Review: Grounded In Love (Texas Hawthorne Legacy, Book 4) by Kelly Cain

 

He’s a Texas player with a red-hot career and her best friend’s ‘baby brother.’ Definitely off-limits, right?

Donovan Hawthorne is the golden boy of the Houston oil and gas industry, a self-made powerhouse who walked away from his family’s legacy to carve his own path. Charming, successful, and infamously noncommittal, Donovan has built a reputation as a man who plays hard—both in the c-suite and in situationships.

Entrepreneur Jaymes Bandeaux has always played by the rules. For half her life, she’s harbored an unwavering and unrequited love for Donovan that she’s buried under layers of loyalty, fear of getting hurt, and knowing that if she acts on her feelings or lust, she risks far more than her heart.

But when a family emergency pulls Donovan back into the Hawthorne orbit and Jaymes’ daily life, their worlds collide. Donovan needs her help. Seeing him vulnerable cracks her steely resolve, especially when he looks at her with a scorching desire she’s utterly unprepared to fight.

As family secrets surface and personal ambitions clash, Jaymes and Donovan must decide: is love worth risking everything?

My Review:

Friends to lovers with all the “feels”. 

Should he, or shouldn’t he?  Donovan Hawthorne had been in love with Jaymes Bandeaux for a long time.  But Jaymes was his sister’s best friend and already considered part of the family.  Donovan didn’t want to ruin the family dynamics by making a move on Jaymes.  But when Donovan’s father has a stroke and Donovan and Jaymes are teamed up together to work on a charity event, there is a lot of temptation, but the risk of giving in is too high to take.  I couldn’t get enough of this book.  I enjoyed seeing how they found their way to lasting love.

 

Review: Lasso My Heart (Sisters of Spring Creek, Book 1) by Mary Karlik

A rodeo cowboy who’s sworn off love. An optimist who still believes in fairytales. One innocent mistake that could cost them everything.

After more than a dozen epic breakups, physical therapist Lauren Winslow is one teardrop away from locking up her heart forever. A baggage claim mix-up, a swoony cowboy, and the discovery of a love letter meant for someone else convinces her to give love one last shot. The problem? The letter belongs to Rhen McGowan, and Lauren has no idea how to return it without breaking his heart and losing his trust.

Rhen is recovering from a career-ending rodeo injury and rebuilding the therapeutic riding center he nearly lost in his divorce. The last thing he needs is a relentlessly hopeful woman who crashes into his life, charms his family, and makes him feel things he promised himself he was done with.

Their chemistry is instant, irresistible, and impossible to ignore. But when Rhen discovers Lauren kept the letter and lied about it, his fragile trust shatters. Now she must convince him it was an innocent mistake before the past steals their chance at a fairytale future. 

 

My Review:

I couldn’t put this book down.  

Lauren Winslow kissed a lot of frogs before she finally found her Prince.  Lauren was on a losing streak when it came to love.  But it wasn’t just love she was losing in, next she loses her job.  But when she meets Rhen McGowen, and goes to work and live at his therapeutic horse riding center, her luck finally changes.  I really enjoyed seeing how Lauren and Rhen’s story unfolded and how they finally got happiness.  This is the start of a new series and I look forward to reading the books that will follow this one. 

 

Review: Bad Boy Redeemed (Serpent's Tongue Ink, Book 4) by Katja Desjarlais

Once upon a time, a boy loved a girl before becoming the villain in every story—except hers.

There are no fairy tales in jail. Winter Baker serves his prison sentence without complaint, confident that his sacrifice allowed his three younger brothers the chance to live and rise above their father’s legacy of a despised Baker name, poverty, bruises, and broken bones. His brothers’ successes keep him from dwelling on what else he lost that fateful night. When Winter’s offered an early release in exchange for working for the Feds, he accepts the risks and knowledge he’ll face his biggest regret.

Sela Mack never recovered from losing her best friend and protector. Winter’s last phone call still haunts her. Twelve long years, and her heart’s still in stasis. But her first glimpse of Winter tells her three things she doesn’t want to know. He’s become cold and hard. He’s still keeping secrets. And he holds the power to break her all over again if she lets him.

Loving Winter’s a risk. Loving Sela’s a liability. But walking away has never felt like a viable option. 

 

My Review:  

Best friends to lovers. 

I have been waiting for Winter’s book since I started this series and it was well worth the wait.  I really enjoyed seeing Winter and Sela reunite and take their friendship to the next level even though Winter was warned to stay away from her.  Winter has changed in prison, no longer the rebellious bad boy he once was, now he is working undercover to help take down the drug kingpin who has been using Serpent’s Ink as their distribution center.  When the plans don’t go as expected and Sela is caught up in the middle, Winter will do anything to protect her.