Title: Embrace Me
Authors: Ann Marie Walker and Amy K. Rogers
Publisher: InterMix
Series: Chasing Fire #3.5
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5
Review:

"Embrace Me" by Ann Marie Walker and Amy K. Roger

My Thoughts.....

This was one happy ending to a well written 'Chasing Fire Trilogy' especially after what all had happen to Alessandra and Hudson in the earlier series. This continuation in this 3.5 is full of fun and the passion [hot, sexy and steamy] that these two had for each other was something that will be thought about long after the read especially after what they had gone through [from the other series] 'from tragedy, betrayal and blackmail.'

Now that Allie and Hudson are married why were they planning another happy event? What will happen as it seems like Allie has a little too much on her plate? Will these two get the wedding they want especially after what had happen to them earlier? What 'adventurous idea' did Allie have up her sleeve that Hudson didn't know about? To get the answers to all of these questions and more you will just have to pick up this good read to see what all this is about. I don't want to spoil it for you!

I loved the take charge[alpha] that Hudson has and that planning of their wedding was simply off the chart...well done. To really know what has gone on earlier in this well told story I would suggest the reader reads all three series first before reading this last one. However, "Embrace Me" alone is a fun and yummy read.

I received this book from NOR for an honest review.

The second in the "seriously sexy and sinfully steamy"* Chasing Fire series, about a pain too deep to forgive and a passion too hot to forget...

Alessandra Sinclair knows that Hudson Chase is the last man she should want. The boy from the wrong side of the tracks has grown into a man who would do anything to get ahead, even if it means breaking Allie's heart. But whenever she's near him, the attraction between them is undeniable. And now that they're working together, keeping her distance from Hudson is almost as impossible as keeping her feelings in check...

Hudson already lost Allie once and he refuses to lose her again. He's determined to use their new business partnership to rekindle the spark he knows is still there. Only the closer he gets to winning her over, the clearer it becomes there are still secrets that could tear them apart for good...

Read an excerpt and enter the giveaway for $50 Amazon gift card!

The Laced Chameleon by Bob Rogers is a suspenseful, compassionate and perceptive reflection on race, identity, and the multifaceted history of New Orleans. The story opens on April 25, 1862, as the Union is routing the Confederates out of New Orleans. The beautiful feisty quadroon Francesca Dumas, her lover, wealth banker Joachim, and several friends are among the crowd celebrating the turnover. Then Francesca world swirls out-of-control when Joachim is shot down before her eyes. Vowing revenge Francesca quickly dispatches her friends to follow the suspected shooters, as she attends to moving Joachim’s body. Now penniless and homeless as Joachim’s family refuses to honor the signed placage contract, this allows mixed-race women to form arranged liaisons with wealthy white men. Further distressed upon learning the police does not have the resources to investigate the murder of Joachim or the kidnapping of her friend Emily, Francesca will turn amateur sleuth working against the clock of time finding out she is much more than what is expected of her.

Rogers’ characters are sharply drawn, and realistically complicated highlighting that much in history is not necessarily all black and white but shades of gray as personal necessity demands. This was a time where race and class defined your identity and everyone was expected to play within the spoken and unspoken rules but it was the characters that stepped outside those boundaries that get me turning the pages. I enjoyed the political intrigue and treachery that’s beautifully interwoven with the history, especially how the fictional and “real life” characters moved the plot along.

I enjoyed and cheered on the character of Francesca and her growth throughout the story. She was raised to use her beauty as her badge of security but survival quickly taught her that was only one key in her arsenal that brains, common sense, compassion, and determination allowed for more opportunities and independence. While I thought the beginning bogged down at points as circumstances reveal deeper, darker motivations, the pace and plot quickens to a satisfying conclusion.

And while I know the author has many more historical stories to tell us, I am hoping that this would be the beginning of a Francesca mystery series. I recommend this book to readers of historical fiction who enjoy a mysterious unscrambling of history.

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.