♦ MONDADORI (2 dicembre 2017) ♦

EMOZIONI

55 – Jill SHALVIS – Stringimi a te (Rescue my Heart) – acquistabile qui 

Sunshine, Idaho.

Capo di una squadra di soccorso, Adam Connelly ha appena fatto ritorno alla clinica di Belle Haven dopo una missione insieme a Milo, il suo labrador color miele, durante la quale ha riportato una ferita a una spalla. Ma una cicatrice più profonda lo affligge: un’adolescenza difficile unita al trauma della guerra. Trauma che il tempo, gliel’hanno sempre assicurato, dovrebbe guarire…

Quando però nella sua vita riappare prepotentemente Holly Reid, una valanga di emozioni, tutte difficili da affrontare, lo travolge. Holly sembra arrivare da un altro pianeta: affascinante, intraprendente amministratrice dei ricchi affari di famiglia e, per di più, sposata! Cosa mai potrà ancora desiderare da lui una ragazza così?

#3 Animal Magnetism series

PASSIONE

158 – Danelle HARMON – L’Indomita (The Wayward One) – acquistabile qui 

Vissuta da sempre all’ombra della sua famiglia, lady Nerissa è stufa di sentirsi una bambola di porcellana. Ora però suo fratello Lucien de Montforte, il potente duca di Blackheath, ha deciso che è giunto anche per lei il tempo di sposarsi.

Ma quando Nerissa accompagna il fratello scienziato Andrew a Londra, s’imbatte in Ruaidri O’Devir, capitano irlandese della Marina americana che ha il compito di rapire Andrew e ottenere da lui la formula segreta del potente esplosivo che ha inventato. La bellezza dirompente di Nerissa, tuttavia, stravolge i suoi piani…

#5 The de Montforte Brothers

159 – Lynsay SANDS – Sposare un highlander (The Highlander takes a Bride) – acquistabile qui 

Saidh Buchanan non è una vera e propria lady: tira di spada, impreca come un uomo e non sa nascondere la sua natura sensuale.

Il suo arrivo al castello dei MacDonnell suscita immediatamente l’interesse del laird, che la chiede in sposa ai fratelli dopo una notte di passione. Ma non appena Saidh diventa lady MacDonnell, le accadono strani incidenti, che presto si riveleranno tentativi di omicidio.

Chi può volerla morta? Tutti i sospetti si concentrano su Fenella, cugina di Saidh… Solo l’amore potrà svelare la verità.

#3 Highlander

INTROVABILI

35 – Julie GARWOOD – La signora dei clan (Saving Grace) – acquistabile qui 

Inghilterra, 1200.

Alla notizia della morte improvvisa del marito, il crudele e violento barone Raulf, lady Johanna non può che tirare un respiro di sollievo. Ma per toglierle la libertà appena riconquistata interviene nientemeno che re Giovanni, che vorrebbe maritarla con un uomo molto più anziano di lei.

Con l’aiuto del fratello, tuttavia, Johanna riesce a sfuggire a questa nuova insidia e parte per la Scozia dove ad attenderla c’è il coraggioso e avvenente Gabriel MacBain, supervisore in loco dei possedimenti della famiglia. Gabriel, già padre di un bambino di nome Alex, ha deciso di sposare la giovane nonostante le dicerie sul suo conto e la convivenza iniziale non è certo semplice, ma il destino e l’amore…

36 – Iris JOHANSEN – Tra le braccia di uno straniero (The Beloved Scoundrel) – acquistabile qui 

Balcani, 1809.

Nonostante la giovane età, Marianna Sanders ha già dovuto affrontare gravi lutti e un difficile viaggio in territori segnati dalla guerra, per scoprire infine che la meta del suo pellegrinaggio è andata in frantumi. Ora cerca riparo e sicurezza per il fratellino Alex, ma non avrebbe mai immaginato di affidarsi alla protezione di uno straniero, Jordan Draken, freddo e bellissimo, che si offre di condurli con sé in Inghilterra…

Il buon cuore non spicca tra le doti del valoroso Jordan, ma il suo intuito gli dice che quella trovatella, giunta come lui a Talenka per la Vetrata per il Paradiso, custodisce in realtà un segreto in grado di decidere le sorti dell’Europa. E per lui Marianna diventa ogni giorno più irresistibile…

Coop whined and Mick looked down at the twelve-year-old golden retriever, ball in his mouth. Coop panted happily and dropped the ball at Mick’s feet, his rheumy brown eyes ever hopeful.

Mick shook his head. “Last time I threw it, you decided you didn’t mean it.”

Coop gave a talkative “woo woo woo.”

Translation: Mick was full of shit. “I had to go get it myself,” he reminded the dog. “Remember that?”

This bought him another “woo woo woo.”

“Okay, okay.” Mick picked up the ball, and because there was a lot of old-man dog pride on the line here, he gave it a dramatic throw, making sure it went only about twenty feet.

Coop gave an energetic leap. A single energetic leap. After that, he eyeballed the sea of sand ahead of him, huffed out a sigh, and sat. Then he craned his big, fuzzy golden head and gave Mick a sad-eyed look.

“Are you kidding me?” Mick asked him.

Coop lay down, set his head on his front paws, and stared forlornly out at the ball that his brain wanted to chase but his sore joints and tired body wouldn’t allow. It was a daily reminder for the dog, who in his own mind clearly wasn’t elderly, forgetful, or more than half deaf. Nope, in Coop’s opinion, he was still a rambunctious, energetic puppy.

Mick blew out a sigh and fetched the damn ball. When he came back, the dog sat up, eyes bright, tongue lolling.

“Not a chance,” Mick said on a laugh. “I’m not throwing it again. This was about your exercise, not mine. I already had my run today.”

A Lexus pulled up. A woman sat behind the wheel and stared out at the dunes and the ocean. All Mick could see of her was a cloud of whiskey-colored waves of hair and a pale face. She stared at the water and then set her head to the steering wheel and banged it a few times.

Then, head still down, she went utterly still.

Coop whined about the ball and nudged Mick’s knee, eyes pleading.

With a head shake, Mick threw the ball five feet.

Coop happily pounced on it.

While his dog pranced around proudly, ball in his mouth, Mick turned back to the car. The woman hadn’t moved. Had she knocked herself out? Was she still breathing? “What do you think?” he asked Coop. “Stay out of it, or ask her if she’s okay?”

Coop, who’d never been impressed by a single one of the women in Mick’s social life, yawned.

“Right,” he said. “Stay out of it.”

But the woman suddenly sat up straight and fumbled her way out of the car, falling to her knees on the rough gravelly asphalt, gulping in air like she was suffocating.

Realizing she was hyperventilating, Mick rushed to her and crouched at her side, having to push Coop back from making her acquaintance—which he tended to do with a rude nose push to the crotch. “Stay,” he ordered and looked the woman over.

Young. Late twenties maybe. Definitely having a panic attack of some kind. Not touching her, he spoke quietly and calmly. “Take a deep breath through your nose.”

She had to quiet herself to hear him, but she did as he said. She took a deep breath, shuddery as it was.

“Good,” he said, still holding Coop back from trying to say hello. “Stay.”

“What?” she gasped.

“Sorry, not you. My nosy-ass dog. Keep breathing. That’s it,” he said when she worked at it.

When she had it under control, she met his gaze, her own eyes hooded and clearly embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Coop, tired of being held back, shoved his big old head between them and licked her from chin to forehead. Mick palmed the dog’s face and pushed his head away from the woman whose shoulders were now shaking.

Aw, hell. He patted his pockets—for what, he had no idea. It wasn’t like he carried tissues or napkins on him to offer her. He rose to his feet to go search the truck, which was when she lifted her face and he saw that she was shaking with laughter, not tears.

She was laughing at his ridiculous dog.

About Jill Shalvis:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, chef Quinn Weller is finally getting her life back on track. She appears to have it all: a loving family, a dream job in one of L.A.’s hottest eateries, and a gorgeous boyfriend dying to slip an engagement ring on her finger. So why does she feel so empty, like she’s looking for a missing piece she can’t find?

The answer comes when a lawyer tracks down Quinn and reveals a bombshell secret and a mysterious inheritance that only she can claim. This shocking revelation washes over Quinn like a tidal wave. Her whole life has been a lie.

On impulse, Quinn gives up her job, home, and boyfriend. She heads up the coast to the small hometown of Wildstone, California, which is just a few hours north, but feels worlds apart from Los Angeles. Though she doesn’t quite fit in right away, she can’t help but be drawn to the town’s simple pleasures…and the handsome, dark-haired stranger who offers friendship with no questions asked.

As Quinn settles into Wildstone, she discovers there’s another surprise in store for her. The inheritance isn’t a house or money, but rather something earthshattering, something that will make her question everything she thought she knew about herself, about her family. Now with a world of possibilities opening up to Quinn, she must decide if this new life is the one she was always meant to have—and the one that could finally give her the fulfillment she’s searched so long for.

“Mick?” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Are you feeling something?”

“You could say that,” he murmured. “You?”

She licked her lips and he nearly groaned. “I think so,” she whispered.

“That’s good.”

“Are you going to kiss me?”

He cupped her face, let his thumbs trace her jawbone, his fingers sinking into her silky waves. “No,” he said quietly. “And not because I don’t want to, but because when I do, I want to know you’re ready. That you’ll feel it.”

She sighed. “Guys do whatever they want all the time, no emotions necessary. I want that skill.” Another shaky breath escaped her, and since they were literally an inch apart, they shared air for a single heartbeat during which neither of them moved.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “Okay, so I’m definitely feeling things.” She hesitated and then her hands came up to his chest. “Maybe we should test it out to be sure.”

God, she was the sweetest temptation he’d ever met, and he wanted nothing more than to cover her mouth with his. Instead, he brushed his mouth to her cheek.

“Please, Mick,” she whispered, her exhale warming his throat.

He loved the “please,” and he wanted to do just that more than anything. But when she tried to turn her head into his, to line up their mouths, he gently tightened his grip, dragging his mouth along her smooth skin instead, making his way to her ear.

“Not yet,” he whispered, letting his lips brush over her earlobe and the sensitive skin beneath it.

She moaned and clutched him. “Why not?”

It took every ounce of control he had to lift his head and meet her gaze. “Because I want to make sure you’re really with me, that you’re feeling everything I’m feeling. That there’ll be no doubt, no regrets.”

“You sure have a lot of requirements.”

He laughed. And she was right, it was all big talk for a guy who didn’t do relationships anymore. Still, he forced himself to step back and shut the passenger door.

As he rounded the hood to the driver’s side, he tried to remind himself of all the reasons she was a bad idea. He lived two hundred miles away and he was hoping to move his mom up by him and never come back here. Not to mention that Quinn lived an equal two hundred miles in the opposite direction and she was in a deeply vulnerable place. No way would he even think about taking advantage of that.

But when he slid behind the wheel and their eyes locked, he realized that while his mind could stand firm, the rest of his body wasn’t on board with the in-control program.

About Jill Shalvis:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

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