GRR Reviews If You Only Knew by Maggie Fox
If You Only Knew, which was previously titled "Knowing You" featured a rather weird triangle that barely made sense, and some of the plot twists just left me feeling "what a douchebag!"
Faith broke it off with her old boyfriend when he's too much of a wandering heart... (and dick). It was painful for her because they were quite serious, engaged and all that. Now she just wants to run her bakery in town. She fell for the new sports store guy, Zane, only to realize Zane's business partner is none other than her cheating ex, now going by his middle name, Matt. While Faith got pretty serious with Zane, Matt was there to tempt her... Why? Will Zane understand there was nothing there anymore? But both Zane and Matt are keeping secrets... and Faith has to ferret them out to find out if she has a chance with Zane...
Sheesh, way too many mind games. Let's just say you'll be exclaiming WTF?! at Matt's behavior by book's end. I did.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Woman fell for the new guy in town, only to realize his business partner is her ex; why does her ex seems to want her back now?
Tropes: restaurant bakery, triangle, evil ex, jilted, family secrets
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Love by the Slice (Harbor Point Book 1) by Heather Young-Nichols
Love by the Slice had an interesting premise, but ultimately it really made no sense when you think about it.
Bianca Russo is back to help her grandpa with the family restaurant, a well-liked place with the family special sauce. Many corporations wanted to buy the place... but Papa Russo ain't selling. One of the new help is Gio Diamati. He knows his way around an Italian kitchen (expected when he's Italian), and he's sexy and charming. But Bianca can't date a co-worker... until they do. Then she learned he's keeping a dark secret... // Gio Diamati was supposed to work in the place, ferret out the secret recipe, work his way into the inner circle, and influence the vote to sell to his family. But his plan flew out the window the moment he met Bianca. He can't keep doing what he was doing... and soon the secret can no longer be kept. Will there still be love if he comes clean?
While the food references aren't too bad, the part about he and his cousins did to resolve the situation (sorry, no spoilers) was really stupid. Legally it made no sense at all, as there really is no crime.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: The new pizza guy is really undercover to steal the pizza sauce recipe... until he fell for the shop owner's granddaughter...
Tropes: restaurant/bakery, hot for boss, disguise, family secrets, family pressure, betrayal
Overall Rating: 3/5
Updated Privacy Policy as required by GPDR
NOTE: This will be all legalese, so don't read it. If you need a copy, get your own (see section 2 for credits)
Privacy policy
1. Introduction
1.1 We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors.
1.2 This policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of our website visitors and service users; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.
1.3 We use cookies on our website. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of our website, we will ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit our website.
1.4 Our website has no mailing list other than the optional notification when a new post appeared. You can manage that via GoogleGroups and the unsubscribe link at every notification.
1.5 In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" refer to GuyreviewsRomance blog, hereafter referred to as GRR. For more information about us, see Section 13.
2. Credit
2.1 This document was created using a template from SEQ Legal (https://seqlegal.com).
3. How we use your personal data
3.1 In this Section 3 we have set out:
(a) the general categories of personal data that we may process;
(b) the purposes for which we may process personal data; and
(c) the legal bases of the processing.
3.2 We may process data about your use of our website and services ("usage data"). The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your website visit. The source of the usage data is Google analytics tracking system. This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analysing the use of the website and services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely monitoring and improving our website.
3.3 DELETED (GRR does not require any registration of user account, and thus collects no “account data”)
3.4 DELETED (GRR does not require any registration of user account, and therefore does not collect any “profile data” such as gender, age and location)
3.5 DELETED (GRR does not require any registration of user account, and therefore does not collect any “service data” to provide you services)
3.6 We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of publishing your “comment” ("publication data"). The publication data may be processed for the purposes of ascertain you are a real person, not a spambot. Legal basis for this processing is consent.
3.7 We may process information that you provide to us for the purposes of clicking on a related product for enquiry ("enquiry data"). The enquiry data may be processed to ensure GRR receives proper credit for referral. See Section 4.
3.8 DELETED (GRR does not operate a storefront, and therefore does not collect any “customer relationship data”)
3.9 DELETED (GRR does not operate a storefront, and therefore does not collect any “transaction data”).
3.10 We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of “follow by email” ("notification data"). The notification data may be processed [for the purposes of sending you the relevant notifications. The legal basis for this processing is consent.
3.11 We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us ("correspondence data"). The correspondence data may include the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. Our website will generate the metadata associated with communications made using the website contact forms. The correspondence data may be processed for the purposes of communicating with you and record-keeping. The legal basis for this processing is consent and our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and communications with users.
3.12 DELETED
3.13 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the protection and assertion of our legal rights, your legal rights and the legal rights of others.
3.14 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the purposes of managing risks or obtaining professional advice. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper protection of our business against risks.
3.15 In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out in this Section 3, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
3.16 Please do not supply any other person's personal data to us, unless we prompt you to do so.
4. Providing your personal data to others
4.1 DELETED, GRR is a sole entity.
4.2 We may disclose your personal data to professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.
4.3 DELETED
4.4 DELETED, GRR does not conduct financial transactions.
4.5 We may disclose your enquiry data to one or more of those selected third party suppliers of goods and services identified below for the purpose of enabling them to contact you so that they can offer, market and sell to you relevant goods and/or services. Each such third party will act as a data controller in relation to the enquiry data that we supply to it; and upon contacting you, each such third party will supply to you a copy of its own privacy policy, which will govern that third party's use of your personal data.
4.5.1 Google Adsense – please see Google GPDR (see section 11)
4.5.2 Amazon Associates – please see Amazon GPDR (see section 11)
4.6 In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 4, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.
5. International transfers of your personal data
5.1 In this Section 5, we provide information about the circumstances in which your personal data may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
5.2 GRR is based in the United States of America.
5.3 The hosting facilities for our website are situated in United States of America.
5.4 DELETED
5.5 You acknowledge that personal data that you submit for publication through our website or services may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use (or misuse) of such personal data by others.
6. Retaining and deleting personal data
6.1 This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.
6.2 Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3 GRR does not retain personal data except those in affiliateship enquiries, correspondence, or comment publishing.
(a) affiliateship enquiry data is immediately passed on
(b) correspondence data may be periodically purged as per storage, but is not on a set schedule
(c) comment publishing data is retained as long as comment remains published, which is generally for the life of the website.
6.4 DELETED
6.5 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
7. Amendments
7.1 We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
7.2 You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.
7.3 We [may] OR [will] notify you of [changes] OR [significant changes] to this policy [by email or through the private messaging system on our website].
8. Your rights
8.1 In this Section 8, we have summarised the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.
8.2 Your principal rights under data protection law are:
(a) the right to access;
(b) the right to rectification;
(c) the right to erasure;
(d) the right to restrict processing;
(e) the right to object to processing;
(f) the right to data portability;
(g) the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and
(h) the right to withdraw consent.
8.3 You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee.
8.4 You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.
8.5 In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: [the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed]. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
8.6 In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the personal data; processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you require personal data for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.
8.7 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process the personal information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
8.8 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling for direct marketing purposes). If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose.
8.9 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.
8.10 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal data is:
(a) consent; or
(b) that the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract,
and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.
8.11 If you consider that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.
8.12 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.
8.13 You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us
9. About cookies
9.1 A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
9.2 Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
9.3 Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
10. Cookies that we use
10.1 GRR uses no cookies
11. Cookies used by our service providers
11.1 Our service providers use cookies and those cookies may be stored on your computer when you visit our website.
11.2 We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google's privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
11.3 We publish Google AdSense interest-based advertisements on our website. These are tailored by Google to reflect your interests. To determine your interests, Google will track your behaviour on our website and on other websites across the web using cookies. You can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser by visiting: https://adssettings.google.com.
11.4 We use Amazon to provide Amazon Associates linking. This service uses cookies for identifying referer. You can view the privacy policy of this service provider at https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468496
12. Managing cookies
12.1 Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:
(a) https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);
(b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences (Firefox);
(c) http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/security/cookies/ (Opera);
(d) https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);
(e) https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411 (Safari); and
(f) https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy (Edge).
12.2 Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.
12.3 If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.
13. Our details
13.1 This blog is owned and operated by GuyReviewsRomance.
13.2 This blog is operated out of San Francisco, California, United States of America,
13.4 You can contact us via email at guyreviews (at) yahoo.com
14. Data protection officer
14.1 Our data protection officer is out site admin and writer and everything else. This is a one-guy shop, after all.
Privacy policy
1. Introduction
1.1 We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors.
1.2 This policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of our website visitors and service users; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.
1.3 We use cookies on our website. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of our website, we will ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit our website.
1.4 Our website has no mailing list other than the optional notification when a new post appeared. You can manage that via GoogleGroups and the unsubscribe link at every notification.
1.5 In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" refer to GuyreviewsRomance blog, hereafter referred to as GRR. For more information about us, see Section 13.
2. Credit
2.1 This document was created using a template from SEQ Legal (https://seqlegal.com).
3. How we use your personal data
3.1 In this Section 3 we have set out:
(a) the general categories of personal data that we may process;
(b) the purposes for which we may process personal data; and
(c) the legal bases of the processing.
3.2 We may process data about your use of our website and services ("usage data"). The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your website visit. The source of the usage data is Google analytics tracking system. This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analysing the use of the website and services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely monitoring and improving our website.
3.3 DELETED (GRR does not require any registration of user account, and thus collects no “account data”)
3.4 DELETED (GRR does not require any registration of user account, and therefore does not collect any “profile data” such as gender, age and location)
3.5 DELETED (GRR does not require any registration of user account, and therefore does not collect any “service data” to provide you services)
3.6 We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of publishing your “comment” ("publication data"). The publication data may be processed for the purposes of ascertain you are a real person, not a spambot. Legal basis for this processing is consent.
3.7 We may process information that you provide to us for the purposes of clicking on a related product for enquiry ("enquiry data"). The enquiry data may be processed to ensure GRR receives proper credit for referral. See Section 4.
3.8 DELETED (GRR does not operate a storefront, and therefore does not collect any “customer relationship data”)
3.9 DELETED (GRR does not operate a storefront, and therefore does not collect any “transaction data”).
3.10 We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of “follow by email” ("notification data"). The notification data may be processed [for the purposes of sending you the relevant notifications. The legal basis for this processing is consent.
3.11 We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us ("correspondence data"). The correspondence data may include the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. Our website will generate the metadata associated with communications made using the website contact forms. The correspondence data may be processed for the purposes of communicating with you and record-keeping. The legal basis for this processing is consent and our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and communications with users.
3.12 DELETED
3.13 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the protection and assertion of our legal rights, your legal rights and the legal rights of others.
3.14 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the purposes of managing risks or obtaining professional advice. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper protection of our business against risks.
3.15 In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out in this Section 3, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
3.16 Please do not supply any other person's personal data to us, unless we prompt you to do so.
4. Providing your personal data to others
4.1 DELETED, GRR is a sole entity.
4.2 We may disclose your personal data to professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.
4.3 DELETED
4.4 DELETED, GRR does not conduct financial transactions.
4.5 We may disclose your enquiry data to one or more of those selected third party suppliers of goods and services identified below for the purpose of enabling them to contact you so that they can offer, market and sell to you relevant goods and/or services. Each such third party will act as a data controller in relation to the enquiry data that we supply to it; and upon contacting you, each such third party will supply to you a copy of its own privacy policy, which will govern that third party's use of your personal data.
4.5.1 Google Adsense – please see Google GPDR (see section 11)
4.5.2 Amazon Associates – please see Amazon GPDR (see section 11)
4.6 In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 4, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.
5. International transfers of your personal data
5.1 In this Section 5, we provide information about the circumstances in which your personal data may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
5.2 GRR is based in the United States of America.
5.3 The hosting facilities for our website are situated in United States of America.
5.4 DELETED
5.5 You acknowledge that personal data that you submit for publication through our website or services may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use (or misuse) of such personal data by others.
6. Retaining and deleting personal data
6.1 This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.
6.2 Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3 GRR does not retain personal data except those in affiliateship enquiries, correspondence, or comment publishing.
(a) affiliateship enquiry data is immediately passed on
(b) correspondence data may be periodically purged as per storage, but is not on a set schedule
(c) comment publishing data is retained as long as comment remains published, which is generally for the life of the website.
6.4 DELETED
6.5 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
7. Amendments
7.1 We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
7.2 You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.
7.3 We [may] OR [will] notify you of [changes] OR [significant changes] to this policy [by email or through the private messaging system on our website].
8. Your rights
8.1 In this Section 8, we have summarised the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.
8.2 Your principal rights under data protection law are:
(a) the right to access;
(b) the right to rectification;
(c) the right to erasure;
(d) the right to restrict processing;
(e) the right to object to processing;
(f) the right to data portability;
(g) the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and
(h) the right to withdraw consent.
8.3 You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee.
8.4 You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.
8.5 In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: [the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed]. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
8.6 In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the personal data; processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you require personal data for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.
8.7 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process the personal information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
8.8 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling for direct marketing purposes). If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose.
8.9 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.
8.10 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal data is:
(a) consent; or
(b) that the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract,
and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.
8.11 If you consider that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.
8.12 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.
8.13 You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us
9. About cookies
9.1 A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
9.2 Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
9.3 Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
10. Cookies that we use
10.1 GRR uses no cookies
11. Cookies used by our service providers
11.1 Our service providers use cookies and those cookies may be stored on your computer when you visit our website.
11.2 We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google's privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
11.3 We publish Google AdSense interest-based advertisements on our website. These are tailored by Google to reflect your interests. To determine your interests, Google will track your behaviour on our website and on other websites across the web using cookies. You can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser by visiting: https://adssettings.google.com.
11.4 We use Amazon to provide Amazon Associates linking. This service uses cookies for identifying referer. You can view the privacy policy of this service provider at https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468496
12. Managing cookies
12.1 Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:
(a) https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);
(b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences (Firefox);
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GRR Reviews The Rebel's Redemption (Heroes of New by Jolyse Barnett
The Rebel's Redemption is basically a couple, each with problems, ended up comparing their personal demons, and fell for each other at the same time, after a serendipitous meet-cute.
Jeremy used to be an addict and drunkard and even stole from his family. He went through AA and is recovered, and he knew exactly how many days he's been sober, and he does not want to backslide for anyone. He's now a successful author and artist, though he kept his identity hidden. He thought he could not love anyone, not when his previous fiancee had so thoroughly betrayed him then blamed him for the failed relationship, that's when he turned into a drunk. But one night on a beach with a mysterious woman who seems to know what she wanted, and he felt an attraction to her like never before. When he found her having opened a sports fitness store in his town of Lake Placid, he's determined to woo her. // Elizabeth had put everything into this shop, after a disastrous few years when she had to face her own personal demons. That mysterious stranger who kissed her on the beach showing up in her shop is just a bonus and a dream come true. But when Jeremy's old demons, including his evil ex, returned, it's time for Elizabeth to share her demons... that perhaps, they truly deserve each other...
Ah, comparing personal demons... a bit dramatic. but realistic. It's just that they don't exactly fold into their relationship except in a very peripheral way. So that ended up being a bit of meh. Still, a good book overall. Not great, but good.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Can a redeemed guy fall for a woman with her own dark past, when his own past mistakes came back to haunt him?
Tropes: scars, disguise, betrayal, fling to a thing, evil ex
GRR Reviews On A Night Like This (Callaways Book 1) by Barbara Freethy
On a Night Like This is about two damaged people coming together, one suffered a bit of amnesia and desperate for answers, other found a bit of family secret that made her question everything she thought she knew about herself.
Aiden Callaway is a smokejumper (a forest firefighter), until something went very wrong. His best friend Kyle died on the job. and he awoke at the bottom of a ravine, only recalling fragments of what had happened. Everybody assumed he had f***ed up somehow. The only way out would be to put the blame on the dead man, which he was unwilling to do. Upon arrival at his home, he had to rescue a neighbor from a house fire, and found himself face to face with Sara. Sara was the good girl and Aiden was the bad boy from way back when. They never hooked up, but that's because Aiden turned her down... even when she threw herself at him that one drunken night. She's now back in town, hoping to reconnect with her father, who somehow never liked her, and something in the basement of her father's smoke-charred house made her realize her life may have been a lie... and the only one she could turn to was Aiden, in search of his own truth...
I personally found the romance to be a bit forced. Sure they were neighbors, sure they had a history once, but is that enough so they are the only ones to turn to for each other? But the background, the mystery, and more sure made the book above average.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: A forest firefighter in crisis met a girl who just had her life turned upside down; can they solve each other's problems?
Tropes: firefighter, amnesia, family secrets, woman in peril, man in peril, rescue, conspiracy
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Fake Fiancée Truly Angel: A Billionaire an by Claire Angel
Fake Fiancee Truly Angel doesn't really have much of a plot or a conflict. Good things just keep happening to the heroine, for no particular reason.
Angelique "Angel" is a secretary/assistant. She met an enchanting man who also saved her from someone who got a bit too hands-on at a masquerade ball. He turned out to be a hot CEO, who really really wanted her, and he started by asking to borrow her from her boss, then made her his fake fiancee, which didn't stay fake for long...
Really, that's about it for the plot. It's boring as heck. If I want to read about good things happen to good people, I'd go read some spiritual books. Boring.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Secretary was noticed by a billionaire, who borrowed her from her boss, then made her fake fiancee, then it turned real...
Tropes: hot for boss, different worlds, protector, fake engagement
Overall Rating: 2/5
GRR Reviews LaClaire Nights (After Hours series) by Dori Lavelle
LaClaire Nights is a different worlds novel where a woman, damaged by an uncaring husband, took a staff position on a cruise liner, only to fall for the billionaire boss. The plot is pretty much trope, but the push-pull is above average. However, the ending was rather trope and disappointing.
Grace saved her V-card for the man she wanted, and he wanted her back... and the happy marriage lasted right up to the point he took her V-card, and he told her he was disappointed. Ashamed of her "failure" in bed and ability to "keep" her man, they divorced 3 months later, but her mother kept believing they should get back together. To get away from it all, Grace took a massage therapist position on a cruise liner of LaClaire Cruises in the Carribean, hoping to lick her wounds alone... Until Bryant LeClaire came into her life. // Bryant LeClaire, heir to the cruise line fortune, is used to women hoping to seduce him, so Grace's shyness was something very different. Byrant enjoys a challenge, and when he learne of Grace's heartbreak, he vowed to put her back together, and teach her that she did not fail... It was her husband that failed. But he's not the kind of guy a plain country girl can aspire to... or is he? And what secret was he keeping from Grace despite his charm and his prowess in bed?
Not bad, but the ending was basically a fake-out, and rather disappointing. And I can't really say more without spoiling the story.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Can a broken-hearted woman working on a cruise-liner fall for the billionaire heir who vowed to help her get over her ex?
Tropes: resort, hot for boss, family secrets, scars, family pressure
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Burn by Shey Stahl
Burn is basically a "fated mates" novel with a lot of sex. It is also VERY long at almost 500 pages. The evil douchebags prefer blackmail as their weapon (thus despicable), and the almost deus ex machina ending was not that believable. That left me rather ambivalent. If the pace was edited somewhat and the climax explained better I'd give it a better rating. But I like the setup well enough to give it above average.
Milena Wellington, GM of Wellington Plaza Hotel, grew up with money, but she worked hard for her own success, having worked through almost every position in the hotel (including dishwasher, laundry, and more) before taking over as GM only in her twenties. However, after catching her BF doing another woman, her BF kicked HER out (she paid the rent, but it's his lease) so she's couch-surfing at her friends. Her colleagues at work saw her as young tyke not worthy of being GM. With no home per se, and refused to take a room at the hotel as her own, she's technically homeless, which cuts down on her love life, except that hot one-night stand with the scorchingly handsome firefighter... // Caleb Ryan was destined to be a firefighter, and he did so, serving with his brothers. His own love life is lousy... The one girl he thought he could get serious with turned out to be a stripper (and his ladder mates won't ever let him live that down). Except this one girl Mila he had a one-night stand with... he can't get her out of his head... // Does this couple actually have a chance with each other, when Caleb got a jealous colleague determined to get a promotion by any means he could, and Milena has an admirer who can't seem to take no for an answer?
The threat to relationship is mainly self-loathing. The two careers didn't collide until the end, and I hate to say, the bad guy's ability to sabotage the floor was TOTALLY unexplained. And his flipping from admirer to stalker was unexplained as well. Why would hotel office be high up? It's the rest of the details that made the story interesting. The other nemesis was not handled well either. The two nemesis just came across as crazy douchebags.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Can a firefighter fall for a one-night stand, who turned out to be a hotel heiress and now hotel GM?
Tropes: family pressure, different worlds, firefighter, stalker, jilted fling to a thing
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Nothing More To Lose (Hidden Cove Firefighters) by Kathryn Shay
Nothing More To Lose is about two couples, a hurt firefighter with his Broadway star girlfriend, and a disgraced cop now working as a bodyguard fell for a teacher in the area. The conflicts are nicely detailed and felt authentic.
Ian Woodward lost his legs in 9/11, and was one of the few survivors of his company. In his darkest hours, he rejected everyone, including his one love, Broadway star Lisel Loring. But she won't let him go. Ian recovered and started teaching at the fire academy, but he's not ready to love again. When a crazed stalker latched onto Lisel, Ian called for help, and got ex-cop Rick Ruscio, who lost his badge when he had to expose a scandal within the police department. As he was protecting Lisel and doing his own community service, Rick met teacher Faith McPherson, who saw past Rick's rough exterior and guilt. Both have to struggle with their own crisis of the heart and deal with the love of the strong women... whose love can redeem them...
Kathryn Shay wrote a whole series on this fictional fire department and it's very good. All the details are authentic as she apparently rode along with the ladder company for a few years to get all the lingo right and found scenarios that made sense. It's VERY good if you like the slow-simmer type of romance.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: A firefighter struggle to stay after injury, an ex-cop struggling to work as a bodyguard, and women who love them...
Tropes: firefighter, law enforcement, bodyguard, performer, family pressure, stalker,
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews The Harrisons Boxed Set: Books 1-3 by Alexa Bloom
The Harrisons Box Set 1 by Alexa Bloom is a decent collection of three novels. I'll review each separately:
Once In a Big Dream: Joe Harrison is getting out of jail after serving five years. He's just working as a ranch hand until Rose came to visit the ranch as a photographer. Rose is a pampered girl but she hated her mother's endless snobby society lunches and events. She wanted to be a photographer, not a society wife like her intended fiancee Geoffrey wanted. Her visit to the ranch and the chance encounter with the handsome ranch hand made her mind wander about the possibilities. But such a match is not possible, even as Joe had to deal with the reason he went to jail in the first place...
The problem with Alexa Bloom's evil characters is they are utterly irredeemable, which makes them a bit flat. They don't give a **** who they screw over or how many people they hurt as long as they get ahead. This novel has so many douchebags around the ONLY decent people seem to be the couple. It's a part of her writing style, and it works. 4 out of 5.
Once In a Blue Kentucky Moon: Tatum fled for her life after a disastrous marriage... so bad she dared tell no one. She worked as a horse handler and ended up on Lockwood Farm, once famous for rearing champion racehorses, but with no derby winners in recent years, it is heading steadily downhill. Blake Harrison, the current owner, is barely holding on, and even the new colt is not enough to raise his spirits. So why was he so drawn to the new stablehand with haunted doe-eyes? Tatum's web of shameful secrets started to unravel, even as Blake was forced into a terrible choice: can he save the family legacy... or the woman he loved?
This one still has evil, but the choices don't quite seem as acute, but the woman really made no sense. TELL SOMEBODY, darn it! She's clearly not handling the situation! I still don't get what the f*** does this no good husband of hers actually do, besides trying to pimp her out or something. She has the sense to flee, but she doesn't have any sense of self-preservation otherwise! It's almost exasperating to read. 3/5
Once in a New York Minute: Laura Harrison's conniving ex-husband ruined her by emptying her account just before her spring fashion show. She sulked for a bit on the family farm, then decided to head back and start her own show again. A chance meeting with an old friend Marcus, a single parent, lead to a temporary living arrangement when her condo association kicked her out (because her ex also stole all her furniture and damaged the walls). Laura developed feeling for Marcus, but Marcus is a fashion photographer and deals with supermodels weekly, and Laura can't complete. But when fashion sharks started to circle again, and can Laura deal with the worst betrayal of all?
While reading it the scenario really sounds dire. However, upon reflection, the scenario makes ZERO sense.
SPOILER WARNING
SPOILER WARNING AGAIN
The scenario was her evil ex sets up a rival studio and recruited a spy to steal all of Laura's designs, and somehow managed to do a fashion show 1 day ahead of Laura's studio. The fashion industry called Laura "copycat". This makes no sense. How does this bogus studio make any money? What was the "endgame"? The evil is "only there" to mess with the heroine, and serves no other purpose! That makes no sense! 2/5
Combine them together, it's 3/5
Category: Contemporary / Collection
Primary Plot: N/A, three novel collection of mixed plot, complicating the love of the couple in question, some are good, some are not
Tropes: different worlds, triangle, cowboy, ranch, evil ex, conspiracy, betrayal
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews ClickandWed.com Boxset, Books 1 - 3 (Cli by Bonnie R. Paulson
ClickandWed.com 1-3 tried to make the idea of a modern mail-order-bride work (marry someone sight unseen) and for the most part, it works, but the story seems to lack a certain spark
Book 1: With this click I thee wed -- She's a lonely divorcee whose own family doesn't want her and her ex treats her like a doormat, not only turning the entire town against her (even though he's the one cheated), her ex is suing her for emotional abuse. He's a rancher who stands to lose his parent's house and ranch, and had his heart broken when he realized his now ex-wife married his prestige, not him. Yet the pair somehow got married when she got drunk and clicked on "I do"... Now she's flying across the country to meet her husband for the first time... Can this work, even when it was so... crazy?
Somehow, the evil douchebag didn't get his karma. The tale didn't quite have the spark of "strangers got married" stories of other authors. It just feels too... detached somehow. 3/5
Book 2: I_do.com -- A young doormat woman, pushed by her family into EVERY decision (as if she has no will of her own), was emboldened by her best friend into taking the biggest chance of her life... She walked out of her wedding to a man she does not love (and earned a hard slap on her cheek from her mother, who then disowned her), and went off to meet someone she had not seen... and be wedded by proxy... basically a modern mail order bride! Can such a romance work?
The new husband is okay, and there doesn't seem to be any karma for the parents either. it's all about her getting a spine. And while it has the character arc, it didn't quite have the touch of other authors like Kirsten Osbourne or Merry Farmer who also wrote books based on similar premises. The husband was kinda boring. 3/5
Book 3: DIY Vows -- the BFF of the previous novel's heroine (the same woman who paid for the setup) is going to be matched with someone in SF/Oakland, with a top compatibility score... 99.5%. But he's actually just betting with his brother on a dare, even as he's fixing up his mother's historical building in Oakland... or trying to. He is being stretched too thin, as he can't do both at the same time. She's a handywoman who can't wait to get out of her stupid town, and she's setting up her own "The Home Doctor" renovation / fix-up contractor business when it's clear the guy she matched does NOT want a wife. So she tried to keep her "kinda-wife" and the "Home Doctor" identities separate, even as she fixed up his house. What she didn't know is he knew she's both... and he's falling for her... hard...
It's mental games: she's playing some, he's playing some, they pretend they don't know about each other's games but they do... Somehow, I failed to see how that translates to romance. But at least the plot was pretty good. 4/5
All in all, average series. It's certainly innovative, but seem to lack that certain spark, whether angst or comedy or other.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: N/A, collection, three books about modern equivalent of mail order bride finding their love with a mate they never met...
Tropes: marriage, mail order bride, collection, different worlds, disguise, jilted, weird will, arranged marriage, family pressure
Overall Rating: 3/5 (average of 3)
GRR Reviews Make Me Love You: An Older Man Young by Adele Hart
Make Me Love You is a vacation fling to a thing story. There really isn't much beyond the typical plot to recommend it beyond others.
Lila has a broken heart and can't show her face at the office after being publicly dumped. She dragged her best friend for a vacation to St. Lucia island to forget her troubles... and ran into gorgeous ER doc "Ben Stone". Ben left the dreary city of Boston behind and lived a beautiful life on the beach. Hours are grueling, but it's fun, and upon seeing Lila, he knew what was missing in his life: Lila, of course. But can he convince her to stay, or at least, come back?
Insta-love, older guy (30's) younger woman (20's). Lila is also a bit of a BBW and was apparently fat-shamed by her previous BF. Ben obviously didn't care about any of that. Not much plot here.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Woman had a vacation fling with a gorgeous ER doc on the island; will she stay around?
Tropes:resort, vacation, fling to a thing, BBW, doctor/patient
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews The Doctor's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad by Amy Brent
The Doctor's Fake Marriage featured an unethical setup: a doctor taking advantage of a patient randy on hormones. The rest of the book is a little better, but not by much.
Playboy doc wanted the volunteer subject in his bed. When she's randy with a hormonal implant contraceptive (volunteered for it too), he nudged her into his bed. When they got caught, he had to marry her to keep his medical license. It'll be merely a marriage of convenience. In the meanwhile, she'll live at his place... and take care of his daughter (he's a widower and single parent) with help of a babysitter. But can there be real feelings there?
The premise is unethical as heck. It's practically... the four-letter r-word, as she's not capable of rational decisions at that time. I honestly don't know what's so romantic about that. The rest of it is average.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: When the playboy doctor was caught doing the horizontal tango with his patient, he had to fake marry her... but is there love?
Tropes: doctor / patient, fake engagement, single parent,
Overall Rating: 2/5
GRR Reviews The Wrong Todd by Donna McDonald
The Wrong Todd is a fun rom-com of mistaken identity leading to love, and it featured a Polynesian MMC that is nicely done.
Sabine was doing a favor for her gay best friend (who happens to be her douchebag ex's brother, but that's no fault to her friend) by bidding on a bachelor name Todd at a charity auction. Not being a fan of TV, she didn't realize she bid on the wrong Todd... She bid on Todd Lake, hottest bachelor chef from Polynesia. She spent 6000 bucks on one very expensive dinner... but it'll be exquisite... from a professional chef... and the most amazing part is... he seems to be just as enchanted with her... But she couldn't be the lover of the hottest chef in town, as she's a "chubby" divorcee whose ex cheated then married a girl half her age... or can she?
Not bad, as the soul-baring part about weight problems was interesting. But the attraction between them was a bit unexplained. Making the MMC being a Polynesian is good, but a little bit on the bland side. Still, the book is enjoyable.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Woman bidding on a bachelor for a friend got the wrong Todd... a hot Polynesian chef who's just as interested in her!
Tropes: chef, wrong guy, auction fling to a thing
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Melody (North Shore Book 1) by C. L. Stone
Melody is a hard book to describe. It's a bit fairy tale, a bit paranormal, a bit mystery, and a bit romance.
Melody spent all she had to get away from her drugged out husband and finally walked away with divorce, even as her mother constantly nagged about finding a job and keeping a husband. She has little more than clothes on her back, and she ended up on Juniper Island, with maybe 3 dollars in her pocket. The bus driver dropped her at Mayana, a restaurant that serves hard-working locals... and tourists. The owner Tonac makes delicious meals, but he doesn't always charge for them... he doesn't serve what people want... but what they need. And when Melody tasted the food, she knew why... Tonac's food affected people in unique ways... visions, courage, precious memories... She just had to get a job there, and Tonac accepted her without question. Locals started coming in droves, and people are happy... But there are folks on the island who do NOT want Tonac to succeed, and when Melody is caught in the middle, she'll discover just how deep the secrets really run on this island...
Without spoiling anything, let's just say Tonac is... a bit of a disguise, and so are many of the friends of Tonac that Melody got to know. As for what, you'll have to read the book. Once you get through the weird but slow beginning, you'll start to appreciate the book a bit more.
Category: Contemporary / Paranormal
Primary Plot: Woman arrived on the island and found work at a cafe run by a mysterious chef, what secrets is he hiding?
Tropes: family secrets, protector, woman in peril, chef, evil enemies
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Manic Monday (The Billionaires Temptation) by Annalise Wells
Manic Monday is basically "Pretty Woman" with raunchy sex, minus any of the cuteness.
Shona is one of the girls who works at Tina's Place, where every desire can be catered to... all kind of girls dedicate themselves to your pleasure... if you can afford the price. Almost 100K a night... Beau can afford it, and he has different tastes, but one woman keeps him coming back because his marriage was so wrong, he can't stay at home... Shona knew her job, and she makes her clients happy even if she had to fake it all, but one guy was so good, she is contemplating whether to buy out her own contract to be with him... If he wants her permanently...
If you are looking for erotica, there's something here to satisfy you. If you are looking for romance, there really isn't much here. It's sex and more sex. the Conflicts are lame. And what's with the expensive way a girl can buy herself out of her job?
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Escort contemplates if one of her clients may want her permanently, even if she had to buy herself out of her job...
Tropes: escort, billionaire
Overall Rating: 2/5
GRR Reviews Billionaire's Escort (An Alpha Billionaire R by Claire Adams
Billionaire's Escort has a plot that's as trope as you'd expect: a financially desperate escort with a heart of gold meets a kind and generous billionaire sex fiend with a deep dark secret... By the end they fix each other's problems and achieve HEA. With over 2000+ extra pages of bonus content (at the time this review is published) this is basically shovelware.
Mercedes Johnson finished her post-grad degree, but she can't find any jobs in her field, and entry-level positions don't want to hire her. With her father's cancer treatment threatening her family and her mom already working three jobs, Mercedes need a job fast, and her cousin recommended her for "Sexy Package Delivery". Mercedes' first client was Jake, and she soon realized she's actually in an escort service (she's so going to kill her cousin for this) but Jake, despite his sexual appetite, and rich beyond sin, is a kind man. What turned him into a generous sex fiend that had to use money to buy women's services for sex? Does Mercedes even care as long as she gets the money? It's JUST money and sex, right?
Plot is trope, and character is pretty much cliche. The names came out of random name generators, it seems. And the "cause"? He was sexually abused as a kid, of course. And his rich family decided to keep quiet instead of getting him therapy. *sigh* That's so trope. Obviously he fixed everything for her, because she fixed him. *sigh*
The bonus stories seem to be of generally even lower quality than the novel, and this wasn't author's best novel either.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Can a woman who seriously needed money fall for a generous and handsome billionaire after selling her services first?
Tropes: different worlds, escort, billionaire
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Lie Next To Me (A Millionaire's Love) by Sandi Lynn
Lie Next to Me struggled to present a billionaire who doesn't know how to fall in love vs. a woman who fell for such an alpha guy. But the scenario doesn't make sense for a variety of reasons.
Aurora "Rory" Sinclair was rescued by Ian Braxton when she was brutally attacked... by her own schizophrenic brother. Ian took her back to his place and helped her recover. But Ian has his own problems. His father is a misogynist and hates all woman, esp. his mother... who basically left. Ian has friends... and friends with benefits. Rory fell for the enigmatic but rich Ian, who wants Rory... but only as a bareback (no condom) sex partner. And the sex is good... even as Ian helped commit her brother to a treatment center. But when Rory confessed her feelings to Ian, Ian replied he has no feelings for anyone...
Frankly, Rory feels like someone who doesn't know how to be in love either and basically fell for the first man who can take care of her, even though she had to pay a price in terms of psychological problems bordering on abuse. Ian seems to be so... "heartless". If this is supposed to be presenting a billionaire who hides a heart under that exterior, it failed pretty miserably. Instead, Ian just came across as someone who rescued a woman just to bonk her because she's grateful. And that's... revolting. I have no sympathy for the characters at all.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Billionaire saved a woman and later help "save" her brother, but will he love her... or just use her for sex?
Tropes: protector, woman in peril, family secrets, friends to lovers
Overall Rating: 2/5
GRR Reviews Marriage Material: A Novel (Red Creek Br by Barbara Samuel
Marriage Material put a good spin on the secret baby trope by pinning a revenge angle on it, only twist it into enemies to lovers trope, which is a masterful plot.
Tamara Flynn knew how sexy Lance Forrest is. She has a daily reminder... a child named Cody... though she wasn't his birth mom. That would be her cousin Val, whom Lance left pregnant, then disappear for years. Val drove herself off a cliff one day, leaving Tam to raise Cody on her own... derailing Tam's life plans. Now Cody's five, and Lance is back in town. At first Tamara wants revenge on Lance for breaking her cousin, then she's worried about the future of Cody and how Lance can provide for him... then as she found out more about Lance, she wondered if Val was really a victim as she made out to be... And whether Tamara herself is in love with Lance... But Lance is quite sure about which woman he wants in his life...
The revenge idea died a quick death, leaving some conflicting feelings on which is the "truth"? It's about misconceptions and confessions, without too much angst. But it didn't really make me feel a lot emotionally, thus 4/5
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Single mom contemplates revenge on the billionaire who broke her cousin and derailed her life... while she fell for him
Tropes: revenge, different worlds, pregnancy, single parent, small town, family secrets
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews The Accidental Mail Order Bride by Ruth Ann Nordin
The Accidental Mail-Order Bride pushed the "reluctant bride and groom" trope to the breaking point, and barely managed to complete a story. The setup was way overboard.
Allie Jones arrived at the Colorado town late, after having to testify at a murder trial on the train. She expected to be married, only to find that her groom had married someone else came off the train that day by accident! Now Allie has NO groom, and the only other job available... is at the saloon. Fortunately, her former groom, who's also the sheriff, had a candidate in mind... Travis Martin is an outcast in town. He is heavily scarred in the face from a bad bout of chicken pox when he was young, and that turned him into an extremely shy young man who became legendary in town as the boogeyman to scare children with, with all sorts of crazy rumors. When his friend the sheriff and his wife arrived to marry her off to him, he can't accept, but he can't let her work in the saloon either. He reluctantly accepted her as his wife... But living in separate buildings, and even then he felt unworthy. But Allie is intrigued... Is he really a monster, or just a misunderstood young man?
The setup is way overboard to the point of ridiculousness, that basically push the trope to the point I am almost unable to take it seriously. It was WAY beyond awkward. It wasn't until they finally met face to face that the story managed to veer back to average, and just barely, rounded up.
Category: Historical Western
Primary Plot: Mail order bride arrived to find her groom had married someone else; can she marry the town's outcast instead?
Tropes: rescluse, mail order bride, fish out fo water, different worlds
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Mail Order Sass by Alix West
Mail Order Sass is a mail-order bride story that made very little sense. It also quickly veered into a kink fantasy, which is both a bit anachronistic and just plain WEIRD for a virgin.
Will Travis ordered a mail order bride from the east for his ranch life. He wanted someone older, wiser, experienced. What he got was young, pretty, delicate looking, and way too sassy. Charlotte is an orphan looking for a way out, and she'll take her chances to marry a man she'd never seen. Will and Charlotte agreed that they will wait 30 days to consummate their marriage, and Charlotte intends to make full use of those 30 days to win Will's heart, even though Will insisted this marriage was not for love...
An orphan who was probably way too busy working and marry herself out... somehow developed spanking fantasy? By a groom she'd never met? I swear some of these authors use random plot generators or something. Wait 30 days for what? What about her reputation? The plot is nonsense.
Category: Historical Western
Primary Plot: Mail order bride needs to convince the groom to keep her for love, even though he insists he has no love to give...
Tropes: kink, mail order bride, different worlds, fish out of water, marriage of convenience
Overall Rating: 2/5
GRR Reviews Losing His Shirt (Wall Street to Broadway) by Linda Fausnet
Losing His Shirt is an interesting "fish out of water" romance with the guy being the weak one and the woman doing the rescue. But why is this woman just taking on responsibility "for the heck of it" for someone she called "creep"? That never was explained well.
Johnny Creel is a trust-fund baby who thought he was being a cool boss with a company to manage. The truth is the company runs far better without him around, not that he shows up that often. When his father was implicated in some scandal and all his assets were frozen, Johnny Creel suddenly realized he was NOTHING without his money. He doesn't even have any life skills to pay bills and live on his own. When the subway vending machine ate his last $5 for his ticket home, and he sank to the floor sobbing, he was surprised to find his former personal assistant, Rosemary, lent him a hand and the ticket home // Rosemary called Johnny "the creep", because he really was, but this Johnny... was not a creep. When Johnny asked for her help to get him back on his feet, Rosemary can't refuse, even as Johnny hoped for more. But is this the real Johnny? Or will regaining his money turn Johnny back into the creep?
While the premise was fun, one still begs the question: WHY would Rosemary agree to help Johnny live a "normal" life? Is her heart really in the right place and all that? The motivations are suspect, and the subsequent developments are about as standard plot as it can be. All in all, average.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Man lost everything and doesn't know how to live; until his former personal assistant showed him the way; do they have a chance?
Tropes: differnt worlds, friends to lovers, betrayal, hot for boss, fish out of water,
Overall Rating: 3/5
Johnny Creel is a trust-fund baby who thought he was being a cool boss with a company to manage. The truth is the company runs far better without him around, not that he shows up that often. When his father was implicated in some scandal and all his assets were frozen, Johnny Creel suddenly realized he was NOTHING without his money. He doesn't even have any life skills to pay bills and live on his own. When the subway vending machine ate his last $5 for his ticket home, and he sank to the floor sobbing, he was surprised to find his former personal assistant, Rosemary, lent him a hand and the ticket home // Rosemary called Johnny "the creep", because he really was, but this Johnny... was not a creep. When Johnny asked for her help to get him back on his feet, Rosemary can't refuse, even as Johnny hoped for more. But is this the real Johnny? Or will regaining his money turn Johnny back into the creep?
While the premise was fun, one still begs the question: WHY would Rosemary agree to help Johnny live a "normal" life? Is her heart really in the right place and all that? The motivations are suspect, and the subsequent developments are about as standard plot as it can be. All in all, average.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Man lost everything and doesn't know how to live; until his former personal assistant showed him the way; do they have a chance?
Tropes: differnt worlds, friends to lovers, betrayal, hot for boss, fish out of water,
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Frigid (Frigid Series Book 1) by J. Lynn
Frigid feels like a by-the-numbers romance that tried to pivot onto romantic suspense, but failed to deliver it with any interesting spark.
Sydney and Kyler had been best friends since they were kids. He shoved her on the playground, and she made him eat a mud pie. Sydney wanted Kyler for a long time, but Kyler is a man-whore, never staying with a girl for more than a few nights. Now that Syd and Ky are in their final year of college, Syd has no intention of upsetting that applecart... Kyler does not desire Syd in a womanly way, or so he told himself. Kyler prefer the friendship, for Syd is the perfect girl, and Ky is just the bad boy from the wrong side of tracks. When both were stranded in a cabin by a snowstorm, their tension turned into a full-blown fire of attraction... then they found someone was stalking them...
As I said, the pivot to romantic suspense really made little sense, and came a bit too late to add tension to the plot. All in all, it's a bit of "meh".
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Can two best friends get out of friend zone? Who's stalking them and why?
Tropes: college, friends to lovers, forced proximity, protector, woman in peril, stalker
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Carter: The Sinner Saints #1 by Adrienne Bell
Carter is a romantic suspense when the couple was forced on the run from powerful enemies and a giant conspiracy. However, the plot failed to make sense upon further contemplation (i.e. "wait a minute, but...")
Carter Macmillan was a captain in US Special Forces. Now retired, Carter runs Macmillian security with his former teammates, doing security assignments, and they were just hired to provide extra security for a certain senator when news came earlier that his chief of staff's car blew up on the freeway... With him in it. So when a young woman crashed the party, Carter zoomed in on her... and she had the most incredible story to tell... Ally Weaver chases the story as a reporter, and the story she's chasing was incredible... Until her source, scared out of his mind, told her a story even she can barely believe... just as her connection was lost and then news came of his car blowing up. Desperate to find the last words of a dead man, she snuck into that man's office... and was trying to rifle through the contents when Carter came in behind her... But not to detain her... But to save her... and his own company, as he realized he was being set up... As circumstances forced the two together to go on the run, they couldn't help but to fall for each other, as they battle someone corrupt enough to rig the system, and lives are nothing in front of billions in dollars... What was on the flash drive Ally recovered, even as enemies close in on all sides?
To explain the problem with this book, I'll have to spoil the ending.
SPOILER ALERT
WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP
The good guys got this flash drive from the dead guy. The bad guys tried to get rid of the evidence. They can't find it despite bribing the cops and sealed off the entire MacMillan office. So their next plan is to blow up the entire office. Say what? Nobody took it home, or uploaded a copy to the cloud, or whatever? And also, how can a computer expert make a copy that's NOT exact, complete with same volume name? The bad guys bought off the local cops, but didn't count on MacMillian calling in the FBI?
These MAJOR plot holes made the plot "meh".
Category: Contemporary / suspense
Primary Plot: Reporter and Security Guy had to go on the run together when they obtained evidence of a conspiracy, but can they decode it?
Tropes: security, conspiracy, reporter, evil enemies, forced proximity, woman in peril, protector
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Let it be Me by Barbara Speak
Let It Be Me started off like a trope: angst-y teenager, uprooted from her life, falls with a rebellious hunky bad boy neighbor. It's not until you finish the book and rethink the plot, that you realize the book is actually quite a bit deeper than it seems.
Arianna Dubray was uprooted from her yuppie life of Prada shoes and Michael Kors bags in Baltimore onto a farm in Montana, and she knew exactly why... she "caused" it and her entire family is paying the price. Her step-father is abusing and her mother is simply doing... NOTHING. Her little stepsister is the only person she can rely on, but they're in the same boat/house. Her hunky neighbor Canyon has his own problems, needing to prove to the town that his family name is not mud, and he can make it on his own. Arianna hated this town, where nothing was familiar, and nobody likes strangers. But Canyon proved to be the exception. But when trouble found her in the little town, and her family, including Canyon, had been attacked, Arianna had to gather the courage to do the one thing that may set her free...
Romantic Suspense, and VERY nicely done. Arianna came across as sympathetic, and neither weak or strong, but a careful balance of both. Initially, she came across as a passive-aggressive brat falling for the bad boy neighbor. But as you read on, she slowly turned into someone who knows what she wanted and she'll do anything to protect her family... (just her sister, really she couldn't care less about step-douche and mom). It's coming of age AND redemption all rolled into one.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Teenager forced to live on a farm in Montana falls for the bad boy next door; then bad guys found her and her family...
Tropes: fish out of water, different worlds, neighbor, protector, woman in peril
Overall Rating: 5/5
GRR Reviews Finding Mrs. Right (Romantic Destination) by Debbie White
Finding Mrs. Right is basically a "looking for love in all the wrong places", albeit, it's the man looking for the right woman this time. But somehow, this story just didn't connect with me. it's lacking that something, tension, humor, whatever.
Gabe is a generous and rich bachelor in New York, but he can't stand golddiggers. He knew his assistant Sally has a bit of a crush on him, but he can't really indulge her... it wouldn't be right. He could fall for the latest person to solicit donations from him... Rose is a very capable project manager trying to establish a woman's shelter. However, his friends and brothers... heck, even his doorman and his butler are trying to set him up with other women. Then there's Ronnie (Veronica) whom he met in the park... while she's walking six dogs at once. But which one should he woo, and which one will be his Mrs. Right?
Not sure why, but somehow this story just doesn't quite feel right. The different women just entered and left his life in sequence, rather than making him really choose. It wasn't much of a trial and tribulations.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: How is a rich bachelor to choose which women to woo? His secretary, his latest client, or just someone he met in a park?
Tropes: triangle (multiple), everyone but you, different worlds, boy meets girl
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Good Cop (Heroes of Henderson Book 1) by Liz Kelly
Good Cop, despite the title, is a love triangle story that didn't really involve much police work. It's about friendship, unrequited love, and a bit of Cyrano all mixed in into a rom-com.
Brooks Bennet and Vance Evans were sports heroes of the town, but they have opposite styles when it comes to romance... One's the good cop, and the other is the bad cop. (They're actually cops too) They need an impartial referee on which way works better, and who better than their best female friend, Lorelei "Lolly" DuVal, the little girl that always followed them around since when they were young? Except Lolly ain't so small anymore... Lolly wanted a fling that "lights her fire" (figuratively, of course!) and teaching two delectable cops about romance sounds like a great idea... at first. But as Lolly falls for both, and both cops started to back off for each other, it'd be up to Lolly to pick a winner for her heart.
Funny AND poignant, as it's as much about friendship (and sacrifice) as it is about love, with a lot of quiet chuckles and amusements. There are no cheap laughs here.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Young woman who used to be "little sister" to two cops had to teach them about romance, but which one would she choose?
Tropes: triangle, law enforcement, friends to lovers, Cyrano
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Protect Me, Cowboy (The Marshall Ranch) by Shelli Stevens
Protect Me Cowboy is a good romantic suspense combined with disguised identities.
Wyatt Marshall gave up competing and settled back in the town of Marietta, Montana, but when Copper Mountain Rodeo rolls into town, he had to compete. So why does this country singer look so familiar? Claire Miller fled Las Vegas with just her purse and clothes on her back. She and her band traveled to Marietta, but her car died, stranding her for days, and there is no hotel room in town. A kind offer of the guest room on a nearby ranch lead her to the same sexy cowboy she got hot and heavy within Vegas... and she stood him up and left him high and dry. But she had totally changed her looks, and there is no way she'll admit to her old sins... But Wyatt knew there's something about her... and he won't rest until he learned why she had to hide and flee Vegas... and maybe even save her.
Nice romantic suspense with a proper villain build-up and a good ending, without being too cliche.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Cowboy found the country singer looked so familiar; she changed her looks to run away from the evil, will she stand and fight?
Tropes: reunion, protector, woman in peril, cowboy, performer, forced proximity, evil boss, disguise
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Matched (Misfit Brides Book 2) by Jamie Farrell
Matched is a second chance romance about two people who drifted apart, but have a chance to come back together.
Will Truitt can sum up his life as a country western song... the sad kind. He reinvented himself as "Billy Brenton", country star, and he was successful, but he just hit a writer's block and his muse was nowhere to be found. Visiting a small town brought him face to face with the only woman that understood him... and broke his heart... Lindsey. Lindsey gave up on love when she became one of the best divorce attorneys in the business. She had seen too many sad stories and vowed to fight for the poor wives... until Will reappeared in her life. He needs her to be his muse. She... still felt something for him. But is that enough for them to be together, ten years older and probably wiser?
It's pretty charming, though the "sad country song" was a bit of a cliche. Still, the pairing was pretty unusual and sets it apart from the typical "jilted" stories.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Can a divorce attorney learn to love again with her first love, now a country music star who needs a muse?
Tropes: lawyer, performer, different worlds, reunion, return
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Bad for the Boss: A BWAM Office Romanc by Talia Hibbert
Bad for the Boss is a British romance that featured a half-Asian guy and a plus-sized Black gal. Not sure if it's good or bad, but I hardly noticed the race of the characters once I'm into the story.
Theodore Chamberlain is a stereotypical bad boy businessman with a terrible temper. He should have never met model employee Jennifer Johnson until Jennifer's email accidentally ended up in his inbox, and he's intrigued, and what he wants... he gets. Jen's not ready to give in, as she does not want to risk her perfect job for a fling, but Ted's determined to offer her any guarantee she wanted, as long as he can have her... And when a threat from her past surfaced, Ted's there...
Ted's supposed to be Asian? Well, he's HALF-Asian, supposedly his father married Chinese from Hong Kong. And JJ is black with curves. But I honestly don't feel much ethnicity there in the book except for occasional bits. The guy's British except for his name (Ted's actually his middle name). The plot was actually above average, with a bit of bookend beginning and end. All in all, above average.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Plus-sized black girl got the attention of a senior partner in the firm, who's half-Asian, and they started a torrid affair...
Tropes: hot for boss, BBW, fling to a thing, alpha guy
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Making Changes by Lila Rose
Making Changes is a BBW rom-com that went a bit farcical. But then, rom-com is like that, isn't it?
Makenzie Mayfair had spent too many years with her loser husband and is determined to find her own life, her own job, and her own love. The problem is Makenzie has no filter between her mouth and her brain, and she's a BBW, but that's really an asset, right? Her new boss, Grayson, is cold and distant, but boss's brother, who claimed to be gay, is giving her encouragements to stick with Grayson. But Kenzi's determination to remake her life hits a few obstacles when she took cough medicine, which seems to make her lose all inhibitions... And showed a side to Grayson that should have never been shown... and it had nothing to do with shedding clothes... well, maybe a little...
The romance is so-so. What made this book above average is the humor. However, I don't like the cover that much. If you look closer, she's holding sheet music.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: BBW woman is reinventing her new life, and falling a little for her cold boss, then she took cough meds... and lost inhibitions
Tropes: BBW, hot for boss
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR EDITORIAL: Cocky-gate needs to be nipped in the bud
If you read romances, you've no doubt by now heard of "cocky-gate". The TL;DR version is an author called Faleena Hopkins managed to get a trademark on the word "cocky" (she wrote a series called the Cocker Brothers, and they are all names Cocky this and Cocky that), not just when it's specific to romance, but in general. And she's threatening to sue other authors who used the word "cocky" in their book titles, even if they are published BEFORE her trademark. For a more detailed view, read this Vox article. And another view from Firebrand Publishing
I have yet to review a book in the Cocky series, but I have reviewed one of her earlier books, "You Don't Know Me". The characters are mostly douchebags or hormonal driven. At best, it was an average book and I may be generous here with my rating.
So why her sudden urge to trademark the word "cocky"? I can't claim to know her mind, but I do know of a similar circumstance.
Did you know someone tried to trademark the word "scam" as for use on the WWW? No? Had he succeeded, no one can use the word "scam" on the Internet. That'd be OUTRAGEOUS, right? You thought I was kidding? Nope. See for yourself.
You can trademark a lot of things. The Fedex logo and the term Fedex is a trademark. Indeed, there are boardgames and colognes currently bearing the trademark "scam". But this is a character mark. In fact, in the application, the applicant, Robert L. Craddock stated specifically that
You can draw your own conclusion about what sort of companies would need Craddock's services to protect them from the word "scam". To me, this means he intends to PREVENT OTHER PEOPLE from using the word "scam", esp. in relation to his clients. Anyway, that particular trademark was denied.
It was perhaps, karmic retribution that Craddock later ended up serving a six-month Federal sentence for scamming the Federal government by falsely claiming over $135000 in damage from a Florida Gulf oil spill that happened in 2010. Craddock was also a major player in the ZeekRewards ponzi scheme that rocked the US back in 2012.
And the parallel to cocky-gate is a little thin, but it's there.
Anyway... this is that GRR has to say about cocky-gate:
IMHO, the trademark on "cocky" should be invalidated for the following reasons.
It's too generic
"Cocky" -- (adj.) conceited or arrogant, especially in a bold or impudent way
That would have described vast majority of the male main characters in romance novels, IMHO, esp. the "billionaire" and "alpha male" romances (or even the mountain man, MC, and military ones too)
It's too underhanded
According to the Vox article, the instigator, Faleena Hopkins, gave no time for other authors to change titles and covers. She, or her representative, directly contacted Amazon and as a result, the affected authors had their book suspended (i.e. cannot be purchased), and it's not know how many other authors or eBook vendors (such as B&N's Nook platform, iTunes Books, and Google Play Books) are affected. The situation was so bad, Romance Writers of America, the industry organization, had to intervene with Amazon, and has hired a lawyer to review the situation.
It sets a dangerous precedent
If one author can trademark a common word in romance, what's to prevent someone trademark some generic term in other genres? Like "Warp speed" for science fiction? Or perhaps "AI drones" for military fiction?
Join the petition to invalidate her trademark.
I have yet to review a book in the Cocky series, but I have reviewed one of her earlier books, "You Don't Know Me". The characters are mostly douchebags or hormonal driven. At best, it was an average book and I may be generous here with my rating.
So why her sudden urge to trademark the word "cocky"? I can't claim to know her mind, but I do know of a similar circumstance.
Did you know someone tried to trademark the word "scam" as for use on the WWW? No? Had he succeeded, no one can use the word "scam" on the Internet. That'd be OUTRAGEOUS, right? You thought I was kidding? Nope. See for yourself.
 |
| Robert L Craddock tried to register an internet trademark for the word "scam" back in 2012. |
"[the word "scam'] has become a recognized that that the services we provide give assured protection against. This term has a negative sound and it is for this reason that it is imperative that because this word is used in a negative way and for the last 15-years has been the center of the positive work we do for seeral hundred clients that we need to apply for protection on the use of the word mark SCAM."I've copied that section EXACTLY as is, including the non-sensical un-grammatical language.
You can draw your own conclusion about what sort of companies would need Craddock's services to protect them from the word "scam". To me, this means he intends to PREVENT OTHER PEOPLE from using the word "scam", esp. in relation to his clients. Anyway, that particular trademark was denied.
It was perhaps, karmic retribution that Craddock later ended up serving a six-month Federal sentence for scamming the Federal government by falsely claiming over $135000 in damage from a Florida Gulf oil spill that happened in 2010. Craddock was also a major player in the ZeekRewards ponzi scheme that rocked the US back in 2012.
And the parallel to cocky-gate is a little thin, but it's there.
Anyway... this is that GRR has to say about cocky-gate:
IMHO, the trademark on "cocky" should be invalidated for the following reasons.
It's too generic
"Cocky" -- (adj.) conceited or arrogant, especially in a bold or impudent way
That would have described vast majority of the male main characters in romance novels, IMHO, esp. the "billionaire" and "alpha male" romances (or even the mountain man, MC, and military ones too)
It's too underhanded
According to the Vox article, the instigator, Faleena Hopkins, gave no time for other authors to change titles and covers. She, or her representative, directly contacted Amazon and as a result, the affected authors had their book suspended (i.e. cannot be purchased), and it's not know how many other authors or eBook vendors (such as B&N's Nook platform, iTunes Books, and Google Play Books) are affected. The situation was so bad, Romance Writers of America, the industry organization, had to intervene with Amazon, and has hired a lawyer to review the situation.
It sets a dangerous precedent
If one author can trademark a common word in romance, what's to prevent someone trademark some generic term in other genres? Like "Warp speed" for science fiction? Or perhaps "AI drones" for military fiction?
Join the petition to invalidate her trademark.
GRR Reviews The Bachelor's Baby (Love in Montana Bo by Dani Collins
The Bachelor's Baby has trope plot of roadside rescue leading to insta-lust to a fling, then surprise pregnancy, but the author managed a good polish to an enjoyable story.
Meg was only in town to help her brother move in his new stepdaughter by cleaning out her childhood room. She did not count on meeting the sexy bad boy billionaire Linc Brady... After getting stuck in the snow. Linc Brady was just visiting, and he is generous to donate money and time toward a child needing treatment, but getting stuck with a bachelor auction with him as a prize? And the one bidding on him is Meg? He'll bid on himself! But Linc is smitten with Meg, as he wants someone who's not too country, and Meg is perfect. But Linc wants at least one night... And Meg, knowing she'd leave, gave it to him... But then... she found she's pregnant... so she's back in town to see what Linc would do.
Basically it's "surprise baby" (aka "oops, I'm pregnant") which lead to a bit of "OMG are you sure" or even "that can't be mine" which obviously lead to a bit of bitterness, and eventually someone gave in after feeling stupid. The trick here is the author managed to put a very good spin on the trope plot to make it fun.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Two people new in town managed to stumble upon each other and fell in love, then the woman realized she's pregnant...
Tropes: boy meets girl, auction, one night stand, accidental pregnant, reunion
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Billion Dollar Baby by Imani King and Cherie Love
Billion Dollar Baby is a "weird will / promise to marry" novel that made little sense when considered in retrospect.
Braden and Adele promised when they were kids that they'd marry each other if they're still single by 30. Now both are 29. Braden refused money from his grandpa because it came with too many strings attached, but he's barely making do on his own little ranch. Adel left for the army, got trained as a medic, and only recently mustered out and is studying to be a veterinarian... and back in town. Braden and Adele came back together, and things are going great. Adele wanted a baby with Braden, and Braden wanted a baby with Adele... but there's this one thing... Braden can inherit 1 BILLION bucks from Grandpa if he can produce an heir. When Braden chose to NOT mention this to Adele... it ended up being the issue that tore them apart...
The decision process makes no sense. "I don't want to involve you in my family drama" is a poor excuse to not mention the billion bucks. What's she going to think when she found out? Hmmm? That you just wanted the billion bucks, right? The ending was a simple change of heart, not even much of a grand gesture. All in all it's just "meh".
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Man failed to disclose that he stands to inherit a billion bucks when he hooked up with his old crush who did want a child...
Tropes: promise to marry, reunion, weird will, want baby
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Keeping Katie (A Mother's Heart Book 1) by Patricia Keelyn
Keeping Katie asks the question: how far will you go to protect your child?
Maureen just settled in a small town a few hours away from Seattle with her three-year-old daughter Katie, and working as a waitress in the local cafe. Local sheriff Alan knew there's something not quite right with her as if she's fleeing from something, but he decided not to push, for he liked her a lot. Maureen had indeed been running from something... the law itself. When Alan learned this... what will he do about it? And will she keep running? Who was the stranger in town keeping an eye on them?
It's angst-y, but not overly melodramatic. And the resolution was very masterful in wrapping up all the loose-ends. Maureen's struggle was real, and her solution may not have been the wisest, but it was the simplest one she can execute. Sheriff is right on the dot: want to do things right, even though justice may or may not be the right thing. All in all, it'll make you sigh.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: What is the mother with the cute daughter hiding? The police chief intended to find out even as he fell for her...
Tropes: small town, stranger in town, law enforcement, single parent, family secrets
Overall Rating: 5/5
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