Review: The Virgin's Revenge is a Joyfully Recommended Read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 4, 2012
Cole Engstrom has had a thing for his best friends' sister for years.  But the Jackmans are the closest thing Cole has to a family and he doesn't want to lose that - or any of his limbs - by making a move on Amanda.  Then all six Jackman brothers corner Cole and demand that Cole marry their sister...or they'll find someone who will.  Rather than subject Amanda to her brothers' harebrained plan, Cole pretends to agree, figuring he can buy Amanda some time.Amanda loves her brothers, but their determination to keep her sheltered drives her mad.  She wants to spread her wings, but none of them seem to understand that.  When Amanda overhears her brothers' plot, she feels betrayed...not to mention angry that Cole, the man she's loved for years, is going along with it.  It's the straw that breaks the camel's back and Amanda is out for revenge.  Step one?  Seduce Cole and teach him a thing or two about messing with her.But both Amanda and Cole are about to learn that even the best-laid plans can go awry when love is involved...For me, Dee Tenorio's books are like decadent chocolate.  I always start out intending to savor them...Then I promptly devour the entire thing.  Such was the case with The Virgin's Revenge.  Cole is one of the sexiest nerds I've ever read about - where can I get one of him?  If the combination of brains and body weren't enough, Cole's desire to help Amanda learn to stand on her own two feet endeared him to me.  Quite simply, I loved him.  Amanda, in turn, is a geek herself and a genuinely nice person who's just plain fed up with her brothers' antics.  I felt for her, and watching her grow over the course of The Virgin's Revenge was one of the delights of the story.  Individually, Cole and Amanda are great characters.  As a pair, they set the pages of The Virgin's Revenge to smoldering with the amount of sexual tension between them.The Virgin's Revenge is the fourth Rancho del Cielo book, but you don't have to have read Betting Hearts, Love Me Tomorrow, or Burn for Me to follow along.  Fans of the series will delight in seeing glimpses of past heroes and heroines, specifically Burke and Cassandra from Betting Hearts.  But what interested me more than revisiting past favorites (though that should not be underrated) was meeting new characters.  I absolutely adored Amanda's best friend Susie and even the overbearing Jackman brothers charmed me, especially Locke.  The only downside to this is that I finished The Virgin's Revenge wanting more Rancho del Cielo books.  There are two characters in particular who Ms. Tenorio leaves one heck of a cliffhanger for.Combined with the great characters, Ms. Tenorio's signature sense of humor and talent for penning sizzling love scenes make The Virgin's Revenge a must read.  I loved Amanda and Cole's story and I can't wait to see what Ms. Tenorio writes next!Reviewed by ShaynaFor Joyfully Reviewed