Book Reviews – Page 207

* Review * THE GOOD LUCK SISTER by Jill Shalvis

May 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

The Good Luck Sister by Jill Shalvis
Series: A Wildstone Novella
Published by William Morrow Impulse on May 1, 2018
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After a difficult few years, Tilly Adams is ready for life to start going right. Though she has a case of first-day nerves teaching art at the local community college, she knows it isn’t anything a few snuggles from her rescue puppy won’t cure. Until she sees Dylan Scott again, her one-time BFF and first love sitting in the front row.

Dylan knows he should’ve left well enough alone, but when he sees Tilly living her dream, he can’t help but make contact. Ten years ago, he left Wildstone and everything in it behind, including Tilly. He had his reasons, but now he wants her back in his life, anyway he can get her.

When Tilly agrees to design the logo for Dylan’s new helicopter touring company, it’s business only . . . until she finds herself falling into his arms once again. Can she possibly open her heart back up to the only man who’s ever broken it? But soon they’re both realizing the truth—love always deserves a second chance.

I adore that Jill Shalvis gave us all the story we have been clamoring for! If you read Lost and Found sisters, you’ll recognize Tilly and Dylan right off the bat, and will be entrenched in their story instantly. As teens they were the best of friends and the support that the other needed, no matter what happened in life. We all wondered what would be come of them … and now we know! The story picks up years later, but it’s quick to catch us up on all that has happened in each of their lives and even what’s been happening with Quinn & Mick. Loved, loved, loved it!

Tilly Adams knows the first day of teaching art at the community college is going to be a big day for her, but she had no clue the day was going to change her life! She can’t believe he’s there … after all these years … just sitting in her classroom. She’s angry at him, she should hate him … but he looks so good!

Dylan Scott had reasons that he thought were good ones when he broke his best friend and first love’s heart 10 years ago by leaving her. He’s back in town to start a helicopter touring company with some buddies and he heard she was doing well, living her dream … and as much as he should stay away, he can’t resist re-connecting!

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* Review * LUKE by Leigh Duncan

May 18, 2018 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Luke by Leigh Duncan
Series: The Hometown Heroes Series #1
Published by Gardenia Street Publishing on May 18, 2018
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Fourth-generation cattleman Luke Parker looks into his childless future and wonders what will become of the ranch he’s worked so hard to preserve.

Sarah Magarity’s job with the Department of Children and Family Services has exposed her to the worst side of parenting. So much so that the altruistic redhead doubts she’ll ever have children of her own.

The solution to both their problems might be a five-year-old boy abandoned on DCF’s doorstep just days before Christmas, but only if the cowboy can convince a jaded social worker that he’s good father material on a two-week cattle drive through Florida’s version of the Old West.

** This book was originally published in 2012 as Harlequin Amercian Romance RANCHER'S SON **

A heartwarming story of finding happiness where you least expect it! It was quick to grab my attention, and the plot developed at a decent pace. The little boy stole the show and kept me smiling throughout. I felt like the relationship between Luke and Sarah could have been played out more, but overall, it was a solid read with the happy ending we were looking forward to. Enjoyed it!

Stressed out Department of Children & Family Services employee Sarah Magarity is just about to get some much needed time away from her hectic office, when a last minute visitor just before the office closes for the holiday leaves her with an adorable 5 year boy and no where to place him. She sets out to track down the man listed on his birth certificate before she’s left with no alternative than to place him in a group home that will traumatize the little guy.

Rancher Luke Parker has suffered a lot of loss in his life, but he’s persevered and is happy running his family legacy, the Circle P Ranch. He’s not sure why he’s being summoned to DCFS, but he’s a busy man and doesn’t have time for whatever game this woman is playing. When he discovers he might be a father to a child he knew nothing about, he’s shocked to say the least. He agrees takes him in while the tests are being run, but he makes sure Sarah stays right there hands on for when it’s proven his ex is lying!

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* Review * THE LAST KING by Katee Robert

May 16, 2018 Leave a Comment

The Last King by Katee Robert
Series: The Kings
Published by Forever on April 3, 2018
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THE MAN SHE HATES TO LOVE

Beckett King just inherited his father's fortune, his company--and all his enemies. If he's going to stay on top, he needs someone he can trust beside him. And though they've been rivals for years, there's no one he trusts more than Samara Mallick.

The rebel. That's how Samara has always thought of Beckett. And he's absolutely living up to his unpredictable ways when he strides into her office and asks for help. She can't help wondering if it's a legit request or just a ploy to get her into bed. Not that she'd mind either one. After all, she likes to live on the edge too.

But soon the threats to the King empire are mounting, and the two find family secrets darker than they ever imagined and dangerous enough to get them both killed.

Electrifyingly intense! Katee Robert’s has a magical way of introducing us into a new world that makes us feel like we’ve been there forever! With this novel, she is kicking off The Kings series and taking us into the heart of the King family where feuding and backstabbing has been a way of life. She weaves intrigue into the story in a way that has us waiting for the next shoe to fall around every corner. The characters are complex and exciting and the story left me wanting the next book … soon!

They’ve been butting heads for years, but the first person Beckett King thinks of when he finds himself overwhelmed dealing with his recent inheritance of his father’s business, assets and enemies is Samara Mallick. They work for opposite sides of a feuding family and have stared each other down in competition after competition in the business world, but it doesn’t stop them from sharing a powerful lust for one another that might be one of their undoings!

Samara is fiercely loyal to the person who gave her so many opportunities to get to the point in her career that she has reached today, and she won’t just turn her head while someone threatens their downfall. She feels like she’s being torn between two sides … and one minute her allegiance is strong for her employer, but then she’s in Beckett’s arms and he’s showing her his side of it all in the most sensual ways! Their connection is strong, but one side is going to fall and from the way things are stacking up, when it does, it’s going to cause an aftershock that will be felt by many. Can they outrun the danger they find themselves exposed to in time to see justice served?

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* Review * SCREWED by Kelly Jamieson

May 16, 2018 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Screwed by Kelly Jamieson
Published by Entangled: Amara on May 28, 2018
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Cash Hale has been in love with his best friend’s wife forever. Now Callie and Beau are divorced, but she’s still way off-limits. Dating her would betray his friendship with Beau. And Cash is nothing if not loyal.

Callie Sutherland is starting over. The end of her marriage was just one more way she failed to live up to her wealthy family’s expectations, so from now on she’s not even going to try. It’s time to live her life the way she wants. And she wants Cash.

Cash and Beau aren’t just friends, they’re business partners, and the drop in the price of oil has hurt their business. They need to win the bid for Sutherland Industries’ next big project—but it may get messy since Callie’s family owns the business. Not only would Cash risk his friendship with Beau to be with her, he’d be risking the company they worked so hard to create.

But this new Callie isn’t taking no for an answer.

He’s so screwed...

He’s sexy, he’s kind-hearted, he’s totally breaking the bro code! I absolutely adored this book! Cash and Callie are super sweet together, and their chemistry is oh so sexy. The added storyline of being a secret gives it a taboo feel, but it’s not long before we start crossing our fingers that they find a way to turn it into forever. You’ll laugh, you’ll go “awwww” and you might need a fan during those steamy scenes!

Cash Hale has been carrying a torch for her since they met back in college. They had a connection, but the timing was all wrong. She was off-limits … his best friend’s girl … then his best friend’s wife. The logistics have changed now though … and he still feels that same old attraction when he’s in her presence. Can he really go against the loyalty that’s ingrained in his heart to try to find that happiness that has alluded him all these years?

Callie Sutherland is newly divorced and trying to figure out what to do with her life again. She kicked her cheating ex to the curb awhile back, and she’s tired of living simply to please impossible people. She’s going after what she wants, starting with Cash!

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* Review * BREATHE by Carly Phillips

May 15, 2018 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Breathe by Carly Phillips
Series: Rosewood Bay #2
Published by CP Publishing on May 15, 2018
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Fall in love with the Wards…

From troubled teen to successful general contractor, Jake Nichols turned his life around from his time in foster care. Divorced and single, he juggles his time between his daughter and his work. Next on his agenda, a new project that is his chance to prove his worth at the job he loves. Except he never anticipates that the only girl he's ever loved and lost as a teen is now a grown and beautiful woman in charge of the project.

Phoebe Ward has survived and conquered a painful past that includes foster care and becoming a teenaged mom. She wants nothing more than to focus on the present but it’s hard when she looks into the eyes of her son, knowing she’s tried and failed to find his father. She’s resigned herself to raising him alone with the help of her family… Until a client meeting brings her face to face with her first love. A boy… now a sexy man she thought she’d never see again … and the father of her child.

So many years have gone by and both of their lives have changed drastically. Will they be able to put the past behind them and find the second chance they both deserve?

Reunited when they least expect it! With the second book in her Rosewood Bay series, Carly Phillips brings us Phoebe & Jake … a second chance at love story featuring a pair of childhood sweethearts who had no say in their split all those years ago and who find themselves feeling those same old feelings as soon as they set eyes on each other. She had a son he never even knew about … he lived through things she shudders to think about … but together again, they just might be able to rectify the mistakes and short changes of the past. This was a fast and easy read. A little light on complications in the current story line, but just enough strife to keep us tied into their relationship until the very end. I’m enjoying this series a lot, and look forward to the next book!

Single mom Phoebe Ward has a great support system with her family, but she’s never gotten over the fact that her son has had to grow up without knowing his father. She and her first love were separated before she learned she was pregnant, and although she tried to track him down, she was never able to find him. Imagine her surprise when she walks into a renovation site she’s supposed to be overseeing, and there he is … all grown up and sexy as ever!

Contractor Jake Nichols was dealt a tough hand in life, and though he let it overwhelm him a few times as he grew up, he eventually got on the straight and narrow and lucked into being mentored by a great man who taught him the tools of his trade and how to be a good person. He’s single with a precociously adorable daughter that he adores. When Phoebe walks onto his job site, he’s blown away … and happier than you can even imagine to see her!

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* Review * RUMOR HAS IT by Jessica Lemmon

May 15, 2018 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * RUMOR HAS IT by Jessica Lemmon

Rumor Has It by Jessica Lemmon
Series: Real Love #4
Published by Loveswept on May 15, 2018
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Barrett: As a former pro football star, I’m used to playing the field. After injuries cut my NFL career short, my second act as a broadcaster ended on live television when a hot mic picked up a little verbal . . . indiscretion. But this latest publicity stunt might just land me back on top—much to the chagrin of Catarina Everhart, the prissy, beautiful journalist who’s been assigned to date a bad boy (i.e., me) and write about it. Catarina swears I’ll never touch her, let alone kiss those full lips of hers. Based on our chemistry, I’m not buying it. . . .

Catarina: Barrett Fox seems to be doing everything in his power to make me hate him. The cocky egomaniac is infamous for his bad behavior, and now, thanks to my boss’s harebrained schemes, he’s apparently my problem. As one fake date leads to another, I start to see a different side of Barrett. He’s close with his family. He does volunteer work. And, okay, he kisses like a dream. Am I really dating Barrett Fox? Or is he playing me? Because suddenly I’m risking my reputation—and my heart.

Opposites attract in this fun and flirty gem! Jessica Lemmon has out done herself with this one. Barrett talks a good game, but he’s got a funny, down-to-earth side that takes a readers breath away even faster than his sexy persona. The banter between these two characters is laugh-out-loud funny, the sex is steamy and the overall book is just a super fun read!

Former NFL bad boy Barrett Fox has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle thanks to his temper and a hot mic during his broadcasting job, but he’s hoping his upcoming publicity stunt with an on-line gossip column will be just what he needs to get his job back and be welcomed back into the limelight and prestige!

Reporter Catarina Everhart can’t stand Barrett’s type just on the principal of him thinking he’s God’s gift, so when her boss informs her she’s doing a little side-job of pretending to date him for a summer assignment, she’s appalled! When one fake date leads to another and she actually starts to see the guy beneath all of the pomp, she starts to wonder if they’re still faking this relationship … because it’s starting to feel oh so real!

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* Review * A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS by M.K. Stelmack

May 15, 2018 Leave a Comment

A Roof Over Their Heads by M. K. Stelmack
Series: A True North Hero
Published by Harlequin Heartwarming on February 1, 2018
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She can’t have the man she loves…if it means losing her child!

Alexi Docker’s a widow trying to adopt the child she and her husband had taken in. Except her new rental home turns out to be a disaster reno…and she, now single, has to prove she can give the boy everything he needs. That includes a roof over his head, four walls and running water! If not for the absentee landlady’s cranky recluse of a brother, she wouldn’t have been able to cope. But now Alexi has to choose between a man she’s growing to love and the boy she needs to adopt…because Seth Greene has a past that could ruin the adoption process.

With her debut Harlequin Heartwarming novel, M.K. Stelmack serves up an emotional punch that settles her into this line-up of lovely authors right off the bat! The heroine grabs our attention quickly with the hard life she’s having to juggle and despite the sadness she feels, she proves she’s rich at heart with the warmth of her family. The plot is rife with turmoil, yet extremely kind-hearted and easy to sink your teeth into. I found myself pulling for the family, and in particular hoping she and Seth would be able to work out that happily-ever-after they all deserved. Looking forward to more from this fresh voice!

Alexi Docker is trying to hold her life together after losing the husband that meant the world to her. She’s got four kids to be strong for, and she’d do anything for every single one of them … but especially the one that she and her husband were still in the process of adopting. She has to have a stable home and prove she’s the best fit for him … but the new house they moved all this way to live in is not what she was promised!

Seth Greene didn’t think he could be shocked by anything his sister would do at this point, but this one takes the cake. She’s gutted her house and then rented it out to a family and walked away. He’s been picking up the slack for her for years now, and he’s just simply done. No more Mr. Nice Guy! It all sounds good when he says it, but when faced with a struggling single mom who’s going to lose her kid if he doesn’t remodel the house, Seth caves and does everything he can to help her even if it means his sister is benefitting.

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* Review * DECEIVED by Elisabeth Naughton

May 15, 2018 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * DECEIVED by Elisabeth Naughton

Deceived by Elisabeth Naughton
Series: House of Sin #2
Published by Elisabeth Naughton Publishing LLC on May 15, 2018
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Some doors were never meant to be opened...

I made a fateful mistake. I should never have peeked behind the doors into his forbidden world.

But I did, and now I’m a prisoner. Trapped by the man I love. The man I thought I could trust. The man who, despite his lies and deception, I continue to crave.

He can melt my resolve with one rough, whispered demand, and I feel myself giving in to the desire he still stirs inside me. And yet, if I want to survive, I have to be strong. I must find a way to escape. Because if I don’t, I’m afraid I’ll be consumed by a shadowy world that will ultimately destroy me.

Lost forever in his wicked House of Sin…

Emotionally raw and riveting! With the second book in her House of Sin series, Elisabeth Naughton picks up from the cliffhanger in the first book to spin a tale of lust, revenge and family loyalty. The characters are torn between their feelings for each other and what the world requires of them. Since we already had the seeds of what the plot was all about laid out in Book One, this book flowed quicker and easier. It was passionate yet tender, and left us on another cliffhanger, wanting more!

She awakens from her nightmare … to find herself a prisoner in his lair. She remembers the secrets she uncovered from his world … the lies, the betrayals, the crimes. She should hate him … she hates his life, she hates his family, she hates the things she knows — yet she loves him, still hungers for him, still craves the high he gives her.

He knows he only has a small amount of time to convince her to forgive him. They’re coming for her. She has to be on board with her new life … or she won’t have one. He can’t lose her now … he’s only just found the love he’s always wanted.

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* Review * COWBOY LULLABY by Sasha Summers

May 14, 2018 1 Comment

Cowboy Lullaby by Sasha Summers
Series: The Boones of Texas
Published by Harlequin Western Romance on January 1, 2018
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BACK TO THE BEGINNING

Aaron “Click” Hale is a reminder of Tandy Boone’s past and of the heartache they endured years ago. But the handsome horse trainer is back in Fort Kyle, Texas, raising a toddler on his own, and stirring up all the dreams—and emotions—he and Tandy once shared.

Click is reeling, and only partially because Tandy is back in his life. He discovered he was a father the same day he was given custody of his young daughter, Pearl. As Click adjusts to parenthood, Tandy is supportive and wonderful with the little girl. But they’re both still hurting. Can Tandy and Click find a way through their old pain to build a new family together?

A bittersweet, emotionally raw reunion! Sasha Summers pulls out all the stops with the emotion she packs into this story. The reader feels the pain as her words paint the picture of this young couple with the world at their feet until devastation tears them apart and leaves them so scarred that they don’t fit together anymore. Each tries to start over in their own way, but neither ever finds the same passion for life that they once knew together … and when circumstances bring them back home again, you can bet the love they shoved down is still festering! A really great story with a compelling plot, deep characters and an adorable baby girl that steals our hearts!

Tandy Boone has barely gotten settled back into her hometown of Fort Kyle, Texas when the person that can tear her heart out with just one look shows up and throws her emotions into chaos again! Click Hale was the love of her life, but one night changed it all forever and she can’t even look at him now without being thrown back there again.

Aaron “Click” Hale is doing okay for himself training the horses that he loves, but when his life is turned upside down by being handed a young daughter he knew nothing about, he finds himself heading home to the one place that he knows can make everything right. Seeing Tandy again is soothing to his soul, but the pain he sees in his eyes tells him she doesn’t feel the same way. The daughter on his hip just might be more than she can handle.

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* Review * STAY WITH ME by Jules Bennett

May 14, 2018 Leave a Comment

Stay with Me by Jules Bennett
Series: Return to Haven #1
Published by Zebra on March 27, 2018
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Small-town Haven, Georgia, is home to generations of families, plenty of Southern charm, and an airport that’s seen better days. But as three friends are about to discover, love gives everything wings . . .

At eighteen, Olivia Daniels left Haven behind and never looked back. Doggedly climbing the corporate ladder, she’s finally nearing the top when her father dies—leaving her part-owner of the run-down airport that was his first love. It’s a complication Olivia intends to wrap up quickly—buying out her co-owner and selling the land. Good thing her childhood best friends are with her for moral support. Because one look at her new partner is proof that her tidy plan has hit turbulence . . .

Jackson Morgan practically grew up in Haven’s airport, and no one could have been a better mentor than Olivia’s dad. Flight is in Jackson’s blood, but his roots are firmly planted, and there’s no way he’s giving up the airport—not even for sassy, headstrong Olivia, his childhood crush. Coming to an agreement won’t be easy, especially when the attraction between them soars to new heights every day. Love definitely wasn’t on the itinerary, but is it enough to keep them together for a lifetime trip? . . .

Conflict abounds in an emotionally riveting story from Jules Bennett! Olivia seems like an unfeeling person with how she handles the loss of her father, but Jax shows us another side of her as he guides her to find what she truly meant to her father. She’s not sure what to make of this attraction that is between them considering he is younger than her, but he shows her that he’s wise beyond his years and an overall good guy. An interesting story line and compelling characters. Looking forward to more in the series!

Olivia Daniels left Haven, George at eighteen and never looked back. Her dreams are within sight of coming true when she’s suddenly called back to Haven to settle her father’s estate. She has zero interest in the run-down airport he put above all else in life, so it won’t take her long to unload it and anything else he left her and be on her way back to the city to what’s important!

Jackson Morgan practically grew up in a plane with her dad, and he might have just been a kid when Livie left town, but that didn’t stop him from being half in love with her! He’s half owner of the business, and it and her father meant the world to him, so he’ll be holding onto it for all he’s worth no matter how much she wants to offload it and hit the road quickly.

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