The Good & the Bad!

"After two years of budding temptation, and unspoken passions, Willow DeVane and Raith Malloy finally take the unexpected plunge and follow through with the desires they have been secretly longing for with each other. In this fabulously written novel entitled The Right To Remain Mine by Linda Kage, these two stubborn characters are faced with more challenges than they ever could have dreamed of during their newly embarked on relationship.

After first encountering Lieutenant Raith two years ago giving her a parking ticket outside of the court house, divorce attorney Willow can't decide whether or not the feelings he inflicts in her are based more out of hatred, or unbridled desire. Now after getting attacked by an irate client in the police station, Willow is stuck with Raith hassling her about becoming a little less aggravating towards potential enemies, and a little more defensive when trying to protect herself from potential psychos. She doesn't want to spend more time with this infuriating yet handsome cop, but for her own peace of mine, she agrees to his lessons on how to defend herself a little more. Now her biggest problem is that she has to keep her desires, as well as her heart, from exploding when they come together.

Raith has been obsessing over the gorgeous lawyer now since the day he first noticed her two years ago. She's the star of his erotic dreams, and the thorn in his side during the week. She's everything he despises in a person, including the fact that she is a lawyer, and he absolutely despises lawyers. He's constantly finding himself needing her more and more though, and for the life of him, he can't figure out why that is. When she is attacked at the station by one of her clients, he decides right then and there that he has to have her in some way shape or form, otherwise he's likely to lose his mind. The one thing he wasn't counting on though was her needing him in the same way he's always needed her.

Both Raith and Willow embark on a tumultuous, yet exhilarating ride together. They fulfill all of their heated passions the night he teaches her self-defense training, and they each find that it's no where near enough to suffice their growing needs for each other. Unfortunately they are both to stubborn to admit that loving each other is the ultimate prize in their back and forth, love them/hate them game.

As a mature older couple, these two acted like two teenagers with hormones set on the explosive level whenever they were together, and I have to say, I loved it!! Each one held characteristics that molded with the other, and it was very fulfilling to read about. Raith was a stubborn, chauvinistic male, who defined the word alpha. He had the ability to make you love him and want to slap him all at the same time. He was burned out on the thought of love having been divorced after a five year marriage, but still held the ability to do just that. He was sexy, swoon worthy, brave and protective. He would make any woman in America want to be handcuffed and hauled off to jail just once to be near him. Willow, on the other hand was just as fabulous. She was the epitome of a tough as nails woman, and her bravery and strength was a force to be reckoned with. She was just as stubborn as Raith, so it made their back and forth banter just that much better. I loved her ability to make light out of serious situations. Humor mixed in with that kind of intensity is hard to find, and I found it refreshing and new.

My advice to anyone wanting to read The Right To Remain Mine is to make sure you are not sitting next to anything flammable due to the fact that it may just make you spontaneously combust by simply just reading it. I can't even begin to say how much I enjoyed The Right To Remain Mine. The passion was perfect, the suspense held me grounded to my seat, and the characters became my own personal sidekicks. So if you love a good Romantic Suspense novel, then you need to read The Right To Remain Mine immediately. It is just that awesome!

--Heather"

"Kage's The Right to Remain Mine is a romantic suspense that much more heavily favors the romantic elements over the suspense. I tend to prefer a better balance between the two, but I have to admit, Kage won me over in this one with the unconventional characters and a relationship that was almost as combative as it was combustible. I ended up both amused and a little charmed by the characters, and the lack of significant suspense didn't bother me so much.

Raith is all man. That's really the only way I can describe him. And not the typical romance leading man, either. The too good to be true, big and strong alpha male who, despite being able to bench press a Buick or buy a third world country, is still firmly in touch with his feminine side and bends over backwards to meet the heroine's needs, even at the risk of emasculating himself, as soon as the requisite relationship conflict is resolved. Yeah. That's not Raith.

Sexist, obstinate, and a bit of a verbal bully, he's got emotional baggage out the wazoo and it colors almost everything he says and does. I could easily picture the man spending most of his free time watching sports, drinking beer, scratching his balls, and flipping through last month's Penthouse to read the "articles." He struck me as the sort of guy who appreciates classy, sexy women for their fine bods and their wicked brains, but never feels quite worthy of having one. He's definitely out of his element with Willow, he knows it, and it makes him surly, uncommunicative, and more than a little bit of a jerk on several occasions.

Obviously, he isn't all bad, or he wouldn't have been very likable, but he definitely isn't the typical romantic lead. He did have his moments of panic and vulnerability that kept him believable and sympathetic, and being given glimpses into his head helped me really embrace his prickly, cantankerous nature. Kage did a great job making him both a jackass and totally endearing.

Willow was slightly more the prototypical heroine. Rich, well-educated, used to having things mostly go her way, she's also high spirited and has a clean, mean temper. She's got a reputation as a man-eater, which is fairly far from the truth, but the reputation tends to help her professional image so she doesn't bother disabusing anyone of the notion. Her family adores her and she adores them, but she does tend to lead a very solitary life at her core. And she thinks Raith is one fine specimen of manhood who would be fabulous to spend time with...if he'd just never speak.

I liked them both very much, even when Willow was acting pretty oblivious to some things, or when Raith was making some serious errors in judgement that put Willow at risk. Together, though, they were dynamite. I can't say they were ever really enemies, per se, as most of their snarky back-and-forth is desire-based, but there is a definite enemies-to-lovers feel in the arc of the romance - and that's one of my favorite themes. I thought their physical relationship was deliciously sexy and wonderfully raw, and their emotional relationship was sort of sweet, a little awkward (in that feel-good way), and very satisfying.

Some of the other elements of the book weren't as appealing. The beginning was a little confusing for me in relation to the timeline. I was confused about how much time had passed between Raith writing Willow's ticket and Willow getting accosted by her ex-client. It was clarified later, but Raith's reference to several months and a later mention of two years seemed disparate to me and threw me a little. Also, towards the middle of the book there was a flashback scene that took me completely by surprise and seemed out of place and awkward to me.

And as I mentioned before, the suspense plotline was pretty weak and didn't have nearly as much presence in the narrative as I would've liked. It came up suddenly and ended suddenly and didn't really add much to the overall read. Some of the more subtle threads of the threat were very nicely done, though, and I didn't dislike what was there. I just wish there had been more.

I loved the epilogue, though. Loved everything about it. Loved when it was set, where it was set, and who was in it. It was, for me, the perfect cherry on the Willow-and-Raith romance sundae. It made me smile for quite a while after I finished the read, and it left me with a very positive feeling towards the book. Fans of more traditional romantic suspense may be a little disappointed in the preponderance of romance in this one, but I like romance quite a lot, and it was that romance and the great characters that pulled this one out for me."

"Anger, passion, fiery comebacks, and a love that just can't be denied. The heat and heart in The Right to Remain Mine shine through, and the love that grows only gets deeper.

Raith is a tough cop and a man that can't stand lawyers...in any sense. Then comes around this feisty woman, one he has a powerful attraction to. However, he’s having a tough time getting to know her for they can't seem to get along. Plus...she's a lawyer. And well, I think you can guess what that does to him.

Willow- wow. That's what I have to say about her. She's strong, wilful, stubborn, and one heck of a heroine. The angst that turns into passion between the couple is imminent and up front.

The Right to Remain Mine sizzles in all the right places and aims to please lovers of hot contemporary romances. I enjoyed this story. If you like contemporary romance, don't miss this one."

It’s always a good sign when the book you’re reading starts out with one of your favourite phrases. “You’ve gotta be kidding me...” I say that all the time even though I’m German.

Let’s have a look at the cover. You’ll want to give the artist a big fat smooch. It really is great and captures the blurb perfectly. Looking at it I formed certain expectations and I’m happy the author didn’t disappoint. Raith Malloy is my kind of hero. Honestly, his name alone made me quiver with excitement. He’s also moody, demanding and overbearing. I loved it! Kage has a (for lack of a better word) very visual writing style. I could easily picture not just Malloy in action, but pretty much every scene in this book. There was depth to both the characters and the plot. I should mention the length. 193 pages: not a full length novel – not a short story either. Kage made sure not to rush anything. The cop versus attorney theme was a risk. Thank heavens she took it. Hatred had to morph into attraction and attraction into...well, y’all like a happily ever after as much as I do, right?! The journey was...just...awesome!! It truly was “instant lust” that hit them like a ton of bricks. The author built up the tension (on both ends of the love-hate scale) step by step. Loved the fact that Kage switched points of view. Brilliant...how they tried – very unsuccessfully – to outsmart each other.

Kudos not just for the development of hero and heroine as individuals and as a couple, but also the very real portrayal of their respective occupations. To me it felt like real cop talk. The fact that Malloy had one failed marriage under his belt made it all the more believable. At least I imagine that the divorce rate among people on the force is high. Willow had to be just as tough as Raith; otherwise it would’ve never worked between them. Hooray for not being a cry-baby. She pulled it together in situations when most people would’ve lost it completely.

Even though the plot mainly revolved around Raith and Willow, the secondary characters played a big part as well. They, too, were very true to themselves. By the end of the story I felt like I’d known them for years already. The best part? There’s history between the main characters none of them were aware of at first. You’ll be pleasantly surprised, I promise. Some might find Malloy’s initial reaction to a life changing surprise not so great, but in my opinion it was the only way to do it. He really was a grumpy d***sometimes. Weirdly enough it’s exactly what made him so lovable.

I didn’t like the reason for a certain someone stalking Willow. It’s hard to explain without giving away too much, but I just think what this person had to endure didn’t quite fit the possible consequences for his actions later on. Maybe the author should’ve given us a little more insight into his mental lexicon.

Also, the husband of Willow’s best friend had issues with Malloy in the beginning. They disappeared, but didn’t get resolved. There’s a difference! And let me just add that I’m totally on Dylan’s side on this one. I also didn’t like where Raith ended up job-wise in the end. He clearly stated he wasn’t interested in going down this road beforehand. I think it was supposed to seem like he didn’t really mean it. A ~ secret desire to be denied at all costs ~ kind of situation. It didn’t feel like one to me, though. Just one sentence / thought about how he’s so glad he changed his mind would’ve done the trick.

The verdict: DO NOT MISS!!! A very entertaining “hot little number”. :-) Kage once again delivered! You should put her on your auto-buy list. NOW!"

"I really liked the premise of this book however I found it to be riddled with things that rubbed me the wrong way. First off Raith. I love take charge alpha guys but I never got past how completely mean and awful Raith is to Willow throughout the entire book. I have never seen two more prickly characters. They constantly are fighting. Constantly giving each other snide comments and hurting each others feelings. Over-thinking everything imaginable and working on assumptions about every person they see the other with. I think they went way past the banter and straight into annoying territory. I spent a lot of my time shaking my head at their conversations. Raith is condescending about everything to Willow. Yes, she deserved a lot of it with her immature behavior but wow…I think if a guy talked to me like Raith talked to Willow, first I’d knock his head off and then I’d kick him out of my house. I don’t care how good the sex is. But she takes it. Raith is like some kind of sick drug to her. She doesn’t like him, they fight, and yet she keeps taking it because the sex is great.

From the blurb the book sounds like a romantic suspense however I didn’t see it as such. Willow is attacked in the courthouse at the very beginning and yet that has nothing to do with the actual plot. Its convenient yes, but you never hear or see the guy responsible after that incident. Instead we get two minor altercations through out the book before something big happens. In between this is completely a contemporary romance. The threat seems to pop up when its needed but if it were a sustained threat it would have worked much better with the genre.There needed to be more happening to Willow on the stalker front then the feeble tricks that we got.

The level of writing was pretty good but I wouldn’t say it was on the level that a lot of romantic suspense authors at your local bookstore are at. Some of the conversations felt jilted and incomplete. The characters didn’t feel rounded and so they came off to me as one dimensional. There were a few spots in the book that I really enjoyed but they seemed to be few and far between . While I wanted to like this one much more then I did, my problems connecting with the characters left me wanting more from the book then what I was given."

"I could not stop reading this book. The way that the author put the two main characters together is full of chemistry and suspense.

Willow DeVane is a hotshot divorce lawyer who has a judge as a father. She is so used to doing everything for herself that she does not know how to receive help well. Some of her clients do not like how she defended them; they even threatened her because of it. She also leaves her home open, there is always an unlocked door so that her family can come and go as they please."

"I do love a cop romance, and this one gives us a very virile, dominating and surly hero. I have a thing for jerk heroes, those men you don't know whether you'd rather slap or kiss them first. Raith is pretty much that man, deserving of some abuse but so charming and likeable despite his flaws. He does damaged hero pretty well, and he has bitterness down to a fine art. But underneath that snark and bitterness, we see a man in need of love. He actually longs for it, wanting very much to be connected to a woman, to have companionship, and this very longing scares him to death.

And how does he deal with it? In a manly, wishy-washy way, of course. One minute, he's in deep with the heroine, Willow; the next, he's pushing her away and accusing her of things she's not guilty of. He's so possessive of her, so jealous of any man around her; yet, he cannot help but want to put some distance between them. He's that wound up about her. And I loved this push and pull. It led to all sorts of sexual tension and chemistry. All that verbal foreplay was yummy. These two hated each other, but more so, they hated wanting each other.

Overall, this was a good read for me, but a few little things kept it from being a great read. And that disappointed me. What I didn't like-- the heroine has a couple of TSTL moments. I like a strong heroine, but one who's stupidly willful? Not so much. For the most part, I did like Willow; I just needed her to be a bit smarter about her stalker/intruder. Not listening to advice and leaving her back door unlocked was not a good way to show a man how independent she is. Also, after their misunderstanding, I thought Raith could have grovelled more and that Willow could have been more than just perturbed with him. And concerning the stalker, Raith definitely needed more grovel time on that point.

Even with all that, there was just something about this story and this hero that really pulls a reader in. It has some great sexual tension going for it, and the interaction between h/H made the whole book. It's 244 kindle pages of opposites attracting and hating every minute of it. These two really tried to resist each other, but that magnetism was just too strong and exciting. So this is very much a book to read if you love sexy cops, opposites attracting, a strong caveman alpha who wants to protect his woman, and the theme of enemies to lovers. Even with a few quibbles, this was a good read for me of a new-to-me author. What I read here, I liked a lot, making me eager to check out more titles by this author.

"This was my first book by this author but it will NOT be my last. I love her "voice". I was looking for specific items when I started this book and found all of them. Yet there is a reason this book is not a five star for me.

Jealous? Check.
Possessive? Check.
No cheating. Check.
Heroine likeable? Check.
Chemistry? Check.


So Raith has wanted our heroine Willow, who he calls DeVane since he saw her two years ago. But she's 10 years younger and socially more advanced then him. Her family has money and she is a junior partner in a law firm so she does well. He is bitter about his divorce because he has to pay alimony to his cheating ex-wife.

Everytime they see each other he tries to get under her skin because he wants her BAD and figures she wouldn't look at a schmuck like him. She knows he purposely tries to get arise out her her, but she doesn't know why. So she gets attacked by a client in front of him, and she demands that if he wants her to learn self defense, he better teach it to her.

Therefore he goes over to her place teach her and what I ADORED about this book was you got his thoughts. It was nice, he was nervous, he was worried and he was jealous. Everytime he saw her with a man, he saw red. Everytime he heard about some man she had dated, his "murder list" would grow. And I liked Willow even though we got more POV from Raith she was great.

Why not a five? Raith is my definition of a punk-hero. He knows he wants her but he's so busy being scared that she doesn't want him, that he's a jerk. Example and this is a BIG spoiler so do not read if you want to miss:

..."

"The Right to Remain Mine was a good story, but it wasn't my favorite Linda Kage novel. Hey, it has some tough competition. The Trouble with Tomboys, How to Resist Prince Charming, Delinquent Daddy, and Hot Commodity were all spectacular, 4-STAR novels. All four novels were sweet, sexy, funny, and touching. I became invested in each story, and I came to deeply care each character... Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this story. The characters witty, snarky banter was refreshing and entertaining. The characters didn't always do exactly what I thought they'd do; they surprised me and kept me on my toes. And, there were a few smokin' hot sexy scenes that I won't deny enjoying. In all honesty, I'm probably being a little too rough on this novel, but I want my rating to reflect that it wasn't favorite Linda Kage novel."

"I really enjoyed this story! Willow is smart and sassy and Raith is a brooding hunk when combined it makes spicy chemistry for both characters. The constant bickering and making up is very entertaining. I liked Willow's family, all the characters added to the story and the love they all have for each other was heartfelt. This is so foreign to Raith since his dad died when he was 17 years old. As Willow and Raith are trying to figure out what this is between them, a criminal that Raith arrested had been plotting his revenge by terrorizing Willow. I like that this was only a small part of the story and it remained a romance novel. This is a fun read! Look forward to reading more from Linda Kage."

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