ARC Review: She Can Tell by Melinda Leigh

She Can Tell

Author: Melinda Leigh

Publication: Montlake Romance (December 4, 2012)

Description: When a terrible accident abruptly ends her riding career, Rachel Parker returns to Pennsylvania to rebuild her family’s horse farm. But her welcome home is anything but warm. Her sister’s abusive husband and a violent vandal threaten Rachel’s new business and her life. Someone is systematically trying to destroy her. Someone who knows private things about her. Someone who’s been watching her. Now Rachel must face the fact that the sins of her carefully hidden past have returned to haunt her…

Police Chief Mike O’Connell never had trouble drawing the line between his personal life and his job—until he met Rachel Parker. Mike’s investigation uncovers a shocking number of secrets and suspects. But the stalker’s escalating violence convinces him he doesn’t have much time to sort through it all. Whoever is watching Rachel wants her dead. Mike and Rachel race to untangle a web of deceit and lies that stretches two decades into the past—before her stalker strikes again.

My Thoughts: SHE CAN TELL was an amazing thrill-ride that kept me on the edge of my seat and frantically turning the pages until way past my bedtime. Rachel Parker is back in her tome town in Pennsylvania after her riding career ending in a fall that almost killed her. She is trying to fix up the farm she inherited from her grandfather and get her horse training business off the ground. Unfortunately, she faces opposition from her younger sister's abusive husband and an unknown stalker who wants her dead.

Police Chief Mike O'Connell has a full load too. He has on officer out on medical leave which leaves the force short-handed even without demands from some City Council members to provide special protection to the company developing some lakefront property which is being targeted by vandals and picketers. He's already feeling guilty that he didn't spot the murderer who almost killed a friend's fiance sooner. He is wearing himself out trying to do everything even before Rachel's problems start.

Rachel and Mike are attracted to each other as soon as they meet but are kept apart by his desire not to compromise his investigation by having a personal relationship with Rachel and her feeling that she would never be able to love someone which stems from her childhood.

I loved both Mike and Rachel. They were both immensely protective of those they loved. They were smart and grown-up. The conflicts in their relationship were very realistic. The romance in this story made sense.

The mystery part of the plot was well-done too. I was surprised to find out the identity of the stalker but, when I looked back, I could see that the author had left clues for me that I missed. There were lots of potential villains and lots of plot twists to keep me entertained and involved in the story.

Hints at the events in SHE CAN RUN, the first book in this series, made it necessary for me to add that title to my Kindle too. I can't wait to read that one too. Fans of romantic suspense who enjoy fast-paced stories with lots of twists and turns and who want a romance that features two strong characters will really enjoy this title.

Favorite Quote:

"If you're hitting on me," Mike resisted, "drugged women in pain aren't on my list of turn-ons."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, He-Man. You're hot and everything, but sex is the last thing on my mind tonight." She stopped in front of his chair. The thought of being alone again was a ball of unbearable emptiness behind her breastbone.

"You think I'm hot." He grinned up at her. 

Her face heated. "Don't let it go to your head."

"Too late."

I got an ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here.

WoW: The Eldritch Conspiracy by Cat Adams

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This is where we can post our links and see what books others are waiting for. It spotlights upcoming releases.

I can't wait for The Eldritch Conspiracy by Cat Adams which will be released on Jan. 8, 2013. I have enjoyed the earlier books in the series and was even privileged to be able to review a couple of them. Here is the description:

Celia Graves was once an ordinary human, but those days are long gone. Now she strives to maintain her sanity and her soul while juggling both vampire abilities and the powers of a Siren.  

Not every bride needs a bridesmaid who can double as a bodyguard. But Celia's cousin Adriana is no ordinary bride: she's a Siren princess, and she's marrying the king of a small but politically important European country. She's getting death threats from fanatics who want to see the whole Siren race wiped out—including Celia herself, who is half Siren.

Luckily, Celia is on duty when a trip to a bridal salon is interrupted by an assassination attempt, so everyone survives. When Adriana returns to the Siren homeland to try to prevent a coup, Celia is free to hunt for the terrorists and the vile mage who is helping them (while keeping her eyes open for the perfect maid-of-honor dress). 

Assuming the bride and groom both live to see their wedding day, this will be one royal wedding no one will ever forget.

I look forward to catching up with Celia again in January.

Teaser Tuesday: She Can Tell by Melinda Leigh

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I my teaser comes from She Can Tell by Melinda Leigh. This a a romantic suspense title that I received from the Amazon Vine program for review. It was published on Dec. 4. Here is the description:

When a terrible accident abruptly ends her riding career, Rachel Parker returns to Pennsylvania to rebuild her family’s horse farm. But her welcome home is anything but warm. Her sister’s abusive husband and a violent vandal threaten Rachel’s new business and her life. Someone is systematically trying to destroy her. Someone who knows private things about her. Someone who’s been watching her. Now Rachel must face the fact that the sins of her carefully hidden past have returned to haunt her…

Police Chief Mike O’Connell never had trouble drawing the line between his personal life and his job—until he met Rachel Parker. Mike’s investigation uncovers a shocking number of secrets and suspects. But the stalker’s escalating violence convinces him he doesn’t have much time to sort through it all. Whoever is watching Rachel wants her dead. Mike and Rachel race to untangle a web of deceit and lies that stretches two decades into the past—before her stalker strikes again.

Teaser:

"Sarah called me a little after midnight..." Her strides steadied as she reconstructed the events in a logical sequence, but her body remained in constant motion, propelling itself back and forth across the small space like the Energizer Bunny strung out on amphetamines. "Then you were there."

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (Dec. 10, 2012)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

My backyard - Dec. 9, 2012

It's snowing! This is our first snowfall of this very unusual winter. There was snow while I was up north in Duluth over Thanksgiving but this is the first snowfall at my home in Southeastern Minnesota. I just got new tires for my car yesterday so I am ready. (I hope my getting new tires wasn't the cause of our snowfall. ;-)) 

I had a great reading week last week and expect an even better week this week. I have finished all but one of my December review books. Here is what I finished:

She Can Tell by Melinda Leigh was an excellent romantic suspense title. I couldn't put it down as I read frantically to see how the characters I really liked solved the mystery and fell in love. My review will be posted on Dec. 13.

Guardians of Stone was also a romantic suspense title. I really liked the banter between the main characters but felt that the story needed more backstory to let us know about the characters. The plot was complex with new characters added frequently. My review is here. 

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder was an eARC I got from NetGalley. The book will be published on Dec. 18 but Amazon says they are shipping now. This is the sequel to Touch of Power and has the same excellent writing, fast-paced action, and well-developed characters. My finished copy has been ordered and my review will be posted on Dec. 15.

Shadow's Edge by Maureen Lipinski was an enjoyable young adult paranormal about a girl who was born to be a Creatuir Shaman but who wants to give it up to be an ordinary high school girl. I liked the way this story combined the paranormal and high school life. The characters were likable, the plot fast-paced, and the writing well-done. My only complaint is with the word Creatuir since I don't know how to add accents over the e and the u with my keyboard. My review will be posted on Dec. 13.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken was an eARC I got from NetGalley. This one was less successful for me because I felt that it was too long. There were long stretches of the story that seemed unneeded. The premise of this science fiction story was good, the execution faltered for me. My review is here. 

Having some gaps in my blog calendar that don't need to be filled with review books, I went shopping my own TBR mountain to decide what to read next. I chose Fire Season by David Weber for my first free choice book. This is his second young adult novel and follows A Beautiful Friendship. These take place in the same world as his adult Honor Harrington series but much earlier in time.

These are the other books I have planned for next week:

Dying to Tell by Rita Herron is my last December review book. This is a romantic suspense title that I got from Amazon Vine. It will be released on Dec. 25. 

The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts is the final book in her Inn BoonsBoro trilogy. I have been wanting to read this one since it first arrived on Nov. 6.

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund has been sitting on my YA TBR mountain since Jan. 15, 2010. I think it about time that I got to it. 

Dragon's Heart by Jane Yolen has been on the stack even longer. I got it Jan. 5, 2010. This is the fourth book in a YA fantasy series. I read the first three books years ago. This fourth book was published 12 years after book three in The Pit Dragon series and 27 years after the first book was published. 

This should be a good reading week. I don't have any after-school meetings or commitments and my Christmas shopping is nearly complete. What do you have planned for this coming week?

Stacking the Shelves (Dec. 9, 2012)

Tynga of Tynga's Reviews has a meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Visit her site to check out the linky and see what everyone gets. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow.

Here are the books I added to my stack this week:

Harlequin is starting a new contemporary line called KISS. They are offering free books to advertise the line. I got Waking Up Married by Mira Lynn Kelly for my Kindle. Check out this description:

Her first thought: "Who are you?"

It's the morning after her cousin's bachelorette party in Vegas and Megan Scott wakes up with the mother of all hangovers. Even worse, she's in a stranger's penthouse having woken up with something else as well—a funny, arrogant, sexy…husband!

Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible—been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter…no, Connor Reed and she's gone from first meet to marriage in one night!

Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor's shocking bombshell?

"I don't want a divorce."

While I was looking at someone's post about Christmas books they planned to read I saw A Cajun Werewolf Christmas by Selena Blake and was intrigued. Cajun? Werewolf?

I did some research at Amazon and discovered that this is a novella in a series of paranormal romances. I could get the whole set - five novels, two stories and 450 pages of bonus content for a mere $6.99. I couldn't pass up adding the Stormy Weather Collector's Edition by Selena Blake to my stack.

Finally, I added She Can Run by Melinda Leigh to my stack after I finished She Can Tell which I had received from Amazon Vine for review. I loved the suspense and the hints about this earlier story. Here is a quote from the description at Amazon: 

A 2012 International Thriller Award nominee for Best First Novel, She Can Run is a sexy, satisfying debut from award-winning author Melinda Leigh, packed with enough suspense and romance to get even the tamest heart racing!

What did you add to your stack this week?

ARC Review: Guardians of Stone by Anita Clenney

Guardians of Stone

Author: Anita Clenney

Publication: Montlake Romance (December 4, 2012)

Description: Kendall Morgan is a human bloodhound. Spending her childhood hunting relics with her ambitious archeologist father, she knew the two of them shared a sixth sense for the history and location of objects—sometimes even people. What she didn’t know was that their paranormal gift could ultimately be their undoing.

After the tragic plane crash that killed her father as well as her childhood best friend, Kendall dedicated her life to finding and protecting relics. When mysterious, sexy billionaire Nathan Larraby hires her for his latest expedition—the search for four powerful relics —she’s thrown into a world of high-octane danger. He sends brooding mercenary Jake Stone to watch Kendall’s back, but he may have created danger of a different kind.

As the team chases down clues, a man called the Reaper makes a play for the artifacts and will stop at nothing to put them to his own sinister use. What’s worse is that Nathan hasn’t told the whole story, and the dark secrets he’s keeping could cost them the mission…and their lives.

My Thoughts: This book starts a new series by Anita Clenney and, unlike most series starters, this one doesn't start with tons of story-building and characters introductions. We find ourselves with Kendall Morgan meeting with her mysterious new boss billionaire Nathan about finding a relic that he is searching for. Kendall has a psychic talent that lets her locate missing objects and also lets her learn about people when she touches them - which isn't very good for her love life. Nathan has also recruited a reluctant employee of his - Jake Stone - to go along. Nathan has some sort of hold over Jake.

Neither Jake nor Kendall are used to working with others and both resent the other's presence which doesn't stop them from being attracted to each other. I got a little tired of Jake's constant sexual innuendos though I liked Kendall's comebacks. 

The story is filled with adventure as Jake and Kendall travel to Italy looking for a lost monastery which guards some mystical relics. The story is filled with twists and turns as a new villain seems to enter every couple of pages.

While the dialog was well-done and the repartee amusing, I missed character development. Each character had lots of secrets and back-story that we don't ever find out about. The tantalizing hints were very frustrating for me. I wanted to know how Jake became a mercenary soldier. I wanted to know more about the accident the killed Kendall's father and best friend Adam. And I definitely wanted to know what was happening with Nathan that gave him glowing eyes and super-human strength. 

I will have to read the next books in the series to find out the answers to these questions and to find out if there is ever a romance between Jake and Kendall or Nathan and Kendall. (I know there won't be a romance between Jake and Nathan!)

Fans of snappy dialog and high adventure featuring ghosts, mysterious relics, and shady villains will enjoy this one. 

Favorite Quote:

"You knocked her out."

"How else was I supposed to look for the box? The only thing I want to have sex with is you." He stepped even closer and she could feel frustration and heat rolling off him. "I don't even know why. You won't follow orders. You take risks. And you get under my skin like an itch. Sometimes I just want to...Ah, hell." He yanked her to him and kissed her.

I got this ARC through the Amazon Vine program. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Guardians of Stone by Anita Clenney

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

This week I am spotlighting Guardians of Stone by Anita Clenney. I got this romantic suspense title through the Amazon Vine program. It was released on Dec. 4. Here is the description:

Kendall Morgan is a human bloodhound. Spending her childhood hunting relics with her ambitious archeologist father, she knew the two of them shared a sixth sense for the history and location of objects—sometimes even people. What she didn’t know was that their paranormal gift could ultimately be their undoing.

After the tragic plane crash that killed her father as well as her childhood best friend, Kendall dedicated her life to finding and protecting relics. When mysterious, sexy billionaire Nathan Larraby hires her for his latest expedition—the search for four powerful relics —she’s thrown into a world of high-octane danger. He sends brooding mercenary Jake Stone to watch Kendall’s back, but he may have created danger of a different kind.

As the team chases down clues, a man called the Reaper makes a play for the artifacts and will stop at nothing to put them to his own sinister use. What’s worse is that Nathan hasn’t told the whole story, and the dark secrets he’s keeping could cost them the mission…and their lives.

Beginning:

Her first date in six weeks blown to hell. Kendall Morgan press the cell phone to her ear. "When do you need me?" She cast an apologetic glance at her good-looking new neighbor who'd finally gotten around to asking her out.

Friday 56:

"That man's either with her or following her," Kendall said.