REVIEW - Wicked Cowboy Charm (Lucky Penny Ranch #4) by Carolyn Brown

The Book

Release Date: 31 Jan 2017

Goodreads Link

REAL TEXAS COWBOYS DON'T KISS & TELL Josie Dawson is new in town, but it doesn't take a local to know that Deke Sullivan is trouble--in a smokin' hot package. He's sweet, sexy, and has charmed just about every woman in Dry Creek, Texas. Well, Josie won't be next. She'll keep her distance, even if he is great with babies and makes a mean cup of homemade hot chocolate. 
Deke Sullivan really is a one-woman type of guy. He just had to do a lot of looking to find that one woman. Now he thinks he's found her and he won't let a strong, sassy gal like Josie slip away. Just when he's wondering how to convince her he only has eyes for her, they get stranded in a tiny cabin during a major blizzard. If Deke can melt her heart before they dig out of the snow, he'll be the luckiest cowboy in Texas . . . 

The Lucky Penny Ranch Series: Wild Cowboy Ways Hot Cowboy Nights Merry Cowboy ChristmasWicked Cowboy Charm

My Review     3.5 STARS

**My thanks to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This book takes place in Dry creak, a place we have visited before, but this book between Deke and Josie Dawson is a slower book in places and, sometimes, moves too fast.

When Josie and Deke travel to Montana separately for Bull auctions, Josie finds hers cancelled because of the weather so travels a little further up to where Deke is for the auction that is there.  Once there they both find that the weather has closed in on them and the snow forces them to stay with the lonely man and in his small bunkhouse in very close quarters.

Nothing but friendship happens while they are there, but after a weeks they get on the road to get home together and they have to get ahead of the storm that is behind them.

The attraction between them however cannot be denied and they find out the chemistry is hot between them.  But back home, Josie is not sure if the heat between them can last as Deke has always been a playboy with girls falling at his feet.  But Deke has other plans, he is not the type to cheat and he has decided to throw his single life in for the first time and has fallen hard for Josie, so plans to romance her and the boys moves fast for what he wants.

It doesn't help that he is a nice, strong man, focused and staying true to himself and what he wants.  Josie does not stand a chance against her feelings or Deke playing right into her heart.

A decent book, but just not as good as some of her other books.

REVIEW - Defiant Princess (Lost Moon University#2) by Bella Jacobs

The Book

Release Date: 21 April 2023

Goodreads Link

FORD: The only thing worse than wanting to destroy my rival for the Zion pack's throne? Falling in love with her, of course.

I never set out to fall for Juliet, but it turns out I'm a sucker for a badass, smart-mouthed, defiant princess. 

Especially one who refuses to back down from a fight.

There are dark forces at work at Lost Moon and more secrets than either of us bargained for. At this point I'm not sure we'll live long enough for Juliet to realize she needs me as much as I need her.

Because this fight? It might not be one we can win…

Defiant Princess is the second in a scorching dark romance series and is not for the faint of heart. It ends in a cliffhanger.

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 it literaly starts where the first book ends and the book keeps you on the edge right up until the book finishes.

In this novella we see Ford and Juliet enter Lost Moon University and while Juliet makes some good friends in the variant block, in the Wold block Ford finds there is a lot of prejudice and has to act as a spy to see what is going on.

We also get to see Juliet shift and the start of the trial in order to gain a place at the University start before the book ends on a cliff hanger.

I really cannot wait to see what happens in book two and to see the relationship develop further between not only the friend group, but Juliet and Ford as well.

REVIEW - The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (The Cadillac Series #3) by Carolyn Brown

The Book

Release Date: 14 July 2015

Goodreads Link

Stella’s mama never should’ve put Stella on the church prayer list. With Stella’s twenty-seventh birthday coming up fast, Nancy desperately wants to see her daughter married and giving her grandbabies. Petitioning heaven seems like a surefire way to get it done. But in Cadillac, Texas, where the gossip’s hotter than the city’s famous jalapeño peppers, it isn’t long before all hell breaks loose.

Heather, the bossy leader of the church’s Prayer Angels, thinks a summer ball will get Stella and the town’s other single gals paired off. But nobody can tell redheaded spitfire Stella what to do—not her mama, not Heather, and not even the sexy beau Stella’s been seeing in secret. Together, Stella, her best friends Charlotte and Piper, and the loyal customers of the Yellow Rose Beauty Shop hatch a good old-fashioned scheme to sabotage the ball. But will it wreck Stella’s relationship with her mama forever? And what will the church folk think when Stella reveals the identity of her mystery man?

My Review   5 STARS 

**My thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

So we are back in the small town in Texas and we still get to feisty old 80 year old Agnes getting into the thick of things and helping to cause trouble for Heather and her Aunt Violet.

Stella is one of the owners of The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop and her mother one day and the Angels prayer group foolishly says that she wants a husband for her daughter and she would dearly love to have grandchildren and Stella is her only child.

What happens next is a small town getting into the gossip, one lady who thinks she is above everyone sticking her oar in and organising events that suit her needs to in the guise of helping others and the church and Stella having to keep a massive secret from her family and friends.

Love how the dynamics work and that we get to see what the secret is long before others and that we have some other relationships thrown in there for good value and a mother realising that she has done something stupid and doing what she can to minimise the damage and help where she can.

REVIEW - Tapped by the Rockstar (Mile High Rocked #4) by Christina Hovland

The Book

Release Date: 1 January 2023

Goodreads Link

Internet fame isn't all it's cracked up to be.

As a teenager Samantha Johnson wrote a song that went viral in all the wrong ways. A pop song about her love of mozzarella sticks. She hoped for adoration but instead became a joke for an entire generation. She absolutely does not want to be in the limelight ever again. Or even near it. Since then, she's kept mostly to herself. But then she gets set up with a guy who turns out to be a rock star, and she risks the spotlight falling on her once more.

Dimefront's awkward drummer, Tanner Penton, never expected to live the rock star life. Even though he's living the dream, he's still fighting his past and the hurt caused by young love. He'd like to figure out how to actually speak to women without getting tongue tied. Unfortunately, his friends covertly fix him up with a woman he can't form a coherent syllable around. He gets flustered, his face heats, and... it's a whole thing.

Tanner must learn how to be authentically himself with Sam if he's going to make this last. And Sam must put the past behind her to figure out if she wants to embrace fame and the man she's falling for or walk away for good.

My Review    5 STARS

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

Another edition of Dimefronts band members getting a happy ever after.  This time shy Tanner who has trouble speaking infant of a girl and going bright red finds Sam, a woman who works at the Purple Peony retirement home and has to deal with little old ladies like Babushka.

Sam is frightened little thing.  When she was younger she posted something of herself singing a song about mozzarella sticks online and a while later it became an internet meme and then she found herself running from the crazies that came out.

Tanner having once been a runner once himself seeing a kindred spirit and eventually able to talk to Sam, encourages her to open up to him and not to run, even though she is scared.

Love who this band sticks together and helps each other even if the spouse has just come into the picture.

The pair both have problems that they manage to overcome with the help of friends, family and the love that they have for each other.

REVIEW - A Manhattanite's Christmas (The Manhattanites #5) by Avery Aster

The Book

Release Date: 20 October 2016

Goodreads Link

Move over, Vanderpump Rules, there's a new reality TV show about to air this holiday season, and it's hotter and naughtier than ever. 

When it comes to raising his only son, who's on the spectrum, single dad Sheldon Truman will do whatever it takes to secure the best Christmas for his autistic child, even if that means marrying America's leading pop princess and starring on Newlywed Boot Camp to pay for it. After all, he doesn't believe in marriage, monogamy, or happily ever after, so what's there to lose? 

With a failing handbag line, a perfume brand that stinks, and a singing career gone flat, actress Neve Adele will do anything that her PR firm, Brill Inc., throws her way. So when she's cast alongside the hottest bad boy she's ever met, the cameras start rolling, and they're forced to share a bed. The psychological games the show puts them through stir up painful emotions from her past, a childhood filled with impoverished abandonment. 

Once the filming is over, the feelings that Neve's been faking toward Sheldon suddenly become a reality. Can she stop thinking about him and get her career back on track? Or will she give up her hunger for fame and get real with the Manhattanite who not only took her virginity but her heart? 

My Review     4 STARS

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

This is a quick read novella that follows Neve and Sheldon, two people connected by Daddy Brill and her boyfriend Warner.

Sheldon has had some rotten luck and needs money to fight for custody of his son, while Neve is a falling reality star who needs someone to help her boost her profile.

A sexual connection starts from the beginning, but it is only when the couple get married for a TV show that things start to happen fast.  With two weeks to get to know each other and their pasts the pair connect on a level that neither were expecting and end up putting ghosts to rest and finding the missing piece to their puzzles.

A really hot read, but the story happens far too fast for my liking.

REVIEW - Boss Without Benefits (The McGuire Brothers #1) by Lili Valence

The Book

Release Date: 31 March 2023

Goodreads Link

Last night, I met the funniest, sexiest single dad on the planet.

I also managed to get into the kind of co-ed naked trouble with him that involved a nurse, a shotgun, a feral turkey, and a pair of pliers. But all's well that ends well, and we already have plans to meet up again.

It's early days, but I'm already thinking Drew might be The One.

Then I show up to my new nanny gig and who steps out on the front porch, holding the cutest little redhead in the world?

Yep, that's right. Drew is Andrew McGuire, my new boss, and he's not about to date the nanny. His daughter's happiness and stability are his top priority.

Considering I just fell in love with this precious, motherless girl at first sight, I would be inclined to agree with him. If it weren't for one thing—my heart already has a Drew-shaped hole in it.

I'm pretty sure I would miss him, even if we'd never met.

But how to convince this amazing man that his heart—and his family—are safe with me? And that he should be my bosswith benefits? Forever.

Welcome to Bad Dog where the men are incredible, the animals are ridiculous, and the happy ever afters are super emotional and steamy! Boss Without Benefits is a Standalone Romance with Spice!

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 new series and we are back in Mad Dog with new characters, new animals that cause havoc and the authors brilliant sense of humour and character building.

Drew is a single father to a little girl and before he actually meets his new nanny, he is on a much needed and very far between night out where he meets Tatum.  There is an instant spark and both decide to have a night of fun, which leads to the pair caught up in more ways than one, especially when they have to call someone to untangle them.

With plans to meet each other again they both start the new day with high spirits that instantly take a nose dive when Tatum turns out to be the new nanny and his daughter takes an instant liking to her.

Tatum is a lovable soul and make new friends in her new town very quickly, is a fierce defender of her new charge and makes an impact on the people she meets.  Both have a good sense of humour, but it takes most of the book to realise that they have something completely special that that they cannot let anything get in the way of that.  Drew takes a leap of faith and Tatum cannot help but respond positively.

I really loved this book and we got to meet Wren and Barrett who are going to be the focus of the next book.  I really hope that most if not all of Drews brothers get a book as i cannot wait to see what high-jinx and naughty animals get shoved together mixed up and find their person.

REVIEW - Rescued by the Rancher (Tall Pines Ranch #2) by Victoria James

The Book

Release Date: 14 April 2015

Goodreads Link

Starting over and starting a whole lotta trouble…

Meredith Anderson left her difficult past behind to create a new life for herself in Tall Pines—where she can be the independent, confident woman she always dreamed of being. Now she's a partner in her sister's wedding planning business, helping brides realize their happily-ever-afters…even as she promises herself to never fall in love.

Meredith's sweetness and vulnerability brings out the protective side of rancher Gage McAllister—even though their worlds are miles apart. All it takes is one night for desire to take hold of them both, a sizzling encounter that can only lead to the promise of more. But Meredith isn't looking for more, and even if she was, Gage is set to leave Tall Pines behind him…

My Review   4 STARS

**My thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is the second book in this duet and focuses on the Melenie's sister who just escaped before a wedding to a man she does not want to marry and controlling parents.

This book starts a year after the first one finished and Meredith has been at Tall Pines helping her sister with her business and she has finally decided to something different and tries to seduce Gage a man with a past that he keeps secret.

Gage however has recently been looking into property else where so he can't buy his own ranch, but Meredith wants a one night stand, but he knows that she is not that type of girl.  She's the kind of girl that is forever.

I loved the interactions between this pair, but felt that it could have had a little more spice in the mix.  I did love how Gage stood up for his girl and very soon knew that something was wrong when her ex came back into the picture, I also loved how his other family welcomed him and made him feel wanted and loved, unlike his mother.

This was certainly a lovely read.