It's been a while since I read any Mills & Boon but this one has made me remember how much I used to enjoy them. This isn't the first book I've read by Sarah Morgan but I didn't realise she was a M&B author too so I'll have to see if there are any I've missed. I hope there are lots more as she writes such great stories and I'm always charmed by her characters.

The chemistry between Cristiano and Laurel was electric and I was rooting for them the whole way through. I don't always enjoy romances to have friction and misunderstandings that need to be worked through but here I just lapped it up. For anyone who is familiar with M&B type romances it's quite predictable- separated couple who are thrown back together during a family member's wedding have to work through their differences while trying to convince themselves and each other that they've moved on. I just love stories about reunions with ex's. They sometimes frustrate me because a lot of the misunderstandings could be avoided if they would just sit down and talk to each other but they spend all of their energy trying to hide their true feelings and thinking the worst of each other. They do say that the path to true love never runs smooth, I suppose and it wouldn't be much of a story if they sorted it all out in the first chapter after a quick chat.

Wonderful setting of Sicily and Cristiano was a great Italian hero. Laurel was just the right mix of strong yet vulnerable and I actually shed a tear or two as they worked out their differences.

Lovely story and one I'd go back to.

If you're looking for another great Sarah Morgan story, try The Tortured Rake (Bad Blood - Book 1) it's every bit as wonderful as this one.

This finish gets me 192 pages closer to 1 Million pages challenge. 80,251/1,000,000

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...And, I'm calling this for the letter 'R' in my AtoZ Challenge.  'R' is for Reunion.

I don't read many classics any more.  Barely any.  A while back though I took a notion to read Pride & Prejudice for the first time. I'm a big kindle fan but for this book I wanted my first time to be special :P

I hunted down and bought a very nice vintage hardback, complete with gilt trim and (faux) leather and settled down to read...then I laid it aside and had an attack of doubt.  What if I hated it?  EVERYONE else seems to love it and the pressure to get sucked in by it felt huge.  I decided to delay reading it until I felt I was in the right mood for it to grab me.  Eventually I decided that even if I hated it I'd just say I loved it so that nobody would think I was stupid :D

Mkay, now where did that fancy book go?  *sigh*  Nowhere to be found.  It's like the thing has vanished into thin air.  Ah well, never mind, my kindle is special too, I suppose.

Nope, two chapters into the kindle edition and I'm not feeling it.  I really need this one in paper.

So, fast forward a few weeks spent checking charity shops for any copy I could lay my hands on without any success and I take myself online.  I'm browsing a few different covers when I spy the mother lode...  Soon as I saw it I knew that was The Special I had been looking for.

It's just perfect.  It's published by a company called Pulp! The Classics and their covers have all been given a vintage re-do with cute tag-lines to match.  This one has Colin Firth as the inspiration :D

Pride & Prejudice was their first release and although they're quite a new press they've got a nice selection of classics and a few more near to publishing date.

The text of the books is the exact classic's text, it's just the covers that are different.  They all have the coloured page edges like some vintage paperbacks used to have as standard (Pride & Prejudice has red edges) and are made to look beat up and stained on the covers.  So cute.

I love my P&P copy so that I'm saving up for all the others too.  LOVE.  THEM.

I was reading it in the hospital waiting room last week and two separate ladies came over to me and asked about it :)  It's a great conversation starter, lol.

Anyhoo....the story... I LOVE IT!!  No lie, I really do, lol.  I'm working through it slowly to make it last but I'm happy to announce that I really like it.  Darcy is an arse and I don't blame Elizabeth for turning him down but I'm just at the part where she's starting to melt a little towards him and it's great!  I'm going to watch all the dramatizations and movies next and have stock piled the spin off  knock off books about Pemberly and Longbourne and vampires, etc :)

I think Wuthering Heights is next!

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This finish gets me 320 pages closer to 1 Million pages challenge. 80,925/1,000,000

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...And, I'm calling this for the letter 'L' in my AtoZ Challenge.  'L' is for Lamp

To see my original post about the 2014 AtoZ Reading Challenge go HERE and to sign up just head over to  Sock Poppet at play's blog and go for it.  I've decided to only include books which I have read AND reviewed and will link to them.

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My first book finished and reviewed for my A-Z challenge!  I read Butterman Travel Inc and am using it to strike off the letter T for Time (the book travels time, moves through time quickly or flashes back)

A is for April (the month in which you read the book)
B is for Bathing Suit (this book takes place at least partly in hot weather months)
C is for Children (Children's book or a book about children)
D is for Doctor (one of the characters)
E is for Ever (in the title)
F is for Family (book is about a family or family relationships)
G is for Geography (the story takes place in at least two different countries)
H is for Heart (it's a love story)
I is for Ice (the setting is cold - snow, ice, rain)
J is for Jokes (the book is humorous)
K is for Keyboard (at least one character plays a musical instrument)
L is for Lamp (the book takes place before electricity was discovered)
M is for Mother (one of the characters)
N is for New-to-you author
O is for Out of This World (where the story takes place)
P is for Pilgrims (the story involves moving someplace new)
Q is for Question Mark in the title
R is for Random (close your eyes and pick a book at random from shelves or ereader)
S is for Sequel (the next book in a series you've already read)
T is for Time Butterman Travel Inc
U is for Urban (set in a city)
V is for Veteran (at least one character is/was a member of a military force)
W is for Wings (Book features Angels, Birds, Dragons or anything with wings)
X is for XXIV (it's the 24th book you read this year)
Y is Year (a book published this year)
Z is for Zoo (there is an animal on the cover)

Join me if you're a little quirky, too. (Tweak as needed.)

Any books used to complete this challenge can be used for any other challenges you may be doing, but each book can be used for only one of the categories in this challenge.

If anyone is taking part in the reading challenge here and would like a sidebar button for their blog, I've made this one which you're welcome to snag.  it's 150x150 but resize it to whatever size you need. Scroll down if you're looking for your personal button.

If you've made a custom page for your A to Z challenge and would like the graphic above to link to your page, just copy/paste the following code ( shown below ) into your 'widget area' in your blog customize menu.  Make sure it's added after any other code that's already in the box.  There are a few sections in that menu that say 'widget code' but it's the 'widget area' that you're looking for.  If you're not sure where your customize menu is, check this tutorial for help :)

If you have any other images or widgets in your sidebar you may find that your A to Z button isn't centered.  If that's the case just add the following to your Custom CSS box (at the very bottom of your menu where all of your blog override codes are added).

left a img {
    margin-left: 10px;
}

That should center it but everyone has different things in their sidebar which may affect  things.  If it doesn't work out for you, you know the drill....just come back here and holler :D

There's probably an easier way but I'm strapped for time and wanted to just put a quick workaround...if you know an easier way please let me know so I can change it :)

Anyhoo, on to the customized challenge buttons....