Tag Archive | contemporary Romance

Cover Revel: Viewing Room: A Society X Novel by L.P. Dover @LPDover & Heidi McLaughlin @HeidiJoVT

Jun10

Title: Viewing Room

Series: Society X

Author: Heidi McLaughlin and L.P. Dover

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Cover designed by: Regina Wamba at Mae I Design

Viewing Room Rules:

The rules of Society X are simple . . . break them and you’re out.

Rule #1 – No names

It doesn’t matter if you want to know, it’s forbidden.

Rule #2 – No exchanging numbers

It doesn’t matter if you want to call, it’s forbidden.

Rule #3 – Everything is to remain strictly anonymous.

It doesn’t matter if you want to tell, it’s forbidden.

Whatever your desire.

Whatever your fantasy.

The Viewing Room will make it happen.

For Kennedy Vaughn, it’s an escape.

For Hunter Miles, entering the Viewing Room means he’s been selected.

What you witness in the viewing room will have you asking for more . . .

Title: Dark Room: A Society X Novel

Authors: Heidi McLaughlin & L.P. Dover

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: January 26, 2016
Cover Design: Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations
Photographer: Eric David Battershell

Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.

Originally from Portland, Oregon and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup, and their newest addition of a Highland Westie/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL.

During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she’s writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting courtside during either daughter’s basketball games.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is a southern belle residing in North Carolina along with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she even began her literary journey she worked in Periodontics enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.Not only does she love to write, but she loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes, white water rafting, and you can’t forget the passion for singing. Her two number one fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime and those songs usually consist of Christmas carols.Aside from being a wife and mother, L.P. Dover has written over fifteen novels including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, the Gloves Off series, and her standalone novel, Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read is romantic suspense and she also loves writing it. However, if she had to choose a setting to live in it would have to be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.L.P. Dover is represented by Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

HOSTED BY:

Dare to Take #carlyphillips #daretolove #romance

May3

Thanks Carly Phillips for providing an ARC for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

Dare to Take (Dare to Love Book 6)

Synopsis

Tyler Dare and Ella had a one night stand years ago. Both decided to keep it a secret for a few reasons: (1) Ella was mortified (2) Tyler seemed to regret it and (3) Ella and Tyler’s sisters have been BFFs since childhood.

Fast forward to the present day: Ella is mugged and Tyler is sent to help her get home.

Years of tension and longing bring them together, but will their secrets keep them from committing fully?

Opinion

This was my first book by Carly Phillips. It will not be my last. I loved everything about this book. This is an engaging story about two emotionally damaged people trying to work through their own internal conflict in order to be better people for their loved ones. They realize that chemistry like theirs cannot be ignored.

Both have different types of daddy issues that have shaped how they view life in general. Tyler’s dad had a second family while still married to Tyler’s mom. Ella’s dad was a raging alcoholic before killing someone in a car accident.

On the surface this seems like the classic alpha-male-protector trope. The plot has a situation that forces them together, their resulting actions do not seem contrived. The complexities of their emotional situations brought the story to life so much that I loved reading it. I know this is fiction and the author wrote the story that way, but it seemed like stuff that could really happen.

I loved Tyler for his strength but at the same time my heart went out to him because of his vulnerability.

Ella took a little longer to grow on me. However, considering what she went through, I respected her determination.

Should you buy? Yes! The characters (main and secondary) are all great. The plot was realistic and interesting. This was book 6 in the Dare to Love series. I enjoyed this book so much that I am going to go back and read the rest of the series. This book can be enjoyed as a standalone story but after you read it, you will want to read everyone else’s story too.

Book Details
File Size: 2078 KB
Print Length: 175 pages
Publisher: CP Publishing (May 3, 2016)
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Series: Dare to Love

Tempted by her Innocent Kiss by #MayaBanks #pregnancyromance

Apr10

Tempted by her innocent kiss

Synopsis

Ashley’s dad has picked Devon to take over his company and marry Ashley.

Only Ashley does not know she is part of the “package”. She finds out the horrible truth on the first night of their honeymoon.

Wedded bliss turns into marriage hell.

Opinion

Ever since the first book in this series, Devon has been wining and dining Ashley and I knew of her from his point of view. He made her sound immature and flighty. The reality was that she had exuberance for life and appreciated showing love to others.

On the other hand, the more I read about Devon the more I thought he was a materialistic jerk whose sanity was on borrowed time.

Every phone call from Ashley saying “I love you” made me cringe because I know when the truth came out…it would not be pretty. He was trying to maintain the pretense but he would have ended up with ulcers eventually from the overwhelming guilt.

I thoroughly enjoyed her speech after her A-HA moment.

Take that Devon!

I still cannot decide how I feel about the ending.

I think she let him off too easily. I’m more of an on-your-knees-grovel-some-more type of girl.

Should you buy? There was some realistic drama even though it was predictable. Out of the books from this series that I have read, I think this is the one I liked the least. I did not like Devon and I thought Ashley was too sweet for him.

Plus, her dad threw her under the bus because he loved her so much? It all works out in the end, but still.

With family like that, who needs enemies?

Book details from Amazon
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Special Releases (February 10, 2014)
Publication Date: February 10, 2014
Sold by: Harlequin Digital Sales Corp.

Available on Amazon

Solstice Burn by Kym Grosso #instaromance #RomanceNovella

Mar25

Solstice Burn by Kym Grosso

Synopsis

Penny is on vacation in a tropical location after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend. Chase rescues Penny when she gets a little claustrophobic while snorkeling. There is attraction, but they both know it cannot continue when they return home. He lives in San Diego and she lives in New York.

So what else is left to do?

Enjoy vacation and act out every fantasy.

Opinion

This is a typical vacation fling romance. Penny is done being safe and is throwing caution the wind by having a sleeping with a stranger on the first date (well little sleeping was actually done).

Chase is a thrill seeker trying to push Penny past her limits, supposedly for her own good. For the sake of the story line, the impression is that Penny was too cautious. Played it too safe. I agree she needed to work on her work-life balance, but what is wrong with wanting to look before leaping?

Chase wants Penny to trust him. Why should she? They just met. He is attracted to her body but that does not mean she should grant him so many liberties. At least they used condoms. If he had said something like “I’m clean”, I think I would have screamed and quit reading.

In the end, I was less than satisfied because I had already worked myself into a state of overly concern for Penny’s choices.

I felt that she was doing too much on the rebound. Without giving away the ending, I think some might find it romantic but I thought Chase needed to make more concessions. I have no idea what that might be, but I was grumpy by that point. He was not doing enough to prove his love to me.

Should you buy? I do not know. Others will probably say this book is fine. I think I am being overly critical. The last few books I have read have been cheesy and I think I am getting fed up with the insta-romance, falling deeply in love in a few days for no good reason.

Book details from Goodreads
Print Length: 110 pages
Publisher: MT Carvin Publishing, LLC (June 24, 2015)
Publication Date: June 24, 2015

Available on Amazon

Hard and Fast by Raven Scott #klover #romance #suspense

Dec31

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Hard and Fast (A Fortis Novel)

Synopsis
Lucas works with a security firm that has been employed by a race car company. They have a new engine that they are trying to keep secure until they review it at a car race.
Alexandria (Alex) is the chief engineer and brainchild of the revolutionary motor the security company is hired to protect. When threats are made, Lucas has to protect her and her engine.

Opinion
I thought the story was OK. I cannot complain, but it was a little lackluster for me. Part of the reason is that it was hard for me to get into the story.

The mystery/conflict surrounding the attempted theft of the engine did not impact me because I could not understand the importance of it. I do not know much about racing even though my hubby is a Formula One fan. When they were trying to explain, I found myself more confused because exclamation seem very technical. Even so, bravo for the author doing her research so thoroughly (added a heart for this reason).

As for the main characters, Lucas seemed like a likable enough hero. Alex took a little more for me to warm up to her. She was so resistant to security even when it was evident that her life was in danger. I guess Lucas was so intrigued with her because she turned him down the first time they met. Other than that, there did not seem to be a lot of chemistry.

Should you buy? I am not the person to say. The story was fine but I could not get engaged. I think if you like racing themed stories, you will enjoy this greatly.