A cute bodyguard romance

Franco’s Fortune (Redemption Book 2) ♥♥♥

Franco is a businessman whose life is in danger. Someone wants him dead. His brother-in-law sends Jo to be his bodyguard. They are supposed to be pretend to be boyfriend-girlfriend so no one will guess that she is protecting him. Jo has had a huge crush on Franco but believes she is out of her league. As Jo begins to play (and dress) the part of his girlfriend, the player in Franco notices her more feminine attributes.

Even though Franco knows that someone is trying to kill him, he spends an inordinate amount of time trying to guard his privacy. That aspect of his personality was infuriating to Jo and me both. France put on a bravado act most of the time to hide his fear. Despite Franco’s consistent efforts to hinder the investigation of the attempts on his life, that mystery was solved in a way that was not too corny. The villains, suspense, and action were believable.

It is good to know that even though he was player, he had twinges of conscience when it came to how he treated Jo. He knew there were certain boundaries that he could not cross because he had to think about her feelings. But there were a couple of times I wish I could have hit him in the back of the head for some of his thoughtless comments. I granted him some leeway since he had been putting on a front for years without letting most people see who he really was.

Overall, I could have been annoyed with Franco, but his redeeming qualities won me over. Jo was an emotionally damaged individual because of her childhood, but she was able to overcome all of that and find family, home, and happiness.

I received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Steamy Short story

Aug15

Hot Spot ♥♥♥

Samatha (Sammy) and John reconnect with each other after 20 years at John’s family reunion. When they were teenagers, Sammy and John were attracted to each other. But she did not have any confidence of his intentions to stay around and so she married “the good son” his brother Pat.

Fast forward to the present. Sammy has been divorced from Pat (who remarried soon after the divorce). John sees his opportunity and he is determined to test their physical capability. He believes the spark is still there. He regrets not being dependable enough as a youngster to have a relationship with Sammy all those years ago.

Sammy loved John but could not trust him with her heart as a teen. She made a “playing it safe” decision then, but this time around, she has to decide if she can believe he will not run off. No longer immature teens, their decision to get together results in a short story that is one long love scene (with some dialogue interspersed throughout).

Overall, I like Hot Spot because I had no high expectations. I laughed at some parts because the whole family probably was wondering when they were going to finally hook up. They were not very subtle at times. I bet an onlooker could have felt the tension and thought, “Get a room already!”

Caveat: Hot Spot is not a PG romance. There are a lot of F-bombs. The love scenes in my opinion were tastefully done, but some might find it too explicit.

Click any of the links in this post to buy this book on Amazon.

Another fine Westmoreland romance!

Jul30

Canyon (The Westmorelands) – another Westmoreland romance!!! ♥♥♥♥

Canyon is an attorney that is determined to plead his case with his ex-girlfriend Keisha. She caught him in a compromising (very damning) situation with her best friend and was convinced that he was cheating on her. Canyon knows he was not cheating and he wants her to see reason.

Keisha knows what she saw and accepted her friend’s tearful apology. However, she will not tolerate being in love with a man who has been unfaithful. Her distrustful attitude towards men has a lot to do with the grudge she hold against her father for not acknowledging her when her mother told him about the pregnancy with Keisha. To her, it seems that men in her life continue to disappoint her.

Although Canyon would like to try to hate Keisha for not believing him, he cannot. He loved her then and still loves her. If only he could convince her to take him at his word. At some point in the story, I got the impression that he would probably still accept her even if she had those doubts about him. That is not the optimum way he wants the relationship to go, but he was borderline desperate to have her in his life. The attorney in him could not give up on the relationship without a giving closing arguments to wrap up his case.

All the while, Keisha is struggling with her own questions “What is truth?” “Could he be telling the truth?” “If he is, did she overreact?” “Could they have a future together anyway?”

I loved Canyon and tolerated Keisha. Canyon was an overall good guy. Keisha had so many trust issues that she was a little bitter. She is holding so many grudges that it colors her judgment. She made some bad decisions because of that but I am glad that she acknowledged her faults in the end.

Seriousness aside, there is also a lot of funny moments and conversation that add depth to the characters’ personality. The funniest part of this book to me was part where Canyon was trying to explain why following Keisha was not stalking. I was laughing out loud because he was bordering on creeper and trying to justify why it was a good idea. His brothers/cousins/friends were sure he was going to end up in jail. The only reason why I did not get annoyed (because I do not think any guy should force himself on a woman for the sake of a relationship) was that he prevented a crime from being committed and probably saved her life. But he was walking a fine line for a minute there.

I am not usually one to read so many books from the same series. Nevertheless, I have read many of the Westmoreland, Madaris, and Steele series books (15 so far) because Brenda Jackson rarely disappoints with the storyline. My favorite series is Westmoreland. The plots are variations on the same type of scenario but each has its own special twists that keep me entertained. I enjoy all of the books in this series, but I especially like it when the couple has history. The love-at-first-sight scenario can get played out. As in the case with Canyon (The Westmorelands), when the couple has history, one or both of the main characters have trust issues. Good thing there are enough Westmoreland family members around to talk logic and reason into them.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The divorce party is neither a party or a divorce- Discuss!

Jul30

The Divorce Party (Harlequin Presents) – ♥♥♥♥

Lilly wants a divorce. Riccardo is of the opinion that they are married and should just work out whatever problems they have. He has the right idea but with all the tact of a bull in a china shop. Needless to say, Lilly does not take too well to being railroaded.

I thought another name for this book could have been: Billionaire Romance – The rest of the story.

The sequel to the fairytale romance is called reality. He uses his money to wine, dine and sweep this girl off of her feet. Then daily life sits in. It is not all about wining and dining when he has to go to work. He might be the CEO of a successful billion dollar company, but it will not stay that way unless he goes into the office.

Sometimes it seems that love is not enough. Lilly and Riccardo had a whirlwind romance.

However, when it is time to live normal life, they have problems.

Plus, both of the characters had internal issues that they needed to resolve before there could be success in the marriage. In short, two people from dysfunctional families will experience some form of culture shock in what they consider to be a “healthy relationship”. Just because two people fall madly in love, this does not necessarily mean they will have a happy ever after ending.

The characters to this story were not one-dimensional. Lilly’s insecurities and Riccardo’s imperfections cause their personalities to the leap off of the page as if they were real people. Both had preconceived notions of what they thought the relationship would be like, but their partner did not meet their expectations. Since Riccardo was extremely arrogant, he did not question the fact that his will would always be done in the relationship.

The question was not if he loved her, it was could keep her?

They might love each other, but are they right for each other?

I loved The Divorce Party (Harlequin Presents) because it validates all the things that I have been saying about some of the love at first sight romance stories. The two people need to have a connection and a lot of common ground. A torrid love affair in which they spend more time in the bed than they do actually talking to each other means they’re probably not going to be together for very long.

The Divorce Party (Harlequin Presents) was a great story with great emotional characters. Buy this book!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gyaros – Book Zero – Cry Wolf

Jul26

Gyaros Book Zero: Cry Wolf (YA 17+ Sci Fi Adventure) – ♥♥♥♥

On the surface, after the unification on planet Carthage, there was a seemingly utopian society by banning all social deviants to Gyaros- a lunar prison. But the strict totalitarian government has rigid, structural social hierarchy that is designed to keep everyone in their place.

This is setting for Cry Wolf. And then there should be a countdown like 3 – 2- 1 Action! The book is an adrenaline rush following Wolf, Ryker and the rest of the crew on their mission. I won’t give too much of the plot away, but I can say that there are some very tense moments.

I think that the purpose of this book is to set the stage for the full length novel Gyaros Book One: The Mice Eat Iron (YA 17+ Sci Fi Adventure) that is set in the same setting. In Cry Wolf, you as the reader are able to get a better sense of the divisions within society. Everyone is relegated to their place or social position. All the information about a person is imprinted on the bio chip that is embedded in each person’s skin. The quality of life of a person is determined by social status. For example, in one district, it always rains and the weather is depressing. Closer to the upper levels, there is sunshine. Above all else, no one can freely move between the districts.

As is common in many sci-fi books, you need time to understand what is going on in the society in order to fully visualize and appreciate the setting. For Gyaros Book Zero: Cry Wolf , because of all the detailed scene descriptions, Carthage becomes real.

I do not read a lot of sci-fi books, but I was glad that I read Gyaros Book Zero: Cry Wolf . It was like a burst of caffeine without drinking any coffee. I really enjoyed it. My interest was stirred to read Gyaros Book One: The Mice Eat Iron .

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.