Archives for August 2021

* Review * THE FAMILY SHE DIDN’T EXPECT by Helen Lacey

August 25, 2021 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * THE FAMILY SHE DIDN’T EXPECT by Helen Lacey

The Family She Didn't Expect by Helen Lacey
Series: The Culhanes of Cedar River #6
Published by Harlequin Special Edition on August 24, 2021
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She was in town to uncover her past

Not discover her future.

Marnie Jackson has one mission: to discover her roots in Cedar River. She’s determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish, but her sexy landlord and his charming daughters turn out to be a surprising distraction from her goal. Widower Joss Culhane has been focusing on work, his kids and his own family drama. Sure, Marnie connects with his girls—and with him—but she’s staying only a few months. Why risk opening his heart to another woman who might leave them?

A fast paced, emotionally riveting pure delight! Helen Lacey always wraps the town of Cedar River around a reader’s heart quickly and when it comes to a widower with a couple of great kiddos who blossom under the affection of a new neighbor, the scene is blooming with warmth and emotional healing in THE FAMILY SHE DIDN’T EXPECT. I always look forward to a return visit with the Culhane family!

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys small town romance with a lot of heart, healing and redemption.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Review * MANHATTAN’S MOST SCANDALOUS REUNION by Dani Collins

August 13, 2021 Leave a Comment

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* Review * MANHATTAN’S MOST SCANDALOUS REUNION by Dani Collins

Manhattan's Most Scandalous Reunion by Dani Collins
Series: The Secret Sisters #2
Published by Harlequin Presents on August 24, 2021
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She left him.
That doesn't mean she's forgotten him.

When paparazzi mistake Nina Menendez for a supermodel, she takes refuge in her ex’s New York penthouse. Big mistake. Guarded Reve Weston is incapable of emotional intimacy—and is intensely seductive…

Reve has had enough of scandal. To keep his name out of the tabloids, he insists Nina stay with him. But as their spark reignites and she shares the mysteries of her past, Reve realizes his cynicism has a downside. If he can’t give Nina the fairy tale she dreams of, he’ll have to let her go…for good!

Secrets unravel as passion reignites! With the second book in her Secret Sisters duet Dani Collins takes us into the heart of a mystery as fledgling clothing designer Nina keeps getting confused with model Oriel and scandal erupts. I highly recommend you read this duet in order because it adds to the deliciousness of the story to have both viewpoints. Highly entertaining characters, a reconnection of past love and a sweet happily ever after.

Nina is a sweetheart and seeing her begin to achieve her dreams while reconnecting with the love of her life is heartwarming.

Reve is accomplished but bitter to life as a whole, but reconnecting with the woman who really gets under his skin is like a breath of fresh air.

I recommend this book as well as the prior in the duet to anyone who enjoys a fast paced storyline with a scandalous arc that has a whole lot of heart beneath the surface as true love comes knocking.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Review * HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY by Cat Schield

August 13, 2021 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY by Cat Schield

How to Catch a Bad Boy by Cat Schield
Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: Heir Apparent #7
Published by Harlequin Desire on August 24, 2021
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He fooled her once.

It won’t happen again.

Bailing her onetime lover out of jail is Lani Li’s ticket to a big career. The Dallas PI needs accused embezzler Asher Edmond to lead her to a cache of missing millions—whether or not he’s innocent, like he claims. But Lani didn’t count on pesky old passions reigniting the minute they make contact. With suspicion and scandal swirling around them and her future on the line, Lani can’t let the sexy playboy sweep her off her feet again. Surely he can’t fool her twice…can he?

This reunion of first loves is packed full of intrigue! With the next book in the Texas Cattleman’s Club: Heir Apparent series Cat Schield picks up the saga just after one of the Edmond family members has been arrested for the missing money from the Soiree on the Bay fundraiser. The premise was quick to catch my attention and I enjoyed watching these two find their way back towards each other, but there were a couple of plot holes that left me perplexed a bit. First off the author mentioned in her letter to readers at the beginning of the book that she enjoyed writing this strong woman of color, but there was no development in the story that led me to believe she was a woman of color. No description other than black silkly hair, no cultural enrichment portrayed, no development of her heritage. I would expect a lot more before describing her as a WOC honestly. Secondly, I felt really disappointed that the family connection between Asher and his siblings was left so empty. There was no interaction before they turned their back on him and even once things changed at the end there was no big grand reconnection where they admitted any fault for doubting the guy they have claimed in the past to love as one of their own. Overall I enjoyed the general arc of the story and look forward to wrapping up the series with the next book coming up. It’s been quite a ride with the Texas Cattleman’s Club as always!

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* Review * CUSTOM LOVE by Chantal Fernando

August 12, 2021 Leave a Comment

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* Review * CUSTOM LOVE by Chantal Fernando

Custom Love by Chantal Fernando
Series: Fast & Fury #3
Published by Carina Press on August 24, 2021
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The thrilling conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Chantal Fernando's Fast & Fury series, fully loaded with intense emotions and edge-of-your-seat suspense.

All she wanted was the truth.

All he wanted was to be left alone.

Nadia has always been in charge of her life. As a private investigator, she makes her own hours and only takes on cases that she wants to work on. But when a family friend asks her to look into a case, she instantly regrets it—it hits far too close to home.

The last thing she wants to do is rip open old wounds. Especially Trade’s, the single father she’s been spending time with. It isn’t long before she’s falling not just for him, but for the kids he’s trying so hard to protect.

But the little voice in Nadia’s head tells her that something isn’t right, and she’s determined to find the truth. Using her connections to the Knights of Fury MC and the Fast & Fury motorcycle garage to gather evidence, Nadia uncovers evidence of a conspiracy that will leave everyone shaken—and force her and Trade to do whatever it takes to keep their new family safe.

An emotionally charged romance with a riveting suspenseful twist! The conclusion of Chantal Fernando’s Fast and Fury series is intense and so much more than I expected. I loved every minute of Nadia and Trade’s story in CUSTOM LOVE and only wish there was more to come in the series!

Nadia is an interesting character. She’s feisty and tough but has a heart of gold , and seeing her have to ease into something she would normally barrel full force into was a nice change of pace for her.

Trade is a doll. He lost the love of his life and has been going through the motions as he loves their kids through it, but the connection he feels upon interacting with Nadia is making him come back to life.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys a great group of guys and gals at a custom bike shop that has a tie in with the local MC as they fall hard and live happily ever after.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Review * BEST LAID WEDDING PLANS by Karen Booth

August 12, 2021 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * BEST LAID WEDDING PLANS by Karen Booth

Best Laid Wedding Plans by Karen Booth
Series: Moonlight Ridge #2
Published by Harlequin Desire on August 24, 2021
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“You could use a lesson in

giving in to temptation.”

But who’s Autumn Kincaid to talk? Her reputation as a wedding planner is on the line after she’s left at the altar. So is her job at Moonlight Ridge—unless she proves herself to grumpy Grey Holloway, whose family owns the resort. Grey doesn’t even believe in true love. She has to convince him romance is real, that all he needs is to give in to the heat threatening to burn them both. Maybe this time Autumn will get her own happily-ever-after…or is this just another best-laid plan?

Opposites attract and weave a delightful tale in the second book in the Moonlight Ridge series! In BEST LAID WEDDING PLANS Karen Booth brings the second Holloway brother home to Moonlight Ridge to support their dad during recovery from a health crisis. The characters are fresh and endearing and each has a back story that lays a nice foundation to their growth and development. I’m really enjoying this series and look forward to the last book in the trilogy!

Autumn is sincere and believes in happily ever after even though life has handed her a lemon in the past. She’s a joy to watch guide Grey towards believing love can last.

Grey is an all around nice guy, but he doesn’t believe in love and happily ever after because he’s lived the other side. Seeing him reconnect with his sense of home and family and along the way learn a different side of love is really heartwarming.

I highly recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who enjoys watching a shattered family reconnect and support each other as each brother finds love.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Release Blitz/Review * SHOWSTOPPER by Regina Kyle

August 12, 2021 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Release Blitz/Review * SHOWSTOPPER by Regina Kyle

Showstopper by Regina Kyle
Series: Vino and Veritas #17
on August 12, 2021
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I swore I wouldn’t do this again. Mix sports, school, and sex. But right now the only thing standing between me and the NHL is six feet of frenemy packed into a pair of formfitting jeans that have me thinking all kinds of things I shouldn’t. Mostly how to get him out of them.

I don’t just want Kolby. I need him. Because I’ve got to pass this theater class--yeah, I said theater--if I’m going to keep my spot on the team. When tutoring sessions turn into dates-not-dates over Shipley Cider at Vino and Veritas, I realize it’s going to be harder than I thought to keep my hands on my stick and off of Kolby. Worse, I think I might be falling for him. But I’m not ready for that. I want to keep this thing between us on the down low for now.

But Kolby hates secrets. Especially his own . . .

With an utterly adorable, steamy and downright fun cast, Regina Kyle is scoring a hat trick of her own with this riveting M/M college sports romance with a theater twist! The characters are fresh, the premise is humorous and the feels are flowing throughout. I loved every minute of Adam and Kolby’s emotional journey towards that happily ever after!

Adam and Kolby’s fireworks start from the very first page when tempers flare and attraction sparks. Adam is a new transfer and is trying to outlive an ugly occurrence while centering on his upcoming hockey career and Kolby is steadfast in his love of theater and simply putting one foot in front of the other to overcome family hurdles.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a college atmosphere with a sports theme and a twist of theater. There’s humor, there’s love, there’s upset and there’s emotions. Really enjoyed the realm of their relationship.

SHOWSTOPPER BY REGINA KYLE

Purchase here → https://geni.us/AmazonShowstopper
Add to Goodreads → https://bit.ly/3qz2xSv
Series Page → https://hearteyespress.com/wotn#/vino-and-veritas/

About the Book:

I swore I wouldn’t do this again. Mix sports, school, and sex. But right now the only thing standing between me and the NHL is six feet of frenemy packed into a pair of form-fitting jeans that have me thinking all kinds of things I shouldn’t. Mostly how to get him out of them.

I don’t just want Kolby. I need him. Because I’ve got to pass this theater class–yeah, I said theater–if I’m going to keep my spot on the team. When tutoring sessions turn into dates-not-dates over Shipley Cider at Vino and Veritas, I realize it’s going to be harder than I thought to keep my hands on my stick and off of Kolby. Worse, I think I might be falling for him. But I’m not ready for that. I want to keep this thing between us on the down-low for now.

But Kolby hates secrets. Especially his own . . .

Showstopper - PuckBoy.png

Filed Under: Blog Tour, Book Reviews, Release Day Blitz

* Review * COMPLICATIONS by Danielle Steel

August 11, 2021 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * COMPLICATIONS by Danielle Steel

Complications by Danielle Steel
Published by Delacorte Press on August 17, 2021
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Scandal and tragedy erupt against the backdrop of an exclusive Paris hotel in Danielle Steel’s riveting novel.

Known for its luxurious accommodations and bespoke service, the Hotel Louis XVI has been the most lauded boutique hotel in all of Paris for decades, attracting an international clientele of the rich and famous. Now, after four years of renovations and the death of its legendary and beloved manager, it is set to reopen its doors at last. An esteemed group of loyal returning guests is set to descend upon the hotel, joined by a number of new faces who have managed to secure coveted bookings in the wake of last-minute cancellations.

Awaiting them all is the Louis XVI’s new manager, Olivier Bateau, an anxious man whose lack of experience leaves him unprepared. He and his level-headed assistant manager, Yvonne Philippe, both strive to continue the hotel’s tradition of excellence. But they quickly realize that anything can happen at any moment, and on one cool September evening, everything does.

A successful art consultant arrives at the hotel for the first time since her brutal divorce, and is surprised to find new love—if she is willing to risk her heart again. A new guest contemplates ending his life, and saves a life instead. A couple finds their once-in-a-lifetime trip interrupted by a tragic medical emergency, leaving the idyllic future they’ve long waited for hanging in the balance. And one of the hotel’s most high-profile guests, a French politician and assumed presidential candidate, holds a mysterious meeting in his suite that will threaten his life and legacy. Rocked by the events of this one fateful night, guests and staff alike brace themselves for the aftershock, as it quickly becomes apparent that more dramas and misfortunes are still in store.

Danielle Steel tells an unforgettable story about a famed hotel, where a few complications quickly escalate into a matter of life and death, changing the lives of everyone who passes through its doors.

A tumultuous night in a Paris landmark hotel changes five lives forever in Danielle Steel’s latest novel. With descriptive prose and decadent settings Steel quickly had me hooked as scandal, danger and lives hanging in the balance erupt on various scenes at the same time.

My favorite characters in the book were Gabrielle who was taking her first solo trip to a place that held dear memories since her soul crushing divorce … and Alaistair who is searching for peace and guidance on his first trip to the hotel as life shifts around him.

The story is filled with 3 various storylines with some intermixing as scandal shows the true colors of an ugly politician, a life-threatening episode endangers the future of a formerly clandestine couple and how a by chance meeting can lead to life changing experiences and happily ever afters. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an emotional journey through life’s ups and downs.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Review * HOUSEWIFE CHRONICLES II by Jennifer Snow

August 11, 2021 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * HOUSEWIFE CHRONICLES II by Jennifer Snow

Housewife Chronicles II by Jennifer Snow
Series: Housewife Chronicles Series #2
Published by Jennifer Snow on August 12, 2021
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Last year’s neighborhood scandal should have been the most intriguing, but when her editor dies a mysterious death, bestselling author, Grace Lee decides to switch genres from relationship dramas to thrillers. Drawing inspiration from real life has always been her thing and she’s at risk of losing her publishing contract if the words don’t start flowing soon.But when she disappears down a rabbit hole of research into the deceased woman’s past, reality becomes much more complicated than the fictionalized story she’s attempting to tell. When her editor’s death is deemed a murder and Grace is the only suspect, her time is running out to unravel the clues in this real life mystery. With her career and freedom on the line Grace and the housewives once again set out to prove that murder is not part of their weekly coffee group.

Those lovably, quirky housewives are back and trouble is once again nipping at their heals! With the second book in her Housewife Chronicles series Jennifer Snow is mixing a cozy mystery with a unique rom com style to hook her reader and it was a fun journey!

Grace has decided to take a sharp turn career wise when the sudden death of her editor stirs a thriller seed in her writer’s block frozen brain and sets her off on a journey that turns into much more than she expected.

Lucy is Grace’s new editor and has secrets just below the surface that are going to blow the plot wide open once Grace gets in the mix of this mystery.

I recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who enjoys comedy mixed with intrigue and romance.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Review * GEN POP by Lani Lynn Vale

August 11, 2021 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Gen Pop by Lani Lynn Vale
Series: Souls Chapel Revenants MC #6
on August 10, 2021
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Hangry: adjective—feeling irritable or irrationally angry as a result of being hungry.
Sometimes, Crockett felt that in her soul.
And, of course, the one time that she’s being ‘irrationally angry’ would be the time that the hottest guy on the continent walked into her place of business dressed in prison orange.
She should’ve been afraid.
She should’ve taken one look at him and walked the other way.
But, she didn’t.
Crockett Archer, better known as a doormat extraordinaire, didn’t walk away from the people she knew needed her. She’d never been able to do it with a father that didn’t love her, and she wouldn’t be able to do it with a man that didn’t think he deserved a chance at love.
One look is all it takes for Zach Caruso to know that Crockett could be his.
All he would have to do is snap his fingers, and she’d fall right into the palm of his hand.
Which is why Zach turns around and walks far, far away.
He tries not to look back.
He tries to leave her be.
But then he sees how she’s treated by the people that are supposed to love her, and all cognitive thoughts seem to flee his rational brain.
One second, he’s running in the opposite direction. The next, he’s playing her knight in dingy armor.
God help her.

Hot, sassy, addictive goodness! Zack is topping the list of my favorite Souls Chapel Revenants MC members at the moment with his fast paced, soul warming story. I loved every minute of watching them fall for one another in GEN POP and can’t wait for the next book in the series to add more sightings of them.

Crockett is a sweetheart and deserved every minute of Zach making her surroundings better. I loved seeing her finally get the devotion she deserved.

Zach has a painful history that he’s trying to overcome and meeting Crockett changes his whole outlook.

I highly recommend this book and the entire series to fans of alpha males with a tight knit family/friend support system surrounding them as they fall hard for their true love.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

* Review * FROM SEDUCTION TO SECRETS by Andrea Laurence

August 11, 2021 Leave a Comment

From Seduction to Secrets by Andrea Laurence
Series: Switched! #3
Published by Harlequin Desire on January 1, 2020
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They put their rivalry to bed for just one night.

Now they’re in for a surprise.

Struggling artist Kat McIntyre should have known that sleeping with her nemesis Sawyer Steele was a bad idea. Her unexpected pregnancy proves it. Not only that, Kat’s discovered that the cagey billionaire isn’t who she thought he is. Can she trust Sawyer to be there for the baby…without falling for him all over again?

Fast paced, exciting and heartwarming! With the third book in her Switched! series Andrea Laurence delights fans of this series with Sawyer’s story. FROM SEDUCTION TO SECRETS dives back into the Steele family after the switched at birth revelation in the earlier two books to bring us stories for the twin brothers. There’s a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, but it doesn’t interfere with the HEA of the main couple. I’m looking forward to reading the final book in the series.

Kat is self-assured and strong-willed and a delightful character to read. She leads with her heart and wants life to be a little easier in the future than it’s been in the past.

Sawyer is a cut-throat business man, but his interaction with Kat is filled with a softer side of him. He is taken with her instantly, but adding a baby to the mix is going to turn them on their heads.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who likes the stories of well-off siblings who live a high life that turns out to be filled with secrets and shockers around every corner on their way towards forever.

Filed Under: Book Reviews