The Personal Touch by Lori Borill

Fairly bland romance
2 stars

Multi-millionaire business owner and self-proclaimed playboy, Clint Hilton, is fed up of his love life being interrupted by his widowed mother who has moved in with him and will not leave. So he hires dating counsellor, Margot Roth, to provide tips on finding a man for his mother.

As soon as Margot and Clint meet the sparks are immediate. Rather than tell his mother the truth, Clint and Margot pretend to date in order for Margot to be able to find out who will be the perfect guy. But how long will they be able to keep up the pretence, especially when at least one of them is playing for keeps.


Although it’s a tried and tested plot, I still quite like a story where a couple pretend to be together only to find out neither are actually pretending. While this book didn’t follow any formula, I feel that perhaps in order to avoid any clichés, no storyline was truly developed – it was all a bit bitty!

Clint was a likeable enough character as a ladies’ man although I didn’t really believe he was as suave or hot as he was supposed to be. On the other hand Margot wasn’t likeable at all. She was whiney, annoying and deluded – especially when it came to dating in which she was supposed to be an expert. While there was enough heat in the novel, it was all a little bland as the pair didn’t have much chemistry.

Overall, this isn’t the worst book that I’ve read and if you have it on your shelf then it’s still worth a go. However, it was a little bland and certainly not what I was looking for when I picked up a Blaze romance. 2 stars.

Twelve Nights by Hope Tarr

Good romance, bad research
3 stars

Ever since his betrothal to the lovely Alys, seven months before, Callum has yearned to have her in his bed. But Alys wants to be sure that they are meant for each other by waiting until they are wed before being together.

So as a present to his Christmastime bride, Callum plans for 12 nights of sinful decadence as soon as they pair are married. But secrets from the past have a way of finding people and changing what the future may hold for the pair.


This book follows on from Bound to Please, another Harlequin Blaze Historical that focuses on Callum’s twin brother, Ewan. All the characters appear to have featured in the first novel and make an appearance in this one but you don’t have to have read the first to totally understand the story or characters in this.

I’ll start off with the good… Both Alys and Callum were likeable and realistic characters. Callum was strong but with a real weakness for Alys and Alys, a girl with a past, was still relatable and someone to root for. The pair had good chemistry and a very real love for each other even if the sex scenes weren’t particularly hot or plentiful.

The plot was interesting and kept me interested and I really did enjoy Father Fearghas’s journey and the things he encountered.

Now onto the bad.,, This book is set in Scotland in the 1400s but I was constantly thumping my head against the table while reading the book as the language, spelling and context of the words used was abominable. The characters “spoke” in an accent I’ve never heard anyone of the islands (or anywhere else in Scotland) speak and with words that I’ve never heard of and it was cringeworthy in the extreme. It’s like the author thought to throw in a few “ochs”, “ayes” and “the noos” and she’s got herself a Scottish novel. I’m not expecting complete historical accuracy but a little research really wouldn’t go amiss. Just because people say a word differently doesn’t mean you have to spell them all differently! And some actually have proper spellings which the author completely disregards. Add to that the smattering of Americanisms and I was constantly jarred from the novel as I was reading.

I feel like I’m being extremely generous in giving this book 3 stars when I had so many bad things to say about it. However, I have to say that I liked the story, had no problem finishing it and that’s despite all the flaws which is saying something! I’ll admit that perhaps I shouldn’t read novels set in Scotland as something invariably annoys me. If you’re like me then perhaps I would pass on this book but if you’re not bothered by things like that then I would recommend this book to you. The story’s good and you can escape for a couple of hours.

In Good Hands by Kathy Lyon

Terrible Romance
1 star

Corporate Executive, Roger Martell, needs a treatment for his sky high blood pressure since no modern medicine seems to be working. A chance encounter in an elevator with tempting Amber Smithson may be just the thing he’s been looking for.

Since Dr Amber was fired for practising alternative medicine, she’s made it her mission to help those in need. And Roger is definitely in need. But once he gets her into bed will she be able to leave?


This is the follow on book from Taking Care of Business – Roger was the hero’s best friend from that book. Having said that both book stands completely alone so you don’t need to have read that one before reading this one.

Unfortunately, while I really enjoyed Taking Care of Business, this book was completely the opposite. Amber wasn’t just unsympathetic but also completely unlikeable. Added to that she was preachy, stereotypical and annoying – not the ideal heroine. Roger was fine although a little blah all round. While there were plenty of sex scenes, without any connection or chemistry they all fell a little flat. In the end I couldn’t help but feel that Roger deserved someone a whole lot nicer than Amber.

On top of this I felt the story was weak and at times bordered on ridiculous. It was a real struggle not only to finish this book but also to even remember what the book was about once I’d put it down.

For a Blaze this was a real disappointment. I like to be swept away by the romance, lifestyles, characters and sex and this book didn’t deliver on any. 1 star.

Taking Care of Business by Kathy Lyons

Entertaining Fantasy Escape
4 stars

Julie Thompson's business is failing and she desperately needs a distraction. One comes in the form of a sexy encounter in an elevator with a hunky handyman which soon turns from sexy encounters to a fledgling relationship.

Millionaire CEO James Samuel Finn has always had a problem with people being only after him for his money and so he lets Julie think he's part of the maintenance crew. But as their encounters change and feelings start to emerge will his secret destroy what they've started together.


This was an enjoyable story and it really kept me hooked. With such an obvious source of conflict between the pair it could easily have been quite a predictable book but I never got bored and didn't once anticipate exactly what would happen next.

I liked Julie - strong and confident yet still likeable and relatable. Sam was an ideal hero - a little geeky but still strong and sexy (although I couldn't really enjoy the image of lycra cycling shorts!). He had flaws and was unsure and worried at times but he made the perfect partner for Julie. Together they had great chemistry and the sex was plentiful, hot and at times a little kinky. Just as you would expect from a Blaze novel.

Following on from this book is In Good Hands (Harlequin Blaze) which is Roger's story and I'm hoping we get a little more of Sam and Julie in there, too.

Overall this was an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours and I liked it a lot. 4 stars.

Just Fooling Around by Kathleen O'Reilly and Julie Kenner

Basic stories – ridiculous premise
2 stars

This is a set of 4 short stories (or encounters) all based around April Fool’s Day and the Franklin siblings who are all cursed to receive bad luck on this one day each year.


CAM’S CATASTROPHE by Kathleen O’Reilly
The oldest of the Franklin siblings, Cam refuses to be laid low by a curse. So each April Fool’s Day he does something outrageous and laughs in the face of the curse that plagues his family. And each year he finds himself in the E.R. being cared for by Dr. Jenna Ferrar.

This story spanned about 4 years with the relationship building up over the space of a couple of hours over one day in each of those years. With that in mind, the fact that these two people could discover feelings for each other (or probably even remember each other) after such a teeny tiny amount of interaction made the story unbelievable and a little frustrating.


DARCY’S DARK DAY by Julie Kenner
Darcy Franklin is determined to visit New York on April Fool’s Day to show the curse can’t hurt her. Determined to save her from the curse, Cam asks his best friend, Evan, to make sure no harm befalls Darcy. But what Cam doesn’t know is that Evan has always had a crush on Darcy and this is the perfect opportunity for him to make his move.

Curse aside – this was a sweet story if a little unsatisfying in terms of romance. Not bad though and easily the best story of the four.


DEVON’S DILEMMA by Kathleen O’Reilly
In order to hide from the curse, Devon holes herself up in a fortress of a house in a remote town. On April Fool’s night she receives a visit from airman, Chance, who’s happy to take her mind off the bad events that are sure to follow.

It wasn’t the story that was ridiculous with this effort but the fact that Devon lived in such a state of fear from a curse that only struck one day a year. Regardless, Chance didn’t seem like long-term material and I didn’t believe in the romance.


REG’S RESCUE by Julie Kenner
Reg Franklin is the one sibling determined to find the cause of and break the curse. Because of the curse he let go of the only woman he’d ever loved to keep her safe. But now she’s back and the curse just might be ready to be broken.

While I liked this story and the two characters – to my mind Reg didn’t love Anne enough to be with her and it was only his lust driving him to get back with her. Disappointing.


I feel I could really have got behind the premise of a curse that inflicts a whole family for one day a year if it had been handled a little less clumsily and with a little bit more reality – as strange as that may sound. As it was, the whole book was fantastical, a bit baffling and utterly ridiculous. Shame, really. 2 stars and the extra one is only because I finished all the stories and didn’t mind Julie Kenner’s attempts.

His Little Black Book by Heather MacAllister

Frustratingly bland short stories

3 stars

This is a collection of three short stories all based around one wrong text message sent by the boss of an advertising agency and the consequences of the text.

Text and the Single Girl

Junior copywriter Sophie Callahan is determined to move on up the corporate ladder so when she gets a text to attend a private party with the creative director of the ad agency she sees it as her great chance. But when she gets to the beach house she finds the party only consists of client Adrian Dean – what will they do to pass time when a hurricane strikes?

Neither Sophie or Adrian were particularly likeable characters – Sophie because she was too grasping and Adrian because he felt too weak. With that the story fell flat and I didn’t believe that the pair would ever have a happy ever after.

Text Appeal

On her way to the beach house party, Mia Weiss skids off the road in the hurricane only to be rescued by hottie, Kevin Powell. Mia has always been smart in love but Kevin makes her want to throw all her resolutions out the window and just wait out the storm in his bed.

This was a fair enough story but it wasn’t particularly exciting and it was obvious that Kevin and Mia’s attraction was purely physical for the vast majority of the story which is not great when you’re reading a romance.

Safe Text

Being assistant to a demanding boss is running Cammy ragged especially since she’s infatuated with him. But Gil, Cammy’s former partner has the perfect cure in mind and it involved changing her mind about the right man for her while the storm rages outside.

While being the best of the three stories, this one was let down as Cammy had given up three years of her life and a promising career due to her ‘love’ of her boss. Gil deserved a better woman.

For all the stories I didn’t like the fact that all the women were so hung up on or obsessed with Jonathon – the boss of the agency and the man who sent the original text. I know that without that fact the stories wouldn’t make sense but who can root for women who are so pathetic and delusional? Unfortunately this anthology is only worth 3 stars and even then I think I’m being quite generous.

How To Marry A Duke by Vicky Dreilling

Mixed bag romance

3 stars

Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne is looking for a wife but all he finds are silly, simpering girls. So in order to make the best choice, he hires London’s respectable and proper matchmaker, Tessa Mansfield.

Tessa is determined to find a love match for the duke even if his criteria are a little more practical. So she invites 24 of the ton’s most beautiful women to compete in a scandalous competition for his hand. But then she breaks a matchmaker’s number one rule by falling in love with the groom.

This is Vicky Dreiling’s debut novel and overall it was a fairly enjoyable read. However it really didn’t present anything new or different from other romance books and I’m not sure I’ll actually remember much about it in a couple of weeks.

Tessa was an enjoyable character – independent and strong without being a cliché. Unfortunately all the other female characters were insipid dimwits that I couldn’t take to at all. I also liked Tristan – your typical rakish duke brought down by love but if I’m honest the pair had little chemistry and not enough heat or emotion to give you that ‘butterflies in your stomach’ feeling that you want when reading romance.

The story was a little disjointed and didn’t always flow. Towards the middle I wondered whether anything exciting was actually going to happen and the ending was so drawn out that I could have screamed! I felt that all the characters were ridiculously proper on occasion – probably correct to the time period but a little dull none the less. And the hugely devastating secret of Tessa’s turned out to be fairly tepid compared to other books I’ve read which was a little anticlimactic.

I actually enjoyed reading this book and it was never a chore to pick it up. It wasn’t overly exciting but if you’ve got it on your bookshelf then it’s worth a read. 3 stars.