definitely, possibly, maybe

decide is a prequel novel of sorts, providing the background for the epic childhood love story that is declan and alyssa. it's about first love and lifelong dreams. and believing maybe you have to choose between them. told from declan's perspective, it's actually kind of hard to like alyssa. i haven't read the other books in this series, but her jealousy over his career choice and everything he is working hard to achieve doesn't really fit the picture of someone who loves another whole-heartedly. she's young and not always rational. neither is he. but at the end of the day, when he has to make his choice between love and his career goals, i don't blame him for his choice. this story ends on a cliffhanger and is meant to provide context for the series and future drama. the audiobook is read by stuart anderson and he does a fine job of it. i like his australian accent. **decide was released in audio on april 30, 2018. i received an advance listening...

the conclusion of the bridesmaids behaving badly series is upon us in three little words , and i think it's fair to say that gia and bennett are my favorites. i loved everything about this story. the fact that they both have deep-seated issues. the fact that they are both so totally self-aware. the fact that they fit together in a way that just makes sense even when it shouldn't. everything happens so quickly, and it's a road trip with forced proximity that heightens the emotions. but these two are so dreamy together. i loved the little details about their relationship. the polaroid shots. the hand-holding. the way she said "oh my god" about sex and his cooking. it just worked. this came together and rounded out the series perfectly. **three little words will publish on january 29, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/grand central publishing (forever0 in exchange for my honest review. 

author thomas bane has always been a little bit extra. it's what made him famous. but it's also gotten him into more trouble than not of late. and what with a morality clause, a missed deadline, and a bad case of writer's block, tommy knows he's in deep. so when he meets the book blogger who hates pretty much everything he's ever written in the opening scene of work in progress , somehow he knows that she will be the one to get him out of his mess. though not before he makes an even bigger mess. a let's get fake-married kind of mess. but when the fake marriage thing starts to feel real, amelia isn't sure she can believe that someone like thomas bane would be happy to fall in love with plain old, shy amelia. the inexperienced virgin who doesn't like talking to people. she's pretty sure that when her therapist recommended exposure therapy she didn't mean thrust yourself into a public life with paparazzi and reporters wanting to dig into your...

an outbreak of e. coli  spread by beer kegs serves as the backdrop for sleight of hand  where grumpy cdc doctor gunnar anderson and triage nurse joy oshiro are up against interagency rivalries, crazy homegrown terrorist groups, irresponsible college kids and ptsd from their own years spent in combat zones. microbiology and infectious diseases aren't what you normally expect when reading a thriller. but the author does a wonderful job of ramping up the tension and suspense even while the characters are doing mundane sounding things like collecting samples. gunnar and joy do more than collect samples. they get shot at and caught up in more than one bombing/bomb scare. but as a team they work seamlessly and their crossed boundaries feel like a natural progression and inevitable. i liked both these characters a lot, so my only complaint is that the other characters talk a lot about gunnar being unreasonable or taking careless risks, and i just didn...

dumped by his long term boyfriend, jeremy has no choice but to turn to his best friend, max in see the light . they've been friends forever, former roommates even. so of course max willingly gives jeremy a place to crash as he figures out his next steps. it's just that max has been in love with jeremy forever. and jeremy doesn't see it. he's laughed any time max has tried to voice his feelings. and max has always let it go because at least as only friends he still gets to be a part of jeremy's life. but it's impossible to ignore the tension building the more time they are alone together. and once they cross a line it will not be so easy to go back. and neither of them want to, but they also have to figure out their new normal. they have to figure out if this thing between them is the real thing and not just a matter of convenience. because if it's everything, then it's the best thing. because of course falling in love with your best friend is pe...

the opening scene is an airplane facing a hostage situation, and right away bound by danger  is upping the tension and suspense. mickey is our intrepid heroine/flight attendant and she handles the situation with the perfect blend of terror and equanimity. when the hot fbi agent who helped her handle the situation on the plane turns up on her door, her hopes of a friendly encounter are dashed when he starts questioning her about her ex. it's soon revealed that she was dating a pedophile and overall douchebag who kidnapped her goddaughter to sell her into sexual slavery.  graham doesn't actually think she's involved, but the coincidences are a bit much. his gut tells him she's innocent, but protocol recommends he be suspicious. he also is crazy attracted to her,  so his gut might not be entirely reliable. mickey proceeds to involve herself in his investigation in the most obstructive ways possible. it's actually probably a good thing that he is so attrac...

in rules of engagement   single dad lucas finds himself in a bind when his ex-wife accuses him of neglecting their daughter for a series of one night stands. the truth is he hasn't had a fling in months, because his thoughts are consumed by the one person he's sworn to never touch. katharine grace morello is his best friend's younger sister, he's known her forever and she's always been beyond his touch. except lately every time he sees her, he ends up fantasizing about what it might be like between them. when she proposes a fake engagement to get him through the court date, she corners him into saying yes. he doesn't want to take advantage, but he also wants to explore everything they might be to each other. they swear there's a deadline. but the way the chemistry burns between them, it's obvious there will never be enough time. not unless they want to take the chance on forever. but they've both been burned. and they both want more. and it...

Her fake husband is a Work In Progress … Work in Progress , an all-new romantic comedy from Staci Hart, is available now!  I never thought my first kiss would be on my wedding day. But here I stand, clutching a bouquet of pale pink roses behind the doors of a Las Vegas chapel, and at the end of the aisle is the absolute last man I imagined would be waiting for me. Thomas Bane. Bestselling author. Notorious bad boy. Savagely handsome, dark as sin, chiseled as stone. And somehow, my soon-to-be husband. Marry him, and I’ll land my dream job. Save him, and I’ll walk away with everything I’ve ever wanted. All I have to do is remember it’s all for show. None of it is real, no matter how real it feels. But first, I have to survive the kiss. And with lips like his, my heart doesn’t stand a chance. Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited! Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide Add to GoodReads ABOUT THE AUTHOR Staci has been a lot of things up to this p...

the latest flavia de luce story, the golden tresses of the dead , begins with a wedding instead of a dead body. except maybe there's a piece of a dead body? and maybe flavia's newfound detective agency with her trusty comrade in arms, dogger will soon find itself inundated with mysteries and dead bodies galore? obviously, the answer to those questions is yes. and it's just such a delight to be back at buckshaw with the irrepressible flavia. she's growing up, and has more overall empathy and a sense of propriety that wasn't always there before. but she's still hella precocious and uber intelligent and just good fun. her new partnership with dogger gives the series some direction, and instead of this being the end, it feels like a real new beginning. that unfortunate chapter at miss boodicoot's school notwithstanding, i mean, i didn't hate it, but i love flavia best when she's at home surrounded by her kooky cast of characters who we've come ...

a missing child case brings former fbi agent alec banner into asher winsome's orbit in valor . as the uncle to the kidnapped child, he's willing to do anything to get his nephew back home safely. the winsome family dynamics are challenging, to say the least, but asher connects instantly with alec, and it's something more than insta-lust. but alec doesn't give them a proper chance. incorrectly assuming that it was just heightened emotions that fueled their connection. and this assumption cuts asher deeply. when concerns about whether or not he is being targeted surface, the winsome family reaches out to alec. and alec soon finds himself jumping into shark-infested waters for another chance at getting closer to asher. he would do anything to keep him safe, and once he realizes that he's not going to stop fighting for asher at every turn. especially since it's a matter of life or death. this is another great installment in the until you series. **valor will...

when isabella knowles agrees to a blind date set up by her father, she shouldn't be surprised that the guy is military. her dad is a military guy. but so was her dead husband. and after losing him in a freak training accident she's sworn that never again. but there's something about trevor that calls to her. so when her dad dares her with a blind date bet , she decides to try again. their dates are kind of disastrous, but the chemistry is clearly there and once they stop hiding their issues, they come together in ways that make a whole lot of sense. but as ethan's deployment looms, and he comes up for reenlistment he has some tough choices to face. the problem is that he doesn't quite face them with isabella. and this causes some problems, as one might imagine. i don't want to give away the whole plot, so suffice to say that this was an enjoyable read. **blind date bet will publish on january 22, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netg...

unlocking the doctor's heart is a category romance that feels like an old school betty neels harlequin except the main characters are both men. doctor leo westbury is an up-and-coming surgeon working the transplant ward, and new hire nurse davie penrose is a distraction he both wants desperately and is afraid to give into. leo has faced loss before, and since then only meaningless flings have been his standard. when davie meets him, he's already been warned about the playboy doctor, and since he's already had a bad breakup with someone just like that he's not interested in being another notch on leo's bedpost. but they are drawn to each other. and for the longest time they keep it friendly. but one night a line is crossed. and then they are both confused about what they want. and they have some ups and downs before they figure it all out. **unlocking the doctor's heart will publish on january 21, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of ...

i already told you guys how much i loved next i n line . because it's perfect, and hilarious, and has surprising depth. but now i've had a chance to listen to erin mallon and teddy hamilton bring maggie and sam to life, and now it's even more perfect. there's something magical that happens when the narrators embody the characters so naturally. it's not like you're just hearing them read, they're performing and you can just see this story come alive. amy daws' books are some of my favorites to listen to on audio. i love reading them, but there's something special about the audiobook experience. everything is even more visceral, the emotions are deeper, the humor is funnier. there are scenes in this book where i can't stop myself from laughing out loud. and other moments where my heart is in my chest, i'm feeling all the character's angst. this is not just a must read, it's a must listen. **next in line published in audio on jan...

mcgarry's latest contemporary finds former childhood besties jesse and scarlett reconnecting after his grandmother's death. jesse is led to believe that scarlett holds the deciding vote on whether or not he keeps his family farm. he believes that he is cursed to remain on the land, that leaving the farm means terrible things for anyone he loves. years ago he cut her out of his life to protect her. but scarlett has demons of her own she's hidden. her father is emotionally and physically abusive. and her home life is lived on eggshells. but as only a breath apart  unspools, and as jesse makes amends for how he's treated her, scarlett begins to set herself free from everything tying her up. this isn't a light and breezy read. there's a little more mysticism than in her motorcycle club books or the pushing the limits series. but her characters have real-world issues and angst. their lives are hard. they are young adults who are forced to make very adult choice...

half-life finds whitney abbott moving to window, maine to work in his uncle robert's restaurant. when he gets there things are...off. when he crosses paths with griffin, his cousin november's boyfriend, he feels a connection. but he shouldn't. his whole life his cousin has been evil. and the more time he's in the house, the more he realizes that there is definitely something strange going on and that november is at the center of it. there's witchcraft and zombies and compulsion at work, and somehow whitney is immune to it. it's up to him to save griffin. this is a quick read, basically a short story, so don't expect in-depth character growth, but it's enjoyable and the tension and suspense builds up to a nice crescendo. **half-life will publish january 21, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/ninestar press in exchange for my honest review.

it's a truth universally acknowledged that when a pride & prejudice retelling publishes, i'm there to check it out. unmarriageable  is the modern pakistani take on jane austen's classic. and while at times i thought that the story hewed too closely to the source material, with the characters hitting the same beats and saying the same thing as the original, this was still an interesting take on lizzy and darcy's story. we follow the binat family as they make their way through dilipabad society encountering the binghas, the darsees and the dey baghs. (see what i'm saying here? it's almost too on the nose.) but here's the thing, if you love the original, and i certainly do, why would i complain about that? what makes this story fresh is the fact that the characters are muslim and live in pakistan. and it's actually really cool to see this culture contextualized on the page this way. unmarriageable  might not be making any huge waves from a plot p...

a while back i read the ruthless gentleman  and now it appears that there will be a second book in the series, the wrong gentleman , about hayden's brother....landon wolf.

i was lucky enough to have the opportunity to listen to deal with the devil  as well as read it (check out my full review of the story here ). i have to say i think this audiobook was perfectly cast. i just recently listened to the mount trilogy on audio and joe voiced mount and did an amazing job there. his jericho forge is just as powerful and commanding. and sexy too. as a character forge is a contrast of dark and light. he's dangerous but there's a devil may care attitude that lends itself to glimpses of humor. arden does a spectacular job of conveying this to the listener. the only quibble i have with erin mallon's india baptiste is that i feel like her english should be accented. but since march doesn't establish that india has a specific accent, it makes sense to keep her american one. i just feel like someone raised on the streets of europe would have some sort of lilt. my favorite moments of erin as indy are those ...

cam brickley of the chicago aces finally gets his turn at love. the ever-single and loving it hockey player finds love by losing a bet. he tries so hard not to, but the process of him trying to win this bet brings him so much joy. and olivia lockwood is his perfect counterpart. both of them are so similar, in so many small ways. they are hesitant to put their hearts on the line, afraid that if they try they'll fail. but the thing is, if you don't try, you won't win. so it's game on . this is officially the last book in the chicago aces series. and we get nice updates from all the characters. i love seeing chaser and jordyn again, because playing hurt  was one of my faves. cam and olivia have a similar arc to chase and jordyn, we get to see their dates and getting to know you process and i really enjoyed this part of the story. i loved how they fit together and how they understand each other. i love how they step up for one another. it was just the per...

from the opening pages of deal with the devil , you are brought right into the mind of jericho forge. he's a badass shipping magnate billionaire. he's got the looks of a pirate and the patience of a man who knows that it will be rewarded. forge is a man who does not lose. not on the poker tables. not in business. and never to bastien de vere.  india baptiste can't afford to lose. but when she inadvertently finds herself in the crossfire between forge and de vere she curses her luck. because this is life or death stuff she's dealing with, and she needs a win. but forge doesn't lose. this ride with indy and forge is worth taking. from the glittering waters of the mediterranean that surround ibiza to the poker tables at monte carlo, there is so much happening beneath the surface. deal at the devil  is the start of the ride, and all i can tell you is that it is one hell of a ride.  forge is the danger of mount, the power of karas, with a dash of titan's...

lady alice chivers is certain that the man her parents have agreed to marry her to will murder her. he's had three dead wives pass in mysterious circumstances. when she runs into philip macgregor at a  ball, she is struck by the thought that maybe he can help her escape. she wants to get to her friend, elizabet. she's married to philip's cousin, john and alice knows he can help her. but philip refuses. not because he thinks she's wrong about her prospective husband. but he just believes that she isn't prepared for a life on her own, without the comfort and security of her social standing. so she blackmails him. appropriate for a book titled how to blackmail a highlander . as a heroine, alice is feisty and stubborn and impulsive. she questions everything. and she's determined to not let people make choices that will affect her life. she's remarkably progressive and ingenious. she's also a little bit spoiled and used to getting her way and having thi...

in how to seduce a bad boy , melody bryant is a 24-year-old virgin who dresses like june cleaver and works at her local library. basically a living stereotype. after another bad date, she decides she needs to shake her image—get a makeover, get some flirtation tips, get some .  so she decides to ask her brother's old friend adam. he turned her down before so why she thinks he will say yes, is...befuddling. why she asks a guy for makeover help is also...strange. and maybe it's because he told her way back when that she should wait for someone special to do it, and she's still waiting and thinks he's plenty special. but none of it makes sense. i'm not a huge fan of these 'i must lose my virginity by x age' plots, because they seem to be so fixated on the wrong thing. and while melody's makeover and the changes she makes clearly give her more self-confidence, it's not clear that she's addressing whatever deep-seated issues caused the lack of ...

from the moment they meet in the consequences of falling , nathaniel bradley and presley rose are at odds with one another. and over the next ten years, they cross paths and that chemistry ignites in blazingly painful and awkward ways. but as angry and hurt and confused as they are about each other, it's pretty clear that there is all this want bottled up too. this story unfolds mainly through presley's perspective, though we do get moments of nathaniel's perspective too. which i actually think worked, because there were times where we did need to get a better sense of what was on nathaniel's mind. these two have quite a tangled and fraught road, and it's so worth the read. i loved the back and forth between them. that moment where they really start talking to each other and listening to what the other person has to say. not that they are very good at doing it consistently. but they get better over time. this is the perfect kind of enemies-to-lovers, where the...

tess howland makes a point of finding someone to hook up with the night of her hospital's annual fundraising gala. a divorced mom of three and picu nurse and home hospice caregiver, her daily life has her running ragged. so the one night of the year she gets to dress up as a princess she also makes sure she all out enjoys it. and she gets more than she bargained for in one night with a millionaire . miles prescott is his family's screw up. the youngest of three, he's the child with no real drive or ambition, so, for the most part, they have him making rounds on the party circuit. which is fine. he doesn't love it, but he also doesn't like to make waves. but when a sexy picu nurse catches his eye at the latest gala his mom has him attending, he has no idea what lies in store for him. they connect that first night with searing passion. and miles wants more. he's never wanted more with anyone before, but tess is that special. she's also not ready to let...

rough terrain is the seventh book in the out of uniform series, and really just another winner. navy seal renzo and smoothie-maker canaan have the best meet-cute. both have been burned, but both are really interested in seeing if that spark between them is real. when canaan asks renzo to be his plus one on a camping trip, he knows that the fake boyfriend thing might be a little much. but he's already interested in more, and when it turns out that having a navy seal with you happens to be a life-saving idea, canaan doesn't regret it. renzo has some serious hang ups about relationships, but together he and canaan work through them. what makes these books so meaningful is that these characters have to make hard choices to get to their happy ending, but when they do, it's all that more meaningful.  **rough terrain will publish january 14, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press in exchange for my ho...

for some inexplicable reason, i always enjoy a good wrong bed story. in wrong bed, right roommate  jessie needs a subletter while her roommate, talia, is away from the summer. the one they'd found just bailed on her and even though she's just starting her dream job, she's not really able to afford new york rents on her own. when talia's brother, shawn offers to take the subletter's place, it's the perfect solution. except, he has a bit of a reputation of sleeping with talia's friends and of being a screw-up who quits when things get too hard. jessie's super type-a, and isn't really interested in relying on someone so, well, unreliable. when he accidentally ends up in her bed, they scare the crap out of each other. once their heart rates return to normal, they notice other things. like how sexy the other person is. her legs, his abs—both of them end up hot and bothered.  but is a summer of fun worth jeopardizing their relationship with t...

when i picked up analiese rising  i did not re-read the blurb, consequently, i was discovering the truth about analiese alongside her. it was as much a journey for me as a reader, as it was for ana the character. i bring this up because i so rarely let myself do this. i'm the kind of person who loves a good spoiler, it never ruins my enjoyment of a story. and honestly, if it does, the truth of the matter is that i wasn't going to like the story anyway. i mean, it's totally why i haven't finished veronica roth's insurgent series, because the spoilers made me realize that to keep reading would be a waste of my time. but here the blurb actually explains what's happening in the story, and maybe i would have been a little less confused had i been in the know a bit more, but i also didn't find it irritating. brenda drake crafts a satisfying adventure here. and it's both realistically grounded and blends the paranormal elements splendidly. getting the ref...

the highland renegade continues amy jarecki's delightful lord of the highlands series about jacobite highlanders. in this latest installment, the cameron and the grant feud is put to the test, especially when miss janet cameron can't seem to stay away from laird robert grant. when they cross paths at inverlochy, they're still in denial about the deep-seated attraction that keeps their gazes locking and causes their attention to stray. but even early on it's clear that there is something between them. then robert finds himself coming to janet's rescue and is forced to take refuge with her in a nasty snowstorm. when that eventually clears, he brings her to his home, and as she settles into the household she finds herself admiring the man who happens to be her father's sworn enemy. she does her best to intervene to set things right, but pride keeps her father and robert from settling those differences and they are separated. all is not lost,...