Book Binge

Lori's review of Game for Love (Bad Boys of Football book 3) by Bella Andre

In a relationship built on lies... he only truth is their feelings for each other.


To fulfill his grandmother's dying wish, linebacker Cole Taylor must find - and marry - a good girl. First grade teacher, Anna Davis, fits the bill perfectly. Their deal is simple: If she'll be his temporary wife, he'll give her more pleasure than she ever imagined possible.


Only, love is the ultimate game-changer .

Cole is a star defensive back for a pro football team. He was raised by his grandmother, whom her adores. When she is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, she tells him all she ever wanted for him was to find a girl to settle down with. Cole knows that the slutty girls that he sleeps with due to his fame are not really what his grandmother is wanting for him. So he heads out to find a "nice girl."


Enter Anna. She's always been the one afraid to take risks, careful, and deliberate. She's a school teacher. Aha! Perfect! Cole doesn't expect his intense attraction to her, but views it as a serious plus. When he propositions, and then proposes to Anna basically on the spot, she agrees, because she's never been this intensely attracted to someone either.


Cole came across as quite the man-whore, but his redeeming quality was that he was really a very nice guy who simply wanted to make the woman who raised him and who he loved more than life itself happy.


OK. Here's where my problems began. After their quickie wedding, they head back to San Francisco, where miraculously, they both live. Their first time together, instead of taking it slow and nice, Cole decides to tie Anna up. Initially, her bravado and desire to prove she's not afraid to take chances has her giving in. Then as the progress, she starts to have second thoughts; in fact says no and asks him to stop several times. But no. He knows what she wants. And she wants it. Wants to be tied up. As I read, I highlighted this passage:

"Anna's reserve went so deep that if he gave her any chance to protest, to try and fight what her body so desperately wanted, she'd use it."

This struck me as incredibly coercive. She had obviously never done anything like this, so why did he insist on it for their first time? Later in the scene:

"Cole, " she begged, "please untie me." And he doesn''t. Because he just knows that's not really what she wants. "You're being so brave, sweetheart." 

OK, just ick. It's one thing if they had established a safe word, but they hadn't. I felt like this was coercion.

"But he'd known she couldn't, that she didn't have the words, the sexual experience to play the kind of games he probably played every single night with beautiful women." 

Then you let her go when she asks, asshole.


Bear in mind, this is all in their first sexual encounter – before they've even consummated. And of course, Cole was right. She just needed him to push her. To tell her what she really wanted. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive in this time right now, when politicians are trying to tell us what rape is and isn't, but this whole scene left me with a very bad taste in my mouth. I wouldn't go so far as to call it rape, but it was certainly coercive. She struggled, she said no, she"begged".

So from there, they have a getting to know you period, they get close, and Cole comes off as a really nice guy. Yes, he has a wild sexual appetite, but he's just so nice and sweet.

Enter the next problem that I had, and this is something that should have been caught in editing (this is a self-published book. I'm just making the assumption that it was professionally edited, because Andre is a multi-published author through several houses). Cole's word for Anna is "sweet". Everything about her is sweet. She has sweet lips, she carries on sweet conversation, she was so sweet. A thesaurus would have been a great asset here.

And then we have the great misunderstanding that I thought wasn't such a great secret. Anna finds out Cole only married her to make his grandmother happy. I thought he had been pretty up front about it, and thought her reaction was over the top a bit.

And at the very end, Cole's grandmother miraculously recovers from stage 4 cancer.

This book pushed a lot of buttons for me, but I do truly like Andre's voice, and I've enjoyed many of her books. I think this one just wasn't in the cards for me. I will still continue to read Andre, though, because I think she has a lot of talent. This just wasn't a good fit.

2 out of 5

This is book 3 in the Bad Boys of Football series.
 



You can read more from Lori by visiting I Just Finished Reading and Living in the House of Testosterone.

This book is available from Createspace. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

I got the new book by LuAnn McLane for review (thanks Holly!) and before I even opened the book, I did a little happy dance and then I did open the book and saw that my review for He's No Prince Charming was quoted inside and I got excited all over again that I had to email Ames.

Finding your reviews quoted in the books that you're most looking forward to makes all of the time and effort maintaining a blog worth while and I tell you right now, seeing your reviews quoted never gets old.

Squeee!

-Rowena

Rowena's review of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

The Iron King is the first installment in Julie Kagawa's The Iron Fae series. It follows Meghan Chase as she deals with all of the crazy that lands right at her door. She finds out that her biological father is the Summer King and things just kind of crumble from there. Her half-brother is kidnapped and Meghan finds herself doing things she never in a million years dreamed she'd be doing to get her brother Luke back.

Julie Kagawa wrote the hell out of her faerie world. The descriptions in this book was so vivid and so colorful that it was easy to picture everything. I can see Puck, Ash and Grimalkin so clearly in my mind. But as easy as it was for me to picture everything, the beginning of this book took some getting used to. It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland and I didn't like Alice and Wonderland growing up but I did really like the world that Julie Kagawa introduced in this book.

Meghan and Puck are best friends. They've been best friends for the longest time and Meghan trusts Puck more than anyone she knows but when a dark stranger saves her life, she can't help but be drawn to him.

I thought Meghan was a pretty solid main character in this book, she didn't drive me bat shit crazy or anything which is sometimes normal in YA books but in this book, Meghan was strong, resilient and she didn't back down from anyone. I liked that about her.

Puck was freaking hilarious. I loved getting to know him. He had me cracking up most every time that he turned up on the pages and when Ice Prince comes into the picture? Oh man, the laughs came at me a mile a minute and I ate it up. I heart Puck!

There's a love triangle with Ash, Meghan and Puck and everywhere you go in the YA book blogging world, you'll see badges for Team Ash and Team Puck. After reading this book, I was torn between the two because you can't help but wonder about Ash. He's part of the Winter court. He was raised to hate the Summer court and Meghan is part of the summer court. It's the classic forbidden love thing going on over here but you won't be able to help yourself. Despite the frosty manner in which Ash shows us in this book, you're going to fall in love with him. I promise. This guy is everything that us women folk drool over and you won't be able to help yourself.

The whole faerie world is interesting and Kagawa does a great job of setting up future books with this one. Fans of YA fiction will surely enjoy this book (lots of people already do) and will be thirsty for more. I definitely recommend this book because the characters are well written and it introduces you into a world that you will want to be apart of and you will definitely be rooting for one of the boys in this series, whether it be Puck or Ash...you'll pick a team.

To all the Mom's out there, I'd give this book a rating of PG-13. There's a lot going on that might be too complicated for younger readers (and I say this because my 11 year old daughter tried reading it and was confused so she stopped reading it) and it's got a lot of fighting in it so I'd say 13 and up is a good age for this book.

4 out of 5

This book is available from Harlequin Teen. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Holly: We had some wacky weather this weekend. Rain, hail, snow, gusting wind. As nice as it would have been to sit in front of the fire and read, things were pretty crazy at Casa Holly. Ortho appointments, science projects, sleepovers..oh my. I did manage to read 3 books, but it was slow going. I read A Basket of Wishes by Rebecca Paisley. It was recommended to me on Twitter (by Mad? KMont? I can't remember) after a conversation about authors who have disappeared. I was able to get a used copy on Amazon for pretty cheap. It started off really slow for me (a little too campy and slapstick-y) but eventually I fell into the romance. In the end I really enjoyed it.

This morning I started reading Mesmerized by Lauren Dane. This is book 2 in her Phantom Corps series, a spinoff of the Federation Universes. I adored the first 4 books and I'm loving this one as well. I'm kind of taking my time with it, savoring the characters. Also? The cover is fucking amazing. Yes, fucking amazing. There's no other phrase to describe it. If I could just pull his shirt up a little, and his pants down a little...life would be so good. He's just the right amount of dirty and sweaty....*drool* Ehem.

Casee: I'm finally getting my reading mojo back. I've read some really good books. Right now I'm reading Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison. Holly sent it to me with a threatening note. Something about something dire happening if I didn't read and immediately send it back. Considering how she's raved about the book, I've taken her at her word. So far, I'm loving it.

Rowena: I just finished reading The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis and really enjoyed it. I'm going to be reading some quick short stories and then I'll start Playing for Keeps by LuAnn McLane.


What are you reading?

Judith's review of Forsaken Desire by Aubrey Ross.

Rhys' abuse as a Setti slave has left him emotionally distant from the conflict around him.  The last time he trusted a woman, he ended up in a breed pen in the Setti homeworld.


Frustrated by his son's determination to keep himself isolated, Xenos sends temptation personified into Rhys' path.  Andara Kinson has proved her allegiance to the Resistance despite her Setti blood.  Xenos challenges Andara to find a way beyond Rhys' reserve and to rekindle the passionate soul Rhys has buried beneath a mountain of responsibility.  


Andara thinks of Rhys with fondness and affection.  He was gallant during a horrible ordeal and she will always be grateful.  She isn't opposed to flirting with Rhys.  He is, by far, the most attractive man she has ever met.  But her Setti abilities have filled her mind with images of another man, a dark and sometimes frightening being, tormented and alone.


This futuristic novella is a second novella from Aubrey Ross that is an encounter between the founder of the Resistance, a group formed to fight the incursion of the Setti threat, and those who have either experienced the Setti captivity like Rhys or who are being rescued from some form of political captivity that involves all sorts of very frightening scientific genetic engineering.  Filled with alien life forms from worlds that have sprung whole from the author's incredibly creative imagination, this story is a tale of love remembered and reclaimed. Having experienced the horrors of Setti captivity, Rhys and Andara find that the link of shared experience is far more durable than they realized.  And while any of us can call up a sexual fantasy or two, these folks know how to create a mind link that can get them involved with the person in their fantasies far more completely than any person in our present world.

That being said, at the core of this story is the concern of a father for his son who has obviously not dealt with the long-term effects of his captivity.  It is the remembered horrors and the rage they inspired that cause Rhys to even foment what is now known as Resistance.  So it is not unusual to find that his emotions have shut down and his life has become one intense focus on neutralizing the Setti influences in his world.  Andara, on the other hand, has several goals.  She is obviously useful in relating to any Resistance captives who are either wholly or partially Setti.  She also has a legitimate reason to come into Rhys' world in order to put her unique gifts to work for the Resistance.  But her most compelling reason--at least on the surface--is to find help in rescuing a captive she has encountered quite by accident during one of her sexual fantasies.  Javier is alone and has been for a very long time, when Andara accidentally links telepathically with him.  Her contact brings him great comfort but as their contact is almost like modern phone sex, Javier becomes convinced that Andara is his mate.

While this is just a novella, there is lots going on in this story.  The tension in Rhys' daily life is obvious and easily felt right from the first.  His attraction to Andara is also immediately rekindled, but she wants to be very careful not to have any sexual tension between them to increase pressure on Rhys.  She also needs his help in rescuing Javier and his fellow captive, Kamn.  It would appear that their earlier shared captivity formed more of a foundation for their relationship than either realized.  It took very little time for their romance to blossom into a torrid affair.  However, in rescuing Javier and being brought face to face with his rage at what he views as her betrayal, Andara tries to find a way to bring Javier out of his mating frenzy and to heal much of the emotional injuries his captivity has caused.

This novella is really a beautiful love story but it also highlights the open, loving, giving, caring spirits that both Rhys and Andara display toward Javier.  Their care of him result in a brief menage a trois, but Javier recognizes that their allowing him into just a portion of their relationship is a loving gift that heals him.  Whether contemporary 2011 circumstances or times far in the distant future, the power of love to heal and restore is never changed.  It is a healing potion that medical science has never found a way to replicate.

I have to own up to the fact that sci-fi and futuristic tales are not my number one fiction source.  But I enjoyed this story and found that the open hearts of Andara and Rhys were very endearing.  My only difficulty was that not having had too much history with some of these alien worlds via previous stories, I felt just a little lost in trying to slot everyone in and find mental categories for really understanding what was going on.  Aside from that concern, however, the story held together well and was very well written.  It is a short read but one that is very intense and filled with strong emotions and some very basic human need, regardless of the futuristic setting.

So I hope you will investigate this novella and the other writings of Aubrey Ross.  She has an impressive portfolio of published work encompassing a variety of themes.  She is a very good story teller.

I give this novella a 3.75 out of 5, not because of any lack in quality--I would have loved for it to be a bit longer.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J's Book Place.


This book is available from Ellora's Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

Judith's review of Commitment by Ann Jacobs.

"No promises, no pain," is Gaelen Reston's mantra.  But her long-time lover, Brent d'Angelo, wants a woman to cherish for a lifetime.  He just has to persuade Gaelen that a real-life commitment doesn't mean the end of their fiery fantasies.

This is erotic romance fiction through and through and there are few characters other than Gaelen and Brent.  Brent's family put in a very minor appearance as does one of his brothers and a co-worker of Brent's, but ultimately this is a gentle, quiet, sexy, erotic, romantic story that has lots of underlying pain to it.

Gaelen has come from a home that made dysfunction a really dirty word.  It was a home where there was never freedom from hurt and wounding, where siblings were used as weapons by their parents against one another, and where she came to believe that family and marriage were her worst enemies.  That's why, when she and Brent fell in "lust" five years earlier, they agreed that their affair would never intrude on their real life, that they would only attend obligatory social events connected to their professions during the week, that their get-togethers would never occur at one another's domicile, and there would never be any talk of the future or of any promises that would bind them together.  Fear--the kind that paralyzes, overwhelms unexpectedly, and causes one's perception of reality to become seriously skewed is at the heart of this story.  Gaelen is obviously a warm, loving, and passionate woman who knows down deep that Brent is the love of her life.  Allowing him into the deepest recesses of her heart and soul is a risk she just can't seem to take.

Brent is one of those wonderful, balanced and caring men who is comfortable in his skin, who loves with his whole heart and soul, and who agrees to Gaelen's terms of their relationship because he knew that was what she needed.  Now he is pushing her, getting her to agree to spending his "vacation" for two weeks at his house, pushing her to think about what their life would be like to wake up each day together, to make a baby together, to know that they were there for one another at a deeper level.  Brent is a plastic surgeon who, in addition to making people cosmetically beautiful, takes cases that other surgeons refuse--repairing facial  birth defects for children of poor families, spending extra time with victims of cancer, etc.  He is just one really special man.  Yet he continues to realize that he needs Gaelen in his life and if her fear continues to rob them of a fuller life together, he will take what she is willing to give. 

This short story is a wonderful, amazingly erotic and romantic story.  Ms Jacobs has proven to be an expert storyteller, and she moves these characters through this time in their personal history gently but relentlessly.  It is also one of those stories that has a far deeper meaning and makes a serious point about the times in many people's lives when playing at relationship seems to be the route to take.  But ultimately couples must own up to the fact that commitment means surrendering one's fears as well as one's gifts and talents and emotions.  Love is wonderful, but genuine love is demanding--it is never satisfied with holding pat when insecurity and the unwillingness to risk become more important that allowing the relationship to grow.  It's sort of like holding one's breath:  it seems to do OK for a while, for some longer than others, but eventually oxygen deprivation takes over.  Just as Gaelen came to see, no one can stay in one "place" or stance endlessly. 

I enjoyed this short story and felt it had the marks of good fiction.  The characters were realistic, the story was taken out of contemporary life, and the underlying realities are more common than most of us realize.  All in all, a very good read.  I would love to see Ms Jacobs write a really meaty, full-length novel.  She tells such good stories but after awhile, novellas and short stories are frustrating.  For that reason I have marked down this rating--wonderful content;  it just was so very short. 

I give it a rating of 3.75 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J's Book Place.

This book is available from Ellora's Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

We've got some winners to announce for giveaways that were peppered throughout the month of February! If you've been wondering who won that giveaway we hosted not too long ago, now you'll have to wonder no more.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaways, we appreciate you! Winners please shoot us an email with your information to contests @ the book binge . com (no spaces) and we'll get your books sent out just as soon as we can!

Thanks again and happy reading everyone!

-Rowena, Casee & Holly

Tracy’s review of The Swing by Lissa Matthews

Two years after his brother's death in Afghanistan, Jethro is doing well. His handmade porch swing business is booming, his hip injury has healed and he's still in love with Caitlyn. He knows he should resist her, but can't, and pulls her into his darkly sensual world of sex and spankings.


Caitlyn has grieved, created a life for herself and has finally come to terms with her need for Jethro, her dead husband's brother. With no small measure of hesitation, she takes a fateful step-daring him to turn her and their chance at happiness away.

What would you do if you feel in love with your twin’s girlfriend and remained in love with her even after they got married? Not only that, but the woman is in love with you as well – and your twin knows it?

Well that’s exactly what happened to Jethro and his twin Marcus’s wife, Caitlyn. Marc knew that Jethro was in love with her but he also knew that his brother wouldn’t do anything about it – and neither would Caitlyn. But how hard would it be living life with that knowledge? Pretty darned hard, imho.

But Marcus died while in Afghanistan two years prior to this story’s beginning and now we’re seeing Jethro and Caitlyn trying to see if they can piece together a life while dealing with the guilt they feel. They finally realize that Marcus wouldn’t have wanted them to struggle the way they have and even asked Jethro to take care of Caitlyn knowing that Jethro was thoroughly in love with her.

It was an emotionally charged book for as short as it was but Ms. Matthews managed to convey the feelings of this couple extremely well. I even found myself tearing up at one point.

Now this being an Ellora’s Cave Quickie I knew going in that it would be on the sexy side with emphasis on the sex...and sex on a swing! That was incredibly hot even though Jethro was not the sweet romantic type. He liked his spankings and wanted to show everything to Caitlyn that she had missed while being married to a sweet romantic man.

I think I liked this not only for the emotional aspect of it but the fact that Ms. Matthews really made us see how Jethro and Marcus were most definitely two sides of the same coin. One soft and loving, one harder but just as loving but both of them not afraid of who they were and the love they had for Caitlyn.

A great quick story that is worth taking the time to read.

Rating: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place


This book is available from Ellora's Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

Today only, if you visit your local Barnes and Noble (find yours here) and get a guided NOOKColor tour, you'll receive a coupon for a free coffee at the B&N Cafe. I really love my NOOKColor. If you've been thinking about buying one, this might be the perfect oppportunity to go check it out.

Also, for Android users, you'll be glad to know B&N upgraded their Android App. Readers using Android smartphones and 7-inch tablets can enjoy a new library grid view, wish list feature, download progress meter, and more. I'm really excited about this, because I thought some of the App features were lacking. Click here www.bn.com/nookforandroid for more information, or download the new version from Android Market.

Today romantic suspense author Joyce Lamb is here talking about one of my favorite things - Fearless Heroines. Joyce's latest novel, True Colors, is available now from Berkley.  


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Hi, Book Binge! Thanks so much for letting me hang out with you today!

A lot of romance writers talk about their favorite heroes, and I definitely have mine. Dennis Quaid in The Big Easy. Kevin Costner in Bull Durham. Jason Statham in The Transporter. Eddie Cibrian in Invasion. Timothy Olyphant in Justified. Gilles Marini just standing there. Ashton Kutcher in anything. I could go on, but I want to mix things up a bit. Seeing as how you’re all fearless women, I’d like to talk about my favorite fearless heroines, as well as the ones who've inspired my own characters.

-- Molly Millions: Back in the late '80s, I read my very first sci-fi novel: Neuromancer by William Gibson. The novel was pretty cool to begin with, what with the dawning Internet playing a huge role, but what has stuck with me most over the years is the character of Molly Millions. See, Molly was hero Case's bodyguard, and seeing as how this was the future, she had jacked-up reflexes and razor blades imbedded under her fingernails -- which retracted and everything -- that were her weapons of choice. What I liked best about Molly was that she was a no-nonsense woman in a strong role. Which was a little unusual back in the '80s, with the possible exception of Sarah Connor in The Terminator. (I’m sure there were others – they just weren’t on my radar.) When The Matrix came out many years later, I was certain that the leather-clad Trinity had been inspired by Molly Millions. (Side note: I named one of my cats after the cat-like Molly.)

-- Sarah Connor: Speaking of The Terminator … What I loved about this character was the fact that Sarah spent very little time crying and whining about how her life just got blown apart. She steps up to the plate and fights for all she's worth. She's tough and resourceful yet feminine enough to have a quick fling with the very hot Kyle Reese, played by the very hot Michael Biehn. The Sarah Connor of Terminator 2 was very different -- tough to the core, ripped and not a feminine bone left in her body. That made perfect sense to me, though. I mean, who wouldn't lose it a little if she knew what Sarah knew about the future of the world? I drew on this character for my own heroine in one of my earlier titles, Found Wanting. Alaina, like Sarah, is laser-focused on protecting her son. No one and nothing can keep her down. She's like the Energizer Bunny, popping back up every time you think she's reached her limit.   

-- Aeryn Sun: I found the sci-fi TV show Farscape after it had concluded, and I know lots of people have never even heard of it. A friend kept telling me I should check it out, especially because I'm a romance writer. I finally did, and once I got past some of the silliness in the first season, I was riveted. The character of Aeryn was brilliant: tough, competent and, at first, emotionless. She was bred to be a soldier and, therefore, never fall in love. Sex was recreation, period. John Crichton changed her world. Funny, tender and naïve about the brutality of the universe, he taught her about love and hope. I drew on this character for the heroine in my upcoming True Shot (formerly True Calling), the third in the True trilogy (coming December 2011). Sam is also tough and competent, more inclined to settle things with a gun rather than waste time with words. Her hero, Mac Hunter, is her perfect foil: funny, warm and convinced he can talk his way out of any situation, no matter how dire. Mac's relative innocence frustrates the hell out of Sam, just as Crichton's frustrated Aeryn in Farscape. At one point in the series, Aeryn tells John, "I don't have time for your emotions." But she ends up making time for them big-time, just like Sam does with Mac.

-- Samantha Carter: It took me awhile to get into Stargate SG-1. (Yes, it's another sci-fi show -- sorry!) I'd watched a few episodes and wasn't impressed, even though Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks were both worth tuning in if only to get in a little drooling. But a fellow writer friend insisted I keep watching, so I did. Turns out, the subtle romance between Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter is actually very well done. What I like about Sam: As an Air Force officer, she does her job and does it well -- often the only one with the smarts to save the world time and again (hey, it's fiction!). Surprisingly, her role isn't to be the eye candy or the damsel in distress. Maybe she has to be rescued a few times, but the show aired for 10 seasons, so that seems acceptable. Sam also was ethical to the core. She had strong feelings for her commanding officer but never acted on those feelings because of military regulations -- unless there were extenuating circumstances, such as being taken over by an alien entity (yes, it sounds stupid, but it worked). So even while the romance was never overt, the signs were subtle. This character, in part, inspired the heroine in my first True book, True Vision. Charlie is ethical to the core, too, and the one time she breaks the rules, the consequences are huge.

So I guess it looks as though I’m a real sci-fi nerd. Kinda, a little, especially when it comes to strong heroines. But I’m also a romance nerd, and the second of my True trilogy, TRUE COLORS, came out in January (it follows TRUE VISION). I hope Alex Trudeau, the heroine in TRUE COLORS, inspires someone somewhere. See, Alex picked up an intense, but sometimes awesome, psychic ability when she was shot after being mistaken for her sister in TRUE VISION. If Alex touches someone, her psychic ability sends her careening into a traumatic event from that person's past, where she feels and sees everything the person felt and saw at the time of the event as if it actually happened to her. Not fun. Her ability has a major impact on her budding relationship with police detective John Logan, who’s haunted by a tragedy from his past. That tragedy is related to a serial killer who wants revenge. Unfortunately, said serial killer focuses on Alex as a way to make Logan pay, and when the killer kidnaps her, her psychic ability shows her the things in his past that made him a madman. So not only are Logan and Alex racing against time to stop a killer, but they're also faced with the challenge of preserving Alex's sanity. Luckily, there's some sizzling romance along the way – with an added psychic touch to their lovemaking that’s pretty hot.

If you want to read an excerpt from TRUE COLORS, you can visit JoyceWrites.com.

Thanks for letting me hang out with you today! And, hey, I hope you’ll share who your favorite heroines are (or heroes!). If you leave a comment, you could win copies of TRUE VISION and TRUE COLORS. Be sure to leave your e-mail address. 

I started writing as a teenager, plunking my dad's electric typewriter on my bedroom floor and pounding away at it in my jams. I'd just finished reading Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon and found the unhappy ending inspiring. So, naturally, I decided to write romance novels, where the ending is guaranteed to be happy. You can’t imagine how relieved I am that you will never, ever read that first novel, which was edited using scissors and rubber cement. At least the fumes were good.

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Mary's review of Icebreaker (New York Blades, Book 9) by Deirdre Martin

Attorney Sinead O'Brien's new client is Adam Perry, the star of the New York Blades. It's a good thing she doesn't date clients, especially jocks. Charged with assault on another player, the private, no-nonsense Adam knows this is his last shot at Stanley Cup glory. Sinead quickly discovers that there's a wounded man under that helmet, and she's falling for him-hard. Can they play on their feelings without penalties?

There's something to be said for hot hockey players, especially those with all their teeth. Seriously though, athletes are hot, and Adam Perry is no exception. The captain of the New York Blades and a hard-core, hard-hitting player, he's determined to take his team all the way, despite a charge of assault hanging over his head. Sinead O'Brien is the top lawyer hired to defend Adam.

The first time Sinead meets Adam, she thinks he's just another brain-dead jock, especially since he's sitting there at the conference table, not saying a word in his defense. Adam's impressions of Sinead are no better—he sees an uptight, workaholic lawyer.

Though Sinead doesn't know much about hockey or the hot team captain, she does her best to find out more about him. This proves to be incredibly difficult, considering Adam's a very tough nut to crack. But he's kind of into her so he plays her game. However, he isn't willing to give Sinead any information about himself unless she does the same for him. And, it turns out, they have more in common that they first think.

Both Sinead and Adam take turns at being sympathetic and frustrating to both each other and the reader (well, me). Sinead has a great connection with her family but she's pushed her sister away because of a new baby and her fear that kids don't like her (she's a little jealous, too). She's so uptight about everything—if I knew this girl in real life, I'd take her out and get her drunk, just so she would relax a bit. But she's passionate about what she does, she's a good friend, and a great lawyer. Then there's Adam. He's so taciturn, so closed off from everyone, I can understand why Sinead sees him as a dumb jock at first. Really, he's an introvert who shines on the ice. There's a lot more to him than meets the eye, some of it good and some not.

This romance felt very real—the relationship developed at a good pace, but not so fast as to be unrealistic. They had their battles and, though I did feel they were a little too willing to walk away from each other at times, they worked out their differences in a true-to-life way. When the romance heated up and headed into the bedroom, they weren't the hottest couple, pretty plain vanilla in fact, but they burned strong and true. But, you know, there's something to be said for plain vanilla. I felt it dragged a little bit when they were having their various break-ups and make-ups (Hey, I haven't read a straight-up, contemporary novel in quite a while—I'm usually all about the urban fantasy/paranormal with lots of action) but it wasn't anything that made me want to give up on the story.

I really like the secondary characters, especially Anthony and Oliver. Anthony (who is from another book in the NY Blades series, JUST A TASTE, I believe. Definitely going to have to read that one—he was great!) is the one who talks sense into Adam when he's acting like a jerk, which he does sometimes, spouting off his antiquated ideas about women. Then there's Oliver, Sinead's hard-drinking, over-the-top, horny lawyer friend. He is, by far, my favorite character and just what Sinead needs when she's the one being stupid. I can see him as a great leading man, one who needs a strong woman to help him get his head on straight.

It's a tough thing to write a strong romance between two such stubborn, closed-off workaholics but Deirdre Martin manages to do just that in this novel.

Rated 3.5/5.0

The series:


This book is available from Berkley Sensation. You can buy it here or here in e-format.