Review: A Matter of Grave Concern by Brenda Novak

When Maximillian Wilder hides his noble identity and joins the notorious body snatchers known as the London Supply Company, the last thing on his mind is love. He’s worried about Madeline, his vanished half sister, who was last seen in the company of Jack Hurtsill, the gang’s conscienceless leader. Raiding graveyards, stealing corpses, and selling them to medical colleges as dissection material is dirty work, but Max knows he must gain Jack’s trust. He’s determined to find out what happened to Madeline—and to bring Jack to justice if she was murdered for the coin her body could earn.

Beautiful, spirited Abigail Hale, daughter of the surgeon at Aldersgate School of Medicine, detests the challenging, hard-bargaining Max almost as much as Jack. But she must procure the necessary specimens if she is to save the college and her father’s career. She believes she is going to be successful—until Jack double-crosses her. Then she’s swept into a plot of danger and intrigue, one where Max must intervene to protect her, no matter the risk to his plan…or his heart.

What a fabulously non-romantic situation for a beautiful love story. Brenda Novak certainly knows how to spin a fabulous story. I was hooked from the first page and stayed up the entire night reading just to see how she could turn body snatching in to a lovely happily-ever-after instead of a creepy horror story; and she definitely achieved success. Abigail is the type of heroine I long to be and Max is the type of leading man women dream about. I loved the gritty details of daily life we don't usually glimpse in historical romances. If you are looking for something different this is a fantastic choice, the plot was unique the characters strong and the details engaging.

Review: Long, Hot Texas Summer by Carolyn Brown

A sassy redhead with an axe to grind…

After catching her husband kissing another woman in the barn, Loretta Sullivan Bailey left Lonesome Canyon Ranch and swore she’d never come back. But when her daughter threatens to drop out of college to become a rancher’s wife, Loretta refuses to let her baby make the same mistake she did. She returns to the ranch, determined to get her daughter back in school by the summer’s end…and resolute on ignoring her feelings for her ex-husband.

A bullheaded but oh so sexy cowboy…

A cowboy from his hat to his boots, ruggedly handsome rancher Jackson Bailey is none too pleased that his feisty—and gorgeous—ex-wife has suddenly shown up seventeen years after their divorce. But despite all their fighting and fussing, the two stubborn former lovers soon discover that old flames burn the hottest. Can they finally put aside their differences and find happiness together…forever?

Okay, it's true I have a weakness for sassy redheaded heroines, must be because I feel such an affinity with them. I can't say as if Loretta and I had anything in common besides our hair colour. I have to say I don't know where this woman got the strength to walk away from her sweet and sexy first love. I'll be honest I chose this book by the author's name alone, She just has the most wonderful way of spinning tales of larger-than-life cowboys and the women they love. So I didn't even read the blurb and if I had I probably would have passed it up because I am not a fan of stories about lovers being reunited, especially if they have been previously married to one another. But I got an absolutely wonderful story that was fair with both parties of the failed relationship and left me feeling happy and after all that's what a good romance should do for a reader. The supporting characters and the setting made this hot Texas read a fantastic choice for every season.