Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense Books

I’ve been reading more than I’ve been reviewing lately and I’ve fallen behind. So to catch up, I’m going to be writing a few “group” reviews in the next couple of days. First up are two great romantic suspense books--both worthy of 5 roses.

The first is I’m Watching You by Karen Rose. This is the story of assistant state’s attorney Kristen Mayhew and Abe Reagan, a police detective. Monsters unsuccessfully prosecuted by the state’s attorney’s office keep turning up dead, each one of them prosecuted by Kristen. And even though the Chicago police department are not terribly upset to have some of the more unsavory characters that slipped through the system off the streets, they nevertheless have to find their vigilante--a serial killer that knows way more about Kristen than he should.

This book grabbed me from the beginning. The plot is tight, intriguing, and scary! And the relationship between Kristen and Abe is very sweet. Karen’s books aren’t really a series, but she does have reoccurring characters so I like to read them in order. That means that book #4, Nothing to Fear is up next for me. Detective Mia Mitchell from I’m Watching You and Dana Dupinsky from Karen’s first book, Don’t Tell, reappear in this book. Can’t wait!



Next up is a J.D. Robb book, Loyalty in Death. I’ve been trying to work my way through this series for a while now. Loyalty in Death is book #10 (if you count the novellas in the series, too) and it’s by far my favorite so far. In this book, the relationship between Peabody and McNab is highly entertaining. Peabody’s brother comes to visit from Arizona. And Roarke is more hands-on than ever. What’s not to love? Looking forward to book #11 -- Witness in Death.

And the last book I’m going to gush about tonight is an old one -- Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. This one had me laughing and I just loved the main characters, Sophie Dempsey and Phineas Tucker. Sophie and her crazy sister (and sometimes their crazy brother joins them) show up in Temptation, Ohio to make a film that quickly turns into soft porn while swearing to Phin, the town’s mayor that that’s not what they are doing. Sophie, needing a little help coming up with interesting material for the film enlists Phin’s help in the bedroom with sizzling and hysterical results. I don’t keep many books (and I never reread), but this one’s going on my keeper shelf. I can see myself flipping through this one again in years to come.

Now I’m off to continue reading what will probably end up being a very highly rated book for me (although not a romance this time). I’m about 100 pages into Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and it grabbed me right off the bat. Can’t wait to see what happens in the end.