GRR Reviews Love & Deception (Agents in Love Book 1 by Chantel Rhondeau

Love and Deception is a contemporary romantic suspense novel that has some good plot twists even though the characters seem to make some rather irrational decisions (but then, this is romantic suspense).

Carlie Hollis had been hiding for six years, desperate to stay hidden against unknown enemies that wanted her dead. She wanted to stay in Sayle, Washington to run her deli, so she cannot reveal to anyone her true identity, and her past. Until she met Nick Kendall, who came to her rescue in the karate dojo. They slowly fell in love. Nick is actually a secret agent in a ultra-secret agency tasked to protect the US through ANY means necessary, and his superiors are convinced that Carlie was a terrorist hiding something that can devastate the US economy. When Nick obtained the truth from Carlie, he was not believed. When the order was passed on to terminate Carlie, Nick did the unthinkable: he activated his bugout plan and took Carlie to Canada... but their enemies found her there...

Without any spoilers, you'll learn why did Carlie had to hide, why was Nick sent after her, why was he not believed, and how the whole thing will be wrapped up near the end, and I can not spot any holes in the plot. My problem was Nick's personality. If he was really that much of a trained agent willing to do anything for his country, would he really commit treason to save the woman? And how can he know he's the only one assigned to the case when this woman was the key?

Category: Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Man must befriend a suspected terrorist, who turned out to be just a woman in hiding; but why? Can he save her?

Tropes: disguise, evil boss, conspiracy, protector, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  5/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Unexpected Gift - Cali's Story by Chantel Rhondeau

Unexpected Gift is a holiday romance between an ingenue and a recluse, a little bit like Beauty and the Beast, if you will, that the beauty eventually drew the recluse out of his shell. It's a bit unconventional but cozy and no sex, but also non-religious.

Aspiring decorator Cali Johnson moved all the way to New York City and found a cheap place to live in the Bronx... and was destined to spend the Thanksgiving alone in the Big Apple until she found a cat wandering the building, which led her to the building's recluse, Marcus Ritz. Marcus refused to meet face to face, only wanted to meet her on phone and later, facetime (but his face never appeared), but he seems to be extremely rich, despite his gruffness. And Cali fell for this mysterious man, hard. Will she find out what ailed him and help him get over it... by Christmas?

Cali was just naive enough and good-hearted enough to be willing to entertain a cat and the reclusive owner, and the recluse was just lonely enough to allow her in... if only a little. It's an interesting fairy tale retold in a contemporary setting, and it's a fun cozy read.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Kind and cari the g Ingenue in Bronx gets to know the rich recluse in the same building and taught him Christmas Spirit

Tropes: different worlds, recluse

Overall Rating: 4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Love's Ride (McCallister's Paradise Book 4 by Chantel Rhondeau

Love's Ride is about romance and wish fulfillment, as well as survival and struggle, but there's a deeper theme here about trust and earning such.

Brad McAllister always felt left out. He thought taking over as the manager of the resort from his older brother Quinn (book 1 of series) would have made him feel better, but now he's watching his siblings finding their life partners, and he's feeling left out, because he wants only one woman... the island's psychologist, Chelsea Taylor. Chelsea loved the island and the large family of employees, but she wants a bit of adventure, for she had some childhood fears she's trying to work through. So when Brad surprised her with a two-week survivalist getaway on the island, away from his meddlesome family, she couldn't refuse. But the first thing she did was steal his satphone, so he can't call for help at the slightest problem. Little did they know their little adventure in paradise will turn into a real fight for survival...

As you can probably guess, the phone and half of their supplies was lost due to an accident and both were injured, and both had to figure out a way to get back to civilization, as well as work through their trust issues to find love.

The author has consistently delivered above average romances with a slightly deeper theme than usual, with enough plot to be entertaining and romantic. I recommend this series to anyone who wants some good romances.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man wants to take prospective girlfriend out on survivalist trip; ended up in real struggle to survive due to trust issues

Tropes: resort, forced proximity, scars, protector

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Cooking Up Love by Chantel Rhondeau

Cooking Up Love is a tale of a chef falling in love with a single mother trying to get away from her abusive ex, but also about what one will do for love (without breaking rules). It is a well-polished addition to the "McAllister's Paradise" series.

Elaina Turner won an ultimate vacation getaway on McAllister's Paradise, an exclusive island resort just off Hawaii with her daughter, and she already knew she didn't belong, as her clothes came out of Target or thrift stores. But she needed to get away from her ex who got her pregnant before 18, was violent with her, and threatened to take away her daughter. She did not expect to meet Shane McCallister, head chef of Paradise Point restaurant. Shane is also part owner of the island. Shane has interest in her and her daughter, but she had to keep him away, because her daughter really has attachment issues and is looking for a father, and she just cannot see Shane being interesting in more than just NSA sex. Shane had gone off to Paris to cooking school, and he had made several bad choices and gained a reputation for being a player. When Shane showed interest in Elaina, his family fear the worst, not to mention it's highly frowned upon for the staff to get involved with guests, even if he's a McAllister. Then Elaina's ugly ex re-entered the picture...

The tension of the ex was ratcheted up just in time to make things interesting, as is Shane's reaction to such by playing dirty hardball. Both sides have reasons to stay away, yet both sides can't fight the attraction they are feeling for each other. The reluctance is mutual, and that added to the tension, as the novel is expertly plotted and I can see no logical problems.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Single mother needed to get away from evil ex falls in love with chef of the resort who has reputation of being a player

Tropes: evil ex, single parent, small town, resort

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Diving Into Love (McCallister's Paradise B by Chantel Rhondeau

Diving Into Love is about the ability to let go, and leave abuse for true love, but also about what one can do for love, even deception.

Sierra Burns had the been kowtowing to her mother forever. While having a vacation on McAllister's Paradise, an island resort just outside Hawaii, she "borrowed" a horse from the stable and almost ran down Parker McAllister, the reputed playboy of the family. Sierra's unexpected sass was fresh to Parker as he's not used to girls who talk back to him instead of being awed and charmed, and Sierra wasn't sure that came over her as she's usually non-confrontational. Next day, a confrontation with her mother left Sierra bleeding and bruised when her mother pushed her into a glass table. Sierra finally had enough of having her life ran by someone else and walked out, leaving her trust fund and "lifestyle" behind, even if she'd be left with nothing... no cash, no phone, and almost no clothes. Parker took her in and arranged a job for her, as he tried to help her become independent, and eventually, he shared the story about his own heartbreak... he was friends with the local masseuse, and she insisted he kept their relations a secret... Until it was discovered that she provided more... intimate massages, complete with happy endings, and she was quickly kicked off the island. Then suddenly, she sent a nanny with a baby that she said was Parker's, complete with papers giving up custody. Parker barely had time to reconcile the fact he's a dad and Sierra agreed to be a mom when that darn masseuse is back on the island... alleging that the baby was kidnapped by Parker and the documents were forged... and she's willing to cut a deal with Sierra to ensure they both become rich...

Interesting spin control on how many ways one can try to wheedle money out of richer people, even using baby as a weapon. The evil was... well, at least that trick was clever. But I knew the twist coming ahead of time. And it's actually quite plausible as she had been acting a role all her life. Overall, quite enjoyed the story.

Category: contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman pushed around by her family finally broke it off and settles with reputed playboy, who has his own crisis to handle...

Tropes: different worlds, triangle, betrayal, evil parents, protector, woman in peril, sudden baby

Overall Rating: 4/5

GRR Reviews For Love or Charity (McCallister's Paradis by Chantel Rhondeau

For Love or Charity flipped the trope by making the woman the rich and powerful one, and both FMC and MMC are generous people, but FMC had a bit of trust issue, and MMC does need her money... For his charitable project. So the motives are suspect. It didn't help when MMC was keeping a secret for someone else and that may harbor a timebomb for the relationship later...

Sydney McCallister has a rich family who owned an island resort, but she had to work like everyone else, and she chose to run the McCallister Foundation, funding various worthy causes, from New York. When Matthew Coleson got screwed by the government's reduction in budget, and turned down by McCallister Foundation for their grant, which was the last one available, he went to the office to argue his case, only to make a spectacular ass of himself. When Sydney's office was trashed then tagged with threatening graffiti, Sydney was sure it was Matthew, but a confrontation later and a make-up lunch showed that Matthew was much kinder and deeper than Sydney suspected, and Sydney understood his mission to rehabilitate former drug users by providing housing, counseling, education, and more. As they work to discover the identity of the person who threatened Sydney, they fell for each other. But the doubt was always there... was Matt there for Sydney's money... or was he there for Sydney? And what other secrets may Matt be keeping?

The characters are well-rounded, and the grand gesture was really cute. However, the book feels like it ran a bit long as it tried to introduce yet ANOTHER complication in the relationship AFTER the MMC's grand gesture for the darkest hour and the resolution from that, making for a somewhat strange emotional flow, as if the book was made longer just to resolve that plot point.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Guy needed money for charity falls for the rich girl who had no more money to give; does he want her or her money?

Tropes: different worlds, protector, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Murderous Lies by Chantel Rhondeau

Murderous Lies is a romance that managed to fit among the pages of a serious serial killer mystery.

Max Kensington returned to the town he grew up in after spending 8 years on death row for a murder he did not commit. He was finally released when a new witness came forward. His return to town was not welcome, esp. by his ex-fiancee, Rosemary "Rose" Spelling... because the murder was of her little sister, Sage Spelling. Sage's death also sent Rose's mother into the insane asylum, and Rose, who had a music scholarship, had to abandon her dreams and take up waitressing and gas station attendant just to pay the bills. Max was anxious to prove his innocence, as it's the only way to get his life back to normal with Rose, and even as Rose doubted Max's guilt, new deaths started to occur, and in a small town, EVERYONE is a suspect... and no one is above suspicious, even best friends and police...

Let's just say I didn't see the murderer coming, as it did came out of the left field, yet there were some clues left here and there. And yes, whoever commit the atrocities was VERY close to Rose. And that's all I am going to say. It's a interesting mystery, despite the extreme violence.

Category: Romantic suspense

Primary Plot: Man Returned to Home After Exonerated of Murder and was Shunned by Town; Can He Find the Real Killer and Reclaim His Love?

Tropes: law enforcement, enemies to lovers, reunion, small town, scars

Overall Rating: 5/5