Review: Flirting with Disaster (The DeMarco Family Book 3) by Jane Graves

He was the man she couldn't have...she was the woman he couldn't forget

On a humanitarian mission to fly doctors to a remote village in Mexico, pilot Lisa Merrick discovers something sinister lurking behind the organization in charge. Her plane is sabotaged, leaving her trapped in the Mexican wilderness with a price on her head and no way out. Injured and desperate, she contacts the one man she knows will help her: Dave DeMarco, a tough but compassionate Texas cop with whom she was once wildly in love.

Dave DeMarco is stunned when a woman from his past calls him late one night with an incredible story of smuggling, sabotage and attempted murder. Soon, though, his mission to rescue Lisa becomes a struggle for survival against an enemy who wants them both dead. When the danger they face clashes with the passion that still burns between them, Dave vows to protect the woman he never stopped loving – and keep her in his life forever.

My Review:

They shared one kiss in high school, but police officer Dave DeMarco never forgot Lisa Merrick.  So, when Dave got a call from Lisa saying she was in trouble and needed his help, Dave jumped on the next plane to a remote town in Mexico to help her.

Lisa was living her dream of being a pilot with her own private plane.  She flew doctors into Mexico so they could provide free healthcare to those we needed it.  But, her last trip was different.  She made a discovery that put her life in jeopardy and there was only one person she could trust to help her out; her old high school crush, Dave.

This was an adrenaline rush of a story.  Once the excitement started, it didn’t stop until the end.  I have been enjoying this author’s work.  Her writing style pulls me into the story right away and the action keeps me intrigued until the very end.  This book is part of a series but can be read on its own.  But, I would suggest you start at the beginning of the series so you can get to know the rest of the DeMarco family and not have any spoilers of other books by reading out of order. 

Review: Her Texas Ex (The Dangerous Delaneys Book 1) by Katherine Garbera

She couldn't forget him, even if she tried...

When Amelia Corbyn was a vulnerable teen, she found out she wasn’t a Corbyn by blood. Her biological father was a legendary country singer who wanted nothing to do with her. Hurt and confused, Amelia fled Last Stand Texas for a modeling career in New York. She left behind her high school boyfriend and family who had kept too many secrets. Years later Amelia’s back in Last Stand, retired from modeling and determined to care for her aging parents. She’s not expecting to see the one man she loved and couldn’t forget. Even worse, the spark is still there just waiting to burst into a flame.

Former pro-football player Cal Delaney returns to Last Stand to raise his sister’s toddler after a car accident claims her life along with her husband. His feelings for Amelia seem stronger than ever, but he has secrets and responsibilities; and Amelia has already proved to him that when things get tough, she skips town.

Can Cal forgive their past so that he and his first love can have a future? 

My Review: 

This book is the kind that you better have a box of close by when you read it.  It is a second chance at romance story involving two high school sweethearts, Amelia and Cal, who both return to their hometown for different reasons.  Amelia is back to help take care of her sick mother and Cal is back after his sister is killed in an accident.  He is needed to raise his sister’s son.  When Amelia and Cal meet again, they form a friendship and there to support each other.  Eventually fall in love again.  But, that doesn’t mean everything will be easy for them.  There are a lot of issues they need to work through before they find their happily ever after.  

Some of this book was hard to read because of the emotions involved.  I couldn’t help but tear up reading those parts.  The characters and their struggles felt so real.  This is a must read book if you like second chance romances and a good family drama.  Even though it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. 

Review: A Palm Beach Wife by Susannah Marren

Amid the glamour and galas and parties of Palm Beach, Faith knows that image often counts as much if not more than reality. She glides effortlessly among the highest of the high society so perfectly that you would never suspect she wasn’t born to this. But it wasn’t always so; though she hides it well, Faith has fought hard for the wonderful life she has, for her loving, successful husband, for her daughter’s future.

In this town of secrets and gossip and rumors, Faith has kept a desperate grip on everything she holds so dear, built from so little. And yet even she―the only one who knows just how far she has to fall―never suspects from which direction, or how many directions all at once, betrayal will come.

My Review:

This book was like a private peek into the lives of the influential society women of Palm Beach.  The lifestyle, the fashion, the friends, charity and social events that must be attended, all of the things the women do in order to stay within the circle of important people.  But when one falls from grace, the gossip and rumors start almost instantly and they are enough to break a person.   I was impressed with how strong Faith remained when her life took a turn for the worse.  She put her family and business first and did what she had to so they could survive.  And, she stood by her husband through all of the mistakes he made.    

This book hooked me right away.  I have always been fascinated by the rich and famous and how they live their lives.  The author did a fantastic job outlining the story and not missing any details, whether it was the people or the town of Palm Beach.  It felt very true to life.  But, I was a bit let down with the ending.  I was ready to turn the page thinking there was another chapter, but there was nothing.  It just ended like a cliff hanger.  Please say this story will continue in another book.  


Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review: One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan

To celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Grace has planned the surprise of a lifetime for her husband—a romantic getaway to Paris. But she never expected he’d have a surprise of his own: he wants a divorce. Reeling from the shock but refusing to be broken, a devastated Grace makes the bold decision to go to Paris alone.

Audrey, a young woman from London, has left behind a heartache of her own when she arrives in Paris. A job in a bookshop is her ticket to freedom, but with no money and no knowledge of the French language, suddenly a summer spent wandering the cobbled streets alone seems much more likely…until she meets Grace, and everything changes.

Grace can’t believe how daring Audrey is. Audrey can’t believe how cautious newly single Grace is. Living in neighboring apartments above the bookshop, this unlikely pair offer each other just what they’ve both been missing. They came to Paris to find themselves, but finding this unbreakable friendship might be the best thing that’s ever happened to them…

My Review:

This book has everything I was looking for in a story.  The Paris setting caught my attention first.  Then, I was intrigued by Grace and Audrey’s stories and how they would mesh.  I was not disappointed. 

Both, Grace and Audrey’s stories were heartbreaking.  Grace planned to surprise her husband, of twenty five years, with a trip to Paris.  But, the surprised was on when Grace when David informed her that he was having an affair and wanted a divorce.   Grace ends up taking the trip on her own.  Audrey was running from her life in London.  She wanted to spend the summer in Paris away from her alcoholic mother.  But, she had a hard time finding a job because she didn’t speak French.  It was fate that Audrey just happened to be on the street when Grace was mugged.  Audrey, being the tough girl she was, stopped the man and got the purse back for Grace.  They became friends after that and helped each other out in ways only good friends could. 

This is a story of friendship, starting over, love and family secrets.  It was an extremely enjoyable story.  I was a little sad when the book was over.  I could have read hours more of these characters.   

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review: What Happens in the Highlands by Kelsey McKnight

Match made in heaven or maid of dishonor?

Tight-laced Rose Hensel arrives in Scotland for her best friend’s wedding with a plan—to be the greatest maid of honor ever, let loose for the first time in years, and find out what Scottish guys really wear under their kilts. After meeting the best man, she thinks she found the man who checks all the boxes for a no-strings-attached romp among the heather.

Lachlan Calder-Mackinnon knows how to show a girl a good time. Gourmet dinners in castle ruins, picnics among rolling hills, and a seaside escape create some unforgettable dates. But as the fling begins to morph into something more, an unexpected wedding guest threatens to ruin Rose and Lachlan’s new romance.

With a plane ticket in one hand and her broken heart in the other, Rose prepares to head home to reality. However, she’s about to learn that what happens in the Highlands doesn’t always stay there. 

My Review: 

A fun romance that take place in the Scottish Highlands.  

This book has everything I was looking for.  The main characters, Rose and Lachlan, were a lot of fun to read about.  They had great chemistry once they let their guard down.  Rose traveled from New Jersey to Scotland for her best friend’s wedding.  She didn’t plan to meet a man while there, but she did.  And, that man just happened to be the best man, the cousin of the groom, who was a Lord and lived in his very own castle.  

I would almost want to classify this book as a romantic comedy because of the crazy things that happen between Rose and Lachlan.  But then, there is that touch of drama too, especially with the ex-girlfriend.  All around, this was a fun book to read.   

This quote from the book really sums up the story:

The future was full of possibilities now, the promise of adventure and love and passion like I had only thought existed in romance novels. For the first time in my life, I shed the burden of staying safe and being responsible. All it took was a hen night, a wedding, and a week in a castle to show me that what happened in the Highlands didn’t always need to stay there.