Author: Jo Leigh

Guest Review: To the Limit by Jo Leigh

Posted July 16, 2013 by Judith in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: To the Limit by Jo LeighReviewer: Judith
To the Limit by Jo Leigh
Publisher: Harlequin, Harlequin Blaze
Publication Date: July 23rd 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 224
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four-stars

Subject: Captain Sam "Jaws" Brody

Mission: Test his limits…and push hers!

Air force pilot Sam Brody's posting at Holloman AFB is a new start…and a brutal reminder that he'll never fly again. The bright side? It's the same town as teacher (and widow) Emma Lockwood—the woman he's always had a major thing for. The woman who married his best friend….

For years, Emma ignored the spark between her and Sam. Now that he's in town, the spark has turned into full-on electrical overload! She tells herself to stay grounded. She doesn't want another hotshot flyboy, no matter how sexy. But with every night of wicked passion with Sam, she finds herself closer to the point of no return…. 

Uniformly Hot!  The Few. The Proud. The Sexy as Hell.

Romance novels featuring the military in one form or another have become more and more popular as the United States has been involved in the armed conflict in the Middle East over the past decade and beyond.  One of the saddest of ramifications of sons, brothers, nephews, fathers, uncles going overseas is that many are destined never to return.  The fear that one’s special someone may be next is an ever present reality for spouses and families.  This story highlights the fallout and the emotional baggage for a woman whose husband was not only killed, but who frequently chose the adrenaline rush of fast planes and fast women over her long before his death.  Her determination to never again become a kind of victim of an adrenaline junkie is put to the test in this story where her hubby’s best friend, also a fighter pilot, is now assigned in the town where she is now living.  The only thing, though, is that because of a glitch with his eyesight, he is now grounded.  That makes him far more available.  Add in the fact that these two have had “sparks” for one another for years, and you have the makings of a sizzling romance that is definitely loaded with tons of emotional baggage.  There is real fear here, on the part of Emma.  And there is serious disappointment and a sense of loss for Sam.  How do these two work this all out?

This is a beautifully written novel that is serious, edgy, and built around characters that smack of the reality many families and left-behind spouses face when their men go to war or are engaged in war-related professions.  Like all good fiction, the story has the feel of reality and is a fictional look at people who deal with the realities of a nation engaged in armed conflict and how that affects lives here at home as well as overseas.  It is a story that will educate as Sam is involved in some serious ground-related training that well may save many lives, a new slant on his life that he could come to appreciate more than he ever realized.  It is also probing the emotions of a woman who not only lost her husband violently but who knew that his profession of love for her was never enough for him, even before he was permanently out of her life.

Romance lovers, especially those who like it hot and sizzling, will like this story.  And since guys in uniform  are really sexy–trim, fit, and raring to go–who doesn’t like a novel like this?  I think this will be entertaining for anyone who appreciates a really good romantic read.

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Harlequin Blaze. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

four-stars


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Review: Lying in Bed by Jo Leigh

Posted December 29, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Lying in Bed by Jo LeighReviewer: Rowena
Lying in Bed by Jo Leigh
Publisher: Harlequin, Harlequin Blaze
Publication Date: December 18th 2012
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 224
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
two-half-stars

Get Intimate: The Workshop

Explore sensuality and true intimacy at the luxurious Color Canyon Resort.

Private assignments include sexy "homeplay" and more…

The setup was simple. To ferret out a blackmailer, FBI agent Ryan Vail and his partner are going undercover as a couple at an intimacy retreat. But when Ryan wakes to find a replacement "wife" in his bed, he knows he's in big trouble….

FBI agent Angie Wolf is on the job. Sure, there's a wicked attraction between her and Ryan, but they're professionals. Touching, kissing—it's all part of the sting. But the intimacy retreat is doing its job, because each tension-filled night in bed is blurring the line between truth and lie. Now this investigation has turned into one irresistible temptation!

This was a really quick read for me and it sounded like a good read, which is why I requested it for review.

So the set up for this story is two undercover FBI agents are going to work.  Except one of those FBI agents gets caught up on a case and a new agent is sent in to take her place.  A new agent that Special Agent Ryan Vail has an attraction to..one that he doesn’t want to be anywhere near for fear of acting on his attraction to her.  Special Agent Angie Wolfe has had a thing for Ryan Vail since they almost kissed at the Bureau’s Halloween party but by silent mutual agreement, they’re not going there.

So now they’re thrown together, having to pretend to be a happily married couple and it’s straining the already fraying control that they have over their attraction to the other and well, it was cute at first.

Getting to know Ryan was interesting.  On the surface, he’s this total playboy who doesn’t commit to anyone longer than a weekend and he likes his life that way but there’s something about Angie Wolfe that speaks to him and being with her every minute of the day for this undercover operations brings all of that to the front of his mind.  Keeping their relationship strictly professional and platonic has added a new dimension to his attraction to her.  He gets to know her and he likes what her and I thought it was cute, the way that he lusted for her but wanted to keep a distance between them because they worked together.

Then there was Special Agent Angie Wolfe.  She’s had a crush on Ryan for a while now but she’s determined to keep things professional with him because they have to work together after all of this and well, things could end spectacularly bad and she didn’t want to have to deal with the fallout of that so she decided to stay away.

The back and forth between both Ryan and Angie got kind of old as the story progressed.  They’re supposed to be in love and in character but they acted like shy teenagers with all of the not meeting of the eyes, the not speaking up and just overall not acting like grown folks.  What started off as cute, quickly turned into an, “Are you kidding me?” because throughout most of the book, Ryan is trying to give Angie space and I wanted to smack Angie a few times, tell her to get over herself already.

I wish I could have gotten to see Ryan and Angie’s best friends more.  I thought the way that they kept both Ryan and Angie honest was funny and I really wish we could have gotten more from the both of them.

So while I had a few issues with their relationship, I still ended up enjoying the book.  I just wished that Angie and Ryan could have handled their attraction and their issues a little better.

Grade: 2.75 out of 5

This book is available from Harlequin Blaze. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

two-half-stars


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