Series: Montana Heat

What Are You Reading? (+ Jennifer Ryan Giveaway)

Posted July 19, 2019 by Casee in Features, Giveaways | 12 Comments

Casee: I finished Wild Like the Wind by Kristen Ashley last night. I loved it. I wasn’t too sure about the heroine at the beginning, but she really came through for me by the end of the book. Classic Kristen Ashley. I’m now reading Wolf Rain by Nalini Singh. This book has been out for awhile, so I’m not quite sure why I haven’t read it. All I do know is that I can’t wait to get into it.

I’m listening How to Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper, which is one of my Summer Reading Challenge books. I’m not that far into it, but what I have listened to is funny as hell. I’m enjoying the characters immensely, though the narrators aren’t all that great.

Holly: I had a much slower reading week. I had every intention of reading all the books, but life got in the way.

I reread Broken Dove by Kristen Ashley (yes, I did reread that series all out of order, thanks for asking) and Down London Road by Samantha Young.

For new reads, I finished Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews. I love that series so much, and I’m so happy to finally have it. It’s been a loooong wait. I’m currently reading Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborne and listening to The Duchess War by Courtney Milan.

Rowena: It’s been a pretty slow reading week for me. I had such high hopes for lots of reading time but most of my time this week was spent with my nephew, Luke. I could tell that he missed his Mom who has been in Samoa for the South Pacific Games (the Olympics for the South Pacific) since July 4th. Of all of his Aunts, he’s closest to me so he needed extra cuddles this week so I spent a lot of time with him. I did manage to finish Beginner’s Luck (Chance of a Lifetime #1) by Kate Clayborne, so that’s something.

Now I’m going to jump into Daisy’s Back in Town by Rachel Gibson for a buddy read with Holly, oh wait, I have to finish my listen of Like the Wind by J. Bengtsson for my buddy read with Casee and Holly. Lots of buddy reads this month!

Giveaway Alert

We are very fortunate here at Book Binge. We have loads and loads of books to read and we want to share the wealth so each week, we’ll be tacking on a Freebie Friday giveaway to our What Are You Reading posts. This week, we’re giving away…

What Are You Reading? (+ Jennifer Ryan Giveaway)True to You by Jennifer Ryan
Series: Montana Heat #2
Also in this series: Tempted by Love (Montana Heat, #3)
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: February 27, 2018
Format: Print
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: three-stars

A Montana Man risks everything for the woman he loves . . .

Undercover DEA Special Agent Dawson King spent five months in a Montana prison establishing a fake identity to take down a ruthless drug dealer and put him behind bars. Except there’s a wild card . . . the killer’s beloved daughter. Cara Potter may appear to be on the right side of the law, but King has learned the hard way to trust no one—even someone as tantalizing as the coffee shop owner. She’s irresistible . . . but is she also dangerous?

From the moment he enters her life, King makes Cara . . . nervous. The handsome drifter says he wants to get his life together . . . but there is something about him that doesn’t quite ring true. Cara wants to believe in him, yet she holds back despite the way he awakens dormant dreams and leaves her breathless with his sexy smile, steamy kisses, his every touch.

When the explosive truth comes out and she’s betrayed by the ones she loves, Cara must decide—can she trust her heart, or should she listen to her head?

What Are You Reading: True to You by Jennifer Ryan

What are you reading this week? Any new favorites or books that drove you crazy? Share!


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Guest Review: Tempted by Love by Jennifer Ryan

Posted October 3, 2018 by Jen in Reviews | 4 Comments

Guest Review: Tempted by Love by Jennifer RyanReviewer: Jen
Tempted by Love (Montana Heat, #3) by Jennifer Ryan
Series: Montana Heat #3
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: August 21, 2018
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

She was this Montana Man’s greatest temptation . . .

Alina Cooke—little sister of his two best friends—is the last woman DEA agent Jay Bennett should be waking up next to on the day of her brother’s wedding. But their powerful attraction ignited a powder keg of desire, and their once simple friendship has just become impossibly complicated.

Alina’s always been steady, focused, and lived on the safe side of life. Jay is totally devoted to his dangerous job. She knows a future with him will be filled with worry that one day he won’t come home. She’s done it with her brothers. She’s not sure she can face that uncertainty with the man she loves. Yet being in his arms is a bad idea they keep repeating, again and again.

When Alina is run off the road, Jay fears his job has made her a target. But the threat in Alina’s life is closer than they think. As the enemy gets more ruthless, Alina proves she’s no easy target and Jay will do anything to bring them down. Because surviving and being together is the only thing that matters.

Alina Cooke is the sister of the previous heroes of the series. She’s a pharmacist, not involved in the scary, larger-than-life world of her DEA agent brothers. When she and DEA agent Jay Bennett have a drunken hook up at a wedding, Alina is pretty sure Jay and his dangerous lifestyle is not what she needs. But soon there is danger surrounding Alina too, and she and Jay have to figure out why, as well as whether they both can handle all that comes with letting another person into your heart.

I have sort of mixed feelings about this series, and this book was no exception. On the one hand, there is a lot of action. With some small exceptions in this book, no one acts too stupid or reckless. The love between Alina and Jay was so, so sweet, and while I am sure it will come across as overly saccharine to some, I enjoyed the dynamic of their relationship for the most part. I also really liked seeing Jay doing his job and interacting with his colleagues. They have good camaraderie and it was fun to read. I thought the plot was interesting, and while there is no mystery the action keeps things exciting.

The relationship between Alina and Jay does move VERY fast, however. I perhaps could have gotten over that if they had been closer before, but the book makes it very clear that while they’ve known each other a while they’ve never really talked much or had much to do with each other. So for them to go from “getting to know you” to “this feels life-changing” in mere moments seemed excessive. Couple that with a lot of overwrought descriptions of how wonderful the other person makes them feel and how momentous their interactions were in every second together and it got a bit ridiculous. In addition, there wasn’t much keeping them apart other than their own hang-ups. They easily could have gotten together forever after only a fraction of the book, but of course, there was still 10 lbs of plot to resolve at that point. There was also no reason, other than to draw out the story, that Alina and Jay wouldn’t have figured out the villain’s plan earlier. There were many clues and suspicious happenings, and each time they are brushed away with barely a thought. Alina is brilliant and Jay is a hyper-suspicious DEA agent–there is no way all these mounting clues would have escaped at least their notice. It was contrived.

I liked these characters and I’m pretty interested in the larger story arcs that were continued in this book. Even if this series isn’t my favorite, I plan to read the next book.

Grade: 3 out of 5

Montana Heat

three-stars


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Sunday Spotlight: Montana Heat: True to You by Jennifer Ryan

Posted February 25, 2018 by Rowena in Features, Giveaways | 4 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Sunday Spotlight

True to You is the second book in the Montana Heat series by Jennifer Ryan and it promises to be another awesome story so we’re thrilled to be spotlighting the book today. I’m more than a little anxious to check out the romance between King and Cara.

Sunday Spotlight: Montana Heat: True to You by Jennifer RyanTrue to You (Montana Heat #2) by Jennifer Ryan
Series: Montana Heat #2
Also in this series: Tempted by Love (Montana Heat, #3)
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: February 27th 2018
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Westerns
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: three-stars

A Montana Man risks everything for the woman he loves . . .

Undercover DEA Special Agent Dawson King spent five months in a Montana prison establishing a fake identity to take down a ruthless drug dealer and put him behind bars. Except there’s a wild card . . . the killer’s beloved daughter. Cara Potter may appear to be on the right side of the law, but King has learned the hard way to trust no one—even someone as tantalizing as the coffee shop owner. She’s irresistible . . . but is she also dangerous?

From the moment he enters her life, King makes Cara . . . nervous. The handsome drifter says he wants to get his life together . . . but there is something about him that doesn’t quite ring true. Cara wants to believe in him, yet she holds back despite the way he awakens dormant dreams and leaves her breathless with his sexy smile, steamy kisses, his every touch.

When the explosive truth comes out and she’s betrayed by the ones she loves, Cara must decide—can she trust her heart, or should she listen to her head?

Order the Book:

AMAZON || BARNES AND NOBLE || KOBO

Excerpt

“Flash,” Cara called out a moment before she stood in the bathroom doorway.

He dried his hands on a towel and turned to her. “Hey there. How was your hike?”

Her gaze swept up him and settled on his face and messed up hair. After chopping wood and rushing through the forest with her, he needed a shower. And a shave, since he’d skipped that this morning after spending most of the night out checking local abandoned warehouses to see if Iceman was using them as storage. He had yet to track down Iceman’s headquarters despite following several of his guys from the coffee shop on multiple occasions, when he could get away at the end of a shift without being noticed.

“Um, fine. I, uh, wanted to talk to you.”

“Well, that’s something new.”

Nervous energy made her shift from one foot to the other. Her gaze dropped to the floor before it came back up and settled on his chest. He’d never seen her this unsure and out of sorts.

He stepped closer to her, concerned something might actually be wrong. Maybe something happened out in that cabin with the old man.

If he hurt her, he’d kill the bastard. “Cara? You okay?”

She reached out to place her hand on his chest, but pulled it back at the last second. Every fiber of his being woke up having her this close, but the thought of her touching him sent a bolt of heat sweeping through his system.

Before she stepped back, he grabbed her hand and held it in his.

“What is it, Cara?” He really had no idea how to read her odd behavior. She didn’t try to pull free, but gripped his hand in hers and stared down at it, testing the feel of his skin against hers.

“Are you, uh, happy here?”

Her unexpected inquiry caught him off guard. Her indifference to anything except him doing his job made it clear she didn’t care one bit about him. If he hadn’t seen the way she looked at him this morning, he’d have never guessed he got to her on some level.

“It’s a hell of a lot better than where I stayed the last few months. Why? Ready to get rid of me?”

She shook her head, still staring at their joined hands. Hers gripped his tighter. “No. Um.”

He touched his fingertip to the underside of her chin and made her tilt her head back and look at him. Her eyes filled with uncertainty. “Talk to me, Cara.” To reassure her, he squeezed her hand back.

“I’m not Tandy.”

He swept his gaze from her pale hair, over her beautiful face, down her sweet curves, and back up to her gorgeous blue eyes intent on him. “No, you’re not.”

“What does that mean?”

He wanted to tell her how beautiful he found her, but held back the words the way he held back touching her soft cheek to ease the tension out of her.

Confused by the direction she took away from him being happy here and her touching him, which made him think she wanted him for a split second before reason overtook hormones and he reminded himself she was off-limits. “You tell me.”

“She throws herself at you all the time.”

“She does that to just about every good-looking guy who walks through the door.”

“Exactly. She’s fun. She likes to go out with men, enjoy their company, and move on.”

He tilted his head and studied her. “And you’re not like her.” Cara wasn’t the love-them-and-leave-them type. He didn’t need her to say it to know it. So why this strange conversation? Why hold onto him but make him think she wanted to be left alone, too? “Look, if you’re warning me away again—”

“No.”

That stopped him in his mental tracks. Maybe instead of always wanting him to back off she wanted him to come closer?

Her grip tightened on him, but her gaze darted away, then came back filled with a shyness he’d never seen in her. “I thought that maybe…if you were—”

“Cara.” The sharp voice startled her, but the immediate surprise that widened her eyes vanished and turned to cold fury.

Engrossed in each other, neither of them heard the car pull into the drive or Iceman walk into the barn. He stood in the entry, staring at them, his eyes sharp and intense on Flash.

“What’s going on here?” Iceman’s gaze dropped to their joined hands.

Cara pulled her hand free, lost the uncertainty in her eyes, and turned to glare at her father. “What are you doing here?”

Iceman held up an envelope. The sight of it made Cara tense and her hands ball into fists.

“You could have left that at the shop. You know I don’t want you coming here. All you do is bring trouble. If the cops are following you, and they probably are, it won’t be long before they’re serving search warrants for this place looking for that shit you run. How many times do I have to tell you to stay away?”

“The cops didn’t follow me.” He held up the envelope. “This is for you. I wanted to be sure you got it. That’s the deal. And I’m your father. I wanted to see you and make sure you’re okay.” Iceman stared past Cara and pinned Flash in his angry gaze.

“You don’t give a shit if I’m okay. And I don’t want that damn envelope.”

Flash couldn’t keep quiet anymore. He wanted to know what the hell was going on here. Pissed they got interrupted, he wanted even more to know what Cara had been about to say to him a minute ago. Before Iceman interrupted the moment they shared. Maybe it was a good thing they got interrupted because his mind took a turn to Dream Town where Cara was asking if there could be something between them. He shook off that thought because there could never be anything between them. Not when he was here to take down the man standing in front of them.

“What the hell is going on? Why is he paying you off?” It wasn’t such a reach to see the envelope had to be stuffed with money.

Cara didn’t look at him, but kept her gaze locked on Iceman. “He’s not paying me off. The Castillo cartel is.”

Those honest and bold words made Flash’s heart thrash in his chest.

What the hell? What did Cara have to do with the Castillo cartel? “Why?”

“Go ahead, tell him,” she dared Iceman.

“Let it go,” Iceman ordered, though the look in his eyes said he hadn’t let it go and felt guilty as hell about it. Whatever it was.

Cara turned to Flash, hate and anger in her eyes. “You want to know why I’m such a cold bitch?”

He didn’t answer the rhetorical question. He wouldn’t describe her that way in the first place. Guarded. Scared. Sad. Lonely. All those things applied, but not cold. She cared. Deeply. About Tim, Tandy, Ray, the shop, her customers, this place. Even him. Why else would she ask if he was happy here? She wouldn’t go out of her way to make this place feel like such a comfortable home if she didn’t care. He wouldn’t mind living there even if it wasn’t part of his job.

She just didn’t want anyone to see how much she cared because she didn’t want anyone to use it against her.

Cara waved her hand toward her father. “You know who he is, what he does, the kind of life he leads. It’s all about the money, moving the product, but more than anything it’s about his reputation. You can’t let your rivals think you’re weak or they’ll take what you have and kill you. So you can’t care about anyone but yourself.”

Iceman’s mouth pinched into a thin line. “Cara, that’s not fair.”

“Fair! Nothing in my life has ever been fair. You neglected me and mom. You left us and never looked back.”

“To keep you out of my world and safe.” Iceman’s words lacked the conviction expected to add punch to them. Instead, Iceman said the words like he’d said them a hundred times in an argument they’d repeated until the going round and round sapped both of them to the point the words held no meaning at all because no one believed them anymore and nothing got solved.

Cara held her disfigured hand up. “Out of your world? Safe? So long as you are who you are, I’m never safe. They’ll use me to get to you.”

“Because of who I am, you are protected.”

“Right,” she scoffed. “Because everyone knows how dangerous you can be. When you want to be. Except you left me there. You didn’t lift a finger to help me. And I lost mine.” She rubbed her fingers over the scars where her pinky used to be.

Iceman raked his fingers through his white hair, frustration pulling his brows together and narrowing his eyes. “If you’d give me chance—”

“I gave you plenty of chances. But I’m not a little girl anymore. I see you for who and what you are now. Destroyer of lives. Mom’s. Mine. Everyone you sell that crap to. You turned your back on your family for another one.”

Iceman planted his hands on his hips and sighed out his frustration. “I was in this life long before I met your mother. Once you’re in, Cara, there is no out.”

“We both know that’s the life you want. You love it. The power. The money. The game. Leave the envelope on the table.” She notched her chin to the table between them. A world of hurt and anger separated them even more. “Go play with other people’s lives and stay out of mine.

Montana Heat

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

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Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About the Author

Jennifer Ryan

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Jennifer Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Hunted and McBrides Series, writes romantic suspense and contemporary small-town romances.

Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she isn’t writing a book, she’s reading one. Her obsession with both is often revealed in the state of her home, and how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.

Please visit her website at www.jennifer-ryan.com for information about upcoming releases.


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