RESCUE ME - An anthology of steamy romantic suspense

I read a great book over the weekend - RESCUE ME - a three author anthology from Cherry Adair, Lora Leigh and Cindy Gerard. I'm not taking time to put up snazzy links with their websites, but have provided them below - I suggest checking them out, although I'm not finding Cherry Adair's to be very current. I hope that means that she's hard at work on another book!

http://www.t-flac.com/

http://www.loraleigh.com/

http://www.cindygerard.com/index_home.php

My favorite romance genre of all is suspense, and these three authors are some of the very best at writing romantic suspense. While Lora Leigh's story is (IMO) the most sensual of the three, I found it very similar to one of her previous releases, Hidden Agendas.

I highly enjoyed this anthology and give it a very strong recommendation.

I've decided to give away my copy of RESCUE ME. Yes, it's been read, but it looks "almost" new. If you're interested, just leave a comment here - I'll let this one run a while - until Friday evening. As usual, US/Canada addresses only, please.

Another good book I finished this weekend is by new author Kathleen Grieve, titled THE DOCTOR'S DECEPTION, a medical romance from The Wild Rose Press. Kathleen is going to be a guest blogger here soon, so be on the look out for that.

Have a great week!

Laurie

Cindy Gerard's INTO THE DARK

I recently read Cindy Gerard's (http://www.cindygerard.com) upcoming release, INTO THE DARK, and suggest, no insist, that if you love romantic suspense as much as I do, you get your hands on this book and all previous books in the series - immediately! I started this series totally out of order, as I seem prone to do with most series. I feel that the books in The Bodyguards series are all stand-alone books, but your reading experience will be enriched muchly if you're aware of the prior happenings. You're going to want all of the others anyway, so you may as well get them all right off the bat!
I was very excited to have the opportunity to review this book for Cindy - and I gave it five blue ribbons - something I rarely do. I can count on one hand the times I've given a book five ribbons! This is my Romance Junkies review:

A woman seemingly made of the finest tempered steel and an intensely strong man with a soft spot only for her hit the road running in search of answers to secrets about her past, and find much, much more during the journey, in Cindy Gerard’s INTO THE DARK.

When Amy Walker is forced off the road by a huge SUV on her way home from work, adrenaline and sheer terror take over and she finds herself fighting for her life. When she takes the life of the assassin chasing her, she knows that a situation this serious will require the assistance of the man who rescued her from terrorist kidnappers several months prior, regardless of the fact that she doesn’t want to involve him. After spending a passionate night with Dallas, Amy has second thoughts and tries to sneak out so as to not get him tied up in her troubles. When that fails and he’s determined to help her, she tells him an incredible, almost unbelievable, story about her grandfather and the atrocious acts he has committed against Amy and her mother. Amy is determined to save her reporter friend Jenna, who is missing in Argentina, while settling the score with her grandfather, despite the heavy risk to their very lives.

There wasn’t anything that Dallas Garrett wouldn’t do for Amy Walker; he never stopped thinking of her after his team rescued her months before. She immediately and inexplicably disappeared after her rescue. When Amy shows up at his door during an icy rainstorm and collapses in his arms, it is obvious that danger has once again found her. Dallas is battling his own personal demons, but can’t refuse Amy anything. He thinks the story about her grandfather is pretty incredible, but so is the evidence that she has against him. Dallas agrees to help Amy find Jenna and shortly after they set out, he realizes that the risk and intrigue have only just begun. He only hopes that he can keep them alive long enough to convince Amy of how much he loves her.

Amy Walker has filled the minds of readers and Dallas Garrett alike, since she first appeared in INTO THE BRINK, earlier in this series. Readers have been waiting for her story and it was well worth the wait. Amy and Dallas are both deeply damaged and the strengths that they bring out in each other may be their only saving grace. Cindy Gerard has written a passionately sensual book; the love scenes in INTO THE DARK aren’t simply about sex. They are beautifully written and emotionally fulfilling. Some of the characters from previous books in this series make appearances and it is fun to catch up with them. A new, somewhat dark character plays a role that will leave readers wondering what, if anything, might be in store for him in the future. We can only hope!

This book is an excellent wrap-up to a stellar series and I would give it more than five ribbons if possible!

Thanks for stopping - I sincerely hope you'll check out this excellent series.
Laurie
:)

Cindy Gerard's UNDER THE WIRE

Cindy Gerard's Bodyguard Series offers up intrigue, suspense, and heartpounding passion. I have read all but one of the books in this series and have loved each and every one. I have to be honest with you and say that the upcoming May '07 release of INTO THE DARK is the one I'm anticipating the very most - Dallas and Amy have had me rooting for them for two books now!
Here is my Romance Junkies review for UNDER THE WIRE:

With seventeen years separating an exciting love affair to present time, can a former Special Forces soldier and a dedicated nurse attempt to put past hurts and misunderstandings behind them and find their way to a future together?

While Lily Campora, nurse for Doctors Without Borders, works in the damp, dark jungles of Nicaragua, she eventually finds herself discouraged by the death and destruction that she and her medical team face every day. When a fellow nurse, who is a dear friend, is killed in a helicopter crash, a flight that Lily should have been on, she is stricken with guilt. When Lily meets a handsome young soldier, Manolo “Manny” Ortega, that same evening at a dinner hosted by a general in the Nicaraguan Army, she feels an immediate attraction, and despite her initial reluctance, she gives in to unexpected desire and the two begin a secret love affair. The affair ends almost as quickly as it begins a few nights later, with Lily being called away in the middle of the night and then told that Manny has died. Seventeen years later, Lily learns that Manny is very much alive, and working as a police detective in the United States. When serious threats are made against someone especially dear to Lily, she knows the only person she can turn to for help is Manny, although she is confused over why he never searched for her when he came to the states.
The moment freedom fighter Manolo “Manny” Ortega first sees Lily, he is determined to get to know her and learn the reason for the haunted look in her eyes. Despite her being a few years older than him, he immediately connects with her, telling her things about himself that he has never told anyone, and quickly falls in love with her. When Lily quietly leaves him in the night, and he is subsequently taken away, shot and beaten, and left for dead, he is certain that she has betrayed him. Manny never forgot Lily; his hatred of her seeming to strengthen his motivation to fight for his life and survive. When Manny is approached to help Lily some seventeen years later, with Lily literally begging him herself, he cannot refuse, although he still isn’t convinced that Lily wasn’t the one who betrayed him all those years ago.
Cindy Gerard has written a wonderfully suspenseful book with UNDER THE WIRE. Lily and Manny are both extremely likeable characters, whose emotions and beliefs are excellently and realistically written. Locations and settings are described with absolute clarity, taking readers into each scene with the characters. Secondary characters, with their unique personalities and relationships, add a great deal of interest and intrigue to the story, past and present. Frequent flashbacks take readers into the past and go far in interpreting the lives and personalities of Lily and Manny. I have read all but one of the previous books in this series and have enjoyed each and every one; UNDER THE WIRE is no exception. These books are a real treat when read in order, but each capably stands on its own. I give a high recommendation for this book, as well as the previous books, to all readers who enjoy riveting romantic suspense.
Check out Cindy Gerard's very cool website http://www.cindygerard.com/ - if you'd like to go to Amazon and order your own copy, here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/031298104X/ref=s9_asin_image_1/103-2381367-0694212
Thanks for checking it out!
Laurie