Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye

Okay, this is one for those who are complaining about the lack of straight contemporaries out there. I adored this book and am even thinking about rereading it. So, here's my impression of Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye.

Rosalie Ronaldi doesn't have a domestic bone in her body ...

All she cares about is her career, so she survives on take-out and dirty martinis, keeps her shoes under the dining room table, her bras on the shower curtain rod, and her clothes on the couch ...

Nick Romeo is every woman's fantasy - tall, dark, handsome, rich, really good in bed, AND he loves to cook and clean ...

He says he wants an independent woman, but when he meets Rosalie, all he wants to do is take care of her. Before too long, he's cleaned up her apartment, stocked her refrigerator, and adopted her dog ...

So what's the problem? Just a little matter of mistaken identity, corporate theft, a hidden past in juvenile detention and one big nosy Italian family too close for comfort ...

I really, really, really liked this book. It's cute and fun and really romantic. If I was reading a book for fantasy, this is what I would want. Nick's a wonderful guy and I liked how he can be caring and compassionate, yet still be very masculine. Hmmm...kinda reminds me of my husband, actually. Maybe that's why I liked the book so much.

For much of the book, Nick pretends to be a simple mechanic at the dealership that he actually owns. He does this because he's sick of being wanted for his money and thinks that he won't be seeing Rosalie for very long anyways. But she grows on him and he finds himself unable to bring himself to really tell her who he is. Of course, Rosalie has found out his identity fairly early on and deduces his reasoning for herself. I liked that this didn't end up being major conflict for the characters. Instead, it was their own fear of relationships that forms the main conflict and for these particular characters it rings true.

I also liked Rosalie. She's a workaholic and it's a true part of who she is and I liked how Nick brings her out of her shell. There's some conflict when it turns out she's working for a company that he's trying to take over and it was interesting to see how that was handled. I kept cringing, waiting for what I thought would be one or both of the characters doing something stupid, but they didn't. And like the blurb, there's corporate theft and juvenile detention, but it all works.

I hope I haven't missed anything or made anything confusing. Just ask and I shall try to explain better. Here's a link to an excerpt of the book: Romeo, Romeo excerpt

All in all, I adored this book and can't wait to read more in this Domestic Gods series.

Hint, hint to anyone reading this: My birthday is towards the beginning of May, when the next book, Too Hot to Handle comes out. Me wants. Badly.

Head Over Heels by Susan Andersen

Summary swiped from Susan Andersen's site:

Veronica Davis swore she'd never voluntarily step foot in the family honky-tonk again. But now circumstances have brought her back, and it's even worse than she remembers… thanks to Cooper Blackstock, a bossy pseudo-bartender with an agenda all his own.

I really enjoyed this one. The characters are both really great and Coop and Ronnie are great together. Ronnie has good reason to want to stay away from home, but she knows she has to stay for her niece's sake and does what has to be done. I like that in a character. She doesn't whine and pull out her chair, she just gets things done. And I also liked how any misunderstandings between Ronnie and Coop are handled really well and fairly quickly. Things that I hoped wouldn't become a huge problem didn't. There's also a great secondary romance with one of Ronnie's friends. Even the kids that are secondary characters were written well.

This is the first of the Marines series and I have all the rest and plan to read them eventually.

Now I'm on to Iron-kissed by Patricia Briggs.

Spirited Away by Cindy Miles

BELIEVE IN FAIRY TALES

When Tristan de Barre and his men were murdered in 1292, their souls were cursed to roam his estate for all eternity. It's been a long, dull, celibate ever after. But now Tristan's phantom heart is pounding again for the first time in more than seven hundred years because of the beautiful scientist who's digging up his castle's bailey. Can he make her notice him, or will she see straight through him?

The opportunity to excavate the remains at Dreadmoor Castle has forensic archaeologist Andi Monroe tingling with excitement. It's an incredible find and a chance to study the mysterious legend of Dragonhawk, a medieval knight who disappeared without a trace. Lately, though, rational Andi is having a hard time telling fact from fiction. She could just swear she met the vanished knight, and he's a fantasy come true. But until she finds a way to help Tristan lift the curse, their love doesn't stand a ghost of a chance....

Title: Spirited Away
Author: Cindy Miles
Year published: 2007
Why I picked up this book: HelenKay sent it, but it had been on my to-buy list.
Do I like the cover? Yes, it's cute.
Is this part of a series? I don't believe so. I think her next book is a similar ghost mystery romance, but doesn't look to be completely related.
What I enjoyed about the book: There are a lot of fun elements here. It's not a time-travel like it may look. The hero is actually a lord/knight who was cursed to roam his castle along with his fellow men. He can be seen, but can't touch anything in the real world. This actually works well in the story as Tristan and Andi fall in love without ever being able to touch each other. This involves actually talking. And Andi is a great character with a unique job as a forensic archaeologist. I thought her job was handled well and was worked into the story nicely.

This is a really sweet, cute story. And sometimes, that's just what the doctor ordered. And this one delivers. The paranormal elements are here, but they aren't overwhelming or dark. And I liked that for the story, they made sense. I didn't ever wonder why something was the way it was because it seemed that everything was explained in a way that made sense. Spirited Away reminded me of a fairy tale and I have to say I really enjoyed it.

I'm sure some people won't like it because it's a simple story, but if you want something cute, sweet, and romantic, I recommend this one. It's a nice summer afternoon read. There's a quote on the back from Julie Kenner that says it's reminiscent of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and I have to rather agree.
What I didn’t like about the book? Well, it ended. That's about it.
Is this a new-to-me author and would I read something by this author again? This is her debut book, so definitely new to me. I'm definitely going to be looking for the next book she has out in November.
Am I keeping it or passing it on? For now, I'm keeping it.

Tough Enough by Michele Albert

Title: Tough Enough
Author: Michele Albert
Year published: March 2007
Why I picked up this book: Looked good and I like Michele's blog. She's got an awesome blog and I love her anime and manga recs. And she's very nice. Love nice authors.
Do I like the cover? Yeah, though I have an ebook copy so no cover.
Is this part of a series? Yes, it's related to some of her others, but I think it's the first to really be an Avalon book.
What I enjoyed about the book: I really enjoy Albert's writing and did whip through the book fairly quickly. And the idea of a mercenary group that focuses on art is very interesting.
What I didn’t like about the book? Tough Enough didn't have quite the action punch that I was expecting. It did move slowly at times (though not enough that I got bored and set it down) and I didn't believe in the relationship between Will and Mia as much as I would have liked, at least as it was at the end of the book. I suppose I just thought there was so much stuff that happened between when they first met and their reunion that wasn't touched on. They're obviously different people, so I expected there to be a bit more conflict from that.
Is this a new-to-me author and would I read something by this author again? Not a new to me author and I'll definitely get the next book in hopes that it's better than this one. This one isn't bad, more average, but it could have been better.
Am I keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it since I got it as an ebook, but I'd still keep it if it had been print.

Understood by Maya Banks

When she breaks free from the bondage of her past, he’ll be waiting.

Jake Turner committed the ultimate mistake of falling in love with his best friend’s wife. The distance he puts between them costs both him and Ellie Matthews dearly. Jake will never forgive himself for not seeing what a bastard his friend was. Now that Ellie is free from her nightmare, Jake waits, needing and wanting. He’ll be there when Ellie is ready to spread her wings.

Title: Understood

Author: Maya Banks

Year published: Dec. 19, 2006

Why I picked up this book: Maya sent it.

Do I like the cover? Yes, I rather do.

Is this part of a series? I don’t think so.

What I enjoyed about the book: I really liked Jake and Ellie. I really wanted them to live happily ever after. And well, it's a rather nice hot book, too. It's quite a nice little sexy contemporary. And for being a novella, it didn't seem rushed or too short. And some may think the ending a bit too pat, I rather enjoyed it and thought it worked.

What I didn’t like about the book? There really wasn't much I didn't like. I breezed through the book last night and really enjoyed it. The only nitpicky thing I'd have would have been some of the language used during the sex scenes, but really, that's a very personal preference. It didn't stop me from enjoying the story at all.

Is this a new-to-me author and would I read something by this author again? Not a new to me author and I'll definitely read more of her books.

Am I keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it since it's an ebook.

Surf's Up by Nina Bangs, MaryJanice Davidson, and Janelle Denison

First story in this anthology is Janelle Denison's Hot and Bothered. It has recent-divorcee Reissing lusting after bar owner Shea O'Brien. She's now got a nice house on the beach as part of her divorce settlement and is a budding jewelry designer. Shea's been attracted to her ever since he saw her with her jackass husband when they used to visit his bar together. Now she's free, whoopie!

Bleh. This story was rather boring. Was more of a short Blaze than anything and the way you could see the conflict coming a mile away was highly annoying and rather silly. It was just a bland story and rather forgettable and unremarkable.

Second story is by MaryJanice Davidson and is called Paradise Bossed. It stars characters from a previous anthology, Cathy and Jack. Well, the main character is Nikki, who dies in a freak snorkeling accident when she is inadvertently scared a stingray and it stings her and she ends up drowning. Well, she's vacationing with Cathy and Jack and they feel awful about not knowing how she died or what and stay on the island, hoping her body will be found. So Jack knows a psychic (from his previous tale, apparently) and brings that psychic to the island. The psychic is Tom and basically Tom and Nikki (she's a ghost now) fall in love. Only he's supposed to be helping her pass on, not getting it on while spirit walking.

Fun story, rather humorous and much better than the Denison one. It's still nothing special, but after the first story....

Third story is Hot Summer Bites by Nina Bangs. And quite frankly, I don't feel like reading it. It's another Sparkle Stardust story and something about an investigative reporter getting together with a vampire. But, I'm not really in the mood for a Nina Bangs story. I need to be in the mood to read her brand of humor and tonight's not it. Oh well.