GRR Reviews Make Believe Wedding by Vivi Holt

The Holdens and the Belugas are enemies from two generations back, running rival newspapers. Tim Holden left the editing room behind for life as a firefighter. He met Molly Beluga while on the job, removing her from an unsafe building while she's busy cranking out an article. Their families are opposed to them getting involved, which made them wanted it even more, even if just as a setup to get the two families to talk again. But soon, the fake relationship turned very real...

Sort of a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the setup was pretty good, though why they would be the ones who decide to bring the two families back to the table was a bit nebulous. OTOH, having a firefighter carry you down and out of a building is kinda swoon-y... Ending felt a bit too fast though. 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Restless Billionaire by Cidney West

Delaney is an interior designer who has her own business, but her architect father's shadow has a far reach. Delaney got the job to help billionaire Ashe Holdener flip a mini-mansion and redesign the interior, but her first view of Ashe was him, without a shirt, digging a hole in the ground... and she almost drooled. Delaney was glad to get a project without her father's influence, and she strove to keep Ashe happy. And Ashe found himself attracted to Delaney's vivaciousness. But Delaney's "ex" Liam was hanging around, hoping to date Delaney again. Who will Delaney choose?

Just didn't feel much about this one. Liam just never seems to be a proper threat. And a billionaire flipping houses, even if it's a mansion, just feels... wrong.  3/5

GRR Reviews The Sounds of Secrets by Whitney Barbetti

Lotte (nickname of Charlotte) had been in love with Sam (short for Samson), but he never noticed her, apparently. Lotte always wanted to travel, despite inheriting a space as a dance studio in London. She took the risk of selling the studio and do a bit of travel in the US, but Lotte also has a hair-pulling problem... She deals with stress with hair pulling, so much sow her brows and her hair are in patches and she had to disguise it with makeup. Before she left, and after a few too many drinks, she and Sam had one night, but he left, and she... left for the US. But this roadtrip only made her realize she's a stranger in a strange land. When she suffered an injury, Sam came to the US to spend some time with her... and shared his own problems and secrets. But is that enough for a relationship?

Oooh, seriously angst-y type romance, which is this author's specialty. Her main characters are all flawed, suffering from loss and grief, yet managed to nonetheless find love. If you like serious people finding love without billionaires and other fantasy elements, this is a must-read. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews A Doctor's Promise by Laura Scott

Shelly is a flight nurse for Lifeline Air Rescue, and she's worried about her son, who may have kidney failure, and is awaiting tests. She is attracted to the new flight doc, Jared O'Connor, who may or may not be related to her late husband, but that can't go anywhere, as she's too busy...  // Jared promised his family to search for his dead brother's fiancee and child, who disappeared after the funeral. Jared found himself attracted to the strong yet vulnerable Shelley and her son. Then he realized Shelly is none other than Ly, the fiancee he had been searching for. But he also found out what really happened that day that caused her to run...

Slightly over-dramatic, but all the emotional beats are met and no obvious plot-holes. 4/5

GRR Reviews The French Billionaire by Britney M Mills

Tristan knew that while he's a billionaire and his marketing firm is doing good, he can do better. He wanted to expand into women's product marketing and chose Belle Rousseau, a skin care company, as their first client, but the name recognition didn't help. Tristan decided to make a personal appeal to Juliette Rousseau, the head. Juliette, having a personal crisis when she learned her father had a heart attack, and she needed to head home to help... AND to bring home a boyfriend, decided to trust Tristan with a novel proposal... Pretend to be her boyfriend for a few weeks, and the contract is his. But was it really just pretend, or is there real love?

Didn't like this too much. While the small town life is fine, the idea that both of them, head of their respective companies, can just disappear for weeks at a time, and she can't even tell whether the suspect photo was a genuine kiss or just an "ambush kiss" just make the darkest hour feel really forced. She also didn't show any self-doubt or such issues before. 3/5

GRR Reviews Bride in Secret by Serenity Woods

Roberta and Angus are friends that flirt, but Angus can't let it go anywhere because he's keeping a secret. So how did they wake up in a Vegas hotel room after a drinking binge, handcuffed together, with a marriage certificate? They aren't even in love! They decided not to talk about it, but surviving a plane crash on the way back to New Zealand left both of them wondering about their life and choices. But there really is a reason for Angus NOT to get married... something he can't talk about, not even to Roberta whom he came to love...

Okay, Angus' reason to not get married made sense. But the ending felt a bit like deus ex machina, and it's been done before. 4/5

GRR Reviews Unbreak This Heart by Betty Shreffler

Alexandra aka Alex was attacked. She survived, but she shunned all male contact, so much so that her fiancee Todd left her. It's been more than a year, and she's slowly coming back to life, that she didn't flinch when her best friend bought her physical training and self-defense lessons from Carter, who also wanted to date her. And Carter is definitely swoon-worthy, being a hard body and a semi-pro MMA fighter. But Todd, the man who abandoned her at her darkest hour, now wants her back, and the feelings are still there. Both of them want her heart, but only one can save her soul and unbreak her heart.

Survival from the attack and bitter flashbacks are very good. But using retrograde amnesia in the middle feels almost like cheating.  4/5

GRR Reviews Trusting the Billionaire by C C Snow

Elle was a waitress who got fired when Troy's date knocked Elle's tray over and the entree ended up in Troy's lap. Troy found Elle's sass admirable and wanted to know her better, but she ran away, had enough of alpha jerks who think they are gifts to womenkind, having been betrayed once before. Elle was helping out in a cafe when he saved a rich pregnant woman's young child, which lead to her being hired as that woman's personal assistant. That woman turned out to be Troy's sister-in-law... and so they meet again. But Elle's past came back to haunt her... Elle's evil ex, Carter, who seduced her into bed while engaged to her half-sister, wanted to use her "indiscretion" to blackmail Elle to steal secrets from Troy. Troy saw betrayal, and Elle refused to explain when he's being so judgmental...

I kinda like it and kinda don't. I can see why Elle prefers to call out her inner b**** when accused, but it really seems to be a VERY stupid way to handle things. The twist was handled very nicely. Still, I honestly don't see why Elle would see herself as the homewrecker. As the logic goes, "it takes two to tango", so why was it her fault? 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Almost Home by Barbara Freethy

Katherine is in Paradise, Kentucky on a quest to find her birth father, after her mother's death. All she knew is his name starts with J. No surname. Zach, the handsome cowboy, was not a part of her plans, nor was running into a ditch after almost ramming his horse trailer. They couldn't be more different. She's a California city girl. He's a Kentucky country cowboy, with a horse that can win a huge derby. But he has a bad reputation in town he's trying to redeem, and she's finding that some people prefer their secrets hidden. How much of her life did her mother hide from her? Will both of them find what they are searching for?

Sort of a "sins of our fathers and mothers" scenario, it's clear much of Katherine's knowledge about her mother's past were lies... Good complex scenarios that combined mystery with slow-wooing. 5/5

GRR Reviews Bride by Mistake by Serenity Woods

Felicity "Fliss" is a famous actress, but her co-star and lover not only destroyed her trust, he threatened to ruin her completely by promising tabloids revealing photos and video. Desperate to get away, Fliss flew incognito to her best friend Roberta living at Bay of Islands, at her "Bridal Cafe", a place where she had spent some time many many years ago, and that's where she met Dominic. // Dominic is a widower who thought he'd never love again, but it's been two years and even his 7-year old daughter thought he should try again. Dom, who never reads gossip, just remembers Fliss as a friend's friend, and being the local Deacon, Dom is also non-judgemental. They eventually agreed to a secret fling. Fliss and Dom were enjoying their time together, but when paparazzi caught Fliss modeling a wedding gown for the Bridal Cafe. Not only they spun the story the wrong way, they also included Dom as the new fling, just as Fliss' ex released the photos... Fliss believed this is the end of her career and love...

Nice, I like the way Dom was non-judgmental yet supportive. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Worth the Risk by Heather B Moore

Alicia moved back to Pine Valley, putting her own plans on hold, to help her mom through an addiction problem. However, the only job in town was waitressing... and imagine the awkward moment when her first love, Jeff, someone she hadn't seen in ten years, came into the restaurant with a date. Alicia knew Jeff's family was rich, and he's doing well for himself. But she wasn't ready for Jeff looking at her in a way that indicated what they had wasn't over...

Not bad, but nothing THAT extraordinary, just good polish on an old trope. 4/5

GRR Reviews Healing Her Cowboy by Kay Lyons

Grace had to leave Seth to deal with her own past. But when news arrived that Seth is paralyzed from a riding accident and in a deep depression, she had to come back... as she's now a physical therapist... and may be the only one who can heal his broken body and soul... if he'll let her in... but she had to bare her soul first...

Okay, angst-y, but nicely handled. There's a HEA, sure. 4/5

GRR Reviews Loving the French Billionaire by Violet Jackson

Yolanda is a successful international lawyer working for a big firm in Chicago, and her goal is to be made partner, and that is coming very soon, if she can help this French billionaire by the name of Tomas expand his business into America. She didn't expect to fall for this exotic foreigner... // Tomas knew that his mate would have to keep up with him, and Yolanda is exactly his type: smart, curvy, and beautiful. But she's also got a reputation as a ballbuster (but only when someone got too... hands-on) Tomas will bulldoze obstacles out of her way so she has time to be wooed. And initially, it worked. They spent some quality time together. Then she found out what he did behind her back... Then she found another surprise...

Eh, while this is BWWM (black woman, white man), there was virtually NO innovation in plotting, and for all the sass she shown, once she got her second surprise, she's as meek as a domesticated cat. She also doesn't seem to suffer from any Black woman issues, just generic female issues. Just didn't feel any "black" other than physical descriptions... Could be just about anybody.  Darkest hour wasn't dark at all. Everything was forgiven within a few moments. Meh.  2.5/5

GRR Reviews Trusting the Billionaire by Cynthia Savage

Audrey is divorced and soured on love. She just wanted to run her non-profit for abused women, but that's failing too. Then her best friend got her heart broken by a guy who bragged about using some super seduction technique learned in a class and it worked to get her into bed. Audrey is determined to find out who's the douche 'super seducer' and make him pay... // Asher is brainy, and he he teaches techniques to talk to women. He let one woman get away from him before, and he's regretted it ever since. When one of his clients threaten to ruin him since he doesn't preach what he taught (i.e. he has no mate of his own), he found Audrey... the one that got away. A marriage of convenience would be perfect... He'll fund her non-profit, in exchange to get the client off his back. She agreed, because she believed Asher is the douche super-seducer teacher, and she'll stay to get the proof. AND Asher's secretary didn't like her boss married at all...

Well, this is a rom-com, so it didn't get THAT dark. But the mixed agendas were used to full effect here. Nice job. So why not 5/5? Because Audrey sure has a LOT of free time to mess with Asher instead of running her charity. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Crushing on the Billionaire by Liwen Ho

NOTE: 52-page short

Devon is vacationing in Maui, contemplating his life. He has more money than he can spend, but his life is lame without love. When he spotted his ex, Kylie, on the beach, he can't believe his luck... // Kylie is actually working... She's the nanny to an young child with an entitled mother. When the child got away from her for a moment and ran into Devon, she was let go. Devon can easily fly her home on his jet, but he wanted to just stay and enjoy the time, but she needs to go home and find another job, because her family has lost their fortune, and her mother needs her to earn a paycheck for medical treatments. But Devon can easily afford all that, if she'll just let him help her...

Ah, another "pride goeth before the fall" story, where the girl was "too proud to beg" and all that. Didn't really feel much here though, but then this is a 52 page short. 3/5

GRR Reviews Last Summer by Kerry Lonsdale

Ella is a journalist specializing in honest interviews, and she has excellent memory... Except for one thing: she can't remember the car accident, or losing her unborn child. In fact, she can't even recall getting pregnant. But her husband Damien assured her that she was indeed pregnant for 5 months before losing the child. But what wasn't he telling her? Determined to find her past, she rescheduled an interview that she had done with Nathan, a retired celebrity adventurer... but he seems to know a lot more about her than he lets on. Nathan looks a LOT like Damien, her husband until you get up close. And she seems to recall being in his arms... And Damien wanted her (again)... but she was there for answers. Soon she found that EVERYONE is keeping answers from her... EVEN HERSELF...

Wow, that's some serious twists and turns that kept me guessing. And there is ANOTHER twist, even when you thought the story had concluded. THEN there's yet ANOTHER twist on top of that. Dang, that's some masterful plotting. 5/5

GRR Reviews Tripp's Trivial Tie by Liz Isaacson

Tripp wants to woo Ivory, and once got pretty close, but Ivory pushed him away, not daring to reveal how bad her finances are, or how she's barely keeping her son and herself fed, despite working multiple jobs. When Ivory's (evil) ex decided to contest custody, Ivory had no choice but to ask Tripp for help... and his hand in marriage. It'd be the perfect way to fend off her ex. But Tripp plans to make this marriage very real indeed... if she can just drop her pride and let him in...

Ah, indeed, pride is a sin, and Ivory definitely sinned many times. The plot's been done before, and this one has good polish. The evil guy never really had a chance, but I felt the end feels a bit too rushed, and not enough karma. 4/5

GRR Reviews Crushing on the Billionaire by Jennifer Griffith

Tatum is totally devoted to her boss, the brilliant but socially inept boss Dawson. She can't even fawn on him due to office by-laws prohibiting office romance. Not that Dawson ever notices her anyway. When Dawson's old nemesis had been secretly buying up company shares from vested employees for a hostile takeover, Dawson's lawyer discovered a bylaw that allowed Dawson's spouse to get 50% of the shares. But Dawson was divorced and can't trust anyone... So he came up with the perfect plan... have Tatum, the perfectly loyal woman he can't have, pick the perfect woman for him...

Okay, this "spouse get 50% of shares" by-law makes absolutely NO SENSE AT ALL. As all the existing shares are owned by others, the only way this can be done is to issue new shares, which creates a whole slew of other problems. I do like how the twist had been buried all along. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Kismet Cowboy by Kimberly Krey

Payton vowed to keep her family together. Her father is the famous plastic surgeon, but her brother refused to follow in his footsteps and left Stanford to be a ho-hum ranch hand for the Branson Ranch. The semester is about to start, and she must bring him back... She did not expect to like Luke, the ranch boss, even though their initial meeting was outright hostile. But Payton, who also found that her fiancee is cheating on her IN PUBLIC, found that ranch life actually agreed with her far more than the glamour and glitz of LA. She wondered whether she really made the right choice about her life and her family, just as her brother made a different choice. Then her mother showed up...

Nice, a little rom-com, a little self-discovery, and a whole lot of sass, as well as good pacing. 5/5

GRR Reviews Guarding the Broken by Kirsty Moseley

NOTE: This is part 1 of the novel. The full novel is more than 600 pages long, so this does end on a cliffhanger.

Anna is the daughter of a senator running for president. But she's broken three years ago, when her boyfriend was murdered and she was raped and held prisoner by sadistic kingpin Carter for months until her accidental rescue during a police raid. But Carter has somehow gotten a new trial when somehow some evidence in his conviction had been "tampered with". // Anna had run off every "near guard" and the senator took the unusual action of entrusting her safety to an untried (but best in class) SWAT agent, Ashton, young enough to pose as her boyfriend, and handsome enough to be believed, yet lethal and protective. // Anna didn't want to be cold and unemotional, but it was the only way she survived her months of imprisonment and abuse. Ashton made her feel something, but she's still not over losing her childhood sweetheart. Can she learn to trust again?

The background of Ashton really makes no sense. SWAT members don't go to separate schools but are regular police that underwent additional training. And police academy graduates don't get to go into SWAT school immediately. Nor are they assigned jobs across the country, as there is no "national school" or even "state academy" for police or SWAT.  The rest of novel basically is Anna slowly succumbs to Ashton's charms and protectiveness, as he was able to read her like a book without touching her... Until exactly when she needed it. Nothing really exciting happens until book 2.  3/5

GRR Reviews her Horse Racing Billionaire Groom by Rachael Eliker

Clark is one of the Kelly brothers under the same deadline... Be married by Christmas, or forfeit his inheritance AND his charity to rehabilitate old racehorses, and he only has a month or so to find a bride. So when Maren walked through his charity's doors for an interview as the new communications director, he just about fell out of his chair. He and Maren were an item until he proposed to her (with a ring and all that) and she ran away. But that was many many years ago, and they are now professionals, and she is good at her new job, since he taught her the love of horses. And the fundraiser gala will be spectacular, esp. when a bachelor auction was included. Clark was sure Maren returned to his life for a reason, and he will woo her properly this time, but Maren's other ex is also dating her. What will Clark do to prove his love?

Somehow, the other guy, while successful in his own right, just didn't feel like a competition. There's camaraderie, but not the relationship spark. 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Football Star Billionaire Groom by Ellie Hall

Ryan was still reeling from his father's death... or that he must marry by Christmas or he won't get his inheritance and his charity will be de-funded. Running relaxes him, so he went running... and ran into his high school sweetheart, Rachel, back in town trying to pay her mother's medical bills by prepping and selling the house to pay for the treatment. They were running partners, then lovers, but fate separated them. Now that fate had brought them back together... less than 2 weeks before Christmas. And this time, Ryan is not about to let go. He agreed to play Santa for the care facility Rachel's mother was in, but Rachel's OTHER (more recent) ex also wanted her back. Ryan better steps up his game, or he'll be brideless by Christmas...

Somehow, this one wasn't quite as charming as the other books in the series, as her other ex somehow overheard a lot of secrets and used that to his advantage, i.e. "he's just after you to get his inheritance". 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Clickbait by Lisa Suzanne

Courtney built her blog about lists, relationships, and her love life into a real business. She has sponsors, and she dishes on all her ex's... Good and bad. And women appreciate her honesty and candor. She met Carter King and the initial impression was that he's a charming douchebag, and she turned him down flat, but he's annoyingly persistent. When her ex Liam came back to town but basically told her she's not good enough for him because his daddy is running for political office and she would be an embarrassment to the family, she dished that on her blog. She accepted Carter's date proposal, after finding out how much he *could* do for her due to his family business. But he had a hidden agenda of his own... It was clear they had chemistry together... And they are VERY good in bed. But when Carter disappeared for a night, and news reported him with his ex at a gala event, Courtney felt betrayed... and reported that on her blog... but when Carter's ex commented "it's not what you think", what was she supposed to think?

Plot was nothing new, but the rendering with modern tech (blog and following) was good. I'm just surprised that Courtney sees Carter's action IMMEDIATELY as betrayal, and Carter never explaining anything (typical alpha-douche behavior in romances) only adds to the melodrama. 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Protector Billionaire Groom by Taylor Hart

Parker, an ex-FBI agent, no longer has a job, thanks to his obsession finding what happened to his one true love, Arianna / Ari, who disappeared more than ten years ago. He used official resources without authorization, and was forced to take "early retirement". Then he got the shock of his life: His Ari is still alive, but attempting a kamikaze mission to kill a notorious drug kingpin to avenge her father (who testified and got the kingpin's father arrested, but was discovered while in WITSEC and was murdered). And it's going down at the Christmas Ball. She had cosmetic surgery and more and a new identity and became a Congressman's aide, and that congressman is courting this kingpin for his financial backing. Parker must rejoin the FBI, temporarily, not only to first thwart the hit but convince Ari to STAY undercover in order get juicier details so the good guys can arrest the bad guys... and Parker will become Ari's "handler"... And maybe Ari will be Parker's Christmas miracle.

As a romantic suspense, I'm afraid logically this doesn't really work. I can accept that Parker may be the best initial contact, and the "pretending to be her beach bum depressed brother" was initially amusing, but I already saw the twist coming, and having a shootout in the middle of Charles Degalle Airport tarmac? Hmmm... What would the French police have to say about this? Hmmm? 3/5

GRR Reviews Eight-one Nights by Georgia Cates

NOTE: Somewhat of a cliffhanger

Catriona, aka "Cate", is barely making enough to get by in Scotland as a student and part-time waitress. Her roommate introduced her to Inamorata, a discrete service agency where she can provide companion services. And Cate met Maxwell, who still can't get over his wife's death. Maxwell wants to try the whole "girlfriend experience"... Cate will be available to him 24/7  for 81 days (when summer ends), and what he paid, even minus the "management fee" will be enough for Cate to finish her degree. She gave him a new nickname, "Hutch". Can she be his girlfriend without giving him her heart?

This is basically the drama version of "Pretty Woman", and the author even admits to having recycled scenes and paragraphs from her previous works. AND it's got a cliffhanger where you have to find out of they get a HEA in the sequel. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews Tempting Levi by Jules Barnard

Levi is forced to retire from his firefighting career after an injury. He took over the family resort business after his father died, but he hates being in a suit. He needs a PA / Aide / Secretary... whatever name that goes by, but he needs one fast, because resort is bleeding money. He got one in the form of Emily... Except Emily is the little sister of his cheating ex... who slept with his brother, and betrayal still burns deep. But she has perfect qualifications, and he is attracted to her. He didn't know she wanted him for a very long time... but they have to put business first...

Good job adding some soap-opera worthy melodrama / family dynamics into a pretty stale "hot for boss" genre. 4/5

GRR Reviews Braydon's Bride by Kathleen Lawless

Braydon was raised by the women in a whorehouse and never knew who his parents were, only that he was unwanted, but loved. He grew up and joined the Mason "brothers" and took their surname with pride. Meeting Henrietta, however, made him feel inadequate. She's a globe-trotting adventure-seeking treasure-hunter that left Argentina behind, and she has no time for Braydon's usual alpha ways that would have local ladies swooning. She's busy hunting a treasure with her business partner Percy, and doesn't care about Mason's feud with the local kingpin Hawkes. But when she's implicated in a murder along with Braydon, can they get out of the investigation intact? And can she really walk away?

Somehow the reasoning for the decision to stay didn't quite make sense. Also, the bad guy didn't really do much if anything except to kill another innocent woman. The framing attempt was so inept that even the out-of-town marshal knew he's being played. Again, this reminds me so much of Cobra Commander. 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Country Star Billionaire Groom by Taylor Hart

JJ and his four brothers have just got their "weird will"... Their deceased father told them they have to get married by Christmas (about two months away) or they won't get their inheritance... AND their respective charities will be de-funded as well. // JJ just stopped for gas when he saw one woman he never expected to see again... Chantel, his first and only love, and he did leave for another military deployment, and she left him. Now he's back, minor one leg (but with a prosthetic), and took up a country singing career. But Chantel is leaving town, and on impulse, he followed her onto the bus, intending for a second chance...

A couple good twists and turns, but it's still not quite clear when the love was rekindled. In other words, the transition felt a bit too fast. 4/5

GRR Reviews Mud Pies & Family Ties by Dylann Crush

Motorcycle stuntman Dustin just became a national embarrassment when his stunt on a late-night talk show went wrong and sent the host to the ER. His agent told him to go stealth, so he went home... where he hadn't been back for 15 years. He met Harmony in town at the Lovebird Cafe, where she worked as a (very inept) waitress. The two had one awkward encounter after another, but he helped her out, and she temporarily adopts three baby raccoons (found inside her truck), and agrees to help him with his injured shoulder as she's much better as a licensed massage therapist. Dustin will even help her build her wellness studio, even as they rescue even more menagerie of animals (a de-scented pet skunk, and later, an injured emu). But when Dustin got a chance to be a star again, will he go... or stay?

Somehow, the final resolution didn't quite grab me. I understand WHY Dustin felt he had to go, but the reason he gave to abandon his career to be just a small town... what? Construction worker? Handy-man? It seems a bit vague. Rom-com is fine though. Emotional beats work great, with a proper darkest hour and grand gesture. But motivation felt a little lacking. 4/5

GRR Reviews Jack Be Quick by Fiona Quinn

Suz is an elementary school teacher with loved her students. Her lover, Jack, is an ex-SEAL and now works for a para-military contractor company Inniquis Group, who also helped her outfit her classroom with a special escape plan, hoping never to use it. When attackers swarmed the school and kidnapped two important kids, they failed to capture their third target in her class because she executed her escape plan. But instead of being hailed a heroine, she was instead suspected of being an undercover agent by tabloids... and made a target by the evil-doers...  // Jack can't believe Suz wasn't there when he woke up from surgery, the result of an injury on his latest mission for Inniquis to thwart another evil plot. It seems Suz, threatened by the evil-doers, decided to track down the two missing kids herself, hoping Jack and the rest of Inniquis would be able to follow her... and Jack will not rest until she's rescued...

Oh, very nice. If you just read the blurb, you'd think Suz is a TSTL secret agent wannabe who gets into stuff she can't get out of. But if you read the whole book, you'll understand that she was willing to risk herself, and trust in Jack and Inniquis Group to rescue her (and the two kids she wants to find and protect). and it actually made sense. The escape from classroom was also VERY nicely done, as was the other escape plan. The logic leap that made her a target again however, requires a leap of faith. Still, it's a good tale. 5/5

GRR Reviews A Lass for the Billionaire by Donna K Weaver

Eve, a traveling nurse, was glad to be on a wish-fulfillment trip to care for a girl suffering from lupus (and her mother, of course). But she didn't expect the leader of the trip, Darius, her high school best friend who kissed her, then never spoke to her again for 12 years. He broke her heart. Can she ever trust him again? Why did he never spoke to her again anyway? // Darius may be the business genius behind the billion-bucks REKT Gaming, but when he found that nurse they hired was his high school sweetheart Eve, he decided he'll go on the trip himself... but can he ever explain WHY he never spoke to her again... and about the past that he never told her before then?

Somehow, the threat just doesn't quite feel that urgent, but the Potterverse fan service was done quite nicely. 4/5

GRR reviews Don't Give Up On Me by Jodi Artzberger

Ryker, the new police detective in Otter Bay, knew he'll see Amanda sooner or later. Yes, he left her a long time ago for the military, but he didn't really have a choice at the time. She's the heiress of Cragge Automotive, after all, and he's just a kid from the wrong side of tracks, despite their high school romance. He didn't expect to be rescuing her from near-death in her office... again and again... // Amanda can't believe Ryker is back... She's STILL hurt after more than ten years. But someone is clearly after her... She was drugged and left for dead (and would have succumbed to carbon monoxide if Ryker hadn't shown up) once, then later, almost burned to death, except for Ryker's intimate knowledge of a secret entrance to her home. Who is after her? And can she ever forgive Ryker?

Let's just say the enemy is a plot straight out of a soap-opera melodrama, but the teasing clues have been dropped early that you actually *do* realize everything made perfect sense if you look back for all the clues dropped. Lots of references to Bible and God that don't quite feel contextual. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Rocky Mountain Retreat by Vivian Arend

Rachel has retreated to her cousin's remote cabin, hoping a little distance and alone time can help her recover from her heartbreak from her cheating ex. Then a blizzard brought her a surprise visitor... Lee, who's more than 10 years her junior, but never hid his desire for her. Stranded together by a snowstorm, and with great chemistry, it's clear they can be good together, but Lee told Rachel outright that this is NOT a one-night-stand... He wants forever with her, and he'll go as slow with her as she wanted...

Ah, slow-wooing, and a little bit of May/September. Nice, even though nothing really dramatic happened. 4/5

GRR Reviews Miss Behave by Traci Highland

Piper was inspired by her mostly absentee photographer/journalist father to be a big shot journalist, but she's stuck in a small town paper writing a popular advice column "Miss Behave", where most of her advice involved alcohol. She was hoping that her latest job, write about a local business, Brookes Jewelers, may give her a good show-piece for her new job in Chicago, but it's clear her editor, and Hunter, co-owner of the business, just want a puff-piece. Until the diamonds went missing... While Piper and Hunter unite to solve the mystery and navigate through two very different families, they discover some family secrets that shed a light upon them both... and some dark past...

Nice rom-com and the "dark past" is more of the embarrassing kind than the kind that wants to kill you. There were are a lot of quirky characters and family secrets that's kinda embarrassing, but that's rom-com for ya. Good twists and turns, and how love slowly developed. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Bella by Cynthia Woolf

Bella became a thief by necessity to survive the streets of New Orleans. She assuaged her guilt by giving away half of her loot from the rich to the poor French emigres in the city while saving up for her dream to open a French restaurant in San Francisco. But her last job didn't go as planned... While she got away, the police were after her. She signed up as the mail-order bride of Robert and traveled out west to Oregon City. She didn't know that Robert is the town Marshal... Or someone followed her out West, intending to take her loot for his own... When will Robert find out? What will he do? Will he able to protect her?

Nice adventure, good twists and turns, though why she just doesn't hold the evil doer at gunpoint for her husband is somewhat exasperating. 4/5

GRR Reviews Close to Her Heart by C J Carmichael

Dani is a professor, so an affair with a tenured professor wasn't a good idea, but the widower father Adrian was so compatible and swoon-worthy she succumbed to his charms. Yet Adrian always claimed to be protecting his daughter and won't commit to Dani. Then Dani found she's pregnant. She was the woman of the house raising her siblings after death of her mother. Is she ready to be a mother... esp. with the possibility that her baby may be suffering from Down's syndrome? And what about attention from her neighbor Elliot, who always wanted her, but it never seems to be the right time?

Nicely handled unrequited love with betrayal, aka A secretly loves B, but B is involved with C...  Elliot is one of the nicest guys around, and there's also a bit of "everyone but you" trope going on. Nice mix. It's just that you kinda feel that Dani is just too... weak. 4/5

GRR Reviews Sweet Liar by Laurelin Paige

NOTE: HFN ending, not exactly a cliffhanger, but read book 2 also.

Audrey is pretty, young, and romantic... well, not romantic enough to want an ever-after, even though she believe in the stuff. But she wants to learn sex first. And the teacher she picked is a much older ad exec by the name of Dylan. He's busy, he's been betrayed, he's experienced, and he's NOT looking for love, Exactly what both of them needs, right? But she's too young, practically half his age... and he can't say no... But can he keep his heart after tasting her innocence?

That's a VERY masterful narrative to make the "teach sex" trope dramatic and tasteful at the same time. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Last Chance by Natalie Ann

Riley left behind her dental practice when she felt uneasy and stalked. The strange empty cards, and phone calls that said nothing kept bothering her. She moved to Lake Placid and met local police chief Trevor when he needed wisdom teeth extracted ASAP. Trevor can tell Riley was afraid of something, and he wanted the life in town to be quiet and placid like the name, so that's why he wanted to 'save' Riley... right?

Good mystery and slow-wooing. The ending was a good twist too.  4/5

GRR Reviews A Negotiated Marriage by Noelle Adams

Molly and Luke have a marriage of convenience for already three years. He's the CEO, and she was one of the employees. They don't actually have sex, and that's why he wants to renegotiate the terms and add it to the agreement, without emotional entanglements. But she's not the kind that can have sex without giving her heart... and her "husband" never said he wanted it... or even has one...

Hmmm... the trope was subverted by making them already in a marriage of convenience then adding sex on top of it. I'm just not too sure it was explained well enough why Luke was the way he is, and how did living three years with his "fake" wife softened him up. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Bride School: Gen by Bella Bowen / L L Muir

NOTE: Bella Bowen is LL Muir's penname

Genevieve Carnegie has returned to the place that once wronged her, but she's now rich, and she can do much much more. She has returned to the small town in Wyoming, with her entourage of female protectors and staff to take over the Zollinger ranch, because it belonged to her as the rightful widow, no matter how Devlin, her former brother-in-law, ran her off. No matter how she was hoping for Devlin that romanced her, not her brother, from that fateful first meeting, even though she had NEVER strayed. She will turn the place into a Bride School to teach a generation of western brides, learn everything from cooking to shooting. And Devlin... can go hang himself. // Devlin can't believe Gen is back, and just took over his ranch. He had wanted her once, but his brother is the one getting married. And his brother expected them to go at it (and they never did)  But no matter. He has staff to keep and cattle to wrangle... and his money are all tied up in the horses at the moment, and losing them was a huge blow. Good thing the sheriff owed him a huge favor... but even then someone was sabotaging the ranch, then burned down the new town hall Gen paid the townsfolk to build. Devlin wanted Gen, but she won't live long enough for him to marry her if she kept making enemies...

As a setup, it was pretty interesting that they automatically assume it was the other party that did the damage, and each has perfect reasons to expect so. That was masterful plotting. The ending where they should co-exist, however, felt a bit like deus ex machina. And the rest of the ladies on the ranch? Well, they barely got a mention. Not even Gen's bodyguard. 4/5

GRR Reviews Planet Single by Maggie McGuinness

Katerina was launched into "Planet Single" without warning when her husband of over a decade and the father of her children announced he wanted a divorce because he didn't feel the spark anymore. Angry because she hadn't been getting any (sex) for years, and she felt she was the one being wronged, they quickly separated and went on their ways. But Katerina's friends all have different ideas on how to leave singledom... while Katerina wondered where her libido had gone off hiding. Was it her job or her life that bored it into hibernating? She went on dodgy dates, get to know some strange characters and making friends while eyeing potential co-workers. But can she find herself first?

At over 400-pages, this book just feels about 100 pages too long, but that could be just author's style. Banter is witty. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Honeymooner by Melanie Summers

Work-a-holic Libby was about to marry her fiancee, the steady-as-a-rock Richard, and become the perfect power couple. They even agreed to use the honeymoon trip as a part of her work in evaluating a resort for mergers and acquisitions for her job. So she was utterly shocked when Richard did a runaway groom and canceled the wedding via text... that coward! But with no choice but to go on a honeymoon trip as a single, she traveled to Paradise Bay with two goals 1) get Richard back, and 2) get the resort owner Harrison to sell. And Harrison... well, wanted to change her mind by inviting her out on various adventures. Libby now is conflicted. She can see why Harrison is failing and can find plenty of room for improvement, not necessarily be acquired. But she's also discovering a version of herself that she hadn't seen for many many years. Which version is the real she... and which one does she wanted to be?

As you may guess, Richard comes back at the worst possible time to basically force a confrontation (albeit, im a more rom-com way). But the combined self-discovery and falling in love combined with conflicted loyalties never really gets old. 4/5

GRR Reviews Betraying the Billionaire by Victoria Davies

Julian wanted to take his company to the next level, and marrying one of the Abbot sisters will gain him access to the European market and the prestige of their name. So he proposed a marriage of convenience. What he got... was not what he was expecting. // Holly was always second best to her twin sister Lillian. But when their father told Lillian that she had to marry Julian to save the family business ("think of all those jobs and retirement plans"), Lillian disappeared. No matter, said father. Holly will pretend to be Lillian while the family locates her. But Julian wasn't what Holly (pretending to be Lillian) expected, and Holly fell for the man... as the wrong twin. When the deception was revealed, who will come out whole?

Normally twin-switch-a-roos end up being comedic. This one was drama all the way, lots of reluctant love, disguise, and conflicted loyalties. I was just surprised at the unredeemable douchiness of the father, who, even in the epilogue, remains unredeemed... but not destroyed. Missing that bit of karma. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Bradley's Bride by Kathleen Lawless

Amanda's mom knew a secret that protected them from Hawkes, the evil land baron who bought off the sheriff and intended to possess the whole county, and the only ones in their way are the Mason brothers. Her secret almost cost Brody and his new bride their lives, but also brought them together. Amanda was also pining for a different Mason brother, Bradley... // Bradley never really knew where he came from, and only found refuge at the traveling circus when the grandmaster took him in. After he grew up, he chose to settle down with the Mason brothers and took their surname, and Amanda seems to be the only one who sees him as he is. And when her home was violated, and her secrets may have been stolen, Bradley will become her protector... and maybe discover a secret he never really wanted to know...

The struggles are good, but it's again, stemmed from deep-rooted inadequacy. And the escalation was nice. But with SEVEN volumes to work on, and Hawke's schemes are dismantled one bit at a time, while he keeps coming up with more, I am getting flashbacks to Cobra Commander.

(For those of you who don't get the reference, Cobra Commander is the evil leader in the "G I Joe" children's cartoons. He's always swearing he'll be back after each defeat.)  4/5

GRR Reviews Sweet Tea & Second Chances by Dylann Crush

Cassie left town to chase her own dreams, leaving Robbie behind. A decade later, after her grandmother died, Cassie is back to prep the house for sale. And it just happens that Cassie needs the proceeds to fund her restaurant buy-in with her partner/boyfriend. But she needs a contractor fast, and the only contractor who has time in town happens to be Robbie, her old flame...  But Robbie has his own problems as his pa, the old sheriff, is dying fast, and Robbie was sorta seeing Caroline, except she's away in South America at the moment...  and his pa had been hiding secrets... It had been over for years between Cassie and Robbie,  and they are on separate paths... right?

On the one hand, I like how the characters are set up, but it also relied on cliche such as "sins of our fathers", basically older generation meddling in the younger generation's lives "it's for your own good, at least I thought so." And the darkest hour turns out to be not that dark after all. 4/5

GRR Reviews Bon Bons to Yoga Pants by Katie Cross

Lexie is pretty, and she knew she's overweight... over 250 pounds at age of 22... But eating for stress relief had her stuck in her ways. Fortunately, there is now an incentive... She's obsessed with Bradley, a handsome guy who seems to be into her over FB... With her younger sister's wedding coming in a few months, and she's the maid of honor (and Bradley will be there) she's determined to make a change, by joining the "Health and Happiness Society". But as Lexie slowly comes to grips with her weight problem, and the pounds started to come off, will Lexie figure out WHY she overeats, and will she see the root problem of her self-image?

Great rom-com with a lot of self-deprecating humor about her own weight, as well as going into the core problem of eating as coping mechanism to stress. It's also a bit of self-discovery. Even Bradley's too-good-to-be-true persona wasn't a total cliche. 5/5

GRR Reviews Flight of Hope by HJ Bellus

Marlee lost her love. She fell in love with Bentley back in high school. They were homecoming king and queen. He joined the military and served several tours, but he survived and got back albeit with PTSD, and they finally got pregnant. Then it fell apart in an instant... A car accident left her scarred, babyless, and a widow. She ran away, living in an Airstream (RV) and subsisting on mainly vodka and PB&J sandwiches...  hiding in the outskirts of a small town. And that's where she met Caleb, and his far more famous brother, Jed, a single father with his own hidden wounds...

WARNING: there is no "happy" ending. You'll shed tears, lots of tears, and the intro feels really, really long, as there are significant time jumps. The book opens on Marlee running away, then jumps back to her high school days and how she wanted Bentley back then. We slowly progress through her life with Bentley, including marriage, his deployment, back to "present", then continue through her arrival in town, meeting Caleb the store owner, and Jed (and his son). Love the book, but it somehow just feels way too long already, as if it's two books joined together.  4.5/5

GRR Reviews Choose me, Cowboy by Barbara Ankrum

Kate won't admit she never really gotten over Finn, even after six years. She just dates and never commits. Enough so her family wanted to run an intervention. After all, she's the kindergarten teacher in Marietta, Montana, and she needs to act prim and proper for her young students. She was shocked when she found that the new 5-year old twins in her class is none other than Finn's children, and Finn has been back in Marietta for a few months (and has been a single father for several years). Furthermore, Finn's ex Melissa, mother of the children, now wants to contest custody, after marrying a rich international tycoon. Kate offers herself as the logical solution: get married and present to the judge a proper family. It would just be a marriage of convenience, right?

While I like the tension, and the bull-riding bit was good, the end solution felt too much like a deus ex machina. 4/5

GRR Reviews My Christmas Fiancee by Serenity Woods

Maggie reinvented herself as Meg, and moved across New Zealand with her son for a new start. Now she's Meg, blonde, and sophisticated. She found a job as PA to three top execs, and she wore a wedding ring to ward off suitors, even though she sensed that Stratton, one of the execs, may be interested... // Stratton may be a lover, but he never goes for a claimed woman, like Meg. Stratton is pursued by Natalie, who is basically stalking him and making scenes, so convinced that they'll be good together, she will change his mind. Stratton was so desperate, he came up with a desperate plan: get a fake fiancee to scare off Natalie. When Meg's stalking ex showed up, Stratton was able to fend him off to protect Meg, and the plan solidified... Meg will be Stratton's fake fiancee. They can solve each other's problems. It has nothing to do with love... right?

Now that's some plotting. Though both of them beset by a stalker problem? What a coincidence. :)  Still, everything is plausible, no obvious plot holes, and yes, there are some steamy scenes. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Sometimes I'm In My Feelings by Anna Black

Anika, Mia, and Legacy go through life in the city, with men they like to f***, men they want to live with, and men they like to kill... well, not literally. Anika, aka "Nini", found herself forcing to make a choice: love someone that can destroy her, or love herself first. Mia found herself a side piece for so long he ended up going back to his wife and kids, leaving her abandoned and alone, despite she being younger, more beautiful, and better in bed. And Legacy, mama to two children, is tired of her man straying and put down an ultimatum... She deserves better, and she'll get it...

This is a three-volume set (600 pages) that  I'm honestly not sure what to think about this collection. It just seems all the characters are douchebags, esp. the men, but the women are hardly blameless. One husband chose to take on a side piece (Mia) from work while his wife goes through post-partum depression, promising Mia "I will leave her, but I have kids so I need to be delicate". So when Mia got tired of being a side-piece, he goes back to his wife, who's through her depression, lost the weight, and started to care about her looks again. But now wife's a jealous possessive b**** who looks over her husband's shoulder at every turn, which makes the guy want to get Mia back. In a different part of the story, Anika finds a kind, rich, handsome guy, who likes her a lot... except he doesn't have a BBC, unlike the multi-timing douche she had been bonking. So now she can't decide whether to keep the nice guy or go back to the unfaithful but oh-so-good cock. You get the idea. It's just very DEPRESSING to read, as if these characters are only driven by their baser-instincts, lust, possessiveness, envy, and so on, instead of love, HEA, and all that. If you dig this sort of "urban drama", you'll probably give it a higher score. I'm not enjoying it, but I appreciate the effort and I can see some people dig this stuff. 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Wild Coast Haven by Dakota Davis

Cody and Jared left the big city hustle behind (and death threat from a crime boss) for the crab boats of Alaska to make a fortune and create their dream: a special camp / boarding school for kids. They saved each other lives many times over. They share in EVERYTHING... including women. Now they have the seed money saved up, they just bought the land. They can build cabins and classrooms, but they need a teacher... Enter Tasha. // Tasha found out that her ex, a pharma rep, had been selling prescription stuff "on the side". Add to it that she can't have children, she divorced him and left to teach in Alaska, but it's not a permanent position. Tasha was happy to learn that Cody and Jared are hiring, and if she's willing, she can enjoy BOTH of them at once. When she learned that her ex is being investigated by the DEA, she wanted to testify, and that's when she got the first blackmail contact...

The "bad guy", IMHO, was too stupid to count as a real threat. And the link to her ex was never explained. Menage a Troi is definitely hot though. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews The Temptress by C J Fallowfield

Lulu came from a distinguished background. Her father works with British Intelligence, but she didn't want government service. So she created "Sweet Temptations", a honeytrap agency, to test men (and women) for their spouses, and if the customer pays well enough. to MANUFACTURE proof of straying. But her personal life floundered, for she's a single mother with a son from ONE blessed union with a Frenchmen, Luc in Paris, who's so skilled and so loving, she had not experienced such passion EVER SINCE. But due to circumstances beyond her control, she lost contact with him, and held an everlasting regret since. Her latest job came as a personal request by a Mrs. Le Grande, who flew to London specifically to meet with her, and offered up a 7-figure fee to "prove" her husband had strayed.  Seems Mr. Le Grande comes to London for a few days every week. So Lulu wore her disguise and approached the bar... and got the shock of her life... For Mr. Le Grande is none other than her Luc. Now she's caught between her job, her status quo... and her love for Luc... And Mrs. Le Grande won't let her walk away that easily...

Very good, and very hot sex. Though the frequent flashbacks to six years ago and back to today had robbed the narrative quite a bit of the momentum, IMHO. I personally would have started in the bar, as she approached the guy (she didn't know is Luc), then start the flashback, continue until they lost contact), rather than jumping back and forth between present and past. The motivations even make sense. One last remark: the first thing a blackmailer should do is to make sure there's nothing that can be held over the blackmailer him/herself, and let's just say, Mrs LeGrande didn't do that. But how that's found was a bit too... easy, as if it's a deus ex machina.  4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Last Chapter by Michelle Alstead

Emma is a single mom with an ASD child that has been kicked out of every pre-school. Only very expensive out-of-pocket therapy sessions helped her son learn ANY coping skills at all, and even that, he doesn't seem to use very often. Her husband just didn't want her anymore. Even her novels are bombing badly. When she's fired for taking time to get her suspended son from school, she wonders if she'll ever get a break... // Ethan is a Hollywood heartthrob, but he doesn't want to dress up in superhero tights or be a rom-com lead anymore. When he found Emma's novel by accident, he realized this could be his chance to be taken seriously... but first he needs to meet Emma and secure film rights... This also brought him into contact with her ASD son, and he's surprisingly good with him (for he had studied ASD parenting for a role he planned to take on). But Emma can't possibly let Ethan marry her...

Eh, love it right up to "I love you, and because I do, I'll have to hurt you to leave me so you can find someone better because I'm not worthy" moment. ARGH. And that wasn't the darkest hour. There's one even darker later. The pacing just feels off. The details about life with ASD was very good, 4/5

GRR Reviews Worth the Risk by JB Heller

Abe has been assigned to protect Kallista, only to realize he had a one-night-stand with her at her friend's wedding months ago. Kallista is a good person and has no idea why she's getting these vague threats or why her father would pay for a 24-7 bodyguard. Nor is she some damsel in distress that's going to swoon over an alpha macho protective guy, even if that guy had known her very well indeed... So who's really after her, why, how can they solve the problem once and for all?

I find the book good at some parts, bad at others. Abe seems to flip between alpha lovable jerk and cold-protective bodyguard, as if he can't be both at the same time. There's a twist when one of the attackers was unveiled, and it's pretty good. But let's just say what followed really made no sense. The big battle was chaos, the multiple viewpoints and time-jumping didn't help. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Small Town Rumors by Carolyn Brown

Jennie Sue is back in town... by bus. And the small town of Bloom TX is buzzing. She, the high school queen bee, was supposed to be in New York, enjoying a nice alimony settlement in a penthouse after divorcing a tycoon. In reality, her assets are all frozen when the tycoon was suspected of financial malfeasance and she had no choice but to come home, and those she alienated back then are talking behind her back and enjoying her reversal of fortune, now working as a house cleaner, living in a garage apartment, and dating a simple farmer, Rick. // But Jennie Sue is enjoying her new friendship with what could have been her enemy Cricket, Rick's sister, regardless of the town chatter. But rumor also has it that Jennie Sue may be leaving... and she has to convince Rick that love can keep her in Bloom...

Nice set of quirky but not weird characters, a down-and-out heroine, and a bit of unrequited love with a reunion that is not quite bitter, but definitely sweet. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Two Last First Dates by Kate O'Keefe

Paige had enough of her e-mail marketing job under her toxic boss and her previous "last first date" (i.e. finding Mr. Right) crashed and burned. She needed to find herself and quit her job, fast. Fortunately, her best friends are there to help, even as she found a temporary job at the Cozy Cottage Cafe. She met Josh, the friendly coffee delivery guy, and he's nice, but not really... sparkly. Her friends decided to help her by helping her choose Mr. Right for her, while she concentrated on finding a different job, even as she met Marcus, man of her dreams. Just about perfect, hot, charming, good job, likes her... She wanted to date him. But did her friends pick Marcus as her last first date?

Good chick-lit rom-com moments where the heroine has to find herself AND her love at the same time. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Claiming Her V-card by Lindsey Hart

Blaze is the smoking hot boss that seems to have a different women every week or even every day, and all the female employees ogle him every day. Except Colette. She can't stand the guy. When the internal app contest was announced, Colette was surprised that the prize was... "anything you ask... within reason".  So guess who won? Colette, of course. So what favor will Collette ask her smoking hot boss? "Please take my v-card."  Even she can't believe she asked him of that. She didn't know Blaze wanted her for a long time, as she's the forbidden fruit, the only woman he can't seem to charm. He will woo her properly, to get her warmed up, else it won't be fun.  Maybe he isn't the jerk he seems to be?

It's a LITTLE better than I expected, as after the initial meet-cute there was some heat and deeper character development, but I never really got the "sass" or "chemistry" between the two. And the darkest hour is basically a confession, then it's a slightly novel variation of "run away to sort my feelings". 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Wild Coast Rescue by Dakota Davies

Tim lost his brother in a huge train derailment fifteen years ago. Now, he's a mountain rescue tech, specializes in rappelling down helos, first aid, wilderness survival, and mountain rescues. He knew he wanted to give back, but as an EMT, he knew he had to harden his heart, if he had any after losing his brother. Until he rescued Matt, and his sister, Sarah, from a mountain. // Matt and Sarah were climbing McKenzie when he suffered a bad fall and major head injury. Sarah was a nursing student, and through her skills, Matt's condition is stabilized for rescue by Tim and his crew. Tim and Sarah felt an instant connection neither can deny. But does Tim still have a heart to give? And Sarah will be gone one day, when Matt's condition was resolved, one way or the other... Right?

A short novel (120 or so pages), there is actually quite a bit of plot. Rescue details are authentic, though it did sort of revert to "trauma leading to sudden realization" trope that has little to do with the FMC. One also questions how did Tim get his bedrooms skills if he's such a loner? ;) 4/5

GRR Reviews Sleighed by Annie Dyer

Zack runs his senior care home in his small town Severton. He goes on long hikes and visits local bars with his brothers and friends. Things are great. Until he found that Severton's latest resident has hired away most of local contractors to build her hotel, leaving his Christmas plans for his seniors in ruins. He'll give her a piece of her mind... // Sorrell bought the place, hoping to be settled with her fiancee into a quieter life away from the city hustle. Instead, he broke up with her. Now she's alone in a new town, too financially committed into this project to let it fail. Meeting Zach, angry over loss of his contractors, wasn't initially pleasant, but her baking skills and friendly disposition soon won him over. //  Severton is a friendly town that lends a hand, but Severton also has secrets and dangers. When one of Sorrell's employees may have met with foul play, Sorrell may need Zach's rescue skills...

Good pivot from a bit of rom-com to a bit of romantic suspense. But really, one TSTL moment: why didn't she call for help sooner, and think she can do everything herself? 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Second Chance Unforgettable Groom by Kim Koby

Jett's entire family is in turmoil. His brother is lying in the hospital, brain-dead, for weeks, since a skiing accident. His wife wanted to let go. His mother refused to contemplate it. Seeking some peace, he entered the hospital's chapel, and found someone he never expected... Brandy... His first love... someone who left him ten years ago. // Brandy thought Jett was her soulmate, but as Jett became a football star even back in high school, she felt overwhelmed, and she had to let him go to live her own life. Now she's a nurse in the Neo-natal ICU, and Jett is even more handsome than before. Neither had ever forgotten each other. But is that enough for a second-chance relationship?

Short novel at 121 pages, all the proper bits are handled, and the novel started us at a nice dramatic low-point in the character's lives, and slowly raised them higher, first apart, then together. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Weight of Life by Whitney Barbetti

Milla was just a Yank tourist visiting London when a mugging almost sent her into the Thames river. But Ames was there, saving her. And a bond is formed. For Milla is there to get away from her grief over her boyfriend's death and write for her twin brother's travel blog. But she's just a tourist and her time in London is limited... // Ames was still dealing with grief over death of his wife, and live with his in-laws who depend on him. His bar is running okay, but his restaurant that he wanted to fix up? That isn't going anywhere just yet. His sister-in-law wanted to sell her dance studio and use the money to travel, giving the rest to Ames, but Ames is adamant that she mustn't do that, that she must keep something to come back to. But does Ames have a plan for his own life? Does he want to see how far it can go with Milla? Or was it just a fanciful dream?

I find myself a bit conflicted over this book. The book is about conflicted loyalties and responsibilities. Milla is conflicted between herself, her devotion to her dead BF, to her living brother and her family, and maybe, to Ames, if he wanted her. Ames is torn between his responsibility to his in-laws, even though his wife's dead, to his bar, to his dream about the restaurant, even though the restaurant may go nowhere, and should he have a go at it with Milla. Physically, nothing much actually happened plotwise. It's all about the angst, about what could have been, and what can still happen. Somehow, this didn't quite measure up to her previous book that I reviewed  Ten Below Zero.  4/5

GRR Reviews The Jilted BIllionaire Groom by Jennifer Youngblood

Sunny Day (not her real name) left her job and her life behind to save her nephew Ian, who witnessed something he shouldn't. She's now working as a hotel maid in Utah, hoping to stay far away from the bad guy's radar. Bad guy had already taken her sister's life and left Ian an orphan. She never expected to run into her high school crush, Finley, in Utah of all places... // Finley still can't get over being dumped on national TV. Reeling from shock, he left Dallas behind to hide on a family-owned hotel in Utah, only to run into Ian and Sunny. Feeling an instant attraction to her, yet not knowing why, he knew he had seen her somewhere before, Finely wanted to woo her, but she has her secrets to keep...

FOUR problems with the plot, which


CONTAINS SPOILERS


YOU'VE BEEN WARNED


A) Ian just blurt out the secret in his nightmares?

B) A child's rambling is worth killing people over? Fancy lawyers can knock that down easily.

C) How would Finley's family doctor's intern recognize the boy anyway? Where's the link?

D) And the intern wanting the money for himself? Instead of sending a real killer? Phooey.

2.5/5 due to these plot problems.

GRR Protecting What's Mine by Hope Ford

NOTE: 35-page short

Charlie grew up with no one. She knew she can only rely on herself. Now as an alarm and surveillance installer for Alpha Security, she earns a good living. She knew she's a BBW, and she's tired of assholes trying to hit on her while at work. So when a restaurant manager got a bit too handsy on her, she put a knee into his groin and left, promising to finish next day, WITHOUT the creep. She wasn't expecting to be met by the owner, Brody, who promptly fired the asshole on the spot. // With one look, Brody knew Charlie is the woman for him, if she can just let down her guard once and let him in. He will protect her and make her his. But doing that, will take a lot of patience...

Not much plot here, but it is kinda sweet and steamy. It is insta-love, but that's exact what this is. Though it did resort of "run away to sort my feelings". 3/5

GRR Reviews Love Comes for the Army Ranger by Savannah Adams

Chase returned to the US minus a leg, but also with his service dog, medically retired like him. He went back to his hometown to figure out his future. When the dog injured a paw, the only veterinarian around is his high school crush, Lori, who left him... // Lori felt relief about the death of her philandering husband... and shock upon seeing Chas again. Chase wanted a second chance with Lori, but Lori wasn't about to try again, even with Chase. They settle into a friendship... Until a secret from Lori's married past threatens to tear them apart...


The veteran issues are handled nicely, just not too sure about the relationship itself or the darkest hour. 3.5/5