Tag: Holly Reviews

Review: Tikka Chance on Me by Suleikha Snyder

Posted January 23, 2019 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Tikka Chance on Me by Suleikha SnyderReviewer: Holly
Tikka Chance on Me by Suleikha Snyder
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 13, 2018
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating First and Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 72
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars

He’s the bad-boy biker. She’s the good girl working in her family’s Indian restaurant. On the surface, nothing about Trucker Carrigan and Pinky Grover’s instant, incendiary, attraction makes sense. But when they peel away the layers and the assumptions—and their clothes—everything falls into place. The need. The want. The light. The laughter. They have more in common than they ever could’ve guessed. Is it enough? They won’t know until they take a chance on each other—and on love.

Tikka Chance on Me by Suleikha Snyder is the first novel I’ve read by the author. Amazon popped it up in my recommendations several times, and Nalini Singh recommended it in her last newsletter, so I figured I’d give it a try. It was a great story.

Pinky Grover and Trucker Carrigan grew up in the same town. He was several years ahead of her in high school. She went away to college but left her graduate program when her mother became ill. Though she had fun partying at school, she’s kept things low-key at home. Her one guilty pleasure? Fantasizing about Trucker. He’s a bad-boy enforcer for the local motorcycle club, and totally off limits. But that doesn’t stop her body from wanting him.

Trucker has wanted Pinky for months, but he isn’t in a position to do anything about it. Until one day they end up getting busy in his truck at the local Walmart. Now he can’t stay away from her..even though he knows he has to. When things blow up, Trucker knows he has to walk away…but it isn’t easy saying goodbye to the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

I loved the witty banter between Trucker and Pinky. I also loved her sense of humor. Trucker is a total nerd boy and I loved that about him.

“You know, I had a girlfriend once who said she couldn’t suck my dick because she was vegan?”
“That…is not a thing. I think she just didn’t want to suck your dick.”

[…]

I’d had no idea there was an overlap in the motorcycle club and vegan communities. Who knew? Were there entire vegan motorcycle clubs? Did they wear vegan leather jackets?

I’m not completely satisfied with the ending. Perhaps it’s the short page count, or just the way the author resolved things, but I didn’t buy the final resolution. I won’t spoil the circumstances behind it, but needless to say, it didn’t work for me.

View Spoiler »

Aside from the one issue, this was a great story. I enjoyed both Trucker and Pinky, the steamy scenes and the anticipation of figuring out just how they could make it work. Though short, I fully connected with both main characters. Snyder penned a beautifully engrossing tale that pulled me in from page one.

3.5 out of 5

four-stars


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Review: Win Me by Joan Kilby

Posted October 19, 2015 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Win Me by Joan KilbyWin Me by Joan Kilby
Series: The Outback Bachelor Ball #1
Also in this series: Woo Me, Wait for Me, Win Me, Woo Me, Wait for Me
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 10/20/15
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

She’ll do anything to get him to see her as a woman...

Feisty, fearless Ellie McFarlane has tried forever to get cattle station manager, Rick Drummond, to notice she’s not another cowhand. So when her gal pals talk her into glamming up for an Outback Bachelor and Spinster ball she’s eager to prove she’s all woman, all the time, and leave her boneheaded cowboy eating dust.

Sexy wrangler Rick is crazy about Ellie just as she is but her father – his boss – told him long ago that his daughter was off limits. Even though she’s all grown up now, Rick still feels it’s his job is to protect her, not seduce her. Plus, he’s finally got an opportunity to buy back his family farm, which means moving far away.

Ellie’s transformation from Cinder-Ellie to belle of the ball has Rick’s jaw dropping – and all the other cowboys falling at her feet. Ellie tries to revel in her new-found sex-pot status but without Rick it’s a hollow victory. Has Rick left it too late to claim the only woman he’ll ever truly love....

 

The Outback Bachelor Ball trilogy follows three best friends who went to boarding school together. All three have been unlucky in love and decide to meet up at this years Outback Bachelor Ball in New Zealand, which is essentially a huge get together for the single ranchers of the area.

A cow, a cowgirl and a divorcee walk into a bar…

Three unlucky-in-love girlfriends make a road trip to the Outback Bachelor & Spinster Ball, a highlight of rural Australian life. One’s looking to move on, one’s thumbing her nose at romance, and one’s looking to slip away and hide. None of them are looking for love…

Three women are about to meet their match in a cowboy, a soldier and a country rock star. One magical night. One less than magical morning after.

Forty-eight hours can change your life

Book one features Ellie McFarlane, the daughter of a rancher who grew up to become a ranch foreman herself. She’s always been a tomboy and “one of the guys” and the one man she wants above all has never noticed her the way she wants him to. She’s been pining for Rick Drummond, her father’s right-hand man, since she was a teenager. She made one awkward pass at him when she was 18, which he rebuffed. Since then she’s spent six years away from home, working and pining for him. The three friends make a vow not to let their current circumstances control their lives: Ellie will let her friends give  her a complete makeover; Jen will wear a cow costume in protest of love; Beth will dance with every non-creep who asks.

For Ellie this trip to the Ball is a chance for her to finally get him out of her system. She doesn’t expect to see Rick there, however, or have him start acting like he wants to explore things with her. Confused and frustrated she confronts Rick, but he’s just as confused and frustrated. Eventually they end up in bed together and Rick thinks they’re on the same page…until Ellie disappears in the morning. He realizes they haven’t resolved anything after all.

I struggled a bit with Ellie’s seeming lack of maturity when it came to Rick. She was a worldly woman who had traveled extensively and advanced well in her career. Yet she chooses to quit her job just as she lands the position she wants. Then, rather than communicating to her crush – a man she’s close with and has known her whole life – her feelings, she sets out to make him jealous and then blows hot and cold. When he hurts her, she doesn’t explain that or call him on it, just runs away and internalizes all her feelings.

What saved her for me was the way she was away from Rick. She was who she was and, aside from a few moments of self-consciousness about her lack of style, that was that.

For Rick’s part, he was such a bonehead sometimes. His saving grace was that he was quick to realize when he stuck his foot in his mouth and correct the mistake. Which was good, since there was no way Ellie was telling him what was going on in her head.

I absolutely loved the relationship between the women. They were friends in the truest sense of the word. I also enjoyed the romance. Despite my frustrations with their lack of communication,  I was pulling for them as a couple. They were friends first and foremost, which came across well.

This was a great start to the trilogy. I loved the premise and the romance. I can’t wait to find out what happens with the other two women.

3.5 out of 5

 

three-half-stars


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