Category: C reviews (Page 5 of 20)

May Round Up

May 31, 2016 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Bounty by Kristen Ashley – B-/C+ As I usually do, I pre-ordered the latest Kristen Ashley release and started reading it soon after it landed on my reader. And, as I usually do, I enjoyed the book – mostly. Justice Lonesome is the daughter and granddaughter of rock royalty, a talented musician in her own right. She buys an unfinished house near Carnal in Colorado (exactly how and why she came to choose Carnal is never made clear) and starts to settle in. Her beloved father, Johnny Lonesome, died suddenly some months before and Justice is still grieving. Deke Hightower is a contractor for Holden Maxwell’s house-building business and arrives to start work on finishing Justice’s new place.

As it happens, Justice and Deke had met one night some years before and made a connection. Circumstances intervened and their potential wasn’t realised – Justice always wondered “what if” though. It’s clear to Deke that Justice is a wealthy woman and, because of his personal history, he’s reluctant to act on his attraction to her. In his experience, rich women are bad for him in many ways. Besides all that, he can’t see how they’d fit together. Deke is a restless soul – he travels about half the year and comes home to Carnal the other time, to do some work for Max and make enough money to go travelling again. How could Justice fit in with that kind of lifestyle? How could it ever work? Continue reading

February Round Up

March 2, 2016 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

The Navy SEAL’s Holiday Fling by Zara Keane – C+ While I have most of the Ballybeg series on my TBR, this one is the first of Ms. Keane’s books I’ve actually read. It’s book 3 in her Ballybeg Bad Boys spin-off series. Divorced former Navy SEAL Liam Ryan has been working undercover for Trident Securities in Ballybeg but his case has finished and he’s on his way home to the USA for Christmas. He hasn’t seen his four year old daughter, Meggie, in seven months and he misses her badly. However, when he is on the way to the airport, he gets a call from his boss; there has been a bomb threat from a terrorist known only as “The Ghost”. The threat is credible and there is reason to think he might actually be in Ireland. Liam is the only person alive who has seen The Ghost; he’s the only man who can identify him to police.

The Ghost is a morality terrorist. He targets adult stores and those who have used the services of prostitutes. His target this time is Blush Shoppe, a multinational adult store chain which has just opened in Ireland. As it happens, Liam knows the manager of the new Cork store, Jill Bekele. Jill and he met when he was undercover and had a brief fling. She is extremely surprised to find that the man she knew as Jean-Baptiste, a French chef, is actually a former SEAL from the States. She is initially very unhappy to see Liam but when he thwarts an attempt on her life, she decides maybe hearing him out is a good idea.

Saving Grace by Kristen Proby

February 5, 2016 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I bought it for 99c when it was a DA Daily Deal recently.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Sparks fly like snowflakes when a klutzy but gorgeous novice crosses skis with a hot resort owner in this tempting tie-in to New York Times bestselling author Kristen Proby’s popular Love Under the Big Sky series!

Grace Douglas is on a practice run for her friend Cara Donovan’s bachelorette party ski weekend in Aspen. The problem is, despite living in rugged and picturesque Cunningham Falls, Montana, Grace is the clumsiest person ever born. To prepare for the trip, she is taking lessons at a local ski resort. She just prays that they have an ambulance on standby.

Sexy hotelier Jacob Baxter is ready to play ski instructor, but he quickly discovers that the best place on the mountain for Grace is in the lodge with a hot toddy. Her sense of humor and easy laugh quickly pull him in, and soon he’s determined to help her get off the bunny slope for a fun vacation with her friends. He just didn’t expect their steamy chemistry to trigger an avalanche of desire straight to his heart.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I haven’t read any other Kristen Proby books and so I didn’t know anything about the series going in. There is obviously a group of friends, some of whom are in wedding planning mode but their involvement in the story was fairly short-lived and it was easy to understand what was going on without having read any of the earlier books in the series.

January Round Up

February 2, 2016 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Liam Takes Manhattan by Thea Harrison – C+ The last in the latest trio of novellas about Dragos, Pia and Liam Cuelebre, this one is also the shortest one, coming in at about 50 pages. Also unlike the other two stories, this one felt somewhat incomplete to me. It was more in the nature of a prequel novella, presaging what the next chapter in Liam’s life is and acting as a bridge to (what I hope will be) full length books about Liam. I was involved in a discussion with the author on Twitter recently and she was canvassing interest levels for books featuring adventures in Liam’s life – the first of which would not involve any romance because he’s too young (I picture them as something like a paranormal Vorkosigan series FWIW). The novella sets up Liam branching out on his own. The significance of the Christmas present mentioned in the blurb is a bit misleading I thought. I was expecting a kind of “miracle at Christmas” vibe but it was far more subtle than that. Continue reading

December Round Up

January 3, 2016 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

His To Keep by Katee Robert – C+ Aaron Robertson has had a crush on his sister’s best friend for over 10 years. Marceline Bellini was off limits when they were young, then they were dating other people and then she fell pregnant, became a single mum and dropped out of the dating scene altogether. Her friends are encouraging her to live a little and not focus solely on being the perfect mother to her daughter, Claire. When Marcy finally agrees to go out with friends to a bar, Aaron decides it’s time to make his move. He has to do some sweet talking and fancy footwork to convince Marcy that he’s a good bet. Marcy doesn’t want Claire to see a revolving door of men come and go in her life (which, considering that Marcy hasn’t dated at all since Claire was born, is something of an overreaction I think). Aaron is helped by the explosive sexual chemistry between he and Marcy. He’s also a good guy who has had deep feelings for Marcy for a long long time. He falls in love (in the paternal way) with Claire too and has no issue with taking them as a package deal. Continue reading

30 Days by Christine D’Abo

November 30, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I heard about this book on a DBSA Podcast. It sounded good so I bought it.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) For years, Alyssa has been going to bed with a memory. Is she ready to wake up with a fantasy?

Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mate, but not Alyssa Barrow. She met Rob at nineteen, and they were set to live happily ever after—until he became ill. In his final days, Rob urged his beautiful, young wife not to abandon happiness—or pleasure. He even left her a special gift, a sexy game plan to help her move on: Thirty cards with instructions for thirty days of passion. You’ll know when the time is right, he’d said. Now it’s two years later, and when Alyssa meets her hot new neighbor, Harrison Kemp, she begins to think the right time is right now…

From his sculpted thighs to his devilish grin, Harrison is the kind of man women want. Before she can lose her nerve, Alyssa tells Harrison about her long-ignored cards…and asks him to help her fulfill them. It’s a favor he’s more than happy to, um, perform. With his skillful touch, and the hot press of his lips against her skin, Alyssa finds herself re-awakening to life—and a host of other sensations. But what began as not-so-innocent fun soon grows into true intimacy, and Alyssa realizes she’s opening herself up not just to sex…but to love. When it comes to a future with Harrison, what’s really in the cards?

Saucy, heartwarming, and insightful, 30 Days explores the agony—and the ecstasy—of starting over, and how a little encouragement, and a little courage, can go a long way…

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I don’t think I’ve read anything by this author before. On the podcast, the story was billed as PS I Love You with sex cards and, even though it basically breaks my HEA rules, PS I Love You was a movie which I saw multiple times and made me sob buckets. Also: Gerard Butler and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Enough said amirite? 30 Days has a HEA – be in no doubt. Whereas the actual PS I Love You (the movie – which I liked better than the book) starts very shortly after the death of the main character’s husband, 30 Days starts two years after. So Alyssa has had time to grieve. She still misses Rob (her deceased husband) but she’s out from under the worst of the crushing grief and feels it’s time to start living again.
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