Tag: 5.0 Reviews

Review: Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy Score

Posted June 26, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Casee
Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score
Narrator: Melissa Moran
Series: Benevolence #1
Also in this series: Finally Mine, Finally Mine
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 8, 2018
Format: Audiobook, eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited, Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 474
Length: 11 hours and 41 minutes
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five-stars
Series Rating: four-stars


I only wanted to protect you…

Luke Garrison is a hometown hero, a member of the National Guard ready to deploy again. He’s strong, sexy, broody. The last thing he’s looking for is a woman to ruin his solitude. When the wildly beautiful Harper stumbles into his life, though, he realizes that she’s the perfect decoy. A fake girlfriend to keep his family off his back until he’s deployed.
So what if kissing her sends his mind to wicked places? He can control himself. Can’t he?
Harper was on her way to starting a new life… again. But something about Luke makes her want to settle down in this small town and make his house a home. When she’s in his arms, she finally knows what it’s like to feel safe. Protected.
One night of sharing a bed turns into something much, much more… and soon Luke can’t keep his mind off Harper’s wide gray eyes or his hands off her luscious curves. He never thought he’d feel this way about a woman again. But he knows that he can’t tell her the truth about his dark past. And she can’t reveal what she’s running from.
At least this isn’t a real relationship. It’s only for a month. It’s only pretend. Until it isn’t…

I first read this book in March, but didn’t review it. I decided to listen to it on audio to see if I adored it as much as I did when I read it. The answer is a resounding YES. I loved this book from cover to cover. It has everything I look for in a romance. It had a tortured hero, a loveable yet quirky heroine, a small town that you couldn’t help but love, and secondary characters that only added to the story. This book was everything.

Harper was a force of nature. Once you got in her path, she didn’t let you go. Harper first meets Luke after a barfight that leaves her unconscious. When she wakes up, she sees Luke Garrison & thinks to herself that nothing could look as amazing as he does. They instantly click, but Luke is closed off in some ways. When his sister, Sophie, suggests that she stay with Luke for the night, she can’t turn down the offer. She has no money, no cell phone, and her car is running on its last leg. Harper has no idea what she’s in for when she decides to stay in Benevolence.

Life hasn’t always been easy for Luke Garrison. Losing his high school sweetheart on the day that he comes home from Iraq is something that he hasn’t moved on from. He is immediately drawn to Harper & her openness. You don’t ever have to wonder what Harper is thinking, because she tells you. He is worried that she will kill herself one day. It would be an accident of course, as Harper tends to be accident prone. It doesn’t take long for Harper to be fully immersed in Luke’s life & he doesn’t know how he’s going to let her go when he leaves for his next deployment. Then he doesn’t because he asks her to wait for him.

This was a very interesting book insofar as some of it takes place when Luke is overseas. Harper knows she loves Luke, just as she knows that he’s closed himself off from loving anyone. She doesn’t know what his story is, but she hopes that he will tell her some day. Then she finds out his secret on her own. I loved that she didn’t freak out. Harper was just such an amazing character. I loved both Harper & Luke, but it was Harper that really stood out for me. Like I said, I loved everything about this book and think that it’s the best book in the Benevolence series.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Benevolence

five-stars


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Throwback Thursday Review: Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas

Posted May 27, 2021 by Holly in Reviews | 10 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Worth Any Price by Lisa KleypasReviewer: Holly
Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas
Series: Bow Street Runners #3
Also in this series: Worth Any Price
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 388
Add It: Goodreads
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five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Nick Gentry is reputed to be the most skillful lover in all England. Known for solving delicate situations, he is hired to seek out Miss Charlotte Howard. He believes his mission will be easily accomplished - but that was before he met the lady in question.

For instead of a willful female, he discovers one in desperate circumstances, hiding from a man who could destroy her very soul. So Nick shockingly offers her a very different kind of proposition - one he has never offered before.

He asks her to be his bride.

And he knows that this will be much more than a union in name only. For he senses what Charlotte does not yet know - that her appetite for sensuality matches his own. But what Nick learns surprises him. For while London's most notorious lover might claim Charlotte's body, he quickly discovers it will take much more than passion to win her love

This is another novel I recently re-read. It was just as wonderful this time around. I adore Nick and Lottie.

This review was originally posted on June 24, 2009.

Worth Any Price is the 3rd book in Lisa Kleypas’ Bow Street Runners series. I read this book before I read any of the others (naturally) and Nick immediately grabbed me. Right from the beginning I adored him, and that hasn’t changed in all my years of reading romance. I recently re-read this book because of a discussion on Good Reads and I was just as impressed with it this time around.

Lottie Howard has escaped a fate worse than death: Being married to Lord Radnor, a peer of the realm who thinks he’s purchased her and now owns her lock, stock and barrel. Even though it puts her family in a bad position she knows her life will be over if she goes forward with the marriage. She finds a position as a lady’s companion to Lord Westcliff’s mother.

Which is where Nick Gentry finds her. Nick is a bow street runner who takes private commissions on occasion to supplement his income. He was hired by Lord Radnor to find Lottie and bring her back. Radnor has hired several others before Nick to find her with no luck, but Nick is the best of the best and it isn’t long before he locates Charlotte. The problem is that he seems to be completely taken with her himself.

Although he has every intention of taking her to Radnor, he surprises everyone, himself included, by offering for her instead. Although Lottie would prefer to remain single and independent, she knows she needs the protection of marriage if she’s to avoid marriage with Radnor. And if anyone is strong enough to keep her safe from Radnor, it’s Nick Gentry.

They enter into a marriage of convenience, but both are surprised by the depth of passion they feel for each other. Despite their steamy, passionate nights, however, they each hold part of themselves back.

I think the thing I love most about this book is what a unique and unconventional hero Nick is. He’s only had one lover prior to Lottie (though admittedly the madame of a brothel is probably like the equivalent of like sleeping with all of London) and he is very content with his lot in life. He thrives on the rush of being a Bow Street Runner and isn’t just playacting when it comes to his past. He’s very scarred from things that happened in his youth. The only person he really allows himself to be close to is his young niece, and to some extend his sister (who’s story is told in the previous book, Lady Sophia’s Lover).

In this case it’s Lottie who is the strong one. She’s the more balanced of the two, despite her childhood under Radnor’s thumb, and she’s the one who steadies Nick, though he doesn’t realize it. I love that they were able to lean on each other – Lottie on Nick for protection and Nick on Lottie for emotional support.

Plus, the sex is totally hot. Tantric Love-making takes on a whole new meaning with Nick Gentry.

There are issues with it. I hate it ends as abruptly as it does, without giving us more of the story with Charlotte and her family. Particularly her younger sister. I think I really wanted to see her family brought low after they way they treated her, and I never got that. The problems are few and the rest of the story really makes up for them, in my opinion.

Overall this is an emotionally appealing novel about love, redemption and the strange connections formed between two polar opposites. I was sucked in from page one the first time I read this years and years ago, and that didn’t change upon this re-read.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Bow Street Runners

Book CoverBook CoverBook Cover

five-stars


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Throwback Thursday Review: Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Posted December 31, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 5 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Rock Addiction by Nalini SinghReviewer: Rowena
Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh
Series: Rock Kiss #1
Also in this series: Rock Courtship, Rock Addiction, Rock Courtship, Rock Hard, Rock Hard, Rock Redemption, Rock Redemption, Rock Redemption, Rock Addiction, Rock Courtship, Rock Hard, Rock Wedding, Rock Wedding, Rock Wedding, Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss, #1), Rock Hard (Rock Kiss, #2), Rock Redemption (Rock Kiss, #3), Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss, #4), Rock Addiciton
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 312
Add It: Goodreads
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five-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…
Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.
A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…
Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

This review was originally posted on September 22, 2014.

When I saw Holly make the announcement on our blog that Nalini Singh (of popular paranormal romance fame) was self-publishing a contemporary series about a rock band, I was all about it. I really enjoyed the first and second books in the Psy-Changeling series, but I’m not much of a paranormal reader these days so this series is much more my speed.

I read this book, the first time around, in one sitting.  Now, I read my favorite parts of the book like it’s going out of style. This is one of the review copies that I read before I go to bed because I love Fox that much.

So Fox is the lead singer in the internationally famous rock band, Schoolboy Choir, and he’s got his eyes on his publicist’s sister, Molly Webster. He wants her and what Fox wants, he gets. What started out as one night leads to so much more than that and Molly is surprised.

Molly isn’t one of those model type heroines with the long legs and the long gorgeous mane of hair. She’s not a celebrity.  She’s just a librarian from New Zealand who doesn’t want to be in the spotlight because she’s had bad experiences being the public spotlight.

Both characters were such strong characters on their own but when forces tried tearing them apart, I loved how fiercely protective of each other they were and really, that was what sold me on them as a couple. They really complimented each other and I loved the way that they loved each other.  This book is made up of my very favorite reasons for reading romance.  Strong and interesting characters, sizzling chemistry between the main characters and a strong cast of secondary characters that will most definitely carry their own stories when their time in the spotlight comes (cause we are getting Noah’s story, right? David and Thea, too? =P).

I really liked Nalini’s style with this one.  It’s a great opening story into a series that I’m completely sold on. I’ve got ants in my pants for the next book because Singh shines with this book.  If I had to pick something to gripe about, it would probably be all of the sexy time.  Fox and Molly were insatiable but that’s just me being a hater. LOL.  She gave us a peak into the rock star world in freaking New Zealand and knocked the story right out of the park for me. I can’t wait to get to know the other boys in the band better (in their own books) and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the series turns out. I most definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fantastic contemporary romance. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Rock Kiss

five-stars


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Throwback Thursday Review: Some Enchanted Season by Marilyn Pappano

Posted December 24, 2020 by Casee in Reviews | 4 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Some Enchanted Season by Marilyn PappanoReviewer: Casee
Some Enchanted Season (Bethlehem, #2) by Marilyn Pappano
Series: Bethlehem #2
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: December 1st 1998
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 374
Add It: Goodreads
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Sometimes miracles do happen.

When Maggie left her husband Ross that fateful Christmas Eve, their marriage was over.  But a near fatal accident on an ice-slick road changed everything.

Now another Christmas approaches.  While Maggie hasn't regained all her memory, she's ready to test her strength at home--with Ross as her only companion.  Sharing a house with him once more, putting on the best face for their neighbors, Maggie knows she's living a lie.

Then she glimpses Ross as he used to be: playful and passionate, the man of her dreams before ambition changed him.  She couldn't know he's feeling the same regrets, the same heartache...or that he fears the return of her memory.  What will happen when she remembers the reason she fled from him last year?

It will take a miracle to send the walls of anger and secrecy tumbling down and reunite the divided couple.  But in the small town of Bethlehem, miracles do happen....

This review was originally posted on December 14, 2007.

I absolutely adore this book. I love it. After I read it, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love reunion books. I love how I can reread this every single year (at Christmas, of course) and still get as caught up in the story as I did the first time I read it. This is one of my absolute favorite rereads during the holiday season.

Arriving back in Bethlehem a few days before Thanksgiving, Maggie has no memory of what drove her from her home that on Christmas Eve of of the prior year. What she does remember is that after sixteen years of marriage, she and her husband, Ross, have decided to call it quits. After 11 months of extensive physical therapy, Maggie is forced to except Ross’ help in her recovery. Their plan was simple. Ross would be around to help Maggie for two months. They would then part amicably and then quietly get divorced.

Really, is there any such thing as an amicable divorce? Seriously. When you’re together that long and were madly in love?

After being a workaholic for so many years, Ross finds himself curiously adrift. Never being able to find the right balance between being a CEO and husband, Ross refuses to let himself read even one email or answer one phone call. He decides that it’s the nicest thing he can do for Maggie. A parting gift, if you will.

Nothing ever goes according to plan, of course. When you live in a town full of people offering advice, a town that has its’ own guardian angel, it’s very easy to think “what if”. It doesn’t take Ross long to start thinking that he and Maggie could make things work. There’s only one problem. While Maggie doesn’t remember the previous Christmas Eve, Ross does. He knows that it’s highly likely that when Maggie remembers what happened, it will drive her from his arms for good.

I can’t say enough how much I love this book. It’s a book about two people who lost their way. Going back to their roots, Maggie and Ross both have to look inside themselves to find what makes them happy. While Ross did put work ahead of Maggie, Maggie is far from blameless in the demise of their marriage. Coming to terms with that is hard for her, but she’s able to do it. Maggie is one of my favorite heroines.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Bethlehem


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Review: Sebring by Kristen Ashley

Posted October 23, 2020 by Casee in Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Sebring by Kristen AshleyReviewer: Casee
Sebring by Kristen Ashley
Series: Unfinished Hero #5
Also in this series: Knight, Creed, Raid, Deacon
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: January 11, 2016
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: First & Third Person
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 446
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2020 Goodreads Challenge, Goodreads Challenge
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five-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Nick Sebring has issues. Born feeling like an outsider in his own family, growing up under the shadow of a brother who could do anything, Nick isn’t that great of a guy. But when this culminates with Nick lashing out to hurt his brother through the woman he loves, Nick turns inward and makes some decisions about the man he intends to be.

And as he does this, he falls in love and truly learns the man that he’s grown to be.

When his love is murdered right before Nick’s eyes, Nick knows he has to avenge her. He knows how he’s going to avenge her. And he has no qualms using Olivia Shade to exact that vengeance.

Olivia Shade has grown up on the outside of her family too. Her problem is that they don’t want her outside. They want her all the way in, right under their thumbs. She pays the price for seeking escape and learns her lesson—she’ll never see a dawn where she wakes up free.
Then she meets Nick Sebring, and even as she fights it, the hope that died years ago starts to blossom. She can find love. She can have a man of her own. She can be happy. She can be free.

Olivia hopes while Nick schemes.

However, as Nick peels back the layers of all that is Olivia Shade, he finds something surprising. He understands its fragility. He falls in love with its beauty. He seeks to protect it.

But he forgets to protect his Livvie from one thing: Nick Sebring.

You know how you feel when you read a freaking amazing book? Sebring is that for me, which makes it really difficult to review. I really want everyone to read this book, but you have to read the entire series to understand Nick’s journey. I didn’t have extremely high hopes for this book because Nick Sebring wasn’t exactly a lovable character in the previous books. He was a total ass. I should have had faith in Kristen Ashley. By the time I was done with this book, I absolutely adored Nick and Olivia. It’s one of those books that I thought about for days after finishing it.

Nick always felt like he grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Knight. After Nick intentionally hurts Knight’s woman, Nick starts to realize what he has become and he doesn’t like who he has become. Because Nick is so hated by his family, it was easy for the FBI to recruit him to be their confidential informant. The FBI, with Nick’s help, is trying to take down the Shade Empire. When everything comes to a head, the woman Nick loves is shot in the head right in front of him. Nick vows revenge on the Shade family and will do anything to get it. Even pretending to be interested in Olivia Shade.

Olivia knows her family is bad, but she truly didn’t understand how evil they were until Nick came into her life. There are few things that Olivia has that are her own, but Nick becomes hers. It’s well known that Nick worked with the FBI, so when Olivia’s family finds out she’s involved with Nick the shit hits the fan. Olivia knows it can’t last with Nick, but she’s going to have something that’s her very own, separate from her crazy family.

Olivia always thought Nick was too good to be true. It turns out she was right. Nick is there to spy on the Shade family and he’s pretending to love Olivia to do it. While it did start that way, Nick fell in love with Olivia. She’s the complete opposite of her father and her sister. She doesn’t want to be in the drug business yet she can’t escape them. Olivia thought that Nick was her chance to get out, but she soon learns what he is really doing in her life.

Nick will not give up on Olivia. He never thought he could love anyone else, let alone a Shade. While getting to know her, Nick realizes how different from her family that she really is. He swears to get her out of that life and away from her family. Then she finds out the truth about him and Nick has a fight on his hands trying to convince Olivia that his feelings for her were true. I just couldn’t get enough of this book and these two characters. They are both so broken.

“Because I’m the man who’s gonna eat taco extravaganza, whatever the fuck that is, just because you made it. I’m also the man who’s gonna put the effort into making you come for me after, more than once, even though it’s highly likely taco extravaganza is gonna sit in my gut like an anvil. And I’m also the man who knows every day I wake up you mean more to me than you did the day before. And I’m the man who knew meant a fuckuva lot to me yesterday, so you meaning more today means everything. And I’m the man who’s got two priority missions. To get you free of a life you hate and to get you to a place you smile, frequently and easily.”

How can you not fall in love with Nick Sebring? If you read this book and you don’t love it, well, that worries me.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Unfinished Hero

five-stars


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