GRR Reviews Accidental Shield by Nicole Snow

Flint, single father, just found himself hosting an amnesiac woman... and lying to her about her being his wife. But Valerie has amnesia because she almost died in an explosion that blew up her boat. Telling her the whole truth would just make her panic. So Flint, ex-navy SEAL, now retired security specialist, is doing one more job with his partner, Doc Cash, to bring down the bad guys that almost killed Valerie. They've tangled with the same group of bad guys before, and it's a good time to even the score. And by all evidence, it seems her "evil" brother may be involved... But how will Flint handle being "fake married" to Valerie? What happens when she found out she wasn't?

Interesting take on "marriage mistake", proves that you *can* create something new by remixing old tropes. 5/5

GRR Reviews Cinderella Undone by Nicole Snow

Kendra always loved Knox from afar... Until Knox got his dad's business partner's daughter pregnant, got a daughter, then the other women simply disappeared. Not even lots of money and private investigators can find her. With death of Knox's father, Knox is supposed to become a full partner for Black Rhino, but Knox is instead sent to acquire diamonds, legal or illegal, in some of the douche-y-ist places on Earth with his team. Now the boardroom fight is getting ugly, when the other partner is threatening to take away Knox's kid to force him to accept a buyout. So Knox needs a plan... He'll engage and marry Kendra (a platonic best female friend), which should deflect any court attempts to re-evaluate custody. Kendra will help Knox even though he had not only broken but crushed her heart years ago, and Knox will make her a Cinderella, all her dreams come true, live with a prince, get her degree, whatever. But Kendra has her own enemies... and things took a seriously twisted turn when both enemies united to ruin both Knox and Kendra...

I'd say this may be one of Nicole Snow's worst novel to date. The plot is over-the-top and getting more impossible as the darkest hour approaches. The idea that the "bad guys" can suddenly get FULL custody of a child by (censored) and (censored) and two psychologists, neither have ever met the subject, is simply impossible. Not to mention the mother was (spoiler-censored). And who writes hand-written notes to lawyers nowadays? The end fight is a deus ex machina where the military and mercenary veteran failed to follow basic combat tenets: make *sure* the enemy is down and out. Sure it's emotional, but with all the holes in the plot it felt more like melodrama than drama. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews No Broken Beast by Nicole Snow

Clarissa returned to her hometown Heart's Edge when her sister vanished from their candy store. She left the town years ago when the hotel burned down, killing her father. But she's keeping secrets... Because Leo stayed behind... and is her child's father. Leo had since become the monster around town known as "Nine". The town never knew that her father made a deal and turned the labyrinth below her family mansion into a secret lab to create monsters like Leo... and Leo risked everything to save her that night. But the evil isn't done with that place, and her sister is now paying the price. Clarissa will have to save her sister, with Leo's help... but Leo will meet his match... a fellow monster, with his own plans...

An interesting way to do a beauty-and-the-beast story albeit combined with a ton of other tropes... the sci-fi bent seems to be inspired by Resident Evil's Umbrella Corporation, combined with secret baby and more. It's just that... this book doesn't quite know whether it wants to be a scifi story, a conspiracy story, or a romantic suspense story. It just felt a bit... off. 4/5

GRR Review Accidental Rebel by Nicole Snow

Gwen is just the secretary of lawyer Manny in the tiny town of Finley Grove. She's too busy working to even date, much less get married. Then she got this offer of a lifetime... Pretend to be hot single father Miller's wife for a few weeks with his two kids, and run off to Ireland, all arranged by Manny, her boss. She won't ask what trouble Miller is in. She doesn't need to know. Miller is dreamy... and swoon-worthy, ex-military, great father, but it's all fake... Even if it's a life she wanted. Then she learned why he's running... and it seems the bad guys may have found them...

Now that's a good twist on a "fake marriage" trope into romantic suspense. 5/5

GRR Reviews Accidental Knight by Nicole Snow

Bella was shocked to find that her grandpa, upon his death, had left the entire family fortune, including the ranch and the oil company, to her, not to her parents. She was even more shocked when grandpa's companion / bodyguard Drake had tricked her into signing a marriage certificate, thus binding them for life. She can't trust anyone, esp. not her parents, and not even Drake, her shadow everywhere. For the vultures are already circling. A rival, Jupiter Oil wants to buy, and her parents are eager to sell. But she's not contemplating any offers until she figures out what's going on... // Drake knew he's there for a reason... to bring down the evil Jupiter Oil, for the owner covered for his suspected serial killer son for too long. This predator preys upon native American women on reservations, usually near one of the Jupiter job sites, and Drake lost someone VERY close to him. He agreed to be a part of the final gambit to bring down Jupiter, and to protect Bella with his life, if necessary. Tricking her into marriage is a part of her grandpa's plan, really, but he can't tell her that. But the evil men have a plan too...

Wow, that's a lot of twists and turns, and the parents turn out to be NOT total douchebags, which is quite an accomplishment. One thing I don't like was the TSTL moment, which was a romance trope. As it's always that TSTL moment that causes the darkest hour. Still, this book overwhelmed that flaw with brilliant plotting and characterization. 5/5

GRR Reviews No Perfect Hero by Nicole Snow

Haley left her life behind and took her 10-year-old niece Tara on a road trip from one end of US to the other, hoping to find a place to start over. When her classic Mustang (her sister's actually) sputtered and died at a tiny town called Heart's Edge, she's stranded there for a while, and met her gruff duplex neighbor Warren, who wanted her out of town ASAP, which only got her intrigued... // Warren is back in town, and he can't let go. He lost someone VERY important to him, and he was sure that Dennis, the town philanthropist, was the culprit, and he, as a bounty hunter, just have to find the evidence to bring him to justice. Having Haley and Tara as his neighbor was too distracting. But when Haley was forced to stay in town (her plan fell through), and Warren's investigations hit more dead ends, it's clear someone VERY CLOSE to him is actually his enemy, not his friend, and Haley and Tara are at risk...

Nice mystery, with good red herrings, plus Haley being able to handle herself, as she's in her thirties, not twenties. It's one heck of a mystery / romantic suspense, kinda enemies-to-lovers as they didn't meet at the best circumstances.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Accidental Romeo by Nicole Snow

Wendy is a baker and chef and prefers to be alone... too busy to do anything else. When her cake delivery almost had her run over Hunter's son, they came to know each other. Hunter took a semi-retired role to raise his son... but he's a billionaire running a big defense tech company. He found Wendy to be irresistible, and when he saw how Wendy's family is putting Wendy last, he stepped up to be not only Wendy's date to the wedding, but to make sure she had a great time... and throw shade at anyone who dare put Wendy down. But someone seems to be targeting the company. Can Wendy and Hunter actually defy the odds and get together?

The "mystery" was not handled well. It's pretty obvious who the perp was, and he had been manipulating people all along.  There were no attempts to add in some red herrings. The part about Hunter making Wendy very happy is done very well. Unfortunately, when you add both parts together, you come up with something rather average.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

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