Too Darn Hot


Pamela Burford - 2000
    Restaurant reviewer Lina Holland learned that lesson by watching her beloved mentor self-destruct, and she’s not about to make a similar mistake, even if the chef and owner of the restaurant she’s secretly reviewing is the most sexalicious hunk who ever seared a T-bone. It’s not enough to be scrupulously impartial, she must avoid even the merest whiff of favoritism. Date a restaurateur? She can’t allow herself to even think about it. Okay, she thinks about it, but that’s all. Really! Chef Eric Reid is a widower struggling to raise twin boys and keep his fledgling restaurant afloat long enough for word of mouth to lift it out of the red. Little does he suspect that the intriguing new customer groaning in ecstasy over his bourbon pecan tart is none other than the legendary Lina Holland, the reviewer whose thumbs-up could spell the difference between colossal success and the extermination of his lifelong dream. No one in the industry knows what Lina looks like, but he’s convinced she’s a brash, zaftig shrew who applies her makeup with a putty knife. When he finds out how wrong he is, the fun really starts! Throw in a buttinsky roommate, a lecherous ex-husband, bribery by chocolate, and the fishing excursion from hell, and the result is, well, too darn hot! Originally published by Zebra books, a division of Kensington Publishing Corp.

Under Her Skin


Adriana Anders - 2017
    Beneath her drab clothing, she hides a terrible secret—proof of her abuse, tattooed onto her skin in a lurid reminder of everything she’s survived.Caught between a brutal past and an uncertain future, Uma’s reluctant to bare herself to anyone…much less a rough ex-con whose rage drives him in ways she will never understand. But beneath his frightening exterior, Ivan is gentle. Warm. Compassionate. And just as determined to heal Uma’s broken heart as he is to destroy the monster who left his mark scrawled across the delicate tapestry of her skin.

Revenge


Dana Delamar - 2012
    And I want Kate Andretti with a fire that burns me to ash.Carlo Andretti wants Kate too… and my fortune, my estate, my empire. Most of all, he wants my death. Just as I want his.The vendetta between our families is old and deep. Only one of us can win, and only one of us can have Kate. Carlo believes that he can take what’s mine, that he can break me and make me crawl.But I’m Enrico Lucchesi.And a Lucchesi always gets what he wants.KATE ANDRETTIMy mother always said my impulsiveness would get me into trouble. She was right. Marrying a man I barely knew, letting him take me to Italy… not my best decisions.Especially when I now know what the “family business” really is.I want out of this life, and I want out of Italy. But the only person willing to help me escape the Andrettis is Enrico Lucchesi. And he wants me to stay in this world that I can’t bear to be part of.The vows these men take talk about “blood and honor.”But I know what this life is: it’s blood and danger. It’s blood and death.And I’m not ready to be a Mafia don’s wife.

Ruthless


Lexi Blake - 2016
    Riley, Drew, Brandon, and Mia believe the CEO of StratCast orchestrated their parents’ murder twenty years ago to steal their father’s software program. And there’s only one way Riley can find some solid evidence...   Heir to the StratCast legacy, Ellie Stratton hires a new attorney to handle a delicate business matter—and she’s shocked by her attraction to him. Over the course of a few weeks, Riley becomes her lover, her friend, her everything. But when her life is threatened, Ellie discovers that Riley is more obsessed with settling an old score than in the love she thought they were building. And Riley must choose between a revenge he’s prepared for all his life and the woman he’s sure he can’t live without...