definitely, possibly, maybe

cat turner is humiliated and hurt and possibly heartbroken, though mostly he feels vengeful when we first encounter her in the heartbreak cure . when alex locke brings her brownies she realizes that everyone in town knows. there will be no keeping it from the editor of the school paper and this will jeopardize all her journalistic endeavors. so she comes up with a plan and suddenly alex finds himself agreeing to be her fake boyfriend. he’s half in love with her already, but she is completely oblivious even as she crushes on him right back. and so, i'm a total sucker for a fake relationship story. and here these two are so sweet together. alex really struggles with his self-worth. he's got a really rough childhood to contend with and tries to live his life out by doing the opposite of what his parents did. they were awful people. and he nearly got sucked into their world, but he pulled himself out. and he doesn't see the strength and the goodness in himself, but cat ...

if you haven't read any of it before catch up from the beginning at the links:    1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14 ,  15 ,  16 ,  17 ,  18 ,  19 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  29 ,  30 ,   31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37 ,  38 ,  39 ,  40 ,  41 ,  42 ,  43 ,  44 ,  45 ,  46 , and 47 . there's only 5 more parts left. part 48 continues after the jump...

the third installment in the affair series really reminded me of a margaret way book. i swear annie seaton is channeling the authors of my grandmother's harlequin romances. in this one, the city slicker meets crocodile dundee plot was so familiar, and yet also it's so enjoyable. in outback affair , alex richards is keeping a lot of secrets. and finding food journalist jessica trent blocking his path and learning that she's looking to interview is secret alter ego has him scrambling to gain control of the situation. at first he plans to teach her a lesson about lying, but eventually, he realizes that he's being a big, old hypocrite. as they spend time together on the road to cockatoo springs, a resort in the midst of the australian outback, alex realizes that he's underestimated her. she's not the spoiled princess he judged her to be. and the fact that he's lying to her only makes it worse, because when she does find out it's totally going...

when brianna decides to propose a fake engagement to her seatmate on her flight to rome she has no idea that he'll take her seriously. it's not entirely clear why he does. except maybe that it was previously established that tomas richards was dying to be married? there's a lot you need to suspend disbelief on in the italian affair . but at the very least tom and bri don't run the extreme gamut of love-hate the way nick and lissy did in the previous book in this series. i did like seeing how tom and bri get close to one another, and we were able to see their relationship deepen and change. and when they are apart briefly, it's not a misunderstanding, it's just fear that they need to overcome, and the answer to fixing that is to believe. and so as improbable as everything that happens to get them where they are is, it's enjoyable and well-plotted and these two work together in a way that lets you forget about sweating all the details. again, this wh...

the holiday affair  reminds me of my grandmother's harlequin romances. and it's not the fast-paced story, or the exotic locale, or even the off screen sex scenes. no, what made me think of my grandmother's harlequin romances was the fact that the main characters are completely, utterly irrational people. nick and lissy need meds you guys, because they both had crazy mood swings even while in the middle of a conversation where no controversy should occur. one second they are all hot and bothered for each other and the next they hate each other's guts. reading this novel was a roller coaster, because these two had so many ups and downs, and it's actually not that long a novel, so there were a lot of back-and-forth crammed into the pages. mostly it felt like they couldn't sit through a conversation and really listen to what the other person was saying, and while i understand people can be emotional and reactionary, nick and lissy took it to an extreme. it w...

american heiress daisy bumgarten only knows one thing. she needs to take london society by storm, marry a duke, and go back to new york to rub mrs. vanderbilt's face in it. as a good day to marry a duke  begins, she is scandalizing new york society with her brazen, tomboyish ways. the fact that she is comfortable with men branding her a hussy, even if she's done nothing wrong. and this reputation not only ruins her chances, but also the chances of her sisters marrying advantageously. in order to redeem herself, she takes two years to earn proper society polish and launches herself into the london high society scene. the duke of meridian is the perfect target for daisy's matrimonial machinations, especially as it appears his estate is facing financial trouble. arthur is also socially awkward and oblivious to most things other than bugs. he is an avid lepidopterist and has never noticed people over butterflies. but this changes with daisy. and when arthur's scape...

sometimes giving love a second chance is what you need to soothe what ails you. as the bachelor contract opens brant's family is convinced that he needs to settle things with his ex-wife, nikki, and either talk things out and close that chapter of his life or start over. but the drugs and the alcohol and the women who don't matter needs to stop. so when brant is challenged by nadine titus to take on management of a luxury resort and spa he signs the papers without a second thought. of course, once he is at the resort he finds himself in nikki's path. at first, they are both too angry, too hurt to really understand what happened between them. there is so much pain, and loss, and grief they need to work through. they were young and alone and when they lost the ability to trust each other. they lost their way. rebuilding that trust isn't an easy thing. brant, in particular, has done some pretty horrid things, but he loves her. and she loves him. and because of tha...

the third installment of the bachelor brotherhood series finds matt osborn running into the one woman who got away and broke his heart. anna fischer, now annaliese robbins, is a mom of a sweet five-year-old boy who happens to be best friends with matt's five-year-old nephew, ethan. while their initial encounter is less than warm and fuzzy, the more time matt and anna spend together it's clear that the spark between them hasn't fizzled out even with time and distance. in spite of everything, anna is still the one for matt. and one of the things that i love about this in always you  is that his feelings are never in doubt. neither are hers. she loves matt, she always has, but life is complicated. and there are plenty of obstacles and reasons to keep them apart. but matt let anna go without a fight once before, and he's spent twelve years regretting it. this time, he's going to pull out all the stops. he wants, no, he needs anna in his life. that's the o...

falling for mr. wright finds sarah leonard begging her best friend ryan wright for help in getting her boss, logan to finally notice her as a potential dating partner. sarah is looking for love, and logan seems like he is ready to settle down. this would be the perfect plan, since ryan and logan happen to be childhood friends too. but ryan is hopelessly in love with sarah, and has no idea how to tell her how he feels. the only way ryan can think to try and change sarah's mind is by spending more time with her. he brings her with him to his high school reunion, partly to serve as a buffer between him and his ex-fiancée and partly to let her see another side of him. and it works, to a degree, but both of them are afraid to admit their real feelings as they fear rejection. on the one hand it's frustrating, because they keep willfully misinterpreting each other when they want the same thing. but it's also a highly entertaining romantic comedy, and ryan i...

the bookworm and the beast is a contemporary holiday retelling of beauty and the beast . for not being my favorite fairy tale, it proves to be one that is easily adaptable to modern times. in this story, our beast is played by reclusive children's book author, derek croft while the beauty, or bookworm, is librarian izzy stevens, who has arrived at derek's home to serve as a temporary assistant while his staff is on holiday. at first derek is unwelcoming and does his best to get rid of izzy. but when his stepmother threatens to bring another potential love match to their family christmas dinner, he begs izzy to stay. izzy is only working to earn extra money to pay for her grandmother's retirement home facility, and even though derek has been a beast to work for, she can't turn down his offer of extra cash. lying doesn't sit well with izzy, but soon enough the lie starts to feel like truth. as derek and izzy spend time together and start to let do...

sarah collins was only supposed to be the courier, dropping off key pieces of intel to strategically placed assets across asia under the cover of her job as a water resources manager. when she is burned on the way to a drop she is out of her element in these spy games . rand duncan served his country until a mistake in battle left his best friend with only one hand. the crushing guilt has him leave everyone behind, and he joins the cia as a covert operative. little does he know that his path has crossed sarah's. she's the younger sister of rand's best friend, the one girl he's always loved but never thought he could have. faced with unparalleled danger, both rand and sarah's lives are at stake. they can't trust anyone, especially given that there is a mole in the cia's ranks. forced to work together, rand and sarah have to deal with old hurts and an inconvenient attraction that burns hot even as they must evade international spies intent on bringing t...

in order to get the story that will launch her career as a serious journalist, darcy delacorte agrees to spend a week in the with reclusive millionaire micah lane. previously known as a playboy, he's retired from society since his abduction and subsequent disfigurement by a group of columbian drug traffickers. both darcy and micah are hiding plenty of secrets between them. the only way micah agrees to open up is if darcy answers his questions in turn. why he wants to know about darcy, he's not sure. but he sees something in her, and wants to know if he can trust it. he's found himself used and taken advantage one time too many. but darcy wins him over. and the more time they spend together, micah proves himself to be the nightingale  she'd stopped looking for. **nightingale will publish on november 27, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (amara) in exchange for my honest review.

when samantha hutchinson finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time in witness in the dark , she doesn't expect her honesty to put her life in danger. but doing the right thing puts her in the crosshairs of some powerful people who have no scruples when it comes to silencing her permanently. if deputy marshal garrett mckendrick has anything to say about it, she will stay safe and protected from all harm, even if it means his life is forfeit. the attraction and relationship that sparks up between sam and garrett is both instant and slow-burning. the attraction is there from the first moment they meet, but how their relationship builds on that attraction to become something deep and meaningful is just perfectly done. there's action and suspense and twists and turns aplenty. and the chemistry between these two leads is so hot. i just loved this one. **witness in the dark will publish on november 27, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy o...

we're close to the end of this story, if you haven't read any of it before catch up from the beginning at the links:    1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14 ,  15 ,  16 ,  17 ,  18 ,  19 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  29 ,  30 ,   31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37 ,  38 ,  39 ,  40 ,  41 ,  42 ,  43 ,  44 ,  45 , and 46 . part 47 continues after the jump...

every time i see mr. phillips i think of him as dr. charles percy who so ignominiously died in the active shooter episode of grey's anatomy . i guess his thing is ignominiously dying, because the black hood gets to him too. as the sugarman, he was spreading sin in riverdale, so serial killer justice prevails. i'm about ready to learn the black hood's identity. allegedly it's someone we'll recognize. or at least it's someone who betty knows. i just worry that the reveal is going to be something of a letdown. especially given the mind games the black hood has been playing with betty. and let's talk about the breakup. betty and jughead start out the episode on the outs but are reunited by the end of the episode. the thing is we have jughead's makeout session with toni topaz as a looming secret between them. it better not become the "we were on a break" of riverdale  because i might lose it. jughead and betty are better characters than ross ...

in book 2 of the highland hearts series, lady evelyn's highland protector , the aforementioned lady evelyn hunt has never purposely sought scandal. but after her betrothed left her at the altar and ruined her repuation with spurious lies it seems to have a way of finding her. when she takes a berak from a bridal party shopping spree and enters a local bookstore, the last thing she expects is to be the key witness to murder and the one person who can reveal the truth about where some ancient scottish heirlooms are hidden. not that she realizes any of this. gerard mcmasters was chasing down a heartless murderer. he finally had her in his sights only to find himself momentarily distracted by lady evelyn. that slight delay is all it took for his quarry to slip by him. knowing that lady evelyn will be the infamous mrs. smythe's next target, gerard isn't surprised to learn that he is being cast as her bodyguard. lady evelyn is wary of him but also intrigued. she...

in highland redemption . skye macdonald and brodie cameron have loved each other since they were children. but when skye's father died and brodie was no where to be found, she believed the worst. finding sanctuary with her uncle she refused to see brodie again, instead choosing to believe the stories of his drunkenness and womanizing as evidence that he never loved her. in her defense, she was young and scared and brodie wasn't there. but it's also not at all true. brodie was away at that time working for the royalist government, as a spy he had missions that required him to be away, but he never would have abandoned skye had he known of her need. he did try to get her back. the feelings they have for each other are still there when they reconnect. even though years have passed since they were last together, it's as if no time at all has gone by. their love is still this unviolable, unmovable force. even as they sort through the misunderstandings and the guilt the...

the sequel to an earl for an archeress , t he maiden's defender  picks up on teàrlach macgregor's feeling for lady madeline crawford and gives them a chance to grow and blossom into something deep and meaningful and able to withstand any trial. when teàrlach discovers maddie at the bottom of a ravine he is incensed to realize that she is being neglected by her guardian. having previously witnessed her father's abuse and neglect of her and her sister, teàrlach is unwilling to stand by and see her suffer any longer. and so he takes it upon himself to care for her, even as he realizes that this friendship can't go any further than that. but you can't control who you love. and teàrlach was already half in love with maddie before he ever saw her again. and spending time with her now only strengthens the depth of his feelings for her. he would lay down his life for her in a heartbeat, give up anything to save her from injury. the only thing he cannot force himself t...

the third brides of beadwell novel, the chase , opens when julianna crawford begs michael rosevear for a ride to london. and he is intrigued enough to say yes. at the very least she'll provide a distraction from an old war injury that troubles him when he is forced to travel. he is on his way to london to meet the woman his father has picked out for him. an heiress who will line his father's coffers and a marriage that he hopes he can use to get his father to sign over the property he's rehabilitated to his name. julianna is escaping her abusive father and seeking out the inheritance she is due to receive from her mother's family when she turns 25. she hopes to get to london and find passage on a ship to boston and settle there. however, she keeps her plans to herself. she's certain her father will do everything in his power to thwart her. and she's not sure she can trust any man, even michael, because though he is kind, he also has some pretty out...

the first book in the brits in manhattan series finds high-powered manhattan attorney, drew harrington crossing paths with british patisserie chef becky fletcher. in balancing the scales , the theme of work-life balance pervades the story. both drew and becky are dedicated to their careers, but they also find a way to make their romance work. the real problem between them is that they both hold back a piece of themselves. drew isn't sure he should take time away from work when he has name partnership in his sights. it's the one goal he's spent his entire professional career working toward and becky is a huge distraction. though the truth is, if he just accepted that they were in a relationship, if he were able to be honest with her about what he wants, then he wouldn't spend so much time obsessing about her. what becky holds back is actually pretty major. i'm not going to spoil it here. she has very valid reasons for making the choices she does, ...

the blood and silver series continues with  maid of ice .   finley ryder knows that the accident that nearly kills him is no accident. but he can’t prove it. he can’t explain to others how he survived. how his magic kept him safe. when he meets alina nyx in the hospital, he senses she might be like him. even though she appears to be human. but he’s uncertain and the albah live in secrecy.   alina is drawn to finley too. there’s something between them that sparks and sizzles. she doesn’t want anything serious, and yet from the get-go there is clearly something more happening between them.  when finley confronts alina about her water magic she is stunned to realize that’s what it is. her whole life her mother had hidden this from her. she went out of her way to avid teaching alina about her magic, about their people.  with finley she learns that things for the albah are changing. but when finley’s life is threatened, the choices that must be made a...

tor avana isn't looking for anything when his gaze catches on marnie cruz as she watches him tattoo in the window of the wicked brand tattoo parlor. he instinctively knows that she wants something from him. but is it just a tattoo or something more? in wicked seduction , marnie is still recovering from an abusive relationship. actually, she's recovering from two abusive relationships. the first one with her father, who physically and emotionally abused her mother and then on one terrible night nearly killed marnie. that encounter left her with some horrific scars and what she wants is to cover them over with a tattoo, she needs to erase the ugliness on her skin with art.  but spending time with tor has her feeling the very butterflies he intends to tattoo on her skin in her stomach. there is an awareness that crackles between them and when she realizes that tor is a man she can truet. a man unlike her father. a man unlike her ex, ethan. so giv...

the big, bad billionaire continues the billionaire series with a retelling of little red riding hood . i would have never thought that there was so much romantic possibility to mine from this story, but this is the second time i've read a retelling and loved it. i think part of it is that little red riding hood may be little, may be young, but she is strong. she's fascinated by the wolf but isn't entirely taken in by him. and that's true here. rafael de santis has been pushed away and neglected by his family for being wild and out of control. literally given over to an abusive grandfather and forgotten. and from the shadows he orchestrates his return and his revenge. but he's never forgotten ella hart. a small child when he was sent away, she'd always sought him out. and even then he loved and protected her. time changes her feelings, but not his. hers are influenced by her parents' distrust of rafael. but when he sees her dance not long after his re...

i really enjoyed talk british to me , which was the first book in this series. in lips close to mine  we get to spend time with mateo and teague's best friends, levi and harper. and these two are the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. they have some pretty serious emotional baggage and their angst is real and understandable and just ups all the feels. i loved, loved, loved these two together. levi is seriously a total sweetheart. the way he consistently puts harper, his family, the commitments he makes first is just so dreamy. this guy is so swoonworthy. like, even the whole bet thing with elliot, while stupid, did not detract from what a perfect guy he was. because from the moment he was goaded into taking the bet, he didn't actually want to win it. he only always wanted harper. harper is prickly and her defense mechanisms make it hard for her to open up and trust others. seeing how levi draws her out of her shell, how he gives her the strength and power to face ...

you can catch up from the beginning at the links:    1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14 ,  15 ,  16 ,  17 ,  18 ,  19 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  29 ,  30 ,   31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37 ,  38 ,  39 ,  40 ,  41 ,  42 ,  43 ,  44 , and 45 . part 46 continues after the jump...

gillian macleod is a quiet girl, surrounded by eleven opinionated sisters she's always let herself fade into the background in  enchanted by the highlander . they are loud and boisterous and don't hesitate to talk over her opinions and for gillian the path of least resistance is easiest. at least that way life is comfortable. and when she's alone she does what she wants. when she sets eyes on john erly she is enthralled by him. but everyone makes it clear that he is not for her. he's an englishman, a man who has been cast off from his family and has made his way with nothing. he's also a flirt. and gillian is warned that as a rogue he'd do nothing more than seduce her and break her heart. but gillian sees who john really is. kind and generous. loyal and honorable. and unlike so many others, he sees her. he sees her beauty and knows what she likes. she isn't in the background in his eyes. and it's liberating to be seen for herself. and john is fas...

the first book in mcgoldrick's pennington series, romancing the scot , finds hugh, viscount greysteil opening a box he expects to contain a new basket for his hot air balloon only to discover a young woman trapped and nearly dead at the bottom of it. he takes her in and with the help of his sister and his staff nurses her back to health. when grace awakens and realizes where she is, she is afraid to reveal herself fully. her father was a supporter of napoleon. by all rights and purposes she is considered a traitor to the english crown, and as a high justice of the court, hugh would have no choice but to sentence her. so she feigns amnesia. but as she learns more about him, and as the intrigue surrounding her draws near, she finds it more and more difficult to hide from hugh. she is drawn to him. his compassion, his kindness,  and his fair-mindedness are an incredible draw. and then there is the pull of his physical presence. a flame of attraction she's nev...

well, i mean, riverdale  has always been dark. but this is threat level midnight shit. it's not just how the black hood forces betty to isolate herself, sending her down a dark and lonely path. jughead is doing the same thing. they are both making choices for the greater good, but at a terrible personal cost. betty is an eternal optimist, even in her darkest moments, so she still holds hope that once the threat is passed that there will be a way to walk things back. that somehow she and jughead can pick things up again. but she fails to take into account that when all is said and done, jughead and betty will both be irrevocably changed by the decisions they've taken. jughead is a south side serpent. it's the family legacy he's shunned for so long, but one that was unavoidable. in this alice cooper is right, and as we find out in this episode, she knows better than anyone what it means to be a south sider. her militancy has more to do with the fear that her daught...

criminal attorney jaxon bentley sees something in scarlett reyes the moment she steps into his office. he just can't put his finger on it. his gut tells him one thing, that despite appearances she is innocent of the crime she's accused of. actually make that two things, because no matter how badly it looks for her, he's going to make sure she's cleared of all the charges. he just has to make sure he crosses no line while doing any of this, because he's never been so tempted by a client before. in seducing the defendant , the case itself is actually resolved in the first third of the novel. it all happens pretty straightforwardly, and then jaxon and scarlett give into their crazy attraction to each other. i enjoyed this novel, but it meanders for a while. you have a nice long view of the life that jaxon and scarlett are building together and you get to really know all their friends and connections. and it's really nice, but also it's possible tha...

when nash rushes into a back allley to save nixie from two thugs in the opening pages of  deal breaker he has no idea that his previously well-ordered life was about to change. sixteen years ago september 11th changed his life, and the life of every new yorker. it changed nixie's life too, her parents lost in the collapsing towers. while nash may not have actually lost his brother that day, it was the last time his family was whole. and when wyatt died overseas serving in the military he'd been inspired to enlist in when the twin towers collapsed, it was an extension of that tragedy. saving nixie shatters nash's reserve. for the first time in a long time he can't stop thinking of someone or something other than his business. he sees someone vulnerable in nixie, and he wants to protect her, keep her whole. even at times keep her from him, because that will guarantee she doesn't get hurt. but the pull between them is more than that. yes, he wants to save her, but...

a lifetime of wishes written on stars finally brings cameron and everett together in wish you were mine   after years of misunderstandings and missed opportunities and holding back keeps them apart. they had been best friends, along with aiden, they were the three musketeers. but cameron and everett loved each other best, they just never got around to telling each other that. when aiden tries to spark something by telling everett he's asking cameron out, he unintentionally sends everett away. where he spends years working with doctors without borders, avoiding cameron completely. she doesn't understand why he's cut her out of his life. she only knows that something is missing. but everett believes that aiden and cameron are happy together and knows that he couldn't stay in town and watch that. it's a mess. they are so in love with each other they can't see that the other person is actually in love with them. it takes a long time for the...

omg.  omg. omg. omg. if the cliffhanger at the end of ruthless king was something, the cliffhanger at the end of defiant queen is everything. i'm going to die waiting for the conclusion of this series. seriously. this is like season finale of lost and now i have to wait all summer type levels of cliffhanger angst.  but it’s so good. it’s the cliffhanger i need even if it’s also one i dread. defiant queen just took all the glorious angst and anger and passion and grit and joy and lust and feeling in ruthless king and multiplied it by a thousand percent. lachlan mount is complicated and bad to the bone and yet there’s this curious vulnerability that makes him so undeniably compelling. he does all these terrible, very bad, no good things and still you root for him.  keira and mount are starting to let down their walls and the potential that bubbles up between them is almost too perfect to behold. you ache for them when they are in a room together, because what they fe...

twisted truths  brings the blood brothers series to a thrilling conclusion. dr. madison and sheriff cobb continue their quest to hunt down the genetically blessed soldiers she created in a lab, and they combine the quest to save denver's ex's adopted child from a black market auction with tracking down madison and cobb and finally eliminating the threat they've lived with for far too long. there's a lot going on. but the most important thing is probably the fact that noni has dropped back into denver's life. he gave her up in order to protect her. he gave her up for his brothers. but now that she's back, he's not sure he can let her go. but he's also not sure where the quest to destroy madison and cobb will take him. there are twists and turns and revelations. and there's some really steamy make up sex for denver and noni. and where this ends may have been scripted in the stars, but it is entirely satisfying. **twisted truths will publish on...