Author: Kristen Proby

Review: Easy Kisses by Kristen Proby

Posted July 12, 2019 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Easy Kisses by Kristen ProbyReviewer: Casee
Easy Kisses by Kristen Proby
Narrator: Rachel Fulginiti, Sebastian York
Series: Boudreaux #4
Also in this series: Easy Love, Easy Charm, Easy Melody
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: June 21, 2016
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Escape
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 7 hours and 19 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2019 GoodReads Challenge, Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The Boudreaux Series. Sexy. Intriguing. Easy.

Simon Danbury, an internationally sought after motivational speaker, helps women from all walks of life with love, self-esteem, dating and career building skills. Handsome, witty and wealthy, Simon seemingly has everything a man could want. But appearances can be deceiving. While Simon may have the answers for millions of women all over the world, when it comes to his own love life, he’s a giant, sexy mess. Divorced, and convinced that he’ll never love again, the very last thing he expects is one Charly Boudreaux.

Charly doesn’t want to be at this seminar in the middle of nowhere, but her sister made her go. She’s the one who has her life together. Great career, amazing family, nice home, and loyal friends. So what if she doesn’t have a man? She doesn’t need one. If she’s learned anything in her almost thirty years, it’s that men are more trouble than they’re worth. And they have a nasty habit of breaking your heart into a million tiny pieces. So she’ll sit through all of Simon’s touchy feely crap and go home and get on with her life. Except Simon isn’t really spouting crap, and when he smiles at her, the butterflies are ridiculous.

Never mixing business with pleasure, Simon finds Charly, a bright spot in a universe that’s been dark for too long. But will he be able to resist her? And why would he want to?

Kristen Proby is a new-to-me author this year. I have throughly enjoyed the Boudreaux family. They are so close knit and their closeness just flows through the pages. Each of them would do anything for the other and it just comes through to the reader so well that it’s hard not to sigh when all of them do get together or they all get protective of one another. It all comes from a place of love. Never anger, never jealousy.

Charly Boudreaux is the Boudreaux that seemingly has the perfect life. She owns her own home, has a successful business, and has a wonderful family. She’s never been married but she knows that she’ll know when she meets “the one”. The one that is meant to be hers forever. In the meantime, her sister Savannah has talked her into going on a women’s retreat in Montana. It’s sort of a self-help, find yourself kind of thing. Charly didn’t want to go, but she’s determined to make the most of it. She certainly doesn’t expect Simon Danbury, the man who owns and runs everything.

Simon has never been attracted to a client. He has made it his mission in life to help other people, specifically women. When he meets Charly, he’s instantly attracted to her but knows he can’t do anything about it. He won’t take advantage of a client, one that he can clearly see needs his help even if she doesn’t see it. His plans go on the wayside when they have the conference ends and they end up in bed together. Too soon, they’re addicted to each other.

Everything is going along swimmingly until you bring in Charly’s ridiculous notions of waiting until she falls in love at first sight and Simon’s extreme jealousy. It’s a powder keg waiting to blow. And when it does blow? Well, it’s rather spectacular. I did like this book and I understood the jealousy, so it didn’t take away from the book at all. I really enjoyed listening to Simon and Charly’s book.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Boudreaux

four-stars


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Review: Easy Melody by Kristen Proby

Posted July 11, 2019 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Easy Melody by Kristen ProbyReviewer: Casee
Easy Melody by Kristen Proby
Narrator: Rachel Fulginiti, Sebastian York
Series: Boudreaux #3
Also in this series: Easy Love, Easy Charm, Easy Kisses
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Escape
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 265
Length: 7 hours and 51 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2019 GoodReads Challenge, Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The Boudreaux Series: Sexy. Intriguing. Easy.

Callie Mills never intended to return to New Orleans and the life she left behind more than a decade ago. There was no need to open old wounds when she had the life she’d worked hard for in Denver. But when she’s fired from her awesome job in Colorado and her father dies, she has no choice but to return home to run the derelict bar left to her in the heart of the French Quarter. Callie must not only face bad memories but turn The Odyssey into something she can be proud of.

And who better to help bring in crowds of people than Declan Boudreaux?

Declan is a sought-after musician who knows he’s good at what he does and loves doing it. Known to pack the house, he also loves women and doesn’t expect to be knocked back a step by the beautiful new owner of The Odyssey. Callie is sharp, gorgeous and funny, and makes him yearn for something he never has before… Commitment. But when Callie’s able to turn the business around with renovations, making it one of the hottest bars in the Quarter, will she sell out and leave her past behind once and for all, or will Declan be able to convince her that’s she’s where she needed to be all along…in his arms.

I had high hopes for this book after Easy Love and Easy Charm. Unfortunately it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I listened to it on audio and was happy with that aspect. It was the immaturity of the characters that I had an issue with.

Declan Boudreaux is a popular musician in New Orleans. He can bring in a crowd. That is exactly what Callie Mills needs for the rundown bar she inherited and is now running in the French Quarter. She’s determined to turn the bar around and for that she needs Declan. She never intended to fall for the guy.

Declan takes one look at Callie and all coherent thought flies out the window. He’s a love ’em and leave ’em type of guy, but all his hookups know that up front. When he meets Callie, he’s not sure he wants to leave her at all. After an amazing night together, it gets weird. They decide to be friends and it’s just plain awkward.

Declan isn’t sure that he wants to settle down even though Callie isn’t thinking of settling down at all. Declan is totally in his head and he lets his brothers get into his head with their teasing. So he decides not to call Callie. She takes this badly and it all spirals down from there. Immature. It just goes around and around until the ending. I felt that they did grow, but the jealousy was ridiculously overplayed and I found myself rolling my eyes more than once. Overall, it was disappointing. Still, I loved being back in the Boudreaux world.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Boudreaux

three-stars


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Review: Easy Charm by Kristen Proby

Posted July 2, 2019 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Easy Charm by Kristen ProbyReviewer: Casee
Easy Charm by Kristen Proby
Narrator: Sebastian York, Rachel Fulginiti
Series: Boudreaux #2
Also in this series: Easy Love, Easy Melody, Easy Kisses
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: July 3, 2015
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Escape
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 280
Length: 7 hours and 56 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2019 GoodReads Challenge, Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Gabrielle Boudreaux, the youngest of the Boudreaux clan, is a single mother of her young son, Sam. Running a Bed and Breakfast at the family plantation house at the edge of the Mississippi River, Gabby loves her inn, her boy and her family. She meets new people every day, and takes pride in the house and land that has been in her family for more than five generations. Blessed beyond measure, she’s also lonely, although she would never admit that to anyone. Until Rhys O’Shaughnessy walks through her door, brooding and wounded and the sexiest thing she’s ever laid eyes on.

Rhys has been at the top of his game as a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs for more than ten years. Baseball is in his blood. But when he tears his rotator cuff and has to sit a season out, he retreats to Inn Boudreaux at the recommendation of his cousin, Kate, to heal and work toward building his shoulder back to perfect shape with only one goal in mind: to return to the game he loves. But he didn’t plan on being utterly charmed by a devastatingly beautiful woman and her baseball-loving son.

When Rhys’ shoulder has healed and he’s given the chance to return to his team, will he leave the family he’s come to love behind, or will he stay with Gabby and Sam?

Easy Charm is book 2 in Proby’s Boudreaux series. The Boudreaux’s are an extremely close knit family. Their father, the patriarch of their family died several years past, leaving a gaping hole in all of them. Each sibling has dealt with his death in their own way. For Gabrielle, she has thrown herself into running her Bed and Breakfast out of the family plantation house. She has her hands full with running that and keeping up with her little boy, Sam. She has zero time for anything outside her B&B or Sam. Then Rhys O’Shaughnessy shows up at her door.

After Rhys O’Shaughnessy (Kate’s cousin from Easy Love) is injured during a major league baseball game, he has to get out of Chicago. He’s told his chances of returning to playing are slim to none, but Rhys is determined to show the trainers, doctors, and his coaches what he is made of. Going to New Orleans to be near his cousin Kate is just what the doctor ordered. When he lays eyes on Gabby Boudreaux, things get even better. The problem is how wary Gabby is of men because she was burned so badly by Sam’s dad.

Gabby wants Rhys, she won’t deny it. But she has Sam to think about. Sam is her life and she is aware that she has no life outside of him and her family. What would be bad about taking a little something for herself as long as she kept it from Sam? Sam is already getting attached enough to Rhys. Rhys is Sam’s favorite baseball player and he has a serious case of hero-worship going on. Before too long Gabby herself has a serious case of hero-worship. It seems that Rhys returns her feelings. Gabby just doesn’t know how they can ever work out. She knows that he’s headed back to Chicago to play ball while she will never leave New Orleans.

This was a fast, cute read. Or listen I should say. For some weird reason, Proby had a story line going on where Sam’s bio dad came back into the picture to extort money from the Boudreaux’s. It seemed like such an afterthought. It just didn’t fit. At first it was a la Kristen Ashley. Then I realized that it was just page filler. A little disappointing, but I just shrugged it off, finished the book and moved onto the next one in the series.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Boudreaux

three-half-stars


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Review: Easy Love by Kristen Proby

Posted June 27, 2019 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Easy Love by Kristen ProbyReviewer: Casee
Easy Love by Kristen Proby
Narrator: Sebastian York, Rachel Fulginiti
Series: Boudreaux #1
Also in this series: Easy Charm, Easy Melody, Easy Kisses
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: February 18, 2015
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Escape
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 268
Length: 8 hours and 10 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2019 GoodReads Challenge, Casee's 2019 New to Me Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Eli Boudreaux’s family has built ships and boats in Louisiana for generations. He comes from a hard working, wealthy family and his empire is growing by leaps and bounds. At thirty, he is the youngest CEO to ever head Bayou Enterprises, co-chairing with his eldest brother. His head for business and his no-nonsense work ethic is also quickly making him the best the company has seen in generations. His staff admires him, women adore him and Eli’s family is solid. But he’s recently discovered that someone on the inside of his business is stealing from him and he’s determined to find out who.

Kate O’Shaughnessy is hired by companies all over the world to slip inside and investigate every member of the organization from the CEO down to the custodial staff to find the person or persons responsible for embezzling. She’s excellent at blending, becoming part of the team, and finding the weakest link. She’s smart, quick-witted, and she’s now been hired by Bayou Enterprises, specifically Eli Boudreaux. The attraction is immediate and the chemistry is off the charts, but Kate has heard all about Eli’s playboy past and she has a job to do. Sleeping with the boss isn’t a part of that job, even if just the sound of her name rolling off that Cajun tongue and the way he fills out a designer suit does make her sweat.

Eli’s southern charms surprise Kate. The man whose reputation labels him as a ruthless, callous womanizer is not the man she’s coming to know intimately. He’s generous, protective and makes her smile. Cracking through Kate’s cool, reserved demeanor and discovering her love of sexy, expensive lingerie is a challenge Eli can’t resist, but her sweet nature, love of family and sense of humor pull at him in ways no one else ever has.

But when the person responsible for trying to single-handedly dismantle Eli’s empire comes to light, and it’s time for Kate to move on, to what lengths will Eli go to keep the woman he’s fallen in love with by his side?

This is my first book by Kristen Proby and I really, really liked it. I downloaded it from the Audible Romance Package. The narrators were good, although when the female narrator talked from the hero’s perspective in the southern accent, it was sort of cringy. I did get used to it.

Eli Boudreaux is the CEO of Bayou Enterprises, his family’s company. He-co chairs the company with his oldest brother. He felt that he was a disappointment to his father his entire life which was why he was surprised when, on his deathbed, his father asked him to run the company. Eli is determined to honor his father in his last request.

After it is discovered that someone is embezzling from Bayou Enterprises, the siblings bring in Kate O’Shaughnessy. Kate is a friend of some of the siblings and has a special background is forensic accounting and discovering corporate secrets. Although she was college roommates with Savannah and Declan Boudreaux, Kate has never met Eli. When they do meet, sparks fly all over the place. The problem is that Eli promised all five of his siblings that he wouldn’t get romantically involved with Kate. See, he has a reputation and a love-em-leave-em type. They need Kate for the business, not to mention she is a friend.

Even his promise can’t stop Eli’s intense attraction to Kate. Kate is just as attracted to Eli. There is of course the big misunderstanding but everything is resolved quite nicely. The suspense plot was easily solvable and quite laughable. Even with that, it added something to the story which I felt was necessary. This book intrigued me enough to move onto book two. The Boudreaux’s are a family that love and watch out of each other. They will all be there in a heartbeat if one of them needs anything. It was very nice to read.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Boudreaux

four-stars


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Review: All the Way by Kristen Proby

Posted September 12, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: All the Way by Kristen ProbyReviewer: Rowena
All the Way (Romancing Manhattan, #1) by Kristen Proby
Series: Romancing Manhattan #1
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: August 21, 2018
Point-of-View: First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 288
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
two-half-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

In New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby’s brand new Romancing Manhattan series, three brothers get more than they bargain for as they practice law, balance life, and navigate love in and around New York City.

Finn Cavanaugh is known for being a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom. He owns a successful law firm with his brother and brother-in-law in Manhattan. On the rare occasion that he has down time, he spends it at his home in Martha’s Vineyard. But when Finn’s troubled niece goes to stay with him for the summer in Martha’s Vineyard, he’s reluctant to take time off from work. That is, until he meets his beautiful new neighbor, London.

London Watson is a Tony Award winning actress on Broadway. When tragedy strikes her family, leaving her alone and injured, she flees Manhattan for Martha’s Vineyard. Hoping she can figure out how to pick up the pieces of her life, London is convinced that she’ll never be able to return to the stage. But when she meets the charming young girl next door and her sexy uncle, they soon lure London out of her shell as she finally begins to heal from the wounds of her past.

But when London feels confident enough to return to the spotlight, she’s dealt another devastating blow. Will the newfound love between London and Finn be enough to conquer all? Or will it be over before it has a chance to grow…?

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys and tell you that I picked up this book because of that gorgeous cover. When I decided that I was going to read and review this book, it was because the book cover caught my eye and I wanted to love this book as much as I loved the cover. I hadn’t even read the blurb before deciding that I had to have this book. I was so excited to jump into a New York romance between an actress and her late parent’s lawyer.

I should also note that this is my very first read from Kristen Proby and I’m sad to say that I spent most of the book bored. I didn’t really connect with London, I liked Finn well enough though he was really controlling so while I liked him, he’d never be a favorite hero of mine and I wanted to spank the shit out of his niece. Don’t even get me started on London’s brother.

So the book centers on London, who lost her parents in a house fire where she barely escaped. She is a Broadway actress who has to take time off to recuperate and so when she inherits all of her parent’s properties, she heads to the place she called home in the summer to try to figure some shit out. She’s surprised when she finds out that her parent’s lawyer is her next door neighbor and she’s still a little annoyed that he tried hitting on her right after the reading of her parents will.

Finn is interested in London and is still kicking himself for his ill-advised attempt to ask her out after reading her parent’s will to her. His niece is staying with him because she’s going through some stuff and not dealing with her mother’s death so well so he’s got his hands full but he’s drawn to London and he’s not really going to question it.

There’s a lot going on this book but not a lot of it was interesting to me. I’m not sure if I didn’t connect with Proby’s writing style or if it was the characters that I couldn’t connect with it but I spent much of this book bored. Now, it wasn’t all bad. I did enjoy London’s friendship with Sasha and I liked Finn’s interactions with his brothers and the niece came around in the end but for the most part, I was just uninterested. It took me a lot longer to read this book than it should have and in the end, I was ready to move on.

I’m not sure if I’ll continue this series and I’m even more unsure if I want to go back and read other books by this author but who knows, maybe another book will be a better fit for me.

Grade: 2.5 out of 5

two-half-stars


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