Tag: Codi Gary

Guest Review: Don’t Call Me Sweetheart by Codi Gary

Posted August 10, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Guest Review: Don’t Call Me Sweetheart by Codi GaryReviewer: Tracy
Don't Call Me Sweetheart by Codi Gary
Series: Something Borrowed #1
Publisher: Lyrical Shine
Publication Date: August 15th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Weddings are big business in picturesque Sweetheart, California, and Something Borrowed’s rent-a-bridesmaid service is thriving among the Hollywood elite. For the women who work there, a walk down the aisle is just a paycheck—until the right guy makes it priceless . . .

RULE #1: GROOMSMEN ARE STRICTLY OFF LIMITS

Marley Stevenson never imagined her stint as a rented Maid of Honor would practically become a career. Then again, nothing in her life has gone according to plan. At least the money’s good—and she needs it to pay off student loans and help out her mom. But the job has rules, which have never been an issue . . . until one encounter with a gorgeous best man—and his swoon-worthy Southern accent—sends Marley reeling.

Determined to get through the weekend with her professional reputation intact, Marley grits her teeth and sends out her best “unavailable” vibes, but Luke Jessup doesn’t give up that easy. A former Marine and a current SWAT team officer, his focus is legendary—and it’s on Marley. Jeopardizing her job is bad enough, and starting a relationship based on half-truths is worse—yet Marley is beginning to wonder if certain risks are worth taking, especially in the name of true love . . .

Marley works at Something Borrowed – a rent-a-bridesmaid service.  She’s doing well and while she doesn’t love her work it pays the bills and lets her save money so that she can fulfill her dream of moving to New York and working for a large publishing house.

Marley meets Luke while he’s in town for his best friend’s wedding and she’s instantly attracted – until she finds out that he’s a groomsman in a wedding that she’s a hired bridesmaid.  Members of the bridal parties are strictly off-limits to employees of Something Borrowed. Marley can’t tell Luke the truth and the she has to act like the bridezilla is a friend of hers when all she wants to do is smack her. Marley does her best to steer clear of Luke but she ends up giving in.  She knows she might lose her job but she thinks she’s in love with him.  Of course she can’t be with him as he lives in LA and she’s moving to New York.

This was a cute story.  Gary does a great job at small town romance and this one hit that mark to a T.  I love small towns so I always wonder what’s so horrible in them that the characters always want to move away.  I guess if you grow up in one it becomes mundane.  Luckily Marley finally saw her town of Sweetheart for the wonderful place it was – it just took her a little while.

The romance in the book was a cute one.  It seemed to happen pretty quickly but it was hot and sexy.  There was a tragedy in this story – no one got hurt – that Marley blames herself for but that all gets worked out.  I liked the story and thought it was a good, entertaining read.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars

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What I Read Last Week

Posted September 2, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 0 Comments

Hey there!

Happy Labor Day! (to those in the US)  I hope you have the day off and are enjoying it in a relaxing way.

Giveaway Winner: Kris M. was the winner of the giveaway of Self’s Blossom by David Russell.  Congrats Kris!

This past week went by really fast. There were lots of things to do at work that I don’t normally do and that was keeping me on my toes.  Then there’s my oldest is still giving me fits.  I swear that child is making me age rapidly. sigh 🙂

On to what I read this past week:

I started off the week with Things Good Girls Don’t Do by Codi Gary.  This was a sweet story of two people coming together and finding love.  Sounds simple but when you have a whole town that thinks you’re “too good” for the guy when he’s a really nice guy it makes things difficult.  You can read my full review here. 4 out of 5

Next up was Ablaze by Morgana Black.  This is a very short story that has to do with a girl who is supposed to meet one guy and ends up stranded in a blizzard with another.  It read more like a very short first chapter of a book which made it ok but obviously an entire story doesn’t get told in a single chapter.  Hopefully the next part of this series have more to it and be longer than 26 pages.  2 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

My next read was Heavy Metal Heart by Nico Rosso.  The story is about a “man” who is both elemental and demon who is a rock star.  He meets one of his fans who is human but is his Muse – his other half.  Trevor never believed that his (or anyone else’s) Muse actually existed.  Trevor and Misty spend one night having sex, running from the bad guys and falling in love.  I had a few niggles with the story but it was good.  3 out of 5 

Your Wicked Heart by Meredith Duran was a great story about Amanda who was going to marry a man who is an viscount but he never showed up.  When she heads to his hotel she meets a man who says he’s the real viscount and that man thinks that Amanda is all part of the identity theft scheme.  He takes her with him when he sets sail to follow the imposter and the two end up falling in love.  Now Spence was a jerk at times but I really liked the story overall.  4 out of 5

Blue By You by Rachel Gibson is a standalone novella about a man and a woman meet after 22 years to find that their attraction hasn’t died.  I’ll post my review for this one later this week. 3.5 out of 5

Headfirst Falling by Melissa Guinn is the story of a couple who both have issues.  Jackson has come back from Iraq a changed man and has his demons, of course.  Then there’s Charlie who has been in love with Jackson for years and she’s not about to let him go now.  But Charlie has her own multitude of issues that have to be dealt with.  This was a good story but really quite dark emotionally.  I’ll post my review for this one later this month. 3.5 out of 5
On a side note I really like this cover but not as it pertains to this story. Jackson just got back from Iraq.  He’s supposedly buff and you know that he doesn’t have long hair after having been in the military.  sigh Bothersome.

Rachel’s Totem is a the first novella is the Cougar Falls series by Marie Harte.  The story is about a girl whose aunt dies and she is to take over her house, land, and totem guardian for the town.  Of course Rachel had no idea when she arrived in Cougar Falls what a totem was or that shifters existed.  It’s all a bit of a shock but she manages to get through with help from Burke who shows her the ropes – and a 4some with his brothers. 😉  Cute story. 3 out of 5

After that I re-read the next book in the Cougar Falls series, In Plain Sight, which is about Sarah who is thought to be the town whore but has gotten a bad rep and not done anything wrong. Cullen is an eagle shifter, like Sarah, who has been in love with Sarah for forever.  When he protects her from an attack and takes her home to recuperate they fall in love.  It was cute and I loved Cullen. I didn’t like it this time quite as much as I did the first and if fell half a rating point.  3 out of 5 

Last for the week was The Untamed Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley.  This is Lloyd Fellows’s story and I’m so glad we got one!  Lloyd is the illegitimate son on the former Duke of Kilmorgan.  His father never acknowledged him but after he died Lloyd’s brother, Hart, did.  He’s smitten with Louisa, the sister of Isabella who is married to his brother, Mac. When she’s thought to have murdered a bishop Lloyd will stop at nothing to clear her name.  It was a great story and I’m so happy that Ashley gave Lloyd his own.  Well done.  4.25 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
crickets


Happy Reading!

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Review: Things Good Girls Don’t Do by Codi Gary

Posted August 30, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Good girls don’t steal.
Good girls don’t visit sex shops.
Good girls don’t have one-night stands.

For Katie Conners, being a good girl just isn’t worth it anymore. It used to mean getting the life she always wanted. But that was before she got dumped and her ex got engaged to his rebound. So, after a bad day and one too many mojitos, Katie starts making a list of things a girl like her would never do, not in a million years . . .

As a tattoo artist with a monster motorcycle, Chase Trepasso isn’t the kind of guy you bring home to mom and dad.

And when he finds Katie’s list in a bar, he’s more than happy to help her check off a few items. Especially the ones on the naughtier side . . .

Katie’s more than tempted by Chase’s offer, as long as they keep things uncomplicated. But as they spend more time together, she may just wind up breaking the most important rule of all: Good girls don’t fall in love with bad boys.

It’s been 8 months since Katie’s live-in boyfriend cheated on her and moved out. She’s wanted to tell him how she really thought about him but never did. When she receives an invitation to his wedding (Jimmy and Katie were together for almost 7 years and he never proposed!!) she doesn’t want to be by herself. She heads off to the local bar and while sipping mojitos she decides that she needs to make a list of all the things she’s always been told NOT to do. You see Katie was raised by a wonderful mother but she was always holding Katie to a certain standard – one Katie lived up to. Katie however is a bit sick of “being good” or at least letting the townspeople walk all over her because she’s always too nice to tell them how she really feels.

Katie ends up with 10 things on her list but never plans on accomplishing any of them. That’s until Chase – the hunk who owns the local tattoo parlor – shows up and while just joking around takes the list. Katie’s mortified until Chase shows up at her house and offers to help her accomplish her list. Katie decides to take him up on it and what starts as a joke turns into something deeper for both of them. Unfortunately not everyone loves the “new Katie” and they certainly don’t care for Chase hanging around her as they feel he’s the one being the bad influence on Katie.

This was such a sweet book! I really loved both Katie and Chase and loved them together as well.

Chase was such an unknowingly sweet guy. He said he wasn’t romantic but he was always performing sweet gestures with Katie that he didn’t realize could be labeled romantic. He was kind, smart, humorous and not afraid to stand up to the townspeople. He did have some demons in his head telling him that he wasn’t good enough for Katie but he totally was and I loved it when he eventually realized that himself.

Katie was a great character. She was considered goody-goody but she didn’t want to be. She didn’t want to be rude or nasty but she didn’t want to be someone who could be walked all over either. She had been like that for too long and she wanted to find a happy medium between the two. She had doubts about Chase at first but soon got over them. I loved seeing the two of them with their pillow talk as it just seemed such a normal thing to do.

There was a part of the book having to do with Chase’s mother and I have to tell you that was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever read. Chase realizing how much his mother loved him even though he never knew before was just heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. The way the whole thing was written was so well done.

I really liked this book a lot and definitely recommend it. It wasn’t too long and can be read in just a sitting. If you need a good book to pick up you should keep this one in mind.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Codi Gary

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Review: Kiss Me by Codi Gary, Cheryl Harper & Jaclyn Hatcher

Posted February 1, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Trouble With Sexy by Codi Gary

She’s got a hot new makeover . . . and a boss to seduce! For prim and proper Ryan Ashton, sexy has always been an elusive quality. But with a little help from a new friend, she just might snag the one man who can set her seductive side loose.

Ryan’s got a thing for her boss but she’s pretty sure he doesn’t know she exists. Well, he DOES, because they’re best friends but she wants more than that. She dresses very plainly and is covered from neck to ankles in wool most of the time. She doesn’t have the greatest self-esteem either as her previous boyfriends have basically told her she’s boring.

Ryan finally takes matters into her own hands and asks an acquaintance to help her get her sexy on. It proves to be a success and Gregg is all over her like white on rice. Little did Ryan know that Gregg has had a tendre for her for quite a while. When stubbornness and jealousy get in the way, though, this couple may not make it past Valentine’s Day.

This was a cute story. At first I wasn’t thrilled with Ryan’s character. I thought she was TOO hard on herself and the pity party she was having in her head really began to grate on my nerves. When she went out with Gracie, however, and got her makeover the confidence she was exuding was really wonderful. I loved how Ryan put Gregg in his place when he started getting jealous and accusatory toward her new look. While I didn’t love the argument I liked the resolution.

 
Love Me Tender by Cheryl Harper
 
Stuck in a king-size suite with a sexy man . . . What more could a girl want? But for Julie Dillon, being snowed in at an Elvis-themed Memphis hotel with Luke Pearce can’t mean anything but trouble. Too close for comfort gets close enough to taste.

Julie is on a flight after a business trip and is not thrilled when Luke, a coworker in her father’s law firm, sits next to her. She likes Luke but when he had asked her out not long after he started at the firm she turned him down flat thinking he just wanted an “in” with her father. She has since regretted her decision but hadn’t been able to tell him. Julie and Luke have had kind of a strange contentious relationship since then. Now they get grounded in Tennessee when their only half way home because of a blizzard (and on Valentine’s Day, no less) and Luke is kind enough to let Julie share his room as there’s not another to be had. While they’re snowed in they learn a lot about the other and they certainly like what they learn.

Another cute story that has a definite Elvis theme to it – being stuck in Tennessee, especially Nashville, they just couldn’t get away from it. I thought that the story was a good getting to know you type story but I personally didn’t think there was a big punch to it. It was nice and it told the story but there wasn’t really anything that particularly stood out to me. There was a big gesture at the end of the book that was done as an apology but the couple got a bit snarky with other characters and it kind of ruined it all for me as I thought the story would have been fine without it.

Love, Guns, and Heart-Shaped Chocolate by Jaclyn Hatcher

Her best friend’s brother is shaking up her Valentine’s Day! Katie Quinn just wanted to spend the day watching Jurassic Park and eating chocolate. She certainly had no intention of running into Logan Cross—or running for her life! Suddenly caught in the crosshairs of danger, Katie and Logan must get together to find a way out.

Katie is done with men. She’s spending Valentine’s Day with wine, chocolate and a good movie. She wasn’t prepared to run into her best friend’s twin brother at the market. Logan overhears Katie’s conversation with his sister, Tracy, and when Katie makes plans to save Tracy from an incredibly bad blind date Logan invites himself along telling Katie that it’s because he’s worried about his sister. In all honesty Logan wants to be around Katie because he’s had a thing for her since he was 15. Logan and his best friend Will head off with Katie to get Tracy but Will’s girlfriend is making his life hell because he’s late. Katie agrees to drop Will off at his girlfriend’s house but when they get there the girlfriend goes crazy. She ends up pulling a gun on the three of them and next thing you know they’re running for their lives. Granted, it’s a more exciting way to spend a Valentine’s Day but it’s not great when you think it might be your last.

This was a lively and exciting end to this anthology and definitely unexpected. When Katie meets Logan in the market the last think I expected to happen was to have them running for their lives but that’s exactly what happens. It’s kind of a matter of terror bringing people together but in this case I think that it worked. Logan had had feelings for Katie for a long while and while Katie didn’t really know Logan all that well, even though he was twin to her best friend, she soon realized that there was more to him than just a math geek.

While the story wasn’t all that deep as the couple is on the run for the majority of the novella, it was well written, fun and funny. A very different sort of Valentine’s Day story but a very good one nonetheless & my favorite of the 3 stories.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Codi Gary
Cheryl Harper
Jaclyn Hatcher

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What I Read Last Week

Posted January 28, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 4 Comments

Well I don’t know if this is “officially” Blue Monday but it certainly feels that way to me. I was helping my parents pack all weekend long and they are loading the truck with their belongings as we speak. Tonight will probably be the last time I see them for a darned long time and, well, it’s hard. I know there are phones and of course Skype but it just won’t be the same without them within driving distance! I’m very sad, to say the least.

Because of my youngest kiddle being sick last week and of course being at my parents’ house all weekend I didn’t get all that much reading done and NO m/m. That’s just wrong. lol!

I started off the week with A Rainbow for Christmas by Mary Montague Sikes. This is a western historical about a woman and her niece who are heading to Denver to start a new life. Meg has been promised in marriage to a man she’s never met but she HAS to marry him so that she can save her family’s farm. She meets the wagon master, Cade, and falls in love with him. She scared and confused and doesn’t know what to do. This was a very sweet novella. There were some parts that I loved and other parts where I wondered why there were in the book at all as they seemed like filler. It wasn’t too terribly deep but a nice way to pass some time. 3 out of 5 (Read for Book Binge) 

Next was a historical called When She Was Wicked by Anne Barton. This story was about a seamstress who is trying to feed her mother and sister and pay for doctor bills and medicine for her mother. She resorts to extortion but a man she picks, a duke, decides that he’s going to catch the thief who is trying to take advantage of him and his sisters. Instead of jail the duke hires her to make new wardrobes for his sisters. The pair fall in love but their stations prevent them from being together…or do they? This was a nice historical but nothing that rocked my world. I didn’t understand the duke’s motivations for letting Anabelle into his home and family life and there were some other issues I had with the story. 3 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Next up was Kiss Me by Codi Gary, Cheryl Harper & Jaclyn Hatcher. This is an anthology that’s being released on Feb. 5th for Valentine’s Day. It’s got 3 V-Day novella’s in it and their cute. I’ll post my review for this later this week. 

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt was another wonderful book in the Maiden Lane series. Godric St. John got married 2 years earlier to a woman he didn’t know because he was bribed by her brother to do so. The woman, Megs, was pregnant by another man. She’s been living in the country the entire time and they don’t know each other at all. Megs, however, has decided that she needs a baby (having lost the first) and heads to London to seduce her husband. Both Godric and Megs have issues with betraying their dead loves and this doesn’t make things easy between them…and then there’re the issues with the Ghost of St. Giles. This was the kind of book where you’re completely engrossed and then it’s over and you’re saying – hey! I want more! lol It had a slightly different feel to it than previous books in this series but still really great. (releases Feb. 26) 4.5 out of 5 

Last for the week was Angels’ Dance by Nalini Singh. This story is a prequel novella as it takes place 400 years before the current books started. This is Jessamy’s story and if you’ve been reading the Guild Hunter stories you’ll know that she’s the teacher from the Refuge. She also has a damaged wing that can never be repaired so she can never fly. She meets Galen who is joining Raphael’s court to become his weapons master. The pair fall in love but Jessamy’s not sure if she can trust herself to give her heart to a man when she knows she can’t leave the Refuge. I just adored this story. I loved Galen. I loved Jessamy. I really loved their story and the way Singh wrote it. This was so very good, and definitely worth reading. 5 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
A Breath of Scandal by Elizabeth Essex

Happy Reading!

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