Hello, and welcome back! I'm hoping desperately for a break in our wretchedly hot and humid summer weather--like for winter to arrive early. To distract myself from the misery of the sticky heat outside, I've been busy reading into the August stack of books here, and counting down days until vacation. (And hoping the weather is nicer for that week than it is now.) This time out, I have two new August books to share with you.

Tangled Up in You (Avon) by Rachel Gibson is up first. True crime writer Maddie Dupree is keeping a secret when she goes back to Truly, Idaho to research her newest book--one of the victims was her mother. Mick Hennessy's father was another, and his mother committed the crime. This is a pair that should never get together. And they probably wouldn't except for that little lie of Maddie's. This one has a lot of humor in it, plus the magnetic attraction between Mick and Maddie will keep you reading. All in all, it's not a bad book. But it wasn't great either. Mick's sister is keeping a secret, too, though any savvy romance reader will quickly figure it out, and her issues are glossed over rather too easily for me in the latter stages of the story. Aside from Mick's sister, the remainder of the secondary cast of characters is cute and entertaining. Maddie and Mick's romance moves along most believably, but this one just isn't a keeper for me. I'm giving this one three of Cupid's five arrows.

Edge of Midnight (Brava) by Shannon McKenna is next with her latest McCloud brother, Sean. He learns that the woman he's tried for years to forget is in danger again, and he won't let her be hurt, at least not by a murderer. Liv Endicott had no idea why Sean broke her heart all those years ago, but seeing him again reawakens every feeling she's ever had for him, including the pain and anger. Not to mention the lust almost as hot as the flames that deliberately burn down her bookstore. Alpha (but not too) Sean and smart Liv generate their own sparks right off the bat, and the heat never wanes. McKenna fans will get to revisit Sean's brothers, but they don't take over the story as Sean and Liv go on the run and into hiding from a vicious killer. McKenna is a real pro at getting just the right balance between the romance and the suspense, and her erotic romances are exactly that, erotic and romances. This is one author who definitely belongs under the Brava banner as it started out. If only more of the authors whose books bear the Brava logo were half this good. I'm adding this one to my keeper shelf for sure. It's earned four and a half arrows. I just wish she wrote a little faster and we wouldn't have to wait so long for her next book.

Until next time, happy reading!