Jessica Bird

My Review:

I don't usually read SSE, but I am checking out Jessica Bird books because the author is AKA "JR Ward" and I love the JRW Black Dagger Brotherhood books.

Mmm.  The characters are really well-developed, I liked them as people. This is the first in the "Moorehouse Legacy" series and I'm curious about the rest of the family's stories.  This book was cute, funny, and warm.  I liked how at the beginning the hero was babying his old car, kissed his palm and pressed it to the hood when it broke down and he had to abandon it.  I also liked how the hero walked in injured into the heroine's B&B kitchen, and took over duty as the chef without even introducing himself, then in the middle of his orders about food he asked for frozen corn to be put on his injured foot instead of using it for dinner.  This was a realistic couple and I liked them together.  The heroine was a strong woman who took on a lot of responsibility. 

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars, really nice story.  NFM

Jessica Bird, Beauty and the Black Sheep:  I love romances that feature chefs.  Am not sure why.  Anyway,my favorite part of this is the ending, which was very satisfying.<

"As far as bad boy Spike Moriarty was concerned, Madeline Maguire defined female perfection. When they'd met, she'd walked up as if she wasn't the most gorgeous thing on the planet and asked to see his tattoos. He--a tough guy who'd make grown men run--had just about passed out. But their connection was definitely one-way...it had to be. Because he could never be the man in a million she was looking for, not with the things he'd done and seen. So for as long as she'd let him, he'd give her whatever she wanted. He'd worry about her walking away when it happened."

    I finally, finally finished Lover Enshrined, J. R. Ward's sixth novel in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series ~ powerful, powerful story!
     And it was far more than I had hoped. I'm rather flummoxed at present and need to digest the story, and what happened and what's been set up to happen. But, OMG!!!! As usual the WARDen has done an amazing job with not only the Brothers, but also with the vampire world in general....
    Speechless!    

          * * * * * * * * * *          * * * * * * * * * *          * * * * * * * * * *

06/08/08     (finally not speechless any longer) 
     J. R. Ward has written another blockbuster in her BDB series.  With every novel we're taken further into the lives of the vampires in Caldwell, NY as well as the lives of the Brotherhood, their shellans and those around them.  The Black Dagger Brotherhood are an extremely dynamic group who stand together; whose lives are intertwined with each other to a marked degree; who, one by one, are finding their life-mates and experiencing the healing power of love. 
     In Lover Enshrined, J. R. Ward takes us deeper into the background of the race and the creators of the vampires and the Lessers. We're also given, I think, a much better look at what may be ahead for the Brothers and those that they protect. Fabulous, fabulous story, about which I can't say enough or, if given a chance, would say far too much.  But one thing that needs to be said:

           VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

RATING:
Excellence: OUTSTANDING (and then some) ~ 5.0++ stars
Steaminess: Sensual to Yummy

AJ and her stepbrother have relational problems which come to a head when she insists on buying a problem stallion. Her brother refuses to let her board the horse at the family stables so she has to throw herself on the mercy of Devlin, the man she wants to hire to train the stallion for the biggest showjumping even of the season.

Carter Wessex is at outs with her father, needs Nick Farrell's permission to organise an archeological dig on his land but is nearly ready to give up on it because of the chemistry between them. However professional rivalry helps keep her focussed. Nick can't understand his feelings for Carter, she gets to him like no other woman can but he's got a female smokescreen to protect him.

I got this one because I liked the author's books with another publisher. Leaping Hearts is still my favourite, but this one comes close.

Back cover blurb - Sean O'Banyon got it bad for Lizzie Bond.   And that's not good . . .

This is the first of the O'Banyon Brothers series by Jessica Bird, and it was a great start.