Synopsis

Carissa bought a house that she is remodeling to sell.

Josh is a contractor that helps Carissa after she fires her first contractor.

Carissa and Josh had a one night stand years ago, but decide that they cannot have a relationship now. Complicating things is the fact that Carissa dated Josh’s best friend. Plus Carissa’s best friend is marrying Josh’s brother.

Opinion

I think that Carissa thought that what she had with Josh was never going to happen again and that is why she decided dating his best friend was a good idea. Not a choice I would have made, but I guess she realized that she did not have many options in a small town. It is still confusing why Josh was not an option for a relationship.

What I could not understand about this story

Josh’s hesitancy to tell his best friend about dating Carissa. It was not as if they were still dating. What kind of ridiculous “I got dibs on her” type of childish nonsense was that? Josh and Carissa were sneaking around so that they could hide their relationship from one person. The way they were carrying on, it was as if one of them was married.

What really annoyed me about this story

Carissa’s best friend kept pushing her to sleep with guys as if she needed to be in a relationship to be happy.

Overall, this book was not the best, but was not the worst. The villain did not seem to have a decent grasp on reality. What stalker is a sane person? Josh’s reason for not making their relationship public was borderline ridiculous to me. But in the end, they get together and all loose ends are neatly tied up.

Should you buy? Yes as a time filler for an afternoon or while travelling, but do not pay more than 99cents (last I checked, it was free on Amazon)

Book details from Amazon

Print Length: 326 pages
Publisher: Molly McLain (February 21, 2014)
Publication Date: February 21, 2014

Available on Amazon

Finding #Love during #MardiGras is a sure thing #harlequinromance

Jul15

No Time Like Mardi Gras (One Night in New Orleans)

Synopsis

Jamie just moved to New Orleans and is experiencing her first Mardi Gras. Colin is a computer programmer who meets Jamie at a bar while helping out his friend the bar owner. After she accepts his offer to show her around Mardi Gras, passions were high fueled by their instant attraction. Plus Mardi Gras licentiousness stoked their simmering flame into a combustible event.

Alas, at the end of the night they get separated.

Knowing nothing more than first names, it was difficult for either party to follow up on the one night stand.

Colin’s ex-girlfriend helps him find Jamie. Meanwhile, Jamie, recently out of a very traumatic breakup with a sports celebrity, cannot decide if she wanted to be found or not.

They navigate their way through the relationship, dealing with ex’s and insecurities. In the end, they discover what is important while confessing their love for each other.

Opinion

This is one of those cotton-candy-types of romances. Sweet. Light. Fluffy.

The characters were amusing. I loved Colin. He was a cutie and a nurturer. Not my usual surly hero but a Prince Charming. At least he was a gamer computer programmer. I am more of a geek than jock girl.

However, I thought Jamie was overly neurotic. I know that she has reason considering she went from riches to rags plus no friends when she broke up with her sports celeb boyfriend. But get over it already! It was like she wanted to move on but could not.

Plus she had an annoying habit of micro-analyzing Colin as if he was just like her jerk ex. Since she was fresh out of a relationship, she should have taken it more slowly with Colin. Or at the very least, she should have been more open about (1) why she is relationship shy and (2) what drama she was still dealing with. It is exasperating that she wanted a relationship with Colin but wanted to shut him out at the same time. No wonder, he did what he did (not excusing him but saying I understand his frustration).

I thought the book happened all in one night/weekend. I was prepared to scoff at the early protestation of love. That was not the case. A plus in my book.

Overall, this is light fantasy romance reading. Series of very fortunate coincidences and they end up with a HEA.

This book in real life: two people have a one night stand during Mardi Gras never to see each other again even though they live in the same city. THE END

Should you buy? Even as annoyed as I got with Jamie, I think there were enough good points about this story to recommend reading. For the most part it is a predictable Harlequin romance.

Love my billionaire undone #romance #obsessionseries

Jul5

Billionaire Undone: The Billionaire’s Obsession ~ Travis (Volume 6)

Synopsis

Travis is a billionaire executive who is described as “too serious, too somber, and completely humorless”.

Ally (Allison) is the his administrative assistant who is very competent considering she works for the “billionaire boss from hell”. However she is feeling less than confident when she finds out her fiancé is cheating on her while she has been working two jobs to put him through school.

When Travis finds out Ally is single, he determined to let her know how he really feels. Ally, on the other hand, is not sure if this relationship is a fling or the real deal.

Opinion

When I read Billionaire’s Salvation (Max and Mia’s story), I wanted to know more about Travis. He stole ever scene for me. I think I was obsessed with him. I figured his story would be with Ally the secretary who changed his ringtone (that never gets old). However, that brief glimpse into his personality could not prepare me him. For their story.

I thought I knew how their story was going to be. I thought this would be another variation of the cliché theme: billionaire/secretary romance. I have read so many and I am usually like “That’s sweet” or “That’s cute”.

THIS was fresh and unexpected. It caught me off guard and I loved it.

Travis is an overbearing, take-charge alpha male. And I LOVE him so much. Why? This was not a guy who was stalking her from the shadows (like Simon). He worked with her every day for 4 years and got grumpier by the minute because she was his obsession. He knew she was engaged to be married so he did not make a move.

When he knew she was single…he moved in quickly to make sure she was his for real.

He went from being a bear to being gentle as a lamb (still overbearing alpha male though).

“I guess I just wanted to make you smile at me.” – Travis

Image result for awwww meme

Ally knew all of his secrets but loved him anyway. Even though she fell hard for him, she was not a pushover. Just because they had explosive chemistry, Ally was not going to fall in line because Travis was her boss.

Yes she was his obsession.

“His intensity would overwhelm her.”

But he need not worry.

“She had the same ferocious carnal need as he did.”

The book was scorching hot and I love, love Travis.

Makes me almost want to try to work for a billionaire to recreate this romance.

Almost…then I remember I am married and this is fantasy.

Should you buy? Unequivocally yes! I read this book 3 times in 2 months. When the book was finished I did not want it to end. J.S. Scott did a fantastic job with the storyline so it is very entertaining.

Available on Amazon

The Commander finds love

Jun25

The Commander (Red, Hot, & Blue)

Synopsis

Now that all the SpecOps team members have their happy endings (this is the The Red, Hot & Blue series), Hank, the commander, is the focus of the story. Everyone looks up to and respects Hank. He has been a constant in their military career, like a father figure to most of them. Since he is larger than life for them, he cannot talk frankly to them about his feelings or what he wants out of life.

Lois is the mother to members of Hank’s SpecOps team. Just because she has adult children old enough to get married, does not mean she is some dowdy, old lady content to sit at home in her rocking chair waiting for the grandchildren to come. She is spunky, spirited, and energetic. She loves her sons, their girlfriends, and embraces everyone she meets with open arms.

Since Hank does not socialize with his direct reports, the image he had in his head about the way Lois (called Mama by his men) looked and how she actually looked was totally different. Before this book they knew of each other but had not met in person. When they finally meet, Hank was not prepared for the fact that she was hotter than his matronly mental image.

Opinion

I have mentioned in previous reviews that I like it when the characters are mature. I cannot remember reading a romance where the characters were in this age bracket; however it totally worked for the story.

Lois is a hardworking woman who was unfortunate the first time around when it came to love. At least she has her sons that will do anything for her. She spoils them but not too much. I think I liked her so much because she sounds like my ideal book mom.

Hank is a rugged, mature man who touches my heart too. I think he was realistic enough to admit that his failed relationship was partially his fault. Given his position, he did not really have anyone he could talk to about personal matters.

It feels funny calling the characters by their names since up until this point, they were Mama and Commander. I was as happy that Lois and Hank found each other as I would be about my parents (or my friend’s parents) finding romance. I skimmed over the love scenes though. Who wants to read about their parents making out? Ughhh. I rather not think about that. Oh the visuals.

Overall, I liked The Commander (Red, Hot, & Blue) because it was different from what I am used to reading in the sense that the characters were more mature age wise. Bravo to Cat Johnson for this storyline. Like the other books in this series, there is some graphic language and love scene detail.

Should you buy? It is worth the prices. While this story is full length, read the other stories in this series to get the full effect of who Lois and Hank are. Out of all the books, this is definitely the sweetest of all the story lines.

Book Details
ebook, 81 pages

Published December 31st 2013 by Samhain Publishing

Series Red, Hot & Blue #12

Fierce #YAromance novel not quite

Jun20

Fierce (New Adult Romance) – #1 Fierce Series

Synopsis

Autumn is a self-proclaimed nerdy good girl in her first year at college.

Hunter is also a college student but he is a bad boy. As a testament to his badness, he is in an illegal frat club (more like a fight club).

The two meet and are drawn to each other. They have some classes together. They hang out more and more with each other as their relationship develops.

Opinion

This book was not my cup of tea for many reasons.

ONE: I like characters that are mature. Autumn was not. I rolled my eyes at the overused “Oh my God” and the many variations of the phrase. Since the story was written in first person from Autumn’s POV, I got even more annoyed with her character because she seemed to lack common sense.

Example 1: drug deal scene. She was shouting at Hunter WHILE he is trying to do a covert drug deal. I am in no way condoning that type of illegal activity. I do know that drawing attention to people who are trying to hide their nefarious dealings usually ends up with a person getting shot.

Example 2: Autumn’s relationship with her friend Evie. Her friend Evie is a lesbian who has a crush on her. Instead of telling the girl she does not feel the same way, she refuses to address it. It was almost like she was leading the girl on. Evie had to pointedly ask her what the status was. If Autumn was as good of a friend as she proclaimed, it should not have come to that.

TWO: How is Hunter still in college? He does not go to class most of the time. And when he is in class, he is not paying attention. Plus, I did not get the impression Hunter was the most adept fighter. The reason for his joining the fight club did not make much sense either. As with fighting in book or movies, my first thought is “How is it that the person does not have brain damage yet?” I think Hunter did have brain damage but does not realize it. He got hit in the head a lot.

THREE: By the end of the book, the author tried to bring all the elements of the story together, but it seem forced to me. After all Autumn had been through, she was still acting like a juvenile and it annoyed me. Meanwhile, Hunter magically appears to save the day at the end. How he extricated himself from his own precarious situation and still had time and the mental capacity to be a hero while defending his girlfriend is beyond me.

I read other reviews of this book and wondered if we were reading the same story. The reviewers were talking about how great Hunter and Autumn were. I was scratching my head trying determine if I was being too hard on the characters. In the end I decided that even though I know I sound like a grumpy old lady, I thought it was all ridiculous. I was reminded why I do not read young adult romance novels.