Kaetrin's Musings

Musings on Romance

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April Round Up

Monthly Mini Review

Back view of a couple in shorts and white shirts walking hand in hand along a beach at sunsetCarolina Heart by Virginia Kantra – C I’ve been a fan of the Dare Island series since the beginning. I was browsing Amazon recently, idly wondering what Virginia Kantra was doing and whether there might be a new book out soon (not that I could see alas) when I came across Carolina Heart and realised that I had missed it.

The story is novella length and it really would have benefited from some further expansion. Cynthie Lodge is a single mother with two daughters from two different dads. I liked how the author showed this heroine unapologetically as deserving a HEA too. She’s perhaps the kind of woman one might easily judge. Certainly society most often does. So it was a lovely surprise to see her get her own book (albeit a novella) and to be treated sympathetically while being true to her story as well. She was married to the father of her first daughter but her second daughter was the result of a drunken one night stand with a soldier whose name she does not know. She loves her daughters and works hard to support them. She’s studying at community college to be a dental hygienist and holding down a job at night waitressing. She’s decided that she has to be a good example for her girls and has no time for men anymore. She won’t be hooking up or bringing random men through her daughter’s lives.

When she stumbles into the path of Max Lewis, she notes straight away he’s good-looking. But, as a professor of marine biology and a man from a wealthy privileged background, he’s not for her and she knows it. Besides, she’s not getting involved in any relationships. She’s too busy and she has her girls to think of. Continue reading

Review at AudioGals

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates, narrated by Summer Morton. I loved the heroine especially.

Fair-haired white woman in a yellow sundress kissing a dark-haired cowboy in a blue shirt in the rain in a field

Review at Dear Author

I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Her Claim by Rebecca Grace Allen. A very good erotic romance with some edgier scenes so note the trigger warning.

Black and white photo of a dark-haired woman wearing a black bra just about to kiss a shirtless and dark-stubbled man. The pic if of their lower faces and upper torsos, mostly her.

Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely, narrated by Grace Grant & Richard Armitage

shirtless dark-haired hot guy lounges on a sofa. Superimposed over the image to the right is a postcard from Paris featuring the Eiffel Tower against blue sk with white fluffy clouds behind it.Why I read it:  Wanderlust is included in the #AudibleRomance package. Plus: Richard Armitage.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads)  The first time I met him, his sexy British accent almost talked me into giving him my number on the spot. The second time, he nearly charmed the panties off me with his wit. Then I learned he’s the key to success in my new job in Paris. The man who tempts me into fling-worthy dirty daydreams has turned out to be my personal translator, and his accent is the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.

My mantra is simple — Don’t mix business with pleasure. I do my best to resist him as he teaches me how to converse with my co-workers, navigate the metro and order the perfect bottle of wine at dinner. But I also figure out how to tell the charming and clever man what I most want to say — that I want him to take me back to his flat — tonight.
Except there’s a catch…

***

One more assignment before I take off on my big adventure…

And it involves the toughest work ever — resisting the fetching American woman I spend all my days with. But you know what they say about best intentions. Soon, we’re spending our nights tangled together, and I don’t want to let her go. The trouble is, my wanderlust is calling to me, and before we know it I’ll be traveling the globe to fulfill a promise I made long ago.

What could possibly go wrong with falling in love in Paris? Nothing…unless one of you is leaving.

What worked for me (and what didn’t):  Wanderlust was written for audio – or, at least, it was first published as an audiobook. (It’s out in print now as well.) The introduction is about how Joy is a sucker for accents – and British accents are her kryptonite. So it’s a very aural book and I expect it works best on audio. This is particularly so because Richard Armitage narrates the sections from Griffin’s point of view.
Continue reading

Review at AudioGals

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Rising Star by Terri Osburn, narrated by Megan Tusing. Parts of the story were a little predictable but the narration was great and the hero was a cinnamon roll delight.

Hot dark-haired stubbled guy in a black cowboy hat and black shirt (just his head and upper shoulders) superimposed over a Nashville nightscape

Review at AudioGals

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Whiskey Sharp: Unraveled by Lauren Dane, narrated by Simone Lewis. Part family drama, part contemporary romance. I enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads.

Red-haired woman in a red top is embraced by a dark-haired and stubbled man in a white shirt against a blurred cityscape night background

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