First up is Ana Leigh's His Boots Under Her Bed (Pocket Star) (ISBN 0743469976), with Garth Fraser off to locate his uncles gold mine. Along the way, he finds himself shanghaied. Almost, anyway, for Rory O'Grady steps in just in time to save him from the ruffians. Garth can't believe she doesn't want him, not the way she kisses him back, but Rory has standards, and a wandering miner-wanna-be isn't high on her list of men she might fall in love with, no matter how handsome he is. Of course, she also doesn't intend to trek into the mountains to find a gold mine either, but life takes unexpected twists and turns. This one is a pretty light, uncomplicated read, but I think it ended a little too far past when the real conflict was resolved. It's earned three of Cupid's five arrows.

Next up is Kat Martin's latest, Heart of Honor (Mira) (ISBN 0778323838), where reform-minded Krista Hart rescues Leif from a circus. The Viking descendant is shocked when she understands his language, and more than grateful when she and her father return to force his release from the man who'd captured him while he was ill after his shipwreck. His sailing adventure from his home island of Draugr didn't turn out quite the way he'd hoped when he set off, but now he has a new opportunity for fresh adventure and a woman he's mighty attracted to in close quarters. Krista and Leif have much to overcome before they can reach a happy ending--they come from entirely different worlds, literally, and Krista's expectations for her future never included falling in love with a man as wild and untamed as Leif. I liked this one quite a lot, not just because of the Viking aspect of the story, but because I liked Leif's single-mindedness that doesn't turn into one of those uber-Alpha things that crosses the line from super-sexy to abusive. This one's earned four arrows.

Finally, we have Sylvia Day's The Stranger I Married (Brava) (ISBN 075821474X) with Isabel and Gerard wedding so they can continue to indulge themselves in affairs they choose. Then Gerard, Marquess of Grayson, disappears for several years, leaving Pel to fend for herself without knowing what's happened to her husband. His return up-ends her world, because Gray isn't the same man returning as when he abandoned her, and this new Gray not only wants her, but a real marriage. While I had some difficulty really buying into some of the reasoning here, I will say I liked this one better than the previous book I read by Ms. Day. Gray is irresistible, so why on earth would any woman resist him? This one gets three arrows as well.

Until next time, happy reading!