"He was all male, a testosterone-laden specimen of strength and aggression and a threat to all she was as a woman. He was a ruthless temptation to her deepest, darkest desires, the ones she'd hidden away, even from herself."  Darkness Seduced (Book #2 Order of the Blade) by Stephanie Rowe. To say that I am merely a fan of Stephanie Rowe is a HUGE understatement. Stephanie rocks my book world. Seriously! I love this damn woman. She kicks ass at the whole writing gig! Day Ten is a day dedicated to one of my favourite authors. The author, who single handedly gave me a reason to open Bex 'n' Books in the first place! She was my very first blog review on Bex 'n' Books - and this is the actual book that I reviewed almost 18 months ago. Please read my review of Darkness Seduced and see why I feel in love with Stephanie's fabulousness! Reviewer: Bex Rating: 5 out of 5 Fairies Darkness Seduced is such a passionate book. From the first chapter, I wa...

No Knight Needed is contemporary romance at its best. Visualise that checklist; you know the imaginary one that we all have whilst reading. The one that you’re metaphorically ticking off to see if it meets your literary standards! The one that, by the end of the novel, you mull over to see whether or not the book that you’ve spent the last few hours, days, or even weeks reading, has been worth your while. Of course you know the list that I’m refering to. Well, throw the list away. You will not need it with No Knight Needed; it does everything it says on the tin and more! Okay, enough of the clichés, but surely you get the idea! Immediately, Stephanie Rowe throws her readers into the thick of drama. We are greeted with fairly complex, yet deeply human and therefore ‘normal’ characters. Both of the characters, who are quickly established as the two protagonists, Griffin and Clare, clearly are individuals with ‘history’, and what we’re interested in, considering the genre...

Sweet, Sassy & Sexy Romance If you’re looking for a sassy romantic read this Christmas, then look no further – Jingle This!, by the Über talented Stephanie Rowe, has it all. Not only is Jingle This! a well-crafted fun story to get you in that festive mood, but it also offers an array of characters who you will soon love, admire and even loathe. The main female protagonist, Angie Miller, is a character worthy of spending time following. Angie’s wit and dialogue, in addition to her inner thoughts created by Stephanie Rowe, makes Jingle This! a thoroughly enjoyable read, one that had me snorting out loud and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Jingle This! is chic lit, with many super sexy moments intertwined, at its best! There’s very little else a story from this genre could offer: super-hot sexy man – check! Sassy and cool bff – check! Sassy witty dialogue – double check! And of course a few twists along the way just to keep the reader enthralled and second guessing. A...

Goodreads Synopsis Talismans carved on his body. A lethal darkness amassing inside him. A woman who calls to his spirit on levels so intimate and so passionate that his deadened soul screams in agony. Calydon warrior Kane Santiago has a past he can't remember, and a deadly legacy closing in on him. His only chance is Sarah Burns, a sensual, courageous woman fighting to save herself and her family from an ancient, brutal evil. Sarah is on the verge of losing everything, but she can't afford to trust Kane, who is either the key to her final destruction...or her only chance of survival. Bound together by a connection so deep that it has the power to bring the past and all its nightmares back to life, Kane and Sarah must tap into the hearts they closed down so long ago or lose everything, including their souls. I have loved every single book in this series, but all for different reasons. Yet with Darkness Reborn, Stephanie Rowe has truly out done herself. She's ma...

Goodreads Synopsis Cursed to die for a choice his ancestor made, Ian Fitzgerald has spent six hundred years fighting the curse and trying to restore honor to his family's name. But his time to die has finally come, and his doom is in the guise of the one woman he cannot walk away from: his soul mate. Or is she really who she seems? Light and darkness, shadows and death, reality and illusions swirl around Ian as the curse hauls him relentlessly toward his own demise. Desperate to survive, Ian fights ruthlessly to uncover the truth about the sensual, desperate female who has died in his arms already…twice. Can she save him, or will she be the final key to the destruction of everything he has fought to protect? **FOREVER IN DARKNESS is a short novella approximately 60 pages (18,000 words) in length. It is a precursor for the Ian's full-length novel, DARKNESS ARISEN, coming late 2012.** I am a huge fan of this series, and I wasn't quite sure what to expe...

Amazon Synopsis Publication Date: June 13, 2012 "Dawn at Birch Crossing is m-a-g-i-c-a-l! Hands down, it is one of the best romances I have read." ~Sharon Stogner, Love Romance Passion Reviews The moment his ex-wife took his daughter and walked out, Griffin Friesé lost everything that mattered to him. After two years of agonizing failure to reconnect with his daughter, he's heading to Birch Crossing to find her. Unfortunately for Griffin, he arrives to find the town has rallied against him to protect their own. His only ally is a single mom whose warmth and determination just might break through the scars on his heart. Since the day she became an eighteen-year-old widow with an infant, Clare Gray's only goal has been to provide for her daughter. She has worked so hard to be strong, and the last thing she can afford is to open her heart to an outsider who will soon be leaving town. But when Griffin helps save her daughter's life in a storm, an unbreakable...

Goodreads Synopsis The moment his ex-wife took his daughter and walked out, Griffin Friesé lost everything that mattered to him. After two years of agonizing failure to reconnect with his daughter, he's heading to Birch Crossing to find her. Unfortunately for Griffin, he arrives to find the town has rallied against him to protect their own. His only ally is a single mom whose warmth and determination just might break through the scars on his heart. Since the day she became an eighteen-year-old widow with an infant, Clare Griffin's only goal has been to provide for her daughter. She has worked so hard to be strong, and the last thing she can afford is to open her heart to an outsider who will soon be leaving town. But when Griffin helps save her daughter's life in a storm, an unbreakable connection is formed between Clare and the tormented business mogul. For these two single parents, love is the last thing they are looking for, but in Birch Crossing, love always seems t...

Amazon Synopsis "Rowe is a paranormal star!" ~J.R. Ward Six hundred years ago, Elijah Ross was tortured into insanity and thrust into a mental hell that no living creature has ever survived…except him. Now, that ancient evil is back, and it is far more deadly. Elijah is all that stands between it and the destruction of all of humanity, but each step he takes drags him ruthlessly back into the nightmare that once consumed him. Elijah's only chance is Ana Matthews, whose sensual kisses and passionate fire thrust hope and light into his blackened heart and fragmented mind. But Ana’s deadly past could be the final trigger for Elijah's descent into irretrievable madness and the destruction of his soul, humanity and what is left of his heart. "Darkness Surrendered, in my opinion is the best novel of the series thus far…Darkness Surrendered drew me so deeply into the story that I felt Ana and Elijah's emotions as if they were my own…they completely engulfed m...

Goodreads Synopsis Immortal warrior Gideon Roarke made an oath five hundred years ago to the woman who died for him. The ancient Calydon is ruthless in his quest to honor that promise, even if it means risking everything by teaming up with the one woman who will either destroy him, or finally bring redemption to his blackened, hardened soul. After escaping from a two-year imprisonment at the hands of a madman, the only thing Lily Davenport wants is to go home and reclaim her life. Unfortunately for Lily, standing between her and that goal is a sensual, demanding protector whose dangerous seduction threatens to claim her life…and her soul. Darkness Seduced is such a passionate book. From the first chapter, I was successfully hooked and absorbed into the plot and the characters; I knew immediately that I would love it. We are immediately introduced to Lily, an intelligent professor who is being held hostage. Throughout the whole of Lily's remarkable journey of discovery, love...