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Review Index for Page 2

Heaving Bosoms
By Ashlyn Chase
Cerridwen Press

Dead on Arrival
By Lori Avocato
Avon Books

Made For Two Rivals
By Madison Hayes
Ellora's Cave

The Pleasure Palace
By Sarah Winters
Inky Blue Allusions

Deal of a Lifetime
By Barbara Huffert
Ellora's Cave

Unbroken, a memoir
By Tracy Elliott with Jenna Glatzer
Thomas Nelson

Diary of Annalise
By Annmarie Ortega
New Concepts Publishing

Prime Time
By Hank Phillippi Ryan
Harlequin Next

page 3's reviews
Heaving Bosoms
By Ashlyn Chase
Cerridwen Press
ISBN:  9781419907982
Romance - Suspense / Romance - Comedy
129 Pages
Available Now



Tonia Fuller is doing her best to put the past behind her.  She divorced her Mafia husband after he was sent to prison and with the help of his right hand man, Carlo, she has started over in Boston. Two accidents bring Raphael Beauchamp, a paramedic training to be a doctor, into her life and she just may be falling in love. Raphael is everything a woman could want: tall, handsome and genuine.

Then the past comes back to haunt her when her ex-husband's mistress shows up in Boston looking for her.  Then Carlo shows up claiming to be there to protect her.  But the story Kendra tells implies otherwise.  Next thing Tonia knows she, Kendra and Raphael are heading to the Caymans in search of an account full of money meant for her ex's two "dolls."

Heaving Bosoms is a fast paced jaunt into the life of a woman just trying to make a new life for herself.  It has you laughing and falling in love right along with Tonia.  She is the perfect representation of a woman who has been placed under the thumb of a controlling man and is trying to reassert herself.  You route for her and you route for her budding relationship with Raphael.  I even found myself liking Kendra and wondering just what her story really was.  Hint. Hint.  I'd really love to read it!  Heaving Bosoms is a fantastic read that won't disappoint even the harshest of critics.  4.5 out of 5 Quills.

©Reviewed by Debbie H.
May 21, 2007
Dead on Arrival
By Lori Avocato
Avon Books
ISBN:  978-0-06-083708-2 /
ISBN 10:  0-06-083708-X
Mystery
260 pages
Available July 2007


Pauline Sokol has left the nursing field behind and found a new career as an investigator of insurance fraud.  Or at least she thought she had till her hunky boss Jagger tells her to air out the scrubs and suit up.  It seems her next case will take her to TLC, an ambulance service complete with its own helicopter.  Pauline will be going undercover as, what else, a nurse to investigate the inflated billing that TLC is filing.  And Yikes!  Jagger is going undercover with her. 

Then she meets hunky pilot, Sky, rugged veteran paramedic ER Dano and EMT trainee Jeremy, affectionately referred to as Buzz Lightyear.  She is surrounded by hunky men.  So the twins that own the company are a little on the weird side, this undercover assignment has its own hunky perks.  That is until one of the twins is murdered, one is almost murdered and Pauline receives a threatening phone call.  From insurance fraud to murder, Pauline is determined to catch the culprit.  Or die trying.

Dead on Arrival is a fast paced mystery that is filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing.  Pauline is funny, quirky and just a little bit like every woman that you easily relate to her and route for her. The sidebar characters add flavor and pizzazz that give the story momentum and keep you glued to the pages.  Any fan of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich will find themselves falling for Lori Avocato's Pauline Sokol.  I'm sorry to say that this is my first Pauline mystery but it will definitely not be my last.  This series has been added to my Amazon automatic buy list and Ms. Avocato had found her way onto my "must tell everyone about this book" list.  I just finished Dead on Arrival and I can't wait for the next adventure. 
5 out of 5 Quills.

©Reviewed by Debbie H.
May 24, 2007

Made For Two Rivals
By Madison Hayes
Ellora's Cave Publishing
ISBN:  9781419909481
Sci-Fi/ Ménage a Trois or More
125 Pages
Available Now


Lieutenant Graham Hamm, Gray to friends, the Hammer to colleagues is a well known womanizer.  When he spots the one he wants he always gets them.  Until he sets eyes on Velvet Meadows, Lieutenant Meadows.  He is drawn to her from the first and nothing will stop him from having his way with her.

Lieutenant Velvet Meadows is an Adept, one of the races that can adapt physically to the environmental changes around her in order to survive anything.  She has literally been to hell and back and now has the reputation of an ice queen.  But is she really cold and unfeeling or is she just adapting to protect her heart from more pain?

Lieutenant Jed Castille is the number one rival of the Hammer.  They have competed for everything since the beginning of their training and Velvet is no different.  Jed is just as infatuated with her as Gray and when Gray makes a plan that goes badly wrong Jed is there to offer his comfort and support to the beautiful woman.

But fate has something more in store for all of them and a misinterpreted communication sends the three on a mission that will change all their lives forever.  Will it bring them closer or only increase the tension and distrust between them? 

Made For Two Rivals is the second book in the Made For Two series and is a definite keeper.  One of the best ménages that I have ever read it fairly drips with a hot pulsing sexual overtone.  But it is the emotional entanglements that reel you in and keep you eagerly glued page after page.  Meadow is a wonderfully strong heroine that pulls on your heartstrings and reminds you that quiet strength can be the strongest of all.  Gray is the ultimate bad boy who is most definitely put in his place and humbled yet still you feel for him and want him to get the girl.  And Jed is the strong silent type that seeps into your very soul and pulls you deeper with every new discovery.  Made For Two Rivals is a must read that I highly recommend to everyone!  5 out of 5 Quills!

©Reviewed by Debbie H.
April 19, 2007 
The Pleasure Palace
By Sarah Winters
Erotic Romance
Inky Blue Allusions


The Palace, known by its employees and guests as the Pleasure Palace, is a place to visit where all your fantasies lie at your fingertips.  Anything goes here including ménages, voyeurism, and exhibitionism.  You can watch, participate, and maybe even learn a lesson on how to please the opposite sex.  If you want you can even video tape your encounters and share them with other guests as well as take a copy home as a souvenir.  

David is the manager who oversees it all.  But he has it bad for one of his employees, Jasmine.  All he can think about is the two of them together despite the little fact that it is against the rules.  But Jasmine has more than just a friendship with her best buddy, Amber.  If given the choice just what direction would Jasmine take?

Dani and Jason are visiting for the first time and neither is one hundred percent sure of what to expect.  Their guide for the journey is Robin, a sexy hunk that will ensure both of their pleasures.  Can Dani loosen up enough to come out of her sexual shell and experience the delights that Jason is trying to share with her?

The Pleasure Palace is a great beginning story.  The basic concept is there and it is good.  The sex is super hot and will excite you but from there the story falters.  I'm not sure what to address first, the introduction of too many characters with not enough time spent on any of them or the dire need of editing.  Character development is basic at best and I feel that there is so much more that could be expanded upon in this story.  Perhaps if Ms. Winters concentrated on one story at a time instead of trying to include so many in one book.  Then there is the problems with changing hair colors, character placement in a scene that has one person in more than one place at the same time, and the musical name game that has you scratching your head and going back to reread something again.  Everything is there for a great story but I would urge this author to take another look.  2 out of 5 Quills.

Reviewed by Debbie H.
April 20, 2007
Deal of a Lifetime
By Barbara Huffert
Ellora's Cave Publishing
ISBN:  9781419909641
Contemporary
142 Pages
Available Now



Annette Phelps is meeting her sister Candace and her brother-in-law Lars for dinner.  Not wanting to hear another one of her sister's lectures on Annette's life, or lack of, she makes up a boyfriend who is busy elsewhere and may not make it.  Imagine their surprise when he shows up in the middle of drinks and Candace's lecture on immoral sex.  But no one is more surprised than Annette.  After all her boyfriend is supposed to be make believe.

Michael Richards, Rich to family and friends, is anything but happy when his best friend, Dan, overhears a woman talking about him in a bar.  All he can think of is what his bitch of a wife, Monica, is up to now.  They've been separated since he caught her in bed with someone else but she won't sign the divorce papers.  All he wants is to get her out of his life and all she seems to want is to make his life hell.  That and part of any money he might inherit from his grandfather.

But Annette is not what he expects.  She's sweet and sincere and it is hard to remember that she is enemy number one right now.  No matter what he can't get her to admit what Monica put her up to.  Rich is torn between wanting her and hating her.  And Annette is just as conflicted.  Will they ever get to the truth?

Deal of a Lifetime is quite a book.  I'll admit that I hated Rich almost from the moment he was introduced.  Ms. Huffert didn't share enough of his story up front for me to empathize with him.  I would start to forgive him and then he would do or say something to change my mind.  I started to feel less for Annette as well, wondering why any woman would put up with a man that seemed bi-polar at best.  But I stuck with it, kept reading, searching for that something that was missing.  And I'm glad that I did.  Ms. Huffert gave me what I was begging for and finally allowed me to see what Rich was feeling and hiding from.  The introduction of his grandfather, Michael, was paramount to that.  It was through his eyes that the reader is finally able to see the man that Rich once was and could be again.  There were some great secondary characters in the story and I hope to see their stories unfold as well.  All in all Deal of a Lifetime was a good story.

3 out of 5 Quills.

©Reviewed by Debbie H.
May 29, 2007
Unbroken, a memoir
By Tracy Elliott with Jenna Glatzer
Thomas Nelson, Inc.
ISBN 10:  0-7852-2167-0
ISBN 13:  978-0-7852-2167-8
Biography & Autobiography / Religious / General
$22.99



Unbroken is the true life story of Tracy Elliott.  It is a story that depicts her journey from a young abused child to a shattered young woman to a woman of faith and conviction.  It is a moving story that brings with it a light of hope to every reader.

Her childhood was filled with trials from an early age when her father died.  Her mother literally fell apart without him and drank herself into an early grave.  Tracy then moved in with her grandmother and four alcoholic uncles.  It was not an easy time for her and abuse took place that no child should ever have to deal with.

And that was just the beginning.  Ms. Elliott takes you deep into her life and shows you every corner of her soul.  There is no topic or event that she shuts you out of.  It is a remarkable journey of maintaining a belief in someone greater and how true faith can save you if you let it.  Her life wasn't easy but she dealt with it and shares her story to show you that nothing you do is bad enough to make God stop loving you.

She speaks from her heart sharing things that many would hide and pray no one would ever learn of.  Yet she feels stronger not in spite of what happened to her but because of what happened to her.  She shows herself to be a rare woman with deep convictions and an open heart.  No one can read this book and not come away feeling those "sparkles.   Unbroken may be one woman's story but it could easily represent a million others.  It takes a strong woman to stand tall and reveal herself to the world shouting this is me, take me as I am.  Ms. Elliott is mighty indeed.  5 out of 5 Quills.

©Reviewed by Debbie H.
May 31, 2007
Diary of Annalise
By Annmarie Ortega
New Concepts Publishing
Historical Romance
23 pages
Available Now



Annalise is feeling desperate. Her father's death has left her as the owner of the tavern the Wicked Wench.  But it is falling into more and more debt and she doesn't like the things she might have to do to save it. One night with a stranger shows her how good sex can be, but come morning he is gone and she is left facing the same problems.  Until she is kidnapped by pirates and taken to sea to meet another ship.  It is the ship of the man who sent for her.  The man who will change her entire life.

Diary of Annalise is a fun historical romance.  I love that it is written as her diary.  She gives us intimate looks into her life and how she found herself in the situation she is in.  We see the changing of her perception from the beginning, when she hates pirates to the end when her opinion has definitely changed. 

3 out of 5 Quills
© Reviewed by Debbie H.
June 9, 2007
Prime Time
By Hank Phillippi Ryan
Harlequin Next
ISBN:  978-0-373-88135-2
Romantic Suspense
276 Pages
Available Now


What happens when you go to interview a grieving widow about the possible suicide of her husband and find out that he sent you an email that you never replied to?  Perhaps like Charlie McNally, you get the story of your life.  Now all she has to do is figure out who is behind the murders and million dollar fraud ring that she and her producer Franklin have uncovered.  Along the way she will be met with obstacles at every turn and someone may just be trying to make sure the story never gets completed.  With her producer beside her and maybe a new love interest, Charlie knows one thing.  She'll get her Emmy winning story…or die trying.

Prime Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan is a wonderful addition to the Harlequin Next series line.  Ms. Ryan draws you into the story from the start and you can't help but love the character of Charlie McNally.  It is a fast paced ride experienced through the eyes of a television news reporter.  I enjoyed learning about all the background processes that occur prior to the final story that the viewers see on television.  I found Charlie remarkably funny and quirky and enjoyed getting to know both her and Franklin.  I am eagerly anticipating the next Charlie McNally story coming in October.  Ms. Ryan has claimed a new fan in this reviewer.

4 out of 5 Quills

©Reviewed by Debbie H.
June 24, 2007