GRR Reviews Christmas Dreams and Santa Schemes by Barbara Lohr

Sarah is a recently widowed single mother and the bakery she runs is slightly behind in taxes. She's already working all the time and raising two sons but she's worn out and needs help. And the only one available is her brother-in-law Ryan, her husband's "loser" brother, already working full-time as a motorcycle mechanic across town, after a motorcycle accident did give him an epiphany. But Ryan also made a promise to his brother to take care of his Sarah in case anything happened to him. So every day, after washing the smell of motor oil off his hands, he learned to make lemon bars and chocolate cookies and more beside Sarah. There is a growing attraction, but both denied it.. despite Holiday magic...

A bit of "awwwww", it's basically mutual denial angst. The two kids are used sparingly though the "Santa's wish" was done right on the money. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Finding Southern Comfort by Barbara Lohr

Cameron did not expect to see Harper back so soon, applying for the nanny position. Cam had seen Harper not too long ago, as a dancer in Catwoman costume for a bachelor party at his mansion. He did enjoy her sass and spunk, and his daughter Bella really does need a nanny, even though neither Harper nor Cameron is good with the toddler. But then, Cameron's existing GF, TV personality Kimmy, is even worse. When Kimmy was a no-show for the gala, Cameron decided to dress up Harper as his date, and almost burned down the dance floor. But Harper can't fall for his boss, even if he's showing a southern comfort side she'd never suspected...

Nice, good background pieces, though Kimmy never really had a chance. 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Favorite Mistake by Barbara Lohr

Vanessa wants to take her cake business to the next level, and joining a reality show where entrepreneurs decide if they want to coach her would give her the exposure and help. What she didn't expect was for one of the coaches on the show to be her one-night stand in Vegas from four years ago... // Alex, internet mogul, definitely recognized Vanessa from four years ago... She slipped out before dawn, and Alex was tempted to exact revenge... but he's also intrigued by her... and her child. After, he's her "favorite mistake", right?

Eh, didn't feel much with this one. Just doesn't feel that memorable. 3/5

GRR Reviews Southern Comfort Christmas by Barbara Lohr

Cameron is about to marry Harper, but the two families can't seem to agree on anything, as one's from Chicago, the other from Savannah. There are no agreements on venue or menu. Harper's mom wants to give Harper her old wedding dress, but it won't fit. Harper found that without the "Missus" to her title she can't do much to help Cameron... esp. after Cameron broke his ankle on a job site. And the disagreements just keep getting worse, even after the whole venue was moved to Savannah from Chicago. Harper's interior design business was also running into some problems with the bluebloods. Is there a way for this couple to have a blessed drama-free Christmas and wedding?

NOTE: This is technically a sequel to Finding Southern Comfort, and you'd get more out of this novel by reading the previous ones in the series. Some parts did drag a bit, as the complications did spin in a couple different directions. There's Harper's work, Cameron's work, Cameron's kid Bella has problems at school, the wedding planning, the two families didn't get along, their respective families "meddling", and so on. Both have pretty big families, so it can get a bit complicated keeping track of everybody. But the book felt longer than it actually is. 4/5

GRR Reviews Late Bloomer by Barbara Lohr

Carolyn is back in Santa Fe to visit her grandmother, and to care for her as she broke her hip three months ago. And she ran into Brody, one of her students years ago. He was a jock, and he set the record for detentions due to way too much female attention and other disruptions. But he's now a proper man. And grandma, aka "Mama V" has a new beau and recovered completely, and encouraged her to have a fling with Brody... and Brody is certainly not a kid anymore. But can Carolyn ever see Brody is a man, not as a former student?

Awwww, a nice job doing a May-September romance that has just a HINT of that taboo feel. 4/5

GRR Reviews In His Eyes by Barbara Lorh

Diana came to Gull Harbor for love, but stayed for the friendships. She had too many sob stories to know men are seldom what they seem, but Will may be the exception to the rule. Will is the admin for a local nursing home, and Diana found herself volunteering to keep a lot of seniors happy. And Will too. But one accident in the kitchen sent her reeling when she was wounded, and may have lost some of her beauty, the only thing she had going for her. Then her sister dumped a surly niece on her (then jetted off with BF on a vacation). But Diana recognized a wounded soul, for she was like that once. And perhaps, Will will not abandon her in her time of need...

The plot points don't quite flow right, and feels like pivots rather than escalations. The seniors are a nice touch, but the "niece" was introduced way too late and felt "tacked on" plot point. And Will came off as a bit of a milquetoast.  Else the score may have been a little higher. 4/5

GRR Reviews Always on His Mind by Barbara Lohr

Mercedes lost her advertising business and her New York condo, and was forced to move home to Gull Harbor. Her elitist boyfriend was ignoring her. Mercedes ended up with a job cleaning vacation rentals, and reconnected with high school lab partner Finn, who's now a gorgeous hunk... and richer than she'd ever expected. Mercedes also found herself a bit jealous of her sister Kate, who had met a local guy and is about to get married. Finn had always been fond of Mercedes,   and it's been ten years. Will Finn convince Mercedes to stay for good, or will Mercedes go back to the city?

Sweet, and clean. Mercedes was a bit of mixed bag... true to life as she admits to being a bit envious of her sister, and not willing to sit still (even clean vacation homes if she had to). OTOH, I don't see why she'd expected her boyfriend back in the city to change.  Finn is nice and sweet, but that's what a long-nursed infatuation would do to you. OTOH, it also made him a bit flat. 4/5

GRR Reviews Coming Home to You by Barbara Lohr

Kate is returning to Gull Harber after ten years to help her mom... and needing a place to figure things out after a divorce. The town is changing fast... and the boy she was crazy about back in school, Cole,  is now a single father that's trying to rebuild the town. But Cole also broke her heart by dumping her before prom. Now, Kate needs Cole's help to get her flower and plant stand up and running, while Cole needs Kate's help to care for his eight-year-old daughter, who needs some good female influence, either from Kate or her mother, who's recovering from dementia. But when Cole's plan for a downtown building runs against Kate's desires to keep the town the way it was, will their love survive?

Somehow, the threat is mostly in Kate's mind... as a bit of guilty conscience, as she ginned up some posters against Cole's plans to tear down some downtown building to rebuild it as a hotel to attract more tourist dollars. And she's like "Oh, how I misjudged him, therefore I can't be with him." Sheesh, just confess and let him decide, okay? The small town charm is there.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

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