Cross Your Heart (A Broken Heart Novel #7) by Michele Bardsley
Paranormal Romance
September 7, 2010
Paperback, 320 Pages
Signet

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: "Jesus. That vocabulary of yours makes me hot…but that snooty tone of yours is what really gets me hard."

While Elizabeth Bretton didn’t expect to live forever; she did expect to live for awhile. After her husband’s death, she comes home to the family estate in Broken Heart, Oklahoma only to be attacked by a vampire and turned. But life or non-life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

When she is attacked in the woods by her home she is saved by the very hot and the very smexy Tezozomec Abraham Elvis  Jones- Tez for short. Tez, a were-jaguar, makes no bones about the fact he’d like to do more with her body then just "save" it from harm, but Elizabeth isn’t riding that train. Vampires have a crazy marriage clause. Penetration=a hundred year non negotiable marriage. Plus, Elizabeth seems to have an angry ghost hanging around that wants her dead. As the town couples suddenly start trying to kill each other and the local shape shifters take an un natural interest in Tez;  Elizabeth must dig up her past in order to have a future.

I adore Michele Bardsley’s Broken Heart series. Filled with sarcastic humor, steamy romance, and paranormal suspense, we are taken on a fast light hearted journey that leaves you laughing out loud while giving you a couple mysteries to solve. Bedlam reigns supreme as usual through the story but this one isn’t as deep the the past two have been. We catch glimpses all the characters we’ve come to love in here and meet some new ones I hope to see in future books. We also learn some interesting clues to the towns past and founders.

There are actually three story lines here. Tez and Elizabeth’s romance, the shape shifters interest in Tez, and a ghost who is trying to kill Elizabeth claiming she "betrayed him".

Tez is so outrageous. From his sexually explicit GPS to his rearranging of Elizabeth’s underwear drawer; he will had me rolling with laughter.  As he tempts her with sexual innuendos & passionate kisses; Elizabeth doesn’t stand a chance against his lethal charm. And though she runs, she wisely allows herself to be caught. Watching the two of them come together was hilarious. The smexy scenes between them are VERY hot and made me wish I had a Tez of my own.

As Elizabeth and Tez dig further into her "ghost" problem she learns some not so pleasant secrets about her family and their ties to the town’s other residents.The side story lines blend well into the main arc and have a perfect balance of suspense and humor to make for a delightful outcome in the romance department. The main conflict(s) however are solved without much drama;  which was disappointing considering the build up they are given.

Even though this is the 7th in the series, this can stand alone. Though I do think you lose something in the main arc by not starting at the beginning. However, Ms. Bardsley does provide a Glossary, A Brief History of the Consortium, and several other references pertaining to Broken Heart  that can help both newcomers and long-time fans of the series.

Rating: 3.5/5

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