Review: Bound

Bound by Benedict Jacka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, poor Alex Verus life just keeps getting worse for him.

As the book opens Alex and Anne have been blackmailed into working for Dark Mage Richard Drakh and his right hand, the first Dark Mage representative on the Council, Morden. The gang of four: Alex, Anne, Lunar and Variam are broken and isolated, forced to align with the Dark Mages against their wishes and villified by the Light Mages they walk a deadly line. Even Drakh and Morden's Chosen and other cohorts loath and detest Alex. His home and livelihood have been razed to the ground. Can you understand why I pre-ordered this book and then didn't have the heart to read it? Yep, every book Alex's life gets worse and he gets boxed into helping the Dark Mages with their evil plots.

I wouldn't imagine anyone would start reading this series at book eight, but if you did, imagine Harry Potter being forced to work for Voldemort and you get the picture.

This is a pivotal book for Alex, he learns a lot about his magic, his weaknesses, magic in general and the motivations of Drakh and Morden. He also comes to some depressing conclusions about the efficacy and motivations of the Council and the Light Mages. It seems sometimes the only people he can trust are the Dark Mages - if only most of them weren't also murderous psychopaths who believe they are entitled to do whatsoever they please!

This is Alex Verus at his best, fighting shoulder to shoulder with his friends, never sure of the right course of action, never able to trust any but a small handful of people. Ever fearful for his life and the lives of those that he cares about.

And that ending! Wow! I only saw it coming a few pages before it happened but what a game-changer!

CAN NOT wait for the next one.

View all my reviews

Review: Gage

Gage by Katherine Garbera
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gage Powell's older brother Marty died in the bull-riding ring. An aspiring bull-rider himself, he left the USA and went to work on the oil rigs in Scotland after his father made it clear that he wished Gage had died instead. Now, years later his father has Alzheimer's and Gage has returned as a rookie to try to get his father's approval one last time. The only trouble is, his father thinks he's Marty.

Sierra Montez is trying to make her name in the family denim business. Montez Denim sponsors and promotes the rookies on the AEBR circuit and she has been half in love with Gage ever since he first joined the circuit all those years ago. Can they parlay one night of passion into a relationship?

I liked this but I didn't love it. The sex to plot ratio seemed a bit off (too much of the first and not enough of the latter) and I found myself a bit lost as to why Gage pushed Sierra away and WHO knew that his father confused him with Marty (and why it made any difference anyway) and there seemed to be a miracle transformation at the last second. Also, Gage kept saying that Sierra had pushed him away, or walked away, when as far as I could see it was him that did those things not her.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: A Talent for Temptation

A Talent for Temptation by Sabrina Jeffries
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

I haven't read any of the previous books in this series and so I can confirm that this can definitely be read as a stand-alone novella but maybe the characters have been introduced in one of the earlier novels?

Anyway, Meriel Vyse is a widow and she works occasionally for her brother-in-law as a spy. She feels great gratitude towards him for saving her life and therefore feels unable to tell him she no longer wants to work for him. She is having a clandestine romance/ flirtation with Quinn Raines, the half-Spanish heir to Raines Bank but she knows they can never get married because she is so much beneath him and has so many secrets.

Quinn is desperately in love with Meriel but he fears he is too foreign, too staid and too common for a woman like her, she seems to crave a more flamboyant heroic figure like her brother-in-law. So Quinn plans a harmless attempted kidnapping (from which he will heroically rescue her), which goes spectacularly wrong and ends up with him being stabbed in the arm.

Set over the course of one night, this 100 page novella is an engaging romp where our hero and heroine find true love. I liked the writing and the characters, I most definitely wanted to know more about them and Meriel's brother-in-law Baron Fulkham. I will look out for more from this series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Second to None

Second to None by Nancy Herkness
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Max Verala is a billionaire chemist who has just sold his business for an obscene amount of money. A blast from the past arrives when Emily Wade sweeps into his office. Seven years ago Max was friends with Emily and her Marine husband, but he dropped the friendship when he realised he had developed inappropriate feelings for Emily.

Seven years on and Emily is a widow with a young daughter. She runs a community centre for disadvantaged children and has a plan to give them confidence and love through a scheme with the local dog rescue centre but she needs $500,000 to buy an adjoining piece of land. In desperation she turns to her old friend.

As soon as he sees Emily Max is irrevocably as much in love with her as he ever was. But is it possible to start a relationship with your best friend's widow? And what future do they have when Max is leaving New York soon to live and work in Chicago?

I liked this but I didn't love it. Max and Emily were just too nice, too self-sacrificing, too perfect. The novella format didn't really allow us to understand the history between Max and Emily or the angst when Max realised he was in love with her. This was just too much like a Hallmark Christmas special for me, not even the dogs could muster that extra half point.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Her Heart and the “Friend” Command

Her Heart and the “Friend” Command by M. L. Buchman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Adorable novella about a woman and man who knew each other at school reconnecting in Afghanistan when she and her service dog are sent to work with his Delta team.

Did I mention there's a dog?

View all my reviews

Review: Fallen Heir

Fallen Heir by Erin Watt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

More rich kid excesses, conspicuous consumption and bitchiness with the family we love to hate to love.

Hmmm, Easton Royal is just thoroughly unlikable, I get that he is supposed to realise the error of his ways buuuut at the moment he's an ass.

Cliff-hanger ending.


View all my reviews

Review: Rowan

Rowan by Nalini Singh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A cute short story about Kaleb and Savannah buying a gift for Annie's baby.

Free in the August 2017 newsletter.

View all my reviews

Review: Elliott Redeemed

Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, if you haven't read this series before: Preload is a heavy rock band formed by a group of boys who lived in a last-chance group home together. In their own unique ways each of them is badly mentally and physically scarred by the abuse they suffered but slowly, through love, each of them is finding peace.

WARNING: this could have all kinds of triggers for people who have suffered abuse!

Elliott Dawson was tortured by his step-father who delighted in stubbing out cigarettes on Elliott's body. Unfortunately, this led to Elliott having a fascination with fire and having control - something that has led him to be diagnosed as a pyrotechnic. One day he visits a local hospital at the request of the band's management, against his better judgement he agrees to visit a young fan, Daniel, who has suffered horrific burns to his legs after setting fire to his family home. When Elliott meets Daniel's mother Kendalee Walker he is immediately drawn to her, but associating with another person who has an unhealthy relationship to fires is not good for Elliott.

Poor Kendalee isn't just saddled with a stupid name, her husband left her for his secretary, the insurance won't pay out because Daniel set the fire deliberately, she is broke, homeless and sleeping on her friend's couch and to top things off? The reason Daniel set the fire is because his uncle, his father's twin brother, was abusing him.

Oh Scarlett Cole, you really know how to pile on the angst don't you? My heart bled for poor Daniel and poor Elliott and the abuse that they suffered and continue to suffer mentally. I don't think I've read a single one of these books where I haven't had tears in my eyes.

As long as you can read about a whole load of angst this is a great love story. Elliott is a kind and patient man, he doesn't just lust after Kendalee he loves her and Daniel, almost from the first moment. Kendalee is just a leetle too good to be true - but then I guess any good mom would do anything she could for her son, especially after what he has been through.

So, another winner! Just one request ... could your next heroine not be so small? It feels like all the females in this series are teeny tiny women - it's giving me a complex.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release.

View all my reviews

Review: Bring the Heat

Bring the Heat by G.A. Aiken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Four and a half stars.

This book brings to a climax the arc of the Zealots and the god Chramnesind as Queen Annwyl the Bloody and the dragons of Garbhan Isle together with Queen Rhiannon and all the characters we have met in the past eight books draw together for the final conflict. This is an epic book, don't even try to read it if you haven't read the previous books, all our old favourites are back to do battle. Annwyl gets dragged into a well and disappears. Dagmar Reinholdt and her cohorts are plotting, the Cadwaladrs are their usual blood-thirsty selves and we see the Mi-runach and the Daughters of the Steppes. G.A. Aiken brings all of these fantastic characters to life so vividly and weaves the strands of their stories together in the tradition of some of the great fantasy novelists of my childhood.

At the personal level, Captain Branwen the Awful and her best friend Aidan the Divine have been fighting side by side against the Zealots. After Chramnesind's priests level the mountains as far as the eye can see, Aidan, Brannie and two of Aidan's Mi-runach brothers Caswyn and Uther drag themselves from the rubble and flee the approaching Zealot army, only to run into Rhiannon's youngest daughter Keita the Viper. The foursome are ordered to protect Keita as she undertakes a dangerous mission.

To do all of the different threads true justice this book needed to be twice as long (I wouldn't have minded). There was just so much going on that the romance between Branwen and Aidan didn't really take off for me. There didn't seem to be any great love between them, just two best friends who kind of slipped into love by accident. I also thought that, and probably intentionally, this book wasn't as laugh out loud funny as some of the others. Sure, Keita, Uther and Caswyn provided some light relief, and the Daughters of the Steppes are always good value, but overall this was a more sombre book as befits the climax of a story arc about a vicious cult.

I really liked this but I didn't love it. Branwen and Aidan just weren't strong enough characters in my opinion, Keita really stole the show from them even though it wasn't her book. But it was a strong fitting end to the Zealots, although it looks like there might be more trouble on the horizon ...

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release

View all my reviews

Review: Sledgehammer

Sledgehammer by P. Dangelico
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the first book in this series and was blown away by P Dangelico's fresh voice and engaging characters. When I saw this book available on NetGalley I was drawn to the cover (deep as a puddle, me) and googled the author - when I realised I'd read and loved the first book it was a no-brainer for me.

Sometimes second books show that the first book was a flash in the pan, not this one it's just as good and I loved it just as much.

Amber Jones is Cam's best friend from the first book. She's a struggling actress working as a bartender in New York. Her ex invites her to his parents' house for their New Years Eve party where she is blind-sided by his announcement of his engagement to another actress. Things get out of control and Amber might have accidentally almost burned the house down. When her ex's parents start shouting that she did it deliberately Amber is arrested and taken to the police station. Imagine her surprise when Fancy McButterpants (aka Ethan Vaughn, Cam's husband Calvin's best friend) turns up to bail her out. Ethan is a sports lawyer and a thorn in Amber's side ever since they met. He's a bit like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way, perfectly coiffed, perfectly dressed, perfect face, perfect body, always perfectly turned out - unlike Amber.

At Amber's bail hearing she is only allowed out on bail if she agrees to stay with a responsible individual, step forward Fancy. When she gets to Ethan's home Amber is shocked to discover that inside the fancy apartment is a building site and Fancy (as she insists on calling him) likes to do a bit of remodelling, using a sledgehammer, in his spare time.

Amber is snarky and funny. She has a scary collection of B.O.Bs (battery-operated boyfriends) and a humorous collection of T-shirts. Ethan eats mainly from Wholefoods and is corporate competence through and through. But as the two of them forge a strange relationship while they wait for Ethan's criminal lawyer colleague to make the charges against Amber go away Amber realises that the real Ethan is even better than she knew.

This is funny, heart-warming and Ethan is my new book boyfriend, although I also want Amber to be my BFF so that could be awkward. Thoroughly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: A Perfect Storm

A Perfect Storm by Jodi Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This new novella takes place at St Mary's where the team are in various degrees of rehabilitation after their last mission. Max has just two tasks: get one of their former colleagues to destroy his latest novel (about time travel) and get a film producer to sign a lucrative contract with St Mary's for historical research and/or costumes. But the producer is an ass and Max allows Professor Rapson to recreate Hannibal's fire setting techniques. There are foetid vapours, fake accents, superheroes, a pub crawl (on a Monday night) and film producers - just another day at the office for St Mary's


View all my reviews

Review: Turned Up

Turned Up by Erin Nicholas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have had some issues with the characterisation of the women in the previous books in this series so I waited with bated breath for this one - I loved it!

Dillon Alexander and Derby have been arch rivals since kindergarten. He's the big bad ex-Marine, all-round celebrity emergency doctor who has recently returned to be an ER doctor in his home town of Chance, Nebraska. She's the local psychiatrist, essential when your small town is in the tornado alley and suffers more tornadoes than anywhere else in the USA.

Kit has secretly been in love with Dillon since she was 16 years old but after a steamy kiss led to unbearable tragedy Dillon left town and has rarely been seen since. It's probably just as well because every time Dillon and Kit do meet in public they fight like cats and dogs, but when they meet in private it all gets far more X-rated.

Can these two ever sop fighting long enough to discover what they have in common? Will being trapped alone in a snow storm help them or will they be too busy, gettin' busy?

I loved everything about this. Dillon was great and Kit was a strong confident woman. I particularly liked the conflict near the end of the book, it felt real and EXACTLY the sort of concern a woman like Kit would (and should) have when entering into a relationship like this. Finally, Erin NIcholas has allowed her kick-ass female character to stay that way.

The angst about the past was suitably low key and almost irrelevant.

Thoroughly recommended for those who like small-town romances between two people who were rivals almost from birth. Delicious.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Her Book Boyfriend

Her Book Boyfriend by K. R. Grace
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 65%.

Recently I've enjoyed YA novels more than most other genres and this sounded right up my alley - high school rock god best friends with the school nerd - I mean what's not to like, right?

Macey is the nerd in question, but as high school draws to a close she realises she runs the risk of having to attend prom with some random dude, rather than with a boyfriend. As any true nerd would so, Macey decides that she will adopt the tried and tested approach to winning guys found in her favourite romance novels (yes, she's supposed to be ultra-clever but she thinks romance novels are a realistic way to meet 'the one'). Macey's best friend Cam is a budding rock god and, according to Macey, man-slut who has had his tongue down the throat of practically every girl in the school. This charmer then gets Macey to break up with the girl, most of the time he doesn't he know their names!

Cam bets Macey that she won't find a boyfriend using the dubious advice from her romance novels - if he's right she'll go to the prom with him.

I stuck this out to 65% at which point Macey did something so heinous that I wouldn't have finished the book even if I liked it(view spoiler)[- she outed a fellow student as gay to another person (hide spoiler)]. I found Cam to be unrealistic and devoid of character. Macey was so full of herself and how amazing she was that she was totally obnoxious, for example:

"Roll with me here. I'm sort of the cool nerd, which means I need to date above my status. So I need jocks."

And she revelled in breaking up with girls on Cam's behalf and doing it in a fairly brutal fashion.

Don't even get me started on all the caricatures that Macey tries to foist herself on - she didn't even like any of them, she decided they would be the next "one" - or her so-called friends who all come with a label, I found the characterisation of poor Wen Li borderline racist and certainly offensive.

Suffice to say that I didn't like this book!

Nevertheless, I remain grateful that I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release.

View all my reviews

Review: The Constant Heart

The Constant Heart by Mary Balogh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a re-issue of a book originally released in 1987 and I definitely got a slightly old-fashioned vibe when reading it (if that makes any sense given that this is an historical).

Rebecca Shaw was the daughter of the local vicar, after the death of her father she went to live with her uncle Lord Holmes and his daughter Harriet. Ever since she was a child she had been in love with Christopher Sinclair, the eldest son of their nearest neighbour, and they were all but promised to each other before he went away to London for a few months and married another woman.

Six and a half years later, Rebecca is now engaged to the new vicar, Philip Everett, and the two of them have recently started a school for the village boys, funded by the generosity of a mysterious benefactor. Rebecca's uncle has recently married a much younger woman, Maud and her charming brother Mr Bartlett has come for an extended stay. And then the Sinclair sisters break the news that Christopher's wife has died and he is coming home to visit his parents. How can Rebecca face the man who broke her heart?

I think based on the summary above you could probable predict 80% of the plot twists right now. It was enjoyable but there were some anomalies (vis-a-vis one of the characters saying a male character wouldn't lift his hand to a woman who wasn't his wife, daughter or sister - so it's okay to hit one of them hmm?). Also, one of the female characters blames everything that has gone wrong on her need to assert her independence - WTF?

Overall, I thought that this felt like a plot which hadn't been fleshed out enough.



View all my reviews

Review: Head Over Heels

Head Over Heels by Jennifer Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Sophie Kincaid's dream PR career in Chicago goes up in flames when her boss embezzles money from the firm to feed his coke habit, as a Vice-President she is tarred with the same brush and overnight her name is mud. She retreats to small town Illinois, Revival to be precise where one of her best friends has got her a job in city government assisting the town revitalisation project. Her friend has also found her a house to rent for six months. And that's where the problems begin, because the guy living next door, Ryder Moore, has bad boy written all over him and there's one thing that Sophie has learned is that bad boys are catnip for her - and it always ends badly.

Ryder moved to Revival to get away from wild and crazy girls and his new neighbour, and tenant, has wild and crazy written all over her. He knows he should stay away but there is something so very tempting about arguing with her...

Sophie is less than pleased to find out that no only is Ryder her landlord as well as her neighbour but he is also the deputy sheriff AND technically her boss on the town square grand opening project! Can't a girl catch a break?

Inevitably lust trumps logic and Sophie and Ryder enter into a no-holds barred friends-with-benefits relationship, time limited by Sophie's often expressed intention to return to Chicago after six months. Ryder is small-town through and through, there's no way he would ever want to be a big city cop.

I've see-sawed to and fro on my rating for this book. I'm a sucker for big city girl moves to small town stories and I love enemies to lovers stories but I had two issues with this book:

1) the naughty bits - it took me a while to realise what felt off about the sex - there was more fade to black than actual sex. There's lots of mentions of all the depraved and possibly illegal things that Sophie and Ryder do but not an awful lot of seeing them do those things. The only thing they seem to do is have a lot of exhibitionist alfresco sex. (view spoiler)[Sex on your front lawn? And at a small BBQ at a friend's house? Really, that's not hot that's tacky. (hide spoiler)]

2) both Sophie and Ryder were too willfully blind, I appreciate that a romance novel doesn't really work unless one or both of the characters cant see what is right in front of them but purlease!

I also, just a little bit, wished that the ending had been less predictable, it was done well but part of me wanted either the end to be ambiguous or for it to work out differently.

This is, apparently, the fourth book in a series. I had no problems reading this as a stand-alone although it was clear from all the recently paired-up, disgustingly good-looking couples in the book that this was part of a series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Ready to Run

Ready to Run by Lauren Layne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And Lauren Layne does it again!

Now I have to confess that I wasn't 100% convinced by the blurb (can't stand reality TV) but, hey, it's Lauren Layne so I still clicked pre-order and when I saw an ARC on NetGalley I requested it immediately.

What can I say? Trust in LL to do it right.

So, this is a kind of re-imagining of the film Runaway Bride, but this time its the groom, Luke Elliott, who has left three women at the altar.

Jordan is a New York TV associate producer and has been tasked with finding male contestants for a new TV show Jilted; a cross between the Bachelor and Runaway Bride in which men who have left multiple brides at the altar are presented with 25 women to tempt them down the altar. Jordan is convinced that Luke would be an ideal candidate if only the hunky firefighter from Lucky Hollow, Montana would answer her calls/ emails/ letters. So Jordan and one of the lawyers, Simon, have travelled to small town Montana to persuade Luke in person.

First off, let me reassure you (or disappoint you), we don't get to see any reality TV show. This is all about Jordan reconnecting with her small town roots and trying to persuade Luke (with the help of his friends and family) to do the show.

I loved this. I loved Luke, he was such a great guy, dog owner and cat rescuer, kind to small children, great brother etc. I mean, who wouldn't love him? Jordan too was a great character, despite her New York veneer she has small town roots and it isn't long before Lucky Hollow is reminding her of the joys of a small town where everyone knows your business.

Although there is still a New York connection this is a bit of a change for Lauren Layne and I loved it, Luke 'feels' a bit older than LL's usual heroes but hubba hubba he's a keeper.

Can't wait for the next one ...

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release.

View all my reviews

Review: Elliott Redeemed

Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, if you haven't read this series before: Preload is a heavy rock band formed by a group of boys who lived in a last-chance group home together. In their own unique ways each of them is badly mentally and physically scarred by the abuse they suffered but slowly, through love, each of them is finding peace.

WARNING: this could have all kinds of triggers for people who have suffered abuse!

Elliott Dawson was tortured by his step-father who delighted in stubbing out cigarettes on Elliott's body. Unfortunately, this led to Elliott having a fascination with fire and having control - something that has led him to be diagnosed as a pyrotechnic. One day he visits a local hospital at the request of the band's management, against his better judgement he agrees to visit a young fan, Daniel, who has suffered horrific burns to his legs after setting fire to his family home. When Elliott meets Daniel's mother Kendalee Walker he is immediately drawn to her, but associating with another person who has an unhealthy relationship to fires is not good for Elliott.

Poor Kendalee isn't just saddled with a stupid name, her husband left her for his secretary, the insurance won't pay out because Daniel set the fire deliberately, she is broke, homeless and sleeping on her friend's couch and to top things off? The reason Daniel set the fire is because his uncle, his father's twin brother, was abusing him.

Oh Scarlett Cole, you really know how to pile on the angst don't you? My heart bled for poor Daniel and poor Elliott and the abuse that they suffered and continue to suffer mentally. I don'[t think I've read a single one of these books where I haven't had tears in my eyes.

As long as you can read about a whole load of angst this is a great love story. Elliott is a kind and patient man, he doesn't just lust after Kendalee he loves her and Daniel, almost from the first moment. Kendalee is just a leetle too good to be true - but then I guess any good mom would do anything she could for her son, especially after what he has been through.

So, another winner! Just one request ... could your next heroine not be so small? It feels like all the females in this series are teeny tiny women - it's giving me a complex.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Boomerang Boyfriend

Boomerang Boyfriend by Chris Cannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

I have to admit, I misread the blurb on NetGalley when I requested this book and thought, for some reason, that Delia was best friends with Jack's brother not his sister!

Anyhoo, Delia has been best friends with Zoe for ever and spends probably more time at Zoe and Jack's house than her own. Delia's parents work anti-social shifts and appear to be a bit switched-off, they don't remember to buy food and sometimes it seems as though Delia is the adult taking care of her feckless parents. Having said that, money is clearly tight and her parents love her, they just aren't often THERE.

Zoe and Jack have been touched by tragedy when their father and grandfather were killed in a car crash, at first their mother also seemed to have checked out but she seems to be doing better. They all three live with Zoe and Jack's grandmother. Zoe is dating Grant and Delia had high hopes of dating Grant's best friend Aidan, but he has firmly friend-zoned her after she spontaneously kissed him.

Delia is starting work at Betty's Burgers as the new dessert princess - basically she serves slices of cake and sings happy birthday if someone has a birthday (when they get a free slice of cake). Jack already works at Betty's which is a problem because Jack is a complete jerk. But it seems as though the fates are conspiring against Delia because not only does she have to see Jack every time she spends time at Zoe's house AND work with him but as his class' art teacher has left suddenly he is also taking art classes at school with her. But as they are forced into even close proximity Jack and Delia discover they may have more in common than they thought and the person who irritates them the most may also see them the best.

I have tagged this as "angst-angst-angst" because of Delia's parents and Jack and Zoe's situation and Jack's best friend whose brother died of an overdose, heck even Aidan has problems at home. But at the same time I have tagged it as low-angst because these things are just background and the actual plot is relatively angst-free.

I liked this, but I didn't love it. I see from Goodreads that this is the third in the Boyfriend Chronicles series and although it can definitely be read as a stand-alone there is definitely the feel that maybe I missed something - perhaps the start of Delia's crush on Aidan?

Overall, a sweet YA romance about your best friend's older brother, it's got dogs and pie and art jokes and it's about normal kids with normal names, albeit that some of them have had to deal with some difficult circumstances.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: If You See Me

If You See Me by Jen Stevens
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Wow, the cover of this book does NOT match the contents - nor does the blurb.

James Lynwood is a photographer (female), she is curvy, if not plus-sized, and shoots covers for romance novels. She is crushing big time on one of her models, Alexander Quinoñez and becomes a gibbering wreck every time they meet. She feels particularly exposed because female photographers can't afford to have relationships with their models in the same way as male photographers can, and do.

Xan is intrigued by the beautiful but aloof photographer and is jeopardising his modelling career by continuing to model for the covers of romance novels. When he overhears that James needs a date to a wedding he offers his services.

What I was looking for was a fake relationship, wedding-themed romance between two people who had been crushing on each other. What I got was a snapshot of a weird life in which everyone's sexuality is fluid and everyone spends all day every day thinking out loud to themselves. When the biggest plot advance happened 'off'stage' I knew it was time to bail.

I think the publisher needs to rethink the cover and the blurb so that readers aren't blindsided.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Level Me Up

Level Me Up by Lauren Helms
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 23%

So this is a first, recently the only books I'm not hating are NA/YA, particularly at the younger end of the scale - but this one is the exception.

Morgan is dragged by her 'friends' to Comic-Con. I use inverted commas because these are the sort of friends who call you bad names, drag you into bad situations and never have your back. Morgan is totally full of herself.

I don't ever admit this out loud, but I have a really nice pair of breasts. I know that sounds vain, but it's the truth. There is nothing worse that not being able to fill out that killer halter top you're dying to buy.

I mean really? NOTHING worse? Her friend also makes ridiculous sweeping generalisations which made me want to slap her and tell her she was an immature child (if that's not an oxymoron)

"Yeah. Basically, I can tell if a guy is worth the time in thirty seconds or less. It's all about eye contact. If a guy can't keep up the eye contact for at least ten seconds, he's weak. If he can, then I'm intrigued."

I hated Morgan's 'voice', I hated the constant "I"," I"," I", I know that "spaz" isn't an offensive term in the US, but it is in the UK and I found its use to be unpleasant. Overall, I tried to read this book three times and couldn't get into it. Even the insta-lurve when Morgan meets the worlds greatest gamer felt fake.

Maybe I'm too old for this but I just couldn't feel any liking for self-obsessed Morgan and the stilted self-absorbed first person POV.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Seducing his Wife

Seducing his Wife by Elizabeth Lennox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Although this is a new release it has a retro feel.

Gabriella and Teague Steele shared a passionate time in Vegas which resulted in them getting hitched, but after her poor childhood Gabriella isn't going to settle for some construction worker who can't give her the stability she craves. So she leaves Teague in Vegas. A year later she's engaged to a man in Boston who meets all her criteria, all she needs is for Teague to sign the damn divorce papers!

Teague Steele and his brothers own a construction business, nothing has made him come alive like his spitfire of a wife but when she turns up brandishing divorce papers he can't believe what she has done to herself; dressed like a middle-aged hausfrau, plastered in make-up and with her beautiful hair scraped back this woman is nothing like his beautiful, passionate Gabby.

Teague doesn't know about Gabby's past, or that she thinks he's a lowly construction worker, but he is determined to woo his wife.

View all my reviews

Review: Austin

Austin by Jeannie Watt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great addition to this series.

Austin Harding is drinking with his friends from the AEBR at a casino in Reno when he recognises the waitress as an old school-fellow, Kristen Alexander. At school Austin had a crush on Kristen until she gave him a brutal public set-down. Now he's a successful bull-rider and she's recently been laid off from her cubicle job and has been forced to work as a waitress in a Reno casino in order to cover her rent.

Kristen always had a plan, school, college, career, marriage, children - until she gets laid off and realises that her perfect life is rigid and inflexible.

Part of Austin wants revenge on Kristen and the other part wants to look after her, so when she loses her job he agrees to help her get home to Marietta. Can opposites attract and can they find some middle ground?

I loved this book, poor Kristen was sooo shy and everyone judged her for being an Ice Princess when really she was just socially awkward. Austin thought he knew what he wanted from life but associating with Kristen makes him realise that he has no clue what to do with his life after bull-riding. This was full of second chances and changing your life. Austin and Kristen were flawed but lovable characters that I would love to have dinner with.

Another great book in this series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Irresistible You

Irresistible You by Kate Meader
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I swear I read the first couple of chapters of this book before but I just can't remember where.

Clifford Chase, maverick owner of the Chicago Rebels hickey team, was an SOB. After his death, his three daughters from three different women (two wives and a mistress) learn that he has left the Chicago Rebels to them equally. Under the terms of his will the three women must work together to take the team to the playoffs. If they fail then they lose the team.

Clifford's oldest daughter Harper is devastated by the news. She has worked long and hard at the club and truly believed that her father would leave the team to her, she thought he recognised that she had earned it, now she realises that he never considered her to be suitable, even though HE was the one who ran the team into the ground, and that this ludicrous provision in his will was just the icing on the cake.

Harper's only chance of turning the team around is her latest signing, Remy “Jinx” DuPre. He gained the nickname because every team he has been on just failed to win the Stanley Cup, until he left. Harper thinks that Remy has what it takes to lead the team by example and get the players playing cohesively. Remy however has already decided that this is his final year, his final chance at the Stanley Cup and he isn't going to get it with a losing team like the Rebels. He isn't above playing dirty to get what he wants, even if he finds the short, skinny, bossy woman somewhat arousing. Finally they come to a deal. Remy will give 110% to the team for three months IF Harper agrees to trade him to a team that has a shot at the Stanley Cup after that time.

But as the negotiations, threats and blackmailing turn into joking and late night texts things turn warm between Harper and Remy. But can a woman managing an NHL team really have a relationship with one of her players?

I really liked this. Kate Meader has a great way of writing and, if you like hot sexy hockey players then this book is for you. I don't even like the New Orleans accent and I was hooked! Kate Meader also balanced the off-the-charts desire for each other with Harper's obvious and understandable fears about how she would perceived if anyone found out about their relationship, or even their secret agreement.

I'm looking forward to the next book, featuring Harper's sister, a former National Women's Hockey Player for the Buffalo Betties, Isobel Chase.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release week.

View all my reviews

Review: Before I Knew

Before I Knew by Jamie Beck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Cabot and the Morgans were friends and neighbours for thirty years until a stupid dare left Joe Morgan dead, shortly afterwards Colby Cabot's husband Mark killed himself over his part in the dare, devastated by his role in the death of his best friend and unable to deal with the guilt. Mark was bi-polar and Colby suffers from the knowledge that she kept his diagnosis from her family, she also worries that his illness may have been a contributing factor to the dare that led to Joe's death.

Two years later Colby has given up her job as a lawyer to open a restaurant called ACertainTea, she has visions of it being a centre for families to come to celebrate special events. The money for the restaurant has come from the family business The Cabot Tea Company and her father has insisted that Colby reports to her brother Hunter.

Alec Morgan has always stood in the shadow of his younger brother Joe, quieter and more studious by nature he was no match for Joe's athleticism and Joe was always his father's favourite. He has also always harboured a secret crush on Colby. Formerly a successful restaurateur, he has had a massive professional disaster, lost his restaurant and has been asked by his old friend Hunter Cabot to assist Colby in her new start-up. Alec too has a secret, Mark wrote him a letter begging for forgiveness and making wild threats which Alec ignored.

So, can two people who have suffered devastating losses which intimately involve their families ever put the past aside?

This book, for me, was killed by all the angst. Angst over Joe's death, over Mark's suicide, over Colby's mother, over Colby's father, over Alec's mother, over Alec's father, over Colby's brother, over Colby's step-sister, over Colby's sister-in-law. You get the picture, we were drowning in angst and Colby felt she had to fix everything, which was a joke because her brother and father, even Alec were so damned patronising I wanted to punch them in the gonads. But then Colby was so damn drippy and saintly that I wanted to throat-punch her too!

Stepping aside from my own personal feelings about the characters, I also felt that Alec's characterisation didn't really 'work'. He was a former geek, the full "jigsaw puzzle making, then take a photo and hang it on your wall" Monty who grew into a demanding chef who shouted at people. He had loved Colby all his life and talked about doing anything she wanted, just to get her to notice him, but then he refused to change HIS menu for HER restaurant to accommodate her very reasonable request that there be some simple food for the unadventurous eaters.

Someone (an author whose book I criticised) once told me that if the characters make you feel something (even incandescent rage) then the author has achieved their goal - well done Jamie Beck, back of the net goal! But seriously, I'm not a fan of all the introspective, navel-gazing, talk about our feelings (but of course don't actually tell people what's wrong) angst. If you like that sort of thing then this is for you.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Cover of Night

Cover of Night by Laura Griffin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two and a half stars.

This is very different from Laura's other series and not recommended for readers of Tracers as it just doesn't have the same tension or plot density. I think the biggest problem for me is that I can feel Laura trying to write a bigger, deeper plot and then being held back, or holding herself back, which leads to this reader feeling a bit confused and disappointed.

Karly Bonham is a journalist spending time on a luxury island resort with the US Ambassador to Thailand and his daughter as they holiday whilst writing a cover story for her magazine. Returning from a day-long boat trip Karly sees men with guns on the beach and is horrified when her companions and the boat's crew are gunned down before her eyes. She manages to make a short call alerting the authorities before swimming to shore.

Ethan Dunn is part of a small group of Navy SEALs inserted onto the island as a result of Karly's message, they are there to provide reconnaissance for a larger team to rescue the Ambassador and other guests and staff from the ACB terrorists who have taken them hostage.

Much like the previous books in this new series half of the action takes place on the island and is full of tension and SEAL bravery, then the action returns to San Diego where the pace and focus suddenly shifts to more mainstream romance rather than your typical military-romance or romantic-suspense. And then the ending bish-bash-bosh, if my Kindle version gave me pages I would tell you how few pages were used to wrap up the plot compared to sightseeing in Manila, for example, okay, I've checked and the entire plot gets wrapped up in a four minute (to read) chapter!

Overall, I just don't think Laura Griffin is clear what she wants to do with this series or how she wants to write it. I love her Tracers series and I want her to succeed at this series too but at the moment it isn't hanging together properly.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Chase

Chase by Barbara Dunlop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally, all caught up!

The novel opens as Chase Garrett finds his best friend and pregnant fiancee in bed together and discovers that he isn't the father. Heart-broken and mad at both of them, especially since he had sold his farm and land in order to buy a place near his fiancee's family.

When he returns to the American Extreme Bull Riders' (AEBR) Tour he is astonished when a young boy rushes up to him in the crowd calling him Daddy, but this isn't as a result of a one-night stand, no this is a case of mistaken identity. The little boy, Riley, is the son of another bull-rider Chase Barrett and the two men look uncannily similar. Chase Barrett was killed by a bull a few months back but three year old Riley doesn't understand the difference between death and being on tour with the AEBR. Any attempts to persuade Riley that Chase isn't his Daddy fall on deaf ears.

Maddy, Riley's mother, got pregnant when she was 18 years old. Since her husband died she has been struggling to bring up Riley on her own; she has four older brothers but they are desperately trying to raise enough money to buy back their family's land (which is a whole other story that I would like to read - if anyone know what series this is please let me know).

Chase and Maddy feel a visceral attraction to each other, but is it because he looks like her dead husband? Or is it because Chase desperately wanted a child?

Aside from the far-fetched premise that there could be two bull-riders with almost the same name that look practically identical and NO-ONE noticed until Riley, this was a sweet, enjoyable romance. There was less about bull-riding than some of the other books but the romance was believable, although I wasn't sure I 100% bought into Chase's angst.

This series just hits all the right buttons for me.

View all my reviews

Review: Her Book Boyfriend

Her Book Boyfriend by K. R. Grace
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 65%.

Recently I've enjoyed YA novels more than most other genres and this sounded right up my alley - high school rock god best friends with the school nerd - I mean what's not to like, right?

Macey is the nerd in question, but as high school draws to a close she realises she runs the risk of having to attend prom with some random dude, rather than with a boyfriend. As any true nerd would so, Macey decides that she will adopt the tried and tested approach to winning guys found in her favourite romance novels (yes, she's supposed to be ultra-clever but she thinks romance novels are a realistic way to meet 'the one'). Macey's best friend Cam is a budding rock god and, according to Macey, man-slut who has had his tongue down the throat of practically every girl in the school. This charmer then gets Macey to break up with the girl, most of the time he doesn't he know their names!

Cam bets Macey that she won't find a boyfriend using the dubious advice from her romance novels - if he's right she'll go to the prom with him.

I stuck this out to 65% at which point Macey did something so heinous that I wouldn't have finished the book even if I liked it(view spoiler)[- she outed a fellow student as gay to another person (hide spoiler)]. I found Cam to be unrealistic and devoid of character. Macey was so full of herself and how amazing she was that she was totally obnoxious, for example:

"Roll with me here. I'm sort of the cool nerd, which means I need to date above my status. So I need jocks."

And she revelled in breaking up with girls on Cam's behalf and doing it in a fiarly brutal fashion.

Don't even get me started on all the caricatures that Macey tries to foist herself on - she didn't even like any of them, she decided they would be the next "one" - or her so-called friends who all come with a label, I found the characterisation of poor Wen Li borderline racist and certainly offensive.

Suffice to say that I didn't like this book!

Nevertheless, I remain grateful that I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Breakaway

Breakaway by Cate Cameron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Logan Balanchuk was a first round NHL draft for Montreal until he was badly injured in his first game and told he would never play again. Now after months of physiotherapy and counselling and surgeries he has come to Corrigan Falls to work as a camp aide, but strictly no hockey of any kind. He knows its not a real job, he's only employed as a favour to his famous NHL father but baby steps right?

Dawn broke up with her hockey playing high school boyfriend six months before he got selected for the draft. She doesn't regret her decision for a minute, she felt she was losing her identity as anyone other than Toby Cooper's girlfriend, cheerleader and groupie. Although disliking hockey in a town as obsessed as Corrigan Falls makes Dawn a bit of a pariah.

When Dawn and Logan first meet it seems like a match made in heaven, a girl who doesn't like hockey and a boy who doesn't want to talk about hockey. But the past has a funny way of creeping up on you.

Loved it. Loved Dawn, loved Logan, loved Dawn's friends, loved the mature way in which both Dawn and Logan reacted when things didn't go their way. Loved that there was no animosity between Dawn and Toby. Maybe it was all a little too perfect but after the week I've had all I wanted was to sink into a gentle NA romantic novella with people that make me feel better about humanity.

Although this is the fourth book in the series I have not read any of the others and this can definitely be read as a stand-alone.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release.

View all my reviews

Review: The Billionaire in Her Bed

The Billionaire in Her Bed by Regina Kyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Graphic designer and part-time bartender Brooke Worthington has a torrid one-night stand with a mysterious stranger who walks into her seedy bar in Sunset Park one night. She never expects to see him again so imagine her surprise when he turns out to be her new neighbour.

Eli Ward is a real-estate mogul from Manhattan but his last few projects have all been snatched from under his nose by a competitor, convinced he has a mole in his organisation her decides to let no-one know about his new projects, something that he thought of when his hot one-night stand let slip about Fairway Supermarkets sniffing around the neighbourhood. Eli decides to go undercover to acquire an apartment building which he will develop into luxury apartments in what looks like an up-and-coming area. He first attempts at going incognito fail spectacularly when he turns up wearing his designer-label clothes but gradually he gains the trust of his neighbours, all whilst planning to move them into alternate accommodation. But the longer he spends with his neighbours the more he comes to question his business model.

This felt like a mash-up between the character played by Sandra Bullock in the film Two Weeks Notice and an episode of Undercover Millionaire. Brooke has a heart of gold, she's surrounded by cliches of rom-com - the gay couple and the single mom - she actually comes from a wealthy family but has rejected their cold snobbish attitudes, she's confident and kind and sexy and talented. Eli, on the other hand, appears to be a kind-hearted man with blinkered vision about his business until he learns to see the other tenants as 'real people'.

I liked this but it was a little too on the saccharine side for me, a bit too 'nice'. In my opinion it slipped from a romance into an unrealistic, idealised fantasy. I like a bit more grit and real life in my romance. Recommended if you need to read about nice people getting their rewards.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Tanner

Tanner by Sarah Mayberry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm enjoying this series so much that I went back to get the earlier books and this was the first.

Evie Forrester thought all her dreams had come true when her brother's best friend Troy Jensen finally noticed her at a family wedding and the two of them spent a spectacular night together. Since then the two of them have kept up a sporadic relationship via emails and texts while Evie studies veterinary science in Australia and Troy is a bull-rider on the American Extreme Bull Riders (AEBR) circuit. After college finishes Evie uses her savings to travel to Tulsa to surprise Troy by spending two weeks with him on tour.

Unfortunately Troy remembers their time together a little differently and Evie gets a rude awakening when she arrives at the venue. One of Troy's fellow bull-riders, Tanner Harding, is riding high leading the circuit, thirty-one years old and getting a bit tired of the buckle bunnies, he has the misfortune to be introduced to Evie by the security guard and asked to take her to Troy. Tanner knows that Troy hasn't been faithful to Evie, heck he didn't even know that Troy had a girlfriend, but he is powerless to stop the metaphorical car crash that occurs. Later that day his white knight streak gets a nudge when he sees Evie going into a run-down motel in a bad part of town. Against his better judgement he rescues her and lets her use the second bed in his hotel room (all the hotels being full due to the bull-riding event). But is there any future between a young Australian trainee vet and a seasoned bull-rider based in the USA? And is Evie truly devastated by Troy's betrayal?

I think this is a good indicator of the rest of the series (that I have read), if you like this then I expect you will enjoy the series. Each of the guys is different, but at heart they are all rough, tough cowboys with hot bodies and lots of courage. Tanner is kind-hearted, driven, thoughtful and self-assured - all the things I want in a book boyfriend - and he has an eight-pack!

If you like American sports romances but are getting a little tired of the baseball/ ice-hockey/ American football plots why not give the Extreme Bull Riders a try? Even the descriptions of the events are fascinating.

Looking forward to bringing myself right up to date by reading the second book, Chase.

View all my reviews

Review: Hot Pursuit

Hot Pursuit by Julie Ann Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

I haven't read the last few books in this series but I really enjoyed the books I had read so when I saw this available for review I was eager to see how the series had progressed.

Our BKI boys are in England, holed up in a cottage in Cornwall, and tensions are running high between Christian Watson, former British SAS soldier, and Emily Scott the team's office manager. But Christian has some murky secrets in his past and when they come back to haunt him the team is in trouble as both the press and enemies pursue him.

This story takes place over a few days, it's tight and tense with the team being pursued across South-West England whilst trying to discover the identity of the mysterious Spider. As always Julie Ann Walker writes a gripping thriller with gritty characters from tortured backgrounds - what you want from these kind of thriller romances.

However, being British I have to take umbrage at Christian's language. Julie Ann Walker appears to have looked up some British words and liberally sprinkled them throughout Christian's speech without regard for the regional provenance, historical usage, meaning or Christian's upbringing. So, for example, at one point they put a "dustbin" besides someone in case they are sick, a dustbin is something you keep outside which contains all your household rubbish - unless the guy is projectile vomiting a wastebin is more usual. Christian often uses the word "feckin" - that is used almost exclusively by the Irish (and sometimes the Scots), not English people. Christian talks about his mother cashing her government support checks at the pub, it should be her dole cheques (note the English spelling). Christian talks about going off in his "drawers", unless he's in a regency romance he should be talking about his pants or his Calvin Kleins. He also says he didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea and give Emily "poppycock" about things, poppycock means rubbish, gibberish so the sentence doesn't make sense. None of this should make any difference for non-British readers but it was jarring to this reader when a former SAS soldier brought up in relativity poverty and in a rough area speaks like a little old lady from an historical romance!

Setting aside my linguistic issues, I enjoyed this book, it was fast-paced and the characters were engaging, although I didn't quite grasp how they discovered the identity of Spider - that seemed a little bit too convenient, although I may have to reread that bit to confirm.

As always the little hints as to the next character to star in their own book were intriguing.

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: The Long and Short of It

The Long and Short of It by Jodi Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An anthology of seven novellas, six old and one new.

When a Child is Born
Max and her team have one small task - witness the coronation of William the Conqueror. What could go wrong? Let me list the ways!

A short story that makes you laugh and think (well a little bit)

Roman Holiday
t seemed so innocent, it always does with St Marys! Then there is Caesar, Cleopatra, assassination attempts and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Christmas Present
As always Ms Taylor tells a Christmas story which doesn't play on THE Christmas story. A secret mission, all our favourite characters, lots of cups of tea and Boadicea - what more could you ask?

Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
I love Jodi Taylor.

It's Christmas so obviously Max and Peterson and Markham have to steal Leon's pod and fix some terrible mistake before the Time Police get wind of it.

The St Mary's books always give me a mild form of Tourette's syndrome where I like to randomly splutter funny bits. So I give you in no particular order: Rupert, toilet roll, third place and fairy lights. You'll understand when you read it.

The Very First Damned Thing
A slightly more sombre novella than I have come to expect from Jodi Taylor. This is a background novella explaining, to some extent, how St Mary's first came into being and how Dr Bairstow created the core team. I still have lots of questions about what really happened in Cardiff and fighting back the fascists but this fills in some of the blanks.

A must-read for fans of the series but of limited interest for people who haven't read the other books.

The Great St Mary's Day Out
Review Not recommended for anyone who hasn't read at least one of the The Chronicles of St Mary's books but otherwise highly recommended.

Imagine what would happen if 15 of the miscreants, deviants and mildly insane staff of St Mary's go to Elizabethan London to watch William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Globe theatre. Yes, it goes even worse. Basically, 13 out of 15 people get involved in brawls, almost get shipped to the New World and/or nearly kill William Shakespeare.

Four and a half stars, because not enough Leon and too short and not enough biting sarcasm but otherwise just like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way.

My Name is Markham
Do you want to know the true story of how King Alfred burnt the cakes? Then this is the book for you. Told from Markham's POV it, gives an insight into how the security team view the historians and the cruel and unusual punishments inflicted by Dr Bairstow.

Only recommended for those who have read previous books in the series, otherwise you won't understand the references to previous events. A must read for devotees of everything St Mary's.

A Perfect Storm
This new novella takes place at St Mary's where the team are in various degrees of rehabilitation after their last mission. Max has just two tasks: get one of their former colleagues to destroy his latest novel (about time travel) and get a film producer to sign a lucrative contract with St Mary's for historical research and/or costumes. But the producer is an ass and Max allows Professor Rapson to recreate Hannibal's fire setting techniques. There are foetid vapours, fake accents, superheroes, a pub crawl (on a Monday night) and film producers - just another day at the office for St Mary's

View all my reviews