Review: Home to Cypress Bayou (Louisiana Book 1) by Susan Sands

 

It’s not true that you can’t go home again, but do you want to?

Paris gallery owner Leah Bertrand returns to her historic, moss-draped Louisiana hometown to fulfill a deathbed promise to her friend and mentor. She’s been matched as a bone marrow donor to a stranger, yet the match is so close that doctors suspect a family relationship. But how? Leah’s family has always seethed with drama, but this visit home promises secrets as deep, dark, and mysterious as the water in Cypress Bayou. And then her ex arrives, and Leah realizes the feelings and secrets she buried years ago have come back to haunt her.

Dr. Jake Carmichael returns to Cypress Bayou after years away and is shocked to see Leah, his childhood sweetheart and first love, back in town and on his patient roster. The sparks still burn, but when he tries to discuss what went wrong and perhaps rebuild their relationship, Leah refuses.

Jake’s not ready to give up on their future together. But Leah fears she has even more to lose this time…

 

My Review: 

First book in a new series and I’m already hooked. 

I couldn’t get enough of this book.  It was heartfelt, inspiring and intriguing.  I loved seeing Leah and Jake work through the issues that caused their breakup and finally find their way back to each other.  When the family secrets started to come out (and boy were there some big ones), I worried what the outcome would be, as I was already invested in these characters and only wanted the best for them.  I also enjoyed the Louisiana setting of the book and through the author’s words, I could easily visualize it all.  I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series and see what happens next.

 

 

 

Review: Flirting with Fifty by Jane Porter

 

A sexy and sparkling later-in-life contemporary romance about a woman who leaps out of her comfort zone and takes a chance on love by New York Times bestselling author Jane Porter.

Paige Newsom is finally at a place in her life where she's comfortable. She loves her job as a college professor in Southern California, lives close enough to her mother to visit her regularly, and has three daughters who are flourishing in their own careers. Paige has no plans to upend her life again after her divorce eight years ago, but she's about to embark on a new adventure: co-teaching a course that includes a three-week international field study.

Paige can think of a dozen reasons why she shouldn't go, one being a dazzling Australian biologist who will be teaching alongside her. Professor Jack King is charismatic, a world traveler, and more like Indiana Jones than Indiana Jones, all of which unsettles Paige, who prides herself on being immune to any man's charms. As the two co-professors lead the rigorous program together, first on campus, then in beautiful Tanzania, Paige's biggest challenge will be working closely with Jack while resisting the undeniable chemistry she feels when she's with him.

 

My Review:

I was hooked on this book from the start.

Paige Newsome was happy with her life.  She is a college professor, her girls were off living their own lives and she had good friends to spend time with.  Paige didn’t need or want a man in her life.  But when learned she would soon be co-teaching a class with Jack King, a man she had a one-night fling with thirty years ago, while studying abroad, she began to get nervous.  She just hoped he wouldn’t remember her.

When Jack meets the professor he will be teaching with, he can’t believe it is Paige and doesn’t understand why she acts like she doesn’t know him.  Jack decides to play along with Paige.  But when he finally has enough, he had to speak up.  After all the years that passed, Jack never forgot Paige.  He didn’t understand why she left Paris the next day without saying goodbye.  Now that Jack has found Paige again, he doesn’t plan to let her get away.

I loved everything about this story.  I couldn’t wait to see how Paige and Jack would find their way back together.  The characters’ backgrounds were well thought out.  Paige had the challenges and insecurities many of us face as we get older.  I liked seeing how she was able to move past them.  I really enjoyed the parts where Paige and Jack travel to Africa.  The scenes were written so well, that I could easily visualize them in my mind.  I would definitely recommend this book to any of my friends and family.  This book will appeal to fans of both, women’s fiction and romance. 

Review: Preserving the Evidence (Hart of Texas Murder Mysteries #2) by Kaz Delaney

In this small town, not everyone is who they claim to be…

When amateur baker, and now amateur sleuth, Rosie Hart finds herself embroiled in another mystery in rural Airlie Falls, Texas, she can’t believe her bad luck. Soon the town is reeling from a murder, an unidentified body, a late mayoral challenge, missing town money, and a strange group of socialites gathered at a mansion out of town.

With so many of her new friends suspected of wrongdoing, Rosie can’t sit on the sidelines any longer. She’s convinced these strange occurrences are connected, but she’s running out of time to prove how. She’ll need to unmask a murderer before there’s another body to add to the tally.

Snooping around undercover is harder than it looks, and Rosie will be lucky to get out of this one without more casualties than a batch of burned Buried Treasure Cookies.

 

My Review: 

An enjoyable cozy mystery.

Amateur sleuth, Rosie Hart, is up to her old tricks, trying to solve the mysteries in her new town of Airlie Falls, Texas, even though she was warned her to mind her own business.  But no one solves a mystery quite like Rosie.

Murders, missing money, and a group of strange women, are just a few of the crazy things happening in the second book in the Hart of Texas Murder Mysteries series. 

As with the first book in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed this one too. It was fun catching up with Rosie and the gang and seeing what they were up to this time and how they solved the mysteries.  Sometimes, when I read a mystery, I can usually figure out what will happen in the end.  But with this author, it is always a surprise to me.   

 

 

 

Review: Flipping the Script (Matched #2) by Amy Kathryn Jones

After an unexpected season finale, the future of the hit reality show Matched is in jeopardy.

Field producer Kat Kramer needs a bold, last-ditch idea to save her job and the show she loves. Her boss and former lover dangles an overseas promotion, but Kat knows he’s really trying to get rid of her to appease his estranged wife. Kat wants to stay in L.A—she doesn’t want to live in a city where her best friend, coworker, and secret love isn’t.

Matt Corrado has enough drama. Next season’s intended star won’t commit, the show’s relationship expert wants to quit, and his sullen teenage daughter has taken over his sofa, determined to reunite her divorced parents. While Matt will do almost anything for his kid—like staying in a loveless marriage for years, even as he secretly pined for Kat—he’s determined to finally move forward.

Kat’s solution to the show’s problem is bold: produce a winter wedding special featuring last season’s controversial match. The solution to Matt and Kat’s personal drama is even bolder: fake a relationship to convince everyone that they’re in love.

 

My Review: 

A great addition to the Matched series.

I fell in love with this series and characters when I read the first book in the Matched series.  I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book and learn more about Kat and Matt.  Their relationship wasn’t ideal by any means.  They had a lot of struggles to get through in order to achieve their happily ever after.  The author took this friends to lovers/work place romance story to a whole new level of enjoyment with the spicy scenes, sweet and tender moments, and lots of family drama.  I would recommend reading the Matched series in order of release so you get to know the characters better and don’t miss anything important.  

 

 

 

 

 

Review: The Casterglass Heir (Keeping Up with the Penryns #3) by Kate Hewitt

 

Meet the Penryns…an eccentric family determined to keep hold of their castle in the wilds of Cumbria.

Sam Penryn, the only son and heir, has returned to Casterglass with deep reluctance. After dedicating his life to far-flung adventures to forget his past, the last thing he wants is to come home and take the reins of his family’s crumbling estate. But he knows his duty, and his sisters are doing their best to turn their ancestral ruin into an interactive tourist attraction. He can surely do the same, even if he dreads every moment…

Rose Lacey has spent her life as a nomad, adopting a carefree attitude to protect her fragile heart, which worked until she met—and then left—Sam. Their goodbye becomes hello when she shows up on his doorstep months after their fling, pregnant and uncertain what she wants from him, yet believing he needs to know he’s going to be a father.

Sam is gobsmacked by Rose’s return—and he remembers just how hard he fell for her. Despite his own hurts and hard memories, can Sam be brave enough to convince Rose to fall in love with him all over again, this time for keeps?

 

My Review: 

A reunion and a big surprise.

Sam Penryn and Rose Lacey met while Sam was in New Zealand where Sam had been doing charity work.  Rose had been traveling the world for the past five years, working odd jobs to pay her way.  They had a fling that lasted until it was time for Sam to go home to Cumbria to help his family’s new venture, turning Casterglass Castle into a tourist destination.

Sam had been home for two months when Rose showed up at the castle with news, she was pregnant and Sam was the father.  It wasn’t without doubts and speculation from the Penryns.  But as Sam and Rose got reacquainted, they shared their fears, insecurities and secrets and soon found themselves falling in love and Rose finding her place within the family.  A family that Rose didn’t think she could ever be part of. 

After reading the previous Keeping up with the Penryns book, I had a lot of questions about Sam.  I was so happy to have them cleared up and even happier for him and Rose to fall in love.  This is a beautifully told story.  I just love the Penryns.  I look forward to reading the next installment in the series. 

 

 

Review: Smooth Talking Texan (The Rossis of Whiskey River #2) by Katherine Garbera

He’s her best friend, but she wants so much more…

Barrel racer Colby Tucker has never said no to her best friend and secret crush, Olivier Rossi. When the handsome and charming rodeo clown asks her to attend his brother’s wedding as his pretend fiancée, she reluctantly says yes. This might be her last chance to either nudge Olivier into falling in love with her or finally get him out of her system.

Olivier's proposition to Colby was impulsive. But she’s the one person in his life he could count on and—unlike his family—Colby never judges. But from the moment they begin “practicing” their parts, Olivier knows he’s in trouble.

Suddenly Olivier wants more than a fake relationship. But is Colby only playing a part or are her feelings as real as his?

 

My Review:

From fake fiancé to true love.

What happens when two friends become a fake engaged couple?  In this case, Colby Tucker, was already in love with Ollie Rossi, but he friend zoned her from the start.  When Ollie asks Colby to pretend to be his fiancé, for his brother’s upcoming wedding and Whiskey River’s Boots & Bangles Gala, Colby agrees.  During their time together, Colby figures she will either make Ollie fall in love with her or she will finally get him out of her system for good, even if it means her heart would be broken. But Colby didn’t realize Ollie secretly had a thing for her too.  He was just afraid to act on it.  Something happened in the past that very few people knew about.  It was the reason Ollie preferred one nighters with buckle bunnies after the rodeo, instead of a steady relationship with a woman.

This was an emotional story.  As I learned more about Ollie, it made sense why he was standoffish when it came to women.  I was so happy when he finally opened up about his past.  But there were still a few obstacles that Colby and Ollie would have to pass before they would finally get their happily ever after.  This is a great addition to the Rossis of Whiskey River series.