GRR Reviews The Billionaire Bargain by Lila Monroe

 Aussie billionaire Grant Devlin is an impulsive man who jets off with supermodels and, blows 500K in Monte Carlo casinos, exercises shirtless in his office, and basically lives life to the excess, leaving Lacey, the PR girl, to clean up his mess in his wake. As a result, Lacey understands the charm of Grant Devlin, and how he's utterly undependable. When Grant is forced to present a calmer, more refined image and settle down to soothe the investors, he chose Lacey as his future wife...

Not really feeling much about this one, as Grant is alternately reckless and dreamy, and Lacey is alternately charmed and sometimes broken from the spell. A bit of "meh" here. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews Always Will by Claire Kingsley

Selene is doing great professionally, but not so well personally, as she keeps finding and dating losers... But she's kinda addicted to "bad boys" who leave her frustrated. When a man from her past is the new owner of the company, she's at a quandary what to do next... // Ronan plays to win, after a personal tragedy changed his view on life. He was shocked to find the woman who haunted his dreams is now one of his employees. He must have her... but can he keep her?

Eh... I'm not too sure about this one. Ronan just doesn't feel that sympathetic at the beginning. It wasn't until we learned about WHY he's that way that he became a bit more likable. I'm going to borrow a term from screenwriting... The main character seems to be lacking a "save the cat" moment, to prove he's not beyond redemption. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Rough Around the Edges by Laura Westbrook

Chloe just started her job as an assistant bookkeeper at Jackson's construction equipment company, while keeping a secret: she inflated her resume a bit. She hoped to learn the rest on the job under supervision. Jackson is a hands-on kind of boss... When Chloe arrived, he had his head through the ceiling installing a network cable for her computer, that Chloe mistook him for a contractor at first. Jackson also commutes on his motorcycle and kept up his physique that all females appreciate, including Chloe. When Jackson's bookkeeper quit, Chloe found herself the head bookkeeper, in way over her head, and keeper of a secret... Jackson may be contemplating selling the company. In order to save her job (and everybody else's jobs too), Chloe has to do something about her growing attraction to her boss...

A couple minor things stood out for me... a) Generally a network cable install goes through the walls, not through the ceiling tiles, and doesn't involve drills, esp if one can use those adhesive cable anchors to the walls. b) I don't quite understand Jackson's personality... he's either the strong and silent type (toward Chloe, almost embarrassing her), or the wonderful boss helping his employee out type (that she found out later). The two don't really mesh... But Chloe's solution and the slow-buildup is pretty good. 4/5

GRR Reviews Your Irresistible Love by Layla Hagen

Ava is the new marketing consultant to help Bennett Enterprises ace their new jewelry line launch. She's a loner that prefers the itinerant lifestyle, a few months here and there. No strings, no attachments. While her nominal boss, CEO Sebastian Bennett, is gorgeous, she won't get involved with a client, because it's written in her employment contract: no fraternizing. But Seb is already intrigued... esp. with his family nagging him about not having a woman... And they do have chemistry together. But the problem with a secret liaison is secrets eventually leak...

The darkest hour seems a bit forced, and the "bad guys" never got any karma. 4/5

GRR Reviews Lessons from a One-Night Stand by Piper Rayne

Austin is the teacher and baseball coach at the Alaskan high school for the town of Lake Starlight, for the past nine years, having given up on his dreams and moved back home for his family. Holly is the interim principal taking on a job for just a few months. Unfortunately for Austin, Holly was also his one-night stand, steaming up his jeep windows two nights ago. Austin can't believe he liked his boss, but she's not staying around. Then he finally got the news he dreamed of: being a professional baseball assistant coach for a college. But can he leave his family behind, when Holly may be staying?

Both Austin and Holly are on a quest to find themselves and what they wanted in life. Both are surprised to realize what they really wanted... is there all along! Nice character arcs. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Crush on You by Amelia Wilde

Roman, now controlling the family Bliss Resorts, is a demanding boss. So who is this total babe claiming to be his new assistant? Turns out, she's Jenny, former high school schoolmate (and with a hidden crush on him). But he can't be distracted, even if Jenny's oh-so-tempting...

Tries to pivot onto a sort of disguise/mystery/undercover thing, but it's mostly "hot for boss/secretary" trope. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews her Guardian Boss Fake Fiance by Sarah Gay

Samantha moved across the country to start a new job around Christmas break and met Teddy, her new boss, at the airport. He invited her to dinner, where she found his ex Tisha was stalking him, so she pretended to be his fiancee and he agreed. But when their car leaving dinner had a collision, Samatha was paralyzed... and Teddy married her to make sure she got better. Almost two years later, Samantha has recovered from that day, and Teddy is often there, but he has a job running a travel empire. Teddy told her that she'll let her go at 2 years. And she told herself it's best for him too. Why can't they admit their real feelings for each other?

Not really feeling the Christmas magic for this one. Circumstances are contrived, and why does Teddy feel so "responsible" for her injury that he married her while she's still loopy from the pain meds? 3/5

GRR Reviews her Generous Billionaire by Juliette Duncan

Marcus is still grieving over the death of his one true love and wife. He doubts he will ever love again. In the meanwhile, he provides for his disabled mom, but he's busy and he needs to hire a caretaker... // Tiffany is a single parent raising two kids after an ugly divorce, and a caretaker job is perfect for her. Meeting Marcus... well, he's her boss. She can't get involved with him... But when he had to choose a date for a charity ball, and a sticky (and icky) ex wanted to be his date, he quickly decided Tiffany would be a much more suitable choice after all. But that dance soon turned into something more. Yet are either of them ready for love, much less with each other?

Pretty standard hot for boss, albeit as a nanny/caretaker role with senior instead of kids. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Kiss Me at Midnight by Lucinda Whitney

Celeste just wants her job as aquarium's head caretaker to continue. She is a single parent whose ex prefers to party with the boys than his parental duties. However, the aquarium is closed pending disposition by the new owner, and it's clear that her direct superior wants her gone, one way or another. When the new owner turned out to be Filipe, her dead brother's best friend, whom she hadn't seen in a decade, she's conflicted... Can she trust Filipe in anything? // Filipe just wants to complete the hotel renovations. Aquarium seems to be just an extra problem on his plate... until he realized who works there... a woman he abandoned so long ago out of guilt and shame... His brain says sell the aquarium and get out. But his heart says stay and help her... Can he ever confess his sins?

Good and understandable reasons about keeping secrets. But the "heavy" is just so... clumsy and transparent. And the ending just feels so... deus ex machina. 4/5

GRR Reviews her Compassionate Billionaire by Juliette Duncan

Jonathan "Jon" is a rich single father trying to raise 3 kids... by hiring nannies and overworking himself because he's still grieving over his wife's early death. When their nanny had to quit two weeks before Christmas due to family issues, he has no choice but to place ads to hire another. He didn't expect to find Ruth... // Ruth is a new empty nester... Her son, who just turned adult, is heading for college. Yes, she was a single mom, but she believes in God and He has lead her out of dark times. And she has more love to give. Being a nanny to 3 kids is exactly what she needed...

Not much innovation or twists, it's a straightforward hot for boss / hot for nanny romance albeit with a clean Christian theme around the Holidays. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Generosity by April Murdock

Gabrielle is a mostly-not-working model trying to raise her son, but younger and prettier models have overtaken her, that she works as a waitress to get by. When she was picked as the main model of a jewelry line, she can't pass it up. Her son's bone cancer treatment needed money ASAP. But meeting the CEO, Zach, left her frustrated. Zach may be gorgeous, but he's also rude, probably expecting her to be a shallow golddigger. // Zach runs his company like a well-oiled machine, and passion doesn't fit his equations. When an Industry veteran mistook Gabrielle as Zach's wife, and thus believed he now has "the passion" to design couple's jewelry collection, he chose not to correct that mistake, and enlisted Gabrielle's help to lie in exchange for more money. Gabrielle went along reluctantly, needing the money for her son's treatment. But does Zach really have no feelings for Gabrielle?

Pretty good character arc, though resolution at the end seems to be a bit too... serendipitous? (Zach's a compatible donor? Really?) 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Follow You Anywhere by Weston Parker

Nolan, single father billionaire boss, just hired executive assistant Lacey. But Lacey has ambitions. She applied for an internship, she got this gig instead. She has an MBA and wants to use it, not be a glorified secretary, though she's good at it. Nolan needs a second-in-command so he can spend more time with his daughter Karina. And Lacey likes Nolan and Karina, as there's definitely chemistry between them. Neither are really looking for love, but will they ignore what's there? Will that jeopardize her job and career? Or his custody battle?

A pretty typical single-father / hot for boss / evil ex / career not love mix. While the polish is quite good, the plot is a pretty standard trope. 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Billionaire Butler by Dobi Daniels

Emily has survived abuse and heartbreak. She's getting by, but barely. When her moment of weakness to help a friend ended up costing her job, then her landlord informed her that she has to vacate ASAP, she literally can't go any lower... Until she met the guy who was the cause of it all... // Geoffrey is the family butler for the billionaire Dexington family and well-to-do himself, and he was getting a special item for the family when a woman slipped and ended up tossing the coffee all over the item and him... as well as accidentally kneed him in the groin. But he didn't know she'd lose her job over this. So when she applied for a position over at his Christmas tree farm, he made sure she got the position (and she is qualified). And it seems despite the initial animosity, they really have a lot in common... but can he learn her secrets in time to save her?

The threat seems to come really late and wasn't integrated well. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews A Christmas List for the Billionaire by Christene Houston

Reese, personal assistant to billionaire bad boy CEO Crew, can't have a holiday because she's too busy keeping him out of trouble. Crew's Seattle division is hitting a major slump, and he's always out partying with a guy friend and a girlfriend instead of his job. When his father showed up demanding him to shape up or ship out, Crew had an epiphany... why is he chasing after a party-girl when the perfect woman was beside him all along?

The transition from bad boy to good boy was way too fast and abrupt. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Christmas Bundle of Joy by Holly Rayner

Mia, second anchor at SNO News, loved her job, despite being relegated to "fluff" news items. She was covering a story about a man who refused to pull down his Christmas decorations even though it's April, when her boss, James, the media mogul (who owns her station and many more across the country), arrived in town. He's a man's man, gorgeous, but hates Christmas. But when a freak snow storm stranded him in town with her (let's just say a Porsche 911 isn't good in the snow) in the station, they ended up doing the horizontal tango after quite a bit of wine. Then he left the next day, and that's that. Until she learned that she'll be giving him a Christmas present... as apparently they forgot to use a condom...

A bit of meh. Really didn't feel it much that would lead to a one-night-stand, and other than the open mike oops, there really isn't much of a conflict. 3/5

GRR Reviews Sugar & Spice by Phoebe Alexander

Cy Sweet is one of the three heirs for Sweetopia, a theme park started by his family, and the family rebel, with a degree in art history, of all things. But his family forced him to postpone his visit to Greece and go undercover at their own theme park, where the labor force may be ready to strike for fair wages and work conditions. Cy was supposed to go "undercover boss" as Marcus, a temp, and root out the organizer. Instead, he fell for the "Red Velvet Queen", one of the characters in the park. But the queen is actually single mom Jolie Cox, trying to raise two kids, one with special needs, with the main job and a bit of an unmentionable "side-gig". What happens when they learned each other's real identities?

The idea that the family got no karma, and Cy was the ONLY one that sees things clearly, bothered me a bit. It's too cartoonishly simplistic. 4/5

GRR Reviews A Blind Date with Her Cowboy Billionaire Boss by Hanna Hart

Shelby lost her infant son to SIDS. When she found her husband had been cheating, she left it all and went home to Carrin, TX, but without any workable skills, she felt lucky to find a job to be a nanny to a local single father, Colt and help raise his two kids. She then found Colt is a local billionaire and owner of a luxury ranch... and still grieving over the loss of his wife 8 months ago. Being set up by a friend to meet Colt for a blind date is even more awkward... but is falling for her handsome such a bad thing, when he feels the same way?

Good feels, and getting over past wounds. Shelby seems to be one of those people who feel responsible even though SIDS is unexplained and not her fault. 4/5

GRR Reviews Marriage of Convenience by Katy Kaylee

Sara wants to get away from her controlling ex, despite her upbringing in a super-religious family. She went to the big city and started an internship, and falls for her boss Chase, but office romance is prohibited. Until he needed a fiancee to satisfy his own family... and she's the perfect candidate... Then her evil ex arrived...

Slightly over-the-top, with a religiously-tone-deaf almost-evil family, add a bit of Cinderella noticed by a prince. A lot of tropes, as Chase is the quintessential workaholic can't-ever-satisfy-my-father type guy, and Sara is the ingenue virgin. Even the plot is trope... with a TSTL moment leading to a kidnapping. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews My Christmas Fake Fiance by Linda West

Devlin is going home for Christmas with a fiancee so his father would hand over the reins of the company, but it seems his porn starlet GF decided enough is enough and left in a huff. That's when he noticed that his driver is not his usual guy, but the driver's daughter, Allie, who needs 200K to save her father's business and her home. So they struck a deal: a fake engagement of convenience. But will their plan actually work through Christmas without love, or will there be a Christmas Miracle?

One mistake right off the bat... The porn starlet talked about "going home to Spain", but was described as a "Latina". Uh, Latino/Latina came from Latin America, not Europe. The proper term is Hispanic (speaks Spanish).  Also, pretty sure you need a commercial driver's license to be a chauffeur. Minor details, I know, but still...

Anyway, this "fake engagement" plot is a trope, but the execution was actually quite good.  I like it. 4/5

GRR Reviews Balancing Act by Danica Dawn

Desi, paralegal, is in love (lust?) for her boss Eric. She wanted to be a lawyer, but she flunked LSAT so she's going about the roundabout way: one more year as a licensed paralegal, and she can take the bar exam without it. But balancing her work, her dream, and her love life is not so easy, when she found a hot cop to drool over, only to have him turn into a stalker, and her boss confessed his love for her, only to sic an LSAT tutor on her, in order to make her a partner...

The problem with romantic suspense with a stalker is the bad guy tends to end up as jack-in-the-box pop-up horror, have him show up in the middle of nowhere. It starts to read a bit like the movie Unlawful Entry. The emotional beats feel... off. Instead of everything building to a crescendo for the climax, it felt as if the author merely substituted one problem with another, just to have the stalker reappear at the end for the climax. 3.5/5