GRR Reviews With This Ring by Debra Clopton

 

Jessica moved to Windswept Bay with her son Kevin to take the job as a teacher to get away from her overbearing family after the death of her husband two years ago (who died in the line of duty saving another family). She is not ready for love, and she can't fall for another man with a dangerous job. But Kevin wants a daddy and was disappointed when there's no daddy under the Christmas tree. When Kevin managed to drag the police chief Levi to the class show and tell, and announced that Levi will be his new daddy, neither Levi nor Jessica were ready to deal with the fallout. Levi is definitely the town bachelor, having put career and town first, and definitely hunky. But now he can't even shop without being accosted by single moms desperate to make his acquaintance. Jessica knew she's getting the evil eye from other single moms in town, even as she tried to explain there is nothing between her and Levi. Yet they keep running into each other. But can Jessica let go of her grief long enough? Or will a bachelor auction including Levi be the final incentive for her to go all in? 

Good fun, with the bachelor auction being the final grand gesture, from woman to man, for once. It just felt a bit overdramatic. But it's a fun read nonetheless 4/5

GRR Reviews Where the Stars Meet the Sea by Heidi Kimball

Juliet and her little brother Harry were taken in by her titled aunt after the death of her father, a Scottish sea captain, and her mother, a titled lady who eloped for love. Juliet knew she would receive her inheritance on her 21st birthday, and she will have no nobility title. Until then her disapproving aunt controlled everything, including sending Harry off to a strict boarding school in London. Forced to accompany the family to visit Shaldron Castle, Juliet only wanted to keep to herself, as she does not know how to react to her cousin (her aunt's son) who professed to love her. A chance encounter with a boorish stranger with a walking stick caused her to lose her temper and control of her tongue. She was shocked to find out this is none other than Duke of Halstead, her host. She was shocked again when the duke seems to express an interest in her, even as he was supposed to marrying another titled lady. It was clear the Duke cares not for the expectations upon him, not even by his own mother and grandmother, esp. after an injury that crippled him for life, and caused him to withdraw from everything, esp. love. Neither expected this friendship to grow, but it did. Yet, her evil aunt has an ultimatum for her that will destroy her dreams.. 

Okay, the plotting and the angst is quite good, as the setup and push-pull was done really well. However, the ultimatum and the resolution really makes no sense. While the darkest hour was well done, the way from there to the grand resolution seems to have taken a few too many turns and as a result, the momentum was lost.  4/5

SPOILER

AHEAD

YOU'VE

BEEN

WARNED

Basically, the evil aunt threatened to take Harry from the boarding school (where he's hazed by the blue bloods because he's just a commoner) and drop him off at the dock so he can be shipped off as a cabin boy (the way to work your way up to maybe captain one day), if Juliet won't marry her son. Juliet was forced to accept, but a month later, decided she can't live with her decision, and will protect her brother some other way than kowtowing to her evil aunt. So she rescinded the acceptance. Then her evil aunt produced a letter from the school's headmaster, stating that her brother had run off from school leaving a note stating that he's going to join a ship, which was what he wanted anyway, as he can't take another day of the horrible school. Juliet then left her aunt's house and made her way to London trying to find her brother by prowling the docks alone...

This makes absolutely no sense. The aunt's LEVERAGE over Juliet was hinged on Harry staying in school. If Harry had escaped, there is no leverage. Showing her the letter was out of pure spite, and it was also revealed that her aunt really just wanted her inheritance, which aunt will control as her assets will belong to her new husband, which is aunt's son. For money, the aunt is willing to bind two people in marriage that do not love each other, basically ruining two lives, yet there was little background on WHY she would make such decision. That's a very "flat" villain. Coupled with lack of leverage, and the glee she produced the letter to force some anger/sadness out of Juliet, feels VERY very flat and ruined a great setup for the angst-y romance. 

GRR Reviews From This Moment On by Debra Clopton

Cali, disillusioned by her failed marriage, returned to Windswept Bay to run her family boutique resort, vowing to never love again. But when the famous mural painter Grant arrived to paint murals for her resort, she found herself wondering if her vows may have been premature... // Grant survived a plane crash that killed his best friend and his pilot. He hadn't thought about painting for a long time, but a promise is a promise, even if it's just a promise to his neighbor. Meeting Cali was a breath of fresh air, and for the first time in months, he felt alive... // As both circled each other, each must bare his and her own emotional wounds... can they trust the love they feel? 

Nice, but Grant also felt a bit TOO nice. 4/5

GRR Reviews Take a Chance on Me by Becky Wade

Eli is an air force pilot who wanted to date the town baker Penelope. However, in their last meeting, he forgot to mention that he's due for a deployment to the Middle East soon and while they did have a good time right up to the point she found out, she's hardened her heart to all airmen, because they are all cocky bas****s who can't be trusted. She tried to trust one, only to be betrayed. Months later, he's back stateside, and he wants another chance, and helping his best friend's family, which happens to involve Penelope's sister, through a medical crisis after a difficult birth, is a perfect opportunity to convince Penelope that he may be the one for her... 

A novella at just under 100 pages, it actually contains a good amount of plot and some good back-and-forth between Eli and Penelope. 

4/5

GRR Reviews Melody's Christmas by ID Johnson

Melody lost her father two Christmas's ago, and had lost all interest in music and holiday spirit. She only came back to help her mother keep the family antique business afloat... and she needs to work fast, as the business may be foreclosed on if she dawdled. Meeting the new handyman in town, Reid, was a surprise, and so was meeting his adorable five-year-old. Did she put her life on hold for grief? // Reid had to leave town after his wife left, leaving him to raise his son alone. He moved to the small town for a fresh start, and it's clear that his son is smitten with Melody. But is his heart ready to try again? Can he get her back into the Christmas spirit? 

Clear but not too overly Christian themes, not too heavily handed, good use of kid's cuteness. But nothing truly extraordinary either. 

3/5

GRR Reviews Marrying Mister Perfect by Lizzie Shane

Jack is a single father and heart surgeon, handsome as sin, loving as a father can be. It's no wonder he got picked as the star in the new season of "Marrying Mister Perfect", a "The Bachelor" style "reality show" where a dozen women will vie for his ring(s). So why did Jack agree? He agreed that he's way too comfortable with Louisa, Jack's wife's friend, who fell into the nanny role after his wife tragically died... and she just never left. It's clear that she felt obligated to him and his family, and perhaps, finding a wife for himself would finally free Lou to chase her own dreams... But what does Lou want? Will Jack realize what he wanted was there all along? Can Jack let Lou know esp. when the camera is always rolling? 

Nice twists and turns, even though the angst is seriously high about how they claim to be sacrificing their own happiness for the other, but it ended up more like "the gift of the magi". 

4/5

GRR Reviews The Mixtape by Brittainy Cherry

Emery is a single mom by choice, keeping a secret even from her own daughter, and she's barely making things meet. Struggling to hold onto a bartender job, she cannot afford to have any disruptions, or she may be unable to keep a roof over their heads... esp. a disruption caused by a teenage idol like megastar Oliver // Oliver felt adrift with no direction since the loss of his twin brother and bandmate. He self-medicates with alcohol and let himself be used by a woman he used to love. When he caused an incident at Emery's bar, causing her to lose her job, he seems to have found his purpose in life: to make both of their lives better. He hired her as his personal chef, and she became his confidant. But his evil ex is not ready to let him go, and Emery found that the secret she kept was returned with betrayal... Can they heal each other? 

While good, it's not like extraordinarily good. While I like the secret twist, and the "bad family" angle, and still have it making sense at the end, was pretty good plotting, having MMC go with FMC to home to discover the secrets feels just... off. The paparazzi angle lede was buried very nicely. 

4/5

State of GRR: Slight signs of life, and some trimming needed

Sorry to keep you dear readers waiting, but here's an update. 

I have finally got a new job and will slowly get back into reviewing books. It won't be multiple books per week, but it'll start back up again.

I have also noticed many reviews had been duplicated, so I will have to go on a purging journey as well. 

I will be posting a few new reviews after this post. Yes, it has been a long 18+ months. But rest assured, I'm still reading and reviewing romance novels.