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 Keith by M S Parker

Keith can't believe his brother, Matt, is willing to marry a spoiled socialite Nikolette just so her daddy will save his family foundation with a cash infusion. Keith met schoolteacher/waitress Veronica at a social event, and despite being attracted to her, decided Veronica is much better suited for his brother Matt. So he set them up together on a date, to break up Matt's plans. Let's just say nothing actually happened according to plan...

Nice, a very nice mix of tropes, and a couple surprises along the way. It's Cyrano mixed with a marriage of convenience and a sibling triangle (of sorts). I kinda hope for bigger karma on Nikolette though. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Wingwoman by Bella Jewel

Tiani has a very odd job. She is "wingwoman" for hot CEO Reign Braxton, a guy she will NEVER fall for. Reign is in love with Selena, but she cheated then left him. He wants to get her back, and he figured the best way to do it is to make her jealous, but he can't deal with the crazies, so he hired Tiani to "vet" his one-night-stands. Yes, it's a real job. EVERY woman would fall for Reign, but Reign just wants Slutlena... I mean Selena. Tiani knew Reign is charming, but Reign doesn't have eyes for anyone else... Or does he?

Interesting twist on the Cyrano / Everyone but you tropes. Even though when the women turned bitch-y it gets a little stale, and Reign really is a jerk, but the emotions of possessiveness and envy were actually handled very well. 4.5/5

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 Rebound by Aidy Award

Warning: HFN ending, sort of a cliffhanger, 3-book series

Angelina hates being a doormat, and finding her fiancee cheating, then being called chubby was the last straw, no matter what her parents say. The only one who seems to understand her is Grayson, her bodyguard. Yes, she has one. She really REALLY want to seduce him, after getting a hint that his tastes run toward the darker side... but for revenge sex? Angelina will get her freak on by finding two hot guys and getting some menage a troi... // Gray knew what Angel wanted, but what he wanted from her will break her, because he's already broken, and he won't be her rebound. But he'll protect her... He'll vet the men she invited into her bed, he'll control the action, and he'll save her from herself... and himself...

Very interesting take on the kink lifestyle. The mythical "gentle dom" and the slow introduction of an ingenue into the kink lifestyle certainly takes a couple interesting twists here. Gray doesn't participate except spectate, yet there's no denying he's the dom, yes, over the guys too. There's certainly some MFM action, and quite a bit of sex. The series continues in Rebellion and Reignite.  If you like the sex, this is 5/5, lots of "reluctant lover" stuff.

GRR Reviews Cowboys Don't Marry Their Best Friend by Jessie Gussman

Ames and Palmer are best platonic friends. She was an ex-winter Olympian. He's just a rancher in North Dakota. Yet they grew up together in Sweet Water ND, and had always played together, and knew each other extremely well, just not... that way. But Palmer's family farm is barely hanging on, not enough to pay the mounting medical bills. And Ames is just vacationing, as she has interviewed for sportscaster positions in Los Angeles. When Palmer got a chance to receive 1 billion dollars from an eccentric billionaire with a couple conditions, including "getting married" and "stay in North Dakota forever", Ames wants to set him up with her female friends. Palmer already has one candidate in mind... But can he justify asking her to give up her own dreams?

Very nice... VERY nice. Channels a bit of "indecent proposal", a bit of "gift of the Magi", and a great twist at the end (let's just say, the story doesn't quite go where you expect it to). 5/5

GRR Reviews I'm With Cupid by Sarah Spade

Cole is a cupid (yes, no capital C). He was recruited by Eros to help mortals fall in love, yes, arrows and all that. And cupids are immune to the arrows (job security)  He was about to finish his quota for the year, just before the time window closes, when somehow, despite his invisibility shields, he was spotted peeping (just making sure the couple is together) by the female subject's feisty cousin Sheila. Which is then he found out he has ZERO powers. No wings, no arrow, no invisibility shield. Now a mere mortal, Cole's only hope was to convince Sheila that he needs help to go home to Philadelphia and report to his boss Eros... // Sheila has pepper spray in one hand and car keys in the other, and she's chasing down the peeping tom... When he stopped. His story is crazy... Cupid? Arrows? Magic powers lost? But somehow she believed him. Sheila is now on a quest from Salem to Philadelphia to get Cole back so he can get his cupid mojo back. Cole may not be able to fall in love... but Sheila found herself attracted to the wingless cupid...

Ahhhh...... cute! And you'll like the twist (i.e. the reason why Cole's magic vanished)  5/5

GRR Reviews Not Quite Dating by Catherine Bybee

Jessie is a single mom and waitress. She has no time to date, but a charming sorta-broke cowboy is starting to wear her down. She already shot him down several times, but he's persistent. But Jack is not who he seems... // Jack is the heir of a hotel empire, but so far he's finding one golddigger after another. So when Jessie didn't know who he is, he decided to pretend to be "just" a humble cowboy / waiter, and pretend to help her find her a rich husband. But it's that pretense that would come to bite him in the rear later...

Awwww, that's cute. While we've seen the plot before, rich guy pretend to be normal to woo normal woman, this one has excellent polish and enough twists to keep you reading. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Lost Chance Boss by Jennifer Youngblood

Reese loves her boss, Adam, but her boss had married her best friend, and she can't get between them. So she simply wished them the best and went on working for him as his assistant. Death of his wife didn't really change things, until one day, he admitted his love for him. And he kissed her, but she can't... and Adam promised never to bring it up again. Four years later, Adam's daughter wanted to put him up on a blind date and wanted Reese to show Adam how to date again. Reese is extremely conflicted. She both wanted Adam to be happy, and jealous that it wasn't with her. Can she admit to herself that she should go for what she wants... Or will she stay safe and not risk her heart again?

Sweet, but the threat a bit... Meh.

Spoiler: It's a ploy by the daughter to push them both together.  Though the combination everyone-but-you and Cyrano plot was a great rom-com plot. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Heart Throbs by Karen Tomsovic

Amanda and Darrel were once an item... okay, twice. The parting was amicable, and they went on with their respective acting careers. Years later, Amanda is about to retire from her role in a hit sitcom, marry the non-actor lover, and achieve her HEA... Until Darrel came to town as the guest-star on her sit-com for a week. What's worse, Darrel is also there to get married... to a woman Amanda wouldn't wish on her worst enemy, much less an ex-lover and friend. Now Amanda has to choose between her comfortable HEA... or a chance for something greater...

I read this twice, but maybe it's due to pacing, or something else, the story never really drew me in.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Her App, A Match, and the Billionaire by Maria Hoagland

Lizzie created a special dating app that can customize a users' profile to their matches, and went on the national TV show "Tech Tank" to land an investor. Lizzie got only one offer... And it's only a provisional one from Dawson Fitzwilliam, the most tech-savvy, but also the toughest and most skeptical of the tech CEOs. // Dawson has his personal reasons to avoid dating... or dogs. When Lizzie's diabetic alert dog approached Dawson, Dawson blundered on TV. To make up for it, he offered Lizzie a 30-day provisional contract, and himself as a guinea pig: match him with someone to prove it works, and he'll back the app. // Lizzie was not looking for love, nor was Dawson. But as they work together, they seem perfect for each other... Until one of the fellow Tech CEOs on Tech Tank apparently cloned Lizzie's app... and now Dawson must step in to make things right..

A little bit of Cyrano (as Lizzie didn't put herself in the app as a potential match, except for demo), and the threat (the clone app) was meh. The push-pull is not bad, and the tech seems right on. But it just wasn't that... romantic?

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Electric Blue Love by Rebecca Jenshak

Bianca is a college girl that has a crush on Todd, but she's average looking (so she thinks) and Todd obviously has her in a friendzone. Then her fellow passenger on the plane offered her some advice... His name is Court, he's an older businessman, he'll help her get the attention of Todd. But as the continued to talk, they ended up falling for each other. But Court doesn't really want a relationship... Will Bianca find out why?

Good meet-cute, and decent push-pull. Got a hint of Cyrano, and a bit of a triangle setup.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend's Sister by Meghan Quinn

Bram had been in love with her best friend's sister Julia for a very long time. The problem is... he can't think of a plan to woo her, when she's way too busy as a matchmaker running her company "What's Your Love Color", without getting flak from his two best friends. When he finally got a plan, he engineered a loss in their fantasy football action, then chose the penalty: be matched by Julia's company, to get close to her, and hopefully, convince her that she's his perfect match. But things never go the way that was planned...

Ah, the loveless matchmaker trope, but this is a very nice take on the whole thing. Bram was a bit of a filth talker and Julia seems to blush when Bram started to talk dirty, but it's mainly to rile her up a little. The actual push-pull was quite nice.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews The Husband Maker (Vol 1) by Karey White

Charlotte is sometimes called Charlie, and by some of her closest friends, "Chuck". But her strangest nickname was "The husband maker". Every one of her boyfriends went on to leave her, and to marry the very next girl they fall for. But no, not her. Charlotte thought her streak was finally broken when Kyle swept her off her feet. They were deeply in love, and he's rich and caring man. He's also a senator's son with political aspirations, and a wife can only help that. But when a reporter fabricated quotes from Charlotte to fit her attack agenda, will their relationship withstand the test?

Very rare for romance, this ends on a SAD note. In fact, it's argued by many (most?) romance authors and reviewers that a "sad ending" book CANNOT be romance, but merely "fiction with romantic elements". While I enjoy the struggle, it's also a bit sad. And their story will continue in the next volume. I am not sure about the reporter's angle. It seems to be out of nowhere.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4)

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews The Importance of Getting Revenge by Amanda Abram

Lexi, a high school student, was dumped by her boyfriend of three years, Jeffrey... on the night she planned to offer up her v-card. And the only one who can really console her is the one guy she can't have... her best friend's brother Jase, her former childhood friend, and her ex's school nemesis. Then Jase offered her a chance to get revenge... Jase will fake woo Lexi to make Jeffrey jealous, and Lexi will refuse to take Jeffrey back, completing the revenge. But soon, things got very complicated indeed... When Jase wanted to get together with Kylie, the hot (and genuinely nice) cheerleader, while avoiding his own reputation of having dated most of school's female blonde population, while Jeffrey seems to be still stuck on the new girl she dumped Lexi for, despite them needing to do a project together... Then Jase's friend and Jase's sister also got involved, and soon, fake jealousy turns into real jealousy, and what you want... isn't always what you get...

Reads a lot longer than it seems, at 323 pages, this high school drama feels YA, but a very mature YA. Sex was discussed, but nothing beyond making out. And what was supposed to be a fake boyfriend story got a couple twists and turns to it. It's good, but a bit slow.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews A Bride for Tom by Ruth Ann Nordin

A Bride for Tom is a pretty basic triangle novella that just felt a bit too simplistic in the characters, but that may be due to its limited length.

Tom Larson gets super-clumsy and tongue-tied around women, but he's desperate to move out and create his own household. When Tom managed to be refused by most of the town's single women at the town barn dance, Jessica Reynolds decided to help him overcome his awkwardness. But Jessica is already engaged, and even as she's failing to rehabilitate Tom's reputation, Jessica realized something... Her fiancee has no backbone (everything's controlled by his mother) and Jessica found herself attracted to the kind Tom instead...

Not bad for a short, as it's sweet and all that. A bit too overly dramatic, perhaps, but for novella it's actually decent.

Category: Historical/Western

Primary Plot: Engaged woman agreed to help a man rejected by all the girls in town, then she realized the rejected man is really nice...

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Dear Jane (Animal Attraction) by Marissa Clarke

Dear Jane has enough angst and tension to be a good romance, with family drama, work drama, a bit of taboo ("daughter of the boss"), and some fun bits.

Jane Dixon cannot get a boyfriend. NONE of her prospects got beyond a second date. Usually, some sort of disaster happens, from accidental coffee in the guy's crotch to tablecloth going up in flames, it seems there is nothing Jane can do to get a break. She's also burned out at work. She never really wanted to be a lawyer, but her family had always been lawyers... esp. when her father was also her boss. Her only solace was in her rescue cat Gandie (Gandalf) and her platonic co-worker Eric. // Eric wanted to be a junior partner, and he'd worked at the firm for years, rose from nothing. He had a crush on Jane, but there's a very strict non-fraternization policy at work, not to mention she's the boss's daughter. He just needs to make it six more weeks to the review... In a moment of insanity, he promised to set her up with his friends... but when disasters keep happening, he had to offer her solace. Soon they realize they are really into each other... but they have their respective careers to think about...

Ah, this is a good rom-com, with just sufficient angst. The darkest hour was a "I don't care about your explanations!" "But it's not what it seems..." but the resolution to that is brilliant.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman didn't want to be lawyer / Platonic friend promised to be Cyrano / Are they into each other instead?

Overall Rating: 5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Assistant - Part 1 by Sierra Rose

Billionaire's assistant is basically a "hot for boss" / enemies to lovers story and having been cut into 6 parts, it's a bit short, and obviously, it ends on a somewhat of a cliffhanger.

She is Abigail Wilder, PR maven. He is Nick Hunter, her worst nightmare client... always getting in trouble of one sort or another, needing her to dig him out. His father is tired of his antics, and his company board wanted her to leash him until the merger goes through without more PR disasters... and one of the ideas floated was finding Nick a girlfriend. And Nick really is a good guy, except his mind doesn't go where you'd expect it to go... But Abigail will do her best to accommodate all client requests... Including finding Nick a person to date...

So basically you have PR spin doc ended up doing matchmaker / Cyrano too, and predictably, by the end of this book, after a few dating disasters, Nick demanded that Abby be his next date. It's funny, and some of the antics are quite good. But the cliffhanger let me a bit underwhelmed

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: PR Maven needs to rescue her client from PR disasters... and dating disasters

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Good Cop (Heroes of Henderson Book 1) by Liz Kelly

Good Cop, despite the title, is a love triangle story that didn't really involve much police work. It's about friendship, unrequited love, and a bit of Cyrano all mixed in into a rom-com.

Brooks Bennet and Vance Evans were sports heroes of the town, but they have opposite styles when it comes to romance... One's the good cop, and the other is the bad cop. (They're actually cops too) They need an impartial referee on which way works better, and who better than their best female friend, Lorelei "Lolly" DuVal, the little girl that always followed them around since when they were young? Except Lolly ain't so small anymore... Lolly wanted a fling that "lights her fire" (figuratively, of course!) and teaching two delectable cops about romance sounds like a great idea... at first. But as Lolly falls for both, and both cops started to back off for each other, it'd be up to Lolly to pick a winner for her heart.

Funny AND poignant, as it's as much about friendship (and sacrifice) as it is about love, with a lot of quiet chuckles and amusements. There are no cheap laughs here.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young woman who used to be "little sister" to two cops had to teach them about romance, but which one would she choose?

Tropes: triangle, law enforcement, friends to lovers, Cyrano

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Her Best Match: A Romantic Comedy by Tamie Dearen

Her Best Match managed to showcase how a mismatched couple romance should be written, with a lot of "help", more than a few mishaps along the way, and characters that show growth throughout the book.

Anne Best is getting a bit bored after raising two daughters alone in Texas after death of her husband. She, on a lark, decided to apply for a job in New York city referred by a headhunter, figure that she'd at least see NYC that she'd never seen. She did not count on being called to interview for PA position for billionaire Steven Gherring, who's not only one of the city's most eligible bachelors, he wanted to stay single. However, his Gram wanted very much to change that status for him. Gherring had already ran off most candidates and Anne was the only one who went toe to toe with him, earning his respect despite lacking PA experience. Anne is both clumsy and fearless in tackling her responsibilities including her boss, with two exceptions... she refused to participate in public speaking, and she avoided her own feelings. When Gram recruited Anne for finding a suitable woman for Gherring, Anne chose to ignore her own feelings for the frustratingly handsome billionaire. How can a guy like him be interested in an old widow from Texas? He, however, has other plans as well...

The book deftly mixed tropes such as matchmaker, different worlds, Cyrano, family expectations, and more. Add a bit of suave French seduction, some Gherring family secrets including a manipulative ex, and the "action" is non-stop. Furthermore, the book is PG rated with no sex! I'd say this may be one of the best clean romances I've read (and I've read over 1000 romances by now)

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: A widow with grown children went to NYC for an interview, got hired as billionaire's PA, then was enlisted by his grandma to pick his prospective girlfriends... Could she be in love herself?

Tropes: fish out of water, different worlds, hot for boss, matchmaker, Cyrano, family pressure, single parent

Overall Rating:  5/5