Forever Blue by Suzanne Brockmann

I'm down to the wire on this series. Only Identity Unknown is left on the TBR pile, although I have a feeling that it will go forever unread since it's OOP (out of print) and I don't have it. But I was lucky to get Forever Blue and as always, it didn't disappoint!

I had gotten to know Blue McCoy over the other books in the Tall, Dark and Dangerous series. Blue was Joe Cat's swim buddy during BUDs training. This books was to be read as the second in the series, after Prince Joe, but since it takes place outside of the SEALs center of command I didn't feel as I had read it out of order.

Blue goes back to his hometown for the wedding of his step-brother Gerry to his high shool sweetheart Jenny but when Gerry shows up dead, Blue becomes that main suspect.

Lucy Tait has had a crush on Blue since he saved her from being assaulted in high school. He was the one that was out of her league. Well he is back in town and as a police officer it's her role to stay impartial to his guilt or innocence but when she suspects that the cover up to Gerry's murder goes up the ranks of the police department, she cannot stand aside and watch Blue go down for a crime she is sure he did not commit.

I loved getting to know Lucy and Blue better. In a later book Lucy gets seriously injured and I realized that she was a strong character and I really needed to see where she was coming.
Another high point in this book was when Blue realizes that he is being idolized by Lucy. He is able to open up and show him that he is not a hero but a man of flesh and blood.

This one is not one that should be shrugged off and left unread. This series is a must read not just for Brockmann fans but for anyone that is looking to meet some serious Alpha Males!

Grade: A
Format: ebook

A Perfect Fit by Sheridon Smythe

I started reading the duo that is Sheridon Smythe a while ago with her books from the 'Completely' series. I have found their work to be on the lighter side of romance. I have never found the work to be emotionally compelling or memorable but they are great reads for when you are looking for a beach book.

In this one we meet Alex Bradshaw who is a bit of a workaholic. To the point that it is making him ill. He has finally arranged to go away for a few weeks at the advice of his doctors as well as his family and friends. Before he leaves, though, he receives a tip from an ex-employee of his, recently acquired, condom factory, that there might be some wrong doing taking place in the small town.

Brooke Welch has a bad temper. Her fuse is so short some might consider it to be an innie (like in the bell buttons). Her parents where killed several years ago and left her to raise her 14 year old sister. This sister has just announced that she is pregnant and that the one that got her in that condition has been avoiding her calls. This sets Brooke into a rampage of unparallel proportions. She is determined that the cad that got her little sister pregnant marry her or pay dearly for ensnaring her sister in the romantic trap she finds herself in now. Her way of doing this is to kidnap him and make him face HER music!

The only glitch to this is that she kidnaps the wrong guy! That's right, poor Alex was just minding his own business when Brooke sweeps down on him and forces him into her car with what he thought was a gun but was really just a dildo.

After Alex realizes that Brooke would not actually harm him, he decides that she might actually be able to help him untangle the mess his condom factory appears to be in. With a little blackmail and alot of sexual tension, he convinces her to help him.

The book was just a smooth read but there was one thing that had me hung up from the very beginning. It was that Brooke was very attracted to Alex and actually found herslf kissing him twice, BEFORE she realized he was not her little sister's boyfriend. I found that very disturbing and for some reason, she never could redeem herself after that. It was always in the back burner and I had problems getting over that.

After finding Brooke flawed, I found that she was loud and difficult to really care for. Regardless of any sad tale that was spun, I really couldn't connect with her. If you don't care much about the sisterly betrayal, you will enjoy the book. It is witty and the characters are sharp.

Grade: C+

Servicing Lady Termayne by Emma Wilde

This ebook was a short read but it was very enjoyable. It had a bit of the unusual, a bit of suspense and then a lot of sensuality.

Daphne, The Countess Tremayne , was left a widow a few years ago. Although she cared for husband, Jeffrey, he was much older than her and she found herself fantasizing about the physician that attended him the last two years of his life. Although the thoughts had been there, she did not betray her husband and only after her mourning period ha past did she dare to call on Dr. Blake.

Thomas Blake is the 5th son to a viscount and without prospects he has made medicine his profession. When Lady Tremayne has him summoned to her home for a consult he never imagined that he would be asked to service her in another way.

I really must say that the author is quite good at writing a well rounded tale. From the moment that Daphne seduced Thomas until the expected HEA, it was all believable. There was adventurous liaisons in a brothel, as well as passionate loving at his office. There was also a villain that gave another twist to the story, and Wilde put it all in at 30 pages without missing a beat.

Don't expect a romance that will leave you breathless, or erotica that will curl your toes, but if you a looking for a sexually driven tale that does not cross the line into vulgar and yet leaves you smiling at the lightness of the story, don't miss this one.

Grade: B
Format: ebook

Off World by Stephanie Vaughn

Stephanie Vaughn was introduced to me last year by a friend who suggested I read her m/m ebooks Jumping the Fence and Crossing the line. These two titles were just fabulous so when I saw Rosario had given her newest m/m ebook a good review I didn't hesitate to go out and pick it up. I was disappointed though.

I guess I had higher expectations and, even though I had been warned about the open ended, or better said abrupt, ending, I really expected more.

Your looking for more details?

Caleb Adams' best friend has been murdered in what appears to be a cover up for a string a murders that have taken place on earth. The blame for the murders has been put on Sarhaan's rogue military crew. The group of men are self made exiles and are wanted men. Cal doesn't believe this and with a small aircraft goes out to find the crew to enlist their help in finding the real culprit as well as clearing their names. He really was not expecting the crew to be so against his ideas.

Sarhaan,the leader - so to say, of the ex-military group, immediately find himself attracted to Cal but is unsure if he can be trusted. Funny thing is that it's okay to lock him in Sarhaan's room and lust after him, ultimately taking him as a lover, but not okay to trust him... hmmm, I can see that.

The scenes were definitely hot and exciting but the story that was taking place outside of the bedroom just was not coherent enough for me to enjoy this book to the fullest. There were too many unanswered questions that Vaughn maybe threw out there to make things a bit more mysterious and then forgot that they needed a closure?

Caleb appears to have been tortured at one point by a crew member but we don't know what actually happened since Caleb doesn't even remember it (he had been drugged). The resolution takes place behind the scenes, so to say, since it was more of an epilogue. We never really get to know who Sahaaran really is, just that he is decent.There was an incident in the crew's lives which led them to become rogues but we just get a glimpse here and there.

There were just so many angles that could have been flushed out and Vaughn left them all out there without a home. It was a messy story and I felt very disappointed that no one actually told Vaughn that her subplots needed tweaking. Anyway, there appears to be a sequel to this one, but I honestly am not sure if I want to go there. This one left me a sour taste in my mouth. The grade I gave this one was definitely influenced by the sensuality of the scenes and not so much for the story behind it.

Grade: C-
Format: ebook

The Assignment by Evangelina Anderson

I think I will add another goal in 2007 as to read at least one ebook each month. I had missed the darn things!
What I like about ebooks is that you don't find as many barriers as to the content. Its funny to think it in today's day and age, but it appears that mainstream publishing does censure it's content. In a way I do understand the reasoning behind it, since certain genres do cater to a particular audience. I still like the physical feel of a book when I'm reading but I really love certain genres that you can find more easily in ebook format. One of those genre is gay relationships. Male/Male pairings are very sexy and, when written well, very romantic.

I picked up this title after I saw the recap Rosario had on it in her blog.

The story revolves around Nick Valenti who is a detective and his partner, Sean O'Brian. They get assigned to a case that has them going undercover to a gay spa/resort. Nick has issues accepting his sexuality and his growing attraction to his partner. He recently divorced and has thought himself straight but his feelings for Sean are very strong and he does not believe Sean would EVER return his feelings.

During this trip/assignment Sean has had no problem falling into the role of Nick's boy toy and they find themselves pushing the limits as to what is acceptable to do to 'catch' the bad guy. The thing is that it is pretty obvious that Sean is definitely attracted to Nick but he is not sure if Nick is ready to accept his own feelings for Sean.

Scenes were hot, hot, hot! And if it wasn't for Nick's constant need to remind himself how Sean would NEVER accept a relationship with him, I would have given this one and A.

Grade:B+
Format: ebook