Archives for June 22, 2023

* Review * TREASURE COAST HOMECOMING by Leigh Duncan

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * TREASURE COAST HOMECOMING by Leigh DuncanTreasure Coast Homecoming by Leigh Duncan
Series: Emerald Bay #1
Published by Gardenia Street Publishing on June 22, 2023
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four-half-stars

She has one final wish before she puts a For Sale sign in front of the only home she’s ever known, but can her family make her dream come true?

Margaret Dane Clayton has spent her entire life at the Dane Crown Inn, the beautiful resort located in the quiet beachside town of Emerald Bay. But the inn once hailed as the “gem of Florida’s Treasure Coast” is showing its age, much like its fiercely independent owner. Margaret swears she’ll keep the doors of the inn open forever … until an accident forces her to accept the fact that she can no longer cater to guests on her own. After reaching the most difficult decision of her life, Margaret asks her daughter and nieces to grant her one final wish before she places the property on the market. But will these five women put their busy lives on hold to grant it?

One by one, each of the cousins arrives in Emerald Bay with armloads of excuses and far too much baggage. But when the town’s grumpy—yet oh, so handsome—mayor threatens to close the inn for good, the women agree to give the resort the overhaul it desperately needs. Working with a bank account that’s far too small and facing one crisis after another, Margaret’s daughter and her nieces race to fulfill her final wish. Only one question remains: Can this fractured family set aside their differences long enough to restore the inn … and rebuild the closeness they once treasured?

The Emerald Bay Series

After a lifetime of running the finest inn in Emerald Bay, Margaret Clayton has to make a decision … sell the Dane Crown Inn to a stranger or put her hopes for the future in her family’s hands. For most people, the choice would be simple. But nothing about her family is simple … especially not with her daughter and four nieces whose help Margaret needs now more than ever.

The five cousins know the inn as well as Margaret does. As young girls and teenagers, they spent every summer keeping the cottages and suites spotless, and enjoying the gorgeous beach as a tight knit family. Thirty years later, though, these five women have complicated, important, distant, and utterly packed lives. The last thing any of them can do is drop everything and save the inn. But, when it comes to family, the last thing is sometimes the only thing.

As the once-close cousins come together on the glorious shores of Florida’s Treasure Coast, they learn that some things never change, but others can never be the same. And the only thing that matters is family which, like the Dane Crown Inn, is forever.

Treasure Coast Homecoming, Book 1
Treasure Coast Promise, Book 2
Treasure Coast Christmas, Book 3
Treasure Coast Revival, Book 4
Treasure Coast Discovery, Book 5
Treasure Coast Legacy, Book 6

 

Warm and filled with drama! With the kick off to a brand new Emerald Bay series Leigh Duncan is laying the groundwork of the cousins who will convene to make their elderly aunt/mom’s wish come true revolving around a family inn. This book is most definitely not a stand alone story as lots of tidbits are left up in the air and not developed, we just are meeting all of the cousins and seeing what is to come for the moment. One cousin was introduced but then didn’t seem to be included nearly as much as the rest, so that felt slightly disjointed. It’s slightly overwhelming to be thrust into so many different directions at once, but I see the potential of a heartwarming story overall and look forward to the continuation.

I recommend this book to someone that loves to dive into a connecting women’s fiction series that promises lots of family love and drama with hints of romance along the way.

four-half-stars

* Review * I’LL JUST DATE MYSELF by Lani Lynn Vale

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * I’LL JUST DATE MYSELF by Lani Lynn ValeI'll Just Date Myself by Lani Lynn Vale
Series: Gator Bait MC #7
on June 27, 2023
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five-stars

Normally when you say, “I have a stalker,” you think bad thoughts. That wasn’t the kind of stalker Folsom was when it came to Kobe Sano. Folsom liked to call herself a “guardian angel in disguise.”

The first time he catches her attention, he’s been assigned to hunt her down and throw away the key. All she did was steal someone else’s child. Well, embryo, that is. What Kobe doesn’t know, though, is the man that hired him is up to no good, and she has no other choice but to run without looking back.

From that moment on, she spends the rest of her spare time running away from him while also digging into every nook and cranny of his personal life, finding every weakness he has and utilizing it any way she needs to keep herself one step ahead of him.

Only one day, when she goes to do her usual snooping, she finds out that not only is her favorite person in trouble, but he’s also in need of her help.

Too bad it takes her years to find that help.

Her next step is to break him out of the pokey prison-break style.

If she knew he’d go without question, she very well might have.

***

It didn’t take a genius to know when someone was stalking you. The signs were all there, and they eventually pointed right at Folsom.

When he figures it out, he plans to confront her and maybe address the silent sexual tension that’s been brewing between them for the last few years.

However, right when he’s ready to admit to himself that she might be the one—daughter who intimidates the hell out of him or not—she up and disappears for a year.

In that year, he spends every waking moment searching for her.

And eventually he finds her, confronts her, and is hit in the face with the secrets she’s kept from him for years.

One of which is a big one.

The daughter that she protects with everything she has—the one that he’s come to love with all his heart, just like her mom—is the very abducted child from his one and only unsolved case.

Complex, addictive goodness! With the final book in her always entertaining Gator Bait MC series, Lani Lynn Vale delivers a heartfelt story for Folsom that is oh so fitting and lays the groundwork for her upcoming Welcome to the Circus series! I was hooked from the start and loved devouring every single heartfelt minute. Such an awesome series!

Folsom has been a mystery that we knew would unravel in a spectacular way since the start of this series. I knew I liked her, but after finding out her story, I loved her even harder. She’s all that and a bag of chips!

I loved Kobe! He’s protective, sincere and has been handed a crap load of drama that he didn’t deserve. I really enjoyed seeing Folsom become his person.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone that loves a tough group of guys who are always raring to protect those they love and even innocent bystanders. They love hard and melt under the smile of “the one”.

five-stars

* Review * ONE NIGHT IN MY RIVAL’S BED by Melanie Milburne

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * ONE NIGHT IN MY RIVAL’S BED by Melanie MilburneOne Night in My Rival's Bed by Melanie Milburne
Published by Harlequin Presents on June 27, 2023
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four-stars

He’s forbidden to me

So why can’t I resist him?

Grayson Barlowe has always been my enemy. We were taught by our warring families to compete on the business battlefield. But everything changes when we’re forced to work together!

I have never been immune to his devilish good looks. But as I learn about the pain that Grayson keeps hidden from the world, it becomes obvious he’s not just a playboy. Yet a truce seems impossible, until I find myself in the place I vowed I’d never be: between my enemy’s sheets!

 

Sentimental and heartfelt! I was quickly invested in the characters of this story, and though there was a lacking of development for the main couple, I felt the inclusion of their sibling’s romance added a sweet touch to the storyline and left me feeling warm towards them. I wanted more, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed them!

I recommend this book to fans of a quick and fast paced romance that finds a happily ever after for all involved.

four-stars