Hello, and welcome back! Things here are hectic as usual, and the soup pot has been busy, as has the bread machine. I expect all of those things to continue, but I have still been finding my reading time. This time, I have two new books to share with you.

Captive Heart (Warner) by Sarah McKerrigan is up first with her second warrior maiden, Helena of Rivenloch bent on stopping her sister's wedding to the dreaded Norman. Unfortunately, in her drunken attempt to kill the man, his knight Colin du Lac captures her. She hatches a new scheme then, to kidnap the knight and exchange him for her sister's freedom. But things don't seem to be going Helena's way. Colin and Helena are well-matched. He is charming and witty, she is impulsive and fiery. I liked this one, though the conflict did seem stretched a little thin, but the story moves along at a good pace, keeping a reader's interest until the very last page. This one earns three and a half of Cupid's five arrows.

His Little Black Book (Pocket) by Thea Devine is next, after an exceedingly long wait while Ms. Devine was switching publishers. Brooke, Delia, and M.J. are best friends who've had enough of the men they've dated through college, with little success. Brooke hatches a plan to find them better men, by starting their very own Mistress Club and following the rules they design. Of course, if they don't follow the rules, well, then things might not go as well as they'd hoped. This one was worth the wait, though it falls more on the side of erotica than romance, which suited me fine in this case. The story is hot, and there's a bit of mystery toward the end to twist things around yet again. What fun! I sincerely hope that it doesn't take as long for Ms. Devine's next book to hit shelves. This one gets four arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!