Trigger warning for emotional, psychological and sexual abuse. Searching for Beautiful was my second pick for the RITA© Reader Challenge because it had a friends-to-lovers storyline with a runaway bride theme. What I should have checked into was whether the book is part of a series (it is, Book #3). It actually ties into another series as well, so there are lots of gratuitous pop-ins from the other books. The story opens up with heroine … Continue reading Searching for Beautiful by Jennifer Probst →
Before diving into the review, I want to give a trigger warning. This book is about spousal abuse and the emotional recovery from such abuse. There are vivid descriptions throughout the book and the heroine’s past history of abuse is so interwoven into the plot, there’s no way to avoid it. A week after finishing this book, I still haven’t made my mind up about it. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. … Continue reading Love Somebody Like You by Susan Fox →
I jumped at this book with grabby hands because of this sentence in the summary: Back in college she tied this former frat boy to the bed with her argyle socks! I mean, male bondage! Argyle socks! It’s an irresistibly charming and random combination. How could this not be fun? Unfortunately, what I got was a cliché-laden good girl-bad boy romance that is drowning in sexism. (As well as several other – isms, but let’s … Continue reading Once Kissed by Cecy Robson →
I am a big fan of regency romance, so I thought I would step out of my comfort zone a little for the RITA© Reader Challenge and read a contemporary. Well, that and I am apparently not the only fan of Regency romance so they were pretty much all spoken for by the time I got around to signing up- but I digress! I don’t usually gravitate towards contemporary romance and I have never read … Continue reading Brokedown Cowboy by Maisey Yates →
I had high hopes for this book, I really did. A widower finds love with his best friend? Sounded like my kind of story, but about ¼ of the way through it I knew that I was ONLY going to finish so that I could write this review, because I love me some SBTB. Let’s start with the good. Maisey Yates is a damn good writer. Untouched is one of my favorite contemporaries ever. She … Continue reading Brokedown Cowboy by Maisey Yates →
Redemption Bay begins with a tired but happy and cheerful woman strolling home after work. I was slightly puzzled as to who was narrating the book, though that was mostly resolved with the vague reference to “unavoidable mayoral business” over the course of her busy day at the flower and gift shop she owns. McKenzie Shaw is the Heroine of the story and Mayor of Haven Point, Idaho. McKenzie’s vitriolic reactions to meeting The Hero, … Continue reading Redemption Bay by RaeAnne Thayne →
My review takes a quasi-newspaper article type format, with each section being worth a point. Who/Why Genevieve, the Heroine: didn’t love her. I found Gen to be a largely ineffectual heroine in her dealings with her prick-weasel ex-fiancé (and with life just generally) ’til about halfway into the book. As often as the reader’s reminded of how educated and tough she is, and of how many people love and support her (her huge family, her … Continue reading Searching for Beautiful by Jennifer Probst →
Ransom Canyon is the first in the new series set in Crossroads, Texas. Even though it’s not my usual thing, I liked this book. It focuses on five people individually, two couples and one ex-convict. The conversations and inner thoughts came across as authentic, and if I ever have a cattle-rustling problem, I know what to do. This book is sweet, and non-explicit. The characters have some major back story, but the romances themselves were … Continue reading Ransom Canyon by Jodi Thomas →
This book is the third in the Bell Harbor series, but one does not need to read the first two (Crazy Little Thing and The Best Medicine) to enjoy this lovely, light-hearted, laugh-out-loud, novel. For a California girl like Delaney Masterson, Bell Harbor, Michigan—in January—was a ridiculous place to hide, which—naturally—made it the perfect place to hide from the paparazzi after her ex-boyfriend, Boyd, sells their sex tape to the tabloids. With an eighties pop … Continue reading Love Me Sweet by Tracy Brogan →
Lily Danville grew up in Cedar Ridge, Colorado, and loved hiking the mountain trails or climbing the rock faces in the summer, or skiing the challenging slopes in the winter. She was happy there, until tragedy struck and she lost half her family over the course of a few weeks. She’s never forgiven herself and wasn’t ever planning on returning. Having lost her job in a fashionable salon in San Diego and pretty much been … Continue reading Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis →
I had trouble writing this review. I first read Second Chance Summer when it first came out (summer of 2015) and had vague memories of enjoying it, but I blow through so many books when I’m at the beach that the details don’t really stick with me. I signed up to review it because I already owned the book and had a sense that I’d enjoyed it, and would therefore enjoy reading it again. Alas, … Continue reading Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis →
