Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks

Teresa Osborne came across a bottle on the beach. Inside was a letter to "Catherine" and was signed by the name "Garrett." It left such an impression on her that she decided to do some research.

What she finds are more letters...addressed to the same woman, and signed by the same man. Theresa is intrigued by them. They are letters of love and tenderness and sorrow.

She's on the mission to find this "Garrett" and when she does, she likes what she sees. They are one in the same really; both never thought they'd fall in love ever again. It's a beautifully written love story about strength and fragility.

This book is emotional and a very easy, breezy read. I loved how REAL the emotion felt. You could definitely understand and feel Garrett's heartbreak; it was a nice touch with the flashbacks because it told their history and without it, I don't know if the book would have been that great.

The ending was a bit of a shocker. But I like shockers :-)

I absolutely give this book 5 stars.

Moonlit Watcher by Crystal-Rain Love

Finally! A new Crystal-Rain Love book. Moonlit Watcher is the sequel to Moonlit Dream.

Derek Kingston is a badass werewolf. He needs nothing from no one, except a good fuck every once in a while. And he never fucks humans.

Until he meets Juliana Van Alder, delicate ballerina. The last thing Derek needs is a delicate creature like her. He likes his women tough. He likes to be rough, surely he would break this prim and proper dancer in half. Unfortunately faith has decided that Juliana is Derek's soul mate and the full moon is approaching. No werewolf has ever been able to ignore the pull of the full moon to give a moon vow to his soul mate. But Derek is damn determined to beat it.

Maybe he shouldn't have slept with her then? I swear, men always thinking with their penises. When will they learn that once is never enough?

Derek and Juliana get closer, even when Derek fights against it. In the end her learns not to fight with destiny. And he also learns that Juliana is more than just a delicate ballerina.

Duuuuuude, I was just gonna read the first five pages and go to bed, but I ended up just reading the whole thing. It's a short read, but a great story. If you've read my previous reviews, you know I'm a huge fan of Crystal-Rain Love. She has such an amazing gift for storytelling, I'm quite envious and damn proud to be able to call her my friend. Her words flow so easily from the page. Even though the story is short you feel completely full at the end, yet you're left wanting more.

But when Crystal-Rain Love writes, you're always gonna want more. She's definitely one of my top five favorite authors of all time.

5 Big Giant Stars!

What Legends Are Made Of by Heather Beck

What Legends Are Made Of by Heather Beck is a paranormal anthology with four Goosebumps-like stories with a romantic twist.

The first story, Sir Tristan’s Estate, is by far my favorite of the four. It’s about a young photographer named Skye Huntington who is on an assignment for the magazine she works for. She arrives at Sir Tristan’s Estate in the middle of a small local scandal. The estate, which belonged to the state of Virginia after Sir Tristan’s death has fallen into the rightful owner’s hands. Sir Tristan was thought to have left no heir, but a small boy on tour of the estate, found the birth certificate of a daughter. Shortly after that, the heir appeared and took over the estate. The new owner closes the tours of the estate, but allows Skye to continue with her assignment, since she was hired before his/her arrival.

Skye is allowed to tour the estate. She meets up with the local historian and sparks instantly fly. Romance is in the air.

Unfortunately, that’s all I can reveal, because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone interested in reading. But I will say this story has love, ghosts on meds, and a twist of an ending. Sir Tristan’s Estate is definitely a five star kind of story!

The second story, Blue Water, is less “scary” and more romantic. Two individuals of different social classes find a lot in common and a lot to admire in one another. Surrounding this story is shark attacks, mermaids, and the origin of the mermaids. A love-conquers-all type of story. Sweet.

Four stars for Blue Water.

Freaky Frank is the third story in this anthology. I found this story pleasing and amusing. It’s about a girl named Brittany Addams and her summer job at the carnival. Now, you know whenever there’s a carnival involved that the story is going to be interesting.

On her first day of training, Brittany meets Frank. It’s love at first sight. Frank, who is much older than Brittany, runs his own freak show. Stanford’s Freaky Shrieks Freak Show is Franks own business with real extraordinary creatures. Educated fish, unicorns with wings, and the main attraction, Frank himself.

Again, this one was more romantic than scary, but a lovely story. Frank reveals his freak show and himself to Brittany and offers her something that would change her life forever. Brittany must decide whether or not the love she feels for Frank is strong enough to conquer her fears and his “freaky” tendencies. (Ha ha)

Four stars for Freaky Frank.

The last story in Heather Beck’s anthology is One Stop Horror Shop. Newlyweds Karyn and Max Shields’ dream has always been to own their own magic shop. The dream seems to be coming true, as Max meets a man named Quentin who wants to sell his magic shop.

Karyn is hesitant at first, but after a little coercing she agrees. Soon, the Shield’s are the owners of their own magic shop. Things, however, seem to get strange from the moment they sign the papers. First, Quentin is struck with a weird illness. He seems to be in perfect health, yet is in a zombie-like state. Then, upon cleaning out a closet in the magic shop, Max and Karyn find a very real looking skeleton which Karyn names Boney and sets up on their display window.

A few days after the Shields’ grand opening, they being to suspect that Quentin might have forged his bookkeeping, since the only customers they had were a brother and sister that wanted to start their own magic show business.

Over on that end, brother and sister Mitchell and Jodie use the tricks they bought from the magic shop. Everything goes wrong. From wrong to worse, actually, as their burrowed rabbit ends up furless, the handcuffs don’t open, the squirting flower squirts out blood, and Mitchell disappears into thin air. Really disappears.

The Shields have inadvertently bought a cursed magic shop. The origin of the curse involves murder, and that’s all I can say about that. One Stop Horror Shop, also a four star story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology. I liked all the stories, although I must admit that after reading the first one, I was a little disappointed to read the rest. I kept waiting for another twist ending like the first, and I didn’t really get that. It’s kind of as if the story lost a bit of momentum. Maybe if they would have left Sir Tristan’s Estate for last I wouldn’t be left feeling this way.

Still, What Legends Are Made Of is a really good book. And I will be sure to add Heather Beck to my list of authors.

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter is the sequel to Heroes Die Young, from the Aston West series. For those who haven’t read the first part (you really should, it’s a great story), Aston West is a scavenger space pirate who tends to get into a lot of trouble considering his line of work is supposed to be of the humdrum variety.

In this installment, Aston finds himself reunited with his old friend, Elijah, and his twin brother Lars. The chance encounter, however, is not merely a coincidence. Elijah wants Aston to join “The Brotherhood”, a group of space pirates – led by the twins – that go around the galaxies stealing money and killing innocent people. This is too much action for Aston. Too much blood on his hands for comfort. He refuses the offer extended to him by his old friend.

Unfortunately, Elijah blackmails Aston into assisting on one mission. Just one. Then he’s free to leave.

But if you know Aston West, you know his life is never that easy.

Aw, man! What a story! Again, I’m not usually a sci-fi person, but I love Aston West. I love the adventures he goes on. I love that he tries to live a quiet life, yet is constantly thrust into danger. I love that even after years of cynicism, he’s still a good and honorable guy. And of course, I especially love the little romance that T.M. Hunter throws into the mix. Keep doing it, it works!

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter. Read it! But read it AFTER you read Heroes Die Young. Why? No reason, just really want you guys to read both of them.

Off to Toris with Aston!

My Tall Dark Greek Boss by Anna Cleary

Samos Stilakos, successful businessman is bored with his life and career. He has a new proposition from a bank in serious need of his business savvy. Taking the reins of the sinking bank and turning it into a success is just the type of project he would have enjoyed at one point in his life.

Not anymore.

He's fed up. After he's invited to an employee party thrown by the bank to convince Sam of why he should save this company, he knows without a shadow of a doubt that nothing could make him take this offer.

Until he stumbles across and ethereal looking woman in a dark balcony.

Ellie O'Dea isn't the type of woman to do crazy things, but the combination of the evening, the gorgeous Greek man, and the mask keeping her face hidden, had Ellie acting completely out of character. When Sam invites her up to his hotel room she accepts. And when he propositions her, she also accepts. With the condition that she's allowed to keep her face hidden.

Ellie may not be acting like herself, but she still has enough sense to make sure she doesn't expose herself to her potential future boss.

Four months later, after Sam and Ellie's passionate night, Ellie is working as Sam's personal assistant. She's appalled by the fact that he doesn't seem to recognize her, even though she did dye her hair, she never did take off her mask that night, and she did tell him if he ever recognized her to pretend like he didn't...

But still...how could he not recognize her, right? ;-)

Well, what Ellie doesn't know (yet) is that Sam did recognize her, and he's determined to make her his again. After all, he is a very successful businessman. He's used to always getting what he wants. Why else would he have bought the bank?

I started reading this book around 5 a.m. I needed to read a little bit before going to sleep (I'm a night person who works nights, hence the 5 a.m. bedtime). I had planned to read a chapter, maybe two depending on the length. I ended up staying up all morning. I didn't put the book down until I finished reading it in its entirety. It was a great story, with great characters. I love how Sam and Ellie butt heads. They're both hardheaded individuals, both used to doing things their way. It's a true testament of their feelings for one another when one would bend for the other. Of course things always ended up going even worse when someone would give in. They would both assume things instead of just asking the other. And you know what happens when you assume:

You make an ASS out of U and ME.

When I finally finished reading this book, I was sad. I never wanted it to end! And as I read the last few chapters- and wiped the tears from my face -I kept thinking, 'I hope someday I write as beautiful and moving as Anna Cleary'.

Most definitely going on my keeper shelf!