Review: Off the Market (Texas BBQ Brothers, #2) by Audrey Wick

Can the man who saved the day win her heart?

Quinn LaFayette is in her inaugural year as library special programs director of Last Stand, but when the kickoff performance for the children’s summer program goes terribly wrong, she has to save face as well as her job. She has a surprise advocate in Cole, whom she did her best to ignore in school. Seven years has only made Cole more appealing, but Quinn is determined to resist the sparks that fly between them because they are too different.

Restaurant owner Cole Hutchinson is no bookworm, but thanks to his fast-thinking antics, he ends up saving the day at the library and earning Quinn’s praise in the process. He’s tempted to seek more, but he’s juggling plenty of female attention from gracing the June edition of Modern Texas magazine featuring barbeque. Cole’s not interested in revisiting a woman from his past, but there’s something about Quinn that he can’t quite ignore.

Can Cole prove that opposites really do attract?

My Review:

A sweet romance with small town charm.

I really enjoyed the first of the Texas BBQ Brothers books, so I couldn’t wait to get this one in my hands.  Cole and Quinn’s story is really special.  They are total opposites who are thrown together by unusual circumstances.  Cole is one of the owners of the popular BBQ joint in Last Stand called The Hut.  Quinn works in the library as the director of special events.  When Quinn’s first summer reading event takes a turn for the worse, Cole, who stopped by to pass out free meal coupons to the kids, takes over for the original guest speaker by telling funny jokes to the children.  I think I fell for Cole at that moment.  In the first book, he seemed to be all about business and not much else.  So, this was a fun and sweet side to see.   

The relationship between Cole and Quinn took some time to develop.  Even though they knew each other in school, they weren’t friends back then.  So, when they did become friends, they stay just friends for quite a while.  But once their relationship changed to romantic, there was no holding back.  Then, there was this one hiccup that almost ruined it all.  I enjoyed seeing how they worked through it to find their happily ever after.     

The author created characters that seemed so real, I could almost picture them living and working in my town.  Her story telling had me flipping the pages through to the end and it was hard to close the book at the end.  I liked these characters that much.  There is also a cute library cat who was a fun addition to the story.  Even though this book can be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading On the Market first so you get to know the characters form the start. 

 

Review: Steal My Heart by Aimee O’Brian

When a fantasy turns into a cold reality

Lexanne Harris had a plan down to the last sexy detail. Never did she think her attempt to spice up her love life with her boyfriend would involve her in a burglary with a sexier than sin thief whose emerald eyes and serious between the sheets skills are impossible to forget. As a police detective she is expected to stand on the side of the law and fight for justice. But what happens when the lines of justice blur and what’s wrong becomes way too tempting?

The situation might be challenging but Lexanne is determined to get assigned to the case, recover the jewels and catch the culprit.

The question is: What will she do with her sexy cat burglar when she catches him? 

My Review: 

Sexy and fun and, OMG, I’ve fallen for the cat burglar.

A cat burglar is targeting the wealthy of Los Angeles which makes Detective Lexanne start to fantasy about having sex with a cat burglar.  Detective Mark Finney was up for the challenge of making that fantasy come true.  But the night they planned the rendezvous, the real cat burglar entered the home that Lexanne was house sitting at.  Lexanne doesn’t realize it’s not Mark and played out the fantasy all the way.  Then, Mark shows up and Lexanne realizes she just made the biggest mistake of her life. 

Afterwards, Lexanne can’t seem to get the burglar out of her mind.  It’s pretty early in the book when she finds out who it is, investor Gideon Holt.  She falls for him and they hook up multiple times during the book.  It’s career sabotage for a police officer, but she can’t help herself.  Gideon’s reason for stealing from his clients will surprise you in the end.

I wish this book was longer.  I really enjoyed it and wasn’t ready to put it down.  There were a lot of twists and turns in this book that kept me on my toes.  This is the first book by this author and if she writes other books like this, I will definitely be reading more of her books.

 

Review: Keeping Score (Willow Creek Book 1) by Shannon Stults

With everything on the line, it's game on

Logan Kase has reveled in being Willow Creek's infamous wild child until one detrimental decision proved it was time for a change. Years later, Logan is back in her small hometown and ready to prove to everyone (especially herself) that she's not that same girl anymore. But the new life she's so carefully constructed starts to tear apart the second she runs into Cole Tucker.

Logan thought she'd put her childhood rival and their adolescent games behind her, but it takes her only one night before she’s forced into one final game, a series of hilariously immature challenges that has the whole town keeping score. A game that, should she lose,

My Review:

Sweet, romantic, funny and emotional.  This book had everything I wanted from a romance story?

Logan Kase had finally returned to Willow Creek, and she brought her fiancé, Jacob, with her.  It was quite the surprise to everyone in her hometown to see the formally wild child hooked up with a strait-laced, buttoned up shirt, kind of guy.  But it was an even bigger surprise to Cole Tucker who had secretly been in love with Logan since they were kids.  Cole knew the real Logan and the image she was putting on in front of her doctor fiancé was not the Logan he remembered. 

When Jacob is called out of town, and Cole and Logan end up at Wade’s Bar drinking, it leads them to a series of crazy challenges that eventually leads them to second thinking the futures they had planned.  Everyone in Willow Creek knew Logan and Cole were meant to be together and this was the push they needed to find their way back to each other.

I really got into this book.  The author really has a way with her words.  Every element that I look for in a romance was in this book and I even got teary in the end.  The characters were so much fun.  They felt real and Willow Creek felt like a place I wanted to live in.  I can’t wait to read more books in this series.    

 

Review: Lone Star Defender (Calamity Valley #3) by Jennie Jones

Nine days to build a future…

Pepper Mackillop is no soft touch - but try telling her townspeople that. She’s only been home a week and is facing so many problems she’s numbered them to keep track. Her goal is to help rejuvenate her economically rundown hometown of Reckless in Calamity Valley, Texas, but between the town’s unrealistic expectations and the underhanded developers snooping around, she’s challenged every which way. Then Jack Shepperd comes home.

Prodigal son Jack is forced to return home to his family ranch when his uncle decides to retire. He has nine days to close down the ranch and pay a debt to Pepper’s grandmother. A debt that will keep him all but glued to Pepper’s side. Pep is the most captivating, spirited, headstrong woman he’s ever met. Years ago, she broke his heart. What are the chances of a clean getaway this time around?

My Review:

I have been anticipating Pepper’s story since I started reading the Calamity Valley series.  The Mackillop women are all soothsayers and they have a curse on them.  Every MacKillop female would forever remain, husbandless, man-less and homeless.  To overcome the curse when they find true love, they have to fight off their great-grandfathers, known as the GGs, the ones who created the curse. 

Pepper didn’t think she had any mystical powers like the rest of her family had and she didn’t care about the curse.  She didn’t plan on ever getting married or having a family.  That was until Jack Shepperd turned up in town and turned her world upside down.  The things Pepper didn’t think she wanted in life were soon changing.  She was given a job of rejuvenating Reckless and Jack was put in charge of protecting Pepper.  Working so closely, Pepper and Jack soon realized they were meant to be together.  That’s when the GGs finally showed up.  Pepper and Jack had to work hard to fight off and get rid of the curse so they could get their happily ever after.

This book was an exciting read.  I was drawn in right away and it kept my full attention until the very end.  It was a perfect addition to the series.  Each book can be read as a stand-alone, but I would still recommend reading them in order.  The author does a good job of refreshing the background in each book, but there might be a few small details that get overlooked and can be found by reading in order.