Review: Love Me If You Dare

Love Me If You Dare
Carly Phillips
Contemporary Romance
Bachelor Blog/Book 2
Harlequin/August 2010

From the back cover ~

When hostage negotiator Rafe Mancuso takes a bullet to save Sara Rios, his former partner, his actions make him a bona fide hero - and New York City's newest most eligible bachelor. Then Rafe admits that Sara is much more than just another woman he's rescued. Suddenly, a firestorm of gossip turns him into exactly what he doesn't want to be: the Bachelor Blog's newest hot topic. His only solution is to leave town and get himself out of the spotlight, and sexy, jaded Sara out of his mind.

NYPD officer Sara Rios has Rafe to thank for saving her life, and Rafe to blame for the media chaos surrounding her. She wants to throw herself back into duty at full throttle, but until her injuries heal, she's on leave and in search of her rescuer. From the moment she finds Rafe and meets his large, boisterous family, she's hooked. But mutual attraction doesn't always mean happily-ever-after, and these two have a long way to go to find their fairy-tale ending...

The second book in the Bachelor Blog series features another bachelor who would rather eat nails than have the attention of the single and not so single women of New York. What's a guy to do but get the heck out of Dodge. Rafe Mancuso heads home, to his big, crazy family and his house on Lake Ontario. He needs to recover from his injuries and try and get his mind off of his ex-partner. The fact that Rafe and Sara had a history, a working history, added some depth to their relationship. It not only gave them insight into how the other thinks but made them aware of the chemistry between the two.

Sara Rios needs to get out of town to but for a different reason. Her life may be in danger and she's also recovering from injuries sustained at the same time Rafe received his. When Sara goes looking for Rafe, she can tell herself she doesn't want anything serious but I think deep down she wanted him and knew that things could get very serious away from work and at Rafe's home. Sara's a firm believer that cops make bad marriages. But she also knows that Rafe believes in marriage, family and commitment. So obviously if she gets involved with him, she should know he's in it for the long term.

There is a secondary romance between Rafe's brother Nick and his estranged wife, Angel. It's sweet and sad, with Nick and Angel dealing with a profound loss in two different ways. They spend much of the time at odds with each other with Rafe trying to help but not get caught in the middle.

Sara and Rafe were a good match once Sara got rid of her negative thinking but it took a kick in the rear for her to finally admit that she loved Rafe and wanted to be with him. Rafe had a heck of a lot of patience with Sara. The one thing he didn't do is completely give in to her terms. He let her know what he wanted. But he was a little too perfect in that regard. Sara hurt him and I would have liked to see him get mad a little more.

The suspense storyline was merely okay. It did surprise me how slowly the cops were to figure everything out. The secondary suspense story line with Rafe's Uncle Pirro was just a little too silly for me. The big, crazy family of Rafe's was enjoyable and added some much needed levity to the story. And the sexual tension between Rafe and Sara held up well throughout the book.

I was expecting to like Sara more than I did. I did like Rafe a lot but again, a little too perfect. Overall, a good solid read. I'm not sure who will be next on the Bachelor Blog, maybe one of New York City's hunky firefighters? It's hard to go wrong with firefighters. :)

Rating: B

June Reads...

June is gone but where the heck did it go? Last month's reading got off to a slow start for me. The family vacation to Disneyland and California Adventure cut into my reading time. I did some reading on the drive there and back but while we were there most of my down time was spent sleeping on the non-sleep number bed or complaining about my aching feet. :) (Yes, I missed my sleep number bed. *sob* Loves that bed!)

No DNFs this month that I remember. I did have one in May. (missed posting the May reads) It was an erotic romance. The heroes were aliens and their hair came alive, among other things. And since it's erotic, the hair got really friendly with the heroine. ICK! I had other problems with the book like the old alien forced seduction. Luckily, I don't have too many DNFs and I think it's due to the fact that the majority of books I read are either from favorite authors or because of good reviews from you guys. :)

The final count is 11 books read. Not bad but I hope to read more of my personal and library TBR piles this month. Yep, I even have a library TBR pile. The city library allows 99 renewals so as long as no one requests the book, I keep renewing, having faith that I'll get to it. :)

I'll also get my challenges read for this month. *shakes fist in air* I totally flaked on every single one last month so I plan to start early, like this weekend. :D

Countdown/Michelle Maddox/Futuristic/B+
The Making of a Duchess/Shana Galen/Historical/B-
I'm Watching You/Karen Rose/Romantic Suspense/B+
Tied Up, Tied Down/Lorelei James/Erotic Romance/Review to follow
Kiss Me If You Can/Carly Phillips/Contemporary/B+
Beyond the Night/Joss Ware/PNR/B
The Iron Daughter/Julie Kagawa/YA/Review to follow
Beauty's Beasts/Teal Ceagh/Erotic Romance/B+
Embrace the Night Eternal/Joss Ware/PNR/B
Chimera/Rob Thurman/SCIFI/Review to follow
Criminal Instinct/Kelly Lynn Parra/Romantic Suspense/Review to follow

The breakdown ~

Contemporary ~ 1
Erotic ~ 2
Futuristic ~ 1
Historical ~ 1
PNR ~ 2
Romantic Suspense ~ 2
SCIFI ~ 1
YA ~ 1

The reading was definitely mixed - a little here, a little there. I suppose the Futuristic, PNR and SCIFI could all be lumped together but there's really no stand out genre. I think it all has to do with mood. I'm a very moody reader. ;)

Review: Kiss Me If You Can

Kiss Me If You Can
Carly Phillips
Contemporary Romance
Most Eligible Bachelor/Book 1
Harlequin/July 2010
ARC/NetGalley

From the publisher's website ~

Sam Cooper ('Coop' ) has just become the most eligible bachelor in New York City. Now that he has foiled a jewelry-store robbery and has been rewarded with the ring of his choice, single women all over the city are fawning over the crime reporter. But Coop isn't interested in the admirers sending racy underwear his way. His attention is centered solely on Lexie Davis, the only woman in the city who claims not to be interested in his bachelor status.

Instead, free-spirited Lexie is interested in Coop's antique ring, and its - potentially scandalous - history in her family. But Coop is quickly becoming more than just her route to the ring. When his investigation starts to uncover the truth, will she trust her heart - and her family secrets - to this most eligible bachelor?

The first book in a new series about the sexy and handsome bachelors of New York City and the women they fall. After reading Kiss Me If You Can, I say bring on the Bachelors! Phillips is off to a good start with a heroine who loves to travel the world and a hero who turns out to be a real hero when he stops a robbery. Coop and Lexie were an odd couple with Coop looking for a long term relationship and Lexie only sticking around until the travel bug bit her again. They just go to prove that opposites attract.

It all starts with a ring. Sam Cooper aka Coop, is a writer who works the crime beat for the city's paper. He comes from a family of cops so crime is something he's familiar with. One day his life changed when he goes from crime reporter to superhero, stopping a robber with his quick thinking. Oh, I liked Coop a whole bunch. He's sweet, funny, smart, sexy and has this way of putting people at ease and making them open up to him. He comes from a family of cops but an injury kept him off the police force. So he covers the crime beat while writing novels in his spare time. He's published one novel but is having a hard time getting his butt in gear and getting that second novel written. The gaudy ring he is given in reward for stopping the jewelry store thief gets Coop's imagination rolling and a story starts to take shape.

Lexie Davis is a web designer. She has great vision and is quickly building a name for company. She also loves to travel which is why she lives with her grandmother when she's in the city. Lexie comes from a family of conservatives who hold more traditional jobs. They view her work and travels as eccentric and don't give her much encouragement so it's not surprising that she doesn't have a good, close relationship with her parents. Lexie does have a great relationship with her grandmother, Charlotte. Charlotte Davis is a feisty lady pushing 80 who has got the attitude of someone much younger. She's funny and goes after what she wants. After meeting Coop, Charlotte just knows he's the one for Lexie. Lexie definitely thinks Coop is hot and is wildly attracted to him but he wants a relationship and Lexie doesn't do long term. She lives in the here and now and needs to be on the move which is why she doesn't have her own place. She's a nomad while Coop is firmly entrenched with work, family and friends in New York City.

Coop and Lexie meet up at a dumpster. Not the best start to a romance but they get past the dumpster and Lexie and Coop soon find themselves working together researching the ring and its history. Lexie wants the ring for her grandmother but Coop isn't ready to give it up just yet. He's got this story he wants to write and he wants to keep Lexie around. I liked how Phillips had the hero as the "homebody" and the heroine as the world travel. A bit of a twist on the more traditional characterization. And the way Coop dealt with Lexie's mobile lifestyle was that he tried to be understanding but at the same time he's continuing to fall for her and he doesn't want to lose her. Lexie is stubborn and doesn't want to give up her nomadic lifestyle, especially for a man. She's been burned before and isn't going to let it happen again.

Lexie was a character that while I liked her, she held back. She kept herself at a distance from people. Her lifestyle doesn't permit long term relationships but Coop wants to change that. The byplay between Lexie and Coop is realistic without being overdone. They both have issues with where their relationship is going. Lexie sees it as having a great time until she leaves for wherever. Coop wants Lexie to stay in the city and build a life with him. Two opposites are going to have to make compromises. It's how they come to that compromise that made this such a sweet love story. I liked how neither character made a complete 180 but learned to bend because it felt right not because they felt forced to make changes.

The secondary story lines dealing with the Bachelor Blog and Lexie's grandmother's connection to Coop's ring added an air of mystery and comedy. I loved the way Charlotte and her best bud Sylvia worked behind the scenes to get Lexie and Coop together. Very much a Lucy and Ethel feel to them only far more competent. The Bachelor Blog made Coop even more popular with the public, the women in particular went crazy over him. But Coop only wants one woman.

Overall, a fun contemporary romance and a good start to a new series.

Rating: B+