Secondhand Hearts

It looks like Jo Noelle is embarking on a new series and I can't wait to meet more of the people in Peak City.

This is a quick read but there's nice development and conflict between the characters to get enough of the experience of a full length novel.

I really liked Elena and Chase. They seemed like people I'd like to hang out with.

My only bit of disappointment was due to the abrupt ending. I wanted just a few pages more to satisfy me, but the author knows best how to write their book.

Really like the cover.

Amazon

He's a country star trying to lay low. She's a pawn shop owner struggling to get by. Can their relationship last when she learns his secret? 

As a member of a top country-western band, Chase has the money and fame he's always wanted. When he meets the beautiful woman who owns Treasure Mountain Pawn, he has to hide both of those things from the one person he wants to know everything about him. 
 
When Elena sees Chase for the first time, his turquoise eyes and tousled brown hair convince her that she might believe in insta-love. Just in time, her brain takes over, reminding her that her business is in trouble, making her future uncertain—not a good time for love. 
 

But being with Chase is as easy as following her heart, until she finds he has a secret big enough to break it.

Dangerous Favor

Ms. DiPastena's third installment of this series takes no prisoners. In her beautiful medieval style she plunks your mind and heart into the era and tangles you up in the love and intrigues relative to marriage and honor.

The characters and tale are well crafted and bid you to continuously turn the page to see how she will untangle the web of deceit and innocence to a sigh worthy romantic and life threatening conclusion.

My only wish was that I'd read the previous books to remember better certain familial connections as it had been years between readings. This story may be read as a stand alone, but when the writing is at such a lofty level, why would you?

Amazon
Mathilde needs a champion.

Her father has been accused of stealing from the king, an allegation that has reduced her family to poverty. She has one chance to find and marry a man who can help her prove her father's innocence. Lord Therri, heir to a rich barony, has the wealth and connections Mathilde needs to delve into the mysteries of her father's past. Furthermore, Therri embodies all her romantic dreams.

Etienne, the younger son of a disgraced family, has neither wealth nor connections, but is smitten with Mathilde at a glance. She finds the knight intriguing, but believes he is only out to seduce her. While she seeks for a way to win Therri's attention, Etienne tricks her into granting him her favor, an embroidered white ribbon, for a tournament, setting in motion a dangerous chain reaction of events. Can Etienne save Mathilde from a nightmare from her past and prove himself the true hero of her dreams?

Poitevin Hearts, Book 3: Men and women living and loving amidst the political intrigues of medieval Poitou (a region of France once ruled by the Kings of England)

Dangerous Favor is a PG rated historical romance.

The Poitevin Hearts romance series is linked together by recurring characters, but each title is written as a stand-alone novel. They can therefore be read and enjoyed in any order.

Additionally, some characters in this series appear in titles not listed as a Poitevin Hearts romance. If you wish to read about the characters chronologically, the titles in order would be as follows:

Loyalty’s Web (Poitevin Hearts, Book 1)
Illuminations of the Heart (Poitevin Hearts, Book 2)
Loving Lucianna (Hearts in Autumn, Book 1)
Dangerous Favor (Poitevin Hearts, Book 3)
The Lady and the Minstrel

Seeking Mr. Dependable

A Jane Austen pact book...how could I resist?

I've enjoyed other books in this series and was equally delighted with Ms. Checketts work.

There's quite a bit of high emotion and suspense to this tale so be sure and take your heart medication first. There's depth to the characters, clean writing, fast pacing, and heart thudding kisses to keep the romance reader happily entertained. There are marvelous obstacles in their way, some from outside sources and some of their own creation.

A read now novel.

Amazon

A broken-hearted Romeo. A wrongly-accused woman. Can he keep her safe if she puts her life in his hands? 
Brooke Isaacson's ex-fiancé pulls a gun on her and she has no choice but to run. When she runs straight to Wyoming and into the arms of Ryker Redland, she's not sure if she's found her Mr. Dependable or found the biggest heartbreak of her life.
A deserted cabin and a territorial grizzly tracking them will either bring them together or be their death sentence.

The American (Billionaire Royals Book 6)

I picked up this book on the recommendataion of a friend. It is my first read by Ms. Summers, but I'm not sure if I'll be picking up anymore of her books soon.

The characters are wonderfully created and real. The pacing steady and quick. The challenges the characters pose to each other bring lightness and fun. There's a smidge of intrigue. Settings spot on.

My disappointment came at the end. The book stopped abruptly. I was midscene and the story was over. There were lose ends left untied.

Please understand, it saddens me to leave such a review. Authors work hard and have so many elements to juggle to bring a story and characters to life and on to the page into the reader's hands. This one simply missed the mark at the end for me.

Amazon

The Sixth book in the Billionaire Royals Series. Thane tires of his work as the press liaison in Torren. And longs to enter the business world. After a shocking announcement to his family, he moves to Manhattan and begins life as the newest billionaire royal in the fast paced business world.

Serving The Prince: Clean Contemporary Royal Romance (Royal Secrets Book 3)

This is my first read by Sophia Conrad and I found it wonderfully charming.

Julie is smart, attractive, and has a sense of morality and responsibility. All combine to make her a well rounded character and a good match for Max.

Max, with the world at his finger tips, wants to make a difference in his country and the world and yearns for a woman is can be more than giggly arm candy. His attraction to Julie is sweet and genuine.

A cozy satisfying page-turning read.

Amazon

She’s a waitress with no room for distractions. He’s a prince wishing for a simpler life. Is there any hope for a happily-ever-after?

Julie Winters’ life is simple: work and college. Her five-year life plan doesn’t allow for detours of any kind, and that includes no dating. With her family counting on the money she makes from her tips at the lodge, Julie is serious about her responsibilities. She definitely won’t let a man distract her, even when he looks like Max, a guest from Europe. 

But when Julie’s old car breaks down, the mysterious Max is the one to rescue her. And when she needs an archery tutor, Max volunteers for the job. Soon, they’re spending time together, and Julie likes it. Maybe a little too much.

Prince Maximilian Wolfe is in the U.S. to look for investors, not to find a girlfriend. His friend Prince Henry likes to go clubbing, but Max prefers the simple things. When he meets Julie at the restaurant where she works, he’s immediately intrigued by her beautiful brown eyes. Julie is different and genuine, and Max looks for ways to spend more time together.

There’s only one problem—Julie doesn’t know Max is a prince.


Current books in the Royal Secrets series:
— Book 1: Taming The Prince by Addison Quinn
— Book 2: Dancing with The Prince by Kennedy Larsen
— Book 3: Serving The Prince by Sophia Conrad
— Book 4: Dating The Prince by Addison Quinn
— Book 5: Forgetting The Prince by Kennedy Larsen
— Book 6: Rescuing The Prince by Sophia Conrad 

Make Believe Honeymoon

A bit of fun, a bit of intrigue, and a bit of flirting make up this make believe story.

Jessie and Callum are both strong in personality, intelligence, and heart. They need all of these traits to solve the crime and fall in love.

A well crafted, well written tale of a cruise ship romance turned real despite the main characters best efforts.

Amazon

Two private investigators must pretend to be newlyweds in love on a Caribbean honeymoon cruise to catch a killer, but what happens when make-believe feelings turn real?

Former Navy SEAL, Callum McKenzie, struggles to open himself up to love. So, when he books a ticket on a honeymoon cruise for a case, he has to find someone to play the role of doting wife. He hires someone, based on a recommendation from a friend, but when he meets the petite single mother, Callum has misgivings. He’s attracted to her in a way he’s never felt before, but he’s her boss. Can he keep things professional between them and fight his forbidden feelings long enough to solve the case?

Former beat cop, Jessie Arwens, moved back home to Atlanta after losing her husband. All she wants now is to see her son settled in his new school and to start over as a private investigator. An old friend recommends her for a job with a successful local PI and she jumps at the chance to establish herself. When she meets him, she quickly finds herself caught up in their act. But she’s been burned by love before and doesn’t want to risk her son’s happiness by leaping into a new relationship, especially with the man who’s currently paying her wages.

Cruising through the tropical Caribbean, the two of them uncover a nefarious plot and web of lies on their pretend honeymoon. But they soon discover that when it comes to matters of the heart there’s a fine line between make-believe and reality.

Awakening Avery

This is a soul searching read by Ms. Lewis. She isn't afraid to dig into deep emotions pertaing to what some regard as touchy subjects: grief, religion, betrayal, to name a few.

The characters are well developed as is the story. The pacing is steady. The emotions real and raw.

This book will have you pondering on the meaning of life, family, and love. About how taking risks can bring you new experiences, friendship, the spark of creativity, and a new found lease on life.

A fine read.

Amazon

"You're depressed," the doctor declared.

"Ya think?" is author Avery Elkins Thompson's sarcastic response. She can’t pull out from the malaise that set in following her husband's untimely death, and her adult children fear they are losing her too.

She can't write, and questions about their father's death leave the family mired in pain. "We need a healing place," her oldest son tells her, suggesting she find it on Anna Maria Island, Florida, a former family vacation spot.

When Avery returns to Baltimore to sell the family's waterfront condo, she meets rodeo-ers-turned-real-estate-brokers Teddie and Rider Davis, and Avery's quiet life will never be the same again. The Davises help arrange a short-term house swap with widower Gabriel Carson from Anna Maria, whose overprotective parenting has resulted in two self-centered, twenty-something daughters. Avery and Gabriel are in for the summer of their lives as they step into one another's messy, complicated worlds.

Still, venturing out on her own again is challenging for Avery, whose experiences at the Ringling's magnificent Ca d'Zan mansion, and with the quirky characters she meets there, eventually awaken her to truths she desperately needs to remember—that God has not forgotten her, and as crazy as life can be, it is possible to laugh and love again.