I have been on a Daphne Elliot binge read and I have to say realizing this was her debut novel, it’s no wonder I’ve fallen in love with this author’s I have been on a Daphne Elliot binge read and I have to say realizing this was her debut novel, it’s no wonder I’ve fallen in love with this author’s body of work. Trusting You is an amazing small town story and Havenport is the quintessential small town filled with quirky, meddling characters you can’t help but fall in love with and I did. As much as I despise the cold, I’m ready to uproot and move there. Cecelia (CeCe) is at a crossroads in her life; having been laid off and then finding out her long term live in boyfriend has been sharing d*ck pics over various dating websites, she heads home to stay with her mom and reset. When her mom suggests she contact Liam, a childhood friend who her mom’s best friend’s son, for a job to help him with marketing and promoting his struggling brewery and brewpub, she figures it will give her some cash and get her out of the house. What she doesn’t expect is to find Liam all grown up and hotter than hot or that he knows nothing about her coming to interview for a job. However, she pitches to him and he decides to hire her also noting that she grew up quite nicely, though both do not want a relationship and are career focused, the love gods say otherwise. This was a bit of a slow burn romance and it actually worked given the nature of their working relationship and the fact CeCe was fresh out of a crappy relationship. Both Liam and CeCe had some issues from things in their past; CeCe from losing her dad in her teens and watching her mother’s grief and Liam from being burned by a form business partner and girlfriend. As they worked together to strengthen his business, their friendship grew and that turned into more. It wasn’t easy, they had some starts and stops, but I really enjoyed watching them fall head over heels for one another. Trusting You was a swoony, sexy, and sometimes frustrating romance, but I found it hard to put down and I enjoyed it immensely. ...more
I have always enjoyed this author’s work, so when a friend posted about this book I had to jump in and read it and as always from this author4.5 stars
I have always enjoyed this author’s work, so when a friend posted about this book I had to jump in and read it and as always from this author; it was amazing.
A historical of sorts taking place in 1962 when John F. Kennedy was in office and the word was swiftly changing including politics. When dutiful wife and mother and daughter to a retired Senator finds her husband cheating instead of getting mad she decides to get even. First she rids herself of her cheating husband by throwing him out of their home, next she sets out to get a job to help take care of her children and when the first one as a saleswoman doesn’t work out she decides to try something she knows, politics. Her husband works as a campaign manager for a candidate and she decides to offer up her services to the opposing candidate. This does not go over well and let’s just say things get very interesting.
Behind Every Good Man was a complex woman’s fiction story set in a very interesting time in our world and with it being set during an election cycle, it made it even more interesting considering some of the games played in this book are games that are still being played in politics today some 50 years later. ...more
Light ‘Em Up is part of Kelly Jamieson’s Bears Hockey series and also a part of the Bang Brothers, only the Bang in this book is Annie Bang, 4.5 stars
Light ‘Em Up is part of Kelly Jamieson’s Bears Hockey series and also a part of the Bang Brothers, only the Bang in this book is Annie Bang, the youngest sibling, only girl, a former pairs ice skater turned professional skating coach for the New York Bears and she’s going to have to confront Logan Coates, a man she had a fantastic 48 hours with when they both competed in the Olympics and also the man that injured one of her brothers badly in a game. Can you say awkward? Only it really wasn’t, instead it was longing glances, sizzling chemistry, and a few barbs to make it interesting.
I was immediately drawn into the story and I’ll admit I didn’t put it down until I finished; read it cover to cover and I’m not sorry in the least. I loved that they had a past they both had good memories about and that Logan was genuinely sorry about the accident that hurt her brother and swore to her it truly was an accident not intentional. Most of all I appreciated that Logan wanted to change his playing style not only because he wanted to move up from the fourth line but he didn’t really want to be an enforcer he wanted to contribute in other ways. Enter the new team owners, new coach, and his teammates to give him the courage to make those changes and not only that confront his bullying father. Watching him navigate all the feelings he had towards his father who wanted him to be a “goon” and understanding he could play the game he wanted not the one his father thought he should play was satisfying and uplifting.
Meanwhile as Annie and Logan grow closer Annie’s mom comes to town to try and get her and her former skating partner and current roommate together as a couple which leads to her confession she’s involved with Logan, the man her entire family hates.
As they both navigate their relationships with their families, they both realize how much they want each other in their life.
Kelly Jamieson once again offers up and amazing and sizzling romance. As a long time reader the icing on the cake was seeing more of the Heller brothers (the new team owners) and a mention of a Wynn in this book. ...more
One of the reasons I love Leah Braemel’s books is the characters are so relatable; characters that work hard, don’t expect everything handed 4.5 stars
One of the reasons I love Leah Braemel’s books is the characters are so relatable; characters that work hard, don’t expect everything handed to them, and just want to be able to live their life on their own terms. Pining For You features Chloe, she’s divorced and her ex did her dirty and it took help from her parents to clear her name. She retuned back to her home town and has been working as a waitress, but finds out that soon she’ll be unemployed. It also features Brad, a certified arborist who works for a small tree service company and has a heart of gold helping the elderly with jobs around their home. Following a storm, they meet at the residence of an older woman Chloe is checking on for her dad who is a property manager and Brad is there to see about a tree that fell on the property and sparks fly.
Chloe is a bit hesitant about getting involved with Brad because she doesn’t trust easy after what her ex did to her and she realizes he’s 9 years younger than her. However, he’s interested and isn’t worried about the age gap and she decides it doesn’t have to be serious it can just be fun. While she does run when she overhears Brad talking to a friend, they did talk it out and in turn she told him about her past and she was able to help him with a business venture.
These two had serious chemistry, but more than that it was easy to see they were both good people with similar values. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop.
I loved Pining For You; it was well written and held my interest from start to finish. ...more
I truly enjoyed The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey; it had the perfect amount of longing and the slow burn was necessary for this age gap, close proxiI truly enjoyed The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey; it had the perfect amount of longing and the slow burn was necessary for this age gap, close proximity, work place romance. That said, had there not been a third act break-up especially the way it played out this book would have been 5 stars. This couple overcame some big obstacles to be together and the insensitivity of the break-up was not needed and IMHO ruined the flow of their relationship and the story. Yes, I get why Ms. Bailey wrote it in as the heroine had something to prove to herself, but I think it could have been handled better. Burgess, a 37 year old single hockey player dad hires Tallulah, a 26 year old quirky marine biologist going to grad school to help with his 12 year old daughter whom he has custody of during the week. His ex-wife has the weekends along with her fiancé. His best friend and her best friend recently got engaged and he hires her without meeting her trusting their judgment. Tallulah has some baggage and after seeing a clip of Burgess in a brawl as he is an enforcer on his team she has second thoughts about taking the job but eventually decides to do it. I absolutely loved the way Tallulah came in and kind of took over Burgess’s life and made it better with his daughter Lissa and with his younger teammates. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind despite being a bit afraid of him at the start and she had very insightful advice and best of all he listened to her. He might not always agree with her but he was such a smitten kitten he did listen, he took it to heart, and he implemented it and was amazed. Burgess on the other hand offered to help Tallulah overcome her fear of doing new things brought on by the trauma she endured by being by her side while she did them. He knew she needed to know she was safe and he aimed to protect her from everything and everyone. While I wish the last third of this book had been written differently, I still enjoyed this story very much. The characters were wonderful and well developed, I loved the secondary characters as much as the main characters, and the heat between these two was sizzling off the page even before they finally got together. The Au Pair Affair was a wonderful romance from Tessa Bailey and I highly recommend it. ...more
Kickstart My Heart was a low angst romance by Lacey Black, a new to me author, and I enjoyed it. Mallory is a single mom new to town and needs a job tKickstart My Heart was a low angst romance by Lacey Black, a new to me author, and I enjoyed it. Mallory is a single mom new to town and needs a job to support her and her almost 3 year old daughter and Walker is one of four owners of Burgers & Brew and he is immediately intrigued by her, but he never crosses that line with an employee. The chemistry between them is evident from the start and I liked that because of Walker’s rules it took awhile for them to move to a physical relationship. While I did think it was strange that Mallory let Lizzie meet him and spend time with him right away, I also understood; she was in a new town and knew no one but her bosses and the people she worked with and she already realized her bosses were good men.
While Walker was all alpha male and did kind of railroad Mallory on some things, he also realized it was important to her to provide for herself and her daughter and he didn’t go all macho man insisting to pay for everything. For me that was very telling in the kind of man he was and he understood that self sufficiency was important to Mallory.
The Brew Crue (the men are all fans of Motley Crue) as the owners call themselves are an interesting bunch and I love the whole found family environment they’ve created at their restaurant and bar.
I thoroughly enjoyed Kickstart My Heart; it was sweet yet sexy and held my interest from start to finish. I can’t wait to start the next book in the series.
I’ve been waiting for Preston Shaw’s book; the somewhat uptight lawyer who has spent quite a bit of time helping the people of Freedom Valley fight inI’ve been waiting for Preston Shaw’s book; the somewhat uptight lawyer who has spent quite a bit of time helping the people of Freedom Valley fight injustices is the town’s newest resident and lawyer. What he doesn’t expect is for a woman to accuse him of scamming her out of money in the building he bought that she has a contract to open a bookstore. Paige is moving back to Freedom Valley to open a book store and to be close to her ailing grandfather who is living in a senior center. The last thing she needed was to lose the money and have no way to pay rent or keep up the payments for her grandfather’s care. So when her friend suggests she take a temporary job as Preston’s assistant, he really has no choice and the games begin.
I adored this opposites attract romance and I have to say the office pranks while not professional were quite amusing. Preston left his toxic family’s firm in Boston and he’s a bit uptight and proper and Paige is a ray of sunshine despite life not going her way at the moment. I enjoyed watching these two as they bicker and one up each other while slowing realizing how much they enjoy each other’s company. They have a connection they don’t even realize which I also loved, but most of all when Paige jumps to Preston’s defense I was seriously swooning.
Love Inn Books was funny, heartwarming, and emotional and you may need tissues. I loved it! ...more
I’m always a fan of a hook-up or one night stand trope comes back to bite the couple on the a$$, and boy does that happen big time in Obeying The OwneI’m always a fan of a hook-up or one night stand trope comes back to bite the couple on the a$$, and boy does that happen big time in Obeying The Owner. Maeve (sister of Niall from Evading the Enforcer) decides to try a dating/hook-up app after her last date stood her up and matches with James, they have three sexy and satisfying nights both wanting more until Maeve walks into her new boss’s office to find Jack, whose real name is Trey (Jack being a middle name) and they both realize that there will be no more sexy times together. With Trey being early 40’s and Maeve being 25 you’d think he’d be the one with more control, but he can’t seem to stop kissing her, reaching out to her, and even getting her to accompany him on an evening out with his 13 year old daughter. I actually loved watching them try to resist one another and not being too successful and while I’m not usually a fan of this large of an age-gap in a romance I felt Maeve was an old soul and Trey’s daughter kept him young. I really appreciated there wasn’t a lot of angst and these two communicated well. A good ending to what has been an enjoyable series, and judging by a phone call (in the book) I see a football series coming up soon!...more
Savannah Scott takes us back to the fictional Marbella Island in A Fish Out of Water. This time Ben (the hero’s best friend in Are We There Yet?) who Savannah Scott takes us back to the fictional Marbella Island in A Fish Out of Water. This time Ben (the hero’s best friend in Are We There Yet?) who has always had an easy time with the ladies, is love struck when he meets Summer his first day on the island, but summer is immune to Ben’s charm and while that confuses him, it also makes him want to know more about the beautiful girl with a prickly demeanor. While Ben is confident he can win Summer over, she’s been burned by men just like him and doesn’t plan to let that happen again. What Summer doesn’t realize is Ben is a good guy who would do anything for her. I enjoyed this book quite a lot; Ben and Summer are the perfect opposites attract couple. Ben is easy going and works hard, but plays harder. He’s thrilled with his position in the water sports department and enjoys spending time in the water and with his co-workers. Summer moved to California to be an actress and in addition to working at the same resort as Ben, she is on the island to star is a theater production. I loved that Ben fell first and had to show up and prove to Summer that he was trustworthy and decent. At first I got a bit frustrated with the way Summer treated Ben and while I do think she was transferring things that happened with other men on to him, I could also understand why she was leery. Ben was persistent but not in a creepy way and I especially loved how he supported her in all things. I liked that when outside influences tried to break them apart, it only brought them closer together. Another well thought out and entertaining story from Savannah Scott, A Fish Out of Water was a joy to read. ...more
I’ll be upfront and honest, since 2018 I have read numerous romance books set in Scotland and abo4.5 stars full review 3/27/24 www.simplylovebooks.com
I’ll be upfront and honest, since 2018 I have read numerous romance books set in Scotland and about 90% of the time I’ve been disappointed in them. 2018 was when I began planning a trip to Scotland for 2020 which was postponed to 2022 and I’m currently planning a trip for this August 2024, so I decided to give this one a go and I am so glad that I did. I was completely wowed by Alexandra Kiley’s debut novel, Kilt Trip. This one quote alone, “Sometimes we find a place we’ve never been before, but it feels like coming home.” is exactly how I felt on my first trip to Scotland. Yes, I have family history on both sides and in fact my mother’s side (English) fought my father’s side (Jacobite), and I found pictures of long ago relatives on castle walls while I was there. But for me, it was more than that as, I walked the streets of Edinburgh, traipsed through the ruins of numerous castles and cathedrals, danced in the ballroom at a castle with my husband, and visited “tourist” sites as well as those off the beaten path, it was as the country wrapped me in its arms and I knew when we left we would go back. Kilt Trip featured a local Edinburgh man whose family’s tour service is in trouble and an American woman whose company has been hired to streamline and change the tours to make them appeal to more people. Addie has ties to the country through her late mother and after one short tour with Logan she knows the country will be hard to leave and the man…well, time will tell.
While there were numerous funny moments, there were also many deep and emotional ones, and I found the pacing and development spot on. Both characters were dealing with grief – Addie the loss of her mother when she was a teenager and a father so deep in his grief he forgot he had a daughter and Logan the loss of his brothers continuing to work at the family business after he made a costly mistake and the fact the business is bleeding money. Both work through their grief as they try to one-up each other on the types of tours the company should offer, in addition Logan begins to realize that being so set in his ways about doing the same tours, he has missed some wonderful places his home country has to offer. As he helps Addie find places from photos of her mom and dad’s honeymoon, she begins to work through her feelings and he is there to offer support without trying to manage her grief for her and I loved that.
The biggest reasons for not giving this one 5 stars; I felt at times their bickering was over the top and childish. I hated how set in his ways Logan was and refused to work with Addie to change up his trips. And Addie, she was just so closed off at the start I had a hard time liking her character, but I did feel like we saw great growth throughout this book and I loved that after such a short time in Scotland and with Logan how alone she felt on her own.
As Logan with Addie along drove through many parts of Scotland, I had fond memories of the trip we took with our Edinburgh native guide. Ms. Kiley’s description of the land, the history of the castles, monuments, and Clans were all reminiscent of our time there and so very vivid it gave readers who have never been to Scotland a chance to discover it through her words.
For anyone who has been to Scotland or has dreams of going, I highly recommend Kilt Trip; it is by far one of the best romance books I’ve read set in the country and a favorite book of 2024 for me.
I really loved The Player by Felice Stevens, the story of two men who spent their teen a4.5 stars - full review coming 3/18/24 www.simplylovebooks.com
I really loved The Player by Felice Stevens, the story of two men who spent their teen and adult lives not being their true selves for various reasons. It was equally heartbreaking as it was heart-warming and watching the retired NFL player return to coach at his high school and fall for the father of one of his players who just happened to have crushed on him during high school was fantastically yummy. Ms. Stevens offers up an emotional, thoughtful, and beautifully written love story that also brings to light the bigotry, hate, and hypocritical injustices still all to prevalent in our world today.
I really loved The Player by Felice Stevens, the story of two men who spent their teen and adult lives not being their true selves for various reasons. It was equally heartbreaking as it was heart-warming and watching the retired NFL player return to coach at his high school and fall for the father of one of his players who just happened to have crushed on him during high school was fantastically yummy. Ms. Stevens offers up an emotional, thoughtful, and beautifully written love story that also brings to light the bigotry, hate, and hypocritical injustices still all to prevalent in our world today....more
After the 1st book in the series I was looking forward to this one but unfortunately it didn't work for me. Both Barrett and Wren ran from problems inAfter the 1st book in the series I was looking forward to this one but unfortunately it didn't work for me. Both Barrett and Wren ran from problems instead of facing them and the story just felt disjointed. Add in ALL the animal drama which was funny at first but then bordered on ridiculous and I struggled to finish this one. ...more
Wow, I was not expecting such a heartfelt and emotional story in Wild Ride. Don’t get me wrong, author KateFull review 3/26/24 www.simplylovebooks.com
Wow, I was not expecting such a heartfelt and emotional story in Wild Ride. Don’t get me wrong, author Kate Meader writes fantastic books always and I had my doubts about the hero in this one, but I fell head over heels for him. I appreciate the depth in this book, I enjoyed watching both characters grow and change throughout, but mostly I loved how two people who were really at different points in their lives found love when neither wanted or expected it. Wild Ride was pure magic; I was immediately swept up into this story and could not put it down. Well done Kate, well done!...more
Hot Stuff is the first book in her new Hot As Puck series and it was a smokin’ way to start off the Full review coming 2/12/24 www.simplylovebooks.com
Hot Stuff is the first book in her new Hot As Puck series and it was a smokin’ way to start off the series. This book had it all; a meet-unusual (can’t call it cute but it was something), two driven, intelligent main characters, fabulous secondary characters, an intricate plot, and best of all no big blowup leading to a “break-up” only for it to all be miraculously fixed in the last 10 pages. Seriously, Ms. Cahill gave readers an amazing first book in a series and a reason for readers to be salivating for the next one!...more
This was not an easy story; it was raw and moving and did not sugar coat the problems the neurodivergfull review posted 1/1/24 www.simplylovebooks.com
This was not an easy story; it was raw and moving and did not sugar coat the problems the neurodivergent characters dealt with on a daily basis. At times it was so brutally honest it was hard to read, yet it was also compelling and I didn’t want to put the book down. Is this a typical romance? Not by a long shot, but it is a story of two people living life with obstacles, taking control of their own destiny, and finding love along the way and I loved it very much....more
A beautiful Christmas romance made even more so by the fantastic setting; Ms. Morgan’s wo4.5 stars full review coming 12/18/23 www.simplylovebooks.com
A beautiful Christmas romance made even more so by the fantastic setting; Ms. Morgan’s words transported me to Snow Crystal Resort and despite my hate of cold, snow, and winter even I wanted to be a part of it all. ...more
I’ve been waiting for this book and this pairing since the first book in this series and author SarFull review Coming 12/21/23 www.simplylovebooks.com
I’ve been waiting for this book and this pairing since the first book in this series and author Sarah Morgan did not disappoint. Yes, at times I got frustrated with the hero and heroine, but I could also understand their reluctance to change the status of their 20+ year friendship. This book had it all; friendship, yearning, moments of maybe, finally giving in, doubt, and eventually figuring it all out. From the first chapter to the last I was invested in this couple, their complicated history, and the instances that changed their relationship. ...more
This one was okay, both hero and heroine had past trauma but dealt with it differenly. He's a billionaire, she's his housekeeper but a gifted pianist.This one was okay, both hero and heroine had past trauma but dealt with it differenly. He's a billionaire, she's his housekeeper but a gifted pianist. For me it was a bit too fairy tale like and unrealistic. It wasn't an awful book but it wasn't a great one, I had to force myself to finish. ...more
Loading...
