When Gabe Campos tries to take over Jcobs Furniture he gets into a lot more than he can handle. Keisha is not going to let her father's company go without a fight, and she just doesn't understand why Gabe would want it so much. Keisha is quite a girl - she builds furniture, is a car fanatic, and love to interior design. I love it when a character has such a diverse group of interests.

Gabe has a purpose and he isn't the type to deviate once he sets his mind on something. But Keisha is more of an obstacle than he could have imagined, and he doesn't really mind having her in the way either. But Gabe will have to face the demons of his past - and he doesn't seem to want to confront them at all.

This was an new twist on things for me. I really like how the story built on itself. Every little sentence worked towards the HEA.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/05/review-betting-billionaire-by-avery.html#sthash.VFTvKQiX.dpuf

I think I may have found another favorite hero - Nick Cappuano is just an amazing character. When he finds his boss dead (in a particularly nasty fashion - although don't worry - it isn't gruesome) he does what any red-blooded man would do. He gets sick! It was such a human reaction and it set up a book full of very human characters. Characters led by emotion instead of logic at times, characters that were doing their best to do good but not always succeeding, characters with a twisted mind and sense of justice.

The murder seems to have no suspects for a very long time. Then it seems to have too many suspects. I was constantly drawn into each person as they looked into them. Several times I was convinced they had found the guy only to find out otherwise. It wasn't until they very end that I was finally able to put a name to their prime suspect - just a few page before Sam does herself.

It was quite a wild ride - both with the investigation and the romance. Sam and Nick have some baggage that needs to be cleared up, plus the fact that it's unethical for her to get involved with a witness. They surpass these obstacles very nicely and are an amazing couple together. This is a series I'll have to start keeping up with, although since there are eight of them currently it may be awhile before I manage to do that.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/#sthash.RTUN6gzz.dpuf

Charlotte finds herself in an unfoturnate situation. When her father died she was left in the care of her brother and sister-in-law who don't seem to particularly care to have her around. Her sister-in-laws solution is to force her hand and make her marry a very gross and horrid man. Charlotte would do just about anything to stop this from happening, so when Sebastian takes her under his wing (so to speak) and offers to help her find other suitors, she hopes that he can help.

Or course, this being a romance novel things work out a little differently than any of our characters suspect. Sebastian's mother has a the right of it throughout the whole story, but no one around her seems to notice. This was a sweet romance where the hero steps in to save the day at the last moment - the perfect moment. There is a bit of wit and humor to help top it all off as well.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/05/review-and-giveaway-just-kiss-its-in.html#sthash.D9RuySlT.dpuf

Fledgling brought to mind memories of one of my favorite dragon series - The Dragonriders of Pern - but with a much more young adult feel. Jaevid is a great hero - accidental and fumbling through. In the beginning, he has no idea that he may become anything more than a half-breed, unwanted by either of his heritages. His journey to becoming a dragon rider is full of so much adventure and discovery.

Mavrick the dragon is a perfect fit for Jaevid. Both outcasts from the academy they fit so beautifully together. The dragons each have a bit of their own personality and I'm hoping to see more of the other rider's dragons in future books. Sile is a larger than life figure and while he plays a very important role, we don't see a whole lot of him. I wish he hadn't been so one-diminsional.

This was a fantastic start to a new series with a ton of potential. The world and lore pulled on a lot of "traditional" dragon and fantasy aspects, but there is a lot to set it apart from others as well. I strongly urge lovers of dragons and fantasy to check it out.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-tour-scavenger-hunt-and-review.html#sthash.Lx7uxoNl.dpuf

White Hart is a phenomenal story. There's magic, a prince, a haunted forest, and frightening creatures all waiting inside. I love that the hero of the story, and the one doing most of the saving, is a girl. Mae doesn't always think of herself as strong, but she's smart and resourceful when it's needed most. I loved her relationship with her stag, Anta. I'm always more attached to a character that has a good bond with a favorite animal.

Prince Casimir, on the other hand, was not what I would call your typical fantasy prince. He wasn't the amazing good hero saving the day, but he also wasn't the evil prince out to destroy the world. He just...was. The only thing he really seemed to have a strong opinion on was that he had to marry the craft-born girl - who he believes to be Ellen.

Much of this story takes place in the Waerg Woods. It's full of creatures - some I had heard of and some I hadn't, but all had a very unique twist. I absolutely loved the birds!!! They had the perfect creepy factor going for them. The groups of people they encounter in the woods are also very diverse and really help to push Mae along her emotional journey.

This story had plenty of action and was a very quick read. It does end with one heck of a cliffhanger though and I don't see a release date for book two yet.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-white-hart-by-sarah-dalton.html#sthash.yeIbedsR.dpuf

The final book of a series I read completely backward just didn't live up to what I had come to expect from reading books two and three. I'm glad that I had read them out of order, or I don't know if I would have continued the series.

The Chattan family line has been cursed - and this generation is determined to be the last. They will not fall in love, they will not have children, and the curse will die with them. But Lord Lyon has to go and change his mind - right before Thea re-enters his life. He has hired a match maker to find him a wife he doesn't like (that was a little bit funny) only to discover she's the one that he just may fall in love with.

Thea thinks the curse is a load of rubbish and nothing Lyon can say will change her mind. Their book was a little too tame and predictable for me. I found myself knowing what was going to happen before I turned the page (and not because I had read the rest of the series). It just didn't have the little extra unique-ness I like in a relationship and relied too heavily on the curse to make the story seem different.

Thea's two children were a lot of fun though. I can imagine them running around all over the place and getting into trouble while trying to stay out of it. They were quite the charmers and their relationship with both Thea and Lyon was very nice.

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/05/review-lyons-bride-chattan-curse-1-by.html#sthash.WT30lmM4.dpuf

I've been slowly reading through the Wings in the Night series for a few years now. They were one of the first paranormal romance series that I had ever read and really opened the door to the genre for me. Maggie Shayne is a great author and while she fell just a tad short in this one for me I can see how it adds a very imporatant piece to the world she has built.

After the demises of DPI - an organization set on destroying vampires - things seem to be going better. But there are still a few rogue agents running around and they have set their eyes on Amber Lily - a unique creature introduced earlier in the series that lives between the world of vampire and human. Willem Stone - a very mortal man - is really all that is there to stop them at first. He's quite a fantastic hero in several different ways.

Willem Stone has a strange link with a gypsy woman names Sarafina - a name you will recognize if you've read the previous book in the series. She's quite a bitch through the whole story and I never really like her - which made it hard to enjoy the romance of the book. I really enjoyed the continued world building and development Shayne brought out in this one though. It's what has kept me returning to the series over the years. The world is not stagnant, and even if I don't like all the characters, they all have a role to play that is special and all their own.

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/05/review-embrace-twilight-wings-in-night.html#sthash.y6Or4Svh.dpuf

Silver Dew ended with quite a climatic scene. This scene leads to all the trouble in Sapphire Sun. Gracelynn has tried to fix everyone's mistakes by taking their memories and their magic, but she didn't quite succeed in her efforts. As bits and pieces begin to come back to her, she is visited by spirits with a new task of brining mage back into the world.

This seemed a little counter productive since the last book was all about taking it away. This task leads to a very grand adventure involving Sebastion and his past coming back to haunt him (once again). This is a theme that recurs several times throughout the series and I sort of hoped this one would end with a different note. The first half of the book really dragged for me, but the second half (once the get on the island) really picked up and became interesting. There are tons of hints dropped about the big surprise at the ending, but I didn't catch a single one so I was very surprised - in a good way.

While this wasn't the best series I've ever read, it was entertaining and had a few really good twists and turns, there was just a littel too much repeating of a theme overall.

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-sapphire-sun-lost-magic-3-by.html#sthash.pUysR8iN.dpuf

Cate Masters did a fantastic job of writing in this novella. I was very impressed with how she was able to create such vivid and beautiful scenes (especially the one where Melina tries on Elda's gift) while keeping the story a very nice novella length. Bruno diCesare is a very unique creature and she reveals him slowly. Having been turned into a chimera, he is a creature I had not come across in romance before and it was very fun to see how his special circumstances played into his life. He was a very fierce and determined man, but slowly sinking into a depression brought on by his solitary lifestyle.

Melina was the perfect way to breathe some life back into him. The scene where they meet was spectacular. Again, her imagery was spot on and I could see the fire dancing in the air around her. Her back story was interesting and perfectly tailored to add just a dash of suspense and intrigue to the story.

The one thing that kept this from being a full 5 rating happened right at the end. And it just went too smoothly - there was a lot of hype leading up to this moment and then it went on and was finished with not enough fan fare or drama for me. This is definitely an author and series I will want to read more.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/05/review-cursed-vitruvian-man-1-by-cate.html#sthash.BOWaAk2f.dpuf

We got to meet Francesca, Ross's ex-wife and Samantha's mother, a few times in book one. She was fun and sassy and oh so very Britsh. As a famous photographer she traveled a lot, but is not looking to settle down and rebuild her relationship with her daughter. Her ticket is a new reality show where she is one of the Greg's coaches. Greg seems to have it all, but can't find love, so he enters a reality show to transform himself into a new person - with a little help from Francesca. Their chemistry on the set is amazing, but when he finds out she made a bet on his success he turns his back on her. With the end of the season quickly approaching, Francesca will have to pull out all the stops to get him to take her back.

I adored Francesca. She was arrogant, very much a clothes snob, and totally stereotypically british - I loved it all. She was my favorite character from this series (although I haven't read the short novella yet).uf