Tag: LuAnn McLane

Throwback Thursday Review: A Little Less Talk and A Lot More Action by LuAnn McLane

Posted June 20, 2019 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: A Little Less Talk and A Lot More Action by LuAnn McLaneReviewer: Rowena
A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action by LuAnn McLane
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Format: Print
Source: Publisher
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 283
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four-half-stars

Macy?s chance for love is slipping from her fingers. College football coach Luke Carter has a penchant for hot-bodied babes, not curvy hairdressers like Macy. And some big-time schools may be luring him away. Then a country singing star?s hair emergency turns into a big break for Macy.

Making it in Nashville boosts Macy?s confidence, but when Luke interviews for a job at a local university, she?ll have to put up or shut up?or lose him forever?

*** Every Thursday, we’ll be posting throwback reviews of our favorite and not-so-favorite books. Enjoy! ***

This review was originally posted on June 25, 2008.

What a fun book!

Over the weekend, Daphne and I went out to Holly’s house for some rest and relaxation and I picked this book up and read the entire thing. It was such a cute little book that I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s funny how readers are, Daphne and I drove the two hours out to Holly’s house and we spent most of our time, quiet and reading.

It was glorious!

This book is about Macy McCoy and Luke Carter. Luke Carter is Macy’s best friend’s older brother and Macy has had a crush on him for the longest time. She’s a hairstylist and she’s destined for great things. She gets really close with Luke, when his little sister Jamie Lee and his best friend, Griff Sheldon get married. She’s the Maid of Honor and he’s the Best Man and they were together a lot and Macy loved every moment of it. She was the Queen of Wishful Thinking and she fantasized about being Luke’s love and when she finally realizes that maybe Luke might feel the same way, it was such a treat to see the two of these get together.

This book was such a fun read. It had that country feel to it that I absolutely loved and it was just one of those fast, light reads that are perfect for summer. It’s filled to the brim with laugh out scenes and an adorable romance.

I loved that Luke didn’t want to hold Macy back from anything and they’re small-town crush on each other was just too effing cute. Some of the dialogue was pretty cheesy but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book. There were so many other things about this book to like that the cheesy dialogue wasn’t anything.

Luke was adorable, Macy was great and the secondary characters were just fab. I enjoyed Jamie Lee and Griff (I’m so going to read their book soon because theirs came first), I loved Tammy, Sam and Lilly, and Boone, even Brandon. I can’t wait to read more by this author because this book was really great.

It was light, funny and sexy, a sexy romp and I totally recommend this book to anyone who loves country music and contemporary romances. This is a great book to read at the beach, at the park, by the pool, or anywhere…it’s just one of those cute romances that makes you smile afterward. I loved all of the country music mentioned in this book, Summertime by Kenny Chesney, Settlin’ by Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Dierks Bentley, all of my favorite country stars were mentioned in this book and I enjoyed that because I actually knew all of the songs that were mentioned and that doesn’t usually happen much with me, it made this book that much more fun for me and I just really enjoyed this book.

Too cute!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Penguin Books. You can buy it here.

four-half-stars


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Review: All I Ever Wanted by Luann McLane

Posted August 14, 2017 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: All I Ever Wanted by Luann McLaneReviewer: Holly
All I Ever Wanted (Heartthrob #1) by LuAnn McLane
Series: Heartthrob #1
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: July 24th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 288
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two-half-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

From author LuAnn McLane comes the first in a brand new series featuring the sexy Heart brothers: formerly the members of the cult-phenomenon boy band Heartbeat, they’re all grown up and back together for one last reunion tour….

When Grady Heart, former lead singer of the cult-phenomenon boy band Heartbeat and eldest of the brothers, decides to bring the group back together for a highly anticipated reunion concert, he doesn’t expect to be met with so much resistance from his brothers. He also doesn’t expect them to hire his ex-girlfriend and ex-Heartbeat choreographer Arabella York to help the band rock some new dance moves.

Back in Heartbeat’s glory days the brooding bad boy fell hard for Arabella; the studious, stable dance teacher tamed Grady’s wild side but her lack of trust in him eventually drove them apart. Although their chemistry burns hotter than ever, Grady tries to keep his relationship with Arabella strictly professional this time around but in his heart, he might just still long to find out what could have been.

Grady Heart and his brothers were a wildly popular teen boy band. They quit performing when their mother got sick. Now that she’s gone, Grady is organizing a benefit reunion concert in her memory. All his brothers are on board, but there’s a problem…the slick dance moves they used as teens just aren’t possible now that they’re adults. Grady wants everything to be perfect since this is such an important cause. Even so, when his brothers suggest they contact their old choreographer, Arabella, Grady refuses. She broke his heart once. He isn’t willing to give her a second chance. Too bad for him, his brothers go behind his back and call her. Faced with the prospect of spending time with the woman who disappeared without backward glance, Grady admits he still isn’t over her. But he’s not going to give her his heart again.

Arabella is in a financial pickle. She opened a string of successful fitness studios, but she got in over her head and expanded too quickly. Now she either needs a serious infusion of cash or she’s going to be forced to take on a demanding partner who wants to rebrand her entire operation. But facing bad boy Grady Heart again after he ruined her for love isn’t high on her list of fun things to do. Still, she doesn’t have much choice if she wants to save her studios. Now she just needs to keep a calm head around Grady. There’s no way she’s going to risk falling for him again. She learned the hard way the rockstar life is not for her.

I really struggled with this book. I like rock star romances and figured a light boy band second chance love story was right up my alley. Sadly the brothers seemed to suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome. Despite all being in their late 20’s-early 30’s, they still acted like teenagers. The heroine was just as bad. Between her refusal to talk things out like an adult and the way she ran every time something got hard, I had a hard time buying that she was an adult with a successful string of dance studios under her.

I really believed Grady cared for her, but I wasn’t as convinced of Arabella’s feelings. She was closed off and ran at the first sign of trouble or drama. Because she didn’t stick with him, despite her saying she loved Grady, I didn’t buy it.

The premise was good, and I enjoyed some of it. I may continue on with the series.

2.75 out of 5

two-half-stars


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Guest Review: Marry Me on Main Street by LuAnn Rice

Posted December 22, 2016 by Tina R in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Marry Me on Main Street by LuAnn RiceReviewer: Tina
Marry Me on Main Street by LuAnn McLane
Series: Cricket Creek #11
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: December 6th 2016
Pages: 304
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

In the latest Cricket Creek romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Wish Upon a Wedding, two people discover what it really takes to go after your heart’s desire...

In her small shop on Main Street, Susan Quincy sells handmade gifts and repurposed items. But she can’t part with the beautiful rocking chair she bought at an estate sale when its maker turns out to be Danny Mayfield. Even years later, Susan still cringes over how her handsome, popular high school crush only asked her to prom out of pity—or so she thinks...

Danny doesn’t know why Susan has avoided him for years, especially after the electric kiss they shared the night of prom. So when he learns that she wants him to craft more rocking chairs to sell at her shop, Danny can’t resist the chance to work on his passion and charm shy, beautiful Susan again—and this time, make it last...

LuAnn Rice has been a favorite of mine since I read Playing For Keeps, which is the first book in the series called Cricket Creek. It is the book that introduced to me this charming town filled with a cast of characters that you can’t help wanting to get to know. Since that time I have read three more in the series and am looking forward to reading the rest as well. They are all light-hearted, quick reads that are sure to bring a smile to the face of any fan of sweet, romantic comedies.

Marry Me On Main Street is the 11th book in the Cricket Creek series, and even though I have not yet read books 5 through 10, I did not feel that it took anything away from this cozy holiday story.

This book is exactly the kind that I always look forward to reading every year around the holidays. You can’t help but get into the holiday spirit while reading about this quaint little town filled with so many delightful characters.

If you love the holidays like I do and look forward to having a big TBR stack of Christmas reads, don’t forget to add Marry Me On Main Street to your list.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book for my honest review. I give this book 4 out of 5 Christmas Cookies!!!

four-stars


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Book Watch: Catch of a Lifetime by LuAnn McLane.

Posted December 28, 2011 by Rowena in Promotions | 1 Comment

Top Chicago chef Jessica Robinson is back in Cricket Creek-and making her aunt’s diner the go-to place for comfy gourmet fare. Former major leaguer Ty McKenna is no stranger to Jessica’s cooking. At the Chicago hotspot where she worked, he was a regular-with a different girl on his arm every night. Now he’s the manager for the Cricket Creek Cougars. And convincing the mouthwatering chef that’s a one-woman man may be harder than getting his team ready for opening day.

This is the second book in the Cricket Creek series and while I wasn’t exactly blown away by the first book, I’m interested in reading the second book. I like the idea of a big city chef trying to bring big city eating to a small town and I enjoyed the small town of Cricket Creek in Playing for Keeps. I’m also a sucker for an athlete so I’m looking forward to reading more about Jessica and Ty.

Did anyone read the first book and are they going to try the second one? This book comes out on January 3, 2012 so that day is going to be chock full of fabulous new releases. Mark your calendars, we’re getting more small town goodness in Cricket Creek next month so woo hoo!

This book is available from Signet. You can pre-order it here or here in e-format.


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Review: Playing for Keeps by LuAnn McLane.

Posted May 16, 2011 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments


Rowena’s review of Playing for Keeps (Cricket Creek Series, Book 1) by LuAnn McLane.

Hero: Noah Falcon
Heroine: Olivia Lawson

Olivia Lawson is peeved when ex-ace pitcher turned soap opera star Noah Falcon roars back into Cricket Creek, Kentucky, after all these years, to take the lead opposite her in the community theater’s summer play. Noah’s beloved hometown is having major financial woes and needs his status to turn this small-town play into a big-time hit. But Noah has bigger plans for this small town. And this time he’s determined to show Olivia he’s not just playing around-he’s playing for keeps.

This book was one of those really fast reads that didn’t take much to get into. It was cute and fluffy and perfect for one of those lazy days where you don’t want to do anything but read and you don’t want to read anything intense or deep.

This book follows Noah Falcon and Olivia Lawson as they bicker and fight their way to their happy ending. Noah is the town celebrity, having moved away from the small town of Cricket Creek to play baseball and do some acting on a soap opera. Now that his baseball career is done and his stint on the soap opera, Noah has come back to Cricket Creek to get some more acting experience by playing the lead male role in the town’s play.

Olivia Lawson rolls her eyes every time Noah’s name is mentioned around town and when he comes back, she’s not that impressed. She thinks he’s hot (she’s not blind) but outside of that, there isn’t anything about Noah Falcon that she wants to deal with. She used to tutor him in high school and his ego was more than she wanted to hang out with.

McLane does a good job of keeping the story interesting by adding charming characters that I came to love and the story was easy to follow along with which I appreciated. There were times when I wanted to bean Olivia in the nose for being such a little whiny brat but Noah Falcon brought it all back to the love for me because I really enjoyed his character.

This is the first book in a new series by McLane and I’m mighty interested to see where the rest of this series goes. This book is cute and fluffy and I’m anxious for the next book in the series. I enjoyed the secondary romance between Jason and Madison. As much as I enjoyed the book, there was a time or two when it was all too easy for me to put the book down to read something else or go and do something else but I’m glad that I stuck with it because it ended up being a cute story.

This story is filled with a great mix of characters that you will come to care for and the town of Cricket Creek will work it’s way right into your heart. I’m really looking forward to more.

Grade: 3 out of 5

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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