with a review of The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed. Manwhore book alert!
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Today, I’m reviewing Heart of Danger by Lisa Marie Rice, narrated by Seraphine Valentine, over at AudioGals. Leave your disbelief at the door to enjoy this one. But if you can, it’s a lot of fun.
Why I read it: Some of my Goodreads friends liked this one. It sounded more genre romance than my earlier foray into this author’s work, so I asked for a review copy from the publisher so I could try it too.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Deacon Miller never had it all—he never really believed he could. Growing up in a broken home with an alcoholic mother and a revolving door of truly pathetic father figures taught him to keep his expectations low. Now at twenty-seven, on the night before Christmas Eve, his life is turned upside down yet again; his boyfriend has dumped him, he just fled the holiday family reunion from hell, and now to top it all off, a blizzard has left him stranded in an airport hotel.
Steve Steele has spent the better part of his forty-four years living a lie, ignoring his attraction to other men in an attempt to fit into the mold of the man he thought he should be, instead of living life as the man he knew himself to be. Recently divorced after coming home from work one day and coming out to his wife, Steve has floundered over the past year, desperately attempting to wade through the guilt and find the courage to start again.
That’s when a chance meeting in a hotel bar brings two lonely men together… and what should’ve been a one night stand turns into something much more than either one ever expected.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. The premise grabbed me because I do like an angsty story and I liked that there was a reasonable-sized female cast in the story, only one of whom was a witch (Deacon’s mother). I felt that there was some attempt to explain Patty’s despicable attittude to Deacon – she had a back story and it was clear that she blamed Deacon for all of her woes (completely unfair of course, but there was some method to her madness, at least). The other female characters were either sympathetic (Ashley, Clarissa, Steve’s mother, without being perfect) or positive (Mrs. Garibaldi). The main part of the book was about Steve and Deacon which is what I want in a romance, so I’m fine with the secondary characters generally serving the story – but I liked things like that Ashley wanted to sneak out to a party after the prom and, generally, that Steve’s mother was supportive of Steve while not completely understanding him. To me, that showed that some thought went into the characterisations and I liked that they weren’t one note – even Patty had more substance to her.
Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Gifts of Honor releases on November 21.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) I’ll be home for Christmas…
A batch of special Christmas cookies helps a wounded ex-Ranger remember the love of his life. A surprise phone call reunites a woman with the soldier who once broke her heart. There’s no place like home for the holidays, and there’s no better way to spend them than with the one you love.
Starting from Scratch
Christmas is the perfect time to start from scratch
Lieutenant Sully Jax saved his unit during an IED attack, but he couldn’t save his marriage. He can’t even remember it. Recovered from his injuries, he’s come home to the family and friends he knows—and an ex-wife who’s a stranger to him.
Lucy Crabtree was heartbroken last Christmas when Sully announced his plan to go on one last tour of duty, and devastated when he asked for a divorce after he awoke in the hospital with no memory of her. She’s finally moving on from her hurt and from losing the man she loved more than anything, and her cookie-baking business is taking off just in time for the holidays. But now Sully’s back, and she can’t deny she still loves him. But how can she trust her heart to someone who breaks it every time she sees him?
Sully might not remember Lucy, but something inside won’t let her go. With every bite of her cookies, he finds a new love for Lucy, and he soon realizes he wants to rebuild his life with her by his side.
Hero’s Homecoming
Six months ago, being snowed in at Christmas with the amazing woman he met on R & R at Fort Riley would have been a dream come true, yet now, as a blizzard swirls outside Beth Tate’s house, Captain Chris Walker knows he shouldn’t be there. Blinded in combat and emotionally scarred, he never wanted Beth to know the man he’s become—but stranded by the storm, he had no one else to call.
Hurt and bewildered when Chris abruptly ended his faithful contact from Afghanistan, Beth tried to put him and their whirlwind romance out of her mind and prepared for a quiet holiday alone—until the phone rang. Now that he’s here, she’s more confused than ever, torn between love for the man she once knew and anger at the one who broke her heart.
A life with Beth was everything Chris wanted, but the wounds of battle are nothing compared to the agony of heartbreak. It will take more than mistletoe, but perhaps this holiday season Chris will find his way home.
What worked for me (and what didn’t):
Starting from Scratch by Stacy Gail
I do like second chance at love stories and I think they often work well in a novella, as I can more easily accept a HEA when the characters know each other already. Except… – well Lucy knows Sullivan but Sullivan can’t remember Lucy. After he woke up in hospital Stateside to a woman at his bedside he didn’t recognise and didn’t remember, Sullivan asked Lucy for a divorce, thinking to release her from a marriage of strangers. When the story begins, Sullivan has been released from hospital/rehabilitation and has returned home to Bitterthorn Texas, where Lucy works in a local bakery. Lucy has always and still loves Jax but she is crushed that he cannot remember her – in fact, it seems that she is the only one he doesn’t remember. The previous Christmas relations were very strained between them, as Sullivan had re-enlisted for another year without discussing it with his wife (which is a SHITTY thing to do). This Christmas, it’s even harder for Lucy because Sullivan is back home safe, but she’s lost the love of her life nonetheless. Even though Sullivan can’t remember Lucy, he is nevertheless drawn to her and he has an inexplicable craving for cookies.
with another recommended read – Kinked by Thea Harrison. Hooray for heroines who don’t need “fixing” to get their HEA. *throws streamers*
with an audiobook review of Rocky Mountain Heat by Vivian Arend, narrated by Tatiana Sokolov (aka Tanya Eby). A steamy novella where the sex even sounds good out loud!
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
