I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review
They'd come from places where peopl2.5 stars
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review
They'd come from places where people didn't care, not on the regular, and Camp Phoenix had shown them they were worth something.
The Comeback Cowboy was an anthology with a cool concept of having four different authors continue the story of the same characters, giving each couple a starring role. I thought this would give four different perspectives and vibes to each couple but set in the same world, instead it delivered a whole lot of sameness. The men are all tall with “barely reaching” shoulder height women and except for one couple where it was reversed, the guys are the ones wanting to keep it to just open door bedroom scenes and fearing love. All of the men work/ed in law enforcement, along with one woman, but the stories were too short to really delve into that, they are all just “protective”. The setting is a camp that they all spent time at as teenagers, it's a juvenile retreat to try and help teens change their life path, and after the death of their mentor, Bill McClain, one of the former campers buys it and asks/guilt trips for volunteers to get it back running. Until the last story though, the camp setting wasn't really felt by me and I was kind of disappointed in that aspect. If you were looking for a certain kind of vibe, short, not deep, men scared of love, teenage crushes finally getting fulfilled, then each story had these notes. I was looking for different perspectives and instead got same one after the other.
The One With the Hat by Jackie Ashenden 2 stars
Flint Decker. Sheriff Flint Decker and his stupid hat.
This story had the added responsibility of introducing all the characters, setting, and the whos and whys of everyone. When Bree was fourteen, Officer Flint Decker took her in for stealing food, she says arrested but he really took her to Sheriff Bill McClain, who sent her to Camp Phoenix. Flint was twenty at the time and while Bree had a crush on him, he obviously never felt anything. I started to get a little “ok, enough” over how many times it was brought up how she was fourteen and his “arresting” her, it started to feel a little nothankyou, I wanted a focus on here and now. He remembers her and when Bree moved back to town (Jasper Creek, this is #4 in the city named series) he gets up in his feels how she ignores him. All our characters, well, except for one, come from families of neglect or crooks, providing the issues our characters have to work to deal with or overcome. Bree has worked to become a real estate agent and distant herself from her no account brothers but still has some problem with authority and feeling ashamed of how Flint first met her. Flint is the new Sheriff and feels he has to always be setting an example, his self-righteousness ruffles Bree's feathers.
“Am I getting to you, wildcat?” he murmured as she got in, his deep voice sending the most delicious chills right down her spine.
With the crushes going on, there was also our four heroines bunking in a cabin together and starting off a bit cool and adversarial to each other. They start to bond as they come up with the plan for Bree to steal Flint's hat to teach him a lesson. It's a theme that runs through the whole book, each heroine trying to steal something from their hero. It was at turns cute and immature, most of the heroines had an immature feel to them while most of the heroes were production line tough, stoic. When Bree goes to steal Flint's hat the attraction flairs and it kicks off a bedroom relationship. We seem to miss all the good bonding as it's said weeks go by of them continuing their bedroom antics. It comes to ahead as Bree wants more and Flint has to get over his issues for the eventual happily ever after.
The One With the Locket by Caitlin Crews 2.5 stars
Lincoln Traeger was not easily riled.
As Bree and Flint's relationship is getting settled, Violet and Lincoln move into frame. Lincoln is a calm, cool, U.S. Marshal and Violet an argumentative lawyer. As with the other couples, for forced proximity trope, they get paired up and are supposed to clean up the campgrounds chapel. Violet had a crush on Lincoln when they were at camp, she, 15 and he 19, and now grown up, she's still annoyed that she can't wind him around her little finger like she does all other men. It forces her to want to be seen for other than looks but also be scared to be liked or disliked for who she really is. Lincoln catches on to this about her and after he kisses her when she says she only thinks of him as a brother, he then ignores her. This prompts Violet to want to steal a locket of his to prove that she really does hate him to her bunkmates, who she's growing closer to.
This man was trouble. There was no getting around it.
As with the first, Violet gets caught stealing and it ends with Lincoln and her hitting the bedroom scenes. This did the same thing where all the time they spend together is basically skipped and I was left not seeing or feeling the emotional developments between these two. These two had logistics issues with some of Violet's emotional (Lincoln seemed to just accept the seriousness between them right away??), Violet lives across the country. This has Lincoln just boldly stating that Violet needs to quit her job and move to him. There's a tiny little background on Violet wanting a change in life but it was side-eyeing how comfortable Lincoln was with only saying she should move to him and not ever a consideration for the reverse. This one had a little more enjoyable heat to it for me but, again, lacked the emotional depth and Violet just expected to upheaval her life was meh.
The One With the Bullhorn by Nicole Helm 2 stars
Because Kinley was not a rash, belligerent person. She was shy. She liked to hide and be left to her own devices. But when she was mad...well. Jackson Hart better watch out.
Jackson is the leader of the camp and putting his whole energy behind it because he's been forced to retire from the DEA, he has leg damage after being shot and trying to run into a burning building to save his partner. Kinley has always been a wallflower and after only feeling like she could belong at camp, she moved to Jasper Creek years ago but has felt stagnated. Jackson hires her on as the camp's cook but his militant attitude has her destructive tendencies flaring, she used to act out to try and get attention from her parents, and mixed with the crush she's had on him, it has her agreeing to steal his beloved bullhorn. Except he catches her and she blindly snatches up his cane he sometimes uses for his limp. Jackson decides to teach her a teasing lesson and, you guessed it, it leads to them starting up the bedroom antics.
No one had ever treated her like this. Like she might be precious, or someone to be careful with. She found herself wanting to cry and hold on to him forever.
Kinley was a character that had probably the deepest hurt, she has a burn scar from an ex now in jail, and frequently talked about therapy but the shorter page count had her issues getting rushed through. She's also the one who was afraid and running away when Jackson told her he was all in. Jackson was a pretty stoic guy, some little flashes of lighter personality, I never felt like we got a look behind his brick wall, but he did feel the most mature of all the characters. I would have liked a better look at the guys' friendship in his story as he's the one who brought them all together, we really only get quick mentions of poker night and a few short conversations here and there in the short stories, the women's friendship gave more of a growth thread. Jackson's calm, steadiness eventually has Kinley feeling deserving of his love, but while the words were said on paper, I'm not sure I felt their romance.
The One With the Trophy by Maisey Yates 3 stars
He worried about her, and he shouldn't. He worried about her, and it made her feel special. He worried about her, and she wished he wouldn't. And she wished he would. Forever.
This was my favorite of the anthology, Clementine, the daughter of Sheriff Bill, she spent her summers at the camp. As she wasn't forced or sent there because she wasn't a juvenile delinquent, she always felt like an outsider and then growing up without a mother, while her father loved her, he never seemed to know what to do with a little girl, she has also always felt like an outsider with women. Working now as a deputy with Flint and Duke, another of her father's proteges, she always tried to hide her feelings for Duke. Being ten years older than Clementine, Duke has always tried to watch out for her as his mentor's daughter but the last few months have had him seeing her in a different light. He's trying to say she's like a sister to him but when he overhears her tell the other women that she's going to lose her virginity tonight, his emotions are all over the place.
He kept imagining it. Some guy kissing her. Putting his hands on her.
Clementine was really talking about losing her thief virginity and stealing his MVP football trophy from highschool but when he catches her and alludes to attraction to her, Clementine decides to take her chance. This had more of that emotional feelings I was looking for and had some light laughter with heat. Duke was still missing some fully formed character feel but Clementine came out stronger with working out her issues and growing from someone who felt they had to hide their emotions and feeling like an outsider. I also thought their prior friendship helped me believe in their romance more. This did follow the same old, same old trend of the anthology of having the guy scared to trust in love and move it from casual with the woman declaring her love first and saying she wanted more. Duke does get over his parental hang-ups and they get a happily ever after.
This also wraps-up the Camp Phoenix setting with the camp welcoming in a new generation of juveniles that need help. This didn't have much of a camp setting and while it seems at least two of the guys wear cowboy hats and own ranch/land, there really wasn't a western feel that the cover looked like to promise. But, again, if you're looking for the particular vibes I mentioned, those pretty much get repeated in all four stories. ...more
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
There was no way out. They were tra2.5 stars
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
There was no way out. They were trapped.
A paranormal series about werewolves that work for the Houston SWAT team, The Wolf is Mine gives us Officer Connor Malone and Kat Davenport's romance. I'm new to the series and while I was surprised at how easy it was to pick up here, I think I did miss some world-building regarding the supernatural aspects of being a werewolf. There's obviously a wide cast of characters, this is book thirteen in the series, but I never felt overwhelmed with some issues and moments looking at past couples. This starts off, I imagine, right where the last book ended, with a couple from the pack missing and Connor and a few other pack members going to look for them. Paranormal can be fun with it's wild aspects and we definitely get that here with Kat, literally, having been a cat adopted by Connor and the pack after coming up to them at a scene they were working nine months ago. Kat is a witch who has been binded as a familiar by a power hungry warlock, Marko, after he killed her whole coven and only changes back to a human for fourteen days out of the year. When her change is coming up, she doesn't want Connor to see and leaves for three days.
Magic simply existed. It wasn’t good or evil. But the people who used magic could sure as hell be good or evil.
Kat's story gets intertwined with Connor and the pack's as Marko is responsible for the missing pack couple and a string of teenager kidnappings they have also been working. When Kat turns back into a human, she decides it's time to tell Connor the truth and suddenly she's saving him and other pack members with magic, revealing that she was the cat all along and a witch. The falling in love here was very rushed, it could make sense from Kat's point-of-view, she had her human mind in her cat body, so every time Connor was sweet to her and her falling asleep on his chest every night, gave her time and substance to fall in love with him, I found the speed of Connor falling in love with her less so. For the nine months, Connor has only saw her as a cat (I tried not to keep thinking about him cleaning her litter box, lol), so in a few days, this story takes place over fourteen days, when he's claiming she's his soulmate, I can't say I felt it. There was talk of The One for werewolves, so maybe I'm missing some previous paranormal world-building here but just using The One felt like a cop-out for putting in the work to give us the emotional building blocks to their romance.
Taking a few careful steps forward, Kat threw herself into his arms, dragged his head down, and captured his lips with hers.
The battling between the werewolves and witches and warlocks filled this with a good amount of action scenes. The scenes at times had cool descriptions, werewolves claws coming out, the magic creating sims monsters (magical stones in the middle of debris built up monsters) that provided some details that created visually dazzling scenes in my mind. There was also a lot of, what I call, tv show Supernatural-ish scenes of Connor and the others just being hit in the chest with magical blows that sent them flying off their feet over and over again, making you wonder if Marko and his coven are so powerful, why don't they do more than just throw them around?
She refused to let the man she loved get hurt.
By half-way through, Kat and Connor both consider each other soulmates and it's really just about the skirmishes they have with Marko and his witches and warlocks working for him as they kidnap kids and putting together Marko's final plan. Connor's sister Jenna shows up and we get some backstory about how when he was younger his sisters went missing for a time and only Jenna was found, she couldn't remember what happened to her older sister Hannah but talked about monsters, causing no one to believer her and call her crazy. It's a storyline that I thought might be incorporated with Marko but it looks like it was all set-up to bring Jenna and, who I'm pretty sure is going to be her love interest, Connor's packmate Trevor together. The ending gives us a final action scene and then a wrap-up with more than one happily after.
I missed some supernatural world-building, both of the werewolves and witches, it seemed like witches and magic were new to the werewolves by how they reacted when Kat revealed herself and when she used her magic but then later in the story a character called Davina who was a witch who worked with the SWAT team occasionally gets called in to help them, so they knew about witches already, I'm not sure that all made sense to me. I enjoyed the action scenes but there wasn't enough to the falling in love for me. Even though I was new to the world, I had fun jumping in here and I'm sure readers of the series will enjoy the reveal of the SWAT team's cat being a human Kat. ...more
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After all, what were the odds that2.5 stars
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After all, what were the odds that the deaths of two older residents of rural Missouri who didn't appear linked in any way and who had no fortune worth stealing could be anything but natural?
Body of Evidence is book three in the Triple Threat series about the Reilly sisters. Youngest sister Grace is a forensic pathologist who travels six rural Missouri counties doing autopsies. When what looks like an attempted robbery may or may not have led to the death of an older woman, Grace conducts the autopsy and sees odd similarities to another older man's death. Coincidences that could easily be written off but when she finds what looks like sunflower seeds in both their stomachs, it bothers her enough to talk to the new Sheriff. Sheriff Nate has only been four months on the job but as former Special Forces, it doesn't take him much to get up to speed. He's willing to look a little further into these deaths, especially when it will give him more time around Grace.
He could let her walk away---or lay it on the line and possibly set himself up for a fall.
I hadn't read the previous books in the series but had no problem jumping in as this was fully Grace's story. Her sisters make appearances and bring in some of that sibling love and dynamics that I enjoy. With parents and a brother that had passed away, Nate only had a sister-in-law to show readers other sides of his personality and I missed him having a friend dynamic. He was in a dead end relationship of eight months when he meets Grace but after feeling the spark with Grace, he breaks up with her. This is Christian fiction, so the talk of morals and values comes on quick and their relationship is more about sensing each other is “The One”, they don't even get to go on a first date and readers won't see lingering touches until the epilogue.
Maybe the murderer had, indeed, devised the perfect homicide. But she wasn't about to cede victory to BK until every stone had been overturned.
The murder mystery was the main story here and we get povs from numerous people; players, the villain, and red-herrings. I liked how readers were let in on the why, insurance fraud scheme, and a who, an insurance salesman Dave is being blackmailed for cheating on his wife and forced to sell bogus claims to older citizens at the instance of a mysterious “BK”. The main villain pov of BK gives us their thoughts, feelings, and why they're doing this, bitter about how they're life turned out and enjoying how they're getting the best of people by being so smart but it's up to the reader to try and find out the identity of BK along with Grace and Nate. It was fun to have a little more information that Grace and Nate and travel along with them as they worked to figure things out but still keep some of the mystery for the reader to guess at as they don't know the identity of BK either.
Because almost from the day they'd met, he'd known Grace Reilly was special---and that this moment would come.
This was closer to a police procedural, mystery, than a romance for me but Grace and Nate do keep in touch throughout with conversations, they just happen to be mostly conversations about autopsies. I missed some of that relationship development as they immediately just felt like there was The One possibilities with the other. As I mentioned, this is Christian fiction so along with the more common no getting physical and no cursing, there was minimal mentions of going to church. I read very few Christian fiction, so the part where the reverend was automatically considered a trustworthy witness solely because he was a man of god made my eye twitch a bit, the underlining linking of stronger morals and values to religious people, and the tone that rural areas are automatically better than urban was a little off-putting to me. Obviously, elements that probably wouldn't bother regular Christian readers and I was a little shocked at the more to the side the talk of church and prayer was. If you're looking for a police procedural murder mystery (the instrument used for death was very interesting) with some feelings between the sheriff and forensic pathologist, this could be one to pick up....more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Dangling fI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Dangling from the steel beam, the dead body must have appeared as an eerie vision. Hanging upside down. The ankle swaying at the end of a rope.
Second in the Inspector Mazarelle Mystery series, The Hanged Man's Tale, has our Commandant Paul Mazarelle getting a promotion to join the Brigade Criminelle, which are the top 100 detectives in France. Along with his Lt. Jeannot and detail man Maurice, they are assigned to a murder case that had the body displayed hanging upside down in a tunnel and a hanged man tarot card in his jacket pocket. The victim turns out to be a former a police officer currently working as a PI. When everyone around Mazarelle wants the easy win with pinning the case on a Mafia Romani man, Mazarelle doesn't like how everything is adding up and soon begins to unravel a tangled web of far-right white supremacists, dirty cops, and newspapers paying for inside information to cases.
On the third floor the plaque on the wall announced La Brigade Criminelle with its thistle emblem and motto: “Qui s'y frotte s'y pique.” Meaning, as they say, “If you play with fire, you might get burned.”
I didn't read the first in the series but as this is more of a police procedural, focus more on the following and working the clues of the case, I didn't have a problem jumping in here. I did think the beginning felt jumbled with sentences trying to pack in numerous characters, setting the scene, and police organization names and structures. Around 30% the story evens out as the introductions are out of the way and we follow Mazarelle around. I felt like I did get to know Mazarelle, his wife dying of cancer, the numerous mentions of how big he is, and his general outlook on life, but, even as the lead, he's didn't become a character I necessarily grew to care about, the police procedural and solving the mystery are the stars of the story, so I can't say I'd be enticed to follow the character on another murder mystery.
Still, it was becoming clear---someone was messing with his investigation. Definitely. But who? And why?
When the story starts, it's from the pov of a character named Max, who has been radicalized and is setting up to assassinate the president of France, he fails when Mazarelle catches him and then dies when he tries to escape during transport after his arrest. The story then moves a few weeks into the future and the new murder case of the hanged man starts and you have to keep Max in the back of your mind until much later when his thread comes back into play. The threads I mentioned of far-right, dirty cops, and murder are credibly put together by Mazarelle and I liked how some of the connections were written out but I did think that the murderer/s was a bit sensational, mostly because the tone of story and Mazarelle's character was more grainy, low-key. The murderer/s story does give it a pop of lurid thriller but not sure it completely sat right in the overall tone of story. The guilty and innocent aren't obvious right away and side-characters come and go to muck about but Mazarelle shifts through it all, while surviving his own attempted murder. If you like police procedurals set in France, then the solving of a hanged man murder and all the tangled threads it brings together would be a good way to spend the afternoon. ...more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Books three aI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Books three and four in the Lucky Harbor series, One Lucky Day, features some of the best of Shalvis' writing.
Head Over Heels stars one of my favorite couples, Chloe and Sawyer. The first three books in the series star three sisters that weren't raised together but come together after their mother dies and they inherit an Inn in the small town of Lucky Harbor. Chloe is the youngest sister and the “wild child” while Sawyer is the Sheriff and by-the-book. The first two books show the two developing some heated sexual tension as they circle each other and their own book delivers on all the promised heat. There's a suspense plot threaded in that has Sawyer contracted out to the DEA that gives a little danger but for the most part, this story is all about the tension and heat between Chloe and Sawyer. These two are steamy together and more alike than anyone realizes. I also like how we get emotional growth from Chloe and scenes with her sisters as their bond solidifies. Sawyer has his own friendships with the past heroes in the series and some of his own family drama with his father but I mostly enjoyed how Chloe settles him and draws out that teasing, flirting with naughtiness side of his.
Lucky in Love brings in some side characters that we briefly meet in the previous three books, hometown sweetheart Mallory and the sexy mysterious new guy in town Ty. Mallory gets her own “sisters” with Amy and Grace (their the heroines in the next two books) and they decide that it's time for Mallory to date Mr. Wrong, a chance for her to try the wild side. Mr. Wrong turns out to be Ty, he's in town because his friend Matt (he's a Lucky Harbor Park Ranger and yes, he gets his own book) invited him to stay as Ty recovers from an injury. Ty is a former Navy SEAL, currently a government contractor and is used to being on his own. Mallory and Ty meet-cute while Ty is concussed and we get a sort of blind date and a “we'll only sleep together but not catch feelings”. This story has a little bit of a more weightier feel than usual light and sexy Shalvis but I liked the change of pace, especially in a longer series like Lucky Harbor. These two take a little while to work through their individual issues but deliver the sexiness while doing it. ...more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Sh2.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
She'd been bailing her baby brother out of trouble for years.
Third in the series, I had no problem jumping in with this small town romance even though I haven't read the others. We start off with a very pregnant Sadie Gray working in her grandmother's I Believe in Unicorns store and trying to suss out if her brother on the run from the law is squeezing her grandmother for money. Her brother got mixed up transporting drugs with the local gang and now is wanted by them and the police. She's got that to deal with while she's pregnant and deciding that it is finally time to kick her baby's father to the curb. The pov then jumps to FBI agent Chase Roberts, who happens to be watching the store and catches Sadie in an embarrassing moment but receives a phone call before they can meet. Their meet-cute then ends up with Sadie getting into a minor car accident and Chase, with his new undercover partner Nate Black, delivering Sadie's baby because she goes into labor on the side of the road.
And for the first time in his career, he thought he might be in over his head.
This started with a lot of different elements thrown at the reader, I had a hard time keeping up with everything. The undercover case Chase is working with Nate Black, who he isn't sure he can fully trust, as they try to find Sadie's brother and see if he really was a criminal informant for Nate's buddy that was killed and if the local sheriff's department is dirty and working to ship drugs with the gang is the main plot but there were so many intangibles added that it started to feel kitchen sink and not cobbled together quite right. Around the 20% mark, I started to feel like I was settling into the story more. Sadie's grandmother's second sight, Sadie's friend Abby and her YouTube channel ideas, and Sadie's baby preferring Chase all the time, were seemingly small additives but they were all thrown in, in such a way, that it disrupted the flow and took away from the romance.
“Thank you.” he said, then held her gaze. “I meant what I said, Sadie. I care about Michaela, and I care about you.”
The romance was fairly mild, with the baby almost always between them, Sadie and Chase felt like an already married couple and with more of a dulled spark. This was also a kisses only, the sex scene is completely off screen. Both characters were raised by their grandparents and I thought that was sweet commonality but because Sadie and Chase had to share the focus in so many directions, I felt we never got to see them sit and deepen together. I had that problem with a lot of the characters, they went beyond cardboard individually but their relationships with each other were lacking and I missed more emotion. About 40% Sadie learns that Chase is undercover and a little bit of fake relationship trope happens as he pretends to be her boyfriend so he can stay with her at her house. I thought we would get more spark but these two just settled into the comfortable couple even more, with Sadie getting naps in and Chase doing the laundry.
If you've read the other books in the series, you'll enjoy the appearances of past and future couples as they have some important roles in this. I felt the execution wasn't quite right on this as the beginning had me feeling scattered and pulled in a lot of different ways, Chase and Nate never felt like they were searching intensely enough for Sadie's brother, and Sadie's baby got in the middle a lot. The story ends fairly abruptly but with the bonus story edition, you get a novella of Sadie and Chase's wedding, which helps give an epilogue feel. This would be a comfortable read for some, though, if you like a little detective work and wanting to visit the small town of Highland Falls again. ...more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
If a man wI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
If a man was going to declare that he didn't want to marry you after the world's longest engagement, he ought to at least have the decency to leave town.
From childhood friends, sweethearts, breaks for college, and family tragedies, Elinor and Levi have been through it all together. It's been three years since Levi suddenly broke the engagement off with Elinor but since he's the chief of police for their small town and her nine month old Australian Sheppard is a Houdini of escaping her home, she still sees him almost everyday. Elinor is still so angry with him but Levi wants them to be able to be friends again, it's a tension filled situation that the whole town can feel, especially the local newsletter that loves to gossip about their relationship.
It would be so much easier if she could just hate him properly.
To All the Dog I've Loved Before was another sweet, emotional pitfalls addition to the Pine Hollow series. Set in a small town in Vermont, the series follows a group of friends that have either grown-up together or been welcomed into the circle because of the dogs they have adopted. Elinor grew-up in the town with Levi, she was the smart overachiever that everyone just knew was going to do big things and he was the bad boy that was always in trouble. The story does a lot of character exploring, Elinor lost her mother young to Ovarian cancer, supported her sister when she had her own scare with cancer, and became the pseudo-mother to their youngest sister. Levi has dyslexia which caused him to act out in school to hide the fact that he couldn't read and deals with emotional abuse from his father at home telling him that he's worthless. There's some reminiscing about their past relationship when they were kids but the bulk of their past is mostly discussed in terms of how their emotional traumas cause them to act now; why Levi broke off the engagement and how Elinor has dealt with that emotional fallout. There is a lot of heavy stuff in this but the author keeps the tone from falling into the depressive, I'm not quite sure how she does it but I never felt dragged down. It's not chik-lit light but more serene and hopeful that these two can work through their emotions to find their way together again.
He never showed weakness. He kept it together for the town.
Around 40% the two have a blowup and the walking on eggshells between them cracks and we get more on Levi. He's still dealing with blaming himself about a drug overdose he thought he should have stopped and readers learn more about why he felt he needed to break it off with Elinor, he essentially didn't feel good enough for her and didn't want to hold her back. A chunk of the book is dedicated to Levi working through these feelings, he goes to therapy, and we get a deeper look at the strong, silent, “I'm not good enough” hero trope. Elinor has her own journey of coming out of the grief fog, not only did she lose her mother, help her sister through her cancer scare, but Elinor also lost her bestfriend to a car accident just after Levi broke off the engagement with her. Again, I know this all sounds depressing as heck but the caring that you can still feel between Elinor and Levi and even the secondary characters, bring the love and friendship to uplift the tone.
Things had been so much clearer when she was trying to hate him. Now it felt like the only thing she knew was that she didn't.
There were maybe a couple times where I felt like I started to grumble that Levi so obviously loved her and his breaking up with her but not letting her go, got repeated one or two too many times but at 60% we get Elinor confronting him and this having it out created a shift between the two that had them moving forward. Levi's knowing that Elinor loved him but thinking she was wrong too was heartfelt and had the foundation that I think this trope lacks a lot of the time, making it's heroes feel more cardboard cutout, Levi felt stoically sexy real.
He'd listened to Jane Austen with her dog while driving around Pine Hollow. Her knees melted a little.
As a reader of the series, I enjoyed revisiting the town and seeing our favorite couples, there is a wedding and more hints at possible future partners. Elinor's dog Dory was adorable and added to the story, especially with how she got Elinor and Levi together. This was a kisses only story, I find myself likening it a lot to a less sex and chik-lit vibe Jill Shalvis. From the beginning you'll feel Levi's trying to hide and restrain love for Elinor and her anger over how he could push her away and then fall into the emotional journey these two go on to get back to each other. ...more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
He renamed I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
He renamed it Restoration Ranch because the land that was once his condemnation to a brutal life became his redemption.
Aja Everett left her high powered lawyer job in New York to start Restoration Ranch, a project of her heart, on her family's land in Texas. It's supposed to be a place where people can get a second chance but as sabotage instances keep mounting, someone clearly doesn't want Aja to succeed. When Texas Ranger Jackson Dean gets called in to work a case as a favor to a judge friend of his boss, he thinks the judge's niece is playing the spoiled princess card. The danger turns out to be all to real though, along with the sparks between Aja and Jackson.
Jackson closed his eyes again as he tried to control his breathing. He’d hoped for short and simple. But this woman standing in the middle of his office, looking the picture of a poised, dominant professional mixed with a touch of down-home goodness, was as complicated a start to this case as Jackson could imagine.
Jackson is the first in the Restoration Ranch series and I loved the backstory the author created for the idea behind the Ranch. The backstory involves Aja's great-great-great-great-grandfather and his start as a free man, it grounded the setting for me and infused the purpose of what Aja is working to do, give parolees an opportunity for work and a second chance to succeed. We're plunged right away into the sabotage plot and I was a bit disoriented with what was happening as we don't get to see the scene that has caused Aja to be on edge, creating a feeling that I was missing some of the story. This doesn't last long however, and we soon learn that the town sheriff isn't taking Aja's concerns seriously, doesn't want convicts in his district, and in fact wanted to buy the ranch before Aja came from New York. These issues with the sheriff cause Aja's uncle to call in a favor and brings the Texas Rangers into the picture.
Why did a Texas Ranger with dusty jeans and boots make her mouth water and her mind wander to places it had no business going?
Jackson Dean (seriously, how sexy is that name?) doesn't take the case seriously until a bomb goes off in Aja's barn and she is injured. They decide to do an undercover case (only Aja knows they're TX Rangers) with Jackson and his two colleagues, Colton and Storm, with them pretending to be ranch hands while they work to uncover who wants Aja dead. After the bomb and Jackson is on the ranch, the focus shifts some from the mystery suspense and onto Aja and Jackson's attraction for one another. They have more than insta-lust but just by a smidgen, I would have liked to have more scope to their relationship. Obviously, a lot of the story takes place at the Ranch and I felt they weren't really growing beyond the just get to the bedroom depth. There were times that their sexiness did give me hints of Alisha Rai and Tessa Bailey.
Who would’ve thought Jackson Dean, the big, burly Texas Ranger, needed someone to make him feel safe?
I connected with Aja quicker as we get more of her character up front, how her relationship with her sister, family, and experiences have shaped her personality and drive to start Restoration Ranch. Jackson's story is doled out slower and if I had known about how his previous marriage and the issues that stemmed from it had went down and his mother's abandonment, I might have been more into or forgiving of his “I can't trust any women” very used hero trope. This might be another weird like of mine but I adored how Jackson said “Daddy” instead of father or dad, good father-son relationships are more in absence and this just added some love to theirs. In fact, I thought this author's strong point was in her familial relationships, added so much richness to her characters and story.
“All right, Ranger. I’m game if you are. But are you sure you can handle me?” He pulled her into his arms, cupping her cheek, and leaning in close. “I can handle anything you’ve got.”
The pace of this was a little different, the mystery/danger plot seems to be wrapped up around the 70% mark and then Aja and Jackson start dating; when I would expect their relationship to hitting their climax of coming together, instead it feels like they're starting the build. The mystery/danger has it's obviousness and some anti-climatic as the villain is mostly off-screen and then some forced surprise as it ends in a cliffhanger to connect and lead into the next of the series. Jackson's friends and colleagues, Colton and Storm along with the two friends and parolees, Brooklyn and Seneca, Aja is helping, are obvious series set-up characters. The pacing didn't always work for me but the idea behind Restoration Ranch and the relationships behind and being built from it pulled me in and I'm curious to see where Colton's protectiveness of Seneca leads....more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nowhere to HidI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nowhere to Hide continues the Winchester brothers' story, this time following Rowan as he rescues Evie and becomes attracted and entwined in murder mysteries. If you haven't read the first in the series, Rowan's twin brother Reece's book (I'll Be Watching You) introduced readers to the Winchester family, brothers that grew up in Hollywood. Rowan is out of the acting business and is a detective now. The author does a good job rehashing important points, the brother's sister's death that impacted them all and learning a secret about their Hollywood agent, Harry Baker, and his murder. You could easily start here as Evie is a new character to the series and while the story continues some plot threads from the first, it also takes on new ground.
What secret was Rowan hiding about Harry Baker that made him pretend he felt nothing for her when she knew damn well he did?
Evie was a great character, she's a true crime novelist that survived her own entanglement with a serial killer. Her roommate was killed by Evie's mechanic, Evie put together the puzzle pieces to discover he was a serial killer. She's now in Hollywood to research infamous murders for a new book she is writing. Through her research she also thinks she might have discovered a new serial killer, yeah, there is a lot of murder in this book. Along with Evie's baggage of having a serial killer in her life, the killer is trying to get a new trial so she might have to testify again, research for her infamous murders book, investigating a possible undiscovered serial killer, she also wants to do a chapter on Harry Baker. This brings in the conflict between her and Rowan, he wants nothing brought up about Baker because of how it could put the spotlight on his brothers again and bring possible ramifications.
And here he was, about to spend another glorious day with the woman he wanted an insane amount but had to pretend he did not.
From their first meeting when Rowan helps to save Evie from a possible mugging, physical attack, he and Evie had some heat. He's fully aware that it is not the time to come on strong to her but as circumstances get them to spend more time together, they both lean more towards each other. When he learns that Evie wants to write about Harry Baker, he gives her the deep freeze. These two move from hot to cold and the middle of the book is filled more with redherrings and murder mystery. The latter half then moves to the bedroom (there is some credible emotional work to move Rowan there) and then they jump to love pretty quickly. I ended up feeling like the romance was only around twenty percent of this book; Evie and Rowan do spend a good amount of time together, the focus just wasn't enough on the relationship side as the murders plot.
He covered her hand with his. Their fingers entwined. Finally, he said, “Okay, Evie. I'm in.”
While redherrings are great and keep the guessing and mystery alive, some of them in the story ended up feeling pointless and clogging. When reveals happened, it made me feel misled in some secondary characters that had me questioning the point of them because of how their conclusion was wrapped up or just left to fade away. There really was just too much on the murder plate and it hampered not only the romance between Rowan and Evie but also the continued plot thread involving the Winchester brother's sister's death and the murder of Harry Baker. There is still an intriguing readability to this author's writing and with some unanswered questions for the last Winchester brother Raine to discover, I'll be reading the next in the series. ...more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After Brenna'sI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After Brenna's parents were killed in car accident, she gave up college and lost her fiance to take care of her younger sister. Running her mother's bakery has made her a nice living but it is not her dream. After her sister moves out and starts her dream job, Brenna can't help but think it is time for her to get a second chance at her dreams. Luke is new to Sweetwater Springs but he's already acting fire chief, finding himself in the middle of a sister fight, and falling for his neighbor. Brenna and Luke think they know what they want in life but they're going to find out what they need.
“So we agree. Neither of us is kissing the other,” he said.
New to the Sweetwater Springs series, others could start comfortably here, like I did, and not feel lost in the series. I enjoyed the easy pace and lead in to this small town and Brenna and Luke's lives. These two have been neighbors for a couple months but Luke has been a bit standoffish because of a relationship that went sour that he had with his previous neighbor in a different town. I thought there could have been more background on this relationship as I didn't really grasp the emotional importance of it and why it made it so Luke didn't want to even become friends with Brenna. His reservations don't last very long though and he finds himself with Brenna pretty soon.
They were taking things slow but his racing heart had somehow missed the message.
Brenna's character had a quiet composure, even when she snaps a bit and throws banana pieces at her sister. She came off solid as she stepped up to take care of Eve, her sister, even while Eve acts immature and bratty to her. I would have liked to have more scenes with her aunt and friends to draw her character personality out more. Brenna and Luke were pleasant together, this was a kissing but bedroom door closed story, so their friendship on the road to love was highlighted more than their physical relationship. They have some hurdles to get over, Brenna thinking a long distance relationship would never work and Luke not wanting to open up about the burns on his back that he received in a fire that killed his brother, but for some ending quick dramatic fighting, they were a pretty relaxed couple.
He leaned toward her, pinning her with his gaze. “So what is it you want in this moment, Brenna?” “You,” she said simply.
I thought the story could have benefited from utilizing of the setting, involving the town and townspeople more, the most shown secondary character was Eve and she was more irritating with her immaturity than young growing pains. The fire station scenes didn't provide a lot for Luke's character as most involved Eve and another firefighter who disrespected Luke, to the point that they mouth-off when Luke catches them about to make-out at work, the scenarios lacked a feeling of professionalism, thus realness. The characters also seemed to jump from point A to point B, without a connecting thread between. Brenna was at work then home, Luke was at work then home, the writing flow was fine but substance that makes a story fulfilling was missing for me.
The bedroom door closed and more low-key story and couple could be elements others would enjoy. If you're a reader of the Sweetwater Springs series then you'd probably enjoy revisiting the town and residents more than a new to the series reader like me....more
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The B3.7 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Boyfriend Project sees three women bond together after they discover they are dating the same man and a video of Samiah goes viral of her confronting him. Professionally, Samiah and London, Taylor is still working her way there, are excelling but feel pressure to have the whole package, a significant other to share their life with. This has lead to them lowering their standards and ending up going viral on YouTube. They decide to make a pact to focus on other aspects of their lives for six months and leave off dating. Samiah has an app that she has wanted to develop and is excited to focus on that. However, a newer hire at her work, Daniel, has her wanting to break some rules.
And even as he told himself they were just two coworkers grabbing a bite to eat, he knew what he wanted it to be.
Daniel, a former Marine, now works for the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. He's undercover at Samiah's work, Trendsetters, because the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network— FinCEN, detected activity that makes them think that a hotel chain is laundering money with software developed by Trendsetters. In a joint effort with the Department of Homeland Security, Daniel is covertly working to find the employees at Trendsetters responsible for the laundering.
He held the driver’s side door open for her and draped an arm over the top of it. “But I should warn you, I’ve also heard that I tend to grow on people.” He winked. “Be prepared.”
With two people who are mentally and professionally not wanting to get involved romantically, Samiah and Daniel can't deny their potent chemistry. I thought the author did a great job setting these two up and their initial physical attraction that deepened into a friendship and eventual romantic and sexual relationship. Samiah's weakening on her no dating rule didn't quite hit as hard as Daniel's with the seriousness of fraternization while undercover on a job. I did enjoy the fullness of the characters, we don't get a ton of background on Samiah but that worked as her character's issues were more in the present. Samiah's trust issues, because of the two-timing guy that ended up bonding her with London and Taylor and her co-worker Keighleigh who tries to steal credit for Samiah's work (Keighleigh's comeuppance might feel a little therapeutic for a lot), drive Samiah for the slice of life we're reading about. We get a little more on Daniel's background and that worked to give the reader an idea of the kind of man he is, codes he lives his life by and why he wouldn't want to tell Samiah his true purpose at Trendsetters. I also have to say I would read the heck out of Daniel's parents' story as their romance sounds amazing.
A potent, electric charge sizzled in the air between them, a sensation so strong he felt it on his skin.
The beginning of the story, I thought the author worked overtime on minute descriptions that didn't so much enhance the story as slow down the pace with stuff I didn't really care about, for the most part, this disappeared as the story went on. I don't know the Austin area but I think for people who do, they'll enjoy the shoutouts to spots they'll recognize and enjoy that connection. This does have a small twinge of romantic suspense, just think more mental instead of run and gun. I found Daniel's job and the aspects of it fascinating and thought the author described enough for understanding but stopped short of text book. The mystery of Daniel when he first comes on screen, his mental dossier thoughts on co-workers he's never meet before, created an intrigue that sucked me into the story and I loved that.
For the first time in forever, Samiah felt as if she could relax and just …be. There was no pressure, no pretense. She could just exist in this undemanding, enjoyable place they’d discovered with each other.
I did think some of the tension between Samiah and Daniel was more soft than electric, they don't fight too hard to stay out of each other's presence and their relationship reminded me of Grace Burrowe's couples; they fit and click in a way that has them immediately together. Their first sex scene was hot but went a bit too quick for me. Daniel not compromising his job does put Samiah through the ringer but I thought the author did a great job giving Samiah time to process her emotions, leading to a more believable happily ever after.
Maybe it was time she accepted that plans changed. And sometimes they changed for the better.
The importance of women having female friendships was wonderfully put on display here, having shoulders to lean on, understanding and connection to personal struggles and triumphs, someone to push you, and friends to laugh, eat, and drink with. The creation of the HashTagGoals Boyfriend Project also did a good job of setting up future books in the series, I can't wait to read London and Taylor's stories. Most importantly this also showed how while the romance enhanced Samiah's life, it wasn't the be all and end all of it. Samiah and Daniel had a sweet friendship that built to a sexy romance and I had a great time getting to read about it....more
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