Lover Eternal by JR Ward (Signet Eclipse, 2006)

STATS:           Black Dagger brother with “the strongest appetites.  He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin.  Owned by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.”  All I can say is – Wow. 

THE LOOK:   A face so dazzling you have to blink to make sure you aren’t dreaming.  “Perfectly square jaw.  Full lips.  High cheekbones.  Broad forehead.  Hair was thick and wavy, lighter in the front, darker in the back where it was cut short.  And his body was just as spectacular as his head.  Big-boned.  Thickly muscled.  No fat.  His skin was golden even under the florescent lights….His eyes were an electric teal blue, so bright, so vivid, they were almost neon.” 

LEADING LADY:     Mary is “survivor of many hardships.”  When she meets Rhage, she’s just learned that the cancer she’s defeated once has returned.  She thinks she has nothing to offer any man, but Rhage knows that’s not true the instant she speaks his name—the musical lilt to his voice calms and comforts the demon inside him, drawing him to her immediately. 

BOTTOM LINE:       Rhage is like an Extreme Fighter with a soft heart and an endearing and genuine desire to protect those he cares for most, even from himself.  He can get his feelings hurt by careless words and inadvertent rejection.  However, he’ll kill anything that threatens those he loves.  And when he’s inspired, he’s one of the most passionate heroes I’ve read about.  Even when he has to drink blood from another woman because he can’t drink from Mary, he isn’t able to until Mary herself comes to terms with it.  Ward is able to craft Rhage so skillfully that the reader can even forgive the fact he sleeps with another woman after he’s fallen in love with Mary (and she knows it) because it really isn’t something he wanted to do.  Again, all I can say is – Wow!    

QUESTION OF THE DAY:  Have you ever surprised yourself by your ability to forgive and what gave you the motivation to do so? 

Night Into Day by Sandra Canfield, Harlequin Superromance 10/87

 
STATS:  Quarterback for the Memphis Marauders, he’s aware of the conflict between his glitzy image and the fact he could still feel fear, just like he had when he was the kid “from the poor Irish Channel neighborhood of New Orleans…He had given up being scared of the bogeyman for being scared of being an ancient thirty-five in a young man’s game…He was also scared of that empty feeling inside him, that empty feeling that warned that one day he was going to wake up…alone in an overwhelmingly lonely and uncaring world.  And that wasn’t the way he wanted to be.” 

 
THE LOOK:   “[A]n aggressive, near-arrogant chin.  A sharply chiseled jaw…steel-strength, softened by an obvious fun-loving spirit.” 

 
LEADING LADY:  A travel agent who specializes in serving the handicapped, Alex Farrell has been struggling to remain self-reliant despite her arthritis.  When Patrick steps in front of her and asks her whether she’d like to run away with him, she’s struck by immediate desire and a sadness that she won’t ever be able to run anywhere, let alone with a gorgeous celebrity. 

 
BOTTOM LINE:  This book details Patrick’s determination to convince Alex, despite his stumbles along the way, that he’s a man she can count on.  It is as tender and passionate as the hero Canfield has crafted.  He knows that loving someone means being there for them in good and bad times.   He also knows he has to fight Alex’s stubbornness with his own.  “No need to wish an Irishman luck.  He was born with it.  Besides, he’s too stubborn to settle for less.”

 
QUESTION OF THE DAY:  I’ve read quite a few great books with disabled heroes or heroines.  Susan Andersen had a hero named Elvis who had a prosthetic hand.  Catherine Anderson wrote about a woman in a wheelchair?  Any good ones I’ve missed?  Or if you don’t know of one, are you open to reading about characters with disabilities?

No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane (Avon, 2008)

STATS: Mexican stepson of mobster who warns the heroine, a detective investigating the skeletal remains of woman found in a burned down building, that “his benefactor” is a dangerous man.  He finds himself drawn to the detective enough to seek her out when he shouldn’t, leaving her single stems of white roses and then “allowing” himself to be blackmailed to feed her inside information on the man he hates. 

THE LOOK: “Full head of black hair, well groomed. And he smelled so damned good….But his most memorable feature–his eyes–she’d recognize anywhere….Deep brown honey melting under a July sun.  Was that an eye color?”  

LEADING LADY: Rebecca Montgomery is still grieving over the presumed murder of her little sister who has been missing for over five months.  When she finds the remains of a missing girl, she’s determined to bring her killer to justice.  When she meets Diego, she’s not sure if he’s a good guy or bad guy.  All she knows is he moves her in a way that is almost irresistible.  She takes a leap of faith based on some evidence but also her gut instinct that he’s a good man.

BOTTOM LINE: I found Diego wasn’t your typical hero.  He was strong and kick-ass, but also funny and suave.  Kind of like James Bond with a Mexican accent.  And the reason I liked him so much was that, unlike many heroes portrayed in movies and books, he was more like the Daniel Craig James Bond–one who could get his ass kicked, and experience fear, but still ultimately get the job done.  He seemed real and complex.  In addition, he never hurt the heroine emotionally or struck out at her because of his own emotional wounds.  In fact, he seemed extremely emotionally healthy, which is kind of unusual given the backstory the author set up for him.  But it worked.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Have you ever made an initial judgment of a man (maybe disliked him on sight) and then been forced to reevaluate?  

Naked In Death By JD Robb (AKA Nora Roberts) (Berkeley, 1995) 

STATS:  ”Roarke–no known given name–born 10-06-2023, Dubin, Ireland….Parents unknown.”  Irish billionaire.  Education?  Unknown.  Criminal Record?  No data. 

THE LOOK:   Black hair, blue eyes, 6′2″, 173 pounds.  ”He was almost ridiculously handsome: the narrow, aesthetic face; the slash of cheekbones; and sculpted mouth.  His eyes were blue, but the word was much too simple for the intensity of color or the power in them.” 

LEADING LADY: Eve Dallas, NY police detective hunting ruthless killers.  Tall, willowy brunette with “eyes the color of honeycombs and a mouth made for sex.”  Serious cop of the future.  Battered leather jacket and jacked up, short hair.  Weakness for food and coffee and….Roarke.  

Roarke first meets Eve when she comes to interview him about the murder of an ex-lover.  The moment he saw her, he knew he’d have her, but that was before he knew she was a cop.  He hates cops, but he can’t stay away from Eve anyway.  He plies her with gourmet coffee and in an act of supreme romance, keeps the button that fell of her jacket in his pocket.      

BOTTOM LINE:   In this continuing series, Robb has created two characters so layered and complex.  The first is my favorite, the moment they meet, the book in which Eve first lets down her guard and gives in to passion with Roarke.  Roarke is strong and ruthless and sexy, but his true appeal lies in his utter devotion to Eve and, despite his worry, his ability to let her be the woman and cop she needs to be.   

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Like the gourmet coffee Roarke gives Eve, what “simple” pleasure could a man give you to win you over?