Ann Jacobs Reviews

Page Three

Added May 13, 2003

A Mutual Favor

Author: Ann Jacobs
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Available At: www.ellorascave.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Erotic/Contemporary
Format: E-book download in Mobipocket/LIT/PDF/HTML
Price: $5.95
ISBN: 1-84360-434-5 MS Reader, 1-84360-435-3 Mobipocket
Author Email/Website: www.annjacobs.us
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

She wants a baby. He needs to prove he has a stable home so that he can have joint custody of his son. A Mutual Favor is a story of two best friends who realize that they can each do something amazing for each other.

Shelly Ware begins to realize, at age 32, that her biological clock is running out. Then, after discovering that her sister has cervical cancer, she decides she wants to have a baby. Who else would she ask to father that baby other than her best friend, Dr. Kurt Silverman. Add to the fact that Shelly's been in love with Kurt almost since they met, and he is the perfect candidate.

Kurt is shocked when his best friend Shelly asks him to father her child. He doesn't give it a second thought. In the meantime, Kurt has been battling his ex-wife Adrianna for shared custody of their son, Jason. The judge deems Kurt's hectic surgical schedule, and the lack of a stable home reason enough to cut Jason's visitation severely. When Kurt hears this, he realizes that he can make Shelly happy by giving her a baby, if she'll return the 'favor' and marry him, so that he will be able to spend more time with his son.

Shelly agrees with the mutual favor, as Kurt's the only man she's ever wanted, but she secretly wishes he could come to love her as much as she loves him. Kurt is just glad his best friend didn't laugh in his face and agreed to become his wife.

A Mutual Favor gives us real characters that we can identify with. Shelly is considered 'too good to be true' by Kurt, as she goes above and beyond to provide the home Kurt needs for his son. She is completely selfless, and endures what she thinks is a one-sided abiding love for Kurt. Kurt is a caring, sensitive man, whose love for his son shines brightly in A Mutual Favor. But, what Kurt can't figure out is why he is so attracted to his best friend all of a sudden. The passion and ecstasy they share is beyond anything he could have ever dreamed. The feelings of friendship, attraction and lust keep escalating. Jason is a typical pre-teen. He's been poisoned by his mother against his father, and resents his father's busy schedule. His character was done well in a story that is just as hot as we expect most Ellora's Cave stories to be.

A Mutual Favor was an excellent read. I was caught up by the passion and the emotions this story evoked. It was impossible to not be affected by Shelly's deepening emotions, especially while watching Kurt's fear of becoming too deeply involved, which causes him to draw further away. Jason affected me deeply as well. Ms. Jacobs delivered again. I look forward to reading more and more of her books.

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Added April 15, 2003

Black Gold: Entrapped

novella in Captured

Author: Ann Jacobs
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Available At: www.ellorascave.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Erotic/Contemporary
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT/Mobipocket
Price: $6.99
ISBN: 1-84360-371-3
Author Email/Website: www.annjacobs.us
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

Captured consists of two tender stories tied together by finding love under the unusual circumstances of imprisonment.

Jamil al Hassan has suffered a brutal imprisonment for eleven years. Readers may remember Jamil's name from Firestorm, by Ann Jacobs. Jamil is the cousin to Sheikh Dahoud al Rashid (Bear), whose story we read in Love Slave, also by Ms. Jacobs. Jamil's plane went down in Iraq during the gulf war, and his family never knew if he were dead or alive. Jamil has been captured, chained and tortured. The only reason he is still alive is that his captors have been using his skills to repair their oilfields.

Leila al Sinan is alone. In her desperation to fill her womb as a means to stave of a lifetime of loneliness, she devises a plan to use forced seduction on one of the prisoners her brother-by-marriage is holding. She realizes her choices are limited as there are only two prisoners left alive. Leila is only there, residing with her sister and brother-by-marriage, because as a widow during this difficult time in her country, her choices for finding a new husband are slim. But Leila has been there over a year, and is feeling quite hopeless. Leila's life was destroyed when her husband was killed, and she was badly scarred during a bombing attack.

One night Leila, for all intents and purposes, rapes Jamil. He quickly realizes that he can use her to aid in his escape. Right away Leila begins to feel her loneliness being filled, and has her own ideas on helping her prisoner Jamil escape. They both find incredible passion in each other. She may have planned to entrap Jamil by getting pregnant, but it is her heart that becomes entrapped. I enjoyed Entrapped because as they worked together to escape Jamil's imprisonment, Leila was able to escape the imprisonment of a lifetime of desolation.

Captured will keep you riveted. Both stories will attract you to each of the couples. This is one you'll not want to miss. The above-mentioned books Firestorm and Love Slave by Ms. Jacobs are wonderful reads with characters that we have grown to love, and enjoy seeing in Entrapped.

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