3.5 STARS ✮ DENISE GROVER SWANK ✮ ALWAYS YOU

ALWAYS YOU

Bachelor Brotherhood #3

by

Denise Grover Swank

✮ ✮ ✮ 3.5 STARS ✮ ✮ ✮ 

Matt Osborn had no idea coaching his five-year-old nephew's soccer team would get him so much attention from the mothers-attention he doesn't want now that he's given up on love and having a family of his own. Yep, Matt's the last of his bachelor buddies, and plans on staying that way. That is, until he finds himself face-to-face with the woman who broke his heart.

Single mom Anna paused her life in England to help her father recover from an illness. She can't afford complications, and too-hot-for-his-own-good Matt Osborn-her almost former fiancé-is definitely a complication. He's a reminder of what might have been-or should have been. That irresistible pull between them isn't over. Not even close. But if she's not careful, she'll break both their hearts…again.

It’s always a little risky picking up a book that forms part of a series, and the final book at that, but Denise Grover Swank is an author I’ve wanted to read for a while now and I do love a second chance romance so it was a risk I was prepared to take. And it paid off because Always You was an easy-read family-feel romance which brought that small town atmosphere I have a soft spot for.

 You and I are ancient history. I can keep it in the past.”

Whilst the general storyline didn’t feel particularly unique to me, the cast of endearing characters made this the story it was. And when Anna returns from England to Blue Springs, Missouri to help care for her injured dad, she soon discovers her five year-olds new best-friend is the nephew of the kids soccer coach, and man whose heart she broke when she left.

You and I were never a mistake.”

Anna and Matt are a couple waiting for their right place, right time and whose hearts never stopped beating for one another. But with him determined not to let the love of his life slip through his fingers again and her life back in England, they have some tough decisions to make.

…let’s have tomorrow. And as many days as we can before you go.”

With some hilarious moments counterbalancing the romantic aspect, Always You was a feel-good romance with an endearing cast of secondary characters and some drama thrown into the mix heading towards the end. Some of it felt a little speedy and OTT at times as Matt and Anna navigate the path towards true love all over again, but that can be forgiven as this was an enjoyable introduction to the author’s writing.

Never underestimate a man in love.”

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3.5 STARS ✮ LAUREN ROWE ✮ MISADVENTURES ON THE NIGHT SHIFT

MISADVENTURES ON

 

THE NIGHT SHIFT

Misadventures #6

by

Lauren Rowe

✮✮✮ 3.5 STARS ✮✮✮

 

Hotel clerk Abby Medford has always enjoyed the quiet solitude of the night shift. The long, boring hours allow her time to study her law books. But when bad-boy-rocker Lucas Ford checks into the penthouse suite one night and demands Abby personally deliver his room service request, her formerly quiet nights are quickly filled with Lucas’s erotic games. 

Misadventures on the Night Shift is one I’d slot onto my quick-fix, smutty guilty-pleasures shelf, and spiced up my Sunday morning quite nicely.

I want to play you a song I wrote. A song about you. And then I want to show you my dick.”

Law-student-by-day and hotel-employee-by-night, Abby has loved rock-god Lucas Ford, along with many others for years, and when he books into the hotel after a meltdown on stage, she finally gets to see the man who inadvertently starred in her younger selfs fantasies. Fantasies that now get to be played out for real as he needs a muse and she’s the perfect woman for the job.

 I’m going to give you the night of your life, Angel. To thank you for giving me the best songs of mine.”

As they quickly get up close and personal, Abby and Lucas are hot, steamy and satisfying and we’re brought everything from role-playing ménage to kinkier one-on-one action. There’s not a huge amount of depth to the story, granted both have pasts and open-up as time passes, and there is a period they aren’t together where they get their sexual appetites fed elsewhere (although that’s off-script), but all in all if you’re looking for a shorter read that falls into the smuttier category yet delivers a good old dollop of sugary goodness, then this is likely to hit the spot. 

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3.5 STARS ✮ KELLY ELLIOTT ✮ LOST LOVE

LOVE LOST

Cowboys and Angels #1

by

Kelly Elliott

After his failed marriage Steed returns home to his parents' ranch in Texas. He hated not being able to go home to see his family because of his money-grubbing now ex-wife. When he left ten years ago he left unfinished business behind. The only woman he ever loved. The woman he never forgot.

Home. The one place I longed to be, but was also scared to death of. Memories of this place were dangerously strong, but Chloe and I needed family. She needed a sense of normal after five years of utter crazy. And I needed to right a wrong that was long overdue. Paxton.

Paxton loves her job as a kindergarten teacher. When she comes face to face with the love of her life and his daughter she is overwhelmed with contradictory feelings. There is joy of seeing Steed again but also grief and a huge amount of righteous anger. And there is still the lingering threat of her cutting off his men parts.

There are things that are unforgivable. I would have thought that the reason for Paxton's anger would be among them but from the first moment you could feel Steed's honest regret for what his younger self did rolling off of him. He wasn't very smart in the decision-making department when he was barely out of school and that is the only reason I can forgive him what he did. He was a young scared boy facing a future he never pictured. He did try to make up for his kneejerk decision but it was too late then.

“Fear is temporary, regret is forever.”

The betrayal and hurt Paxton feels when Steed walks back into her life are excruciating. His past ten years without her make it all the harder to forgive him and for a while they go in circles and Paxton learns more about herself and her own mistakes in the time following her tragedy while she finds a way to lay the past to rest. I thought that was very well executed. Paxton didn't give in right away and needed time to heal and the Steed did a lot of grovelling and really earned her forgiveness. 

Once they move past their issues the angst pretty much stops, the story becomes a lot more light-hearted and it gets a little too mushy and sweet for my taste. It doesn't really feel natural anymore to get so many "I love yous" and tearing up because, you know, happy, within a couple of pages and all the overly sweet stuff starts to feel a bit like fillers. 

A couple of words about the characters. Steed is a cowboy and he has the alpha character and filthy mouth to go with it. He really knows how to woo a woman. He is tenacious in his pursuit of Paxton, he really wants to make it up to everyone who got caught in the drama. I liked Paxton and her spirit and her ability to see her own mistakes.

We kneeled in front of each other, so vulnerable and open. Bleeding hearts exposed for each of us to see. He saw my pain; I saw his hurt. Guilt engulfed me.

While this was a leeettle bit too sweet for me and I expected more angst I still loved the whole cast, setting and storyline of this book and I will definitely continue reading this series. The family consists of 7 siblings so I think we are in for quite a ride. Especially because those cowboys are all man-hos who will be fun to watch when they are brought down to their knees by a female. 

Lost Love is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. 

This book deals with some serious issues which might be a trigger for some readers.

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3.5 STARS ✭ RHENNA MORGAN ✭ CLAIM & PROTECT

CLAIM & PROTECT

Haven Brotherhood #3

by

Rhenna Morgan

                     

Trevor is a fair employer. He has a small number of rules at his bar he expects his staff to follow. One of them is a no-cellphone rule during work. Unfortunately his newest addition doesn't seem to have gotten the memo - she uses her phone while working her shift at The Den. Before canning her he needs to find out what it is that has her risking her job.

Natalie's ex-husband is terrorizing her family which consists of her son and her mother watching him. When her boss finds her on the phone while she is trying to calm down her mom she has no choice but to tell Trevor about the troubles Nat is in. Trevor being the amazing guy that he is sends her home to take care of her family. Unbeknownst to her he follows her and gets there in time witnessing the jerk ex threatening Natalie.

Trevor has a history with domestic violence. His mother died from being beat to death by her dad so it takes everything in him to reign in his volatile temperament. He poses as Nat's boyfriend and accomplishes that the ex leaves for the night. But he will be back, Trevor is sure of it, so a long-term plan needs to be set in motion...

Hell no, he wasn't okay. He wanted to physically punish Wyatt Jordan in a way he'd never forget. Wanted to fuck his entire world up the way he'd upended Natalie and Levi's. 

Trevor was a super possessive guy with a troubled past. It's a known and successful formula by Rhenna Morgan. I love this kind of hero but would have liked to get a different feel about him than I had with Jace and Zeke. If you compare them they are all very similar and I wanted to see a bit of a different personality. Nevertheless, Trevor was a likable, sensual typically charming southern guy with a dirty mouth and impeccable manners.

"Anything. Everything. Always."

Natalie was a tad too bland for my taste. While she put up a fight when her ex bullied her she just was a bit too tame. And I definitely wasn't a fan of how she treated Trevor in the end.
She was determined to give her son a better life and to overcome the repercussion of her bad choices in the past. I did love the way she and Trevor were with Levi. I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm I had for Vivienne.

I found to be the first 70% of this story to be much slower than the first two books in this series. The plot didn't take off the way the others did for me. It was lacking the drive I'm used to. The last 30% were perfect in terms of pace and we got the suspense and action I love when it comes to this author. I really loved that part of the book.

"You ready for more than just light and easy between us?"

As always the dynamics of the brothers are my favorite thing in this series. Their easy banter, the loyalty, their obvious love for one another and how they have each other's back.

While this installment might not have been my favorite in this series it was still a solid book. Also, as always, please take my review with a grain of salt. It IS highly subjective and you might totally fall in love with Trevor and Natalie. I am definitely going to read Knox' story - I love a nerdy hero and can't wait to see what Rhenna Morgan comes up with for him.

Claim & Protect is part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

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3.5 STARS ✬ KARINA HALLE ✬ BEFORE I EVER MET YOU

BEFORE I EVER MET YOU

by

Karina Halle

✬✬✬ 3.5 STARS ✬✬✬

“It’s okay to need me. I need you. I need you more than I can possibly tell you, Jackie. There’s no shame in it. It’s part of loving someone. You need their heart to help complete yours.”

I am a huge fan of this author. Lachlan from "The Play" is still my favorite hero by her and I don't think I have rated any of her books below 4 stars. So let's see how this one came to be a 3.5.

When will learns from his wife of more than a decade that she is pregnant with another man's child the rage and hurt are almost overwhelming. Two years later he is done dealing with his ex-wife and he moves back to his native home in Vancouver, Canada. Will's friend and business partner hires an assistant for him which also happens to be Ted's estranged daughter who he last met when she was a rebellious teenager. He didn't count on a sexy bombshell to grace his office.

Jackie just relocated with her son from the north of Canada. She ran away from home with her first love and had his child. Now, after seven years, she tries to mend the relationship with her parents. Without any financial resources to call her own she moves back into their house and starts working for her father. Jackie remembers Will, her father's best friend, but the Will she meets at the office is so attractive that her thoughts start to stray into realms they have no business to go to. Will is sixteen years older after all AND her boss. And her father? He would blow a gasket.

"You're magic, Will McAlister." 

Will is a wonderful hero. He is gallant and friendly and so so bossy in the bedroom. He is 100% in when he decides to pursue his budding feelings for Jackie. Will is also amazing with Jackie's son and treats him like a little person instead of a child which I really appreciated. Ted is a bit of a bulldozer and it was great to see that Will stood his ground when Ted tried to steamroll him. There is no question that he loves Jackie and that she is "it" for him, even with the heartbreak he experienced with his ex-wife he doesn't shy away from his feelings.

”Tell me I have your heart. I won’t let it go, not for any moment, not for any reason. Tell me I have your heart and I’ll keep it next to my own.” 

Jackie brought the rating down for me. Will was very open about his feelings and it took the heroine until about 95% to actually realize that she loved him too. It was like she had an epiphany and all of a sudden everything else fell away. The reasons why she was on the fence about them were in my humble opinion invalid. Everything else factored in - to mend her relationship with her parents, her not wanting to need somebody else...the only reason I could have accepted was her son...while this was also a factor it felt only grazed in the story.

When it comes down to it "Before I Ever Met You" wasn't Karina Halle's strongest book. It was less angsty than what I'm used to which is not bad per se. I just felt the execution wasn't what I'm expecting from this author. There were some  exceptionally great lines - but that's par for the course for Karina Halle. However, there are lots of great reviews about this story so I do think that you need to take mine with a grain of salt. It might be a case of "It's me, not you."

"Before I Ever Met You" is as a standalone.