Welcome to Cozy Jo's Romance Review blog. This is where you'll find reviews and discussions on historical or contemporary romance books and maybe a few other bits and bobs thrown in for good measure.
So come on in, sit down and find yourself a good romance book to read.

Sunday 18 May 2008

Hitting the Mark by Jill Monroe


A fun and feisty romance
5 stars

Danni Ford comes from a long line of con-artists and no-hopers. But she’s bucking the family trend and trying to play it straight. When devilishly sexy Eric comes on the scene she finally feels like she’s found someone that makes being good, oh so bad.

But Eric isn’t quite as normal as he makes out and when Danni finds out she’s been played, then all bets are off. And just why shouldn’t she get something pleasurable out of this particular con? Her revenge will be to tie up her good for nothing boyfriend until she gets the truth from him…before he finds out all of her secrets.


This is the first book of Jill Monroe’s that I’ve read and it definitely won’t be the last. The story was fun, very fast paced, interesting and exciting. It had me hooked from the first page to the last and I couldn’t wait to read more.

Danni was a great character. Feisty and strong, she had a criminal past but still retained a lot of vulnerability over whether she deserved a second chance. Eric was a typical alpha male – strong, confident and in charge – the best kind of male to watch fall head over heels in love. I enjoyed their interactions and together they made a perfect couple. Their chemistry was scorching and as such, the sex scenes were very sexy and fun.

The book also had the secondary romance of Danni’s best friend, Cassie and the man who broke her heart back in high school, Dirk. The story of how they got back together because of their sex tape that ended up on the internet, was almost as good as the main story.

All in all, this was a well-written, interesting and fun story that I would recommend to those that enjoy a good Blaze romance. I will look out for more of Jill Monroe’s books in the future as this one is definitely worth 5 stars.

Sunday 11 May 2008

Have Mercy by Jo Leigh


Good addition to the series
4 stars

Pet concierge Mercy Jones is much more comfortable with the pets at Hush than she is with the people. But when mysterious Will Desmond checks in with his faithful companion Buster, Mercy might just have to change her opinion. Buster is adorable, but it's Will that's got her drooling.

Will is determined to do whatever it takes to have Mercy in his bed. His sensual suite was just made for seduction. The more time they spend together – the more the pair bring out the animal in each other. With all this time spent on pleasure – Will is neglecting his duties, but what will Mercy think when she realises what Will and his four legged side kick are really up to?


The latest addition to the Do Not Disturb mini-series, this book continues the fun that's to be found in the sensuous Hush hotel in Manhattan. As with all the books in this series – this book stands completely alone so you don't have to have read the others to enjoy this.

In this particular story – both Will and Mercy are stand out characters. Mercy is a girl with a past but she's sweet, determined and slightly vulnerable. Will also has a past but his continues to haunt him. Despite that he's strong, confident and delicious! Together the pair have good chemistry and the sex scenes sizzle nicely.

The story itself works well and I do enjoy seeing a man brought to his knees by love – especially when he's not expecting it! The crime/mystery element isn't too overpowering and it's not really too difficult to figure out what's going on – but that's not such a bad thing as it's the romance that really matters. My two minor complaints would be that I thought Will got a bit of a bashing during the conclusion – I didn't really think what he'd done was all that bad! And, I would have loved to see some sort of epilogue. I hate it when a book wraps up the storyline and romance and then just ends. I want to read what's going on a couple of months later!!

Anyway, this was, as I've said, a good addition to the Do Not Disturb series. It's fun, interesting and well-written. A good story to wile away an afternoon. 4 stars.

Saturday 3 May 2008

The Man Tamer by Cindi Myers


Enjoyable if predictable Blaze romance
4 stars

Popular columnist Rachel Westover is proud of her moniker The Man Tamer – there isn’t a sports-loving, self-absorbed, slobby male that she can’t turn into the perfect mate. But then she meets Ozzy lacrosse star Garret “Wild Man” Kelly and all bets are off. The gorgeous, rumpled man presents quite a challenge but Rachel never said her behaviour modification techniques were easy.

As an extra incentive, if she succeeds at domesticating Garret, she will land herself her very own TV show. The more time she spends with Garret, the more she begins to find his boyish, sports-loving ways charming and irresistible – so much so she’s abandoning all her strategies. But she’s determined that one of them will end up tamed – she just hopes it’s not her.


This was an enjoyable offering from the Blaze line with some enjoyable characters, good sex and fun situations.

The plot itself is fairly predictable in that you know where the majority of the conflict is going to come from, although what happens for the majority of the book isn’t by any means formulaic or dull. The premise is interesting and different enough to make it stand out from many other books in the line.

Rachel is a great heroine – strong and sassy yet believably insecure and personable. She’s really someone you can identify with or aspire to. Garret is equally a good hero – masculine, rugged and a real man’s man but with enough heart to make him irresistible. My only complaint is that with Garret being an Ozzy, we are subjected to quite a few awful clichés in his habits and speech for the first part of the book – but that settles down soon enough and it no longer becomes a noticeable issue.

The sex scenes are fun, sexy and plentiful and definitely help the book live up to Blaze’s tagline of a scorching hot sexy read.

Overall, this is a well-written, enjoyable book that is certainly worth a read. It may be slightly predictable, but the fun characters, interesting premise and great sex really make up for it. 4 stars.