Review: Brutal Billionaire by Laurelin Paige

March 22, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

BRUTAL BILLIONAIRE
Series: Brutal Billionaires #1
Author: Laurelin Paige
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 22, 2023

He’ll get what he wants—even if I’m already taken.

Holt Sebastian is royalty in our world.

As CEO of the Sebastian News Corp, he’s the man with all the power. The man who decides if I’ll always just be a local television anchor or if I’ll be the rising star of my own show.

I make it my mission to be noticed. Make him see my potential. But soon, it’s clear he’s the one in charge.

His possessiveness is brutal.

His eyes own everything they touch. I feel his gaze on me when he’s in the room. The heat of them as they rake down my body, taking me in, marking me as his. He doesn’t just want me on the screen—he wants me in his bed.

And Holt Sebastian gets what he wants.

No one will stop him, no one will get in his way.

No one can protect me from his desire.

Not even the man who promised nothing would come between us and his ambition—my husband.

Laurelin Paige delivers a twist on Indecent Proposal in this billionaire workplace standalone romance featuring elements of fake relationship, marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, and a new alphahole readers will love to hate.

AMAZON

I don’t know what pisses me off more—his amusement or his abs. Either way, the curse slips from my lips without thinking. “Fuck you.”
“I’d love that.” He winks. “But first, how about some wine?”

Well, wasn’t this just the yummiest start to what’s sure to be a fire series!

I love Laurelin’s brand of alpha holes, and Holt Sebastian had me in a chokehold the very second he appeared on the page.

There has to be something you care about.”
“I care about getting you off and making you feel morally uncomfortable about it when you do.”

Brystin is a local journalist who dreams of having her own show one day. She’s lived and breathed her work, but never expected herbage shot to be at a cost she wasn’t aware she was prepared to pay.

Holt has spent his entire life trying to prove his worth to his father. And he has spent his entire adult life trying to show him he can run a successful network. The second he lays eyes on Brystin, he wants her, but not just for a show. So he proposes an arrangement; her body for his network contract.

Never has my feminism left my body so quick then when this indecent proposal took place. And while Brystin is married, it’s a marriage in name only. So if you’re worried about the cheating element, it wasn’t much of one. Then again, I’m not a reader who minds affairs or cheating, so I suppose I’m the wrong pulse check for those of you who do. But I digress.

I loved Brystin. You would think that a woman who essentially sells herself to get what she wants wouldn’t be as strong willed and fiercely independent, but she was so much more. She made Holt work for it and by the final 20% I couldn’t be rooting for her any harder. I loved how she took her life in her hands and did what she knew had to be done and was right. This is a girl’s girl and I loved that about her.

Holt is your typical no entanglements sort of man. He goes for married women because he knows there’s little risk of hearts being involved. But he was sorely unprepared for the effect that Brystin would have. The chemistry between them was incendiary. They simply burned up the pages together. And that grovel at the end? *chefs kiss* Sheer perfection.

I devoured this book and already dying for my next fix in this series.

With millions of books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. 

When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Killing Eve or Letterkenny, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio. 

She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.

Connect w/Laurelin:

Facebook | Amazon | Bookbub | Instagram | Facebook Fan Group | Website | TikTok

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Review: Rogue by Elle Kennedy

March 16, 2023 by · 4 Comments

ROGUE
Series: Prep #2
Genre: New Adult Romance
Author: Elle Kennedy
Release Date: March 7, 2023

From New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy comes the return to Sandover Prep, where secrets lurk in the dark and no one is safe when they come into the light.

It’s been a long time since Casey Tresscott has felt like her life was her own. After the car accident that nearly cost her everything, she’s used to her family’s coddling and the relentless whispers at school, no matter how much they sting. After all, she’s found a safe harbor in her budding relationship with Sandover’s golden boy, Fenn Bishop…or so she thinks.

Beneath Fenn’s pretty, party-boy surface is a dangerous truth about the night Casey almost died. He thought lying to her was the right thing to do, but when the secret shakes loose, he just might lose her for good.

Because Casey is done being taken advantage of.

Grasping for the control she’s been missing, Casey finally snaps—telling off her bullies, gallivanting with rebels and playboys, and shirking her headmaster father’s strict curfews, despite the consequences. A desperate Fenn must ally with his stepbrother RJ and the other Sandover delinquents to uncover the full story of Casey’s accident and the ones responsible if he hopes to win her back.

But what happens if Casey is no longer the same girl he first fell for? Is there any hope for their future if she’s gone rogue for good?

AMAZON

I blink back the moisture coating my lashes. “Why’d it have to be you?” His answer is a kiss.

I have sat on my review for days, completely torn in how to rate this. As much as I loved Misfit, it pains me to admit that I struggled immensely with the second installment.

First, if you’re planning to read this as a standalone, stop right there. While each book is a new couple, the story arc continues throughout the series, as well as some character arcs. Rogue was similar to Misfit in which you get primarily the main characters POV in addition to some secondary characters.

Now as for my rating, this was tough. While I liked the drama and enjoyed the mystery of Casey’s accident unfold, the romance was completely lackluster. Honestly, I’d go so far as to say I didn’t really feel this was a romance at all. While I rooted for Casey and Fenn in book one, the second half of this book had me feeling no sort of way about them at all.

The jaw dropping ending of Misfit revealed a small snippet into Casey’s accident, and the entirety of this book is focused on the fall out and the further revelations. We also see Casey take a total personality change. She goes from quiet, demure, and timidly non confrontational to a total ball buster. I didn’t hate it, and loved seeing her finally stand up for herself. But it was also so sudden and such a 180, it was hard to buy it at times too.

RJ and Sloane took a turn too. There was a certain thing that Sloane convinces RJ to do that had me seriously judging him and how much he chess to his girlfriend’s dramatic flare. As for Sloane, I absolutely LOATHED her in this book. She became intolerable and I really hope we get some redeeming features for her in the next book.

As for Casey and Fenn? I was so disappointed with the romance of this book, I’m still mad. There was a particular event, which I won’t spoil, but it seriously ruined any semblance of romance between them. I understand that Casey was mad, but the decision that she made was just…UGH. I hated it. This was even more disappointing by the fact I felt more chemistry with Lawson and Casey than with Fenn. I didn’t understand why this had to happen. It felt unnecessary and outside of additional fallout, didn’t do much in driving the plot forward. It could have been the same effect had the decision not been as extreme as it was.

Sadly, this book took me 7 days to finish and when I was marinating on my rating, I understood there was more things I disliked than enjoyed. So while the story kept me entertained, the characters frustrated me to no end and the romance was almost non existent. I’m really hoping books three turns things around for me because I’m still super invested in this series.


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Review: A Stop In Time by RC Boldt

February 21, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

A STOP IN TIME
Genre: Romantic Suspense, PNR
Author: RC Boldt
Release Date: February 21,  2023

I’ve been an outcast my whole life. If my scars don’t scare people away, my attitude certainly will.

I don’t know what I am or how I got the power to stop time. What I do know is, there are far too many questions I need answers to.

When I cross paths with a local gang member, his presence unravels a part of my past I never knew existed.

At every turn, danger leaps closer, and I realize that stopping the killer will mean losing everything—including the first man I’ve ever loved.

But I should’ve known better. We were never meant to be anything more than a brief stop in time.

AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY

 

Damn him. No man has ever made me want to punch him in the junk while simultaneously turning me on.

I have been obsessed with RC Boldt’s romantic suspense for years. There’s just something about her stories that immediately grab me and suck me right in. But this new world that she created that combines a spark of paranormal with the suspense? I cannot get enough.

While this book shows to be a standalone (and it is), you’d do yourself a favor by reading Beyond My Darkness first. While each book is a standalone, they are set in the same world, and you get the introduction to each character throughout the series. We get introduced to Daniel Madrano in Beyond My Darkness as a secondary character, best friend and second in command to the notorious leader of the gang, Scorpions. We also get a sneak peek into the beginning of his journey at the end.

I’m not gonna sugarcoat this for you; I’m losing my patience with you, Danny.”
The edges of his mouth twitch. “It’s Daniel.”

When Daniel’s sister gets violently murdered, he’s left desperate for answers and vengeance. The final words shared with him through the help of his friend’s woman who speaks with the dead helps guide him in a vague direction with nothing but a name…Mac.

The way this book is written reminded me a bit of the movie Memento. Not in the way that it goes backwards, but there’s a vein of intrigue there that I also felt with the movie. Mac suffers black out episodes where she wakes not remembering anything that happened. She’s left deeply scarred from a traumatic event that skirts the edges of her memory, but never making themselves knows. She finds mysterious notes that hint at the truth and written in her own handwriting but she has no idea what it means. Desperate for answers of her own, she undergoes hypnosis therapy in her search for answers. But the answers are more troubling than she suspects.

Suddenly, Daniel ends up at her door with questions that she doesn’t have answers to. But something about him draws her in. Mac is not a woman that wants a relationship, and Daniel has never sought one out himself. And yet they’re drawn to each other like moths to a flame. But neither of them are prepared for the incendiary flame that the truth will bring.

I binge read this book as desperate for answers as these characters. It was magnetic, suspenseful, mysterious, and completely captivating. You know those books that seem to be like a movie reel behind your eyes as you read them? This was definitely it. Spine tingling good and unputdownable. Everything about it worked; the story, the romance, the chemistry, the mystery, and the jaw dropping ending. I was a woman obsessed. Now I’m desperately hoping we get a mysterious someone’s book next because OH MY GOD!

RC Boldt is a USA Today bestselling author currently living in part of the Costa Rican jungle with the love of her life and her mini-me.

If you’re in the mood for some killer mojitos or can’t recall the lyrics to a particular 80s song, she’s your girl.

Connect with RC Boldt 

Website: http://www.rcboldtbooks.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14543027.R_C_Boldt

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Kq1H9C

Facebook: http://bit.ly/RCBoldtFB

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BBBReaders/

Instagram: http://bit.ly/RCBoldtIG

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/RCBoldtBB

Verve: https://bit.ly/3jEf18z

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DGRFave & Review: Powerless by Elsie Silver

February 10, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

POWERLESS
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Chestnut Springs #3
Author: Elsie Silver
Release Date: February 10, 2023

Two childhood friends. Two broken hearts. One impromptu road trip to get away from everything. That’s all this was supposed to be. Afterall, I’ve been living in the friend zone for years now.

But hockey heartthrob Jasper Gervais isn’t looking at me like a friend anymore. And he isn’t touching me like one either.

To his fans, he’s the handsome, talented athlete on TV. But to me he’s still the lost boy with sad eyes and a heart of gold.

The man I’ve loved in secret for years.

So when my life falls apart on my wedding day, it only makes sense that he’s the one to swoop in and save me. And when his world comes crashing down around him, I’m there to return the favor.

But the more time we spend alone, the more Jasper doesn’t feel like a friend at all. He feels like everything I’ve ever wanted and thought I could never have.

Our feelings aren’t straight forward though. They twist and turn around the pain of his past and the reality of my present.

Jasper Gervais acts like he wants me.

But after years of turning me away, he’s going to need to prove it.

AMAZON

I can’t ever lose you,” he growls.
“You won’t,” I reply quietly, right as the tip of his nose traces the shell of my ear.
“I might.”
“Nev—” Before I can say never, he cuts me off with, “Because I think I’m about to fuck everything up between us.” And then he kisses me.

OHMYGAWD! The level of obsession I now have with this series known no bounds. NONE. Obsessed is an understatement.

Let me start off by saying I’m not really a friends to lovers girly. This trope has always been meh to me. Like I don’t gravitate to it but I will read it from select authors. But after Heartless, I knew that Elsie can write a grocery list and I’ll read it. And you know what? I think I’ve changed my mind on the friends to lovers trope. Because this book? It was EVERYTHING.

Jasper Gervais and I are friends. Good friends. He’s made that clear a couple times over now. And I’m not enough of a masochist to go for the hat trick.

I was already obsessed with Jasper before reading this book. But now? I bow down at his alter, because the man is a god. He’s everything I didn’t know I needed and I will never have enough. Jasper and Sloane (Sunny) have been friends since childhood. Jasper is the epitome of tortured, with his brooding and his troubled childhood. Sunny has always been his happy place (with his found family of course) but he never looked at her as more than a friend, while Sunny has been in love with him for most of her life. When Sunny finally has a wake up call about her douchebag of a fiancé and leaves him shortly before their wedding, Jasper is right there to help her escape. The escape leads to a journey neither of them expected.

Times have changed, Sloane. I’m not scared anymore. You’re not my fucking friend. You’re just mine.”

Sloane soon learns that she hasn’t been beyond his notice, he just hadn’t dared to really look. Never feeling good enough and he hides a secret of what made him back down. But when I tell you that this man is obsessed with Sunny, I mean you can see that the sun rises and sets with her for him.

But what I really loved about this is that Sunny doesn’t immediately jump for joy to have Jasper’s affections. She makes him work for it. And even though she accepted her douchebag ex’s treatment, she’s no pushover when it comes down to it.

They’ve always felt this way for me!” she explodes, arms flung wide, eyes shining with emotion. “And you’ve never noticed. But now you do? What am I supposed to do? Jump for joy and say thank you for blessing me with your interest?”

And when I tell you that still waters run deep with Jasper, I mean the man caught me completely by surprise. The mouth on him. And did I mention the intensity? Good lord!

I point at the floor beneath my feet and say, “Lose that fucking ring and crawl.”

Yeah. Uh huh. Exactly.

This book was everything. It was swoony, heartfelt, heart breaking, heart warming, and with enough steam to set your kindle on fire. These two were incendiary together and I couldn’t get enough. Their friendship, their bond, their love for each other was almost as amazing as their chemistry.

Jasper may have a dirty mouth but the man has a heart of gold. He loves and he loves hard and he would move mountains for Sloane. God but I melted for him. Goo. Pure goo I tell you.

And if you haven’t yet read this series, I simply cannot recommend it enough. Trust me. Do yourself a favor and read it!

Elsie Silver is a Canadian author of sassy, sexy, small town romance who loves a good book boyfriend and the strong heroines who bring them to their knees. She lives just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and three dogs and has been voraciously reading romance books since before she was probably supposed to.

She loves cooking and trying new foods, traveling, and spending time with her boys-especially outdoors. Elsie has also become a big fan of her quiet five am mornings, which is when most of her writing happens. It’s during this time that she can sip a cup of hot coffee and dream up a fictional world full of romantic stories to share with her readers.


Connect with Elsie
Website | www.elsiesilver.com
Goodreads | https://bit.ly/3WSjFlR
Amazon | https://amzn.to/3BR6HwY
Facebook | https://bit.ly/3YIJwia
Facebook Group | https://bit.ly/3YJuOYk
Instagram | https://bit.ly/3VeTlS3
TikTok | https://bit.ly/3VifDCH
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Bookbub | https://bit.ly/3jnBTh9
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Review: Rivals by Piper Lawson

January 24, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

RIVALS
Genre: Rockstar Romance
Author: Piper Lawson
Release Date: January 24, 2023

When the biggest rockstar in the world invited me into his home, there was one rule:

Don’t touch his daughter.

For a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with no future, the offer should have been a dream come true.

Classy new digs.

A fancy prep school.

Someone who cares what happens to me.

Except for that rule.

The rich pricks at my new school worship me. I couldn’t care less.

She’s the one person who makes me feel worthwhile.

I want to save her from the turmoil eating up her picture-perfect world.

But she thinks I’m her rival: for her friends, her future, her father’s love.

I should keep my distance.

Avoid rescuing her from the assholes at school.

Definitely pretend I can’t see in her bedroom window from the pool house.

There are only two obsessions my life—music…and her.

All I have is my talent to set me free.

But my future will burn if I can’t stay away.

Rivals is an epic, angsty romance featuring two people from opposite sides of the track forced together by a forbidden love that could cost them everything. One-click today and find out if the damaged boy in the pool house can be the happily ever after she’s looking for!


Note: If you have previously read A Love Song for Liars, A Love Song for Rebels, and a Love Song for Dreamers, the new RIVALS ebook also contains an extended epilogue short story.

AMAZON

A man who’s seen heaven is more dangerous than one who only believes. And I’ll never forget how it feels to have you need me.”

Did this book take me a full week to finish? Yes, yes it did. Did I enjoy it all the same? Yes, yes I did.

Admittedly, this was my first book by this author, and inevitably won’t be my last. At first, the pacing of the story threw me off, but then I realized that this was first released as a trilogy and it made a bit more sense. The relationship between Tyler and Annie spans years and full of first love, heartbreak, and angst.

Annie, the daughter of a famous rock star, dreams of a life on the stage. Her father, who knows the dark pitfalls of that life wants to do shelter her from it. Tyler is a young protege who he moves into their poorhouse and is getting the side of Annie’s father she only dreams about. When we first meet Tyler and Annie, its years into their relationship, but still when they’re young adults in high school. Annie has crushed on Tyler, but he’s the reigning bad boy of their school. Once friends, their relationship is now strained because he took popularity over her, or so it seems anyway.

Now, I think if I had read this as individual books in the series but not as one, I wouldn’t have taken issue with the pacing. But I couldn’t help but feel it was a bit stretched out for my personal tastes. It wasn’t boring by any means, but it also didn’t immerse and grab me either. Instead of the usual final act break up, we get three, which was a bit frustrating. Though they weren’t all big ones and some was just life and them pursuing their own dreams.

This was emotional with a splash of steam and plenty of feels. I would have loved to been deeper immersed in the music side of Tyler’s career, but it was still entertaining. Having now met his daughter, I need to read her father’s book in Good Girl. This was a heartfelt story of first love, first heartbreak, and timing being everything. I loved that Annie never stopped pursuing her dreams and I loved how both of them melded this together. It was immensely satisfying in the end.

Piper Lawson is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of smart and steamy romance.

She writes women who follow their dreams, best friends who know your dirty secrets and love you anyway, and complex heroes you’ll fall hard for.

Piper lives in Canada with her tall and brilliant husband. She’s a sucker for dark eyes, dark coffee, and dark chocolate. 

Connect with Piper

Website: https://www.piperlawsonbooks.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13680088.Piper_Lawson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piperlawsonbooks

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/piperlawsonromance/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piperlawsonbooks

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/piper-lawson

    

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Review: The Choice by Ashley Jade

January 22, 2023 by ·

THE CHOICE
Series: Star-crossed Lovers Duet, #1
Genre: Second-Chance/Enemies-to-Lovers/Off Limits/Rockstar Romance
Author: Ashley Jade
Release Date: January 19, 2023

From USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ashley Jade comes a gritty, off-limits standalone romance about mistakes, choices, and love conquering all.

The world thought I belonged to another man…
they were wrong.

He was the mysterious dark knight always swooping in to save me when I needed it most.
I was the troubled girl with scars and a bleeding heart.

He was the gifted guitarist destined for big things.
I was the small-town girl battling her demons.

He was my earth….always keeping me grounded.
And I was his sky…always just out of his reach.

Our love was everything I wished for.
Until I destroyed it.

I never thought I’d see Memphis Payne again after I broke his heart, but the stars had other plans.
Because here he is…needing me to clean up his mess this time.

Only problem is…
Doing so will break both our hearts.

They say only the strongest love can survive an apocalypse.
That if two people are meant to be, they’ll find their way back to each other.

I hope they’re right.

Please note: This duet is an angsty, spicy, dark romance with flawed characters and contains material that may elicit a strong emotional response for sensitive readers.

AMAZON

They say life is a series of choices, and a single one can change the course of your life forever. Last night, I had to make a choice between good and bad. Right and wrong. I chose her.

Well…hell. I knew this cliffhanger would hurt me down to my soul and boy did it. It hurt bad. SO BAD. I have absolutely zero chill until book two. NONE whatsoever. But I digress. Let’s talk about this book.

The Words is hands down one of my top reads of 2022. And I had a love hate relationship with Memphis and Skylar as secondary characters in that book. And if you’re reading this book without having read The Words, I highly recommend you read that first. Yes, this is a standalone duet with a new couple, but it’s the same universe, and The Words really gives you the best intro.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of doormat heroines, and I really thought Skylar was on in The Words. How else can she tolerate her man constantly cheating on her. The tension between her and her fiancé’s bandmate, Memphis, was always palpable. This duet takes you deep into the why. The core of what laid the foundation that molded them and their future.

The Choice takes you all the way to the beginning. It introduces you to Josh, Memphis and Skylar when they were just kids and their years together into adulthood. This is the before Memphis hit his fame. This is is the foundation of who they are and what made them that way. And I can say that I now understand Skylar in a way I never thought I would. And she couldn’t be furthest from weak or doormat. This girl is a survivor. My heart absolutely broke for her and what she’s been through. You also get a front row seat to the toxic beginning of her and Josh. And now I really understand how they stayed together all these years. And if possible, I hate Josh even more than I hated him in The Words.

Memphis was…GOD. This man was everything. Quiet intensity. Raw magnetism. Electric. You get to see him and Josh and understand their relationship and connection. You also get the glimpse of Memphis before he hit rockstar fame and this man owned my heart in all the best ways. The pining in this book was on a whole other level and I was so here for it.

I really don’t want to give you any more information because you simply need to experience it blind. But if you had any doubts about Memphis and Skylar in The Words, this book will demolish them. You’l hurt for them. YOu’ll root for them. YOu’ll want to shake them both.

I flipped between hurt and anger so many times, I didn’t know which end was up. Ashley Jade took me on an emotional rollercoaster of wanting to chuck my kindle at the wall and begging for more. I’m ruined. Utterly ruined and completely desperate for the next book.

Ashley Jade is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and top 20 bestselling Amazon author who craves tackling different genres and tropes within romance. Her first loves are New Adult Romance, Contemporary Romance, and Romantic Suspense, but she also writes everything in between including erotica and dark romance. Her characters are flawed and complex, and chances are you will hate them before you fall head over heels in love with them.

She’s a die-hard lover of oxford commas, em-dashes, music, coffee, and anything thought-provoking…except for math.

Books make her heart beat faster and writing makes her soul come alive. If she’ not paying off student loan debt, working, or writing a novel—you can usually find her listening to music, hanging out with her readers online, and pondering the meaning of life.

Check out her Amazon page and Facebook page for future novels. She loves connecting with her readers—they make her world go round.

~Happy Reading~

Connect w/Ashley:
Website: | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Goodreads | Bookbub | Amazon: 

 

· Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, DGR Favorites · Tagged With: ,

Review: Heartless by Elsie Silver

December 5, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

HEARTLESS
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Chestnut Springs #2
Author: Nikki Sloane
Release Date: February 23, 2021

Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. And he can’t keep his hands off of me.

Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes.

He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist?

But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.

Someone convinced him once that his best wasn’t good enough. But I’ve never felt more cherished than I do in his arms.

My contract may say this arrangement is only for two months.

But my heart says this is forever.

 AMAZON 

Cade,” her lips part on my name, her tongue darting out to wet them. “God.”
“He’s not here right now, baby. It’s just me. And I’m done asking nicely. I’m ready to take.”

What rock have I been living under that this is my first Elsie Silver book? And why hasn’t everyone kicked out from under that rock sooner? Because OH MY GOD this book was EVERYTHING.

Right there at the birthday party?” Summer whisper-shouts across the small table at Le Pamplemousse. I take a sip of my mimosa and wink at her. “I saved another horse, Sum. I’m practically an animal rights activist at this point.”

Deeply immersed in my toxic antihero era as I am, I don’t venture out of the angst and gritty genre often. And I may have judged this cover and thought this book would be too fluffy for me. Boy was I wrong.

If you’re a fan of small town, grumpy/sunshine romances, you simply cannot miss this book. You just can’t. The banter here was utterly delicious. And the characters? Unforgettable.

Cade is the grump of his family and given his history, it’s understandable. After his wife walked out of his life leaving him to parent his adorable son on his own, he focused on two things; his son and his work. But he needs help and is seeking a nanny who can give his son the attention he needs while keeping the attention off of him. He may be a bachelor, but he doesn’t need the entanglement of another relationship and the broken heart that follows.

Willa is in town for the summer. She’s Summer’s best friend from Flawless. But if you’re like me and haven’t read that book yet, you can still enjoy this one as a standalone. However I’m not fully addicted to all things Elsie so plan on rectifying my oversight by devouring her backlist. But I digress.

Cade is immediately attracted to the younger woman but doesn’t want the complication. But the longer he spends in Willa’s presence, the more his resolve crumbles as their chemistry climbs to incendiary levels.

When I tell you I binge read this in one sitting, I’m not even a little exaggerating. It was sweet and spicy, emotional, hilarious, and everything I could want in a romance. An absolute must read and I can’t wait for the next installment. I’m a sucker for the unrequited love trope.

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Review: Playing Hard To Get by Monica Murphy

December 1, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

PLAYING HARD TO GET
Author: Monica Murphy
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: December 1, 2022

Knox Maguire is the king of our college campus.

Star offensive tight end on the football team.

He is the complete opposite of me in every way.

I’m quiet. He’s loud.

I’m shy. He’s definitely not.

Everyone loves him. No one knows me.

Fresh out of a breakup, I don’t really trust him, and why should I? Knox is the ultimate player. When I become his English tutor, I tell myself we need to keep things between us strictly business. Watching my mother deal with my ex-athlete father long, long ago taught me to stay far away from that type of man.

Yet Knox is impossible to resist. Next thing I know, we’re getting hot and heavy in the library—and that was never part of the plan. When Knox admits he can’t stop thinking about me, I have a realization.

I can’t stop thinking about him either.

Instead of keeping my distance, I pull him in closer. Until somehow, we’re spending all of our time together and I find myself falling for Knox. Hard.

Will this actually work between us? Or am I getting played?

AMAZON

You are my end goal, Jo Jo.”

My whole heart right now. It’s been a minute since I read a good college sports romance, and man did this deliver on all fronts.

I love when authors interconnect their characters throughout their books. And if you all loved Drew and Fable from One Week Girlfriend and recall Fable’s brother Owen in Four Years Later, prepare to meet his son Knox Maguire in this one. Knox is the football team’s tight end well on his way to the NFL. Knox has a packed schedule and a class in which he knows he’s going to struggle is the last thing he needs. He needs to focus, so what’s a man to do? Swear off women and go celibate of course. But you know what they say about no good dead…

Enter Joanna Sutton, the quiet studious girl who just got out of a three year relationship with a heartbreak she’s not yet over. She doesn’t like to be the center of attention and she doesn’t like jocks who draw all attention to them. So the ridiculously handsome Knox is the last man she should be spending time with. But when Knox hires her as his tutor following the most adorable meet cute at the book store she works in, sparks fly.

This was such a sweet romance, packed full of emotion and with a splash of steam. Knox is a reformed manwhore who is a total cinnamon role. And while that’s not usually my thing, it just worked for me here. The way he pursued Joanna and the easy camaraderie between them just did it for me. He’s not used to women turning him down, yet that’s what Jo seems to do at every turn. She’s not impressed with his rep and unwittingly forces him to chase her. I loved their banter and their instant chemistry and slow burn romance.

This was a one sitting read that I enjoyed from start to finish and I can’t wait for more in this series. Hopefully we get Knox’s sister’s book next. I do love me the brother’s best friend trope.

 

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance.

A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, son, their goofy dog, and three cats. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing. Or reading. Or binge watching something.

 

Connect with Monica

Website | Goodreads  | Amazon | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter | Bookbub | Pinterest | Verve Romance | Tik Tok 

 


 

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Review: Heist by Tate James

November 8, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

HEIST
Series: Valenshek Legacy #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Tate James
Release Date: November 8, 2022

Every four years, the criminal underworld engages in a game. The Game. The challenges range from the impossible to the deadly to the truly insane. Things that only a crazy person would tackle.

I’ve won the game 5 times. This time will be no different.

I’m at the top of my field now, the best of the world’s thieves. There’s nothing I can’t steal, and this time, the game is all about theft, subterfuge, and sleight of hand. Starting with a legendary painting of poppy flowers.

It’s a painting that disappeared into the blackmarket decades ago, but I know where to find it. The only person standing in my way is her.

Nothing will stop me winning the game, not even the sultry, quick witted brunette who lures me into her painting studio with the most irresistible bait.

I have no option to fail at The Game. It’s my legacy.

The Valenshek Legacy.

♥♥♥

HEIST is book ONE of THREE in the Valenshek Legacy series. This M/F romance is set in the Shadow Grove world but can be read independently of the other Shadow Grove books. Character cameos from other series are minor and inconsequential.

AMAZON

I wished she would trust me, and that was the most selfish thing I could possibly ask…because I had every intention of taking her trust and using it for my own gain.

I have clearly been living under a rock, because I only discovered Tate James books this year. I know! I know! I’m kicking myself, trust me. I started with her Madison Kate series and proceeded on an immediate binge of Tate’s backlist. And now here we are and desperately addicted to her words.

You think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you Tris?” His question was sharper than teasing, and it made me pull up short.
I whirled around to glare at the big, handsome prick.
“Yes, John. I do. It’s called confidence and self-respect. If that’s a problem for you, absolutely no one is making you continue this conversation. In fact, I’m actively trying to leave.”

One thing I absolutely love about Tate’s books are her sassy, witty, and sex positive heroines. They’re not blushing wallflowers and I can’t get enough of them. Tristian was no exception.

I loved everything about this heroine, including the way she made John work. She’s not interested in anything from men beyond scratching an itch. And lately, the men she meets can’t even do that right. So when the infuriating and handsome newcomer at her college turns out to be the new professor who she will be TA’ing for… Well, let’s just say sparks fly. The chemistry between these two is sizzling. And the banter! Oh dear lord the banter! I couldn’t get enough of it.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, John…but yours isn’t the only dick in town.” Her leg flexed, pushing me away far enough that she could hop off the desk. She picked up her bag and tucked the strap over her shoulder as my brain frantically processed what she’d said.
“Venus, you better not be saying that—”
“Sorry, Casanova, I can’t chat. I have a date.” Her wink fucking slayed me, and then she was sashaying out of the class with that short skirt swaying like a red flag in a bull pen.

John is mysterious, enigmatic, and practically oozes BDE (big d*ck energy for those not familiar). But John is also not who he makes himself seem and his cover at the school is his way on his mission to win the “game” that pits the most infamous thieves against each other. I loved peeling back the layers on this guy. I loved watching him fall for Tris as unwilling as it was. And he did fight it at every turn.

And then the cliffhanger hits you and holy mother. I should be used to these jaw droppers from Tate considering I binged 6 books of hers in a row. But I also wasn’t in a situation where I had to wait for the next book. And now that I do? I think I’m slowly dying inside until May 2023l

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#DGRFave & Review: Happenstance by Tessa Bailey

November 7, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

HAPPENSTANCE
Genre: Contemporary, Why Choose Romance
Author: Tessa Bailey
Release Date: November 7, 2022

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Summer comes a romantic comedy about an accidental relationship between three smitten men…and one commitment phobic woman.

Elise Brandeis has never won a Pulitzer—and she never will. At least not while she’s delivering sandwiches at the Gotham Times, instead of working there as an actual reporter. Her only shot at seeing her byline in print is to prove to the no nonsense managing editor that she has a nose for news. And she’s got just the story to grab her elusive attention.

Right after she delivers this turkey on ciabatta.

Chasing down leads brings Elise to Roosevelt Island, but just when the trail of clues begins to take shape, she gets stuck. Literally. On a cable car with three strangers who couldn’t be more different. An uptight rugby coach, a construction worker and a former adult film star she pretends not to recognize a little too well.

At first, Elise wants nothing more than to be rescued ASAP.

An hour later, everything has changed. By pure happenstance, four separate journeys have collided in an intense, meaningful way. Suddenly, disentangling their lives feels more impossible than winning that Pulitzer. Good thing Elise is too busy proving herself at work to consider three boyfriends. Nobody has time for that—even if they make giving in feel oh so right. But three heads are better than one and these loners will teach themselves to work together to win Elise over forever…

And more importantly, keep their dirty socks off her floor.

AMAZON | KOBO | IBOOKS | B&N 

“Just a brief rundown. You’ve come here to ask for a foursome.” I look each of them in the eye. “In broad daylight. Stone cold sober.” They trade glances and nod.

This cover is the Trojan horse of smut. You look at it and think, oh look, a cute little rom com. Or you would, if Tessa Bailey didn’t write it. But she did. And the woman is the queen of dirty talk for a reason. But this book? Oh this one may be her hottest yet. And having read her entire backlist, that’s saying something.

“You’re staring, love,” taunts the British man.

He’s right. I’ve been staring at him in the glass reflection. Because there is something familiar about him. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. Did he bartend at that hotel where I trained as a concierge three years ago before getting bored and throwing myself into the natural deodorant space? No, that’s not it. Where do I know him from?

“Porn,” he says from his elegant lean against the interior wall of the tram. “You know me from pornography, darling,” he drawls, his mouth spreading into a grin. “The good shit.”

Happenstance was the most fun I’ve had reading in book, like ever. It had everything you could possibly want; laugh till you cry humor, amazing characters, romance hot enough to singe your fingers when you turn each page, and a story fun and gripping enough to keep you glued to the pages from beginning to finish.

“My God,” Tobias says on an exhale, his hair in disarray. “I’ve seen it all, but I’ve never seen anything like you.”

We have Elise, a commitment phobic heroine who becomes the sheer obsession of not one, not two, but three men. And each of them was EVERYTHING.

We have Tobias, the British porn star who hides his pain be behind smarmy sexual jokes. Gabe, the sweet cinnamon roll construction worker who is obsessed with Elise from first sight and with debilitating confidence issues from his previous marriage. And Banks, the quiet and intense rugby star turned locally famous rugby coach with mommy issues.

“Gabe makes me wish for lazy Sunday mornings in bed with coffee and the smell of cinnamon in the kitchen. Sweet. Tobias is Saturday night. Strobe lights and moaning and…that tipsy feeling, like if you have one more drink, you’ll be sorry.” “And me?” “You are…” I swallow. Being open and honest to someone about how I feel on the inside is harder than I remember. I’ve been out of practice so long. “You’re real life. The place where I’m in my pattern and feel safe. You’re not a detour, you’re a path forward.”

I went through a ringer of emotion reading this star of a book; I laughed, I swooned, I squirmed uncomfortably, I simply devoured it.

The pacing, the humor, the romance, the character development, all of it was utter perfection. It was one of those reads where you can just shut your brain off and enjoy something that just absorbs you completely. And no one delivers that better than Tessa Bailey.

If you’re looking for sizzling hot romance with three men and one woman who they are utterly obsessed with but still packs humor and even a splash of suspense, you need this book in your life.

These men are desperate to praise me. And I let them, because my heart demands it.
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