Hello, and welcome back! Staying indoors with a monster stack of reading material is an excellent idea this week, with the heat and humidity kicking up even more here. We spent a fair amount of time outside in the heat today at a booksigning in Maryland to see Nora Roberts, Virginia Kantra, Caridad Pineiro and Mariah Stewart. It was totally worth the sweating, but I sincerely hope that the next signing we go to is in a slightly cooler season.

This time out I have Mia Marlowe's Touch of a Rogue (Brava, received from publisher). Jacob Preston has agreed to search for an artifact for Lady Julianne Cambourne, but he has other designs on the lady, very improper designs. Julianne fits all but one of his conditions for embarking on an affair, and the one she fails to meet is the most important: she is unmarried. She has every intention of staying unwed now, too, but she may persuade Jacob to ignore her widowed status to get in his bed, and she can be very persuasive. Jacob certainly isn't strong enough to resist a woman he wants when it's clear she wants him equally. But he is so used to keeping himself at a distance from others that letting Julianne in is tricky. Keeping her safe during his investigation is even trickier, as the woman refuses to sit idly by and allow him to do all the work himself, which will put her in grave danger. With a villain set on having the item Julianne is searching for, her life is in quite a lot of danger, though it's her heart she'll have to protect herself, as Jacob is far too tempting to resist, in bed and out. I think readers who liked the first book in this series will want to snag this one, as they'll get to revisit those characters. Jacob is complicated, with his unusual ability to sense things via touch, and Julianne is rather complicated, as well, with her past coloring her present and her very independent spirit. This one is plenty steamy, and for fans of Arthurian lore, there's a lot here to enjoy. I didn't love this one, but it was a fair way to occupy myself on a sticky summer day while staying inside out of the heat and sun. I'm borrowing three of Cupid's five arrows for this one.

Until next time, happy reading!

Romance Novels Forum