REVIEW - Protecting His Brother’s Babies by Katie Knight & Leslie North

The Book
Release Date: 27 September 2020
Goodreads Link

Lake Bailey loves her job working for the Shepperton Foundation, which is why she’s so upset when she suspects someone is funneling money from it. When her boss, Devon Shepperton, who she was casually dating and who she suspects might have been involved in the shady dealings, ends up dead, Lake worries someone is trying to kill her too. Complicating matters, she finds out she’s pregnant with Devon’s baby. So when Devon’s Navy SEAL twin, Drake, shows up to settle his late brother’s estate, she reaches out for help. Drake generously offers to keep her safe in his highly secure condo until danger passes. As the two spend more time together, Lake soon realizes keeping her heart intact might be her biggest challenge.


Drake knows he’s returning to his SEAL team, so getting romantically entangled with Lake is definitely off the table. His role is protector, not lover. Then comes The Kiss. Drake has kissed plenty of women, but for some reason, that one kiss from Lake is throwing him off his game, making him feel things he’s never felt. But he needs to stay focused. The danger to Lake is very real, and he strongly suspects the Shepperton Foundation is at the heart of it. As the danger swirling around them becomes a tempest, Drake finds himself drawn closer to Lake, realizing he’ll do just about anything to keep her safe. And to win her heart…

USA Today Bestseller Leslie North and Katie Knight invite you to indulge in a heart-pounding military romance with a hot, super-alpha Navy SEAL protecting the woman he loves at all costs...

My Review  4 STARS
**My thanks to the author and Hidden Gems for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

 This is a fairly fast paced novel that has you chasing with the thriller of who is the bad guy and also rooting for Drake and Lake to get together.

The chemistry is pretty much there straight from the beginning as Lake is as honest as she can be right off the bat.  She also has reasons from her past as to why she acts upfront to help tackle the problem that she has found in the company records and brings to the attention for Drake.

Lake always shows an inner strength and a willingness to do what she must to survive and proves that she has more savy than most when men attack her and try to kidnap her even with Drake around.

I really did enjoy this book and will look forward to reading more from these collaborating authors.

REVIEW - Fanged Love by Kylie Gilmore and Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

The Book
Release Date: 1 October 2020
Goodreads Link

From USA Today bestselling authors, Mimi Jean Pamfiloff and Kylie Gilmore, comes a hilarious, sexy, Vampire Romance about the girl next door and an ancient prince who’s lost when it comes to modern women.

WANTED: MODERN WOMAN WHO APPRECIATES TRADITIONAL COURTSHIP WITH FANGS.

Greetings. My name is Prince Bozhidar, and I am an eight-hundred-year-old vampire.

Correction.

I am an eight-hundred-year-old, virile, confident, and very sexy vampire—so I’m told. I have wealth, looks, and everything an immortal man could ever want.

Well, except love. But no matter. I am not a one-neck sort of man.

Yet the virginal woman across the road sets my senses afire. And she needs my help with her family’s failing winery. My own is quite successful.

My honor demands I help this enchanting female, and when I do, my heart begins beating anew. She is my mate. Strangely, my gifts of seduction do not seem to work on her.

Perhaps I need to fit in with modern dating customs to win this modern woman.

And then there’s the small matter that she doesn’t believe in vampires.

There is no fighting destiny, sweet Stella. You will be mine.

My Review  5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is another brilliant book by Mimi Jean and her co-author Kylie Gilmore and lots of laughts will be had, especially if you have read some of Mimi Jean's most recent books as you will find mentions of other characters involved in the plot like Mr Nice from The Librarians Vampire Assistant for instance.

 The plot moves nice and fast, hilarity ensures and Boz and Neli have an interesting relationship that Stella struggles to get to grips with at first, but you certainly get to love all of the characters and you can't end up but loving now Neli helps out and at the end hope she gets her own book of hilatrity and Boz and Stella planning her wedding.

I have not read anything by Kylie Gilmore before, but if this is how she writes with Mimi Jean then i will certainly be heading to check out her published works.

Certainly a book that will have you belly laughing and wanting so much more.

REVIEW - Christmas Bride (Convenient Marriages #5) by Noelle Adams

The Book
Release Date: 6 October 2020
Goodreads Link

When Ruth gets set up on a blind date with Carter Wilson, she agrees to go out with him as a favor to a friend. But she's not interested in Carter. He might be the most attractive man she's ever known, but he's too rich. Too indulged. Too nice all the time. Right now, her career comes first in her life, and even if it didn't, she's looking for a man with rougher edges.

Plus, she suspects he might still have a thing for a woman he can never have.

Carter wants to get his friends and family to stop trying to fix him up, so he suggests a scheme that might help them both. They can pretend they fell in love and fake an engagement until Christmas. His friends will back off, and she can use the social events in the very wealthy town of Green Valley to line up a lot of new contacts for her interior design business.

All she has to do is pretend she's going to marry Carter. It should be easy. It's not like she'll ever be his bride for real.

My Review  3 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

 This is another fun and light novella that follows the same thread as the rest of the series in which they get engaged.

Carter we have met in a previous book and he is put on a blind date with Ruth after not reacting very well when his brother and best friend Summer end up together for real after he suggested that they marry for a cash injection.  It is only after that he realised that he had more than friendly feeling for Summer, but it was too late.

It is Ruth that suggests the fake relationship and engagement to get their friends and families off their backs and Carter agrees to help spread the word of her business around too to help her.

Ruth brings the fun out of Carter and makes him a happier person and both are equally honest and a little blunt, but both safeguard their feeling so eventually the truth gets blurted out when they both finally realise that they want the relationship and the engagement to be real.

REVIEW - She's Got the Guns (The Suite #45, #1) by M.O. Mack

The Book
Release Date: 9 July 2020
Goodreads Link

She's Got the Guns, the debut Thriller-Suspense from Author M.O. Mack...

What could possibly be worse than being beaten, broke, and on the run from a dangerous criminal? What if that criminal is your ex and works for the FBI?

Oh, and then there’s the tiny matter of landing a job. Not so easy for a girl on the run.

Which is why when Emily Rockford gets a gig, answering the phone for a “pest control” company, she thinks her luck is turning.

Until...she discovers the business is a cover.

For hit men. A big, dangerous, deadly group of them.

It’s just about the last place Emily wants to be, but as she’s about to find out, once you’re in, you’re in. There is no out. There is no quitting.

Will she embrace the dangerous world she’s stumbled onto? Or will she find a way to outrun them all?

My Review  5 STARS
**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Kensington Books for an honest review**

This is the first novel that this author has written and i loved the drama that unfolded page after page.  The romance in the story certainly takes a back seat, with the main plot line sweaping us up and pulling us along for the ride.

Emily Rockford (not her real name) has fled from her abusive cop husband, now her husband is looking for her and he is a dirty cop.

Emily find herself a cheap apartment and a job where the employer asked no questions, but ends up finding the job a bit sketchy.  However the job is deffinately not what she thought it would be as she soon finds that she is tested in many ways by her employer.

Will her ability to help others no matter what keep her back or will the moral high ground.  Loved the fast pace and the twists and turns, although i figured most of them out before they were revealed. 

A brilliant book.

REVIEW - Can't Resist a Cowboy (Paint River Ranch #3) by Elizabeth Otto

 

The Book
Release Date: 12 May 2015
Goodreads Link

He's always been her weakness...

Injured and discharged, Marine Levi Haywood has returned to his family's ranch to heal and start a new life. After all, once a cowboy, always a cowboy. The only problem? Life at the ranch has moved on since he joined the service, and suddenly his role in the family business is much less clear. And things get a lot more confusing when the woman he left behind returns home.

Carrie Lynn Waite has never known a time when she didn't love Levi. They were childhood sweethearts, but because of her health, she was forced to move to the city, away from the ranching life. Now Carrie's come home only to learn her family's ranch is in trouble and Levi is back, along with an undeniable attraction she can't resist. But some things never change, forcing Carrie to choose the future laid out before her...or the cowboy she could never resist.

My Review  4 STARS
**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for an honest review**

This is a lovely story where past loves meet again as an injured marine is back home and the diabetic woman comes back home on a two week holiday with her father.

Carrie Lyn is a diabetic with a secret, and she is back home to let her father know, but it is a bitter pill to swallow, however her father also has a secret that he has been keeping from him daughter.

Levi was her childhood sweetheart and he has never stopped loving her just like she never stopped loving him. Reunited it does not take long for them to reconnect and start talking and how they ended up apart.

Both let their guard down and tell or show their secrets, however when Carrie Lyn has a set back in her health she gets scared and runs. However Levi finds a way to get through to her and they manage to reconnect and find their centre with each other.

REVIEW - Virgin Seeks Bad Boy (Bliss River #3) by Lili Valente

 The Book

Release Date: 2 October 2020

Goodreads Link

This is all his fault. Him, Nick Geary, the bad boy who kissed me senseless against his car a month ago, awakening the sleeping sex beast inside me, only to treat me like a little sister ever since.

Before Nick and I locked lips, I had no idea I could feel hungry for someone's kisses.

I would give up cupcakes for life for a chance to have Nick be my first, but he's got one rule--No V-Cards.

But he has to feel the same pull I feel, he just has to--the kiss we shared was hot enough to set fire to a glass of sweet tea. 
All I have to do is figure out a way to change his mind...

Nick's the one who brought this wild, new curiosity inside me to life, and I'll be darned if I'll give up on my bad boy before I find out if our second kiss is as hot as our first.

And if we happen to fall madly in love along the way, well...stranger things have happened. Right?

Virgin Seeks Bad Boy is a "losing it" romance previously published as Wild For You. It has been heavily revised and expanded for this new edition. 

My Review  5 STARS

**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Kensington Books for an honest review**

Another visit to Bliss River and the last March sister to get her story.

Melody is the youngest of the sisters and the good girl of the family, a reputation that is starting to choke her as clawing her way out from that persona is hard, especially if you do something different they all think something is wrong with you.

After having kissed Nick Geary when she first met him at work, she cannot get the sexy bad boy out of her head. Being the brother of her sisters husband she is warned off him, however he has brought out feelings in her that known has before and she wants more of it.

As Melody starts to try new things she does her best to tempt Nick to her way of things, however they seem to bring out the best in each other. Nick helps Melody feel alive and accepts her for who she wants to be, however with Melody Nick finds she brings out the responsible out in him and feeling he too has never felt before.

I loved this couple together and how Nick is there and supports Melody and Melody's optimism, considering that bad things tend to happen to and around them.

I really loved this book and read it fairly quickly.

REVIEW - Grease Babe (The OGs #2) by Elle Aycart

 The Book

Release Date: 15 September 2020

Goodreads Link

Alden is not only home to the gorgeous Bowen brothers, but also to the OGs, three hilarious octogenarian grandmas who believe age is nothing but a number. After their success helping one grandchild find love, they’ve decided to move on to the next. Nothing will stop them. Not even jail…

Rachel’s upbringing was rough, but at 34, she loves the life she’s built for herself. She adores her grandmother, Alden, and her job as a mechanic. Now, if her grandma and her friends would just stop getting into trouble, everything would be perfect. She’s doing her best to keep them on the straight and narrow, but she spends more time arguing with the sheriff than working in her garage. Case in point the OGs’ latest stunt, which got all of them, Rachel included, sentenced to community service. So now she has to keep an eye on the crazy grannies and on the street teenage thugs she’s been court-ordered to teach mechanics to.
And all thanks to the sheriff and that huge, unbendable stick up his ass.

Adrian Skehan, a top-notch detective in Boston, enjoyed putting dangerous criminals and drug kingpins behind bars. He loved his fast-paced, glamorous city life, but after his estranged grandfather had a major stroke, he moved to Alden, became the sheriff and now he spends his days chasing after senior citizens and dealing with the OGs –the bane of his existence— and Rachel, their obnoxious defender.
Terrific career move, really. Way to screw up his life. And his mental wellbeing.

As if life wasn’t hard enough, now the OGs have decided to work on their bucket list… meaning the granddaughter and the sheriff must join forces to survive the mayhem.
He likes his women… ivory-tower delicate. Not loud, highly opinionated and smelling of gasoline.
She likes her men… easy-going. Not arrogant know-it-alls and sticklers for rules.
Keeping these two together is a recipe for disaster. Too bad the OGs don’t see it that way.

My Review  5 STARS

**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Kensington Books for an honest review**

It's been a while since we have been able to get our hands on a book by this author and the wait was certainly worth it.

Rachel is another grandchild of the OG's and she is also a car mechanic. A regular person also fighting for the OG's as the get themselves into trouble with the local sheriff and most likely to shout at him and protect them even if she knows what they have done is wrong.

However after shouting at the sheriff ends up getting her community service with the three old ladies in which she has to take charge of three teenagers who are currently heading in the wrong direction and by challenging them with the mechanics of putting cars together and not stripping them.

Adrian is the local sheriff and has a past as a drugs narcotic detective half an hour away in Boston where he met these thugs and Rachel also spent time she would rather forget. It is with the introduction of the teenagers and having to spend time together that they both find that they are not as bad as they first thought.
I loved watching these two fall for each other and find happiness and in themselves, putting the past behind them yet also lifting the lid on it.

As another grandchild arrives on the scene i cannot wait ti see how the quiet man gets his happy ever after with one of the OG's late friends granddaughter.

REVIEW - Bring the Heat (Dragon Kin #9) by G.A. Aiken

The Book

Release Date:  29 August 2017

Goodreads Link

HE SAYS . . .

I, Aidan the Divine, am, well divine. My name was given to me by the Dragon Queen herself! I’m a delight! Cheerful. Charming. And a mighty warrior who is extremely handsome with a very large and well-hidden hoard of gold. I am also royal born, despite the fact that most in my family are horrendous beings that don’t deserve to live. And yet, Branwen the Awful—a low-born, no less—either tells me to shut up or, worse, ignores me completely.

SHE SAYS . . .

I’ll admit, I ignore Aidan the Divine because it annoys him. A lot. But, we have so much to do right now, I can’t worry about why he keeps staring at me, or why he always sits so close, or why he keeps looking at me like he’s thinking about kissing me. We have our nations to save and no time for such bloody foolishness . . . no matter how good Aidan looks or how long his spiked tail is. Because if we’re going to win this war before it destroys everything we love, we’ll have to face our enemies together, side by side and without distractions. But if we make it out alive, who knows what the future will hold . . .

My Review  5 STARS

**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Kensington Books for an honest review**

This is the last book in the series and although we get the romance between Brannie and Aiden it almost seems secondary to the culmination of the building story and the war going on.

We also get to see more from Keira and she turns into almost a totally different person as Aiden and Brannie help her in her quest to find her friend Ren, we see a more complex character who is know where near as flighty as she seems.

Aiden has always liked Brannie, but knew he would never get anywhere with her, but when Brannie suddenly sees him i a new light he makes an offer that she can't refuse, the pair find that they actually like each other more than they thought they would.

pretty much all of the characters from previous books are in this one and the battle which has now been going on for years ends outside the palace of Salebiri and Vateria. We get all the retribution, death and action we can ask for with family drama mixed in and a hankering to want the pages to turn faster as we get closed to the end.

I have really enjoyed this series and i am now kicking myself with how long it has taken to finish it.

REVIEW - Feel the Burn (Dragon Kin #8) by G.A. Aiken

The Book
Release Date: 24 November 2015
Goodreads Link

War makes strange bedfellows.

I, Gaius Domitus, one-eyed rebel dragon king of the Provinces, know that better than most, since I have to fight off half my ungrateful family on a regular basis to keep law and order here in my lands. But I never expected to have to consort with a barbarian human woman.

Kachka is beautiful, if you like them fierce—and of course I do. But she keeps complaining about how spoiled and decadent I am, and how a feared Daughter of the Steppes has no time for foolish dragons. I think she likes my eye patch, though. It is quite dashing. With death always at our tails, we take our passion like we take our allies. As they say, love the barbarian you’re with…

My Review  5 STARS
**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Kensington Books for an honest review**

I definitely felt better reading this book after the last book ti understand what is happening with all of the characters as this story like the previous one is told from multiple points of view.  It also helped me understand these two characters that the book arrives around.

Gaius is a king of the provinces and got that role by overthrowing his nasty uncle, whilst Katcha is another woman from the outer plains and has a very strong character and opinions, which she is not shy about voicing.

Both Gaius and Katcha go out on their own missions not seeing each other for months after having become friendly.  It is a chance meeting that leads them on a quest together and in close quarters they find each other tolerable and find that they had actually missed each others company and the way they are with each other.

The story really develops and we get the start of the war happening and lots of action, murder, love, friendship and madness.

I am really loving this series and cannot wait to read the last book and find out what is going to happen.

REVIEW - Light My Fire (Dragon Kin #7) by G.A. Aiken

The Book
Release Date: 25 November 2014
Goodreads Link

The trouble with humans is that they're far too sensitive. Forget you put a woman in the local jail for a few months - and she takes it so personally! And yet she is the one trying to assassinate the queen. And now I'm trapped with Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight... gods! That endless name!

But what am I to do? I am Celyn the Charming with direct orders from my queen to protect this unforgiving female.

Even more shocking, this unforgiving female is completely unimpressed by me. How is that even possible? But I know what I want and, for the moment, I want her. And I'm sure that she, like all females, will learn to adore me. How could she not when I am just so damn charming?

My Review  5 STARS
**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Kensington Books for an honest review**

It has certainly been a while since i last delved into this series, and boy am i kicking myself that i have not read these last books sooner.

Although i am a little rusty at remembering what has been happening in previous books, a background does help with the overall plot line, you can read this as a stand alone story, however you will then fell you need to read the rest to find out what happens as war is definitely looming.

Elina is from a very strong tribe where it is the woman who do the fighting and the men that look after then homes and look after the children.  Being the youngest daughter, she is also a disappointment to her mother who has pretty much hated her since birth.

Celyn a dragon and a personal guard of Rhiannon the dragon queen is given a task to ride with Elina, back to her tribe to try and get an alliance with her people.  It is only then that the pair get to grips with each other and they both look out for each other.

There is murder, there is romance, there is humour and there is certainly a lot of action and a brilliant plot line with an amazingly strong female.

The supporting characters from all the other books are in this book too and the plot continues onwards, you cannot help but get stuck in, then want to read the next book straight after.

REVIEW - Lies & Lullabies (Hush Note #1) by Sarina Bowen

The Book
Release Date: 22 September 2020
Goodreads Link

Summer nights and star-crossed lovers! From USA Today bestselling author Sarina Bowen.

Once upon a time, he gave me a summer of friendship, followed by one perfect night. We shared a lot during our short time together. But he skipped a few crucial details.

I didn’t know he was a rock star.

I didn’t know his real name.

Neither of us knew I’d get pregnant.

And I sure never expected to see him again.

Five years later, his tour bus pulls up in Nest Lake, Maine. My little world is about to be shattered by loud music and the pounding of my own foolish heart.

My Review  5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is the beginning of a series and gain i am blown away by this authors writing, she totally gets me immersed into the story and the world around the characters.

Jonas is in a band called Hush note and he is taking them back to a place he found five years ago that he loved and was a bit of a sanctuary for him.   It is there when he was 35 that he found Kira.

Kira was 20 when Jonas came to her very sleepy town, but he went by the name John.  After a harrowing time at university, it is the calm that is John and his careful way with her that leads to her asking for one thing before he leaves.  To sleep with her to get over her past.

Kira has an amazing brother in which she is very close, i'm glad that we will get to see him happy eventually.

In Jonas's band we also have Quinn the drummer and although she can seem mean, she has her reasons.  The other member Noah also seems to have his troubles and hopefully his book will also be just as awesome.

I really enjoyed this book and managed to read it in one day as i just could not put the book down.

REVIEW - Real Fake Love (Copper Valley Fireballs #2) by Pippa Grant

The Book
Release Date: 3 September 2020
Goodreads Link

If people have polar opposites, Luca Rossi is mine.

His butt is in the baseball hall of fame. Mine’s comfortably seated in the hall of lame.

When he’s not snagging fly balls out in center field, he’s modeling in shampoo commercials. I once jammed my own finger while stirring cookie dough, and sometimes I forget shampoo is a thing.

He’s a total cynic when it comes to love.

I make a living writing love stories.

But after my latest broken engagement (no, I don’t want to talk about how many times that’s happened), it’s clear he’s exactly the man I need.

If anyone can teach me to be the opposite of me, it’s him.

The first thing I want him to teach me?

How to not fall in love.

And as luck would have it, he’s in desperate need of a fake girlfriend to get a meddling grandmother off his back.

We couldn’t be more perfect together, because the last thing Luca Rossi will ever be is the next man to leave me at the altar.

Or will he?

Real Fake Love is a line drive straight to the heart featuring a grumpy athlete, a jilted bride, a fake relationship, and the world’s laziest cat. It stands alone and comes complete with sibling rivalry, the world’s most awkward shower scene, and a sweetly satisfying happily ever after.

My Review  5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is the second book in the series and can certainly be read as a stand alone, somehow i have missed book one and will certainly rectify that soon.

This is a spin off off the Bro Code series and touches on another series based in Copper Valley, and we get to see characters from both series in this book.

Henri is a writer and a bit of a hazard alone with having a mouth that does not shut up, my son is the same and it drives me potty.

Luca happens to meet Henri at a friends wedding and he looks after her when her fiancé cancels the wedding as he has been in love with Luca's mum for years.

After turning up on Luca's doorstep with her clothes and her adorable cat, she takes over Luca's life and asks for help in learning how not to fall in love.  But getting close to Henri has him wondering what was wrong with every man that Henri has ever been with.

Lots of high-jinx ensue and you cannot help but root for this pair, love TikTok Nonna and all of the supporting characters.

I really cannot wait to see what happens next.

REVIEW - Married to the Enemy (Bliss River #2) by Lili Valente

The Book

Release Date: 1 September 2020

Goodreads Link

To protect my baby, I'll totally make out with the enemy...

Yeah, he's that guy--my first love, Nash Geary, the heartbreaker I've spent a decade trying to forget. But now I'm back in Bliss River, facing an ugly custody battle with Mr. Bad Idea #2, and I'll do anything to keep my baby girl safe.

Go into debt for a fancy lawyer? Check.
Hire a private detective to get dirt on my ex? Check.
Marry my nemesis to prove I can provide my baby with a loving, two-parent home? Um...check?

One too many beers at the county fair and suddenly Nash and I are on our way to the courthouse to tie the knot. He'll get even after a rough break-up, I'll prove my daughter is better off with me and my pillar-of-the-community, police chief husband, and we'll end it amicably when I'm granted full custody--everybody wins.

But what happens when the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, Nash sweeps both me and my baby girl off our feet, and what started as pretend becomes the most important thing in my world?

They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer...

So what am I supposed to do with the fake husband I'm pretty sure is the love of my life?

Married to the Enemy was previously published as Keeping You. It has been extensively revised and expanded for this new edition. 

My Review  5 STARS

**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

In this book we finally get to see how Nash and Aria knew each other and how they ended up being more like enemies.

Both characters met up at a summer camp when they were younger, but got caught being naughty, after thinking after camp that the other did no longer want them and hurt feeling the sniping started.

It is only after a brief reunion and two bad relationships hitting them on the head that Nash and Aria decide to help each other out with a fake relationship.

As the pair finally get to know each other again and actually start talking they find out the truth and that they still have some serious chemistry.  Seriously bad ass chemistry.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the third and last March daughter Melody having her final happy ever after.