I don't always have a lot of time to read the stuff that I would like to read for fun. I have also found that as I spend more time reading with a critical eye for work, I sometimes have trouble turning off my editorial eye.

But there was one book that I have been waiting for all summer long. And not so patiently, either. (Apologies to Esi who had to put up with my begging and pleading for her to hurry up and get the printed books!)

I don’t think I can express just how excited I was by the prospect of this book. Over the course of the Bastion Club series, Stephanie Laurens managed to build up the expectations for the mysterious Dalziel so much that I was dying to read his story by the time it came out.

Now, sometimes it's almost worse to be eagerly awaiting a book. That way lies disappointment and books being thrown across the room because, often, books that you've been just dying to read don't live up to expectations. Thank goodness that was not so with Stephanie Laurens' MASTERED BY LOVE.

MASTERED BY LOVE is a book like none I have read in a really long time. I don't know if anyone has this, but there are a handful of books that, once I have turned the last page, make me catch my breath and just hold it, trying to savor the fleeting feeling. MASTERED BY LOVE was one of those books.

I don't want to say too much about it and give anything away about the plot. I will say that, if you love romance and an incredibly well-written, moving, exciting, breath-catching story, you should run out right now and buy MASTERED BY LOVE by Stephanie Laurens.

Just remember to breathe while you're reading!