For the Love of Pete - Julia Harper

Publication
Contemporary romance, January 2009, Forever, 978-0-446-61918-9

In short

What happens when opposites attract?
Free-spirited Zoey Addler is about to hijack a federal agent. And not just any federal agent, but very Special Agent Dante Torelli, a man whose designer suits and Italian shoes are more GQ than FBI. But when her baby niece, Pete, is snatched right in front of her eyes, Zoey doesn't hesitate to scramble into Dante's spotless BMW. She needs his help to rescue the baby... if only she can ignore his Lips of Sin.
Oh, Baby!
Dante's original mission is down the drain and he's dodging bullets with a loopy redhead by his side. He likes quiet. She never shuts up. He likes to follow the rules. She throws the rules out of the window. But these opposites do more than attract - they ignite. With a henpecked hit man running wild, cooking-obsessed matrons chasing down contraband spices, and a relentless killer tracking them all, Dante and Zoey will risk everything - for themselves and...
for the love of Pete

In words
This was a fun read, I want more. The voice is very different from the author's Elizabeth Hoyt voice and IMO should not be compared to it, but I guess some readers do so anyway, hence the many so-so reviews. The book is full of action, humor and weird characters, but never over the top. I usually don't like epilogues, but this book's last chapter, featuring two of the supporting cast, is one I will remember. I know I will reread this book when I can use some cheering up. Oh, and I love the cover!

In numbers
Voice - 3 (max 3)
Characters - 2 (max 3)
Romance - 2 (max 2)
Plot - 1 (max 2)
Conversations - 0
Special setting - 0
Humor - 1
Sensuality - 1
No minus points
Total - 10
B+ = 8.5/10 = 4 stars

Lord Perfect - Loretta Chase

Publication
March 2006, Berkley, 978-0425-20888-5
Carsington Brothers #3

In short

IDEAL
The heir to the Earl of Hargate, Benedict Carsington, Viscount Rathbourne, is the perfect aristocrat. Tall, dark, and handsome, he is known for his impeccable manners and good breeding. Benedict knows all the rules and has no trouble following them - until she enters his life...

INFAMOUS
Bathsheba Wingate belongs to the rotten branch of the DeLucey family: a notorious lot of liars, frauds, and swindlers. Small wonder her husband’s high-born family disowned him. Now widowed, she’s determined to give her daughter a stable life and a proper upbringing. Nothing and no one will disrupt Bathsheba’s plans - until he enters her life…

SCANDALOUS
Then Bathsheba’s hoyden daughter lures Benedict’s precocious nephew into a quest for a legendary treasure. To recover the would-be knights errant, Benedict and Bathsheba must embark on a rescue mission that puts them in dangerous, intimate proximity - a situation virtually guaranteed to end in mayhem - even scandal! - if anyone else were involved. But Benedict is in perfect control of events. Perfect control, despite his mad desire to break all the rules. Perfect control. Really.

In words
Usually I don't like romances with children playing a large role, but this is one of the very few exceptions. Again, a book full of great humor, witty conversations, and wonderful characters. I fully believe in the relationship between Batsheba and Benedict, and how they interact with the children. And this is also one of the few 'road regencies' I've read.

In numbers
Voice - 3 (max 3)
Characters - 3 (max 3)
Romance - 2 (max 2)
Plot - 1 (max 2)
Conversations - 1
Special setting - 0
Humor - 1
Sensuality - 1
No minus points
Total - 12
A = 9,5/10 = 5 stars

Nothing But Trouble - Rachel Gibson

Publication
May 2010, Harper Collins, 9780061579097
Chinooks Hockey Team #5

In short

TROUBLE...
Chelsea Ross's acting career has been a total bust. The closest she ever came to stardom was her brilliant performance as "Pretty Dead Girl #1." But leaving Hollywood to become the personal assistant to a famous hockey player could be her stupidest career move ever.

MORE TROUBLE...
Injured superstar Mark Bressler's glory days are over. The one time bad boy jock could at least be civil to the pint-sized, pink-haired bombshell who the Seattle Chinooks hired to be his P.A. If Chelsea didn't need the money, she'd be skating away from the world's biggest jerk-on-ice as fast as her feet could carry her.

BIG TROUBLE!
Chelsea can deal with Mark's rotten attitude and dark moods. The problem is those biceps and that red-hot hockey-toned bod! And when the bad boy starts to put the moves on her, Chelsea knows it's time she banished him to the penalty box...if only she could resist the kind of trouble he has in mind!

In words
Enjoyable and fast read, but not that special. This was my first book by Rachel Gibson. I don't know anything about ice hockey and had expected a lot more about it, but hardly any mention was made. I felt for Mark, having the bottom knocked out of his world. I couldn't warm up to Chelsea. Oh, and I almost substracted 1 point for the large amount of typos and missing words!

In numbers
Voice - 2 (max 3)
Characters - 2 (max 3)
Romance - 2 (max 2)
Plot - 1 (max 2)
Conversations - 0
Special setting - 0
Humor - 1
Sensuality - 1
No minus points
Total - 9
B = 8/10 = 4 stars

Mr. Impossible - Loretta Chase

Publication
March 2005, Berkley, 978-0425201503
Carsington Brothers #2

In short
IMPOSSIBLE...
Rupert Carsington, fourth son of the Earl of Hargate, is his aristocratic family's favorite disaster. He is irresistibly handsome, shockingly masculine, and irretrievably reckless, and wherever he goes, trouble follows. Still, Rupert's never met an entanglement - emotional or other - he couldn't escape. Until now.
OUTRAGEOUS...
Now he's in Egypt, stranded in the depths of Cairo's most infamous prison, and his only way out is accepting a beautiful widow's dangerous proposal. Scholar Daphne Pembroke wants him to rescue her brother, who's been kidnapped by a rival seeking a fabled treasure. Their partnership is strictly business: she'll provide the brains, he, the brawn. Simple enough in theory.
INEVITABLE...
Blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat, but as tensions flare and inhibitions melt, the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way.

In words
One of the best heroes ever written, IMO. When you finish a book and want to reread it straightaway, it's a winner. I cannot get enough of this book, so I wanted to start my blog with it. It is full of great humor, has witty conversations, all characters are wonderfully written and I fully believe in the relationship between Daphne and Rupert. And how nice to have a story that's completely set in Egypt.

In numbers
Voice - 3 (max 3)
Characters - 3 (max 3)
Romance - 2 (max 2)
Plot - 1 (max 2)
Conversations - 1
Special setting - 1
Humor - 1
Sensuality - 1
No minus points
Total - 13
A+ = 10/10 = 5 stars