K. read and liked Verity's review of The Marriage Secret:

"A HQN mini w/ an apt title. Finn is a 6-5, blue-eyed Irish-Italian traffic stopper (KL must be partial ‘cuz it’s the 2nd book featuring a hero w/ the same distinguished traits). It was luv & lust @ 1st sight the moment he met Adam’s (his son fr...more A HQN mini w/ an apt title. Finn is a 6-5, blue-eyed Irish-Italian traffic stopper (KL must be partial ‘cuz it’s the 2nd book featuring a hero w/ the same distinguished traits). It was luv & lust @ 1st sight the moment he met Adam’s (his son from previous marriage) nursery teacher. He asked Maeve for a divorce so he can pursue Emily, a 5-2, shy, red-haired looker. She was smitten w/ him too but was wary, ‘cuz she thought he’s on a rebound. It’s their 3rd wedding anniversary now & Emily is fuming. He’s a no-show, after Emily has lovingly prepared a sumptuous dinner & waited for 3 hours. When she checks on him @ the office, guess who answers the phone ? Yup, Finn’s ex-wife, the mother of his son. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Emily decides to give Finn his comeuppance, so she marches up to his office. The security guard initially wouldn’t let her in, assuming she’s telling whoppers when she claims she’s the boss’s wife. She sees red upon her arrival as she witnesses a cozy scene : Finn & Maeve making a celebratory toast on a sofa. Emily dumps the dinner on dear hubby’s lap & ex-wife discreetly exits, not wanting to be caught in the line of fire. Emily confronts Finn that she’s had it up to here, she’s sick & tired of playing the mistress role, ‘cuz he seems to spend more time w/ his ex (who still works for his company). Unfortunately, he thinks the problem is centered on the fact that they’ve been shooting blanks the last 3 yrs & the recurrent childless issue has stretched their marriage beyond the breaking point. She drops the bombshell in his face that she’s finally preggers. Gasp ! Finn shares his own news w/ Emily too, his ex-wife also got knocked up. Emily jumps the gun, adhering to the common practice in HPlandia. Finn’s incensed that his wife automatically assumes it’s his bun in Maeve’s oven, but he can’t really divulge who the daddy is ‘cuz it’s not his place to broadcast it, digging his own grave deeper. She walks out & he follows her home, where they continue their unfinished feud. He thinks Emily’s simply suffering from inferiority complex & too fixated on Maeve, on top of having major trust issues (for good reason, ‘cuz Emily’s dad was a serial philanderer). They just can’t see eye to eye ‘cuz Emily smells something fishy in the air & it isn’t due to her culinary skills. He’s tight-lipped ‘bout his previous marriage & it’s driving her bonkers. It doesn’t help that her hormones are ricocheting like crazy. Can they resolve their conflicts & salvage their marriage before it’s way too late ?

Another winner, brief as it was. KL has such a way w/ words & her brilliant wit was v. much in evidence, judging from the sparkling banter between H/H & their inner dialogues. 1 of the things that Finn appreciates ‘bout his fiery wife, aside from her combustible bod, is her acerbic wit & that there’s more to her than meets the naked eye. He luvs her whole package. Even in the midst of their mudsling, they wanna tear the clothes off each other. Their delish sexual tension still bubbles underneath the surface. They fight like cats & dogs ‘cuz they can’t agree on the other’s POV. Finn catapults 1 sarcastic riposte after another @ Emily & she drop-shots, w/ interest =)~. Both feel like they’re the injured party in this quagmire. I luved Finn’s protectiveness of Emily’s fragile health & the chemistry between ‘em is hawt & undeniable. It didn’t take an Einstein to figure out what Finn’s big secret was, esp in the light of his mumbled half-asleep confession ‘bout the real state of his previous marriage. When they ultimately kiss & make up, it’s so sweet (luv scenes were glossed over) that I wished it was longer. I can’t wait to dive into KL’s divine backlist.
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K. read and liked Rane's review of Got Mistletoe?:

" Through the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday, Blake Roberts is just wanting to buy wrapping paper but finds unexcepted holiday love when he lays eyes on a helpful elf Ryan Jolly.

Getting you into the holiday mood Got Mistletoe? ...more Through the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday, Blake Roberts is just wanting to buy wrapping paper but finds unexcepted holiday love when he lays eyes on a helpful elf Ryan Jolly.

Getting you into the holiday mood Got Mistletoe? Is just right for the holiday.

Blake Roberts is shopping for wrapping paper, when he lays eyes on the cutest elf he’s ever seen, not wanting to let go of a chance he feels in a lifetime to miss, he meets with his elf again and sparks fly. Ryan Jolly loves the Christmas holiday and all the joy it brings, if not a little lonely by himself. When he first meets Blake he feels a connection from the start and after two dates, Ryan as well as Blake knows it’s love.

With quickie reads, it’s hard to really balance out the story, the characters , steam level without leaving one out or just focusing on one or another. Got Mistletoe? Does a excellent job of giving Blake and Ryan a great connection, just enough depth and steam packed into this short story. Perfect balance all around. I zoomed through the pages enjoying Ryan and Blake bubbling relationship with Ryan the sweetie and Blake a man I wanna give thanks for to. It was just such a sweet and real fun read.

Overall: Got Mistletoe? Is just right for the holidays with it’s easy pace and heartwarming story, it’ll leave you smiling long after. (less) "

K. read and liked Danielle "The Book Huntress"'s review of The Italian's Ruthless Marriage Bargain (Harlequin Presents Extra):

"Man the blurb is a bit misleading. They make Jude seem like a wallflower. She really isn't. She's got a PhD (ladies who are looking for HP heroines with a higher education and a good career read this one), she's got a nice place to live, and I would ...more Man the blurb is a bit misleading. They make Jude seem like a wallflower. She really isn't. She's got a PhD (ladies who are looking for HP heroines with a higher education and a good career read this one), she's got a nice place to live, and I would consider her successful. She sounds pretty attractive to me. Not drop dead gorgeous, but an attractive woman. She just feels like she's not attractive at times because of her mother's overbearing ways. So I wouldn't exactly call her a Plain Jane although I would add this under that theme in my bookshelf because that's how Jude sees herself.

It was a good book, a quick read. I've read better by Lawrence, but it was enjoyable. It had some angst, but not too much. One thing I didn't like was you really didn't get to know Luca's daughter, Valentina, that well. You got more glimpses of Jude's nieces and nephews than you get of Valentina. I think if you're going to plot a book around a child, he or she should make more than a token appearance. Otherwise, the child is merely a plot point.

Luca started off being a bossy alpha who was on the judgemental side. But he didn't stay that way long enough to be annoying, a frequent occurence in the world of Harlequin Presents. Another staple of the HP land is the enormously tall, so hot he can melt off your panties Italian hero. This book is no different. Jude can't seem to keep her hands off his body and blurting out things about how gorgeous he is. She even propositions him. Of course, he accepts, but his plan is marriage all along (that's refreshing, isn't it?) She just wants an affair. The reasons weren't clear except I think she felt he couldn't possibly want a girl like her. Yes, I think that's what it was (I was really tired when I was trying to finish this book, so forgive me). Anyway, I personally would be rather embarrassed to proposition my neighbor like that. But heroines can get away with things that us real life girls don't dream of doing.

There was some good steam and I wanted Jude and Luca to be together. The ending was nice, but nothing to write home about. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I wasn't half-dead from exhaustion from working a six day week last week, and twelve hour days and getting up at 4 am every stinking morning six days in a row with one day off.

If you like Kim Lawrence, read it. If you want a couple hours of light entertainment, I think you'd also enjoy it. If you are a fan of HP books, it would be a worthwhile read. But I don't think it would knock your socks off. If I could, I'd give it 3.5 stars instead of 3 stars.(less) "