Book Reviews – Page 56

* Review * HARMONY OF FIRE by Brian Feehan

June 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * HARMONY OF FIRE by Brian Feehan

Harmony of Fire by Brian Feehan
Series: Alice & Owen #1
Published by Berkley on June 28, 2022
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The We—beings who existed long before humans ever did, filled with powerful magic—walk among us. Owen and Alice are both etherealists—rare humans born with magic who are targets for those We that wish to take it from them. At nine years old and against her will, Alice’s soul was tied to one such powerful and evil We. She escaped and was trained to be a weapon so she might one day break the bond and safely return home. Everything is going to plan…until she meets Owen.

Owen is a musician who is trying to outrun his past while keeping those around him safe in an increasingly dangerous world. Owen keeps them on the move until a band of hunters crosses their path. Owen must go home—a place he swore he’d never return to—and seek protection from the We who could destroy them. And then he meets Alice. Only through finding each other do either Alice or Owen have a chance of survival.

A spectacular debut voice filled with intrical character building, dynamic atmosphere and great potential in the fantasy/paranormal field! Brian Feehan thrusts his reader quickly into the heart of the fantasy world he has spun when he lays the groundwork for Alice and Owen’s lives leading up to the moment they meet. While I was invested quickly in his main characters and each of their support systems, there was a bit of a disconnect periodically for me as time shifted frequently with an overpowering back story. Once Alice and Owen connect and their journey begins side by side the pace drastically picks up and you’ll be hooked quickly and invested in this powerful couple. I’m looking forward to more of their story in the series yet to come!

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fantasy world filled with good and evil as complex characters thrust themselves into your heart and take you along for the ride of a lifetime as their journey explodes with power, drama and loads of feels!

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* Review * VIEW FROM ABOVE by Nichole Severn

June 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * VIEW FROM ABOVE by Nichole Severn

View from Above by Nichole Severn
Series: Hunting Grounds #4
Published by Nichole Severn Books, LLC on June 21, 2022
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A trauma therapist escaping her father’s legacy.
A homicide detective who can’t prove murder.
A case that can heal their old wounds or send them over the edge.

When an innocent woman plunges to her death, Mallory Kotite is convinced there’s a connection to her father’s supposed suicide. Desperate to be free of the family legal empire—and the suffering at the hands of a self-made tyrant—she convinces the investigating detective to take a second look. Only to find her life and her heart in danger.

Detective Payton Nichols can’t hold onto a partner. He’s good at understanding evidence. People are a different puzzle altogether. But faced with a mistake on his last case, Payton must rely on Mallory’s insights into her father’s life. He’s not a project for the assertive therapist to fix, but as desire ramps up between them and a killer targets Mallory, he finds himself exposed to a past better left forgotten.

With a serial killer closing in, Mallory and Payton don’t have much choice. Learn to trust one another or get their own view from above.

High intensity intrigue from start to finish! The fourth book in the Hunting Ground series grabbed my attention from the first page and took me through a rollercoaster ride of danger, love and healing. My favorite of the series!

Mallory is a loyal and articulate character who is determined to find answers to right a wrong even though it takes her through an emotional journey.

Payton is intense and solitary and watching him actually let someone in for a change is heartwarming.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys lots of intrigue, deep danger and heartfelt emotional journeys.

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* Review * BIG SHOT by Kat Mizera

June 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

Big Shot by Kat Mizera
Series: Lauderdale Knights #2
on June 14, 2022
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Welcome to Fort Lauderdale—where the days are hot and the Knights are hotter.

Jude:
I’ve always said I would settle down when the time—and the woman—was right. So having a friends-with-benefits relationship fits right into my plans. Until it doesn’t. The line between friendship and wanting more with the gorgeous doctor is blurring with each passing day. The more I get to know her, the harder it gets to stay away. I need to show Chloe there’s more to us than just chemistry… but first I have to admit it to myself.

Chloe:
I thought I had my life all mapped out. College, medical school, and then a demanding career as a successful doctor. Now I’m having doubts about all of it, and the last thing I need is a professional athlete with abs for days to add to my distraction and derail my plans. Falling for a big shot hockey player like Jude would be a mistake. But everything is so good between us— there’s no way I can just walk away.

Such down-to-earth characters! The second book in the Lauderdale Knights series heats up quickly as a casual fling turns all too real between hunky hockey pro Jude and floundering doc Chloe. I was hooked on their friendship and chemistry right off the bat and enjoyed watching them fall when they least expected it.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone that enjoys hockey romance with strong camaraderie between teammates, friends and soon to be happily ever afters.

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* Review * JOCK WANTED by Kate Meader

June 5, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Jock Wanted by Kate Meader
Series: Rookie Rebels #7
Published by Kate Meader LLC on June 14, 2022
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She has her heart set on a hockey player. Any hockey player.

When the new general manager of the Chicago Rebels tasks Tara Becker with faking it with one of his players to help clean up the naughty jock's act, she's all over it. She'll make that misbehaving hunk of muscle look good and get her dream guy into the bargain.

Only the path from fake to real is riddled with thorns . . .

New Rebels GM Hale Fitzpatrick thinks ditzy blonde and wannabe WAG Tara is the perfect solution to his PR problem - until she isn't. Soon Fitz realizes that maybe he doesn't have control of the strings after all . . . especially when he starts to fall for his pretty little puppet.

A fake relationship hockey romance - with a twist!

An undeniable attraction! I couldn’t have loved Hale and Tara together more, but I felt the development of their relationship suffered somewhat from the secondary storyline that was playing her off of others too much. I would have loved if we could have seen them together once they were truly together more to see them shine. Great characters and lots of heart!

Hale AKA Fitz was such an endearing character. I loved every minute of him and only wanted more pages to love him in.

Tara is complex and covering up so much of her true self the majority of the book. I enjoyed seeing her finally let her cards show and receive love regardless.

I recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys a character driven hockey team that loves hard and always has a smile and support for a teammate.

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* Review * MARCUS by Lori Foster

June 5, 2022 Leave a Comment

Marcus by Lori Foster
Series: A Love Undercover Novella
Published by HQN Books on June 1, 2022
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They’ve been crushing on each other for months… So what’s holding them back?

A sizzling new Love Undercover novella

For Marcus Bareden, Lucy Cortland is more than the girl next door. She’s beautiful, funny and easy to talk to. He’d really like to get closer, but something about her occasional wariness sets off his spidey sense. When he was nine, Marcus was plucked from an abusive situation and adopted by the most amazing parents a boy could wish for.

Lucy Cortland spent years overcoming an awful youth. Now, she’s got a great job, her own place and a super sexy neighbor. Marcus is warm, kind and they’ve become good friends. She’s only known him a few months, but their chemistry is undeniable. Yet for Lucy, getting close isn’t possible.

Lucy believes no one could love her after what she’s been through. No one could understand…except maybe the guy next door, who knows how it feels to be mistreated and how hard it can be to learn to hope—even love—again.

Overflowing with heart! Lori Foster is taking a jump back into her Love Undercover world with this year’s charity novella and I couldn’t have loved Marcus and Lucy more. Yes, it’s novella length so the pace is quick, but the depth of emotion and signature warmth we are used to from Foster was spot on. I can’t wait to see more of the friends we were introduced to!

Seeing Marcus all grown up, living a great life and falling for his forever love is super heartwarming to fans of the series.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants a short dive into an emotional story filled with charm.

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* Review * THE FRIENDSHIP PACT by Jill Shalvis

June 2, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * THE FRIENDSHIP PACT by Jill Shalvis

The Friendship Pact by Jill Shalvis
Series: The Sunrise Cove Series #2
Published by Avon on June 14, 2022
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Alone in the world, Tae Holmes and her mother April pretty much raised each other, but as Tae starts asking questions about the father she’s never met, April, for the first time in her life, goes silent. To make matters worse, Tae is dangerously close to broke and just manages to avoid financial meltdown when she lands a shiny new contract with an adventure company for athletes with disabilities and wounded warriors.

Her first big fundraiser event falls flat, but what starts out as a terrible, horrible, no-good night turns into something else entirely when Tae finds herself face-to-face with Riggs Copeland. She hasn’t seen the former Marine since their brief fling in high school, and while still intensely drawn to him, she likes her past burned and buried, thank you very much. Hence their friendship pact.

But when April oddly refuses to help Tae track down her father, it’s Riggs who unexpectedly comes to her aid. On a hunt to unlock the past, the two of them find themselves on a wild ride and learn a shocking truth, while also reluctantly bonding in a way neither had seen coming. Now Tae must decide whether she’s going to choose love … or walk away from her own happiness.

Shalvis is synonymous with humor and heartfelt characters! The second book in the Sunrise Cove series brings together two scarred souls who once crossed paths at pivotal moments in each others lives and are now passing in the wind … until feelings start to grow, secrets are uncovered that could change everything and happily ever after doesn’t seem so impossible anymore. Highly enjoyed this story!

Tae is feisty and tenacious and doesn’t believe life is the sunshine and roses that some try to pass it off to be. I really enjoyed seeing her let her guard down when it came to Riggs, yet still play hard ball about not letting him think he had won her over.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone that enjoys down to earth characters with hearts of gold and sass galore.

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* Review * OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY by Kristan Higgins

June 1, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY by Kristan Higgins

Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins
Published by Berkley on June 7, 2022
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Lillie Silva knew life as an empty nester would be hard after her only child left for college, but when her husband abruptly dumps her for another woman just as her son leaves, her world comes crashing down. Besides the fact that this announcement is a complete surprise (to say the least), what shocks Lillie most is that she isn’t heartbroken. She’s furious.

Lillie has loved her life on Cape Cod, but as a mother, wife, and nurse-midwife, she’s used to caring for other people . . . not taking care of herself. Now, alone for the first time in her life, she finds herself going a little rogue. Is it over the top to crash her ex-husband’s wedding dressed like the angel of death? Sure! Should she release a skunk into his perfect new home? Probably not! But it beats staying home and moping.

She finds an unexpected ally in her glamorous sister, with whom she’s had a tense relationship all these years. And an unexpected babysitter in, of all people, Ben Hallowell, the driver in a car accident that nearly killed Lillie twenty years ago. And then there’s Ophelia, her ex-husband’s oddly lost niece, who could really use a friend.

It’s the end of Lillie’s life as she knew it. But sometimes the perfect next chapter surprises you . . . out of the clear blue sky.

An exhilarating dash of love, life and laughter as one life crumbles and another begins! There is a lot of goodness in this story of loss, reconnection and growth as life as one knew it drastically changes, but the growth she learns from it makes her stronger than ever in the end. There’s witty humor that will really tickle your funny bone and there is an emotional depth in several of the characters that will be easily relatable. While it felt a little long-winded and disjointed on occasion when flipping viewpoints, there was great enjoyment between these pages and I walked away with a smile on my face.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a boatload of drama, lots of humor, sadness as well as joy and more heartwarming moments than you’ll know what to do with.

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* Review * STRANDED IN THE MOUNTAINS by Geri Krotow

June 1, 2022 Leave a Comment

Stranded in the Mountains by Geri Krotow
Published by Inspirational Mountain Rescue Collection on May 24, 2022
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They survived the crash…

Now can they escape the wilderness?

Part-time treasure hunter Daniel Sturges’s secret assignment was simple—find a wrecked WWII B-17 and recover the artifacts inside. But now he’s stranded with fellow crash survivor Cassie Edmunds, who's searching for the same plane, and they’ll have to trust one another with their lives. With temperatures falling in treacherous terrain, will they risk everything for the missing wreckage or discover something more valuable between them? That is, if they can stay alive...

Bonded by survival! This strongly faith based story unites two unlikely souls in a fight against the elements when their flight to a remote site strands them with the barest of resources. Each character has a back story that endears their part of the plot to the reader and watching them grow their connection throughout the wilds of the wilderness makes a powerful human interest side to the story. I liked them a lot, but would have enjoyed more relationship development once they returned to real life.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a high impact survival type romance with a strong outdoor backdrop.

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* Review * THE BOARDWALK BOOKSHOP by Susan Mallery

June 1, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * THE BOARDWALK BOOKSHOP by Susan Mallery

The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery
Published by MIRA on May 31, 2022
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When fate brings three strangers to a charming space for lease on the California coast, the Boardwalk Bookshop is born. Part bookstore, part gift shop, part bakery, it's a dream come true for Bree, Mikki and Ashley. But while their business is thriving, their personal lives are…not.

Bree, wounded by brilliant but cold parents and her late husband's ultimate betrayal, has sworn to protect her heart at all costs. Even from Ashley's brother, a writer and adventurer who has inspired millions. He's the first man to see past Bree's barricades to her true self, which terrifies her. Mikki has this divorce thing all figured out—somehow, she's stayed friends with her ex and her in-laws…until a new man changes how everyone looks at her, and how she sees herself. Meanwhile, Ashley discovers that the love of her life never intends to marry. Can she live without being a wife if it means she can have everything else she's ever wanted?

At sunset every Friday on the beach in front of the Boardwalk Bookshop, the three friends share a champagne toast. As their bond grows closer, they challenge one another to become the best versions of themselves in this heartachingly beautiful story of friendship, sisterhood and the transformative power of love.

The complexities of love and friendship are beautifully interwoven! THE BOARDWALK BOOKSHOP brings together three women and their separate businesses into one beachfront store in the heart of California and shines a light on the growth of a friendship that supports each of them as life brings them love, turmoil and happily ever afters. The characters are intriguing, each of their lives bring a totally different aspect of love to the forefront and the strength of their friendship grows to support them when they need it most.

I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys drama, friendship and happy endings.

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* Review * BOYFRIEND LESSONS by Sophia Singh Sasson

June 1, 2022 Leave a Comment

Boyfriend Lessons by Sophia Singh Sasson
Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: Ranchers and Rivals #2
Published by Harlequin Desire on May 24, 2022
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Her cardinal rule for learning the ropes of romance?

Don’t fall for the teacher!

Shy Lone Star heiress Caitlyn Lattimore is eager to ditch her wallflower status. So when her best friend playfully suggests she practice dating, Caitlyn goes one further. She asks friend of a friend Dev Mallik to give her boyfriend lessons. The spark between them soon turns fun into fire. But is Caitlyn setting herself up for heartbreak? Because Dev’s exacting parents want just the right woman for their son—and they aren’t so sure she’s the one…

Sizzling love at first sight! The second book in the Texas Cattleman’s Club: Ranchers and Rivals series starts out a tad confusing with a lot of characters mentioned without full disclosure of who is who, but it quickly leveled out into an enjoyable meet cute for Caitlyn and Dev. Their timeline until “I love you” was extremely rushed, but I enjoyed the characters as a whole and found them relatable.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys love when it’s least expected between a man of the world and a refreshingly naive heroine.

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