Musa Books I Love -- Blog Hop

The first book I read from Musa Publishing was Shifting Hearts by Dominique Eastwick.  I fell in love with the cover first.  Okay, it was probably lust, but take a good look at this man and you’ll understand why.  He’s Rekkus, head of Wiccan Haus security, hot alpha male, and a were-tiger.  Mmmrrroeww!

Once I got beyond the cover to start reading, I immediately fell in love with the Wiccan Haus world.  The setting is a paranormal island off the coast of Maine that’s run by four siblings, all with different paranormal gifts that they use for spiritual healing of the humans and not-so-humans who vacation on their island for a week at a time.  Perhaps my favorite character from this quirky cast was the desk clerk Myron who’s constantly wearing the wrong name tag and consulting a deck of playing to cards to direct guests on where they should be and what they should be doing.

Another Musa book I read was Ivy League Cowboy by Helen Hardt.  Here’s another alpha man (hmm, do I sense a pattern?) who wants to take care of “his woman.”  I thought this was going to be a predictable cowboy-rodeo-save the ranch romance, but it was not.  The more I read, the more compelled I was by the story.  I can’t say more without spoiling the heroine’s secret, but suffice to say it was very satisfying read.

Just to mix things up, I also read the male-male More Love Notes anthology by Lydia Nyx, Scarlett Parrish, Viki Lyn and Jenny Urban.  It was HOT, and I loved the variety of stories.  I also read the male-male novella Simple Gifts by LB Gregg, which was wonderful and sweet and made me want to read everything LB has ever written.

I have the privilege of being published alongside these wonderful authors at Musa Publishing.  Here are the cover and blurb for my contemporary romance novel Mr. Forever:

Marriage therapist Caleb Paden has just found out he has a son from a one-night stand, making a mockery of his core belief of stable relationships--"friendship above all physical encounters." On his way to take the child for a paternity test, a snowstorm leaves him stranded with single mom Olivia Wells, who blames his advice for breaking up her marriage.  Caleb finds himself fighting the urge for the most basic of physical encounters.  Olivia would like nothing more than to destroy the career he spent a lifetime building, but her maternal instincts draw her to help Caleb bond with his child.  Soon, she finds herself falling for both of them.  Nowhere in any of his advice does Caleb have an answer for how to make a relationship work if he loses his heart to love.

Excerpt:

She shoved his hand away.  "Don't give me that mellow, understanding voice.  You're not my therapist."

"I'm not trying to be.  But if there's a problem with Forever, I want to fix it."

"That's not what you want."  Maybe coming close to her wasn't the best idea.  She was livid.  "You want me to tell you something I did, so you can prove your model's perfect and I'm at fault.  Yes, my marriage failed, and I carry some responsibility.  I blame myself for reading your books and believing they held the secret to everlasting happiness."

He'd met a lot of irate people over the years.  But they were angry with their spouses, themselves, parents, and bosses.  Not him.  He was the one with the answers, the one who redirected the rage into something healthy.  "I'd like to interview you after we've both cooled down and are well rested.  We'll go through the points of Forever one by one and determine where your marriage broke down.  If any problems surface with the model, I can address them in my next book."

"I'll tell you what's wrong.  You underestimate the power of sex."  She advanced toward him.

All the physical senses he thought he'd gotten under tight rein ran wild.  Caleb backed up a step, trying to regain his control, but came up hard against the counter.  Olivia kept coming, boxing him in.  He pulled on his tie again, hoping it was knotted tightly.  He needed his tightly buttoned image to remind himself he was a professional, and his question was strictly as a therapist.  "How was the sex in your marriage?"

"Sometimes mediocre.  Usually lousy."

With the unholy gleam in her eye, he had trouble comprehending the possibility of a sexual experience with her being less than earth-shattering.  Heat radiated from her.  His body was dying for her to lean her hips into his.

"How's your sex life?"  She reached up and unknotted his tie with deft, sure fingers.

"Good enough," he lied.  Too late he realized she'd broken the wall of one-way revelation he always maintained.  Even with his lie for an answer, she'd drawn him in and was consuming him with sexual fantasies.

"Since you're judging me, I ought to get a chance to judge your statement for myself."  She yanked the tie, sliding it out from under his starched shirt collar and heating the back of his neck.

"Stop it."  He was unnerved to find his voice wasn't quite steady.  Women who wanted to be part of his life wrote letters highlighting the benefits of friendship.  "Let's focus on what went wrong in your marriage."

She worked her fingers under his collar, pushing the top button through the hole.  "How can you stand having this so tight?  You can't take a full breath."

He'd been able to breathe just fine until her knuckles rubbed over his Adam's apple.  Her fingers were smooth and competent.  Despite his resolve, he could feel his arousal pulsing with each of her movements.

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