The Hunter by Monica McCarty

The Hunter by Monica McCarty

The Highland Guard Series, Book 7

Publisher: Ballantine Books(June 2013)

402 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $7.99)

Book Rating: 3 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Ewen is tasked with tracking down a missing undercover courier, Janet, who is posing as a nun, but when he catches up with her his attraction to her makes him upset about the dangers she undergoes to get information for The Bruce, and makes him overly-protective of a woman not seeking or appreciating his protection. I loved Janet! She was such a great, strong character, doing her best to tough things out and do her bit for The Bruce, as well as fighting determinedly for the relationship with Ewen, despite all his mixed signals and discouragement. Though I understand his past demons regarding his father's failings, Ewen was a disappointment to me, clinging slavishly to duty and not even attempting to fight for Janet until it was nearly too late. I would have much rather he stood up for her much earlier, instead of fighting it for so long, for they had plenty of other obstacles against them as it was. Regardless, this is a great series and I look forward to the next book, The Raider, due out February 2014!

Lost Souls by Delilah Devlin

Lost Souls by Delilah Devlin

Caitlyn O'Connell Series, Book 2

Publisher: Montlake Romance (June 2013)

270 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Once again Cait and Sam find themselves dealing with the handiwork of demons, this time ones that pull numerous women inside a hotel wall to feed on them. Cait isn't the easiest character to like, she's always making things way more difficult for herself than things need to be, especially her relationships. Thankfully, Sam stands by as a grounding force, never really able to totally give up on her, and making sure her reckless nature is somewhat contained. I look forward to their next adventure, and hope their rocky relationship will continue to smooth out in the process! Great mystery with endless action!

A Rose in the Storm by Brenda Joyce

A Rose in the Storm by Brenda Joyce

Scottish Medieval Series, Book 2

Publisher: Harlequin HQN (June 2013)

441 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $6.15)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Pink Heart

Margaret and Alexander were sworn blood enemies, even more so when he attacked and seized control of her castle, but Alexander sought to protect her from the beginning, even from herself. Though I felt some of Alexander’s methods of “protection” were in poor taste at times, I cannot deny that his intentions were noble and his steadfastness in looking after her and her interests was awesome! Margaret was brave, a bit naive, and frustratingly idealistic, but I had to admire her unwavering spirit, for she never gave up persevering. I thought the brief, more realistic love scenes were great! I wish there had been an update at the end on a few more characters. What happened to Sir Ranald or Margaret's maid, Eilidh? Nonetheless, a great story of romance in difficult circumstances!

The Merry Widow of Tanner’s Ford by Reece Butler

The Merry Widow of Tanner’s Ford by Reece Butler

Climax, Montana Series, Book 1

Publisher: Siren Publishing (June 2013)

245 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $5.79)

Book Rating: 5 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Marci escaped a bad marriage when her husband perished in a house fire, leaving her a widow, and she went to live with her sister, the only family she had left. Simon's full leg cast and Marci's sister's idea to put her bad marriage behind her, see her moving in with Simon while he needs the extra help, at least until his brother Lance returns. Each of the characters have multiple things going on here and it was woven together so nicely. I liked the amount of trust Marci but in Simon and Lance, nearly from the beginning. Lance's spiritual connection with Simon, his ravens and Marci was awesome and I really thought it deepened his character. I look forward to more stories from this series!

The Highlander's Triumph by Eliza Knight

The Highlander's Triumph by Eliza Knight

The Stolen Bride Series, Book 5

Publisher: Eliza Knight (June 2013)

228 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $4.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

In going to the aid of a burning village, Brandon Sinclair comes upon a young woman whom he feels bound to protect, despite the objections of others in the Bruce's service who accompany him, who feel she is likely a spy or part of the trap that was laid for them. Mariana's connection with the King of England puts her in a difficult position, not knowing who to trust and with how much. Brandon and Mariana had great chemistry from the start, and though I understand why it had to be so, I wished there had been fewer secrets between them along the way. Mariana showed such strength in the face of harsh judgements and the bleakness of the life that had been thrust upon her, and I couldn't help but like her. I look forward to reading the next book in this series, The Highlander's Sin, about the mysterious MacKay priest!

Broken Beauty by Skye Warren

Broken Beauty by Skye Warren

Beauty Series, Book 3

Publisher: Skye Warren (June 2013)

87 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $0.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

As Blake and Erin work to move forward, both in their lives and in their relationship, they run into some roadblocks along the way, including a jealous ex and some unfortunate happenstance, but they always come out stronger for it. This segment shows both characters pulling down old barriers as they help each other to grow, and Blake's resolution and perseverance in particular was awesome. I look forward to reading the last installment in Blake and Erin's story in Beauty Becomes You, due out July 2013.

Demanding Satisfaction by Reece Butler

Demanding Satisfaction by Reece Butler

Bride Train Series, Book 9

Publisher: Siren Publishing (April 2013)

296 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $6.80)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Sophie had watched numerous women come to town and find a trio of husbands to settle down with on a ranch of their own and she wanted the same thing, though she wasn't having much luck in finding her trio until she found out Max, the handsome Pinkerton agent, had two equally attractive brothers, Sam and Josh, who weren't as rigid and rule-driven. A great end to the series with Sophie's long-awaited happily ever after and the mystery of the nefarious Mr. Isaac solved. It was great to see so many previous characters from this series as they worked together with Max and his brothers to catch Mr. Isaac, solving the mystery of his identity and laying to rest a major threat to the valley's families. I look forward to reading about further Tanner's Ford generations in the Climax, Montana series!

Seducing the Highlander by Michele Sinclair

Seducing the Highlander by Michele Sinclair

The McTiernays Series, Book 5

Publisher: Zebra Books (June 2013)

416 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $5.38)

Book Rating: 3 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

After being tricked into a very public kiss, Meriel and Craig are awakened to the fact that their feelings go quite a bit deeper than just friendship, but it takes them varying degrees of time for each of them to decide what to do about it. Being first to realize her true feelings, Meriel plots to inspire Craig's jealousy with the help of Hamish, a known womanizer, and unexpectedly ends up becoming good friends with the man. Meriel was a strong, independent character that I really liked. She went about standing up for herself in a quiet, reserved way that I could relate to. Craig's bullheadedness was frustrating, but thankfully he eventually came around. At first I thought it was kind of cool to get to see a bit of the newlywed struggles to settle down, but it quickly became agonizingly depressing, especially given the difficult courtship that it followed. This story includes one of the main characters having a miscarriage, and I found the happy epilogue a bit of a shock after that. And what about poor Hamish? I was so frustrated with Craig for a good deal of this book, I almost wished that Hamish would win out instead, and felt badly for him in the end. I hope we will learn more of his fate in future books. Hamish deserves his own Happily Ever After! I look forward to reading the remaining two brother's stories: Conan and Clyde.

Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley

Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley

Chaos Series, Book 2

Publisher: Forever (June 2013)

547 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.79)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Hop and Lanie had both been burned in love and neither was looking for anything more than a one night stand, but that isn't exactly how it turned out once they got a taste of each other. Hop was a great alpha male, with a bit of drama for spice, but nothing like the drama that Lanie cranked out on a regular basis. I normally don't like drama to that degree, and I did find it frustrating when the drama created so many unnecessary problems, but I just had to like Lanie and her sweet, accepting attitude toward things. Hop and Lanie were the perfect combination to conquer each other's inner demons and when things between them were good, it was really good. I hope Brick's story is next, but whoever it is, I'll look forward to reading it!

Mustang Sally by Jayne Rylon

Mustang Sally by Jayne Rylon

Hot Rods, Book 2

Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.(June 2013)

150 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.44)

Book Rating: 5 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

After Eli and Alanso made a debacle of things, Sally runs to the Powertools crew for some time away and space to sort out what she really wants, but just as it is all coming together a secret from her past threatens to ruin it all. This was a great finish to Eli and Alanso's story, given that Sally is the elusive finishing third piece to their relationship. You get to know the other five guys (Kaige, Holden, Carver, Roman and Bryce) a bit more in this one too, and I thought that was great, since I didn't feel we got to see much of them in the first book in this series. I look forward to reading the next book in this series, Super Nova, about Kaige, due out December 2013!

Highlanders by Brenda Joyce, Terri Brisbin, and Michelle Willingham

Highlanders by Brenda Joyce, Terri Brisbin, and Michelle Willingham

Publisher: Harlequin HQN (June 2013)

244 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $6.15)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Pink/Red Heart

The Warrior and the Rose by Brenda Joyce

Scottish Medieval Series, Book 1

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Pink Heart

Juliana and Alasdair are on the opposite sides of the struggle for the Scottish crown, but the lines between them begin to blur when Juliana is taken as his captive. I found Alasdair to be very engaging, a strong and somewhat mysterious, stoic man who knows what he wants and is willing to fight for it. Juliana, I felt, was a bit too idealistic and much too quick to jump straight into bed with Alasdair without a second thought or any promises from him. An enjoyable read nonetheless.

The Forbidden Highlander by Terri Brisbin

The MacLerie Stories, Book 9

Book Rating: 5 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

James and Elizabeth accept the risks and embark on an elopement to seal there forbidden love before they can be torn apart by James's impending nuptials to a betrothed that loves another herself, only to be caught in a Tess of the D'Urbervilles scenario, when James realizes that Elizabeth comes to him previously deflowered. Luckily James quickly comes to his senses, on a renewed course of determination to see them bound together irrevocably before anyone can stop them. Great story with a bit of humor sprinkled here and there!

Rescued by the Highland Warrior by Michelle Willingham

MacKinloch Clan Series, Book 3.5

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Dougal was broken-hearted when Celeste left him two years ago, choosing to follow her gold digger's needs instead of trusting in true love, but now she is back and he is rightfully leery of the reason. I had a really hard time relating to or liking Celeste, her motives often not what I thought they should be and it took her plenty of time to finally see reason. I felt bad for Dougal, feeling he had been yanked around enough already and didn't need any extra aggravation, but eventually I just wanted his happiness even if it had to be with her. I guess everyone deserves a second, and perhaps third, chance if they have truly seen the error in their ways and I wouldn't begrudge Celeste that in the end, and I was pleased with the way things turned out.