Hello, and welcome back! Summer is here with a vengeance--it's so hot and humid, I can barely stand to step outside the front door. Good thing my to-read stack is well-stocked at the moment.

Hot & Heavy (Leisure) by Sandra Hill tops the stack this time out, with another of her Viking/SEAL time travels. This time, Madrene Olgadottir has come forward in time, right into the middle of Ian MacLean's latest operation, and when the dust has cleared, the sparks start to fly. Always hilarious, always steamy, Ms. Hill's romances have been on my auto-buy list for years. Ian and Maddie have a lot to work through, including a marriage neither of them planned on, but with her trademark humor, their obstacles will have you laughing out loud all the way. Cupid's lent four of his five arrows for this one.

Close Up (Berkley) by Virginia Kantra is next. I was lucky in my choice of reading material over the weekend--two of my favorite authors in a row! I have quite a lot of Ms. Kantra's series books on my shelf, and this one will be joining them. Jack Miller's plans are disrupted by Lexie Scott's appearance in the woods where he's waiting to rescue his sister from the fanatical religious cult she married into. Lexie's got little choice but to trust Jack when he helps her hide from the men chasing her, but she can't quite trust him with her entire story. This one is steamy, too, with some lighter moments to ease the tension, and both Lexie and Jack have to stretch outside their comfort zones to finally reach their happy ending. You'll be thrilled when they do, too. I'm giving this one four arrows as well. A definite keeper.

Marriage Most Scandalous (Pocket) by Johanna Lindsey is available now. Lady Margaret Landor has one last chance to track down her former guardian's disowned son--and the person she's sought out, The Raven, turns out to be that very man. Sebastian is none too pleased to have Margaret in his ruined keep, and refuses to come home until she goads him into it. For his investigation to work, though they must pose as a married couple for the duration, an onerous chore when Sebastian treats her so rudely. I really wanted to like this one more than I did. I just didn't fall in love with Sebastian, so this one didn't grab me unfortunately. I'm sure many of you will feel differently, but I'm giving it three arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!