Hello, and welcome back! I'm working my way to the end of the September releases now, and looking forward to the October books nearing the top of my TBR pile at the moment--including Bertrice Small's latest, and a new one from Jessica Hall, both of which I'll be sharing with you in the next week or two.

This time out, I have the new Linda Francis Lee, Suddenly Sexy(Ballantine), and it's the first of a new trilogy. Kate Bloom has loved Jesse Chapman forever, and when he finally comes back to town, she finds she's got to make him see her as something more than the pesky little girl who wanted to marry him. But Jesse has new issues, on top of the old issues he's been lugging around for years. This bad boy has some serious emotional damage, and now a secret, too--not to mention a newly-discovered son. Does any woman really want to take on such a herculean task? Kate does. This was a lot of fun, though not quite as emotional as I'd hoped for. Still, lots of fun, with the sexy Jesse and the normally-prim Kate trying to be a temptress to win her man. It's earned four of Cupid's five arrows. I can't wait to see Kate's friend Chloe get her turn at the romance merry-go-round next month!

Next is Joan Johnston's The Rivals, Vol. 1 (Pocket). Sarah Barndollar's job as deputy in her small hometown isn't usually so challenging, but finding a missing young woman is a priority. Drew DeWitt's arrival and insistence on taking part in the hunt sets sparks flying between him and Sarah, not to mention tightening the already-high tension between other members of the missing girl's family. I admit being a little confused when I started this one--I knew from reading the back cover who the heroine should be, but she doesn't make an appearance in the first chapter. This is one of those books with a complicated plot and lots of characters to track. I've got a lot of Ms. Johnston's books on my bookshelves, but I think I mustn't have been in the proper frame of mind for such a story when I sat down with this one. I wanted more romance and less suspense, a less involved story perhaps, though there's not a thing wrong with this book as a romantic suspense. I just should've picked up something else, something lighter maybe, and saved this for later. I'm giving this one three. I'll reread it later, when I'm looking for something complicated, and I feel certain I'll love it then.

Until next time, happy reading!