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Showing posts from 2019

simply an update about 2019 and this blog going forward

you all probably noticed that in 2019 i was...well, kind of a blogging disaster. life has gotten increasingly crazy, and while i mostly had time to complete all the reading, i often found it hard to find the energy to type up a review that was in any way meaningful. apologies for that, and i aim to improve this in 2020, but i'm not making any promises. other, that is, than reducing my reviewing responsibilities by a significant amount. i do still believe in it, and i want to do it, but i am going to aim to be more selective. i'm also going to continue to cover my clients' books and will always let you know when it is a client's book, both with a disclaimer and a label. there's a lot going on in the industry at the moment, and twitter is really my main time suck these days, and it takes up a lot of my energy. so again, i'm sorry if i'm a little low-energy here. i do hope to picks things back up, get back on track in 2020. but i'm making no resolutio...

seriously romantic: a cowboy never quits by cindi madsen

a cowboy never quits  finds single mother jessica cook doing everything in her power to pull her daughter chloe out of a bad situation that could send her down the wrong path. jessica knows from making mistakes as a teen, since she was only fifteen when she had chloe. the turn around ranch seems to be the perfect place to help chloe, but wade dawson, one of the owners, that they belong there is a big ask. but jessica is determined and charming and does everything she absolutely can for her daughter. in face of that kind of persistence and tenacity, wade doesn't stand a chance. in more ways than one, because he's pretty head over heels for jess early on. this story is sweet and about more than just a romance. what makes a family and what you do with second chances figures pretty heavily in the plot. and there is a subplot between chloe and one of wade's adoptive brothers that is also very sweet. **a cowboy never quits will publish on december 31, 2019. i received an ...

seriously romantic: forever my duke by olivia drake

hadrian ames, the duke of clayton, is rather the stuffy sort. raised in that very proper, stiff upper crust sort of britishy way. when natalie fanshawe's young charge stumbles into his sitting room as f orever my duke opens, he's not quite sure how to react. it all sort of just happens. and when he realizes that natalie is his long-lost cousin's guardian, he proceeds to help them to their shared destination. natalie is suspicious of all things noble and british. she has no idea how lofty a personage she is interacting with until she's obviously behaved very inappropriately, but hadrian doesn't seem to mind it. these two are just so good together. he early on realizes that what he was missing in his life was someone who could challenge his biases and natalie is just that person. i've definitely been more into contemporary romance over historical lately, but this one is very, very good. and i'm glad i had a chance to read it. **forever my duke will publ...

seriously romantic: perfect kiss by a.g. meiers

perfect kiss  is a new year's romance where detective david gallagher finally confronts his unresolved feelings for arson investigator travis sommer. it all started when travis inadvertently outed david. it was not malicious at all, merely a case of bad timing and unfortunate circumstances. when david decides to go out and enjoy new year's eve, he runs into travis, and slowly comes out of his shell and allows the attraction he'd felt at their first meeting to grow. and over the next couple of days they take their relationship to the next level, and it's a sweet story. **perfect kiss will publish december 23, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/riptide publishing in exchange for my honest review. 

seriously romantic: make your move by laura heffernan

make your move is the third book in the gamer girls series, this time the focus is on tyler and shannon. tyler has had a crush on shannon from the start, but shannon is a demisexual and doesn't feel sexual attraction without forming a deep, personal connection with her partner. this is a fact she had to explain to tyler when he misread her signals and kissed her during a friend's wedding. things between them are awkward, though most of the awkwardness stems from shannon's insecurities about her sexuality. she finds that most people don't understand what she needs, and she despairs of finding that meaningful connection she needs in order to have a fully realized relationship. when tyler moves in as her temporary roommate, they start spending more time together, and shannon learns more about him. including the fact that he's moved on and has a girlfriend who happens to be shannon's nemesis at work. things get messy as they do, and when tyler accompanies her...

surely supernatural: the enforcer by abigail owens

book 4 in the fire's edge series picks up drake chandall's story. in the enforcer , the red dragon is experiencing side effects of his premature aging due to the fact that he hasn't found his mate. when he almost fails to save a woman during a fire, he realizes he's become a liability to his team and goes rogue. the last thing he expects is to reencounter the woman he nearly failed to save. and when it becomes clear that camilla bears the mark of a dragon mate, the same mark that belongs to his high king, drake knows that has to keep her safe at all costs. as compelled as he is toward camilla, he is afraid of taking any steps that might tie her to him, he believes that there is no reversing the aging process, and he doesn't want camilla's life to be bound to his. but the connection between them is undeniable, and the fire's edge crew continues their path to a confrontation with dragon leadership over how mates are found and selected. i can't wait f...

seriously romantic: would like to meet by rachel winters

if you enjoy reading books by sophie kinsella and have run out of new ones, then would like to meet  would be a very good stand-in. it's a british rom-com, in which evie summers, our hapless heroine, who's naïveté about her boss's willingness to promote her and her tolerance of their most prominent client's bad behaviors can't help but lead her astray. the gambit here is that she is going to try to reenact famous film meet-cutes in the hopes of finding love, to prove to the nob (the poorly behaved client) that the premises of romantic comedies can work in real life. the nob is a "serious" screenwriter, and can't stand the idea of writing something he believes is unrealistic. in the process of doing this, she keeps running into a widower and his child, ben and anette. and the trio form a connection, a friendship, of sorts. but the nob is forever putting a wrench in things and evie is just silly enough to be lead astray. don't get me wrong, i...

strictly literary: reverie by ryan la sala

reverie   was pitched as inception meets the magicians, and that's probably the exact right way to describe this book. kane montgomery needs to figure out what happened that left him half-dead in a river with no recollection of how he got there. his sister is the only person who seems to be helping him. But he might have more help than he thinks, but he's not sure who he can trust. his friends? ex-friends? people he has no memory of? dr. poesy? the boy with the sea foam green eyes? who has his best interests at heart? the journey here helps us answer these questions. it's not a straight-forward journey, with leaps into the fantastical. but it's such a delightful journey to embark upon and so worth the read. it's whimsical and lyrical and utterly delightful and thought-provoking in so many ways. **reverie  will publish on december 3, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/sourcebooks fire in exchange for my honest review.

seriously romantic: a cowboy like you by donna grant

the latest in the heart of texas series, is a sweet second-chance-at-love romance for the local sheriff, danny oldman. normally, second chance stories are not my faves, but here danny and skylar never actually had a relationship go bad. it was more a they liked each other but neither ever made a move. in a cowboy like you  once danny realizes who's life he is saving in an isolated rest stop, it's like there's no holding back all the feelings. both skylar and danny try because the timing is terrible and skylar's insane, abusive ex is making their lives difficult. but when you know, you know. and both skylar and danny have wasted too much time on terrible relationships and being alone to know what it is they really want. and it's each other. all the familiar faces make an appearance here, as the east and harpers take care of their own. and at this point danny is one of the family. you can see how this series will continue, as the cast of alpha males with heart o...

seriously romantic: weekend fling by stacey lynn

trey collins didn't become a tech billionaire by sitting around and letting things happen to him. he's the kind of guy who goes after what he wants. and he wants willow park, the harried barista at the coffee shop in his building. willow has bigger fish to fry than the hot guy who keeps asking her out. her mom is suffering from long-term depression and since she's moved in with her after being cheated on and dumped by her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, they are barely making ends meet. but when trey proposes a weekend away, willow is finally tempted to take some time for herself and just enjoy a good time with a good-looking guy. (and while trey may seem like he comes on strong, he's actually clear on consent and respectful boundaries. the story makes this clear even if the description doesn't necessarily.) these two have crazy amounts of chemistry, but willow has some big, heavy stuff going on in her life. and she has a hard time accepting help (especially from a...

seriously romantic: blindsided by amy daws

mac and freya believe they have the best friendship in the whole world. the one that will prove that harry of "when harry met sally" was dead wrong when he said men and women can't be friends. but as  blindsided  unfolds, it's pretty clear that they're just going to prove him right. deeply hilarious, there were multiple moments of me laughing out loud, there are also some weighty scenes that nearly had me in tears. these characters are so hopelessly broken in so many ways, it's how fixed they are together that makes them absolutely perfect. the harrises all make appearances, and we get some updates on their ability to reproduce. but it's like catching up with old friends, and they are as always delightful. but freya and mac sparkle. the chemistry between these two, the feels. the depth of the friendship and the lines they cross means that it's going to be super, duper messy. it's as bad as when harry and sally break up, maybe even wo...

simply all about blindsided - a release blitz

Blindsided by Amy Daws is LIVE! ⚽ ️ ⚽ ️ ⚽ ️ Read Now in Kindle Unlimited: https://geni.us/Blindsided ABOUT THE BOOK What happens when an almost thirty-year-old virgin agrees to let her Scottish footballer best friend give her some lessons in seduction? Lots of banter, awkwardness, jealousy, and heat. Midfielder Maclay “Mac” Logan is a loud-mouthed, tattooed ginger content with focusing on football. But when an adorably-freckled seamstress comes barreling into his life, he finds Netflix-And-Bickering with her to be his new favorite pastime. Freya Cook is used to being the invisible woman with a needle and thread, offering cheeky punchlines as she helps dress London’s finest. She’s plus-sized in body and spirit, and other than her friendship with Mac, talking to the opposite sex is one skill she never mastered. However, after one innocent game of Never Have I Ever , Mac offers to play Love Coach for Freya. What nei...