Tag: The Sullivan’s

Guest Review: The Way You Look Tonight by Bella Andre

Posted September 21, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: The Way You Look Tonight by Bella AndreReviewer: Tracy
The Way You Look Tonight: The Sullivans by Bella Andre
Series: The Sullivans #9
Also in this series: The Look of Love (The Sullivans #1), Always on My Mind: The Sullivans
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: January 1st 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

As a very successful private investigator who has caught most of the cheaters in Seattle with their pants down, Rafe Sullivan believes true, lasting love only happens once in a blue moon. Needing to get away from the city to clear his head, he finds the lake house where he spent the best summers of his life is now a wreck...but the sweet girl next door is all grown up and prettier than anything he's ever seen.

While Brooke Jansen is happy making and selling chocolate truffles in her small Pacific Northwest lake town, she secretly longs to experience something wild. So when her favorite “Wild Sullivan” moves in again next door after more than a decade away, and sparks fly between them, she can't stop wondering if being bad is really as good as it always seemed...and just how long it will be before she can find out?

But when their summer fling quickly spirals into deeper emotions than either of them were expecting, can they survive the heat between them? Or will Rafe make the biggest mistake of his life and end up losing the best thing that's ever happened to him?

 

Tracy’s review of The Way You Look Tonight (The Sullivans #9) by Bella Andre

While Brooke Jansen is happy with her quiet, small-town life, she secretly longs to experience something wild. So when her favorite “Wild Sullivan” moves back after more than a decade away, she can’t stop wondering if being bad is really as good as it always seemed…and just how long it will be before she can find out.

It’s not long before a summer fling spirals into something much deeper. Can Rafe put his faith in love for once, or will he end up losing the best thing that’s ever happened to him?

Rafe was once a cop who eventually started his own PI firm and it has been a good move for him. Unfortunately a huge part of his business is catching cheaters. It makes him a bit crazy and he’s starting to not enjoy his job at all. It makes him cynical about the world in general and that’s having a negative effect on his whole life. His sister Mia wants him to buy a lake home so that he can get away from it all but he’s not sure that’s what he needs. He changes his mind when Mia finds the perfect home – the house that his parents had to give up when he was a teen. The Sullivan’s used to spend every summer there and Rafe loved it almost more than anyone else. He buys the house and within a day he’s back at the lake. The house is a mess and practically torn apart inside but he’s determined to make it right.

Next door to Rafe lives Brooke Jansen. She had spent summers at her grandparents’ house on the lake and had been great friends with the Sullivan’s until they stopped showing up. When her grandparents died they willed the home to Brooke and she has been living in it full time making chocolate truffles and doing a great business.

Rafe and Brooke see each other again and have an instant connection. It’s not long before they are finding every available surface to have sex on and becoming emotionally attached. Rafe, however, isn’t ready to give up his cynical ways and when he makes a huge error in judgment he finds that he may lose the Brooke and everything they’ve built in one fell swoop.

This book had all the charm and goodness that I’ve come to expect in a Sullivan’s novel. I really liked Rafe and Brooke a lot and it was wonderful getting to know the characters in this side of the Sullivan’s family better.

That being said I did have a couple of issues with the book – the biggest one being the central conflict. I could see where it all could go wrong but how the characters reacted really seemed a bit overblown. I guess I could see things from both points of view and if one of the characters hadn’t gone off half-cocked (can you tell I’m trying not to give anything away?) then the pair could have sat and talked and all would have been well. I think this is kind of an on-going theme in Andre’s books, though, with the conflict happening and then the characters spending time away from each other and then realizing their mistakes, etc., so I wasn’t too surprised.

The other issue I had was the speed with which the characters fell in love. I could totally see the lust and growing emotions happening and I loved that, but the “I love you” (for both of them) came so quickly I was almost surprised when it happened. One week just isn’t long enough to fall in love with a person imho, although I’m sure there are couples out there that would naysay that.

So, while I really liked so many different parts of the story and overall had a smile on my face when it ended, I did have a couple of issues with it. This certainly won’t stop me from reading the next book in the series. 🙂

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

This title is available from Harlequin MIRA. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

three-half-stars

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Review: Always On My Mind by Bella Andre

Posted April 16, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Always On My Mind by Bella AndreReviewer: Tracy
Always on My Mind: The Sullivans by Bella Andre
Series: The Sullivans #8
Also in this series: The Look of Love (The Sullivans #1), The Way You Look Tonight: The Sullivans
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: April 29th 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

In ALWAYS ON MY MIND, after a tragic loss three years ago, Grayson Tyler left his life in New York City behind and started over in the rolling hills of the California coast. He's convinced himself that all he'll ever need again is the blue sky, a thousand acres of pasture, and the crashing waves of the ocean. Until one day, Lori Sullivan barges into his life and promptly blows his emotionless and solitary world to shreds, driving him crazy as only a woman nicknamed “Naughty” can. But will Lori be able to convince him that it's safe to love her...and that forever isn't actually out of reach?

Lori is a dancer – it’s what she does and what she loves…except her no good boyfriend has made her doubt not only herself but her reason for dancing. After leaving a show in Chicago she flies home and instead of alerting her family or even heading home she rents a car and just drives. The car rental attendant had told her that Pescadero was beautiful so there she heads. During a stop at a Pescadero deli/general store she sees an ad on their bulletin board that says that Grayson Tyler is looking for a ranch hand. Lori believes she can do anything she puts her mind to so she heads out to see Grayson.

Grayson’s quiet day is interrupted when Lori comes barreling down his driveway and promptly crashes into a fence. When a gorgeous woman in spiked heels pops out of the car he’s momentarily speechless. When she says she’s his new ranch hand he’s baffled, and definitely not happy. He tries everything he can think of to get rid of her but he soon sees that she’s just as stubborn as he is.

Lori was expecting Grayson to be an old farmer but he’s the exact opposite. He’s not only young but incredibly handsome and built. She’s decided she’s off men so she tries not to look but sometimes it’s hard. She knows Grayson doesn’t want her around but she’s determined to make herself useful. She annoys him with her mistakes and her constant talk but she can’t help it, she’s friendly and social. He’s gruff and mean and pushes her away at every turn. But Lori can be just as mulish and after living with 7 siblings she knows how to give as much as she gets. Fate steps in, of course, and their soon realizing that even though they’re exact opposites they can’t live without the other in their life.

Such a good end to the stories of the 8 Sullivan siblings (I know there are more books in the series but this was the end of this particular family’s stories). I really liked Lori a lot. I thought it odd that she would ever want to be a farmhand but I guess that is almost the furthest away from dancing as she could possibly get. Though she made mistakes I loved her affinity for the land and the animals. They seemed to take to her just as much as she took to them.

Grayson was a bit of a butthead at first. Wow, he could be MEAN as mean could be but he always felt bad about it afterward. Doesn’t make it right but when we got all of the background on him we could see that it was all a defense mechanism and a desperate attempt to keep Lori out of his heart. I loved that even at the end he continued to be gruff (not mean) but Lori embraced it and actually enjoyed it.

The story was sweet, fun and sexy and I loved finally reading about Lori and what she’d been going through while all of her siblings had been finding love. Both Lori and Grayson found themselves in this story and it was definitely satisfying.  It was worth the wait and I can’t wait to see what comes next in the Sullivan series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Bella Andre

(Kindle version available now, MMPB version out on 4/29/14)

four-stars

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Guest Review (+ a Giveaway!): Can’t Help Falling In Love by Bella Andre

Posted August 1, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 17 Comments

17251445Tracy’s review of Can’t Help Falling in Love (The Sullivans #3) by Bella Andre

How much is worth risking?

Gabe Sullivan risks his life every day as a firefighter in San Francisco, but he knows better than to risk giving his heart again. Especially not to the woman he saved from a deadly apartment fire and can’t stop thinking about.

Megan Harris owes everything to the heroic firefighter who saved her and her daughter. Everything except her heart. Because after losing her pilot husband, she has vowed to never suffer through loving and losing a man with a dangerous job again.

But when Gabe and Megan meet again, how can he possibly ignore her courage, determination and beauty? And how can she deny not only his strong bond with her daughter but also his sweetly sensual kisses, challenging her to risk everything she’s been guarding for so long?

Gabe Sullivan is a firefighter who loves women. He’s not a complete player but he’s not afraid to go for a woman if he’s attracted to her. He does have a rule though: no dating women he’s rescued in fires. He went that route one before and it did not turn out well.

Megan Harris is a widow and single mother whose husband was a navy fighter pilot. She’s dated since her husband’s death five years earlier but the men were always had “safe” jobs – 9-5 desk jobs. Megan’s husband was a thrill seeker and she made a rule after his death: never get involved with a man who has a job that isn’t completely safe.

When Gabe saves Megan and her daughter Summer from a burning building and then meets her afterwards he feels a connection to her that has nothing to do with the fact that he saved her life. Megan feels the same connection but since the man runs into burning buildings constantly she would pretty much say his job isn’t anywhere near safe enough for her. The pair try to stay away from each other but find that they just can’t – especially with Summer sneaking around trying to arrange “accidentally” bumping into each other.

Gabe and Megan start seeing each other but at every turn Megan has doubts. Gabe says he loves her but how can she commit to a man that lives so dangerously? She’s fooling herself however and knows she loves him – she just doesn’t know if she can be with him for the long haul.

I have to say that this is my favorite Sullivan book so far. Gabe and Megan were just perfect together and while there was obviously a bit of conflict there it was between the two of them and their feelings for each other rather than anything external. I loved the fact that Gabe, after his initial misgivings, just went for it. He realized his foolishness and made his plan to win Megan over. She was definitely won over but even though she tried to hold herself back from him she really was a complete noodle around the man. She loved him, just not his job. Her final enlightening thoughts and realizations were an epiphany for her and their HEA just made me smile.

The series gets better with every book and I have to say I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the next story.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Series:
Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This title is available from Harlequin MIRA. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Guest Review (+ a Giveaway!): From This Moment On by Bella Andre

Posted July 10, 2013 by Tracy in Giveaways, Reviews | 10 Comments

17133950Tracy’s review of From This Moment On (The Sullivans #2) by Bella Andre

Just one night…

Marcus Sullivan has always been the responsible older brother, stepping in to take care of his seven siblings when their father died. But when the perfectly ordered future he’s planned turns out to be a lie, Marcus needs one reckless night to shake free from it all.

Known throughout the world by only one name—Nico—pop songstress Nicola Harding is seen as the ultimate sex kitten. But it’s all a lie. After a terrible betrayal she refuses to let anyone else close enough to find out who she really is…or to hurt her again. Especially the gorgeous stranger at the bar.

One night is all Nicola and Marcus agree to share with each other. But instead, a deeper connection than either of them could have anticipated begins….

Marcus wants to escape reality. He just walked in on his girlfriend of 2 years while she was in bed with another guy. He actually wasn’t too surprised but he’s upset. He heads to a bar of 20 somethings (he’s 36) so that he can find a hook-up for just one night. He just isn’t seeing anyone he wants to take home with him. That’s until a beautiful woman named Nicola walks in the bar.

Nicola is 25 years old and is in San Francisco for a video shoot. She’s a pop star but spends most of her time in her hotel rooms alone. Normally that’s ok but on this night she decided that if the public was going to think of her as a party girl then she might as well be one. She heads out and the moment she sees Marcus she heads toward him.

The pair don’t waste time and their off but Nicola starts to think about what she’s doing and that she might have made a mistake. Marcus offers his phone and tells her to call anyone in the contacts and they’ll tell her what an upstanding guy he is. Nicola ends up phoning someone named Mary who is actually Marcus’s mother. She assures Nicola that Marcus is a nice person and off they go. Unfortunately Nicola falls asleep in the cab and she spends the night on the couch curled up in Marcus’s arms. When she wakes in the morning she suggests that maybe they should try again but Marcus has thought about it and rejects her offer.

Marcus and Nicola actually end up meeting again and as Marcus has seen the error of his ways they decide that they’ll spend the next few days together until Nicola has to leave town. The pair get closer and closer but they do have their issues. Nicola has trust issues with men after her ex spread photos of them together over the internet and tabloids and of course Marcus has his issues with his ex as well as deep seeded issues having to do with his fathers death 20 years earlier. The couple fall in love but after harsh words are spoken neither believes that what they have is salvageable.

I liked this book SO much better than book 1. I had already agreed to read books 1-3 in the series before I picked up the first book. After I didn’t care for that one I was a bit leery to delve into this one. It was a much better story and I liked the writing better as well.

Marcus did move pretty fast into his relationship with Nicola, I thought, especially after having JUST broken with his long-time girlfriend. That’s not to say that what Nicola and Marcus had together wasn’t real it just happened so very quickly after his break up that it had me wondering if more time should have gone buy. He was a kind and loving man, no doubt about it, and that went a long way to soothing my worries.

Nicola was not your typical 25 year old and she certainly wasn’t what you would think a 25 year old pop star would be like. She was more of a homebody (if you can call her that as she traveled extensively) and that really made her more than perfect for Marcus who really wasn’t the party type either. I think they were really a great match.

From This Moment On ended up being a good read. It was pretty light reading despite the conflicts and I liked it a lot. I’m now looking forward to book 3 in the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Series:
Book Cover Book Cover

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This title is available from Harlequin MIRA. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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