Tag: Contemporary Romance

Review: Promise Me Always by A.L. Jackson

Posted January 30, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Promise Me Always by A.L. JacksonReviewer: Casee
Promise Me AlwaysNarrator: Connor Crais, Samantha Brentmoor
Series: Redemption Hills #4
Also in this series: Give Me a Reason, Say It's Forever
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: January 30, 2023
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 491
Length: 12 hours and 37 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

I should know better than to let Tessa McDaniels pretend to be my fiancée.I’m a dark, dangerous disaster who leaves destruction in his wake.But when she offers to pretend to marry me to help me get my kids back, I can’t refuse. They are the one thing I have left to fight for.
Milo Hendricks found me at my lowest.Battered and broken by my ex with no place to call home. When he insists I stay at his cabin with him, he sparks the feelings I’ve tried to suppress.He’s only supposed to be my friend, but every time he comes in the room, he makes my knees weak.This gorgeous, tatted, mountain-of-a-man who’s riddled with secrets.
Tessa is everything I crave but can’t have.I shouldn’t touch her.Shouldn’t make it real.But she’s a red-headed flame I can’t resist, and I can’t help but take her to my bed.
Now we’re falling into an abyss of passion and need.Loving her is easy.Only we’re tied in ways we don’t know.I’ll do anything to protect her, but it’s my past that might destroy her in the end…

Tessa McDaniels was introduced as Eden’s quirky but loving friend in Give Me a Reason. She became more prominent of a character as the series continued, until it was obvious she needed her own book. Tessa is a woman that is holding out for her “Ace”. Due to the situation she finds herself in after her brother is injured, Tessa doesn’t think she will ever find her Ace.

Milo Hendricks is a bouncer at Absolution. The head tough guy. But the head tough guy wasn’t really a tough guy at all. He’s a softie. Hard on the outside & gooey on the inside. It made for quite the contradiction. All Milo wants in his life is to get his kids back from their grandparents. After his wife died, Milo was certain that he had (and lost) his chance at happiness. Then he meets Tessa & all his thoughts go up in smoke.

After Tessa finds herself in an unimaginable situation, Milo is there to help her pick up the pieces. He is there for her when she feels like she has no one else. Even her gang of girlfriends and their families aren’t enough to make her feel less alone. Then Milo comes in & saves the day. The least she can do is help him get it kids back. Right? Because it’s a great idea to lie to everyone you love. I did have a hard time with that even though I understood.

This was definitely a friends-to-lovers book. It was so nice to see Milo & Tessa’s friendship grow into more. I loved both these characters. Milo was everything a tortured alpha hero should be. Tessa was a combination of sweet and spunky. They just fit. They fit from the very first page they came together.

It took me five long days to finish this book. ALJ generally tends to write angsty novels, but this one took angsty to a whole other level. Like I was feeling anxiety when I was reading this book. I felt relief when it was over because I just couldn’t take it anymore. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good book. It was a great book. It was just a lot. A lot of blame, self-hatred, grief, and love. It really did have everything that I usually love when I a read an ALJ.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Redemption Hills

four-stars


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Review: Recovery Road by Christine Feehan

Posted January 23, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Recovery Road by Christine FeehanReviewer: Casee
Recovery Road by Christine Feehan
Narrator: Ryan West
Series: Torpedo Ink #8
Also in this series: Judgment Road , Judgment Road, Vengeance Road, Vendetta Road, Desolation Road, Reckless Road, Savage Road, Annihilation Road
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: January 24, 2023
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 410
Length: 11 hours and 15 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

A broken man finds a woman worth living for in the new novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan’s Torpedo Ink motorcycle club series.
Kir “Master” Vasiliev doesn’t care whether he lives or dies. He’s a burnt-out shell with no one and nothing but his club. Whatever Torpedo Ink needs, Master will put himself in harm’s way time after time. If he doesn’t make it back, he’s certain everyone will move on just fine.
Investment banker Ambrielle Moore knows her own mind, and she’s not willing to settle for anyone. So when a second-rate gangster and his thugs try to coerce her into marriage—and giving up all of her family’s money—she’s having none of it. Until they turn to cold-blooded murder.
Grieving and enraged, Ambrie is ready to go scorched earth on her captors when Master shows up anticipating a damsel in distress. But Ambrie is nothing like he expected, and everything he never knew he desired....

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t too excited for this book. I haven’t enjoyed the last few books in this series, but I’m a diehard Feehan fan. I’m so glad I gave this one a try. It’s one of the better books in the series in my not-so-humble opinion. Although all CF’s heroes are tortured alphas, Master was in a different league. He is the only member of Torpedo Ink that has a criminal record & the club uses him to take care of things in and out of prison. Going on assignment in prison is the last thing Master wants to do. In fact, it’s killing him slowly each time he goes back in.

Ambrielle has a gift with numbers & with money. Unfortunately her money has caught the attention of some nefarious people. When her parents are murdered in front of her, Ambrie isn’t sure how she is going to get out of the situation. She does know that she will do anything to get revenge on the man responsible for the senseless killings. When her parents murderer tells her she’s going to marry him, she will do anything & everything to get away.

Torpedo Ink has their eyes on Ambrie. They know she’s in trouble & they are going to help her get out of it. Somehow she has caught the eye of one of the biggest human traffickers in the business. Not only that, but they are going after Czar & his family. Everyone in Torpedo Ink is on lockdown until they can find out who is responsible. In the meantime, the only way to help Ambrie is to have her marry one of them. Master doesn’t want to be the one that marries her, but he’s immediately drawn to her & he’s certain that he can’t let another have her.

This book started off with a bang & just kept going. I loved their relationship & how real it seemed, no matter that they only knew each other for a matter of minutes before they were married. Feehan made it all work somehow. My favorite part of the book was when they go into The Floating Hat, which is Hannah Drake’s tea shop. I loved getting a little peek back into the lives of the Drakes. The prank they pulled on Jackson was funny as hell too. I found myself laughing, which doesn’t often happen in Feehan books. Overall, this is a good addition to the series & I plan on continuing to read it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Torpedo Ink

four-stars


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Review: One Percent of You by Michelle Gross

Posted November 14, 2022 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: One Percent of You by Michelle GrossReviewer: Holly
One Percent of You by Michelle Gross
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: May 5, 2019
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 341
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars

Make no mistakes about it. I know what I look like to others. Young, government-aided, pregnant mom. They see Lucy on my hip, and they see a mistake. I mean, why else would someone have a child so young, right? They couldn’t be more wrong. I’m too busy most days between parenting, work, and finishing up my last year of nursing school to let their judging gaze tear me down until he moves in the vacant house next to the apartments I live in.
His cold, blunt observation of us doesn’t differ from any other stranger. He doesn’t know me, but he’s already painting a picture of who he thinks I am in his mind. He judges my very round belly, Lucy’s inability to leave him alone, the bags under my eyes, and the fact that I could not care less what I look like anymore.
He’s a rude guy. Stays that way for months too. Then something happens, I’m not even sure what. Judgmental Guy decides Lucy and me — as well as baby Eli — are worth his friendship.
Turns out, Judgmental Guy isn’t too mean — okay, he kind of still is. But he graduates to Elijah. I build an unlikely friendship with him which deems it necessary for him to start smiling around me and my kids.
I’m wrong again. Elijah isn’t rude. He’s terrifying. His strange acts of kindness are unraveling me. Elijah is only my friend.
Right?
Oh, fudge. I think I’m wrong. Again.

One Percent of You by Michelle Gross is a single-mom contemporary romance. My friend Ames recommended this book to me. If not for her, based on the blurb and the first chapter, I probably wouldn’t have read it. I’m glad I did. It turned out to be really cute, though it could have used a good edit.

Elijah sort of accidentally on purpose scared a little girl in the grocery story and stole her bag of chips. Then she moved into the apartments next door to his house, and became his arch-nemesis. He’s feeling pretty judgmental about her and her obviously pregnant single-mom, but also kind of intrigued. As time goes on, Elijah comes to realize he’s been a jerk and he becomes friends with the little family.

I loved how Elijah was sort of intrigued by this little family of Hadley’s, despite his resistance to kids. The way he and Lucy, Hadley’s daughter, formed a bond was adorable. There were a lot of editing errors and I thought Hadley held onto things a little more than she should, but overall it was a great read. It was just what I was in the mood for at the time.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

four-stars


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Review: The Last Second Chance by Lucy Score

Posted September 21, 2022 by Holly in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: The Last Second Chance by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Holly
The Last Second Chance by Lucy Score
Narrator: Tanya Eby
Series: Blue Moon #3
Also in this series: No More Secrets , Fall into Temptation
Publisher: Self-PublishedFormat: Audiobook, eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited, Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars


What would it take to get one last chance?

Joey Greer is done having her heart broken. Eight years ago, after a horrific car accident, Jackson Pierce—her high school sweetheart—abandoned her. Abandoned his family. Abandoned the town they'd both grown up in, and fled to Hollywood. He never looked back, and she never forgot him.
Or forgave him.
Now he's back, pretending like the past doesn't exist, wanting another chance. And even though she still feels the undeniable connection between them, the fiery attraction that burns her up from the inside out, Joey’s determined to keep him at a safe distance.
Jackson Pierce can't tell Joey the truth about the night when he left her in the hospital. It would ruin more than just their relationship, and he can't do that to her.
The entire town of Blue Moon knows that Jax and Joey are meant for each other, but Joey isn’t interested in giving him a second chance. All he can do is give her flowers. And picnic lunches. And a dog.
Oh, and handcuff himself to her for charity.
Will this second chance be the last one Jax needs to win back Joey's heart, or is the past too much to forgive?

The Last Second Chance (Blue Moon #3) by Lucy Score is a second-chance romance between high-school sweethearts.

Jax and Joey were high school sweethearts who had their whole lives planned out. Until the night they hit a deer and Joey ended up in the hospital. When she woke up the next day Jax was gone. 8 years later he’s back in town and has made it known that he’s here for Joey…

He wants to pick up where they left off, but Joey can’t forgive him for abandoning her…especially since hasn’t given her a good reason for why he left in the first place.

I liked this book. Joey and Jax were good together and I liked the way Score built up the town and wove the other characters from the series through the story. It felt like I was right there living their lives with them. I did think the book was a little too long, and I struggled with both Joey and Jax at times. But overall it was a light, easy read that I enjoyed.

3.75 out of 5

Blue Moon

three-half-stars


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Review: Fall Into Temptation by Lucy Score

Posted September 19, 2022 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Fall Into Temptation by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Holly
Fall into Temptation by Lucy Score
Narrator: Tanya Eby
Series: Blue Moon #2
Also in this series: No More Secrets , The Last Second Chance
Publisher: Self-PublishedFormat: Audiobook, eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited, Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars


"If we do this again, it won’t stop at kissing.” It was a dark promise...

Beckett Pierce is the most eligible bachelor in the nosiest small town in upstate New York. But after his last girlfriend handcuffed herself to his porch and set his welcome mat on fire, he's not looking for any more romance.
Even if it lands right in his backyard. And has miles of red hair.
Gianna Decker has her hands full--no, overflowing--with problems. With two kids, a useless ex, and a brand new yoga studio, the last thing on her mind is finding a man who'll cause her more problems.
Making out with her broody landlord? Yeah, that would be a problem. Lusting after the sexy mayor of the town she just moved to? Definitely a problem. Dating the “favorite” son of her father's new lady friend? It seems like Beckett is a bad idea just waiting to happen.
But he's a bad idea she can’t seem to resist.
As Beckett and Gianna find themselves thrown together again and again, they can't help but fall into the temptation of sizzling stolen kisses, of a desire so hot it brands. And soon they're much, much closer than they ever wanted. Tempers flare when their families complicate things and the interfering citizens of Blue Moon Bend step in with their special brand of chaos.
Can Beckett and Gianna manage to disentangle themselves before it’s too late?
Or is the temptation too much for either of them to deny?

Fall into Temptation (Blue Moon #2) by Lucy Score, follows middle brother Beckett as he finds love with the new yoga instructor.

Gia just recently moved to Blue Moon Bay and opened a yoga studio. She’s happy to focus on her business and raising her two kids, until she meets the town mayor -who also happens to be her landlord. He’s sexy as hell and she is so down with having a fling with him. As long as things don’t get complicated, everything will be just fine, right? Oh, except the part where his mom is dating her dad..and he isn’t happy about it.

Beckett isn’t really sure that he wants a ready made family, but he can’t deny he wants Gia and her kids are funny and adorable. She might want to leave things uncomplicated, but he’s totally down with spending time with her and her kids.

This was a cute read. I liked Gia and Beckett together. Her kids were adorable and the way they gravitated to Beckett was sweet. I did think the conflict and resolution toward the end was pretty over the top. Beckett acted like a complete moron. His immature response to stuff was frustrating. The grovel scene was pretty good, but I think Gia gave in a little too quickly.

Still, I’m really loving this series. The characters come to life and I’m totally digging the town.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Blue Moon

four-stars


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