Author: Claire Kingsley

Review: Reckless Miles by Claire Kingsley

Posted April 18, 2022 by Casee in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Reckless Miles by Claire KingsleyReviewer: Casee
Reckless Miles by Claire Kingsley
Narrator: Stephen Dexter, Desiree Ketchum, John Lane
Series: Miles Family #3
Also in this series: Broken Miles, Forbidden Miles
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 18, 2019
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 342
Length: 9 hours and 27 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

“I love being naked. Naked is awesome.” ~Cooper Miles
For Cooper Miles, life used to be an endless party. He worked hard and played harder—as often as possible. But things change—people change—and lately the party life isn’t doing it for him.
Enter Amelia Hale. Cooper doesn’t see her coming. But it isn’t every day you meet a girl in a wedding dress in a bar. A girl whose life just took a sharp left turn she wasn’t expecting.
Kissing her is totally no big deal. She’s had one hell of a day and a little kissing lesson by Cooper is bound to make her feel better. The invitation back to her hotel, however… that, he wasn’t expecting.
Saying yes to her is reckless. Not because he’s a stranger to a one-night stand. And not because she’s in a wedding dress, and the words this is my first time cross her lips.
It’s reckless because she makes him feel things he’s never felt before—big things. Nothing scares Cooper Miles. But this girl? She might be magic, and he has no idea what to do with that.
Author’s note: Cooper Miles. He’s sexy, hilarious, and deeper than you think. This former playboy has a heart as big as his personality, and when he finally falls in love, he falls HARD.
The Miles Family series is best enjoyed in order.

Cooper first meets Amelia in the local bar. She’s in a wedding dress which is the first thing Cooper notices. When they start talking, Cooper can also tell she has a good heart. He’s shocked when she propositions him with a one-night stand. Now Cooper is a good guy, but he’s not a saint. She might ask someone else and he can’t have that. So he comes up with an idea for a Coopermoon instead of the honeymoon Amelia was supposed to go on.

What starts as a one-night stand turns into something much more as the two get to know each other. Cooper is a hero that has layers. He’s funny and a little much, but his loyalty to his family is one of the best things about him. Cooper seems like such a straight-forward hero, but man, does he have layers. He will do anything to protect his family, even help his criminal father behind his family’s back. He doesn’t like hiding it, but he has to save the vineyard that is everything to him. To the family. All the while, Amelia and Cooper get closer. Amelia gets Cooper in a way that few people do. I adored them together.

Again, I love that Claire Kingsley rarely does misunderstandings and/or miscommunication. If there is any miscommunication between her characters, it is quickly cleared up. I love that about this author. There aren’t pages and pages of miscommunication. Ugh.

This book. Holy shit. This book had everything. I loved it from start to finish. LOVED IT.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Miles Family

four-half-stars


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Review: Forbidden Miles by Claire Kingsley

Posted April 6, 2022 by Casee in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Forbidden Miles by Claire KingsleyReviewer: Casee
Forbidden Miles by Claire Kingsley
Narrator: Vikas Adam, Ava Erickson
Series: Miles Family #2
Also in this series: Broken Miles, Reckless Miles
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 18, 2019
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 316
Length: 8 hours and 6 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

“You're not supposed to fall for your brothers best friend.”
Brynn Miles thought moving back to her family’s winery was a good idea. But when you’re the baby of the family, life can get complicated. Dating? Forget about it. Not with her three older brothers acting like human chastity belts.
To Chase Reilly, his best friend’s little sister has always been invisible. She’s so forbidden, he doesn’t let himself see her. Besides, she’s totally girlfriend material, and he doesn’t do the relationship thing.
Until the night Chase sees her. Really, truly sees her. And nothing will ever be the same.
Looking for love isn’t Brynn’s focus, and Chase is the one guy in the world she can’t fall for. He’s T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Untouchable. And just as forbidden as she is.
But once Chase set his sights on Brynn, there isn’t anything—or anyone—who’ll stop him.
Author’s note: A childhood crush. An irresistible attraction. The cutest scavenger hunt ever. And a surprisingly sweet hero who puts it all on the line when he falls head over heels for the one girl he can’t have.
The Miles Family series is best enjoyed in order.

Brynn Miles has always been off limits to Chase Reilly. She’s his best friend’s sister which put her in the “no touchy” category. He doesn’t let himself see Brynn, which has been working for him since she was young. That all changes in a heartbeat when he sees Brynn making out with her boyfriend at the local diner. Chase’s blinders are ripped off and he finally sees Brynn as the woman she is. Now he can’t stop thinking about Brynn and what he wants for her. He just has to convince her to take a chance on him.

Brynn is shocked when Chase actually talks to her. He’s always been around in her life, but on the periphery. Now he’s actually paying attention to her and she doesn’t know how she feels about it. She wants to believe the feeling he has for her are true, but there are obstacles. Namely her brother Cooper who is also Chase’s best friend. As for Chase, he’s never been more sure of anything than he is of his feelings for Brynn. They just have to figure out how to tell her family. Cooper was such an asshole in this book. I loved him in Broken Miles, but I wanted to junk punch him in this book. Until he isn’t. I have to say that he really redeemed himself by the end of the book.

Family is extremely prevalent in this book. I loved the dynamic within the family. Chase and Brynn’s story was such a sweet one. This book shows that love can prevail. I loved it.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.

Miles Family

four-half-stars


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Review: Broken Miles by Claire Kingsley

Posted April 4, 2022 by Casee in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: Broken Miles by Claire KingsleyReviewer: Casee
Broken Miles by Claire Kingsley
Narrator: Joe Arden, Maxine Mitchell
Series: Miles Family #1
Also in this series: Forbidden Miles, Reckless Miles
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 18, 2019
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 298
Length: 7 hours and 16 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

“She was unraveling me, slowly but surely. I could feel it happening. Like she was gently unbuttoning the collar of a shirt that fit too tight.”
Single-minded drive earned Roland Miles success—and cost him his first love. When his marriage to Zoe ended, he did the only thing he knew. He dove into work to put his heartbreak behind him.
Zoe Sutton’s life hasn’t exactly gone to plan. She certainly didn’t plan on losing Roland or moving home to work for his family’s winery. Four years after their divorce, she wonders if her chance at happily ever after is behind her.
After discovering his family might lose their land, Roland comes home to help sort out the mess. But between his brothers’ antics, a baby sister who’s all grown up, and a father keeping secrets, complicated isn’t even the half of it.
And then there’s Zoe.
He didn’t come home looking for a second chance with her. But the more time they spend together, the more he realizes what they lost. What they could have again.
Because the truth is, they broke each other’s hearts. And maybe they’re the only ones who can put them back together.
Author’s note: A stoic hero who’s soft on the inside. A sassy heroine who doesn’t take any sh*t. Messy family. Lots of shenanigans. Mattress burning bonfires. And a second chance at love with a big HEA.
The Miles Family series are best enjoyed in order.

Roland feels like he needs to prove himself to his father. To prove that he doesn’t need to go into the family winery business to be successful. The only thing Roland hasn’t been successful in is his marriage. Being a workaholic didn’t work for Zoe so she left San Francisco and went back home. She was lucky enough to be taken in my Roland’s family and given a job. As an event planner for the Miles’ winery, Zoe is constantly in motion. When the family finds out that the winery is in trouble, they call Roland home to fix it. As a businessman, Roland has insight that the rest of his family doesn’t have. The last thing he wants to do is return home, but he can’t leave his family hanging.

Zoe isn’t thrilled that Roland is coming home, but she’s not freaked out either. She’s moved on from Roland and their marriage. Zoe doesn’t even consider reconciliation as a possibility. She just hopes that Roland will be on his way back to San Francisco soon. Unfortunately for Zoe, Roland finds out that his dad has been running the winery into the ground. If he doesn’t do something, they will go out of business. Now the entire family has to band together to get them through the crisis that their father has put them in.

This is the second series that I have read by Claire Kingsley. She has such a gift. The characters she writes are more than loveable, they will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book(s). This was such a great start to this series. Roland and Zoe were made for each other, but sometimes that’s not enough. They had to work at it. I love the second chance trope. Another thing I love about Claire Kinglsey is that there is very little miscommunication with her characters. That is such a refreshing change for me. Miscommunication is one of my pet peeves.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Miles Family

four-half-stars


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Joint Review: Hot Single Dad by Claire Kingsley

Posted August 8, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Joint Review: Hot Single Dad by Claire KingsleyReviewer: Holly and Rowena
Hot Single Dad (Book Boyfriends 3) by Claire Kingsley
Series: Book Boyfriends #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: August 22nd, 2017
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 268
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Reasons I need to stop fantasizing about Linnea:

1. She’s too young for me.

2. She’s my daughter’s nanny.

I could stop there, couldn’t I? I’m already a cliché. The single dad who’s hot for the nanny. But it gets worse.

3. She’s my sister-in-law.

My wife died when our daughter was a baby, and Linnea was just a quiet teenager. I barely knew her. When my in-laws insist she move to Seattle to be my live-in nanny—after a string of caregivers who didn’t work out—I reluctantly agree.

I wasn’t counting on the smoking hot blonde with sinful curves, kissable lips, and shy smile.

Linnea is perfect for my daughter—fun, patient, and kind. She might be perfect for me too, but I can’t think that way. She needs to live her own life, not be saddled with my insta-family.

Being around her is a special kind of torture, but I have to keep this infatuation to myself. I can’t fall for my daughter’s nanny.

But it might be too late.

Rowena: Holly and I have been digging the Single Dad romances lately so when Hot Single Dad came on to our radar, we knew that we were going to read it and read it together. Claire Kingsley is a new to us author and we were happy to dive right in.

Caleb is a single Dad who works long hours at the hospital and needs a little help caring for his young daughter. When his late wife’s parents offer the services of their other daughter, Linnea, Caleb isn’t wild about the idea but he doesn’t turn them down. He figured he would get the help he needed and his young daughter Charlotte would get to know her Aunt Linnea. He didn’t figure that Linnea would turn his world upside down and that he would be so attracted to her. When Linnea returns that attraction, things get really interesting.

What a cute story this turned out to be. What did you think, Holly?

Holly: I was a little hesitant about going into this book because the blurb mentions an age gap and I hate when that’s the main focus of a story. That ended up being a small part of it, however, and I thought the story was really cute.

Rowena: Not me. I jumped right in and was super excited about it. While I didn’t LOVE it and want to shout about my love from the rooftops, I still really enjoyed the book. Caleb and Linnea’s romance was sweet and I liked how it unfolded. I loved seeing both of their relationships with Charlotte and gah, this book was just oozing sweetness.

Holly: I liked what a great dad Caleb was. He wasn’t some inept fool who needed a woman to do everything for him. He had it all handled, he just needed a babysitter for when he was at work.

Rowena: I agree with you about Caleb. He was a great father to Charlotte and I really liked that he loved spending time with her and treasured the time he had with her. He didn’t let Linnea take care of Charlotte while he was home. He didn’t lean on Linnea for anything. He took being a Dad seriously and he tried the best he could. What’s not to love about that?

What did you think about Linnea’s parents and that whole thing?

Holly: I didn’t like her parents at all, and that the aspect of the book that left me the least satisfied. The resolution with them left a lot to be desired.

Rowena: Same. I thought the Mom was really dumb and that part of the book was so small that it didn’t feel necessary.

Their awkwardness with each other when their feelings are first brought out into the light was cute. It could have easily been super cheesy and not fun but I enjoyed that. I really enjoyed how they became a team where Charlotte was concerned and I liked the relationship that Linnea formed with Charlotte.

Were you at all itchy about Linnea being Caleb’s sister in law?

Holly: I expected to feel kind of skeevy about the sister-in-law thing, but I didn’t. Maybe it was the way it was written, but the focus wasn’t on it so much that I felt like it was a huge deal. You?

Rowena: It didn’t bother me any. I enjoyed Caleb and Linnea together and the way that they were with Charlotte. They were two good people who fell in love with each other and I dug their story.

I give this book a 4 out of 5. You?

Holly: I’m giving it 3.5. As sweet as the story was, I felt a little disconnected from it somehow. I enjoyed it, but I had to reread it before we began our discussion.

Holly’s Grade: 3.5 out of 5
Rowena’s Grade: 4 out of 5

Book Boyfriends

four-stars


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