Synopsis

Alex is a CIA agent trying to catch another agent who is selling secrets to Venezuela.

Beth is the maid of honor in her best friend’s wedding. Her pretend boyfriend Charlie is her way of making sure her ex-boyfriend does not try to put the moves on her. After catching Alex in a compromising situation, she blackmails him to pretend to be Charlie.

When Beth sees something she should not have and the attempt on her life fails, Alex is not just a pretend boyfriend. He becomes her protector as well.

Opinion

This book was enjoyable. It was a like one of those corny action romance movies.
You have to suspend belief to get into the plot.

The banter between Alex and Beth made me chuckle at times but groan at other times. It seems that all the characters are off-the-wall with their questionable decision making, but it all comes together in the end.

I did enjoy the final elevator scene. Beth came out of character and did the unexpected. Good for her!

Should you buy? I recommend it as entertainment and do not take the story too seriously. It is part romance, part suspense with enough over-the-top hijinks to keep you amused.

Book Details from Goodreads
Kindle Edition, 166 pages
Published July 2nd 2013 by Adrienne Bell
series Second Service #1
Click here to buy on Amazon

V is for Very Special #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr24

A Very Special Delivery (Love Inspired) ♥♥

Synopsis
Molly is a sad person who loves children but thinks she is a danger to them because of an incident when her nephew died in her care.

Ethan is a delivery man and needs to leave his baby at Molly’s house while goes and makes a delivery during a snowstorm. Once he returns, it is too perilous to try to drive home, so he stays at Molly’s house.

This begins their romance and Molly’s return to finding her faith in God.

Opinion

While I am very religious person, I do not usually read Christian romances because they can be mediocre. Like many in this sub-genre, the author depicts Molly as a lost, bitter, sad person. Then she re-discovers religion, causing her to be a better person. Happier and content. Only then is she worthy of being loved. Meh

Molly’s conflict with her estranged sister was over the top to me. If this is supposed to be a town full of a lot of “good Christian people”, why didn’t any of them help Molly deal with her grief at the time her nephew died? It was as if everyone saw the car accident, but decided to wait for the paramedics to get there instead of trying to help.

Plus, I do not think I really got over the fact that Ethan left his baby with a complete stranger. I do not care about the fact that it was in the middle of a snowstorm. Didn’t he have any friends?

It was so cheesy. I skipped over pages just to get to the end. Some parts were about as interesting as watch paint dry.

You may not agree, but that is my opinion.

Should you buy? If you want a super, scrubbed clean romance with no hint of anything to offend the sensibilities, then this book is for you. You might want to check out other Love Inspired books too. For me, I now know the code words “Love Inspired” mean that I will pass on reading that.

Book details from Goodreads
Paperback, 250 pages
Published May 1st 2006 by Steeple Hill (first published January 1st 2002)
series: Tiny Blessings #8
Available on Amazon

U is for Under #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr24

Under the Radar (SEAL EXtreme Team Book 3) ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Ty is a SEAL pilot that was shot down in the Artic. No one knows he is down but the hostiles who shot his plane. Now he needs to devise a plan to stay one step ahead before they find him to finish the job.

Holly is a musher with dog sledding tour business but no one is signing up with her. She moved to Alaska to escape a brutal ex-husband. She is caught in a blizzard soon after a moose attacked her dogs.

Opinion

Before I even get into the review, I have to define “musher”. I did not know what this was. A musher is a person who competes in cross-country races with dog team and sled (from dictionary.com). It is admirable that Holly is trying to make her living in a male oriented business.

This book is an insta-love story with a lovable alpha-male and beaten-but-not-broken heroine. The story follows a consistent format.

When Ty found Holly, he infers a lot about the domestic abuse she suffered from the scars he saw when he rescued her. He went into protective mode.

“If she were mine, I’d show her what it is to be adored, treasured.”

Even though they did not know each other very well, their insta-love was basically summed up with this quote

“He can tell a lot about a person by the way she treated her animals.”

She was willing to drop the pants quickly too because her dogs sensed he was a good man.

I do not recommend solely using your pets as a guide to determine if a guy has no ulterior motives in real life though. I do believe there is a lot to be said about how a person treats animals, older people, and anyone in the service industry. But committing to a guy because he gave your dog a bone? That might be taking it too far.

Should you buy? It was entertaining. There was one sad part, but overall, it was fast paced with decent dialogue.

Book details from Goodreads
Kindle Edition, 118 pages
Published December 16th 2014 by Kimberley Troutte

Available on Amazon

T is for Touched #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr23

Touched By Midas (SEALs Going Hot Book 4) ♥♥

Synopsis

Michael (Midas) is a Navy Seal that is very superstitious. He sees lucky signs in everything. He credits his routines before missions with keeping his team safe.

Angie is a teacher at the Naval Station in Rota Spain. She will not give Midas the time of day. The more she shows her disdain, the more he wants her in his bed.

When Midas’ team members bet he cannot date her, he pulls out all the stops to charm her. If Midas wins the bet, his team members promise not to give him any grumbling when he forces them to follow his lucky routines. Little does Midas know, Angie resists him because of her secret identity.

“If she could get to the point where she really trusted him, she would reveal her identity.”

Opinion

Midas seemed to be a sweet, sincere guy, but I kept thinking that the only reason why he was mesmerized by Angie was because she made him chase her. While his quirks humanized him, they also detracted from his hotness. He went from being HOT to CUTE. Both are good, but, for me, it’s the difference between a book boyfriend and a book guy friend.

I just believed I friendzoned Midas.

I think that the author wants the reader to believe that Angie was this reformed wild child. I had a hard time believing she had been into anything so kinky it made her a “bad girl”. I guess I am jaded when it comes to kink. Angie so melodramatic, I thought she needed to chill.

Many of the elements of the story were predictable

Angie’s secret was not as radical as she hyped it up to be
Insta-romance: From hate to love in a week
Angie flips out over the bet – LOL no brainer there

The story was cute, but I was expecting better. I read Dagger’s Edge (by the same author) and was thinking that this book would have similar energy. I like that it was a romance featuring a SEAL but it was not steamy as I was anticipating.

Should you buy? It is light reading, without a complicated plot or conflict. In the course of a week, Angie and Midas decide they are in love but that is almost derailed when she finds out about the bet. Nothing new in the plot but sometimes (if you are like me) you might want to read something without too many surprises.

Book details from Goodreads
Kindle Edition
Published August 14th 2014 by The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
94 pages
Series SEALs Going Hot

Available on Amazon

S is for Sheikh #atozchallenge #ABCofRomance @AprilA2Z

Apr22

The Sheikh’s Bargained Bride (Harlequin comics) ♥ ♥♥

Synopsis
When Sabrina’s father dies soon after her wedding to Sheikh Adham, she is told that it is custom in her husband’s host country to allow time for bereavement. Considering how Adam was before they got married, Sabrina cannot understand his cold attitude as if he is not really attracted to her.

Sheikh Adham’s attitude has nothing to do with respecting her time for bereavement but thinking that Sabrina was deceitful, calculative, and manipulative.

Opinion
While Sabrina thought she found the love of her life, Adham gave mixed signals. His hot and cold demeanor towards her had confused me also. Even though he explains his reasons, I was still confused. He was very affectionate in public as if he was the dutiful, loving husband. However, in their home when it was just the two of them, it was the opposite at times. I would have been less confused if he had not been overly lovey-dovey in public while in private acting as if he was disgusted that he was so attracted to her.

Initially, I agree that Adham had reason to feel that he had been wronged and tricked into marriage. But he was so distrustful of her that he did not see the truth about her actions. At that point, it was not a matter of miscommunication but rather he let his emotions cloud his judgment. If he had looked at things logically, he would have figured it out sooner.

I did like the ending though. Sabrina showed that she was made of strong stuff. She was not going to allow herself to be at Adham’s mercy or whim, yearning for his affection and melting at his touch when decided to bestow it upon her. I wanted to yell, “You GO GIRL!” She had enough respect for herself not to permit Adham to treat her any kind of way. That was the only way for Adham to come to his senses and see error of his actions.