There´s nothing like the threat of danger to add a bit of spice to a burgeoning romance. Maybe a kidnapping, or thugs giving chase, or even a quest for treasure. This week I´ve read three new romances (all available now) with a touch of intrigue to them.

The first is "Robert´s Lady" by Nicole Byrd (Jove). Robert Manning returns home after being presumed dead, in a hurry to be wed and finds his fiancee wed to another. When her sister Katryn offers to marry him, he consents, not knowing she´s been in love with him forever. But there is a jealous cousin who will stop at nothing to remove Robert from his place in line for the family title. I liked the idea behind this story, but I really disliked that Robert continued throughout the book to believe he is in love with his former fiancee. Even while on the run with Katryn and indulging in his marital rights, he doesn´t have a clue. Of Cupid´s five arrows, this one gets only two and a half.

The second book I read this week is "Silver Rain" by Barbara Sheridan (Jove). Lucky Danielle Curtis is the keeper of a naked man who´s been sleeping in her family´s attics for over 200 years, waiting to waken and be reunited with his true love´s reincarnation. Except they don´t know who or where she is. And when he wakes, Dani has 30 days to help him find her before he ceases to exist. Alain Devereaux can´t believe his luck when he and the reluctant witch locate the woman he believes is he beloved Brigette within the first day. But he finds himself drawn more to Dani than Cate/Brigette. Though I figured out exactly what was happening early on, this was still an engaging tale. It´s earned three of Cupid´s arrows.

The last book this week is Long, Lean and Lethal by Heather Graham (Onyx). I admit liking her contemporaries more than her historicals lately, but this one didn´t measure up for me. Soap star Jennifer Connolly is very unhappy that her mother has coerced Conar Markham into coming back to California to be Jennifer´s watchdog while a murderer roams L.A. Conar is none too pleased himself, until he finds Jennifer isn´t what he thought. I don´t get the attraction for either of them, but the suspense part of the plot worked for me. I was still guessing the identity of the killer nearly to the end. I´m giving this one two and a half of Cupid´s arrows.