Archives for June 22, 2022

* Review * REBOUNDING by Jami Davenport

June 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Rebounding by Jami Davenport
Series: Portland Icehawks #1
Published by Cedrona Enterprises on June 23, 2022
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Meet the newest expansion team in hockey--The Portland Icehawks. They're a group of guys with chips on their shoulders out to make their former teams regret letting them go. They won't be stopped until they win it all. What they haven’t counted on is love being part of that equation.

As a thirty-five-year-old hockey player, I've learned a hard lesson in loyalty. I was supposed to be a lifer for the Chicago Tigers, but the team left me out in the cold, choosing to protect younger players in the expansion draft. The next thing I know, I'm in a strange city with a fledgling team, and my estranged wife has served me with divorce papers. Not the best way to start a new chapter in my career.

As the team struggles to find its identity and win games, I struggle with my role as team captain, proving I'm not too old to play at a high level, and getting beyond my failed marriage. All this is complicated by an undeniable attraction to the owner's daughter. As the team racks up the losses, I seek solace with the one woman whose very presence could destroy what's left of my career.

Sometimes love is comfortable and subtle. Other times it hits you with the force of a puck to the jaw. I've never experienced the latter until now, and I can't stay away regardless of the consequences.

Heartfelt and addictive! A brand new hockey franchise is hitting the streets with the kick off of the Portland Icehawks series from Jami Davenport and it did not disappoint! The main characters are sincere and really easy to like, and the reveal of the team makes for a drama filled set up to the series. I loved Dash and Everly, but felt like the ending was really abrupt. I’m looking forward to more to come in the series!

Dashel is picking up the pieces of the life he left behind in Chicago and never expects an instant connection to a new acquaintance as soon as he hits Portland.

Everly is the misfit of the family and trying her best to turn over a new leaf … but falling for a player after knowing the ground rules isn’t exactly getting off to a great start.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a hockey romance with sweet and sexy romance as the backdrop as teammates bring the drama around every corner.

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* Review * CANYON CRIME SCENE by Carol Ericson

June 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

Canyon Crime Scene by Carol Ericson
Series: The Lost Girls #1
Published by Harlequin Intrigue on June 28, 2022
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His sister is missing and only one person can help

Cade Larson needs LAPD fingerprint expert Lori Del Valle to help track down his troubled missing sister. But he can’t deny the sparks still between them…nor the secret Lori is keeping. When fingerprints link Cade’s sister to another missing woman—and a potentially nefarious treatment center—Lori volunteers to go undercover. Will their dangerous plan bring a predator to justice or tragically end their reunion?

This unrelenting reunion story has danger around every corner! With the first book in The Lost Girls series we are quickly thrust into a mystery of several missing women surrounding a rehab center that seems to have something nefarious going on at. The characters were quick to catch my attention and the plot had me intrigued throughout. There were a couple of side jaunts that didn’t really add much to the story and many key players mentioned but not developed, but the underlying mystery carried the plot enough to overcome the distraction. I look forward to what’s coming next in the series!

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a mystery backed by a reunion of past loves who reconnect and grow from the changes they’ve both had in their lives since they knew each other previously.

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* Review * SMOKE SCREEN by Adrienne Giordano

June 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * SMOKE SCREEN by Adrienne Giordano

Smoke Screen by Adrienne Giordano
Series: Steele Ridge: The Blackwells #2
Published by Steele Ridge Publishing on June 21, 2022
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In the riveting, opposites-attract second installment of Steele Ridge: The Blackwells, a charming recovery agent questions his role in the family business until his next case lands him in the middle of a jewelry heist with an intoxicating museum manager as the prime suspect.

Acquisitions manager Maddy Carmichael has an urgent problem. Someone has stolen priceless jewels from the Thompson Presidential Center, including pieces belonging to the Queen of England. The museum’s reputation depends on retrieving the jewels before news of the theft leaks, so Maddy turns to Phin Blackwell, of Blackwell Asset Recovery Services. BARS is known for doing whatever it takes to satisfy their clients. When Maddy meets the model-handsome Phin, she wonders how far that policy goes.

Phin jumps at the chance to land the Thompson case. Recovering the queen’s jewels could cement BARS as one of the top agencies in the field. It’s all business, until Phin realizes he can’t stop thinking about Maddy’s blue eyes and tempting curves.

As the professional lines blur, the FBI turns their investigative eye on Maddy. Phin must decide whether to help her and risk bringing down his family’s company or play it safe and lose the woman who’s quickly becoming the most important person in his life.

Top notch suspense! The second book in the Steele Ridge: The Blackwells series did not disappoint as we are quickly thrust into an action packed mystery as red hot passion flares it’s head between Phin and Maddy. I loved every minute of their story, but I wanted more closure at the end regarding her job. I’m looking forward to more of these hunky Blackwells and their endearing family!

Maddy is kindhearted and sincere and seeing her world crumble down around her quickly immerses her into a reader’s heart.

Phin is a sweetheart whose loyalty to his family has left him at a crossroad when Maddy comes into his life and adds a new dimension.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone that enjoys a close knit family backdrop as danger and intrigue wraps them up in caper after caper as each sibling finds their true love.

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* Review * THE PERFECT HEIR by Monique Moreau

June 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

The Perfect Heir by Monique Moreau
Series: The Lupu Chronicles #4
on June 16, 2022
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I am called the Virgin Queen and I can never marry.

Clara

I am Clara Hagi, the Virgin Queen. I may not be allowed to marry, but I will be the first woman to rule a mafia clan.

I ache for Tatum, the consilier of the Lupu family. I love his piercing black eyes, his tall, muscle-bound frame, his touch, his commands, his beguiling strain of vulnerability—I love it all.

The one time and only time he kissed me—my first kiss—was a mistake.

That’s what he called it.

A mistake.

He’ll regret those words; I’ll make sure of it.

Tatum

Nothing good came from kissing that girl, Clara. A girl whose clan hates mine. A girl who’s off-limits. A girl I should loathe.

As consilier, I live and breathe the Lupu clan, and I do it perfectly. I’m charged with getting the Virgin Queen under control. Once I do, my clan will rule LA, just as it rules NYC.

Every time I see her, I remember. Every time, we spar, I want to kiss her. Every time we accidentally touch, I ache for her.

One kiss would never be enough. Maybe bedding her will get her out of my system, virginity bedamned.

Make her pay for twisting me inside out.

Make her hurt a little.

Purge her from my body and mind.

She deserves better than a tainted man like me, but what if I fall for the Virgin Queen?

An explosive connection leads to so much angsty goodness! Book four in The Lupu Chronicles series brings us Tatum’s story and it’s emotional and addictive. I loved the book, but I was disappointed with how things were left with the fam at the end. I’m not sure if Sebastian is getting a book or not, but I hope this isn’t the last we see of the Lupu clan and hope to once day see a bit more of Tatum with them.

Clara is confident and speaks her mind, so watching her fall for Tatum and learn a whole other side of herself is really fun.

Tatum is a sweetheart and though he works side by side with danger every day, he’s goodhearted and sincere.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys a mafia romance with lots of endearing characters, lots of feels and so much passion!

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* 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.

Filed Under: Book Reviews