Kindle Edition, 345 pages

Published January 25th 2014

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My Rating:❀❀❀❀❀
Genre: Contemporary Romance


When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.

Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.

I seriously loved this book. It had a wonderful premise, was well written and beautifully told. I will be reading more by Mia Sheridan. Archer's Voice touched me in its constancy and depiction of unconditional, true love. 

The story begins with Bree escaping a traumatic event, and the loss of her father. She finds a little lakeside town and begins forming relationships with the friendly locals. The break and quieter setting are exactly what she needs. One local that especially catches her attention is Archer Hale. Archer is mute, and Bree feels connected to him because her father was deaf, and she reaches out to Archer, hoping to strike up a friendship with him. Archer is at first cautious of her, but slowly they begin to spend time together. 

And it isn't long before things start to sizzle up. It was wonderful seeing Archer, who was a damaged character, come into his own. Because of Bree, he dared to begin leaving his home and start building a life for himself. And with Bree, Archer begins to heal from a long ago trauma. He also helps Bree move beyond her flashbacks and fears, and to move forward when the investigation into her father's death picks up again. Archer is also forced to make hard decisions about his life with Bree--choices that hurt Bree, but in the end proved that this couple was fated. Considering how broken these characters were, and the ups and downs they face as a couple, this novel might as read as angsty--but it totally didn't. Everything Bree and Archer endured was realistic, and I thought dealt with maturely. 

I loved this couple together, and I loved the story. It had some heartbreaking moments, ups and downs, but through it all, Bree and Archer are honest with one another, give each time and space and find their way back to one another despite the odds that seem to be against them. And if you are looking for a sweet hero, you'll be hard pressed to find one sweeter than Archer Hale.

It's time to bring you another Quote It! post. Cuz I found some really delicious quotes. And I mean, delicious. The writing really made me turn to mush at times because it left me all le sigh.

I absolutely love sharing quotes with everyone, so hopefully you love being teased by the quotes I share. Today I'm going share quotes from Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan. I absolutely loved every word I read in this sweet romance.



I'd never forget the sheer beauty of the expression on Archer's face. Next time it wouldn't be the same. Once he had kissed me, his first kiss, this I knew, it would never be the same again.

His eyes told me everything his voice couldn't. We communicated a thousand words, without a single one being spoken. 

"He brought his hands up, and said, 'I didn't know enough to dream you, Bree, but somehow you came true anyway. How did that happen?' He rubbed his nose along mine, pausing and then pulling back again. 'Who read my mind and knew exactly what I wanted, even when I didn't?'

Awkward boy. Sweet, silent Archer Hale.

You're my everything Bree. 

Stay tuned for more about this book!

Kindle Edition

Published July 10th 2014 

by HarperImpulse

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Series: Marlow Intrigues, #0.5
My Rating: ❀❀❀❀❀
Genre: Historical Romance


The stunning prequel to Kindle bestseller The Illicit Love of a Courtesan!
Life is for grasping and living...

Naïve and innocent, Lady Ellen Pembroke falls for a dashing young army officer. Captain Paul Harding has such an easy, enchanting smile and his blue eyes glow; vibrancy and warmth emanating from him. She is in love.

In turn, the Captain finds his attention captured by the beautiful young daughter of the Duke of Pembroke at a house party in the summer. Finding Ellen is like finding treasure on the battle field. His sanity clings to her - something beautiful to remind him that not all in the world is ugly.

Ellen is someone to fight for and someone to survive for when he is inevitably called to arms in the battle of Waterloo...

I'm utterly devastated by this novel. I'm very glad I read it after it after The Illicit Love of a Courtesan because at least I can look forward and know the wonderful happily ever after that is in store for Ellen. Jane Lark penned a prequel that is full of emotion, innocence and great loss. It was beautiful. 

In this prequel, we follow the story of Ellen's early life and love, with Captain Harding. It was easy to fall in love with this couple, they were both so young and even headed, so willing to take on the world and simply follow their hearts. I cheered for them. Here we see the beginning of Ellen's strength--used to obeying her father, taught to always be serene, never to show emotion, she begins to leave behind the life of a duke's daughter that she has been raised to, and to instead, follow her own heart. It took amazing courage for Ellen to follow Paul to Scotland so that they could be wed, and it took even greater courage for her to follow him so close to war. 

Book One in the Marlow Intrigues

Paul is a character who struck me as somewhat broken. The war has left him with awful memories, but with Ellen he feels soothed. Ellen brings balance and light and love into his world, and I wish fate had been kinder to him. I loved his gentleness, his directness and bravery. He really saw how strong Ellen is, and that made me love him even more because he really saw Ellen.

There is a lot of loss in this novel. Loss of life, loss of innocence. In the days after Paul's death, so many awful things happen to Ellen...and I know more is to come for her, more sorrows and then finally happiness. But those days after Paul's death reminded me just how strong Ellen is--while the ending broke my heart, it also left me cheering for Ellen because it cements her inner strength so beautifully. Wrought with emotion, written with poignant style and delicacy, I left this novel in a turmoil of emotions and was once again reminded how much I love this series. I would like to thank the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kindle Edition, 512 pages

Published (first published 2003)

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Series: Romantic Suspense, #1 
My Rating:❀❀❀❀
Genre: Romantic Suspense 

It was a desperate plan. But Mary Grace Winters knew the only way to save herself and her child from her abusive cop husband was to stage their own death. Now all that remains of their former life is at the bottom of a lake. Armed with a new identity in a new town, she and her son have found refuge hundreds of miles away. As Caroline Stewart, she has almost forgotten the nightmare she left behind nine years ago. She is even taking a chance on love with Max Hunter, a man with wounds of his own. But her past is about to collide with the present when her husband uncovers her trail and threatens her hard-won peace. Step by step, he's closing in on her- and everything and everyone she loves.

This was quite a read. I don't know quite where to begin with this novel. It was a gripping tale, but it was also eye opening in a way. Domestic violence isn't something we always think about, and when it's presented as such a stark reality, it becomes far uglier than you might think when you hear of these abuse victims. 

Caroline has run away from a violent husband, a husband so violent that he kills without regard for human life, devaluing others in a way that is chilling and disturbing. Sadly, his character reminds us that there are those in this world who hold things like kindness, love, compassion and family cheaply. I was thrilled to have a heroine who ran from such a man, who took her life back into her own hands in that way to save not only herself, but her son. I was also thrilled to see her, after years of re-building her life, finding security and love with Max. 

Max was a damaged character as well, and both he and Caroline reminded each other that they were not the only ones who had endured suffering, and loss. I think it was important for Caroline to realize she had moved forward in her life, saved herself and her son--but had also put a bubble around herself as well. Max helped her make that realization, but he also learned to accept others into his life again because Caroline pushed him too. I liked this couple, they were both stubborn, but both knew when they had made mistakes and moved through that together. 

I don't want to reveal too much about the plot itself, because that ties into the suspense part of the story and I wouldn't want to ruin that for anyone. But the plot was well developed, the pacing of it was perfect and each scene brought us closer and closer to the climax of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can recommend this romantic suspense to any fan of the genre. 

Paperback, 384 pages

Published September 30th 2010 

by Choc Lit (first published March 1st 1024)

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Series: Kinross Saga, #1
My Rating: ❀❀❀.5
Genre: Historical Romance


Marriage of convenience or a love for life?

It’s 1732 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and strong-willed Jess van Sandt knows only too well that it’s a man’s world. She believes she’s being swindled out of her inheritance by her stepfather – and she’s determined to stop it.

When help appears in the unlikely form of handsome Scotsman Killian Kinross, himself disinherited by his grandfather, Jess finds herself both intrigued and infuriated by him. In an attempt to recover her fortune, she proposes a marriage of convenience. Then Killian is offered the chance of a lifetime with the Swedish East India Company’s Expedition and he’s determined that nothing will stand in his way, not even his new bride.

He sets sail on a daring voyage to the Far East, believing he’s put his feelings and past behind him. But the journey doesn’t quite work out as he expects…

I'm not even sure how this book came to my attention. But I was immediately drawn in by the premise and I decided I needed something a little light after some heavier reads. This seemed to fit the bill. It's a wonderful book--the setting is unusual as mostly it takes place in Sweden or China, and the characters are interesting and the plot is engaging. 

Both the plot and setting drew me in, and I enjoyed the intelligence and spirit of our heroine, Jess. She knew her stepfather was denying her not only her dowry, but the business her father had said was after his death. I admired that she was willing to ask questions and daring enough to sneak around. That she gets caught was probably a fortunate turn of events since her stepfather banishes her to the country yet again, and asks Killian, the hero, to escort her there.

Book Two 

Killian was a character I immediately liked. A gambler by profession, who will be day be a laird, it was immediate from the opening chapters that he was a honest man with a kind heart and a quick mind. He likes Jess from the moment he sets eyes on her, and when she asks him to marry her he know it's a way of offering her protection. I really liked that protecting her was his main reason for marrying. He wasn't interested in money, and wasn't focusing on bedding her. He liked the idea, but he simply liked Jess, and I liked that he was respectful of her opinions and interests.

The journey to China was very interesting, involving some plot twists I wasn't expecting, but which made for entertaining reading. It also brought Killian and Jess closer together as there was a misunderstanding between them on their wedding night. I think the only thing I'd say was really weak about this story was the hatred Killian's cousin bore him, and the way that played out. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be, and Killian's cousin seemed like a bumbling ass instead of a man hard enough to order Killian murdered. But if you are willing to overlook that, and the somewhat straightforward writing style, this does make for entertaining reading. An engaging read, with characters that are well developed and a unique setting, this proved to be a solid and enjoyable novel.