A Forever Kind of Love by Shiloh Walker - A Review(-ish)

Zoe and Chase are high school sweethearts. They are a popular couple who everyone just knows is going to make it. Right up til the point when Chase takes off after high school. Now it's twelve years later and Chase is back in town. He didn't expect Zoe to wait for him, but in the back of his mind, he's hoping she might have. He's distressed to find that not only is Zoe married, but she married Roger, Chase's best friend.

Zoe was despondent when Chase left. Her home life was awful, and Chase and his dad provided respite for her. When Chase left, it felt like a part of her was dying. She turned to those who loved him best to seek comfort. Chase's father became pivotal in her life, as did her relationship with Roger. Soon she and Roger had fallen in love and married. They have a strong marriage, and a good one. They love each other and have a real mutual respect. Chase is devastated to learn that Zoe and Roger are together, although he realizes that he has no one to blame but himself. He is respectful of their relationship, and tried hard to give them space. But when he finds Zoe sitting in the rain one day, he's compelled to stop and see what's wrong. It's Roger. He's been diagnosed with a brain tumor that is going to kill him. Not only will her husband be leaving her in death, but in life as well, as the brain tumor alters his personality from time to time, making him uncontrollably violent and nasty. After Roger attacks Zoe one evening, he begs Chase, who he still sees as his closest friend, and someone he knows will protect Zoe, to come and live with them so he can intercede if Roger gets out of control again.

Living with Zoe each day is torture for Chase, even as she diligently cares for Roger. Zoe never loses sight of her love for Roger, even as Chase becomes more and more pivotal in her life. When Roger dies, Zoe is overwhelmed, and she flees town, turning the tables on Chase and leaving him devastated. Six months later, she's back. Will she and Chase finally be able to connect, and act on the feelings they had for each other for years?

I have a hard time grading this book. I adore Shiloh, she's one of my favorite online authors, but for me, this book was lacking something. As we know, I love an angsty book. And this book certainly has it in spades. But I think the reason I lacked a connection with it is that there was more tell than show for me about Zoe and Chase's previous relationship. I had a hard time understanding why things were so great for them, and why it was that they both were still missing that long ago, childhood romance. I never really connected with their motivations, either Chase for leaving, or Zoe when she left. So it made it hard for me to invest in their relationship.

That being said, I really loved Zoe's relationship with Roger. I loved how you could really see their foundation, and their mutual respect for each other. Frankly, I was rooting harder for Roger than I was for Chase. I think another reason for my lack of connection to the story is that it felt short. Almost like it was missing a few chapters. I was interested in the characters, but still didn't find out enough about them to really root for the main couple's relationship to last, and once they really did come together, the story ended. I felt almost like there was a conscious word count, and once that word count was made, the story had to be ended, even if it wasn't over.

Overall, I connected with the author's voice, but not the main couple, making A Forever Kind of Love just a so-so read for me.

Final grade: C-

Buy this book at Amazon!

Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh - A Review(-ish)

I've always thought it must be really daunting to deal with high reader expectations for an upcoming couple when writing a romance series. We've seen authors write them successfully and less so. So I really felt for Nalini Singh as she approached writing Hawke's story in her much lauded and adored Psy/Changeling series. I know that as a reader who is tremendously vested in the series, I had really high expectations for Hawke, and really wanted him to get the satisfying Happily Ever After. 

We've known for sometime now that Sienna Lauren was going to Hawke's heroine, but we had to wait for her to age a bit. And as we've waited for that, we've received little drips and drabs of background on Hawke. We know that he was mated young, and that his mate died tragically. We know that Hawke also became an alpha very young, and had to take the mantle of leadership before most packs would expect their leader to. We know that this, plus the tragedies of his mate and parents' deaths, make Hawke's wolf a bit closer to the surface than most. We know he can be mischievous, but that he's also all alpha. He's demanding, driven, arrogant and difficult, but he's also caring, always putting the needs of pack before his own. He's attracted as hell to Sienna, but he won't act on it, knowing she's too young, and that he can never complete the mating bond with her. Wolves only mate once, so Hawke's opportunity passed when Rissa, his mate, died.

For her part, Sienna is a X-Psy. She is powerful beyond measure, and for that, was targeted by the Psy Council for extermination. Rather than allowing that to happen, her family, the Laurens defected, staging their own deaths and leaving the Psy-Net to save the life of Sienna and her siblings. They were taken in by Hawke's pack, the Snow Dancers. Her uncles Walker and Judd have been integrated into the pack's hierarchy, and Sienna is a young soldier. The attraction between Sienna and Hawke has been palpable for some time, but he won't act upon it, and Sienna is getting fed up. She knows that they are meant to be together, their attraction only growing more intense, but Hawke won't act. They also have the very real barrier of Sienna's boundless power. While she has control over it for the most part, she would be lethal if that power were to grow unchecked, literally becoming a lethal force. Also, Hawke is significantly older than Sienna, and he's unwilling to deprive her of her childhood. But Sienna is no child. And she's not having it.

As the book opens, Sienna has been in a fight with another soldier and both have been called into Hawke's office to take their punishment. Maria, the other soldier, takes the punishment given by Hawke meekly, but Sienna challenges him, increasing her punishment and his ire with her. She finally tells him it's time to fish or cut bait. Either they are together, or she's moving on. Hawke is stymied by his attraction, but does what he thinks is the honorable thing, letting Sienna go. That is, until Sienna is out clubbing on night with friends, and spending time with a young potential alpha leopard named Kit. Hawke gets a call that his pack is going to start a riot at the bar, and when he arrives, he sees why. Sienna is on the bar, clad is a figure flattering outfit, dancing. His alpha instinct kicks in a he bodily carries her out of the bar. Sienna is pissed. If Hawke doesn't want her, then he has no right to act the way he is. She tells him in no uncertain terms that she's done with him and his mixed signals. She's done, right up until he gets out of the car, and dances with her. They begin to slowly build a more personal relationship, but Sienna continues to be stymied by the fact that Hawke will not give her the one thing she wants, a mating bond.

Even as Hawke and Sienna are dancing around each other, the Psy Council has initiated the first steps in their war against the Changelings. The pack is at risk, with the Psy infiltrating their territory and openly attacking. Hawke and his pack must defend what is theirs. 

This is, other than Slave to Sensation, my favorite installment of the Psy/Changeling series. As I said, I can't imagine how much pressure Nalini must have felt writing this story, knowing that readers were clamoring for Hawke's story. But within the story, she allows us to see what charm Hawke has, and how befuddled he is by Sienna. He wants her desperately, but is also trying to be noble, which she definitely does not appreciate. Once he decides they should have a relationship, he is devoted to her, charming her with little gestures, and making her and we the readers fall in love with him all over again. The book is a fast paced read, with tons of action developing as the Psy become bolder and the Wolves and Leopards must work together. There is also a lovely secondary romance between Walker Lauren and Lara, the Snow Dancer healer. And, Sascha and Lucas finally have their baby. 

This is a thoroughly satisfying book, one that met every high expectation I had for Hawke's book. It's filled with action and beautiful quiet moments of connection between Hawke and Sienna. Even as she propels the story forward, Nalini never loses sight of the romance, which is what makes Kiss of Snow a near perfect read for me.

Final grade: A

PS - This book probably will not stand alone well. I'd urge readers new to the series to start with Slave to Sensation. The entire series is brilliant, and the action will make much more sense if you read the series in order.

PPS - An ARC was generously provided by Nalini Singh for review.

Sweet Possession by Maya Banks - A Review(-ish)

Lyric Jones is a star. One with a serious attitude and a crappy reputation, but the girl can sing, and she knows how to entertain a crowd. When she comes to Houston for a couple of weeks of R&R, and one show, Connor Malone's firm is hired to protect her. Lyric doesn't know it, but she's been getting pretty serious threats to her life, and her record label is concerned for her safety. Lyric dislikes Connor the first time she sees him. He's demanding, bossy and a bit of a tight-ass. For his part, Connor doesn't like the huge amounts of spoiled child attitude Lyric is throwing around, but he's determined to do his job and protect her. When she sasses him hard at that first meeting, Connor is both disgusted and thrown off by the arousal he feels. He hates her attitude, but is definitely attracted to the package.

Connor arranges for Lyric to be moved to a protected compound within Houston, and hires an additional firm to undertake her protection. Lyric chafes at the protection and tests it a time or two, before understanding that she really isn't safe. Connor realizes that under Lyric's defenses, she's truly frightened and closed off due to something in her past. He decides to introduce Lyric to his friends and their wives. As Lyric is accepted into the group, she warms up, becoming less closed off and more accessible. The dynamic between the women is fun and silly and they have a good time together. Soon she's warmed up enough to act upon the attraction she feels for Connor and they are making love regularly. But each time they do, Lyric whispers afterwards that she has to go to the bathroom and takes off to sleep alone. Connor is puzzled, but allows her the space she needs. As Lyric gains confidence, she begins clearing the toxic people in her life out, and she gains the confidence to take control of her future and her career. Until something happens that causes Lyric to question everything that she knows about Connor. Will they be able to forgive and reconnect?

I'm torn about this book. I have really enjoyed previous entries in the Sweet series (this is book 5), but this book was...very vanilla. It's a one woman, one man story, which is fine (if slightly unexpected from Maya Banks, who writes dandy menage books), but also there is a lot of white noise in this book. Lots of time spent with past couples, lots of time spent discussing security and safety, and less time devoted to the actual building of the two characters. Unfortunately, the white noise is not very interesting, which makes the book decidedly skimable. I liked both characters fine, but for someone with as tortured a past as Lyric supposedly had (and it IS tortured), she just didn't exhibit enough damage. And the author kind of strayed away from what had the potential to be a terrific story about someone with a very difficult past creating a new future for themselves. I think that my reaction to the book is flavored by the fact that I recently read a most excellent book with a character with a tortured past, so this one really fell flat for me. Add to that a lot of past characters showing up, not enough of a sense of danger to engage my attention, and little to non-existent chemistry between the leads, and this book was a pass for me.

Final grade: D+

KT Grant Gets Sweet AND Sinful

Look at my darling Katiebabs' pretty new cover! 

Sweet & Sinful will be released in print at the end of June! 

Look for an interview w/Kate and a chance to win your very own copy of Mollie & Suzy coming to Katidom soon!

Dragon Bound Winner!

Congratulations to

                    AmyW!

Amy was commenter #22, which Thea picked at random. So she is the winner.


Amy, your profile does not show an email address, so please contact me with your mailing address at katidancy at verizon dot net and I'll forward your address on to Thea's publisher.

If I haven't heard from you by May 12, we'll redraw.

 

Thanks everyone for commenting!

An Excerpt from Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

She glanced at the sky and paused. In the distance over the water, a patch of the sky rippled. It looked like the watery shimmer of heat waves off an asphalt highway on a hot summer day. But the May evening was cooling down, the sky just starting to darken in the east and there was no asphalt anywhere near that ripple.

She shaded her eyes. What was it? It was big and seemed to be getting bigger fast. She watched the patch grow, her stomach clenching. She’d never seen anything like it before, but she knew it was wrong.

Wait a minute. That shimmering patch of air wasn’t growing bigger. It was getting closer.

Oh shit.

Pia’s thinking splintered into raw instinct. She whirled and sprinted. She may not have inherited many of her mother’s abilities, but if there was one thing she could do with an extravagance of talent, it was run. Her bare toes dug into the sand and she nearly flew down the beach.

But nearly flying isn’t the same as really flying. Even as she pushed with all the speed she had in her, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to outrun what hurtled toward her.

A shadow engulfed her from behind. She caught just a glimpse on the sand in front of her of an enormous winged shape with a serpentine neck and a long wicked head. Then the shadow collapsed in on itself and a split second later, a mountain slammed into her back.

She crashed into the sand so hard it knocked the breath out of her. The mountain resolved itself into the hard heavy body of a male. Muscle-corded arms came down on either side of her. Huge hands latched on to her slim wrists while a long thigh crossed over the back of her legs.

She wheezed, struggling to get her bruised rib cage to expand so her lungs could function, her palms and knees abraded from the impact. She stared at those imprisoning hands. Like the arms they were powerful, colored a dark bronze that looked very dramatic against her pale skin.

Her mind wailed. She was so dead.

The male put his nose in her hair and took a deep breath. A convulsive shiver racked her body in response. He was sniffing her. She felt him nose at the back of her neck. He rubbed his face in her hair. A whimper was born and died at the back of her throat.

“Good chase,” he growled, his voice a dark rumble at her back.

She coughed and sand puffed up in front of her. “Not long enough.”

The weight lifted from her back, and he flipped her with mind-numbing swiftness. She slammed back into the sand, arms spread-eagled as he held her by the wrists again.

He bared his teeth at her in a machete smile. “We could always do it again.”

Excerpt from Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison.  Copyright May 2011.  Posted with permission of The Berkley Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA).

In Which Kati Interrogates Thea Harrison

1. Tell our readers a little about Thea Harrison. Have you been published before? If so, under your name or 

another? If your name is a pseudonym, what’s its origin? Where do you hail from?

We moved a lot when I was a child, so I’m a bit of a tumbleweed and don’t hail from any one specific place.  

 I have spent a significant time in the Midwest, five years in England, and I’m currently living in California.

I have been published before, in category romance.  I wrote my first book when I was nineteen.  

 It was accepted by Mills & Boon U.K. and I went on to have sixteen stories published under the name 

Amanda Carpenter.  Both Amanda Carpenter and Thea are pen names.   

I picked Amanda because it started with “A,” and Carpenter because I liked the concept of building when 

I created my writing career.

Thea came along more recently.  I chose that because it was close enough to my real name, Teddy, but 

more identifiably feminine.  Besides, it’s a goddess’s name! There has to be good mojo in that, right?

2. I’ve rarely seen a book that’s gotten as much advance buzz as Dragon Bound is getting. Does the buzz 

make release date more exciting? Or nerve racking?  

Both!  The other day I told my family, it’s like winning the lottery only mmmuuuucchh mmmooorrreee 

slllooowwwly.  Watching the events of this year as they unfold has been an incredible experience.   

The Berkley team has been amazing to watch.  I’m in awe of all their hard work and professional expertise, 

and I’m very honored at the effort they have put into this publication.   My only hope now is that the book’s 

sales in May proves worthy of their dedication.   

3. I love the setting of New York, but a slightly more enhanced New York, one ruled by a dragon/immortal 

of immeasurable power. How did Dragos Cuelebre come to you? Did he spring to mind fully formed? 

Or did he evolve slowly? And does the cover resemble what you had in your head? 

If not, is there an actor or model that you based him on?  

These are awesome questions!  Dragos Cuelebre was a character I spent some time over.  Once I had decided 

I was going to write about a dragon, I set up certain parameters for his existence and asked myself a series a 

questions.  That process gave me the details I needed for him, but he really only came to life when I started 

writing the book.  Then he surprised me and sort of took over every scene he was in.  

And I love the cover art for the book!  It came as a total fun surprise.  The model is a handsome young man, 

and the Dragos in my head is older, more roughly hewn.  I didn’t have a specific actor or model that I based 

him on, but now that I think about it, someone who could totally pull Dragos off would be Daniel Craig.   

Daniel Craig has the force of personality, the rugged looks, and the intelligence that could pull off Dragos’s 

machete smiles. Oh my.   

Now that I’ve made the Dragos-Daniel Craig connection in my head, I may never see Dragos in any other 

way! 

4. One of my very favorite heroine types is the heroine who *knows* her limitations. I adored Pia because 

she’s smart enough to be terrified by what's hunting her, and smart enough to use her power to her 

advantage after being put in a bind. She very much reminds me of Mercy Thompson from Patricia Briggs’ 

Mercy Thompson series. What fictional heroines inspired her?  

Certainly Pia has a touch of Mercy Thompson as inspiration.  I’m a huge Patricia Briggs fan!  There may be a 

touch of Sookie Stackhouse in her as well.  While I understand the appeal of the empowerment fantasy in 

super-charged heroines, the characters that work best for me are the ones that have a mix of abilities and 

vulnerability.  That highlights the danger of the challenges they face, and it gives them room to grow.  It 

gives their accomplishments more meaning, and I think it makes them more loveable. 

5. This book has a pretty advanced mythology, once that has hierarchies of immortals and rules. How do you 

keep track of it all? Do you have a method for tracking the variety of mythologies?  

Another great question!  Most of the mythology lives in my head.  Apparently I have the capacity to store a 

lot of strange stuff in my noggin.  However, I am working with someone now to create a series bible, 

because the Elder Races universe is getting much more complicated than I had first envisioned. 

6. The book is pretty clearly setting up as a series. How many books are planned? And who is up next?  

Storm’s Heart is the second book in the Elder Races series and it comes out in August.  Serpent’s Kiss is the 

third, with a release date in October.  I’m writing book four, currently entitled Oracle’s Moon, and I’m 

contracted through book six although I’m laying the groundwork now in plotting events for books seven 

and beyond.    

7. Do you read romance? If so, are you a long time reader, or a newbie?  What was the last romance novel 

you read that you really loved? 

I do read romance!  I’m a long-time reader of romance, science fiction and fantasy, so when paranormal romances became popular, of course I had to start reading those too!  I was lucky enough to be given an eARC of Nalini Singh’s Kiss of Snow and gobbled that story down with delight.  I must confess to anxiously awaiting anything new by Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews.  And Meljean Brook, and Eileen Wilks, and… oh wait, you didn’t ask me to go on a squee tour. Heh.

I had a huge amount of fun visiting with you, Kati! Thanks so much for inviting me!

What is the last romance novel you read that you really loved?  Can you keep YOUR answer down to just one?

~~CONTEST ALERT~~CONTEST ALERT~~CONTEST ALERT~~

THEA'S PUBLISHER HAS KINDLY OFFERED ONE COPY OF DRAGON BOUND TO ONE LUCKY COMMENTER! 

THIS CONTEST HAS BEEN CLOSED. THANKS FOR PLAYING! 

Sweet As Sin by Inez Kelley - A Review(-ish)

When a blood red bra comes flying over his fence from the house next door, John Murphy decides it's time to meet the neighbor. When he meets Livvy Andrews, his neighbor, he is immediately attracted. For her part, Livvy takes one look at John and just knows that he is bad news. He's all kinds of hot and sexy and is getting his flirt on with her in a major way. But she is at an age where white picket fences and biological clocks are what she's looking for, and John is clearly a one night stand kind of guy. John is a renowned author, writing a very successful young adult series about two monsters who are best friends. As John worms his way into Livvy's life, she finds that the monsters that he writes aren't just figurative, they're literal, and part of his soul.

 

 Their attraction is incendiary and soon Livvy is compromising what she thinks she wants to have a summer fling with John. He makes it clear from the start that he is not looking for serious. He wants to have fun (and LOTS of sex) with Livvy, and when it ends, it ends, no harm, no foul. Livvy is trepiditious, but agrees. But soon John finds that Livvy is becoming his port in the storm. You see, John had an awful childhood, full of abuse and terror at the hands of his stepfather. He spent his childhood protecting his younger sister Gina and suffering horrible torments at the hands of the Reverend Alan Walker. In the end, John made an awful choice and killed his stepfather. But the constant childhood torment left its marks. John has night terrors, panic attacks, and more than that, lets no one into his life. Even his beloved younger sister can only push him so far. But he finds himself sharing things with Livvy he's never shared before. He opens to her, tells her his secrets. And finds an incredible peace and comfort with her.

For her part, Livvy is not without her own issues. She comes from a family where her father was a serial philanderer, and it's scarred Livvy. She has trust issues with me, and she makes it clear to John that she will never leave him, as long as he doesn't do the unforgivable: cheat on her.

The more involved they become, the deeper Livvy falls in love with John. She knows he loves her. But she also knows that he adamantly doesn't want anything serious, and when his past comes back to haunt him, he can lash out, being cruel and hurtful to the one person who offers him the most support. Will they be able to find happiness? Can John deal with his past in order to have a future with Livvy?

Regular readers of this blog know that there is little I adore more than a heaping helping of angst in my romance. And this book had it in spades. It's a book that lingers with you. The horrors that John suffered at the hands of his stepfather are indescribable, and the author never pulls a punch in conveying how they effect John. He's difficult, moody and haunted. But he also has this incredible tenderness for Livvy. She brings a light to his darkness and really does both keep the monsters at bay, and help him get over a writers block that had been stalling his writing. John is just not ready for the emotion that she brings out in him. What starts as attraction blooms into something profound and deep for him. Something that makes him want to change.

The book is deeply emotional, devastatingly so. And it's brilliantly written, offering us enough glimpses into John's psyche, that even when he is acting like an utter ass, we understand why he is doing it. Livvy is also a delight. She really is the juxtaposition to John's darkness. She's sweet and caring, but not too much so. She's not afraid to stand up to John and she doesn't put up with his bullshit.

I'd only read Ms. Kelley's lighter erotic romances, which are entertaining, but Sweet as Sin is a book that lingers with you, making you continue to reflect on it. And the resolution at the end of the story really does give you that sense of peace that an extremely well written romance evokes. I would compare my reading experience for this book to another dark and emotional book, Butterfly Tattoo by Deirdre Knight. The books are on the same emotional level and sparked in me that same desire to read them over and over again, just to experience the wonder of a deeply damaged character being renewed by love.

Final grade: A

Warcry by Elizabeth Vaughan - A Review (-ish)

Warprize, the first in the Warlords of the Plains series by Elizabeth Vaughan is one of my all time favorite romances. I've probably read it more than 50 times cover to cover. It's a stupendously imagined book with a heroine who is a bit of a Mary Sue, but a hero who, I swear, I could lick right off the spoon. I gobbled up the three books in the series, Warprize, Warsworn and Warlord. While I wasn't crazy about Warsworn, the other two books were fantastic, and I thought ended the series. But this year, Elizabeth Vaughan published Warcry, a book that takes place in the same world, with the same characters, but Lara and Keir are not the main focal point. Instead, Heath, Lara's childhood friend and Atira, the female warrior who Lara healed first in Warprize are the hero and heroine.

Lara is not just the Warprize, but also Queen of Xy, and is making her way back to Xy, heavily pregnant to give birth to her heir and take command of the city that she left under the protection of Other, her seneschal. She brings with her her mate, Keir, who is a deposed Warlord ( read Warlord to see why) and his band of loyal soldiers, including Heath, Lara's childhood friend and Atira. Heath was captivated by Atira from the moment he saw her. She's a powerful soldier, smart, cunning and beautiful. She's also of the Plains, and disdains many of the customs of the Xy people, Heath's people. Heath knows that his return the Xy will mean that he must take up his role as one of Lara's closest advisers, which will most likely mean that the budding passion between he and Atira will end. He's asked her to bond with him, but the Plains people rarely bond and Atira does not want to be tied just to him. She doesn't understand why they can't just stay as they are, loving freely, but with no ties. Heath wants nothing more than to marry her and spend his days with her and her alone. 

The struggle between Heath and Atira plays out on the backdrop of Xyian court intrigue. Lara's rule is not accepted by all in Xy, and she is heavily pregnant, and not really filled with the stamina to deal with the court intrigues. She perseveres, handling the different intrigues while also preparing for the birth of her child.

There is a ton going on in this book. My problem with it is that I was, and will always remain, far more interested in the Lara and Keir than I am in the other characters in the book. I really had no issue with the way Heath and Atira are written (although even at the end I wasn't 100% convinced that they would make it, mostly because she was so resistant to the Xyian way of life), but it's just that they aren't the most interesting characters in the series. There is an intriguing side story in the book focusing on Marcus, Keir's manservant and Liam, his lover. The book advances their story, but left me gnashing my teeth that it wasn't resolved. Ah well, maybe in the next book.

Overall, Warcry is a fine installment in the Warlords of the Plains series. It was really fun to revisit Lara and Keir, and Heath and Atira's relationship was entertaining enough, if not one I was really invested in. If you've never read the Warlords of the Plains series, I'd implore you not to start with this book. As I said, Warprize is a fantastic and delicious read, one I highly recommend. Go from there, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Final grade: B-/C+

PS- Also, the cover model on this book looks to me like he's waitin' on his next wave, dude. This is a cover fail for me.

Giving Chase by Lauren Dane - A Review(-ish)

I love straight contemporary novels. And really, we don't get that many of them anymore. So when Amazon suggested the Chase Brothers series by Lauren Dane, I was in. I love her Brown siblings series, which combine fantastically angsty characters and seriously smoking hot sex. 

The first book in the series is Giving Chase. Maggie Wright is bored with the men she's been dating. But when she bumps into Shane Chase in a bar one night, and he manages to dump chili fries all down the front of her, and then act like it's her fault? Well. She gives him what-for to the delight of his brothers, who are all there to see the set down. Shane is both pissed off and intrigued, and ends up trying to apologize to Maggie again. She finally accepts his apology and they go out. But Shane has a reputation as a player, which is quite well deserved. And when Maggie makes an offhand remark about loving something he was doing, he takes off like a scalded cat. Good thing Kyle Chase, Shane's brother is there for the put back. 

Kyle has been intrigued by Maggie for some time. She doesn't seem to realize how beautiful she is, and he loves that she stands up for herself. She takes crap from no man. He moves in and begins pursuing her. Maggie is puzzled as to why the gorgeous Kyle would be interested in her. Her sister is a beauty queen, and her mother has spent most of Maggie's life making sure she understands that her sister is the important one. But with Kyle's encouragement and affection, Maggie begins to understand that she is a smart, beautiful and desirable woman. She stands up for herself, and learns that love really can make you stronger.

This was a terrific start to the series. The story sets up a close knit family of brothers. It's also got the small town vibe that I love. And Kyle was a delightful beta hero. One who is strong and supportive, but not too alpha. My only issue is that Maggie acquires a stalker early on in the story, and the plot point served more as a distraction than anything else. It didn't seem to strengthen the characters or really propel what was a sweet romance forward. Overall though, Giving Chase is a fun, sexy contemporary novel -- one well worth the read!

Final grade: B