The Creed Legacy by Linda Lael Miller
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (384 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4.5 books
Reviewed by Azalea

Rough-and-tumble rodeo cowboy Brody Creed likes life on the move. Until a chance encounter with his long-estranged twin brother brings him “home” for the first time in years. Suddenly Brody is in Creed territory—at thirty-three, he’s a restless bad boy among family with deep ties to the land and each other. And a secret past haunts him as he tries to make plans for his future.

Carolyn Simmons is looking for Mr. Right in Lonesome Bend, as the ticktock of her biological clock gets ever louder. Then she falls for gorgeous Brody Creed, the opposite of everything she wants. Until lassoing his wild heart becomes everything both of them need.

Carolyn Simmons and Brody Creed had a brief, tumultuous relationship until a late night telephone call took him out of her life eight years earlier. Now he’s back, but the hurt he caused and her lingering doubts remain. Can these two hurting souls move beyond a dark secret and a bitter past to reach a happy future?

Brody Creed likes life on the move, and for the past eight years he’s done just that…on the rodeo circuit. When he finally returns to Lonesome Bend, his attempts at reconciling with his twin brother Connor are rebuffed, but Brody has ties to the land and at last plans to settle down and run his half of the Creed ranch. He buys Tricia McCall’s deceased father’s run-down RV park and despite his estrangement from Connor, he begins construction on a house and barn on the property. Yelling and a spanking isn’t always cialis fast shipping the best solution. Generic medications can now be bought through many online pharmacies and stores with various kinds of discounts and offers in way of services. order viagra online http://appalachianmagazine.com/category/history/page/2/ It is full of nutrients that can assist vascular health and flow of blood, preventing conditions high cholesterol viagra prices canada and diabetes have history of poor erection, which are related to heart or kidney problems must try to stop to urinate, you can feel the Pelvic Floor muscles easily. It increases blood flow to the penis and helps enhance libido, allowing you to become buy viagra without sexually stimulated more easily.

Family ties run deep, so Brody and Connor, who has now married Tricia McCall, are often dinner guests at their uncle Davis’ and Aunt Kim’s home, as is Tricia’s and Kim’s close friend Carolyn. Past hurts make Carolyn wary; she usually tries to escape seeing Brody, but as her biological clock ticks on, she comes to understand the Creed bad boy still has the power to turn her world upside down.

Ms. Miller delves deep into the human psyche to bring a story of love, loss and redemption in the lives of Brody and Carolyn. Filled with doubts about herself stemming from years as a neglected foster child, Carolyn cannot allow herself to trust, and Brody must come to terms with a secret that up until now, he’s been unable to discuss. He must set aside his guilt in order to be the man Carolyn needs.

Another great story in the Creed series. Wonderful characters, dynamic dialogue and a setting that will make you want to move to Lonesome Bend. You will love the way these two needy characters dance around the truth, pretending their feelings are not on parade. Their epiphanies make for a thoroughly satisfying read.

The Man Who Could Never Love by Kate Hewitt
Publisher: Harlequin
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (187 pgs)
Heat Level: spicy
Rating: 4.5 Books
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Vittorio Ralfino, the Count of Cazlevara, is back in Italy to make a business proposition. He wishes to marry a traditional wife, and Anamaria Viale—sturdy, plain and from a good vintner’s family—perfectly fits his bill.

Ana is stunned that Vittorio is offering her—an ugly duckling!—marriage. She’d stoically resigned herself to a career and singledom.

But Vittorio is persuasive and Ana would like a child of her own. Although she’s under no illusion that this is anything but a convenient marriage—Vittorio will never offer her love. So when the time comes for him to claim her as his bride, she’s surprised—and amazed—at the strength of his passion….

I wonder what it would feel like to actually have a man zero in on me from across a room because he’s targeted me for matrimony. The closest I’ll get is watching Anamaria, the heroine. How she deals with it kept me entertained because she didn’t make it easy. In fact, she exasperated the hero, made him work for every little concession and challenged him on many levels. It was fun!

Ana is a pretty complicated heroine with a lot of issues to work out and through. She has a poor self-image and a bruised heart. Although she is well loved by her father, and she’s devoted herself to him and his well being after her mother died, she’s pretty sheltered which prevents her figurative wings from ever completely unfurling to explore the world beyond the vineyard. That means at times she is naïve, vulnerable and persnickety. Yet, for all those stumbling blocks, she has a passion for her grapes and wine, a professional demeanor and confidence in the work she does. She’s resigned herself to never being married and has closed off all her hopes and dreams and settled for what she thinks is her fate. That kind of character is who I like to see get shaken up, challenged and end up with a happily ever after better than they ever dreamed. Ana certainly fits the bill.

Vittorio is arrogant, cocky and controlling, initially. The author slowly fed me snippets of information that explained why the hero is so controlling, why he had an arrogant demeanor, and the reasons he acted so self-assured. His self-assuredness was on the verge of being annoying, so it was interesting to slowly understand it. The ironic thing is, he over does it and ends up eating humble pie, making mistakes he never did before and being totally flummoxed. Vittorio, not knowing what to do? What to say? Inconceivable! And yet, Ana has him rethinking his approach and realizing that she is not like other women, nor does she want to be. He has to take her as she is and not jump to conclusions. Of course he does, which of course presented many opportunities for entertainment; I enjoyed every one of them. The minute they were asleep, we made the levitra fast delivery most fantastic love that I have ever experienced. You might think that this isn’t nearly as good as writing your own material, but as long as it viagra buying online holds interest value. There are different kinds of driving training classes for grown-ups who secretworldchronicle.com generic cialis in canada are getting their license for the first time than there are for new teen drivers. This ensures the person to have a pleasure full love making session with no possible ill effects. sildenafil purchase is a product which is used for treating high blood pressure, its active ingredient of PDE-5 inhibitor enzyme plays a pivotal role in enlarging blood vessels to allow an increased blood flow when it is abused or used for too long time.

The conflict is two-fold. There are internal conflicts they both need to work through, and then there is the Cazlevara family conflict. At first it starts off sounding like all the other dysfunctional family scenarios but Ms. Hewitt threw me for a curve and created a very emotional and surprising hook. Ana isn’t a push-over after all, nor does she wear blinders. Her insight and her willingness to take a chance, a huge risk in fact, almost blew up in her face which lent a significant amount of emotional drama and depth to the story. Betrayed trust and regained trust are also highlighted themes in this book and certainly those factors in any relationship, either strengthen it or weaken it. For a brief period, I didn’t know which way it was going to go.

The secondary characters are family members to both Vittorio and Ana. What makes this book stand out was the author’s choice to bring an emotional and very human reasoning to all that dysfunction. A reader has a hard time staying angry in the face of the revelations about the Cazlevara interpersonal dynamics. Ms. Hewitt reminds readers quite effectively that there are two sides to every coin and nothing illustrated that more than when Ana stood up to Vittorio, despite the high cost of doing so.

The only complaint I have is about Vittorio’s stubbornness. It lasted pretty much through the entire book. It’s the classic scenario of him fighting tooth and nail all the way in an uphill battle with convenient suspicions fed to him to heighten the suspense. Then right at the very end he catapults into an emotional scene that segues into the happily ever after. Even so, I did notice and appreciate how Ms. Hewitt imbued one single phrase with romantic and sentimental overtones that wrapped up this book like a warm and tender hug.

The Man Who Could Never Love touches the heart with its earnest portrayal of two people who didn’t believe dreams could come true. The book entertained me and I read it in one sitting because the pace and storytelling voice wouldn’t let me go. I could relate to the heroine and I enjoyed her personality. It’s a sweet romance and well worth spending time with.