I adore Elizabeth Hoyt books. I just reread Hot for the 3rd or so time, and I still adore it. this one, though. it was very good, don't get me wrong. it just...it really didn't feel like it was written by the same person. it was not as fun as I expected, darker and yet kinda less real feeling (for example, a lot of the bad guys die. like so many that I felt sorry for them. And while their deaths were undoubtedly justified overall, it was still handled too easily. by the end of the story, everything's all perfect, and I really REALLY felt cheated.) ( )

Once and Always
4.5 Stars

As the grand-niece of a former Russian mobster, Maisa Burnsey is convinced that any future with small town cop Sam West is off the cards despite the intense night they shared. Sam is just as sure that he has no intention of allowing Maisa to get away. May and Sam's non-relationship comes to a head when a group of violent criminals arrive in town in search of their stolen diamonds, which just happen to be in May's possession...

This is my first contemporary romance written by Elizabeth Hoyt under her pseudonym, Julia Harper, and it definitely will not be my last.

May is one of those heroines that readers either love or hate. She has a smart mouth, a prickly disposition and a bit of a chip on her shoulder - obviously, I adore her!

Likewise, Sam might rub some the wrong way with his overbearing tendencies, but anyone with a preference for tortured alpha heroes will love him.

Sam and May's chemistry is sizzling hot and their sexy times are classic Hoyt.

The rest of the plot is an entertaining mix of action packed suspense and small town shenanigans. The residents of Coot Lake, Minnesota are a hoot and the baddies soon learn that they messed with the wrong town.

All in all, Once and Always is an exceedingly entertaining read and I will be reading another of Hoyt's contemporaries ASAP. ( )

Maisa Burnsey gave in once to the temptation of Sam West, a local cop in the small Minnesota town where her great-uncle lives, even though she knew better. But months later, she still doesn't quite have Sam out of her system. When one of her visits also coincides with the arrival of a stranger in town, Maisa's family connections to the Russian mafia will put her tentative relationship with Sam and the entire town at risk.

I've read most of Elizabeth Hoyt's historical romances and so I thought I'd try one of her contemporary romances, which she writes under a pseudonym. While this was an OK read, there were some flaws. The mafia plotline basically takes over the novel early on and doesn't really serve as a catalyst to the romantic relationship like it should, it just takes up space and adds violence. I had a hard time buying Maisa and Sam's romance as anything serious and didn't really buy the very quick acceleration from lust to love. If you're a completist and reading Hoyt's bibliography the novel isn't painful but if you're just looking for a good contemporary romance I'd recommend picking up someone else. ( )

Once and Always by Julia Harper
Blizzard coming, Cooplake, MN and she's gotten pulled over again. Mesa, feels she's been entrapped but she was speeding and had been the other 3 times.
She had spent one night having sex with Sam West.... she ends up at her uncles, the next day Sam shows up and she ends up at his house-her uncles has no electric nor heat.
She gets him to open up about his war days.... she tells him the info about the mob and doesn't tell him she knows of the pink diamonds but she has those still...
Some of the suitcases have the diamond, at least one has a bomb....
Hot steamy sex scenes as they renew their relationship with one another.
Good mystery read mixed in with other aspects that make a book a good one.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). ( )