asked Tera.

Instead of answering, the amber-eyed woman stripped off my duster and handed it back to me, leaving herself nude and lovely under the rain. “Do you like to look at my body?” she demanded of me.

“Careful how you answer this one, buster,” Susan growled from the car.

And this terrific one-liner: “Don’t mess with a wizard when he’s wizarding!”

Fool Moon is a multilayered mystery with plots that weave together seamlessly. It’s a solid installment: 4.5 out of 5.

My latest Romancing the Blog column is up. I posted about my wish for more contemporaries.

In contest news, the winner of If This Bed Could Talk is Susan Bussey. Susan, send me your contact info and I’ll send the book out to you.

I’ll never forget the excitement I felt when I read my first vampire romance. I’d recently read Dracula, and making vampires the subject of romance seemed like a perfect blend. Obviously I’m not the only one who like this combination, since vampire stories remain very popular. (I’ve written one myself.)

To enter my new contest, just post a comment answering these questions. What is your all-time favorite vampire romance? What vampire books have you read lately?

Here’s this week’s prize: a signed copy of Michelle Rowen’s Bitten & Smitten. It’s the first book in a fun vampire series.

Note: This contest ends September 14, 2008. The winner will be announced sometime next week. Only one entry per IP address. Multiple entries from one IP address will be disqualified.

I’m excited to read your answers!

Am I the only one who hangs onto the second book in a series, waiting to read it for fear it won’t be as good as the first book? It’s happened with me more than once. That’s what I did with Sydney Croft’s Unleashing the Storm. As is often the case, I needn’t have worried. I liked this book even more than the first one. And I enjoyed the first one.

There’s a storm rising. Electricity crackles in the air. For Kira Donovan, it’s that time of year again: when the need floods her flesh, when almost any man—the bigger and the stronger the better—will do. For Kira, an animal psychic, the heat is a matter of life and death, and this year it has come at just the right time. Tom Knight, a natural-born predator, has arrived at her isolated Idaho farm—for reasons all his own . . .

At first Kira isn’t interested in Knight’s motives. She only needs him—his body, his hands, his scent. But soon, through a daze of desire and distrust, Kira discovers Knight’s world—the world of a covert operative, one man among dozens of secret agents waging an astonishing global war. Knight’s mission is to bring Kira—kicking and screaming if necessary—into the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives and harness her extraordinary gift. He never expected the powerful emotions she would ignite in him, or the fierce desire to keep her safe from harm. For as darkness gathers around them, Kira is feeling the heat once again, leading them both on a wild ride of delicious thrills . . . and terror beyond imagining.

It’s been a while since I read the first book, but many of the details returned to mind as I read this book. But really, while the ACRO world is interesting, this book is, at its heart, a love story. Tom and Kira are two characters who are truly made for each other. I love so many little things about them. I love the way she calls him “Tommy,” and I love his consideration of her feelings at the drive-in. I love the way they are unique individuals with hopes and dreams.

A woman in heat is a bit of a cliché in paranormal romance. In Unleashing the Storm, Croft not only makes it work, but makes it an essential aspect of Kira’s character. It’s no contrivance—it’s a layer of her character that makes the story come alive.

Annika and Creed make another appearance in this book. Dev’s story also advances, and I’m interested in seeing how it continues to play out. But Tom and Kira are the heart of this story. Weeks after finishing the book, I’m still thinking about them.

I have book three in the ACRO series, Seduced by the Storm, and I have a new problem. I want to read it right away! I’ll try to hold out since the next book in the series isn’t out for a while, but I’m not making any promises.

Unleashing the Storm: 4.5 out of 5.

I’ve heard good things about Ann Aguirre’s Grimspace, so I was thrilled to pick it up at RWA. Ms. Aguirre may remember me as the woman who nearly ran over someone with a cart to get the last copy. Or what appeared to be the last copy. However, she (and you) can be assured that no one was harmed (by me or the cart) in the securing of this book.

As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent that cuts into her life expectancy but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to defend herself: She has no memory of the crash.

Imprisoned and subjected to a ruthless interrogation, Jax is on the verge of madness. Then a mysterious man breaks into her cell, offering her freedom—for a price. March needs Jax to help his small band of rogue fighters break the Corp monopoly on interstellar travel—and establish a new breed of jumper.

Jax is only good at one thing—grimspace—and it will eventually kill her. So she may as well have some fun in the meantime . . .

Grimspace features a fantastic heroine and solid world-building. It’s told in first-person, present tense, which adds immediacy to the action and ensures that the reader is right with Jax all along the way.

Aguirre’s writing has a nice, fast-paced writing style. I loved many of the opening lines of the chapters; they are so wry and understated. A few examples: “The inevitable argument’s postponed when Keri passes out again.” And, “So I’m up on Doc’s exam table once again.”

I loved March as well, and it’s a true delight to see his relationship change so completely. At the beginning, he is angry with and wary about Jax; by the end, she’s as important to him as air. It’s incredibly sweet. I just wanted to see more, especially at the end.

One development at the end seemed a little too simple. My question (spoiler ahead; scroll over to read) Surely the recording would have been challenged as media tampering? It was nice that the recording turned things on the Corp, but again, I found this resolution a little too easy. /End spoiler.

Grimspace is a strong book, with a character I enjoyed spending time with: 4 out of 5.