REVIEW: Seducing Helena by Ann Mayburn

Seducing Helena 
Ann Mayburn
Calendar Men – Mr. March

Supermodel Helena Flores didn’t plan to fall in love with her Marine pen pal, but he’s funny, kind, and so hot she can’t resist. Determined to see if Seth will like her for the woman she is on the inside, she pretends her job in the fashion industry is behind the camera rather than in front of it.

Seth Morgan fell in love with Helena’s words and mind. When he finds out she’s a girl who can have any man she wants, he wonders what she could possibly see in him. But this Marine is determined and plans to seduce her so thoroughly, until all she can see is him and their picture-perfect love.
 

 

Genre: Contemporary, erotic romance, interracial/multicultural, military romance Heat level: 4 Word count – 20k Cover art by Mina Carter
~Excerpt~
Seth Morgan walked down the crowded concourse of JFK Airport to the baggage claim area with his heart pounding in his ears. He was torn between the desire to run to where Helena was supposed to be waiting for him and the need to appear cool and collected. Though how any man could remain calm when one of the most beautiful women in the world waited for him was beyond Seth.

He made his way through the crowd, his six-foot-four height making it easy to see above their heads, and scanned the bustling area for Helena. Almost instantly he found her and everything, every cell, every nerve, seemed to light up inside of him. If he thought she was good-looking in her modeling pictures, Helena in real life just about blew a circuit in his mind.

She stood a little back from the crowd, wearing a flowing white summer dress that made her dark brown skin glow but did little to hide her full breasts and the curves of her hips. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back from her face in a high ponytail and he longed to grip it and use it to hold Helena still for his kiss. The gold bangles on her arm glittered in the sunlight coming through the widows as she shifted and glanced in his direction, ignoring the people around her taking her picture with their phones or just plain gawking.

He paused, letting people walk around him as he took Helena in. Seeing her in living color like this made their daily e-mails to each other seem all the more improbable. When she’d first told him the truth about who she was, he hadn’t believed her until he checked with his buddy, Leo, and found out yes indeed, his pen pal was one of the most desirable women on the planet. While he hated people lying to him, he could understand why she had done it.

In hiding her identity, she’d allowed him to see her true self, a brilliant and funny woman who’d stolen his heart. Now he needed to see if the feeling was mutual. He wasn’t going to press it. If Helena seemed uncomfortable at all, he’d insist on getting his own hotel room instead of staying at her place like she’d asked him to. He still couldn’t understand why someone as hot as her would want anything to do with him but he’d be fucked if he was going to let this opportunity slip by. Beyond that, he really did like her. She was honorable, smart, and kind. At least she was in her letters. 
Author Bio
With over thirty published books, Ann is Queen of the Castle to her wonderful husband and three sons in the mountains of West Virginia. In her past lives she's been an Import Broker, a Communications Specialist, a US Navy Civilian Contractor, a Bartender/Waitress, and an actor at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. She also spent a summer touring with the Grateful Dead-though she will deny to her children that it ever happened.
From a young age she's been fascinated by myths and fairytales, and the romance that often was the center of the story. As Ann grew older and her hormones kicked in, she discovered trashy romance novels. Great at first, but she soon grew tired of the endless stories with a big wonderful emotional buildup to really short and crappy sex. Never a big fan of purple prose, throbbing spears of fleshy pleasure and wet honey pots make her giggle, she sought out books that gave the sex scenes in the story just as much detail and plot as everything else-without using cringe worthy euphemisms. This led her to the wonderful world of Erotic Romance, and she's never looked back.
Now Ann spends her days trying to tune out cartoons playing in the background to get into her 'sexy space' and hopes to one day be able to use the bathroom without interruption from a kid, cat, or dog.
Ann loves to talk with her fans, as long as they realize she's weird and that sarcasm doesn't translate well via text.

Sarah's Review: 
Thanks to Ann Mayburn and Decadent Publishing for providing yet another amazing story!  The Calendar Men Series is a new one from Decadent and I am continuing with the monthly feature of each story.  

Helena and Seth are characters that took being a penpal to a whole new level!  I love that Ann Mayburn utilized modern technology to get two characters to get to know each other.   I truly enjoyed reading how they connected through their emails and then when they finally met in person, their chemistry was combustible!  

PROMO & REVIEW: Guarding Hope by Ann Mayburn

Guarding Hope (Contego Agency #1)

Ann Mayburn

Contemporary Interracial Romance w/ Romantic Suspense Elements

Steamy M/F

Coming August 6th, 2013

War hero Daniel Escobar has left behind his career as a Marine and now works for the Contego Agency, Detroit’s premier personal protection firm. Unfortunately his heroic actions on the battlefield cost him not only part of his sight, but also his peace of mind. Haunted by regrets of the past, Daniel finds a new purpose in life when he is given the job of protecting Hope, the only woman he’s ever truly loved, from the mob.

Hope Walker can’t believe it when she finds Daniel, her first love, working at the Contego Agency. She’s searched for him for years, wanting to know why he left her after that terrible night their senior year in high school when a fight with his mother’s drug dealer boyfriend left Hope in the hospital and Daniel shipped off to parts unknown by Child Protective Services. For both Daniel and Hope the old memories and emotions come rushing back and together they will have to fight to stay alive long enough to give their love a second chance.

Sarah's Review: 

Thanks to Ann Mayburn for creating characters that I want more of RIGHT NOW!!! 

I really enjoy any type of story that has military and/or romance story.  I also love when former military personal create agencies that protect the innocent and/or doing missions that the military can't do because of the legalities.  Contego Agency is one of these agencies.  I can't wait to see what Ms. Mayburn does with future stories.

I really enjoyed watching Danny and Hope reunite and reconnect.  Both of these characters experienced horrible things in their separation but they found a way back to each other as a result of Hope needing protection.   There were several things that happened in this story that made me swoon for Danny, but if I share them, it will take away from the story.