Book review: Too Hot to Handle (Jackson #2) by Victoria Dahl

This good girl's going bad…. Merry Kade has always been the good girl. The best friend. The one who patiently waits for the guy to notice her. Well, no more. Merry has just scored her dream job, and it's time for her life to change. As the new curator of a museum in Wyoming, she'll supervise a lot of restoration work. Luckily she's found the perfect contractor for the job.

Shane Harcourt can't believe that someone wants to turn a beat-up ghost town into a museum attraction. After all, the last thing he needs is the site of his dream ranch turning into a tourist trap. He'll work on the project, if only to hasten its failure…until the beautiful, quirky woman in charge starts to change his mind.

For the first time ever, Merry has a gorgeous stud hot on her heels. But can she trust this strong, silent man, even if he is a force of nature in bed? When Shane's ulterior motives come out, he'll need to prove to Merry that a love like theirs may be too hot to handle, but it's impossible to resist

This is book 2 in the Jackson series but you can read either of these alone and be just fine. In this book we  get a better view of Shane who is Cole's friend from book 1 and Merry who is Grace's friend from book 1.  Merry is having a hard time figuring out where she belongs in this world. Nicknamed by family as a slacker and growing up poor without a dad she's had a rough time. She is usually perceived as just one of the guys by men she's not had good luck with men either. Finally she's got a job renovating a old ghost town into a museum town in Wyoming. A dream job for her as she enjoys the work and quickly falls in love with the ghost town. Unfortunately the job opportunity is not what it seems and the job might not remain hers. Trying to impress the people who hold the money she looks for a carpenter to spruce some things up so she can show how good it could be. Intro Shane Harcourt the carpenter. Yup! Shane is a Carpenter but he is also the land owner around the ghost town. He got the land but not the money from his grandfather's will when he died. He feels he should have gotten it so he's suing for it. Problem is Merry doesn't know that and she hires him. He likes her but doesn't know her and is hoping to glean info on what's going on by acting as her carpenter.  It all starts to fall to pieces when he starts falling for her and eventually the cat is out of the bag and there is of course trouble. I liked this one. Both characters actually had troubling pasts. Shane's dad disappeared as a kid and the uncertainty of that has always affected him. Merry has issues with her family and missing dad as well. I enjoyed the story, the sex scenes were great and the conflict was intense at times.  Both characters has issues to work through to find each other. Good solid read for me. 4 out of 5 stars for Too Hot to Handle by Victoria Dahl.

Find out more about this series and Victoria Dahl here. www.victoriadahl.com

Book review: Strong Enough to Love (Jackson #1.2) by Victoria Dahl

Available March 1st. Was Free at the time.

Photographer Eve Hill was completely comfortable being single. Or at the very least, she was completely resigned to it. There was only one man who made every nerve in her body and brain light up when he walked into a room. But Brian Stewart had always been off limits. Hell, she'd never even kissed him!

For Brian, returning to Jackson Hole feels like coming home. But that has nothing to do with the town. It's Eve drawing him back. Eve and the chance to finally see if they have something or if it's all been in his imagination.

Eve doesn't think she can open her heart to Brian again after getting hurt so badly before, though her body still wants him. She offers Brian one night to fulfill their long-denied fantasies, and that's it. No love or promises, just a chance to get their attraction out of their systems. But can one night really be enough?

Return to Jackson Hole for more steamy romance by Victoria Dahl in Close Enough to Touch, Too Hot to Handle and So Tough to Tame

This is a short story in the Jackson Hole series. So far there is only one full book with number two coming up for release shortly on March 26th. This can be easily read as a stand alone. Brian taught Eve everything he knew about photography. They got to be best friends but there was a sexual attraction between them. Brian was married although mostly separated so neither did anything to mess up that friendship. Then Brian confessed his feeling in a letter and also decided he needed to try one more time with his wife so he left town. Two years later he's back and divorced and wanting a chance with Eve. Her heart can't take it she thinks. She was hurt to deeply by his leaving and not choosing her.  Fast paced great short story. You can't go wrong with this one. Your chance to try a new author if you have read Victoria Dahl before. 4 out of 5 stars for Strong Enough to Love by Victoria Dahl.

Find out more here www.victoriadahl.com

Book review: Close Enough to Touch (Jackson Hole series) by Victoria Dahl

Can a city girl make it in the wild, wild West?


For makeup artist Grace Barrett, Hollywood isn't the land of golden opportunity. It's the land of difficult divas, cheating boyfriends and unemployment. So when her great-aunt offers her a free place to stay in Jackson, Grace thinks she'll spend a little time in the sticks to figure out her life, and then move somewhere exciting to live out her dreams. But it turns out that there are a few more thrills in this small town than Grace was expecting....

Cole Rawlins is a rugged Wyoming cowboy born and bred. Yet he can't help but be drawn to the fascinating big-city girl who moves in across from him. He wants to get close enough to Grace to see past her tough facade, but if he does, she might see the real Cole. The one with a Hollywood history gone bad. As they discover a sizzling attraction, it becomes harder for him to keep his demons at bay-and those fires from long ago may burn them both.


They'll need more than scorching-hot passion to make this opposites-attract affair work. But if they can learn to trust one another enough to reveal their secrets, they just might have a chance at forever.

I've read a handful of Victoria Dahl books and enjoyed them. This is book 1 in a new contemporary series that is supposed to sport 3 books total and a novella. I can't wait to see who these other stories will be about. I can make a guess or two having read book one now but no way am i certain. lol Grace Barrett has had a really hard life. Her childhood sucked and she ran away from home at 16 and lived on the streets. She pulled herself together and finally was doing ok as a make up artist for the movies. Then she met a guy who became her boyfriend and seemingly used her to help himself. Unfortunately some of her own self doubt and past experiences she makes a couple bad choices. Running away she lands in Jackson Hole, Wyoming staying rent free in a apartment building her great aunt owns and is normally only rented to men. To say her aunt is a bit odd is a understatement. She also owns and runs the saloon next door. Right off the bat Grace meets sexy cowboy Cole Rawlins. He's got his own bad history with the movie industry when years ago he ran off with woman who had come to Jackson Hole to film a movie. He was young and dumb and paid for it later. Neither Cole nor Grace trust easily. It takes a while for Cole to figure out that Grace has nothing. No furniture no possessions and no money. I have to say the man had to be blind to miss it though. His perceptions of her are off kilter and it takes him a while to start figuring her out. It all goes nuts as both their pasts come back to haunt them. Unfortunately where is a lot of misunderstanding going on this book. I like how 2 complete opposite characters get tossed together and Grace and Cole both have to deal with their pasts and insecurities and figure out where they belong. With each other of course! An enjoyable read. That being said i am really interested in the next books in the series. 4 out of 5 Modokker Book Pick stars for Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl.

Find out more about this book and Victoria Dahl's other work here on her website. www.victoriadahl.com

Book Review: Real Men Will ( The Donovan Brothers brewery series) by author Victoria Dahl

It was meant to be a one-night stand. One night of passion. Scorching hot. Then Beth Cantrell and Eric Donovan were supposed to go their separate ways. That’s the only reason he lied about his name, telling her he was really his wild younger brother. Hiding his own identity as the conservative Donovan. The “good” one.

But passion has its own logic, and Eric finds he cannot forget the sable-haired beauty with whom he shared one night of passion. When Beth discovers that Eric has lied, however, she knows he cannot be trusted. Her mind tells her to forget the blue-eyed charmer. If only every fiber of her being did not burn to call him back.

This is the last Book in The Donovan Brothers Brewery series. If you happen to have read " Just One Taste" in the anthology book "The Guy Next Door" then you had the chance to read the novella that opened the series, this book takes up 6 months after that novella. The First two books in the series are entitled " Good Girls Don't" and " Bad Boys Do". Aptly named if you've read these two. Book three is "Real Men Will" and is Eric Donovan's book who is the oldest Donovan. Eric seems pretty uptight in the first two books although you can kind of see him slowly start to unravel. This book completely unravels him before the end. Eric has to grow up fast at age 24 when his parents were killed in a terrible car crash. He had to run the brewery and take care of his younger siblings who were 14 and 16 i believe at the time. Since then he's had a hard time turning of the I am responsible for everything button in his head. He feels he's not good enough for the Donovan name since he was adopted by Michael Donovan who married his mom when he was young. He's got all this internal stuff working at him and he feels like he doesn't know what he wants to do. Beth reappears in his life and he doesn't know if he wants to jump her or send her away. He's got all these perceived ideas about who and what Beth is. Beth is the manager of the Wild Orchid a sex toy type shop. Because of this people think  of  her as a sexual being who probably has lots of sex and knows all the ways of the Kama Sutra. Not so. She has a bad experience as a teenager and is kind of afraid of sexual stuff except when it comes to Eric. He turns her on like no other. There are several conflicts to deal with in this story, The Kendalls' no they are not done yet, Jamie too which gets more heated than ever and it seems everything has to fall apart for it to all make sense in the end. I'd love a novella for 6 months after this book. Eric and Beth are just not getting to be a couple in public at the end of the book. Smashingly hot sex scenes almost erotica worthy for goodness sake. Victoria Dahl can write them like no other it seems. 4 out of 5 Modokker Book Pick Stars. Find out more about Victoria Dahl and all her other books and upcoming books by checking out her website by clicking here www.victoriadahl.com

Book review: Bad Boys Do by author Victoria Dahl

I received a ebook copy of this book through netgalley for my honest opinion and review.

Bad Boys Do is the second book in the Donovan Brothers Brewery series and is out September 27th. Book one "Good Girls Don't" is available right now. The series opened up with the novella "Just One Taste" in the anthology book The Guy Next Door. Blurb below.





Olivia Bishop is no fun. That’s what her ex-husband said. That’s what her smart bob and glasses imply. And with her trademark determination, Olivia sets out to remake her life. She’s going to spend time with her girlfriends and not throw it all away for some man. But when an outing with her book club leads her to a brewery taproom, the dark-haired beauty realizes that trouble – in the form of sexy Jamie Donovan – may be too tempting to avoid.


Jamie Donovan doesn’t mean to be bad. Sure, the wild streak in his wicked green eyes has lured the ladies before. But it’s time to grow up. He’s even ready for a serious romance. But how can that be when Olivia, the only right woman he has ever met, already has him pegged as wrong.


Jamie meets Olivia at the pub when she comes in to meet a book club group. Only she is the only one that actually read the book. They are really there to have fun and watch sexy Jamie Donovan and his kilt covered ass. Olivia is pretty straight laced and she feels boring. Jamie is exciting and fun and seemingly bad boy as they come. Olivia is looking to change things about her self and so is Jamie. They decide to help each other with that. Jamie's brother and sister have no faith in him. He lets them believe what they want because it's easier and he feels guilty about some things in his past. He wants to make improvements to the bar part of the brewery by adding a restaurant. Olivia knows something about what it takes to do this so she helps him figure out how to go about it. Olivia wants to loosen up and learn how to have fun. Jamie knows all about being fun and carefree. Why not have fun together. Sounds easy right?  Of course you know someone is going to try and screw it up, but who? Bad Boys Do is a lot of fun but at the same time very emotional. I thought Jamie was going to walk away from his brother and sister a lot sooner than he did. Victoria Dahl writes a fun but emotional story with this one. You just want to hug Jamie a time or two. Both Jamie and Olivia are hurting for different reasons and they help each other heal. A few things that bugged me were Eric being a bit overboard on being a ass to Jamie about everything he perceived Jamie was doing wrong and Olivia bringing up her age difference. She is 35 and Jamie 29. Six years isn't much and these days 35 is not old for having a baby. I have a feeling Eric will get his in the next book though. Bad Boys Do gets 4 out of 5 Modokker Book Pick Stars. Can't wait for book 3 Real Men Will. Eric Donovan's book. To read more about this series, find a excerpt and all Victoria's other books check out her website here www.victoriadahl.com

Book review: Good Girls Don't by author Victoria Dahl

I received a ebook copy of this book through netgalley for my honest opinion and review.

Good Girls Don't is the first in a new series by author Victoria Dahl called the Donovan Brothers Brewery. There is a short novella called Just One Taste is in the anthology book The Guy next Door. Get more info on that here Anthology. I made sure i read it along with the rest of that book and was certainly intrigued and excited to try this series out. Without further ado here's the blurb.


With her long ponytail and sparkling green eyes, Tessa Donovan looks more like the girl next door than a businesswoman – or a heartbreaker. Which may explain why Detective Luke Asher barely notices her when he arrives to investigate a break-in at her family’s brewery. He’s got his own problems – starting with the fact that his partner Simone is pregnant and everyone thinks he's the father. The last thing he needs is a nice girl like Tessa getting under his skin.


Tessa has her hands full, too. Her brother’s playboy ways may be threatening the business, and the tensions could tear her tight-knit family apart. In fact, the only thing that could unite the Donovan boys is seeing a man come after their “baby” sister. Especially a man like Luke Asher. But Tessa sees past the rumors to the man beneath.

I read Victoria Dahl's tumble creek series when it came out and loved it so much. Re-read them several times. There was so much humor in those among other things that i was excited to see she had another series coming out. The new contemporary series is called the Donovan Brothers Brewery series. Like i said above there is a short novella you can check out to get a taste of what the series will be like. The first book is Good Girls Don't and involves Tessa the youngest Donovan sibling. When Tessa was 14 a terrible accident killed her parents and her and her brothers were left with no one but each other. Eric the oldest was 24 so he took over the family business and job as parent to his younger sibling including Tessa and brother Jaime. All grown up now Tessa and Jaime and trying to be seen as mature smart adults who can take care of themselves and be full partners in the business. Tessa Meets Luke Asher a detective with the Boulder police department after the Brewery is robbed. Both seemed to be attracted to the other and it doesn't escape big brother Jaime's notice. Thinking he needs to protect Tessa from Luke he warns him off her by telling him he's not good enough for her and that she's a virgin. Yeah boy! Luke has had a rough past. His marriage ended in divorce when his wife walked out on him. Problem is everyone thinks he walked and while she was dealing with cancer. He was shortly after stabbed in the line of duty and his wife never even came to see him when he almost died. That's was in L.A. and so he decided he'd had enough and moved back to Boulder, Colorado. The rumor followed him along with a few others. He's a chick magnet supposedly and since his single female partner is pregnant well he must be the father right?? Tessa on the other hand has had to live without her parents the 2nd part of her youth and so she's hanging on tight to her brothers in case something happens to them or they just decide to leave. Hanging on tight and trying to keep the 3 of them together leads to lots of little white lies then over time bigger lies til it seems like she's lying all the time. Ignoring her brothers Tessa likes Luke and decides she wants to spend time with him. Even though Luke tries to stay away it's a lost cause. He's attracted and he can't help it. I loved Luke. He's had a rough time of it but he is still a wonderful guy. Tessa drove me a little bit nuts. She is a lot more wild that you would think and her brothers don't seem to realize this. There is humor and there is lots of complications and a robbery to solve in this book. Tessa must learn to trust and Luke must learn to open up. Can they weed through the tangled complicated lives they each have on their own to be together at the end of the day? You can read a excerpt of this book by clicking www.victoriadahl.com . You can also find out more about Victoria Dahl and her books by clicking here Victoriadahl.com/books. Next up in the series. Bad Boys Due out in stores and online October 2011. I give Good Girls don't 4 out of 5 Modokker Book Pick stars. Luke Asher gets me in this books. I wanted to give him a hug more than once.

Review: The Guy Next Door by authors Lori Foster, Susan Donovan and Victoria Dahl

The Guy Next Door is a anthology with three great books inside. Kind of like a chance to try out possibly 3 new to you authors. This is why these books are fun. I have read Lori Foster before she is one of my fav authors as well as Victoria Dahl. I have only read one of Victoria Dahl's series and that's the deliciously funny Tumble Creek series. This is the first time that I've read Susan Donovan that i know of though. I only knew that Lori Fosters novella is this is a intro to her Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series so i had to hurry up and read that so i could be ready for that first book in that series. I've read and reviewed the first two in that  series here, When You Dare and Trace of Fever on the blog. I read that first then set it aside for a bit to read other stuff. I am so happy i got back to it this past weekend and read the second two books in this because wow good stuff!

Victoria Dahl's contribution introduces you to a new series that she is coming out with this fall called The Donovan Brothers Brewery series. I have to tell you her novella Just a Little Taste is just that a little taste! Wow she reels you in and  leaves you hanging. What a  tease! Leaves you something to look forward to this fall though so that's great right? Eric Donovan is always the responsible brother. In a moment of insanity he pretends he's his brother Jamie so he can have a one night stand with a gorgeous women who doesn't realize he's not the wild brother. This story is continued later this fall.

Susan Donovan is a new to me author. Love when i get to read one of those and love what i read. Her contribution to The Guy Next  door is called Gail's Gone wild.  In this one 36 year old Gail decides to go along with her 17 yr old daughter and her friend on spring break to Key West. What she didn't expect is to find a hot sexy 38 year old Jesse next door to her rental. Jessie who has burned by women before is really JD Batista (Jessie to friends and family) but Gail doesn't recognize him as the best selling author of thrillers that he is. When he finally comes clean can things work out between the two of them after spring break?? This one was so much fun. Gail gets to experience a freedom of life she never got to before since she got pregnant and married young and has had responsibilities.Divorced for a while now and her daughter almost grown it's time to let loose some right?  It was great to see this story unfold and see how the 17 year old daughter reacts to her mom getting a life!

Here some little bits from each novella

Lori Foster Ready, Set, Jett!
A vacation from her no-strings romance with her sexy next-door-neighbor. That's what Natalie Alexander needs to get her head—and heart—together. But her solo trip south turns into a disaster—until gorgeous Jett Sutter turns up with another challenge.
You can read a excerpt for this book on Lori's website by clicking here. Make sure you check out the series Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor that this novella introduces you to.

Susan Donovan Gails' Gone Wild
Single mom Gail Chapman insists on chaperoning her teenage daughter's spring-break trip to Key West. But she never expects to face temptation—in the hunky form of Jesse Batista, the mysterious man in the cottage next door.


Victoria Dahl Just a Little Taste!
The Donovan Brothers Brewery series, set in a family-owned microbrewery in Boulder, Colorado, opens with the novella "Just One Taste" in the anthology The Guy Next Door.
Eric Donovan is the oldest of the family, and he's always responsible and well-behaved. After all, he has to set an example for his brother and sister, right? Well...

All-work-and-no-play businessman Eric Donovan won’t be distracted by a “businesswoman” who’s all wrong for him. Beth Cantrell owns a woman’s erotica shop! And she has a juicy little secret. Can she tempt him to put pleasure before business for once?

"Just One Taste" is the start of his story with Beth Cantrell. What happens when they meet up again later? You'll find out in Real Men Will, out in November! Find out more about The Donovan Brothers Brewery series on Victoria Dahl's website by clicking here .

I have to say that before i read this the reviews i heard about were pretty mixed but i loved all three. Susan Donovan's novella was a great funny refreshing read and Victoria Dahl reminded me who i loved her writing and Lori Foster what can i say i love romantic suspense and her novella puts your foot in the door to a great series of books so far with The Men who Walk the Edge of Honor series. I give amply titled book The Guy Next door 4 and 1/2 Modokker Book Pick Stars.

Been MIA.

Sorry everyone my computer caught itself a really nasty virus last weekend and it was in the shop since last Monday. I'm back and just posted my review of Vivian Arend's newest release Silent Storm which is out today in ebook format. If my luck holds I'll be posting my reviews of The Guy Next Door that came out in February with novellas from Lori Foster, Susan Donovan and Victoria Dahl. Also this week my review of The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis and Creeds Honor the next book from Linda Lael Miller which comes out May 31st! Love the cowboys don't you?? Stay tuned for more later this week.

Lisa aka Modokker

Book review: Trace of Fever by author Lori Foster

Trace of Fever is the second book in the " Men who walk the edge of Honor" series by author Lori Foster.  This series gets introduced with the novella "Ready Set, Jett" in book "The Guy Next door"  Lori Foster did with fellow authors, Victoria Dahl and Susan Donovan. The first full book "When you Dare" came out April 26th and you can find my review for that book here on my blog as well. "Trace of Fever" will be out in bookstores and online May 31st. How about we start with my favorite the back cover blurb shall we?

Caught in the crossfire of vengeance and desire...


Undercover mercenary Trace Rivers loves the adrenaline rush of a well-planned mission. First he'll earn the trust of corrupt businessman Murray Coburn, then gather the proof he needs to shut down the man's dirty smuggling operation. It's a perfect scheme—until Coburn's long-lost daughter saunters in with her own deadly plan for revenge.

With a smile like an angel and fire in her eyes, Priscilla Patterson isn't who she seems to be. But neither is the gorgeous bodyguard who ignites all her senses. Joining forces to plot Coburn's downfall, Priss and Trace must fight the undeniable heat between them. For one wrong move, one lingering embrace will expose them to the wrath of a merciless opponent….



The book opens with Trace undercover working for Murray Coburn who is in the human trafficking business. Trace's sister was kidnapped by another human trafficker in "When you Dare" and recovered by his best friend Dare so he's on a mission to rid the world of other traffickers. Right now his sights are set on Murray. Unfortunately for him someone else is after Murray too. Priscilla Patterson has a plan to get Murray. She wants him dead. Years ago her mom was caught by Murray and raped repeatedly by him and his friends. She was the result. Her mom managed to get away but was never the same and Priscilla or Priss as she is called never had a normal childhood. They had to always stay under the radar in case Murray came looking for them. Priscilla's mom is passed away now and so she decides it's time to come after Murray. Murray is a nasty evil man and so is everyone around him so Trace decides he is going to protect Priscilla and try to get her out of the situation all together no matter what Priscilla thinks.

I liked this book. I started reading it in the evening and hated to put it down for bed. Soon as i could i picked it right up to finish it. I loved Trace and Priscilla. Priscilla proves she's just as tough as Trace. She doesn't come to the party so to speak empty handed. She's smart and intuitive and prepared herself with self defense techniques and apparently how to handle a gun before coming after Murray. I have to admit i do not care for the name Priscilla or Priss for that matter but that's just me. You meet Chris Dare's gay male friend in the last book and you get some of him in this one too ( love Chris) but you get to meet Chris's friend Matt who is a hair stylist in this one too. Of course Dare and Molly are in this one and you meet Jackson Savor the hero in the next book. I've really enjoyed the characters so far in this series. Can't wait for the next book "Savor the Danger" that comes out July 2011. For this book you'll have to read and see who eventually gets to kill Murray. I'll tell you this it's now who you expect. I give "Trace of Fever" 4 and 1/2 Modokker Book Pick stars. Your can preorder this book now wherever it's sold in paperback and ebook formats.

You can find Lori Foster in these places.
www.lorifoster.com her website where you can find excerpts to all the books i wrote about and other fun stuff
Facebook on Lori's fan page
http://twitter.com/#!/lorilfoster and twitter of course.