Archives for November 22, 2019

* Review * TEAR ME APART by J.T. Ellison

November 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison
Published by MIRA on August 28, 2018
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One moment will change their lives forever…

Competitive skier Mindy Wright is a superstar in the making until a spectacular downhill crash threatens not just her racing career but her life. During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter.

Who knows the answers?

The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.

With vivid movement through time, Tear Me Apart examines the impact layer after layer of lies and betrayal has on two families, the secrets they guard, and the desperate fight to hide the darkness within.

TEAR ME APART by J.T. Ellison is electrifying! You’ll start out thinking one thing, and by the end of the book it’s all turned upside down. My first read by this author will most definitely NOT be my last. The author has a natural way of detailing vivid details in a relaxed way that makes you feel like you aren’t being inundated with new info at ever turn, even though the story is quickly developing into more than we were ever expecting.

Mindy Wright is a 17 year old skiing sensation, but when a crash ends her season and sends her to the hospital with a broken leg, she never expects that this will be the least of her worries shortly. While in surgery to repair the damage to her leg, doctors discover she has an aggressive form of leukemia that quickly turns into a nightmare. When she’s in need of a bone marrow transplant, imagine the surprise when it comes to light that her parents aren’t really her parents!

Secrets unravel as the plot goes back in time here and there to bring us the story surrounding how she came to be raised by Lauren and Jasper … and as it all starts to get a little too close to the truth, danger starts lurking it’s ugly head!

I highly recommend this story to anyone who loves a story filled with intrigue, secrets and lies. There is an amazing story underneath these secrets and watching it unfold is riveting!

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* Review * HOLIDAY BY CANDLELIGHT by Laurel Greer

November 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

Holiday by Candlelight by Laurel Greer
Series: Sutter Creek, Montana #3
Published by Harlequin Special Edition on November 1, 2019
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A tragic accident ended the life he once knew

Is a Hanukkah miracle right around the corner?

This year, Dr. Caleb Matsuda could do without holiday cheer. After an avalanche robbed him of his ability to practice surgery, he struggles to make it through each day. He may be intrigued by new colleague Garnet James, but she’s also a search-and-rescue volunteer who could be in danger at any moment. If only she wasn’t perfect for the man he used to be…

HOLIDAY BY CANDLELIGHT is book three in Laurel Greer’s Sutter Creek, Montana series and revolves around a former surgeon turned family physician and a search and rescue member. Caleb is trying to pick up the pieces of his life after an injury in an avalanche robbed him of his ability to perform surgery and thinks settling in Sutter Creek might be just the answer he’s been looking for.

He’s still suffering from the emotional aftermath of being buried alive and having his future change drastically and he hopes living in a mountain town will expose him to the ski culture that still manages to take his breath away. Little does he expect that he’ll fall for a SAR member who risks her life on a daily basis!

Garnet hasn’t made the best choices when it comes to love in the past, so when she realizes that Caleb has a hangup about the danger of her job, she’s hesitant to pursue anything with him … but try as they might, they can’t stay away from each other!

I recommend this story to anyone looking for a heartwarming holiday romance with lots of emotion and turmoil. They touch on both Christmas and Hanukkah in their holiday joy in this book.

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* Review * WIN BIG by Kelly Jamieson

November 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

Win Big by Kelly Jamieson
Series: Wynn Hockey #3
Published by Loveswept on November 19, 2019
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Everly Wynn: As the only daughter in the Wynn family of hockey heroes, I never shared the ice with my brothers—or the approval they got from my father.
And that was before the scandal that ruined my life at sixteen.
Now that I’ve put all that behind me and built a successful career, the last thing I need is another hockey player in my life.
Especially one like Wyatt Bell.
He’s an arrogant, fast-living party boy. I hate how he gets by on his good looks and charm.
So why can’t I get him out of my mind?

Wyatt Bell: Life is short, and you’ve got to live it to the fullest. I learned that the hard way.
So on the ice, I always play to win, and on the town, fun and flirting are my game.
Because it’s better to laugh your way through the pain than to let them see you’re hurting—but I’ll never stop wishing I could find someone to share the real me with.
Something about Everly Wynn makes me think she could be the one.
But all she sees is a hockey jock hooked on good times.
If she didn’t take herself so seriously, maybe she would take a chance on being happy.

Fast paced & exhilarating! With the third book in her ever yummy Wynn Hockey series, Kelly Jamieson brings us WIN BIG. If you’ve been following along with the series, you will quickly recognize Everly, the sole daughter of the Wynn hockey dynasty. Happenstance and a good time on New Year’s Eve leads her to meet her match … namely hockey stud Wyatt Bell.

Everly is an interesting character. She works hard to live up to her family name and to prosper in a guys world of professional hockey … yet in her story we get to see a softer side of her. She’s made mistakes, she has regrets, she has dreams that haven’t yet been fulfilled, but through it all she’s stayed true to herself and what she wants to achieve in life.

Wyatt has the rep of being a player flitting from one woman to another, but in reality, he’s not that party boy anymore. Life has slapped him in the face a time or two and he lives with regret and guilt from things that were often beyond his control. Getting close to Everly might be just the thing to save him … or will it become his final undoing?

I highly recommend this book and the entire series to fans of hockey romance. The Wynn family is large, loud and filled with love, drama and secrets … and I’m loving every minute of them!

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* Review * THEIR FESTIVE ISLAND ESCAPE by Nina Singh

November 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

Their Festive Island Escape by Nina Singh
Published by Harlequin Romance on November 1, 2019
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Can Christmas in the Caribbean…

…bring her comfort and joy this year?

Jilted at the altar exactly three years ago, Celeste wants sun, sea and exotic cocktails, so escaping to Jamaica is perfect. But her peace is disturbed when the hot Santa from the beach turns out to be Reid Evanson—the luxury resort’s CEO and best man at her nonwedding! Could their unexpected chemistry mean he’s the one to restore her love of the festive season?

A captivating holiday adventure! THEIR FESTIVE ISLAND ESCAPE by Nina Singh is a twist on an enemies to lovers trope and is sure to delight.

Celeste nabs a reader’s attention quickly once we learn she was dumped at the altar three Christmases ago and now escapes every year on a tropical vacation to forget the memories of the most humiliating time of her life. She is easy to relate to, and though I wanted to yell at her a few times over the way she rolls over to her family, I really enjoyed watching her find her way to happiness.

Reid is a character who thinks he knows the situation, but once he figures out that he might have been misled, is quickly adjustable to getting to know the real person that Celeste is. I really enjoyed seeing them both let their guard down with each other.

I recommend this book to anyone wanting a quick holiday read that throws tradition to the curb and lives a little in an electrifying ocean-drenched location. It’s fun, it’s touching and it’s satisfying.

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* Review * THE SOLDIER’S SECRET SON by Helen Lacey

November 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

The Soldier's Secret Son by Helen Lacey
Series: The Culhanes of Cedar River #2
Published by Harlequin Special Edition on December 1, 2019
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A Christmas surprise for a homecoming soldier…

When Jake Culhane comes home to Cedar River to visit his family, he doesn’t expect to reconnect with the woman he never forgot. Abby Perkins never believed Jake would return, which is why she never told him she’d given birth to his son. But Abby is still in love with the boy who broke her heart when he enlisted. This could be their first Christmas as a real family—if Abby can find the courage to tell Jake he’s a father…

With the second book in her The Culhanes of Cedar River series, Helen Lacey brings us Jake and Abby’s story in THE SOLDIER’S SECRET SON. It’s an emotional reunion story of two high school sweethearts who let their stubborn short-sightedness tear them apart.

Abby puts a reader through a tailspin of emotions. I liked the type of person she was as a whole, but that keeping a man’s son a secret from him bit really put her in a bad light.

Jake might have been rash when he was young, but the man he is as he comes back home to Cedar River is honorable and settled. The hurt and anger he feels when he learns he missed out on so much of his son’s life is emotional and deep and shapes his character into a loving father immediately.

I recommend this story to anyone wanting a highly emotional read with twists and turns galore that ultimately brings you a sweet happily ever after. The pace is steady and the emotions high. Really enjoyed it!

Filed Under: Book Reviews