An Inconvenient Affair (The Alpha Brotherhood #1) Review

An Inconvenient Affair by Catherine Mann

Book description...
Hillary Wright has always been a magnet for Mr. Wrong. Her latest left her in trouble with the law, and to clear her name, she's agreed to an undercover sting—as the "date" for infamous Troy Donavan. The notorious hacker is now a government good guy…and a sexy billionaire playboy. Troy has a reputation as the sort of man she's vowed to avoid, and his secretiveness adds fuel to Hillary's distrust. But with his kisses like molten sin, her fierce resistance is melting. And being sensible in the face of such overpowering desire is just not an option. 

I received an ARC of An Inconvenient Affair for an honest review... well actually when Catherine mentioned having ARC's of two of her books available and to email her, I jumped right on that because I absolutely LOVE Catherine Mann's books.  Not to mention I saw the series title of this book and thought.... "Yes Please!"  Anyway, I've never confessed this... except to maybe one or two people but Harlequin Desire or Harlequin Heat books are like my dirty little secrets... I love them... they are always an easy read with well built up characters that have this instant chemistry you can almost feel through the book.  It's been a while since I've read one because I only ever looked for them while at Walmart or Target... on one of my many trips to the store to "pick something up" without the kids.  Unfortunately, since I got E.Luke it's been a while since I've read an actual paperback copy of a book.... and you know what?  I forgot how much I actually missed it... the smell alone made me feel that sigh of peace like I was spending time with an old friend.  Now, I also have to admit reading books on E.Luke is so much easier because I can multi-task... sad but true... I do actually cook dinner and read at the same time.  So, Thank you Catherine for not only allowing me the opportunity to review your books early but for giving me the reminder of how good a paperback book feels in my hands!

So Hillary has found herself in a tight spot... of course it's a man who got her in that tight spot but in order to prove her innocence she has to cooperate with the authorities to ID the bad guy.  Everything seems to be going off without a hitch until the extremely sexy man she met on the plane is now at the gala and seems to be occupying all of her thoughts.  

Troy... sigh... I just loved him, he's such a charmer!  Anyway, he knows upfront what his "job" will entail but he doesn't suspect Hillary to be so...hot.  He pretty much knows immediately that he wants to spend more time with her and not just because he wants to keep her safe.  So he kind of does the unthinkable and ensures that she will be his date for the entire gala... which happens to be the entire weekend.

Sparks fly between these two... I mean seriously fly.  Hillary battles with herself on whether or not she should have an affair with him and Troy is trying to figure out a way to woo her.   And boy does he ever... but a playboy has insecurities too and those insecurities may just cost him the one girl he can't seem to get enough of.

An Inconvenient Affair by Catherine Mann is a hot, easy little read that has me craving more of The Alpha Brotherhood.  I was drawn in immediately and not ready for it to end.  I love the way Catherine writes... her books never leave anything to be desired except more of the amazing characters she creates.  I look forward to reading more of this series... as well as more of her work!

Happy Reading!



  

Under Fire (Elite Force #3) Review

Under Fire by Catherine Mann

Book description...
No Holds Barred, In Love or War...
A decorated hero, pararescueman Liam McCabe lives to serve. Six months ago, her and Rachel Flores met in the horrific aftermath of an earthquake in the Bahamas. They were tempted by an explosive attraction, but then they parted ways. Still, Liam has thought about Rachel every day—and night—since.
Now, after ignoring all his phone calls for six month, Rachel has turned up on base with a wild story about a high–ranking military traitor. She claims no one but Liam can help her—and she won't trust anyone else.
With nothing but her word and the testimony of a discharged military cop to go on, Liam would be insane to risk his career—even his life— to help a woman who left him in the dust.

Now take just a second to admire that Cover.... nice huh?  Not sure how she does it but Catherine Mann always seems to have these amazing covers with these gorgeous men that just make you want to stare all day.... or at least come back to look periodically throughout the book  

It's never been a secret that I absolutely love a man in a uniform... especially military uniforms... My nephew (who happens to in Medic School for the US Army) and I were just talking the other day, I can't exactly say what we were talking about because I do have family members who sometimes decide they're cool enough to read my reviews, but I can say that it has to do with Military men wearing their dress uniforms....

Me: "Obviously I'm not saying this about you because that's just gross but... a man in a uniform is freaking hot."

S: "God, Lori, you're so weird"

Me: "No really, ask my friends, ask just about any woman... and they will totally agree with me."

S: "It's okay I'll take your word for it,  mostly because I just want you to quit talking about men in uniforms."

He thinks I'm a goof and doesn't hesitate to tell me so... while he's LOL'ing,  but he loves me and even though we drive each other nuts (because there is only 10 years age difference) we're very close.  He knows he can come to me with anything and no matter what I'll be there for him....

Okay so you're probably sitting there thinking.... Why in the world am I reading about Lori and her nephew when I thought I was going to read a book review? ... yeah well I'm getting there.....

Liam, who by the way, is super hot and just so absolutely loveable... reminds me of my nephew.... well minus the hot part because to me my nephew is still a little kid who I used as a pawn to get out of being grounded.... He's lovable, he's extremely loyal, and most of all he just wants someone to love him back the same way, someone who will be there for him when he gets done for the day or home from a mission.  Poor Liam has been married and divorced 3 times.... and as much as I want to laugh about that... I won't because I can only imagine how lonely it is for our Service Men and Women who are "unattached".   He has loved all of his ex-wives to the point that every divorce hurt but he's never felt the unconditional love and happiness he feels when he's around Rachel.

She was everything he'd ever wanted in a woman.  He may have fallen in love easily in the past, but damned if he could remember ever falling this hard.

I can't even begin to describe how much I absolutely LOVED Rachel... she was exactly the type of heroine I love to read about... She's strong, in complete control of her emotions.  She loves deep, she's loyal, and she is one of the most compassionate and caring women. I wholeheartedly loved being in Rachel's head.... especially when she put a drunk man in his place and then even more so when she took Liam's back for the first time... here they are in the middle of something really hot and heavy only to get interrupted and accused of something illegal, and then out of no where Rachel finds her wits and totally gets her and Liam completely out of the mess... It. Was. Awesome!!!!  Oh, and it was hilarious!!!

So Liam and Rachel have a bit of trouble following them, well mostly following Rachel... but now it's up to Liam to keep her safe until he can figure out exactly what is going on and who exactly to believe.  The best thing about Liam was he knew deep down that Rachel was innocent, that her fiercely loyal personality is what pulled her into this mess with a Military Cop with PTSD.. but he's determined to get to the bottom of it, even if that means going off radar and taking two of his team members with him.  

One amazing thing about Catherine's books are she does a fantastic job with switching POV's.  Normally I get frustrated with more than two or three POV's in a book.... but Catherine always pulls it off phenomenally!   So with that being said..... I have to admit how much I absolutely adored the secondary love story going on in Under Fire..... Brandon (The Military Cop that Rachel was helping) is so sweet, I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and give him a big hug.  Catriona is an extremely shy woman who is a little hung up in the past when it comes to wanting to know if Brandon would have looked over her or not... but she's still super sweet and deserving of the love she believes Brandon is capable of giving her.  The only thing I didn't care for in the switching POV's was the "villain".... but that's just me, I personally like to keep guessing who the bad guy is and having his POV just kind of gives it away for me.

Under Fire by Catherine Mann is yet another amazing Military- Romantic Suspense novel that kept me on the edge of my seat and anxious to not only find out what would happen between Liam and Rachel but also what would happen to them if they were caught by the backstabber..... and then there was also the secondary romance that I kept wanting to know more about as well....  Definitely a good read but then again Catherine does a wonderful job a providing some wonderful novels with those hot as hell men who just happen to also wear uniforms

Happy Reading!

Protector (Dark Ops #4) Review

Protector by Catherine Mann is an amazing romantic suspense read....

Book description....
After barely surviving enemy torture, Captain Chuck Tanaka doesn’t trust himself to do more than ride a desk—but new orders leave him no choice. Assigned to the investigation of a mob boss whose luxury cruise ship is reportedly a hub for terrorist activity, Tanaka goes undercover. His target: JoLynn Taylor, the mob boss’s daughter.  As a child, JoLynn saw her beloved uncle murdered. Since then, she’s stayed far away from her father’s crooked empire. But when he falls ill, she returns, hoping to mend the gap between them. Instead, she finds herself on the run, one step ahead of unknown enemies. The only thing keeping her alive is the man she knows as Charles Tomas, the only man she’s ever been able to trust.  Unfortunately, he’s also the man determined to destroy her family…

This is the forth book in the Dark Ops series and is scheduled to be released on March 6, 2012.  I have not read the first three which I plan to change soon but I received an ARC of Protector and wanted to get my review out there so you can all check out Cathy's amazing skills at writing a romantic suspense, she writes Military Men quite well and who doesn't absolutely ♥ a man in uniform?

What can I say... I have a huge soft spot for Military heroes and Chuck was definitely no exception to that.  He's this smokin hot guy with a tortured past and I mean that in every way possible.... from his childhood to his capture.  He's that guy you just want to pull into your arms and offer him any kind of comfort you can... whatever way you can ;) and he has dimples... a man with dimples is just down right sexy as hell ♥

Dimples.  Angel Kisses.  She savored a rare memory of her mother explaining the tiny indentations as special kisses from heaven.

I had to share this... I love dimples, I have dimples... so reading this just made my day and brought a huge smile to my face because I absolutely adore this explanation :).

It's been 2 years since he's been out on a job and his first job gets him up close and a little more personal than he's comfortable with, with the lovely Jolynn Taylor.

Jolynn.... I liked her but didn't quite love her, I felt for her but still got frustrated with her.... She had a life full of rejection by everyone... especially her Father.  I really felt for her with that but I just couldn't help but get frustrated by the little tantrums she would have when ever she was feeling a rejection coming from Chuck... then again now that I'm thinking about it I have to say maybe I do get it more than I thought, she didn't know that Chuck was dealing with some serious struggling when it came to turning away from her or stopping her..  Anyway, Jolynn has boarded her father's cruise ship after years of estrangement from him because he's fallen ill after a heart attack.  Things don't go so well for her on board and she ends up spending more time with Chuck which she's loving and hating at the same time.


Forced to be in close proximity of each other for days Chuck and Jolynn finally.... yes FINALLY.... give into the urges they have for each other and wow... just wow!  The anticipation was interesting to watch but it was like an explosion when they finally came together.... The passion and chemistry was so thick you could almost feel it. 


They're still running from the danger and when Chuck feels like it's time to move and Jolynn decides it's time to go home to her father... and that pisses Chuck off because he does not want her to feel her fathers rejection again but most of all he wants to keep her in the safety of his arms where she feels right.... he hasn't realized it yet but that man has fallen for her and fallen hard at that.  He still takes her to her father and when he leaves he has that tight feeling in his chest and can't shake the urge to turn around and put her in the seat next to him where she belongs. 

Jolynn pushed away, even though it hurt but she was doing it for a reason, she'd already fallen and knew the only way to do what she had to do was to push him away... for good or so she thinks...

Protector was a great read..... I always enjoy a great romantic suspense story and have to say that Catherine Mann always delivers on that front!  This is not my first Catherine Mann book, I've read 3 or 4 others and I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone of them....She knows how to combine romance and heart pumping suspense and boy does she know how to create an amazing man in a uniform that will have you drooling in now time!

I have to admit, I normally do NOT like more than two P.O.V.'s but Catherine has a skill at switching P.O.V.'s without the reader getting lost... with that said.... Not only do we watch a beautiful love story unfold between Chuck and Jolynn...who I enjoyed watching them struggle with their attraction and feelings for one another and then watching their relationship grow.... but we also get a secondary love story as well between Rex and Livia.  I'm guessing here because like I said this is the first book in this series I've read... but I'm guessing this is more of a follow up between Rex and Livia who played a cameo in previous books.  It wasn't hard to follow along with this and quite frankly was nice to get a double dose of lovin'  :)

Check out Catherine Mann's Dark Ops series... I plan on downloading the first 3 books in this series so I can catch up because the fifth book... Guardian will be released September of this year.  Here is the link to Defender (Dark Ops Series) the first book in this captivating series.

Happy Reading!