Friday, April 27, 2018

Review: Whiskey River Rockstar (Whiskey River series Book 3) by Justine Davis


Zee Mahan had always known the boy she loved would leave one day–Whiskey River was too small to hold the talent and charisma of Jamie Templeton forever. She just didn't realize that when he left, it would break her hometown heart.

Jamie had never lied to Zee about his plans, and when he'd left for the bright lights—and made it big—he'd thought she understood. She'd loved him and his music and had encouraged him to chase his dream. Sure, he could have gone home for a visit, but when his band caught fire, he was afraid to interrupt their momentum.

When the crazy world he was living in turned on him, Jamie walked away---back to the only place he could think of to go....home. But was it too late to find forgiveness and rekindle the fire with the only woman he’d ever loved?




My Review: 

An emotional roller coaster of a story.

Jamie Templeton was Whisky River’s very own celebrity, a local boy who turned into one of the country’s biggest rock stars.  After the death on one of his band mates, he decided he wanted to return home to lay low for a while.  He knew his old friends would be there to welcome him with open arms.  But there was one person that he knew might not be as open as the rest, his old girlfriend, Zee Mahon.  He knew how upset she was when he left town to follow his dreams seven years ago.  

Zee was still in love with Jamie even though he broke her heart all those years ago.  The thought of having him back in town was unsettling, but she would still be there for him even if it still hurt.  They had been through so much in the past.  Helping him now was the least she could do.  

Working together fixing up Jamie’s aunt’s house brought back so many memories for them both.  Those memories were so strong that they ended up finding themselves wanting to pick up where they left off.  But Jamie has been keeping a secret that he hasn’t told anyone.  Will it destroy what they have built once again when he lets it come out?

This was a book that I couldn’t wait to read and it didn’t disappoint.  I could just feel the passion through the author’s words.  I loved both characters.  They were flawed and felt real.  The emotional story made me happy and sad over and over again.  It was a great read all the way to the end.  I also enjoyed catching up with characters from the previous Whisky River books. 



Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Review: On the Road to Love: a Love in the City romantic comedy by Melissa Baldwin

From bestselling romantic comedy author Melissa Baldwin comes the road trip of a lifetime!

Successful Manhattan accountant Stacy Brown is shocked when her almost perfect life unexpectedly crumbles around her. Blindsided by her husband when he serves her with divorce papers and tossed aside by the women she considered her best friends, devastation and depression hit her hard. But when her mother sends her an old photograph of her and two childhood friends, Candace and Olivia, it fuels a desire in Stacy to find that person she once was. What starts as a chance to reconnect turns into an unforgettable road trip back to her childhood home and an encounter with a man from her past.

Gavin Kingsley, son of Stacy's old piano teacher and former annoying boy next door, sparks something in Stacy that she hasn't felt in a long time…maybe never? Despite her hesitation to jump into a relationship, Stacy can't help being drawn to him as she and her girlfriends take a journey of self-discovery, laughs, tears, and hysterical moments.

Can returning to her past give Stacy everything she's been searching for in her future? 



My Review:

An inspiring story about three old friends reuniting for a road trip down the east coast to their home town in Florida.

After Stacy Brown's divorce, her mother comes across a picture of Stacy and her two best friends when they were younger.  Stacy decides getting together with her old friends for a trip home would be fun. 

Along the way there were some comedic mishaps that made me laugh and Stacy's two best friends learn to forgive each other for something that happened in the past.  When they get to Florida, Stacy spends time with Gavin, a guy from her childhood, who helps her move forward from her divorce.  Just when Stacy starts to fall for Gavin and decides she wants to move back to Florida to be with him, she gets a job promotion that could change things.  But with her ex –husband getting a job at the same accounting firm, Stacy needs to decide what she really wants in life, the job she dreamed of (even with the ex there) or a new life with a man who knows how to make her happy.

I enjoyed this book a lot.  It makes you think about what is most important in your life.  I would love a spinoff of this story so I can read more about Olivia and Candice and also find out how Stacy and Gavin’s new life goes.  I just couldn’t get enough of these characters. 

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Review: Doctor's Orders (The Moore Sisters of Montana, #3) by Ann B. Harrison





April Moore has always been an impulsive dreamer. So when she shows up in Cherry Lake, announcing that she’s there to stay and start her own business–a design studio florist shop–her sisters are pleased, but more than a little skeptical. A lot more than pride is riding on her new business adventure, and April doesn’t have time to get distracted, especially not by the handsome doctor who shares office space with her. Unfortunately, April’s never been one to keep her head down and opinions to herself, and she’s barely opened for business before she thinks her first design project should involve the quiet man next door doing his best to ignore her bubbly attempts at friendship.

For someone so young, Dr David Morrison is firmly set in his ways. He’s returned to Cherry Lake temporarily to take over his father’s family practice until he can sell it and return to Seattle to rebuild his life and career. He’s always played it safe and isn’t looking for change, fireworks, or romance. Unfortunately, the vivacious April embodies all three. Each meeting is like touching a live wire, and David finds himself entranced.

Opposites attract, but can they find a happy ever after?



My Review: 

The third installment of The Moore Sisters of Montana brings the free spirited, April, the youngest of the Moore sisters.  She returns to Cherry Lake to be near her sisters and open a design studio florist shop.  But no one thinks she will stick around for long.  Focusing on her shop, she definitely didn’t need a distraction like falling in love.  

Dr. David Morrison is a straight laced doctor who has returned to Cherry Lake to temporarily take over his father’s practice.  He plans to sell it as soon as he can and return to Seattle to rebuild his career.  He didn’t plan on finding love in Cherry Lake, but there was something about April that kept calling to him even though she is totally opposite of the women he is usually attracted to.  

This is a sweet opposites attract romance with characters and a story that you just can’t get enough of.  It is a great addition to the series. 



Monday, April 16, 2018

Review: Bride for Keeps (Big Sky Brides book 2) by Nicole Helm





They all said it wouldn’t last….

Sierra McArthur never could have imagined they were right, but ever since her husband’s world was rocked by a family secret, it’s clear that their happily ever after isn’t to be. But one last night of passion with her husband creates a lasting consequence neither of them planned on….

Or is it?

Carter McArthur doesn’t want a divorce. But he doesn’t know how to fix all the mistakes he’s made in the wake of his family’s betrayal. But when a surprise pregnancy gives them one last chance at forever, Carter is determined to make her understand, she’s not his bride by accident. She’s his bride for keeps.



My Review: 

When a family secret comes out, Carter McArthur shuts down.  He won’t even want to talk to his wife, Sienna, even though they live in the same house.  In a last ditch effort, Sienna tries to revive their relationship with a night of passion, only to wake up and find Carter gone.  That’s when she realizes it is over and wants a divorce.  When Sienna finds out they created a baby that night, she decides she will raise it on her own.        

Carter never intended to hurt Sienna.  He just didn’t know how to control his emotions.  Carter was raised in a family where everything always had to be perfect.  He thought keeping his feelings to himself was the right thing to do.  Obviously, he was wrong.  When he finds out Sienna is pregnant and wants a divorce, he decides he will do anything to win her back.   

This was an emotional story and at times had me tearing up.  Like many young people, Carter and Sienna thought marriage would be fun and easy and didn’t realize there would also be difficult times that they would need to work through.  The author did a great job writing a story with real life situations and solutions.  I liked Sienna and Carter and couldn’t wait to see how they patched up their marriage.     

My favorite quote in the book:
“Love is showing each other your cracks.  Maybe more than that, maybe it’s trusting each other with your flaws.  Your imperfections.” 



Saturday, April 14, 2018

Review: Inescapable Fate (The Fate Series Book 1) by Hanleigh Bradley



*¨) ¸.*´¨) .*´¨)
(¸.•´Inescapable Fate (The Fate Series Book One)
•*¨) ¸.*´¨) .*´¨)
(¸.•´ Hanleigh Bradley


The first part in a three-part serial novel. When Georgia Kentley breaks up with her long-term boyfriend Darren over Christmas, she really can't wait to return to work on the 27th of December.

The excitement dies when she meets her new boss, Walker Trent. DCI Trent is a misogynistic pain in the arse. Being a young police officer, Georgia has met her fair share of men who don't understand that she can hold her own. Every single time she has proven them wrong.

Will she be able to prove to Walker Trent just how capable she is or will she get herself into a heap of trouble, danger and chaos? And when chaos ensues who will be there to save her?
#christmasromance #holidayromance #britishromance #britishchristmas #britishmystery #britishpolice #thefateseries #inescapablefate



My Review: 

Georgia Kentley had everything going for her.  She followed her father’s footsteps and become a police officer just like he was, but she didn’t let his influence help her get the job.  She worked hard for her position.  Georgia also had a long time boyfriend who was her best friend.  But Georgia’s life is turned upside down when Darren breaks up with her in the middle of a Christmas dinner with both sets of parents there to witness it.  Then he just walks out leaving her to face the family on her own.
 
Picking up the pieces of her life, Georgia is facing a new boss who doesn’t think she deserves her position.  Walker Trent thinks Georgia only has her job because of her father.  So, Georgia sets out to show him what she is made of and prove him wrong.  But the joke is on both of them.  While working undercover together, they start to confide in each other about different things and then fall in love.  

This is a quick read and it kept me interested throughout the book.  I felt bad for Georgia during the break up scene.  I couldn’t imagine that happening in real life.  I honestly didn’t like Trent at first.  He came across as a jerk, but he redeemed himself pretty quick.  I enjoyed the banter between both characters, especially when Trent would call Georgia a bint or refer to her clumsiness.  The only drawback was the cliffhanger at the end.  I thought here was more to the story but it just stopped.  Now I have to wait and see what happens next.  My preference to a book is wrapping up one story before beginning another.  If you don’t mind a cliffhanger, I would recommend it. 






Thursday, April 12, 2018

Review: In a Jam by Cindy Dorminy

Andie Carson has to do three things to inherit her grandmother’s lottery winnings—sober up, spend a month running her grandmother’s Georgia coffee shop, and enter homemade jam in the county fair. If she can’t meet those terms, the money goes to the church, and Andie gets nothing. She figures her tasks will be easy enough, and once she completes them, Andie plans to sell the shop, take the money, and run back to Boston.

After a rough breakup from his crazy ex-fiancée, Officer Gunnar Wills decides to take a hiatus from women. All he wants is to help make his small town thrive the way it did when he was a kid. But when wild and beautiful Andie shows up, Gunnar’s hesitant heart begins to flutter.

Gunnar knows that Andie plans to leave, but he’s hoping to change her mind, fearful that if her coffee shop closes, Main Street will fold to the big-box corporations and forever change the landscape of his quaint community. But convincing her to stay means getting close enough to risk his heart in the process. Even though Gunnar makes small-town life seem a little sweeter, Andie has to decide if she’s ready to turn her world upside down and give up big-city life. One thing’s for sure—it’s a very sticky situation.


My Review:

Fantastic writing skills really bring this story to life. 

Andie Carson is a well-known party girl living in Boston with a habit of drinking too much and waking up in jail.  Even the police officers know her by name.  Andie’s life changes when she finds out she has inherited her grandmother’s lottery winnings, but she has placed stipulations on the money.  Andie must move to the small town of Smithville, Georgia, and work in her bakery, In A Jam, live in her apartment, go to church and fit in with the people in town.  The toughest rule of all was Andie needs to give up her drinking.  Andie’s plan was to stay the six required weeks to get the money, sell the shop and then she would head back to Boston.  But she didn’t expect to fall for the little town and to make so many new friends.

Officer Gunner Wills was done with women.  His last relationship did him in.  It’s been years since he has dated, but as soon as he saw Andie he knew there was something about her and he needed to know her better.  Little did he know, Andie would be the one to bring him out of his dating slump and teach him to love again.  But when Gunner’s ex shows up in town to stir up some trouble, will Andie and Gunner’s new relationship be strong enough to stand up to the wrath of Willow?

I really enjoyed this book.  The author’s writing style really drew me into the story.  She wrote the characters so well that they began to feel like friends and I was part of the story.  Not a detail was missed.  I just didn’t want the book to end when it did.  It felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends.  This is the first book I have read by this author and it won’t be the last.    

Monday, April 9, 2018

Review: It's Complicated (Undeniable Book 1) by Nikki Prince


Ashton Locke has had a thing for Keiko Jarrett since college. So when she proposes adding friends with benefits to the mix, he's intrigued, but wary. Sure, he’s always wanted her, and is definitely not ready to settle down with anyone, but what happens if one of them crosses the line?

Keiko is ready to take her flirty friendship with Ashton to the next level of hot. But she never bargained for feelings to intrude and cause complications. She laughed at Ashton's hesitation and promised she'd remain heart-whole.

Some promises are meant to be broken and as Keiko and Ashton's "benefits bleed in all aspects of their lives, Keiko needs to convince Ashton that love is worth the risk.


My Review: 

Would you take a friendship to the next level, to one with benefits?

When Keiko Jarrett gets tired of the men she is meeting, she turns to one of her best friends, Ashton Locke, and suggests they become friends with benefits.  It didn’t take much convincing on Ashton’s part as he has been attracted to Keiko for a long time.  But is it really worth putting a good friendship in jeopardy if it doesn’t work out?  Keiko and Ashton find out in this exciting and sensual story.  And, what happens when a jealous ex-girlfriend tries to come between them?

I was intrigued by the story line and was anxious to read this book to see how Keiko and Ashton make their new relationship work.  Most people that I know who have tried friends with benefits didn’t seem to have much luck with it.  So, it was fun to see how it worked in the fictional world.  The author did a good job telling the story and keeping it exciting.  I look forward to checking out some more of her books in the future.