The Reading Spot

What Mattered Most by Linda Winfree
A man in the worst place he can be-between two women-and forced to choose which one lives or dies. Houston homicide detective, John O'Reilly, is torn between two women. One is the woman he's loved without hope for years. The other carries his unborn child. Now, a man bent on revenge wants O'Reilly to choose, and any choice he makes could cost him everything. Gutsy sheriff's deputy, Lanie Falconetti, is determined not to repeat her mother's mistakes in love. Her no-strings attached affair with John O'Reilly leads to an unexpected, but joyfully welcomed pregnancy. However, the shadow from John's past threatens not only her chance at happiness, but her life and that of her unborn baby as well.

I have heard that this is kind of a prequel to a series that she has. I will have to look into that. On the whole I liked the book but there were some things I did not like. One, From the description on the back I was expecting the whole hostage thing to be a little more important in the book. But it was over by page 70. The rest of it was him trying to win her back and her learning to trust again. I thought it dragged on a little bit. Those were the two things that bugged me a little. But I am going to look for the other books by her.

Barely 30 and already washed up, rodeo cowboy Jay Turner has nothing to show for his 12-year career except a few gold buckles and a busted-up knee. The very last thing he needs is career advice from his orthopedic surgeon, a chilly woman who obviously has never been thrown off a bucking bronco. Instead, Jay decides to lasso the beautiful lady doc with an intimate proposition. Dr. Helen Kinsale’s own fast-track career is hanging by a thread as past mistakes and her ex-husband are threatening her professional reputation. When Jay offers a no-holds-barred affair, she eagerly accepts the erotic escape from her narrow world. But the affair quickly turns into something else as they discover a dark sexual compatibility that leads them into new erotic situations and extreme sensations.

Well this threw me off at first. It took me half the book to figure out that the Grayson in this book was the Grayson from Where Have all the Cowboys Gone? This book comes second but in the timeline it is first. Because it is before Grayson has even built his ranch that we see in the other book. I liked it, it was a nice story. Good contemporary with a cowboy hero (even though he does not ride after the first chapter).

Sin Club by Rachelle Chase
Night after night, his voice goes out over the radio waves, helping the lovelorn and the heartbroken. But Dr. "Love" takes his advice one step further, urging his listeners to take their lives into their own hands--and pursue what they desire... One Sin At A Time... Bored with a dull lover, determined to settle for casual sex, too focused on the sex lives of celebrities to worry about her own--Jessie, Sharice, and Alyssa are ripe for Dr. Love's advice. But Jessie's erotic striptease is observed by the wrong man--until she realizes that hunky new neighbor Nick is exactly the lover she needs. Making a spur-of-the-moment booty call, Sharice unknowingly dials a wrong number--but the mouthwatering man who answers touches all her hot buttons in just the right ways. And Alyssa finds that being the "perfect date" to the powerful, and powerfully sensual, Tony is easy when he reveals the raw desire simmering just beneath her little black dress... If sinning is wrong, they don't want to be right.

A nice steamy anthology. Fun to read.

Riding Wild by Jaci Burton
Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But there he was, the bad boy who'd broken her heart years ago-still a thief, hijacking a priceless artifact-and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.
Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl next-door again, threatening to shoot him. Little did she know she was blowing his cover. He had to get her out of harm's way without succumbing to his desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.
But Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac, which means he'll have to resort to kidnapping. Unless she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild.

This one has to go into the category of: I liked it, but I like her others better. The sex scenes were HOT and I loved them, but I had a difficult time connecting with the characters. It was a fun book though.

Labels: contemporary