25y.o heroine becomes the new housekeeper of the house of 35y.o master statesman Hero.

Hero hasn't left his bedroom since after his wife died about 10 months ago. The rest of the household staff are astonished at heroine's boldness in challenging him to step out of his room. She is secretly motivated to do so due to her desire to search for papers in his possession that would give her the freedom she's been seeking for the past 8 years. Their consequent affair ends as soon as he discovers her deceit. How does he learn to trust her again? What can their romance mean to his future political career?

I don't give many 5-star ratings and I haven't liked all of Duran's books. But this book deserves a 5-star. The writing is smooth and crisp, making tangible what's being described. It's emotionally engaging, bringing humor, angst, sadness, suspense, and hope. Sexual chemistry developed more as the story unfolded. The romance unfolded gradually and greatly intensified from 50% of the book.** The greatest strength of the book, though, is Hero and heroine's characterization. We experienced their character growth throughout their secret romance. They (especially Hero) became stronger and more mature people at the end, guaranteeing an HEA(happy ever after) future for these 2.

Highly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Art-gallery associate feels her fiance, artist Hero, holding back since they got to Paris.

He's reluctant to tell her what's left of his past for fear that she won't understand and may leave him as a result. The call regarding his former lover forces him to reveal his past to her now. How shocking is it for her? Will it drive her away from him?

I had no clue this novella was the umpteenth book in Jones' Inside Out series. But I read it anyway. The summation of Hero and heroine's past history and the basic factors contributing to their current romance challenge were good enough to make me not feel lost. The best parts of the book were the sexy but loving sex scenes and the angst Hero felt before his secrets were revealed. However, when his secrets were finally revealed to heroine, it was anti-climatic. They mentioned already dealing with a similar secret of Hero's in a previous book that sounded much worse than the secrets revealed in this book.**

Moderately recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my other blog: http://movesme.blogspot.com/2014/02/his-secrets-lisa-renee-jones.html

22y.o. paralegal gets another unexpected kiss from 26y.o. firefighter Hero 4 years later.

She's working to do an inventory at his family orchard but he's tempting her to break through her set life with him. But he makes it clear that anything between them is only temporary. Their affair though produces more than just fun and pleasure. The both sense it but Hero still won't let her in. What will it take to do so? And is it enough to make him make a commitment to her?

My 1st Leighton book and I liked it. It was emotionally evoking and had good characterization. It had its funny, sexy, and poignant moments. I felt like I got to know Hero and heroine pretty well from their alternating POV(point of view). They're both strong and caring people who were fine with who they were yet were realizing that some things were missing in their life. Especially when their affair ended. Hero was good at hiding his brokenness but it became clear that knowing about his past wasn't enough.** They both had to take risks to go after what they wanted from each other. And they were rewarded for them. I liked that it took some time for them to assess things, making their decisions seem more sound. I have a good feeling about their HEA(happy ever after).

Recommended.

*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my other blog ... http://movesme.blogspot.com/2014/03/some-like-it-wild-m-leighton.html

Late 20s heroine doesn’t understand why 29yo Olympic alpine skier Hero will only limit themselves to a 1-night stand when she can sense that he wants more with her.

Seeing him again in the Vermont small town she lives in confirms how he feels for her. But he pushes her away again. He does so more forcefully this time when she confesses something personal. And breaks her heart in the process. What chance does he have of her trusting him again?

I liked this book. It had steam, angst, grovel, and a good resolution. We have 2 imperfect people who want to be together but have barriers that prevent them from doing so. What made it angsty was the barriers were mostly internal with Hero. He didn’t do relationships, including close friendships, because of his fatalistic view of his life.** He was used to it until heroine made him wish for things he couldn’t have. The push and pull between their desires and fears made this an emotionally engaging read. How he deliberately hurt heroine pushed the angst. And his shock at later finding out that life was not what he expected it to be pushed it even more. His grovel wasn’t dramatic but it was genuine and meaningful to heroine. He showed that he was sorry and I think made up for the wrongs he did to her.** Heroine was a hopeful person but sometimes a pushover. I did like how she didn’t quickly let him back in her life and took some time to really think things through.

Recommended.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.

Suicide-hotline worker feels a kinship with fellow college-student Hero who called the hotline anonymously due to having suicidal thoughts.

They unknowingly have the same circle of friends since Hero is her boyfriend’s frat brother. Hero and heroine personally connect one night and their relationship progresses quickly. But heroine still has a boyfriend and Hero secrets that prevent him from being in a committed relationship. How do they maneuver past their romance barriers? How do they react when they find out that Hero is the suicide caller & heroine the hotline help?

A good read. The suicide theme didn’t detract from the main romance. It was a point of similarity between Hero and heroine but it wasn’t the center of their romance. Hero and heroine had a strong mutual physical attraction. But it was their unexplainable connection that quickly drew them together. It shook them out of their current state of living: Hero with his self-blame & guilt and heroine with her dissatisfying relationship with her neglectful boyfriend. It made them consider taking risks while finding safety with each other. Their romance grew & the question of infidelity came up.** There are steamy scenes but, with Hero limiting their intimacy, their emotional connection was allowed to more fully develop. It went hand in hand with their character growth. Hero and heroine end up being better people at the end of the book.

Recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.