Review: Breaking the Alpha (Serpent's Tongue Ink Book 2) by Katja Desjarlais

He’s a perfect disaster. She’s a perfect escape.

River Baker has traded his failed marriage, a social media disaster, and his modeling career in LA for his hometown of Epson. Awaiting him is the notorious Baker reputation, a job at his brother’s tattoo shop, Serpent’s Tongue Ink, and there’s no escaping the judgment over why he couldn’t keep his ‘perfect life’ together. But when he meets a business woman who sees past his handsome façade to the scars he hides, River finds the true escape he seeks.

Angelina Watson owns Wholly Yours and strives to live a quiet life of balance. A free spirit who never felt like she belonged, Angelina has created her own peaceful world of candles, essential oils, and trinkets as unique as she is. The broken, conflicted River sets her passion and her bed on fire, but she wants to be his partner, not his crutch.

Torn between perfection, expectation, and love, River has a choice to make before Angelina makes it for him and walks away for good.

 

My Review:

I was hooked from the very first page. 

This is the first book, by this author, that I have read, and it won’t be the last. I missed the first book in the series and I am ready to pick it up now.  Even though I missed the first book, I had no trouble getting into this one.  River and Angelina’s story is so good.  I read it in record time.  The book is well written with interesting characters, some suspense and lots of passion.  Top it off with a bad boy and it’s a win for me. 

 

 

 

Review: The Bad Boy’s Homecoming (The Southern Hart Brothers Book 2) by Stella Holt

 

She doesn’t care about his fame. He doesn’t trust her motives. Let the sparks fly.

Baseball bad boy Levi Hart is tired of playing a part. Dubbed The Beast at Bat, he’s built a career on swagger and scandal—but he’s done being a brand. When team management demands more drama for ratings, Levi walks. Adrift and at a crossroads, he heads to his hometown for some quiet…and lands in anything but.

Missy Shaw finally has stability—her art is selling, her past is behind her, and her friendship with her sweet elderly landlord has brought unexpected joy. What she didn’t sign up for? Sharing the house with the woman’s grumpy, gorgeous, and very famous grandson.

Levi thinks Missy’s a gold digger. Missy thinks Levi’s a judgmental jerk. But forced to live under the same roof, the tension between them is more than just irritation—it’s attraction. And it’s getting harder to ignore.

He’s used to being wanted for the wrong reasons. She’s vowed never to fall for a player. But what if this game of opposites is one worth playing?

 

My Review: 

I wasn’t ready for this book to end. 

Missy Shaw is finally enjoying her life again.  She is living with her friend, Mrs. Hart, as her companion, while Missy pursues her art career.  But when Mrs. Hart’s grandson, Levi, the bad boy of baseball, comes home, Missy finds herself drawn to Levi even though she knows falling for him would be a very bad idea.  Still, she can't fight the temptation.  And, Levi makes it his goal to win over Missy. 

This is a fast-paced opposites attract romance that I did not want to end.  I enjoyed every single part of this book. 

 

Review: Bitter Root Mysteries (1-4) by C.J. Carmichael

Captivating and page-turning...the twists & turns kept me reading until late in the night. Highly recommended to all mystery lovers!Bitter RootsIn the small town of Lost Trail, Montana, Dispatcher Zak Waller, alongside Tiff Masterson and lawyer Justin Pittman, investigates a young woman’s murder at a Christmas tree farm, uncovering dark secrets that threaten their tight-knit community. As they dig deeper, they reveal an evil more sinister than they imagined.Bitter TruthWhen wealthy Lacy Stillman dies suspiciously after blocking a lucrative family deal, Dispatcher Zak Waller and Tiff Masterson probe the secrets of Lost Trail’s elite, and in a shocking twist, unearth long-buried secrets.The ramifications affect many of Lost Trail’s most prominent citizens and provide the missing clue to Lacy Stillman’s murder.Bitter EndWhen lawyer Justin Pittman’s wife, Willow, is found dead, new Deputy Zak Waller questions the Sheriff’s rush to blame her ex, uncovering a tangled history in Lost Trail that challenges his loyalty to the community.BittersweetNew Sheriff Zak Waller is investigating the abduction of librarian Sybil Tombe in Lost Trail, Montana, when a young school girl also goes missing. Zak believes the crimes are related...but how? Finding the link is the key to bringing the victims home and avoiding devastating consequences.

 

My Review: 

A great collection of mystery books. 

I previously read these books separately and thoroughly enjoyed them.  I like the small-town feel, but big-time crimes.  I liked watching Zak grow in his career from a dispatcher to deputy because he was so good at getting the bad guys off the street.  The books are entertaining and difficult to predict, but not scary where they will give you nightmares.  I highly recommend this box set.