GRR Reviews Three Days of Rain by Christine Hughes

Three Days of Rain is is a contemporary romance that broke the rules: there is no happy ending. Not even a happy for now ending. It's a tragedy.

Jacob Morgan had been living in the past of incredible grief and betrayal by his wife Madison for two full years. Only by meeting the visiting girl, Lily Burns, made him feel somewhat normal, so he can love again. But just as Jake was revealing it all to Lily, Madison is back in town... Even as Lily learned a news that will change their relationship forever...

I am NOT going to spoil the ending, as I believe you should read it and experience it for yourself. You'll cry and maybe even curse the author to writing such a sad tale, but your emotions will be put through the wringer, as you came to understand the characters, and why they did what they did, and perhaps even sympathize a little, even for Madison.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man betrayed by his wife fell for the new girl in town. But now his wife is back, even as the new girl learned his secret...

Tropes: triangle, betrayal, different worlds, scars

Overall Rating:  5/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Sexy in Stilettos (Sexy Contemporary) by Nana Malone

Sexy in Stilettos is a contemporary romance with a woman betrayed by her own family to find her own worth with help of a friend and a lover who is richer than he seems.

Jaya Trueax, an event planner, was hyper-organized until she was blind-sided by her entire family, including her ex-fiancee, when she prepared a presentation to her client her way and was fired from her family business. With no fiancee, no job, and fully humiliated, and still expected to attend a family wedding in a few weeks, Jaya left the office in tears and ran into total stranger Alec Danthers in the elevator, who let her cry on him. Alec is a half-blood whose father was one of the richest men around, and he was just here to resolve the problem of his brother Max who pulled a disappearing act, leaving the clubs and restaurant he was supposed to manage in a mess. Alec was a bit of a manwhore and live for the moment, and was surprised to find himself falling for Jaya, the sassy-listmaking, and uptight woman, and he lead Jaya to see her true worth... and be a bit more spontaneous, but is that enough for Alec to consider settling down, even as he tries to untangle his brother's mess, which apparently involved the mob...

The push-pull was quite good, but the mob reference was a bit vague and light. The character arc was quite good. All in all, enjoyable story.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman fired from her family business had to find her self-worth with help of a friend who's hiding a secret: he's very rich

Tropes: fling to a thing, tarnished reputation, coming of age

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews The Future of Love (Bachelor Billionaire) by Sharon Cummin

The Future of Love could use a better title, as it's a contemporary romance about a man who had pined after the woman for a long time but can no longer deny himself.

Kyle had watched Jenny from afar for a long time. Kyle's stepfather's best friend, Gavin, had repeatedly stated to Kyle that Jenny is off-limits, as Jenny is his secretary and is like a daughter to him. Kyle had respected those wishes, even watched Jenny married the wrong man. When Jenny got divorced, Kyle still can't decide if he can't pursue her or not... but a family vacation to Hawaii gave him the opportunity to take that one small step further... a vacation fling. But that when Jenny's ex complicated the picture, and the family seems to have problems with the relationship, can the two find their way to each other?

The family seems to be a bit large to keep track of everybody. The relationship is very angsty, as Jenny was still hurt from the divorce and Kyle had denied himself for too long he wasn't sure how to act, so they danced around each other a lot, had the fling, then tried to keep their relationship a secret, but secrets always leak, and there came the complications.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man pining after woman for a long time but held back by family obligations had a fling instead, but the two can't stay apart

Tropes: fated mate, fling to a thing, disguise

Overall Rating: 4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews A Chance to Come True (Copperhead Creek) by S M Spencer

A Chance to Come True is a contemporary romance set in Australia about a woman chasing her dreams, and the distraction she found in town. The emotional push-pull as they circle each other was nicely done, but nothing special or particular memorable was in this novel.

Caity just gave up her job and her home and moved to the little town of Willows (Australia) to become a full-time writer, away from distractions, esp. men. But a trip into town brought her into the orbit of Tom and his three children. Tom's marriage was a failure, but his family ties are strong. And he wanted no complications, not with three kids requiring his full attention. When the Tom and Caity met... well, neither was prepared to accept what they felt for each other...

As I said, the tale is sweet, but there really wasn't anything I haven't seen before. It's a competent romance with no issues but nothing outstanding either.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman goes off to write in little town found distracting single father of three tempting her heart

Tropes: single parent, writer

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews The Matchmaker Bride (The Bride Series) by Shadonna Richards

The Matchmaker Bride featured an almost perfect woman (people pleaser, volunteer at autism center, sweet and pretty) and an almost perfect guy (rich, handsome, loving) but they are not quite right for each other due to circumstances. The twists are nice, but somehow the chemistry between the two was somewhat lacking.

Sophie is the newest matchmaker for Stone's Elite Matchmakers, an agency that specializes in elite and discreet matchmaking for the rich and famous. Her first assignment was to interview Carlos Bradley III, who needed a marriage of convenience ASAP, no reason given. In reality, Carlos needed a bride so he can fight for custody of an autistic child, whose mother had expressed no interest in the child until it was learned that the child is worth a fortune in inheritance. Carlos found himself attracted instead to Sophie, rather than any candidates she proposed. When Carlos also found that Sophie's volunteering at a school with autistic kids, she's perfect for him. But Sophie's job prevents her from dealing with clients... even though she enjoyed Carlos' attention...

The main problem here is Sophie acts like a hormonal teenager around Carlos, and he noticed. But why is there chemistry? It sounds like a girl crush on a rich guy (who's used to the sort of attention, and he flirts back, making her blush some more. But that's not chemistry. Once they got to the push-pull phase, and the additional autism angle converged with the main plot, the story turns interesting, but by then we're almost to the end of the book where Carlos just needed to "seal the deal", so to speak. The main obstacle between the two is Sophie's reluctance, being 1) "he's my client, I can't date clients" and 2) "He's rich, I'm not worthy". ARGH!!!!!

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man fell for his matchmaker, even as he needs a bride ASAP to win custody of an autistic child whose mother is only going to use him as a moneybag;

Tropes: matchmaker, marriage of convenience, single parent

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Modern Girl's Guide To Vacation Flings by Gina Drayer

Modern Girl's Guide to Vacation Flings is a "pseudo-guide" in that the guide was used as a backdrop for the romance, and it was pretty good except some of the comedy moments seems rather forced, but the slow-simmer romance was quite enchanting.

To recap, Beth ran away from her life to get on a cruise as she can't bear to see her boyfriend dumped her for her younger sister, and they are going to get married. Matt was dragged onto a family vacation/cruise to celebrate his parent's anniversary and was getting set up with a woman she can't stand. When Matt asked Beth to be his pretend girlfriend (mainly because they met on the plane) to save his sanity, Beth accepted due to boredom but found herself attracted to the big family and found Matt to be a charming guy, and perfect for a vacation fling. But as time went on, Beth found herself more attached than she wanted... and Matt found himself completely smitten...

My problem is both the FMC and MMC did total mental flip-out into full-blown panic attacks relatively early in the book, which seems to be way out of character for both. Then the mental break was never discussed again as if it's just there for comic relief. But overall, it's a fun "forced fake BF/GF turned real" story.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman who ran away from her problems agreed to be fake girlfriend for a guy avoiding his own problems while on a cruise...

Tropes: fake engagement, resort (cruise), fling to a thing, sibling problem,

Overall Rating:  4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Meant for Love (Willow Valley Book 2) by Christine Kingsley

Meant for Love is a contemporary romance with a weird plot that has no recognizable grand gesture, and the characters seem to be really angst-y.

To recap, Lissa Winters wanted the marriage, kids, and white picket fence, but her dream man, Jesse Kincaid, wasn't ready for her... ever. Jesse can't keep the family store afloat, but his father isn't the understanding type, not does he appreciate Jesse's alternate solutions, such as turning half the store into a boutique (which was Lissa's idea). Jesse was also a bit traumatized by his childhood and deemed himself unworthy of marriage, much less a wonderful girl like Lissa. It's the irresistible force (love) meets the immovable object (don't love me)... Then a discovery forced them to confront each other's issues...

While the complication forced a darkest hour, I honestly can't quite figure what changed to resolve the situation, as I mentioned before, there was no grand gesture. There was only a "change of heart". While I like the way the FMC resolved the MMC's financial problems, the story just doesn't feel like it was resolved right.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man felt useless and unsuitable for marriage; woman wanted him any way even as she saved from financial ruin

Tropes: evil parents, unworthy, fated mate

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Emma's Dream (Morgan's Run Romances by M. Lee Prescott

Emma's Dream is a typical "secret baby" trope contemporary romance that shows some polish yet not that satisfying in reading.

Ben Morgan went home to his family ranch on his doctor's orders. He was totally stressed out from his business in California, but he can't wait to go back. Until he ran into Maggie Williams... Well, technically her car. Ben and Maggie had a one-night fling... Almost six years ago. And the feeling was still there... even as everybody in town wanted to warn him off of her... being a ranch hand on his family ranch and being a single mother... But soon Ben realized Maggie's daughter Emma... was his, and Maggie was determined to not let Ben break her heart again since he's surely heading back to California as soon as his doctor declare him fit, nor would Maggie take any charity. But Ben started to realize perhaps what he sought wasn't in California after all...

Family drama, small town gossip, and a lot of push-pull between characters, but there's really nothing special about this novel. Not the sex, not the setup, not the small town, not the secret baby. Nothing special in this novel after all.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man returned to family ranch to destress, ran into his one-time fling, realized her daught is his, and tries to woo her back, but she's not falling for him a second time... or is she?

Tropes: vacation, fling to a thing, reunion, return, single parent, betrayal, secret baby

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Claiming Carlos (Sanchez Sisters Book 2) by Rachelle Ayala

Claiming Carlos is a contemporary romance set within the context of a large Filipino family and a family restaurant, between a woman refuse to let her one mistake ruin her life, and a guy who aspired to be more than just a cook. The family dynamics is what sets thsi romance above average, but one can't help but feel the chemistry between the two are not quite there.

Concepcion "Choco" Sanchez had been best friends with the head cook, Carlos Lopez, at the family Filipino restaurant in San Diego, CA for a very long time. Both are comfortable with each other, neither wanted the relationship changed. That was shattered when a restaurant consultant Johnny Dee came to make over the restaurant... AND Choco as well. Choco fell head over heels with Johnny Dee, and Carlos is not taking that lying down. Who is Johnny Dee, and why is Choco's father letting Johnny's mother Miranda make over the restaurant? Does this have something to do with Choco's secret? When someone threatened to expose Choco's secret in order to get Choco away from Carlos, so cousin Julia can marry Carlos, Choco walked away, but Carlos wasn't ready to let that happen, even without a penny to his name...

While the family dynamics are great (Choco and her mother need to "take back" the restaurant as Miranda was turning it into some "New Age Filipino thing" and there were funny scene when that happened, while Carlos need to figure out what are his intentions toward Julia and Choco), somehow the relationship between Choco and Carlos was never quite defined. It's as if the two were in love with each other but both thought of it as friendship until a new factor, Johnny Dee, forced them to confront their feelings. Once they figured it out, then it became a regular romance push-pull with outside complications, like family and friends and obligations and so on. I think the transition could have been a little smoother.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman must confront her feelings for head cook when a new restaurant consultant swept her off her feet

Tropes: restaurant, chef, triangle, friends to lovers, blackmail, triangle

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Time for Love (Gansett Island Series) by Marie Force

Time For Love, set in the author's Gansett Island universe, can also be titled "Doctor's Redemption". It featured two characters with a lot of baggage, but read very uneven, with a shallow nemesis and insta-lust setting the scene.

Dr. David Lawrence, the only doctor on Gansett Island, betrayed his love, the golden girl of the island, Janey McCarthy, and had to rebuild his life , and watch Janey engaged to Joe, and became pregnant. He still had yet to forgive himself, even as he saved lives and limbs on the island, but a new woman may yet tempt his heart. Daisy Babson needs a fresh start on the island when her boyfriend Truck Henry abused her, leaving her battered, both physically and mentally. Her visits with Dr. David became her bright spots of the day, even as she reminded herself she's not ready to trust a man, nor can she ever be worthy of a doctor. As the two are slowly drawn toward each other, neither can deny their attraction, but neither are ready to go all in in their relationship...

Basically, the two fell for each other they moment they set eyes on each other, but both denied themselves. David's backstory about how he betrayed Janey was great, as he will have to save her and other residents during the story. But the paper-thin "violent ex" relegated this into "also ran" category, as such a guy just can't be taken seriously as a nemesis that stands in the way of MMC and FMC's happiness.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Doctor who betrayed his first love fell for a patient and victim of abuse; but she deemed herself unworthy and not trusting...

Tropes: evil ex, betrayal, resort, unworthy, doctor-patient, woman in peril, protector

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews Married This Year by Tracey Pedersen

Married This Year can be retitled "Jordan looking for love in all the wrong places", It's a charming and funny tale, but not outright rom-com (for that, I'd recommend OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE with a similar high concept).

Jordan Parker was sad at New Year's Eve. Her besties were getting married, and her date was a douche. In a bit of drunken stupor, she set her New Year goal to be finding the right man and marry him in the next 365 days. Unfortunately, Jordan just kept dating the wrong guys. A guy who loves nature hikes but considers wild berries a germ risk (You ate that? No way I'm kissing you!); a guy that's great in bed but is married with open relationship (Yes I share); a guy that can't stop talking about his ex (she was such a _____); and so much more. The only guy who was there constantly was her neighbor Luke, whom she considered off-limits, except he's so good with her dog...

It's both sad and funny at the same time, as Jordan was almost increasing desperate and kept attracting the wrong guys and resorting to blind Tinder dates and such. It's a fun read.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman resolved to get married within the year, but can't even seem to find any one to date a 2nd time; except her neighbor...

Tropes: Everyone but you

Overall Rating:  4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Forget Me Not (Loveless and Dunn) by Erika Marks

Forget Me Not let me rather underwhelmed by starting strong, with a good setup and great escalation, but the darkest hour and grand gesture somehow just didn't do it for me. I think it could have delivered a better emotional punch for the ending.

To recap, aspiring writer Mallory Reynolds left Magnolia Bay for New York City, leaving a lot behind, including her sweetheart Josh Loveless. Her breakout series was erotica called The Lost Diaries of Scarlet under a pen name, and it became a bestseller. She was just enjoying her success when her publisher leaked her real identity. Now people are whispering behind her back, and Mallory decided to go home and hide... and ran into Josh again. Josh spent all his energy on his dream and opened his sports equipment store, and he just invested into a grand re-opening... And found Mallory was back in town. Things were never finished between them, but both felt betrayed when neither were willing to accommodate the other. One can't leave, the other can't stay. Years later, both were a little wiser, but when the scandal followed Mallory home, it would be up to Josh to decide whether he can accept Mallory for exactly what she is... Or will she be forever marked by her creation?

To explain why I rated the book above average, I'll have to spoil the ending

SO HERE GOES

SPOILER ALERT

Anyway, Mallory was going to be a teacher in the town school, as she definitely has the credentials to teach English and so on. But when the scandal followed her home, head of school board (being a prick) withdrew the hiring offer. So Josh called a school board emergency meeting and forced a vote to countermand the withdrawal, so Mallory can stay, write, and be near Josh for his HEA.

Really? The darkest hour was Mallory was going to run away AGAIN, and the grand gesture was Josh calling a school board meeting so she can stay? Somehow, this gesture wasn't... that... "grand". While it made perfect sense, when you read it it just somehow feels underwhelming. Also, the publisher seems to be totally insensitive, as in "any exposure is good exposure", right down to distributing books and t-shirts in her hometown when she just wanted to get away, and no apology to the author either. How about some karma?

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Outed erotica writer had to flee home to hide, and confront her feelings for the hot sporting goods store owner she left behind

Tropes: romance writer, disguise, return, reunion, betrayal

Overall Rating: 4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Truth or Date (Better Date than Never Se by Susan Hatler

Truth or Date is a sweet if a bit obvious "triangle" light-hearted contemporary romance where a woman, who wasted ten years waiting for a guy to commit finally broke it off, and found two men as potential partners, that are polar opposites...

Gina Hall wasted TEN YEARS on a man who won't propose and broke it off. Her bestie Kristen, playing truth or dare, dared Gina into going out with a "nice guy" Ethan. But when Gina had to plan a party for the office playboy Chris Bradley, Chris dared her to play his girlfriend to get a flirty colleague off his trail. And Gina found Chris was much more fun... but he's not sticking around... And Gina now must make a critical choice... Go with the sure Ethan with no spark, or fight for Chris and risk wasting time on another player who won't commit?

Triangle setup was quite good, and while the ending was pretty much pre-ordained, the fun is how it got there.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman burned out by commitment-phobe must choose between safe but boring guy or exciting playboy (who may break her heart)

Tropes: co-worker, triangle

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews A Single's Guide to Texas Roadways by H. Claire Taylor

A Single's Guide to Texas Roadways is a combination travelogue / serial dater diary with light-heartedness. The prospects are quirky and touching, and the humor is often right on the money without becoming slapstick.

Natalie cris-crosses Texas looking for love in all the wrong places, and met a lot of interesting men, including triplets (who fortunately did not try to play switcharoo on her), ex armed forces, jet-setter, and more. She had many prospects, but it's often right guy wrong time, or wrong guy right time or even wrong guy wrong time. So is she ever going to find right guy at the right time?

If you enjoy quirky characters and chasing for that one relationship to end all relationships, only to find it was right next to you all along, this is a quirky book you should enjoy thoroughly.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young woman travelled all over Texas, searching for love and happiness, but never quite finding the one...

Tropes: everyone but you, serial dater, coming of age

Overall Rating:  4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Wrangling the Cowboy: An Older Man & by Piper Sullivan

Wrangling the Cowboy is an "old man / young woman" romance involving a cowboy and a younger woman. There wasn't anything special in the romance though.

Struggling cook Clara Bloom is going nowhere at 23, and the only job she can find was cooking for a ranch (and housekeeper) for a guy who seems to barely tolerate her, even though he's one beefcake she'd like to... uh... never mind. She still has her V-card, and he's her boss. But Asher Hawthrone did not grow up ranching. He was a city slicker once, an investment banker. When his heart almost gave out, he changed careers and traded his condo for a ranch. When his wife didn't like the change of scenery, he divorced her. He's done with city girls... Until Clara came along... But she wanted to open a restaurant... in the city. The two should not want each other, but they do...

Nothing really memorable between the two. The plot unfolded just like a template formula. It's competent, but really shows no spark of creativity, or clever twists.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Virgin chef fell for her hot but older ranch boss who seems to barely tolerate her

Tropes: May / September, virgin, ranch, chef, hot for boss

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews Somewhere Along the Way (The Andrade by Ruth Cardello

Somewhere Along the Way was a contemporary romance about a man tired of his family drama vs. a woman who doubt she can be a good lover but wanted a family nonetheless. Somehow the characters are complex, yet incredibly shallow at times when it comes to motivations.

Luke Andrade is the peacemaker in his large and rich family, but all that stress wasn't good for the soul. After he went to Ohio to attend a funeral, he never expected to meet the most charming B&B owner, Cassie Daiver. Cassie grew up with a druggie mother and was molested by one of her mother's "boyfriends". She left her mother behind after turning 18 and never looked back, and a chance encounter landed her in Defiance Ohio, where she landed a deal that got her running the charming little B&B. She knew Luke Andrade was way out of her league, but he doesn't think so. But he had too many family problems to deal with, and she wasn't about to entrust him with her secret... She wanted a family, a baby by herself (donor sperm) but so far she hadn't succeeded. When he had to go back to New York for a family crisis, and tried to leave her out of it, how will she take the situation? Or is that the big breakup?

The insta-lust on both was abrupt but the family drama was good. My problem was the grudge that caused the family drama was extremely petty, the amount of problem caused by the grudge was so devastating and long-lasting (as the grudge lasted decades), no wonder the guy's broken up by the family drama... it's so petty and stupid! On the other hand, Cassie seems to have such a low view of herself, she sees any action by Luke as a slap in the face that she's not good enough. That's almost doormat behavior, despite everything Luke tried to show otherwise. Luke is fine, it's just some external matters that didn't really prevent him from loving. Cassie, on the other hand, was basically self-sabotaging her way to happiness. Eventually, they came around, but family drama does s round out a character.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Charming B&B owner found herself wooed by one of the rich and famous, but she felt  unworthy

Tropes: different worlds, B&B, familys secrets

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Up for Grabs by Heather Young-Nichols

Up for Grabs is a "college" romance with characters that somehow just were not very sympathetic to me.

Flannery left home for college half a nation away. Raised by a single mother who's always pinching pennies, she's self-reliant to a fault. She dedicated to being a geek and was surprised when an ace student (and rich and handsome) Cain liked her and wanted to date her. Then disaster struck. Her scholarship evaporated due to an internal scandal, and it is too late to apply for anything else. She cannot contemplate living without Cain, but with no money to pay for tuition and such, she will be forced to move back home. She took drastic measure... and when Cain found out he felt thoroughly betrayed...

Despite the "happy" cover, the book is about angst, way too much angst. Flannery was so self-reliant, she refused to ask for help even if it kills her. When, through no fault of her own, she will not be getting any scholarship money, the ONLY solution she can see was (censored), despite having a rich boyfriend? And that's because she had to stay in school to be near him? WTF?! How does this logic even work?

And Cain, despite the name, was just too perfect! The ONLY time he blew up was feeling betrayed, and you can probably guess what his grand gesture was... (censored).  At least the push-pull was nice.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young geeky woman being wooed by rich fellow student had to betray her love in order to stay with him (?!)

Tropes: virgin, college, geek/geekette, betrayal

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Sultry in Stilettos (A Sultry Contemporar by Nana Malone

Sultry in Stilettos is a contemporary "office" romance of a company in turmoil, and two people competing for the same position found themselves can't quite stand each other, but can't really live without each other as well. Add a bit of suspense, and it can be quite interesting!

Ricca Munroe, one of the planners at Fantasy Events, is a shy individual with an active imagination... and a sad love life, dating a lot of Mr. Wrongs. She can be promoted to vice president if she can nail this latest contract... except for her competition, Beckett Mills, who's also her best friend, if man and woman and be such a thing. Beckett always wanted to know if he and Ricca can be more than friends, but Ricca was not going to take it any further, esp. not when both are competing for the same position. But when someone was sabotaging his and her latest contract from within, Beckett and Ricca better figure things out quickly... or it may be more than their relationship at stake... but their lives...

There was an excellent twist at the end that made TOTAL sense if you had been catching the hints dropped along the way. The tension between the MMC and FMC are palpable but not overwhelming. All in all, an interesting variation on "office romance".

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Woman found her competing with her best friend (and potential love interest) for promotion, but he wanted her for a long time...

Tropes: co-worker, friends to lovers

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews An Astonishing Match (The Match Series by Barbara Dunlop

An Astonishing Match is a contemporary romance about a man who met his match, but was convinced it was his brother's match instead, and was supposed to set her up with his brother.

Hunter Vashon is on an interesting mission... because his grandma asked him to. Gram and her gang have a matchmaking algorithm and they found the ideal match for Hunter's brother Hammond: Kalie Gray. But Hammond is a suit and tie kind of guy, and Hunter, being the rebel of the family and owner of his own construction firm, prefers t-shirts and jeans... and Kalie... is a machinist who moonlights as a dirt tracking racing pit crew. The more time Hunter spent with Kalie, the more he wanted her for himself, rather than for his brother. But Gram was sure their match cannot possibly be wrong... What's Hunter going to do? What will Kalie do when she found out and when she met Hammond?

The vibe was definitely rom com, even when things started to turn a bit dark (like the time Gram and gang locked Hunter in a storage room to make sure he can't interfere with the date between Kalie and Hammond). The scene was setup as humorous (imprisoned by people in a retirement community, hah!) and the end was "love conquers all" (though not quite in the way you'd expect!) Fun read overall.

Category: Contemporary / Comedy

Primary Plot: Man was conflicted when he found his match... while he was supposed to set her up with his borther...

Tropes: Cyrano, different worlds, triangle, matchmaker

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Helena's Colonel by Faith Crawford

NO LONGER ON AMAZON

Helena's Colonel is a story that doesn't make sense, followed by what I term "spam content" where a short story (maybe 50-100 pages) was followed by 1500 pages of OTHER stories that I've seen before in "spam books" (similar original stories stuffed with "bonus content" by the publishers )

To recap, Mom sent for mail order bride Helena, only to use her as nanny/maid and to entice the broken-hearted colonel out of his depression (after death of his first wife). Once the colonel was mostly recovered, mom sent Helena packing. Colonel found out and caught her and married her. The end. Does this plot even make sense? How does mom even know a mail order bride would work, much less make her work as a maid rather than a bride? And why send her packing after he's recovered? Who came up with non-sensical plots like this?

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: Young woman lured as mail order bride to a colonel in severe depression. She got him out of it and was fired, he rescued her and married her. THE END.

Tropes: different worlds, mail order bride, evil in-laws

Overall Rating:  1/5

GRR Reviews Rocky Mountain Haven (Six Pack Ranch B by Vivian Arend

Rocky Mountain Haven is a contemporary romance where both FMC and MMC are flawed, not just mentally, but physically as well, but in a way that's not often discussed in romances.

Beth's emotionally abusive husband is dead, and all she cared about is raising her three boys in a small town in Alberta. She was not ready to try sex or love, after ten years of vanilla... Until she ran into Daniel in a Calgary Bar, and her libido, long unused, came alive, and Daniel gave in to her demands... for no-strings non-vanilla sex. But the more they sneak off, but more they realize they are perfect for each other... Not just in bed... However, Beth has a secret she's not ready to share... But so does Daniel...

Without spoiling the story, let's just say both have a bit of... biological problem, but no, that does not in any way prevent them from enjoying themselves, but when they have to come clean... it's about what each of them is willing to share, and overcome the mental barriers. Good character arc for both.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Widow with three kids wanted to start over in Alberta Canada, and found the perfect man to try something new with...

Tropes: widow, single parent, scars, fling to a thing, family secrets

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Melissa And The Cowboy by Rosie Harper

NO LONGER ON AMAZON

Another spam book filled with 95% more spam "bonus content". The story was written as if to formula, except the author was clearly too enamored with her lines, or her editor was asleep at the wheel. Since when does a "historical Western" cowboy talk like "I am no good to you. I am a back hole. I will draw you in." Hello! Black hole as a concept doesn't exist until 1926, and a historical cowboy would not know of such things, much less use it in a phrase! The author clearly has NO SENSE of authenticity!

(Let's just say I'm glad I read it for free.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: Mail order bride arrived at frontier town, met the perfect man, but he's NOT her groom... a bad man is...

Tropes: cowboy, kidnapping, mail order bride, triangle, woman in peril, protector

Overall Rating:  1/5

GRR Reviews Letting Go: A Contemporary Romantic Th by Anthony Awtrey

Letting Go is an interesting romantic suspense with good twists and turns and a nemesis that is evil, and his evil actually has a purpose rather than just being a sadist.

Alex Thompson is rich, but he had been living with the guilt that his wife had died at childbirth, giving birth to twins. A frivolous lawsuit, anonymous harassment calls and more kept him on the edge, even five years later. His latest move brought him and his family to yet another city, and encountered Molly McDill, a struggling single mom who lived next door. But Alex's nemesis has a timeline, and that involves getting rid of Alex... and Molly if she is in the way. Molly's ex-military ex-husband also reentered the picture, making things even more complicated. Who is after Alex, and why?

The nemesis is after something, and it involved Alex's kids, that's pretty obvious. But the twist that came later, was a bit of serendipity which I will not spoil, except to say, every character has a purpose. For once we have a MMC that's not much of a hero (heck, he hired a security firm) The ending was wrapped up nicely though, but as others pointed out, some details about guns are off (Glock pistols doesn't have a conventional safety), but that's a minor niggle.

Category: Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Rich widower with twins was target of assassination attempt while he fell for next door neighbor single mom, who was drawn into the conspiracy as well

Tropes: evil in-laws, single parent, different worlds, protector, woman in peril, triangle

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Hot SEALs: Night with a SEAL by Cat Johnson

Night with a SEAL is a contemporary romance with SEAL cliche. While there is no SEAL abuse (i.e. they didn't do anything they're not supposed to) and references are all proper, there doesn't seem to be much plot to the whole thing.

Jon spent ten years in the SEALs, but red tape is starting to hamper their operations. And he can't quite forget Ali, even though it was supposed to be a one-time fling. Ali can't quite forget Jon either, as both struggled with their realizations. Jon's finally back, only to find that a terrorist took Ali and Darcy (one of fellow SEAL's sister) and others hostage in a bank, decisions have to be made...

The romance between Jon and Ali were quite thin, and the hostage situation was resolved without any input by the SEALs other than "leaked info" from inside the bank, which was a third-party any way.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: SEAL's one night stand turned out to be a bit more involved, but there wasn't much of a plot after that

Tropes: SEAL, different worlds, fling to a thing, protector, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  2/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire Princess (The Sherbrookes by Christina Tetreault

The Billionaire Princess is a contemporary romance between two rich people with their own problems. My problem with this book is neither characters are that deep. Sara seems to be driven by hormones and ready to believe the worst of everyone, even people she trusted.

Sara Sherbrooke, of the Sherbrooke clan, was practically an American princess. Her father ran for Senate. Many of her brothers and cousins are billionaires. But when she was bitterly betrayed by her last lover, who turned out to be a plant by her father's political rival, she gave up on love. She did not expect to find herself willing to try again... with her brother's best friend, Christopher Hall. Chris is a self-made billionaire and owner of Hall Technologies, and knew Sara from college when he and her brother Jake were roommates. While attending Jake's "secret" wedding in Hawaii, Chris managed to get Sara's attention, and they had a brief fling. But neither was sure they wanted more. She wasn't quite ready to trust, he doesn't want to betray his best friend. When both supported a new education initiative, they needed to work together, and their attraction can no longer be denied. But how will they deal with their respective baggage to really build a future?

The darkest hour was basically the FMC listened to a pundit, then imagined the worst about the MMC, and started behaving like a hormonal teenager, and cut MMC off without any explanation nor expecting any from the MMC. MMC's grand gesture was to prove the pundits are spouting crap and FMC was making a big mistake by throwing their relationship away. Such plot basically says women are emotional creatures who cannot be relied upon to make logical decisions until someone pointed out how stupid she had been behaving. Is that supposed to be empowering?

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Previously betrayed rich woman found a worthy man, but she was weary of trusting any one, much less her brother's friend

Tropes: betrayal, scars, commitment-phobe, brother's best friend, fling to a thing

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews Gray Wolf Security 1 by Glenna Sinclair

Gray Wolf Security is written to a formula, as the author was able to repeat her success by reusing the formula for SEVERAL of her security novel series (See Dragon Security Vol 1 and Vol 2, Gray Wolf Wyoming, Gray Wolf Texas, and so on) and while they are churned out in formula, each series was meticulously plotted and each managed to create unique characters.

I particularly enjoy the way the novels managed to introduce a threat in the first novel, only to have it wrap around and become the big baddie for the final novel (Number 5) with the other novels only adding to the puzzle. Having read more than one of the series, none of these books are particularly deep, but by focusing on the important traits or perks of the characters, the characters are indeed unique.

Gray Wolf's operatives are all haunted, damaged, broken, by an event in their past, and they are to make amends in someway, in the present, and work through their issues, often by having the toughest client and case in their lives. A man who must guard the woman but he failed to guard her brother years ago. A man who refused to walk to do penance for his parents but he may walk for love. A woman who won't speak after horrific loss of husband and child but speaking may be the only way to save a father and his daughter. A man must guard a porn queen who's actually shy and religious. A man must examine his feelings for a pregnant girl he saved... and the threat against his entire family of operatives. These are the men and women of Gray Wolf... and these are their stories.

These are not particularly deep, as I said before, and each novel is right about 200 pages long, so these are quick reads. They are not particularly soulful, eridite, or such. but they are good plotting and shows even formula doesn't mean bad writing.


Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: N/A collection,

Tropes: bodyguard, fling to a thing, single parent, betrayal, secrets, scars

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Pretty Instinct (A Standalone Contempor by S.E. Hall

Pretty instinct is an interesting contemporary romance with an interesting meet-cute, an overall arching plot and mystery to solve, and some serious angst in the background for both characters.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Carmichael lives on the go with her best friends, the Foster Brothers (Jarrett and Rhett), with her uncle Bruce the driver, and Conner, her brother, as they travel from one town to the next as traveling musicians, playing a gig here and there. Connor is an adult but acts like a kid. Later we learned that he suffered a traumatic brain injury and entered a coma, and woke up as if he regressed X years, and this injury (which was never talked about) plus her mom's suicide later, lead to an irreconcilable split between Lizzie and her father, whom she blamed for both. When Lizzie had to kick a member of the band off the bus, they were forced to consider canceling the next gig, until they spotted a guy with a guitar case and bag on side of the road. They invited him onboard as they need another performer. He is Cannon Blackwell, and he had been dumped by the side fo the road by his girlfriend, who apparently had her tubes tied without telling him, then when he confronted her in the car, basically ordered him out, dumped out his stuff (except his phone), and drove off (and never came back). Cannon was actually a pretty good vocalist and guitarist, and he fitted in right away, even as he came to appreciate this dysfunctional family... And Lizzie especially. And as Lizzie fell in love with Cannon, both have to struggle with issues. Both cannot stand betrayal, and as both fall madly in love with the other both are weary of even the possibility of betrayal... but Cannon slowly made Lizzie realize she cannot shelter Connor the way she had, and she needed to confront the past that she didn't know.

The twist I had suspected but it was sweetly emotional and powerful. The sex scenes were quite good, but may be a turn-off for some. But this is Lizzie's story, Lizzie needed to learn the truth until she can love someone.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Traveling band leader Lizzie fell for latest member Cannon, even as he pushed her to learn the truth behind her brother's injury

Tropes: Performer, forced proximity, family secrets, betrayal, coming of age

Overall Rating:  5/5

GRR Reviews Mistakenly Married (The Married Series) by Victorine E. Lieske

Mistakenly Married is a rom-com with angst featuring one very unlikely couple that somehow made it work.

Penny is jobless, broke, and about to become homeless. When her online boyfriend "William" offered to marry her in Las Vegas, she thought this will save her, and when he arrived via limo, he was smokin' hot, and the marriage was quickly over. THEN she realized she married the wrong guy. This buy is "Harrison Williams", not "William (something)". And while Harrison was in Vegas to get married so he can access his trust fund, he thought he was marrying someone arranged by his brother, not this girl expecting "William". Penny was distraught as "William" actually stood her up... and now she's married to the wrong man, but he was so nice... and when he told her about his needs and promised to pay her 50K when it's over, she reluctantly agreed and went with him to meet his stepmother... After all, what can go wrong?

As you can guess, everything that can go wrong, did. Penny's old job (she's a tribute singer) wanted her back. William turned out to be in his 40's... and married, but STILL trying to seduce Penny. The Harrison found out his trust fund... has problems.

The ending is a bit of deus ex machina which is why this book didn't get 5/5. It is a fun rom-com with just enough angst to make it exciting for you to keep flipping pages.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man and woman mistakenly married each other; they agree to solve each other's problems, but what to do with feelings of love?

Tropes: marriage of convenience, married the wrong person, triangle,

Overall Rating: 4/5

GRR Reviews Hidden Hollywood (Happy Endings Book by Kylie Gilmore

Hidden Hollywood is a contemporary romance (with a healthy dose of comedy) featuring multiple levels of deception (none of it mean).

Superstar Claire Jordan found kindred souls with the fan club of the book she's adapting for a movie. When she confessed that she wanted to date a normal guy, and she really can't stand her co-star who she had to date for publicity, the book club came up with a candidate... Josh Campbell, local bar owner, all around good-guy if a bit too charming for his own ego. All Claire needs to do is go in a disguise... and a fake name. Billionaire tech CEO Jake Campbell is weary of gold-diggers. When his twin brother Josh asked him to step in (and pretend to be him for a blind date) so Josh can date someone else (Josh's nemesis, but Josh is pretending to be his brother Jake!!!), Jake couldn't say no, and "Jenny" was everything Jake wanted and they shared a night of passion. It was supposed to be NSA, but Jake needed to see her... except she has no digital footprint anywhere...

As you can probably guess from here, both of them discovered that they were lying to each other... and didn't take long for them to discover their real identities... But how much longer can they keep up the pretense... or do they actually want to? Is there a future between a superstar and a billionaire CEO? Add the parallel romance (Josh and his nemesis turned into lovers) and it's LOL times indeed. If you want a good dose of rom-com including the "twin switcha-roo" as a plot device, you should read this book. It is quite funny AND yet satisfying.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Hollywood actress went on anon blind date in disguise with a local bar owner, who sent his rich twin brother in his place...

Tropes: disguise, wrong twin, fling to a thing

Overall Rating:  5/5

GRR Reviews The Break-up (Full Hearts Series Book 5) by MJ Summers

The Break-up featured an abuser with tremendous power and a woman so beat-down (not physically) she's in a depression, and it took her bodyguard to bring her out of it, and he also became her romantic partner. The ending, while satisfying, could have been neater though.

To recap, Courtney Bennett had finally had enough of her husband, Brock McCain. They were the ultimate Hollywood power couple, but he holds everything. She is nothing without him. When he got too friendly with a young starlet, she left him, but the paparazzi were after her. She's holed up in a Colorado cabin with her bodyguard, Wes Young, trying to figure herself out, but there is no way out. She's 37 and a word from Brock and she'll be blacklisted for life. She'd have no money, no fame, and as an aging actress, no more beauty. And Brock's PR machine controlled the media and told everyone she's mentally unstable and taking a convalescence leave. But Wes slowly made her realize there is life after the breakup, even as Wes realized Courtney was no spoiled princess. He loved before, but military life, including twenty years as a jarhead, meant he had not loved for a long time. As Courtney learned how to stand up for herself, Wes needed to learn how to love...

There was definitely a darkest hour, but that was between Courtney (and Brock) with Wes being a distant third party, and there was no grand gesture. So while the bad man got his comeuppance, somehow the ending wasn't able to wrap everything up in a neater package. If that could have been done, I'd give this 5/5.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman married to Hollywood power mogul was emotionally abused and distraught; can her bodyguard show her a better life and love?

Tropes: bodyguard, hot for boss, fling to a thing, disguise, scars

Overall Rating: 4/5

GRR Reviews Redemption River: Men of Mercy, Book 1 by Lindsay Cross

Redemption River tried to craft a "hero undercover woo former lover" story, but various patently absurd ideas that can't possibly happen in reality, a total doormat FMC who allowed people to push her around, and a totally sociopathic villain who is evil "just because", means the plot points are mostly wasted.

To recap, Hunter James left the town for the military, leaving behind his love Evangeline "Evie" whom he believed betrayed him. A mission gone bad sent him home to his hometown Mercy, to inform a woman that her man is dead, and for Hunter to get back to Evie... For there is evidence that Evie may be involved in a serious drug and gun smuggling operation... and a threat to national security. Evie is being threatened by her former fiancee, who basically bashed her down to nothing, and left mark on her in several ways. Her father, the former sheriff, was dead, and the current sheriff is corrupt. Her militia group is voting to accept the smuggling job from her former fiancee, and Hunter's appearance was not helping her concentration. But Hunter is trying to learn whether she's involved in the smuggling, not just trying to get into her good graces... When he learned the truth, they need to face down a ruthless killer...

This book, first of all, falls into the "I don't read the law" problem, in that it sends active duty military folks doing "undercover" work in the US. This is against the *posse comitatus act*... No military units may operate in the US to enforce domestic policy. Undercover makes no difference. If he's retired, a law enforcement agency can recruit him, but he's clearly active duty, and not on leave, complete with a handler... his own CO!

Second, Evie was a TOTAL doormat. Sure, she managed to grow a backbone and left the SOB of a fiancee, but basically, a few words from him and she's back to quivering, and only Hunter can save her, both from herself and the UBG (that's Ultimate Bad Guy).

Third, the UBG was too evil, with absolutely ZERO redeeming qualities. HOW did she fall for such a creep in the first place?

Fourth, why was the UBG sticking around this pissy little town, not plying his trade elsewhere? He's got reach across the state, calls up mercenaries at will, but he's just there to mess with the FMC and MMC's plans. That's "cardboard heavy"... not a real nemesis.

Add it all together, and you got the signs of an amateur plotter who doesn't even know those points don't really fit together.

Category: Romantic suspense

Primary Plot: Man must go back home and befriend his ex to find out if she's smuggling bad stuff, finds a conspiracy and danger instead

Tropes: evil ex, disguise, return, reunion, woman in perill, protector, conspiracy, mafia

Overall Rating: 2/5

GRR Reviews Blind Fury (Men of Steele Book 1) by Gwen Hernandez

Blind Fury is a romantic suspense novel about secrets that must be kept vs. loyalty to family and friend. The suspense was actually quite decent if a bit nebulous.

Jenna Ryan was devastated by the news that her brother, a security contractor in Afghanistan, was killed, and the incident was classified by the state department. The only one she can turn to was Mick Fury, her brother's best friend, who was also there but cannot talk about it. Mick always had a thing for Jenna, but she's his best bud's sister. Then Jenna's apartment was tossed and trashed, then her car as well, then her entire house was blown up... Then came a package in the mail for her... From her dead brother, who had found evidence of wrongdoing... It was clear that Mick and Jenna knew too much... Now Mick must put everything on the line to keep Jenna safe, even his heart, against an enemy with ruthless reach...

I find the final combat sequence merely tolerable, but then I find it a bit convenient to wrap up the whole thing like this. Which I won't spoil.

Category: Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Woman needing answers about her brother's death turned to his best friend and teammate, and stumbles into huge conspiracy

Tropes: woman in peril, protector, best friend's sibling, conspiracy

Overall Rating: 4/5

GRR Reviews Protecting Kate: Dark Horse Inc. by Amy J. Hawthorn

Protecting Kate needs some major editing and continuity revisions. Trent the MMC came across as a bit bland.

Kate MacDonald left her controlling ex and her Miss Kentucky title behind, and went on to run the family ranch and wanted to start an animal rescue. However, when her ex and her ex-father-in-law, a US Senator, got back in town, wanting to talk to her about some sort of a deal, she refused contact altogether. However, as one of the "prizes" at a charity auction, Kate was dismayed to see her ex bidding on her, until a man she barely knew sniped the bid last second and saved her from her creepy ex. The white knight turned out to be Trent Dawson, a fellow ranch owner who mostly kept to himself, but also former soldier and horse trainer. But her ex's family is not giving up. What do they want? Whatever it is, it was centered around Kate. First her house got shot at, then her ex turned up dead, and Trent was being framed...

The suspense was not bad, once things got going, with escalation. But the end feels hurried and not that well executed. All in all, a merely average romantic suspense.

Category: Romantic suspense

Primary Plot: Woman trying to get away from her ex was rescued by a kind stranger, then her ex escalated...

Tropes: kidnapping, evil ex, evil in-laws, recluse, ranch, protector, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Her SEALed Fate (Sutton Capital Book 7) by Lori Ryan

Her SEALed Fate is a contemporary office romance featuring an ex-SEAL financial exec and ex-Hacker IT woman, both of whom were marked for death by a crime family wanting payback. I have slight problem with a PTSD'ed SEAL turning into a financial exec, but other than that, the story was nicely paced with both FMC and MMC managed to solve their problems... mostly, with good twists and turns.

To recap, Logan Stone is a retired SEAL working as a new executive in Sutton Capital, but he's battling PTSD, and can't afford distractions, like the way-too-distracting Samantha Page, head of IT. Neither knew the other's secrets... Logan was temporarily assigned to a blacker-than-black ops to capture head of a crime family. It sent so-sideways, entire team was wounded, one dead, and the crime family (including son, wife, and smaller children) was wiped out except for two members who were not there at the time. And Sam... was a renowned but anonymous hacker who helped the team tracked down the crime family, among other deeds helping the FBI and other agencies. And now the survivors of the family decided to come after them for revenge... Now Logan must fight through his own issues, in order to save Sam and himself, esp. when Sam disappeared for two weeks... where was she hiding and what was she doing?

The book's hacking was a bit cavalier but sufficient to get the point across without technically inaccurate (merely glossed over). Same with ex-SEAL references. Why SEALs are deployed against a crime family (that's a law enforcement function, not military) was never explained. How the crime family managed to track down the good guys was left vague, but that's again, glossed over. But some of the twists are actually pretty good. All in all, above average romantic suspense.

Category: Romantic suspense

Primary Plot: PTSD'ed ex-SEAL starting new job as exec falls for the IT head woman; then his enemies came after them both...

Tropes: SEAL, revenge, evil enemies, co-worker, disguise

Overall Rating:  4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews A SEAL's Secret Desire: Military Romance by Arabella Steedly

A SEAL's Secret Desire threw multiple tropes together, that would have military folks cringing, as it involved SEAL romance, but not just SEAL, but also a taboo subject about the first female SEAL candidate, and a male instructor. The problem is the age of the people don't fit well, and the ending was... well, urgh.

Instructor, 26, lieutenant, assigned to BUD/S, no problem there. That is actually believable.

The problem is the trainee candidate. She's described as Chief Petty Officer, no specific age, and "little sister" to the instructor. In the navy, CPO's generally spend OVER A DECADE in the ranks before they can be promoted to CPO. The fastest on record is 5.5 years, and that's in technical fields. Those who join SEAL but didn't enlist as a SEAL directly... Hmmm... Not sure how this lateral transfer would work at all. She was also unable to defend herself against a fellow male BUD/S trainee. You'd expect a CPO, who'd already spent 5 plus years in the navy, being one heck of a fast riser, and a leggy blonde, would know a few moves, after probably been harassed bazillion times before getting to the SEALs...

Sorry, this made no f***ing sense at all. People trying to qualify for the SEALs are not hacks, esp. not a (fictional) female candidate. Making one of them a "weak" female in need of a SEAL's protection is insulting.

Category: Contemporary / Military

Primary Plot: SEAL BUD/S instructor secretly desires the female candidate trainee, who was like a little sister to him when growing up

Tropes: woman in peril, protector, all grown up, teacher/student, disguise

Overall Rating:  2/5

GRR Reviews Promise Me: A Second Chance Romance by Vivian Wood

Promise me showed some promise, but the psych profile of the guy makes no sense, and therefore, neither does the plot.

The story can be roughly summarized as: Guy loves girl, guy leaves girl for military and told her not to wait. Guy f***ed up, got kicked out of the military, and is back in town and wants the girl back. She ain't gonna let him break her heart again, but eventually relents and let him in again.

The plot sort of makes sense, but the male main character doesn't, because the guy was back after only made it four years in the military. That means he BARELY finished his enlistment, despite having spent a whole year training to become a SEAL.

SPOILER AHEAD

The guy didn't go out with his team one day, and his team got slaughtered. He got a case of survivor's guilt so bad ("I should have been there, it's all my fault"), he's no longer mission effective, so the commander packed him up and sent him home. What happened to counseling? What happened to SEAL's own support network of veterans? Why did he even come home, as he's basically unemployed, and so damaged he can't even do the job he was trained to? How can a SEAL be this pathetic? Why does he think coming home would solve anything? What happened to his grief? WHY does he want his girl now? Does this character make any sense?

And what's wrong with the girl? It's pretty much a couple words from him and she's tempted to get it back together.

Add it all together, and it really made no sense. It's angst-y, but the setup is all wrong.

Category: Military / Contemporary

Primary Plot: Guy loves girl, guy leaves girl for military, guy f***ed up and returned, want girl back, girl hates guy, girl relents

Tropes: return, reunion, scars, PTSD,

Overall Rating:  2/5

GRR Reviews Set On You: Second Chance Series Book 5 by Kelly Collins

Set On You is a contemporary romance about a woman given a second chance after release from prison, but should she go with the handsome cowboy Keenan who's just visiting from Wyoming, or go back to her ex-fiancee, who's now married with a child on the way? There are some interesting twists which are results of excellent plotting, as the pivot into romantic suspense was almost seamless.

To recap, Robyn Armour spent 5 years in prison for using excessive force to defend herself.She was attacked in college and was saved by a resident monitor, whom she later got engaged to. She trained in martial arts and vowed never to be a victim again. When a drunk accosted her, she used her training and beat him to a pulp. The fiancee got married while she's in prison and has a kid on the way. Robyn went to live with her cellmates on Second Chance Ranch ran by her friend Mickey, and ran into Keenan, who's from Wyoming but only here to attend the wedding of one of his brothers here on the ranch. Keenan found Robyn interesting, but realized Robyn has some issues she needed to resolve, but they had a steamy fling anyway. Then Robyn's ex-fiance came back and still wanted her... ALONGSIDE with his wife...

Without revealing the twists, let's just say plots have a way of turning full circle, and this is a common theme in the author's Second Chance series... Whatever put the woman behind bars... she's supposed to learn a lesson from it, and the situation was not resolved. I personally think this one wasn't quite as good as book 4, but it's still excellent. The chemistry between Robyn and Keenan was built-up over time, not instant. In fact, the two can't really stand each other at the beginning, as Keenan never wanted to get involved with a "jailbird". Ouch. But their common love of animals, esp. a colt, brought them together. And while the twists wasn't that unexpected, they were satisfying.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Woman released from prison found herself in an odd triangle: choose handsome cowboy for fling or old flame who's already married but wanted her still

Tropes: triangle, enemies to lovers, scars, fling to a thing

Overall Rating:  5/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Tangled Up In You (Fleur de Lis) by A.L. Vincent

Tangled Up In You is a contemporary romance about a woman finally had enough of her husband's bull and moved back to her hometown, and reconnected with a childhood friend. My problem is the ex-husband was simply NOT a credible threat and the ending was pretty lame, and the attempt to set up subsequent volumes with the creepy cop as a baddie a bit too obvious.

Emily Breaux had enough of her husband. She worked two jobs while her alcoholic husband got fired for refusing to go to counseling (for his alcohol problem) and because he's always drinking he can't get another job, and just keep taking her money for more booze. After one too many nights coming home to a pig sty, Emily finally snapped, took her meager belongings, and went back to her hometown of Bon Chance, Louisiana, and her circle of friends, who called themselves the Boonies. She's determined to save up enough money to open her own catering company and fix up her grandparent's house. She also found Noah Devereaux, a childhood friend, who came home from Iraq with PTSD. They helped each other, and they slowly fell in love... But can they go the distance?

This is the slow-simmer kind of romance, not insta-lust, and the push-pull between Emily and Noah was quite sweet. The ex-husband was a complete douchebag, but a really pathetic one, as all he can do is complain, nag, send nasty text, leave angry whiny messages. To show you how pathetic he is, I have the spoil the ending

SPOILER ALERT

I WARNED YOU

Someone drove the ex to the Boonies beach party (wait, how did the darn husband get to town?) and after saying a couple slurred angry words, ex basically keels over and head plants into the sand. Emily basically had to rant and let out her anger to the back of the guy's unconscious head. They load him back onto the vehicle that dropped him off, and that's about it. Really? That's the emotional climax? WTF? That's lame.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman tired of her useless leeching husband with alcohol problem went back to her hometown and found old friend waiting

Tropes: evil ex, return, reunion, scars, triangle

Overall Rating:  3/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Bidding on Brooks: The Winslow Brothers by Katy Regnery

Bidding on Brooks is a contemporary romance that's a bit like boss / employee but not quite. It's like "why didn't I see this gorgeous woman next to me all along?" sort of story. But I don't feel much chemistry between the two.

Brooks Winslow is an ex-olympian that's not ready for a relationship and considers his boat mechanic, Skye Sorenson, to be his best friend. When Brooks' sister Jessica roped Brooks into a bachelor auction, Brooks handed Skye his no limit credit card so she can win the auction on him at any cost, just so he can avoid any entanglements. What he didn't know was Skye had secretly lusted after him for years, and with a bit of a makeover, Skye was as gorgeous as they come... and Brooks had no problem sailing for a week with Skye... until they realize they can take their relationship to the next level... but should they?

Once they set sail (that's the prize) it's really up to Skye to seduce Brooks and make him see how much he missed all along. Other than her long infatuation with him there isn't much chemistry. In a way, this is a woman who knows what she wants, but she only dared to do so AFTER she got him cornered (on the boat) AND gotten a makeover. At least she did so rather than suffer in silence.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman used the excuse to help a guy avoid entanglements to entangle him herself...

Tropes: everyone but you, auction, unrequited love, fling to a thing, forced proximity

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Billionaire Unbound: Chloe by J. S. Scott

Billionaire Unbound is filled with tropes... a reclusive rich guy with wounds, an abused woman who finally broke free, and an evil ex who won't let go. There's really very little new in this story other than the author's competent if uninspiring tale of a woman finding her own worth and someone who love her for who she is.

To recap, Chloe Colter is engaged to James, but he's verbally abusive, always putting her down, whether it's her physical attributes or her love of animals. She finally broke away, but he won't go away. So she went home, where she has relatives that supported her, and her neighbor, the somewhat reclusive Gabe Walker, offered her a position on his ranch. Gabe was one of the few men who kissed her (it was New Year's Eve) and there was a hint of sexual tension between them, but Chloe knows it can't go any further... Until she makes a clean break from her abusive fiancee, James... before she can trust any man again. But James is not ready to let her go yet...

The lessons are important... People who don't look abused can be a victim of abuse. Verbal beatdowns don't leave visible marks. Chloe will come to realize her abuse and finally stand for herself, albeit with a little help from family and friends. However, not all people are so lucky with a support system to turn to. The chemistry between Gabe and Chole, IMHO, was never explained well other than that New Year's Eve kiss that may have instigated her self-re-evaluation. I also find James to be a very bland evil, who is that way "just because".

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman escaping from verbally abusive fiancee falls for her employer who's a reclusive billionaire

Tropes: different worlds, evil ex, fling to a thing, hot for boss, triangle,

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews Dare to Surrender (NY Dares Book 1) by Carly Phillips

Dare to Surrender is a contemporary romance set in New York where a woman finds having an alpha BF is not necessarily a bad thing, even though she ran into a bad alpha before and wasn't sure she can tell a good one from a bad one.

Isabelle Masters is done with her cheating domineering boyfriend. She left her condo and belongings and wardrobe, and simply drove off. She was surprised when she was stopped then arrested... for grand theft auto. It can only be her darn ex's doing to slow her down and give him time to talk her out of leaving. But then she was rescued by the man she never expected... Gabriel Dare, whom she was fond of, but then she's not the cheating type. Now that she's free, she's not quite ready to trust another man again... even one as delectable as Gabe. But Gabe can be patient...

Both characters are nicely rounded, not shallow cutouts (well, except for the evil ex) but I have problems with Isabelle's solution to her feelings toward Gabriel, which is why I cannot give this book 5/5. If you read it, you'll see what I mean.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman who left her domineering and cheating BF was rescued by a man she never expected, but is she repeating her mistakes?

Tropes: alpha guy, evil ex, scars

Overall Rating: 4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Unspoken (The Woodlands Book 2) by Jen Frederick

Unspoken is a contemporary "college" romance between two wounded people. The emotions are raw, and it centered on a hot button topic... bullying.

AnnMarie was a typical college coed until she wasn't. She partied, had drunken sex. She took responsibility for that, but soon rumors spread that she did the entire lacrosse team, and people started whispering behind her back because another guy asked her to put out and she refused. She withdrew from campus, living in an outside apartment, avoiding campus except for classes... until she ran into Bo as her lab partner. He was a former marine, and he fights in illegal underground fight clubs to work off his rage, but he was never violent toward women. And he saw too much pain behind AnnMarie's eyes. He was afraid he'll break her, but he wanted to heal her instead...

The push-pull between the FMC and MMC is good, and both are damaged people. There was a twist at the end. Let's just say despite the hint that Bo can use his fists, the ending was achieved WITHOUT violence.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young woman dogged by vicious rumors on campus ran into a wounded soul for lab partner who wanted to love and heal her

Tropes: college, military, scars, tarnished reputation, fated mate

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Intentional by MK Harkins

Intentional is a contemporary romance that featured a decent plot twist, but switch viewpoints BEYOND that of the FMC and MMC made the plot confusing.

To recap, Mattie and Jeremy were looking forward to their wedding and starting their life together in Sedona, AZ. When Mattie walked in on Jeremy and her best friend Sarah in bed, she fled. Mattie's parents died young and when the two most important people in her life both betrayed her, she had no one left. She chose to start over elsewhere... at random, and ended up on Mercer Island, Washington. There, she met Cade, a local musician, who had his own heartache. They bonded, and Mattie wondered if there is a future with Cade. But Jeremy had not given up, for he realized he was also betrayed... and he's out to set things right... But whoever set Jeremy and Mattie against each other were not finished...

The suspense didn't quite ratchet up properly. Giving the suspect a one-shot POV narrative was superfluous. A mad rant right at the climax would have been sufficient. And do we really need to know what Cade thinks? This is one of those instances where knowing people's every thought was just too much information. I guess the intention (no pun intended) was to make the reader guess about the which way would Mattie lean between Jeremy and Cade, so maybe that's more nitpicking than not. I think the early reveal of the villain though cut the tension significantly leading to a fizzled ending.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman betrayed ran to another side of the country and may be falling for someone; her ex needed to find her and explain; who's sabotaging from the sidelines?

Tropes: disguise, betrayal, triangle,

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Montana Brides Boxed Set: Books 1-3 by Leeanna Morgan

Montana Brides series was obviously written by someone who was NOT a Montanan. In fact, it was pretty obvious that the author was a New Zealander, as her vocabulary leaked through despite attempts at editing. Calling a car's hood "bonnet" was just one of the innumerable occurrences, esp. by a Montanan! The plots also have various problems, from incomplete motivations to lack of climax or characters with conflicting traits and inexplicable thought processes by the characters. The problem was consistent throughout the three book bundle.

Forever Dreams -- New Zealander Gracie was visiting Montana on a teacher exchange, but she really wanted to find her birth father, who was a cowboy that got her mother pregnant while on a visiting tour. She came to know Trent, a local cowboy, who figured out who her father was, even as he fell for her, but if he told her, she'll meet her father and leave. if he doesn't tell her, she'll leave when she found out about his betrayal...

Too many characters, a forced wedding in Las Vegas in the middle for no apparent reason, various fact-checking problems (wolf behavior and horse-riding were completely wrong), and British vocabulary leak-thru in Montanan dialogue, is problematic.

Forever In Love -- Amy found herself taking care of a 5-month-old sister, left on her doorstep by her alcoholic mother. With no support network in place, she had to uproot her life and move back to Montana to be amongst her friends... and the cowboy she left behind years ago... Nathan Gray.

Again, the British vocabulary was rather jarring coming out of mouths of supposedly Montanans. The backstory between the two (why did she leave?) was never resolved, nor was the fire that disfigured Nathan. There were a lot of bits that just didn't work.

Forever After -- Nicky needs to stay away from Sam Delaney, mainly because he broke her heart two years ago. But Nicky is the best person to audit the company... It's her family construction business, and her grandpa asked her to. Someone had been embezzling money from the company, tens of thousands of dollars worth, and signs pointed to someone high up. Sam had some problems growing up and had severe commitment issues. Forced to work together, Sam and Nicky will need to confront their unresolved feelings amidst chasing down the perpetrator.

Again, while the push-pull between the two characters are fine, the plot was slow as heck. Again there's the British vocabulary leak-thru, and Sam basically came across as a jerk with no resolution of exactly WHY did they break up. What exactly was different about this meetup vs. the last meetup?

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: N/A, Three book romance collection

Tropes: fish out of water, family secrets, betrayal, disguise, forced proximity, scars, reunion,

Overall Rating: 2/5 

GRR Reviews The Wedding Season: An Enchanted Brid by Samantha Chase

The Wedding Season by Samantha Chase is a friends to lovers contemporary romance about going to many weddings and getting into the romantic mood (or a major depression).

Tricia Patterson had always been friendly with Sean Peterson since elementary school and will remain so for the foreseeable future. She has SIX weddings to go to in the summer, and he promised to be her date on all of them. When a freak storm stranded Sean with injuries on the other side of the world, Sean decided that his brother Ryan should go in his place with Tricia to the weddings. Ryan honestly doesn't know what the problem is about weddings. Tricia is a great girl and fun to be with. As their relationship became something more, Ryan wonders what sort of relationship does his brother Sean have with Tricia, as he was sorely tempted to add another wedding for the summer...

There are equal parts cute and funny along with tense mood and angst. There is even a brilliant twist near the end with a revelation that wrapped around the story for a great conclusion. This is also no insta-lust, as Tricia found Ryan to be almost the ideal mate if she can only make herself accept the truth, and Ryan... well... he's wondering why Tricia hadn't been snatched up yet! Good read.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman dreading the six weddings she need to go to in summer found the perfect companion... her friend's older brother

Tropes: wedding, friends to lovers, sibling triangle, everyone but you

Overall Rating: 4/5