Day: December 17, 2014

Review: The Best Kind of Trouble by Lauren Dane

Posted December 17, 2014 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

best kind of trouble
Rowena’s review of The Best Kind of Trouble (Hurley Boys #1) by Lauren Dane.

She has complete control… and he’s determined to take it away…

A librarian in the small town of Hood River, Natalie Clayton’s world is very nearly perfect. After a turbulent childhood and her once-wild ways, life is now under control. But trouble has a way of turning up unexpectedly—especially in the tall, charismatically sexy form of Paddy Hurley….

And Paddy is the kind of trouble that Natalie has a taste for.

Even after years of the rock and roll lifestyle, Paddy never forgot the two wickedly hot weeks he once shared with Natalie. Now he wants more… even if it means tempting Natalie and her iron-grip control. But there’s a fine line between well-behaved and misbehaved—and the only compromise is between the sheets!

I don’t think I’ve read anything by Lauren Dane before. Holly’s been on me for a long time to try her stuff but I haven’t until now and I’m super glad that I started her books with this one because I adored this one.

Natalie Clayton is a librarian who used to be a wild child but has cleaned up her act and is now a fully functional adult. She’s responsible and she’s determined to keep her life in control. She’s doing a great job of handling that until she comes across Paddy Hurley, the famous rock star from her wild child past. Someone she wants to keep in her past but Paddy isn’t taking the hint.

Paddy Hurley is enjoying some down time after touring with his band and he’s back in his hometown when he comes across a blast from the past. Natalie Clayton, the girl he spent two spectacular weeks with. A girl who wants nothing to do with him now…only thing is, he wants something to do with her. Challenge accepted.

I’ve listened to Holly go on and on about how Lauren Dane writes fantastic relationships. Familial relationships. Friendships. Loving relationships. She has said that Dane excels at creating characters that you’re going to love and I finally know what she was talking about because boy did I love me some Paddy Hurley (and Ezra and the others too) but I also really, really liked Natalie.

I liked seeing Paddy win her over and I enjoyed seeing Natalie struggle to keep Paddy at bay. I enjoyed seeing Paddy come into his feelings for Natalie and the same with Natalie. They were a treat to get to know and I am definitely going to be reading more from this series. I loved the Hurley’s, the guys from the band and Tuesday too.

I’m pretty stoked to see where this series goes. This was a fun read and if you haven’t tried it out yet, you should.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from HQN Books. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.


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Guest Review: Love and Leprechauns by Zara Keane

Posted December 17, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Love and Leprechauns by Zara KeaneReviewer: Tracy
Love and Leprechauns by Zara Keane
Series: Ballybeg series #3
Also in this series: Love and Shenanigans, Love and Mistletoe

Publication Date: June 23rd 2015
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating: four-stars

Falling for her ex…
Olivia Gant is determined to escape her abusive husband and build a new life. Only desperation drives her to rent business premises from Jonas O'Mahony, the man who tattooed her behind and broke her heart. Can she maintain a haughty distance?

Jonas is a struggling single father. The last person he wants next door is the beautiful-but-infuriating Olivia. A childcare crisis forces him to strike a bargain with her: the lease to the cottage in return for babysitting. Can he resist her allures?

When Olivia's ex is clobbered to death with a garden gnome, the fickle finger of suspicion points at Olivia and Jonas. Can they prove their innocence, or is their happily ever after doomed?

 

Tracy’s review of Love and Leprechauns (Ballybeg #3) by Zara Keane

Olivia is a woman who has had a miserable married life. She married Aidan Gant for financial security but got nothing but grief for the years they were married. No amount of money is worth living with Aidan who is a cruel and violent man.

Olivia’s dream of opening a café finally comes to fruition with the help of her one-time boyfriend Jonas O’Mahoney’s cottage. This also is the first step in the pair becoming closer and starting a relationship. That’s all put to the test when Aidan if found dead the detective in charge of the case is determined to charge either Olivia or Jonas and he’s blinded to any other suspect. Luckily they have friends and acquaintances that can help them in their time of need.

This was a love story/mystery and different from the first two in the series. As this had the mystery involved it was a lighter on the romance, imho. The reason for this was A) Jonas and Olivia had been in a previous relationship when they were teens and had also been good friends so they already knew each other and B) as the focus of the story was on who killed Aidan that left less time for romance and C) this story also involved Jonas’s autistic son, Luca, and he took up a portion of the story as well.

I must say that I enjoyed Olivia and Jonas getting to know each other once again. When they had been dating before there was a tragedy with Jonas’s brother and as his mother blamed Olivia for the accident they had drifted apart. At the beginning of the book I was uncertain as to why Olivia had such anger toward Jonas and he actually believed her to be a snob. They had obviously grown up but had made assumptions about the other without all the facts. On top of their apparent dislike for each other was the fact that Olivia was trying to hide her true married life from everyone in town, including her best friends. Once she opened up to one and all Jonas was able to see that she was still the same good person she’d always been. The support that Jonas and Olivia gave each other throughout the investigation into Aidan’s murder was truly touching as well.

I loved Luca’s involvement in this book. He was such a sweet and intelligent boy and I adored how close Olivia got to him despite her awkwardness with him at first.

The story was a good one and I really enjoyed reading it. I love the way that Keane sets up her stories and I’m looking forward to the next couple to fall in love in Ballybeg.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from Beaverstone Press LLC. You can buy it here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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