GRR Reviews Romance Reset by Kay Lyons

 Amelia is 38, single, and wants a family. She wants it so much, she had an appointment at a sperm bank. So her bestie mounted an intervention... By hiring a matchmaker for her. Her bestie insists that Amelia needs a romance reset before embarking on single parenthood. And guess what fate had in store for Amelia? A blind date reunion with her first love Lincoln... // Lincoln is a widower and empty nester now that his twins are off to college. But online dating is not for him. Hiring a matchmaker seems to be a great idea. When his first date in 20 years turned out to be his first love... // It all seems to be a match made in heaven, but is Lincoln ready to be a dad again? 

Pretty good. The serendipity is heavy, and the odd deadline (for the sperm bank) feels a bit overdramatic but works within the context. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Wild For You by Kendall Ryan

 Grant, the Seattle pro hockey team captain, is a loner who grew up in foster care. When a teammate Kress intimidated Ana at a team dinner, he instinctively stepped in to de-escalate the situation. When Ana, a few days later, requested assistance after another anger episode with Kress, Grant took her in. When a video surfaced of Kress abusing Ana in public, it is clear she can never go back. But is Grant crossing a line, taking in a girl that used to belong to his soon-to-be-ex teammate? Or had he already fallen for her? And when they had one night of passion, only to find weeks later she's pregnant, just who is the daddy? Or does that even matter? 

I... really don't feel much for this one. Grant is the quintessential good guy that ends up being a bit of a milquetoast. And Ana... not sure what to think of her. Yes, she's nice, didn't deserve the treatment at the hands of Kress, and finding a good guy like Grant is great. On the other hand, she's also flipping back and forth, about "doesn't want to look like she's sleeping her way up the ranks" and "I have to prove to myself I can live stand on my own" / "leeching off Grant". And Kress? For a villain he's a really pathetic one. Really not one of author's best works. 

2.5/5 rounded up to 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Loyal Protector by Cami Checketts

Kaytlyn left her home a decade ago, having had enough of her father's emotional abuse. She drifted and eventually met Jacob, who treated her like a second daughter next to his own daughter, Jennifer. And Jacob is worth billions. Kaytlyn is also fond of Cameron, Jacob's bodyguard. But when Jennifer got married, she slowly started to change. Not even Kaytlyn's being surrogate for Jennifer's baby can mitigate her simmering rage. And it turns out Kaytlyn wasn't just a surrogate... The baby is half hers (they used her egg without telling her) And Jacob is dying... Reluctantly, Jacob enacted his final plan... He will "marry" Kaytlyn, and claim the child as his heir, and NOT A SINGLE PENNY will go to Jennifer and her husband to fuel his narcissistic political ambitions. Jacob's confidant and bodyguard, Cameron (who already wanted to date Kaytlyn), will protect Kaytlyn. Kaytlyn must protect her child and her charitable foundation from Jennifer and her politician husband. and Jennifer, feeling deep rage for the "betrayal" by her father, vowed revenge...

The plot seems a bit too complicated, and half of the legal maneuvering, like forcing Cameron to stand aside, seems to be superfluous, esp. with Jennifer's public outburst during Jacob's funeral in front of hundreds. And the final fight seems to be way too convenient due to a TSTL moment. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Signature Sweethearts Boxset Books 1-3 by Kelsie Rae

Note; 3 book collection

Liv: Liv's humble yet perfect life ended when her husband died in a car accident, leaving her alone and pregnant. She was so close to making it. Her husband's family never really liked her, but they eloped and went their own way. Now she has nowhere to turn to...  Except Luke, childhood friend, until she fell for the other boy and married him... Will the reunion be sweet... or salty? Will he still love her? What about the baby?

Good second chance romance with the complication of "left-over baby". 4/5

Breezy: Her name is Bree, but she's always known as Breezy, sort of a joke about her no-nonsense personality. Oh, and she's Luke's sister (see book 1: Liv) Breezy has an HR degree, but she's waitressing in a sports bar. She met Derrick when she spilled nachos on him. She later got a job at Derrick's company as the new HR assistant and wanted Derrick, now her boss, but Derrick's been hurt before and used the no-fraternization policy to refuse to date her... Until Jude decided to help them out by pretending to date Breezy...

The "spilled food" meet-cute had been done gazillion times. But the subsequent dialog may be a classic. Breezy's forthrightness is a delightful change from the meek female who can't speak their mind (it's never the right time). 4.5/5

Jude: Jude used to be an online gaming champ and when the company decided to sponsor a gaming team, he was assigned as the assistant coach for his name recognition and talent. He found himself drawn to Q (real name: Quincy), the only female player on the team, extremely quiet away from the keyboard. Turns out her father is having dementia and her gaming is the only thing keeping a roof over their heads. Jude wanted to help her, but he's much older, and even he can see that she doesn't trust easily, either in or out of the game. Can he teach her that men can be trusted, both for himself and the game, with the championship coming up soon?

Good use of the gaming world as a backdrop, with the championship sort of a parallel to their love life. 5/5

Overall, 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Don't Be Afraid by C A Harms

Sawyer just received the worst news of her life: her husband Patrick has terminal pancreatic cancer.  They had just bought a fixer-upper. She just learned she's pregnant. They don't' even know if Patrick will live to see his baby girl born. But life must go on. Patrick and his best friend Gabe spent all their energy fixing up the house so Sawyer has nothing to worry. Patrick makes final arrangements, while still worry he had not done enough. Sawyer rages at the injustice of Patrick being taken away from her, saddened by the loss, while pretending to be happy for each day as they come... Gabe seethed at his beautiful but insensitive wife, who can't seem to understand that Patrick needed EVERY bit of help Gabe can provide... that he divorced her, leaving her even more outraged. Patrick did survive to see his baby girl Abigail born, but succumbed soon after. Gabe promised Patrick that he will take care of Sawyer and the child... But does Gabe have feelings for Sawyer? Or is there only responsibility and duty?

Oh, this is definitely a tear-jerker. And a very good one. You'll feel the pain and loss and the inevitable doom and how it affects everyone. But it's also about life after loss, and being honest with one's feelings. It took more than a year for Gabe to approach Sawyer, and basically be honest to himself about his feelings, and separate love from duty. It did use "run away to sort my feelings" trope, but it's understandable. 5/5

GRR Reviews Last Summer by Kerry Lonsdale

Ella is a journalist specializing in honest interviews, and she has excellent memory... Except for one thing: she can't remember the car accident, or losing her unborn child. In fact, she can't even recall getting pregnant. But her husband Damien assured her that she was indeed pregnant for 5 months before losing the child. But what wasn't he telling her? Determined to find her past, she rescheduled an interview that she had done with Nathan, a retired celebrity adventurer... but he seems to know a lot more about her than he lets on. Nathan looks a LOT like Damien, her husband until you get up close. And she seems to recall being in his arms... And Damien wanted her (again)... but she was there for answers. Soon she found that EVERYONE is keeping answers from her... EVEN HERSELF...

Wow, that's some serious twists and turns that kept me guessing. And there is ANOTHER twist, even when you thought the story had concluded. THEN there's yet ANOTHER twist on top of that. Dang, that's some masterful plotting. 5/5

GRR Reviews Her Second Chance Fake Marriage Surgeon by Hanna Hart

Gemma had to go home to Baton Rouge after finding out her serious boyfriend left her pregnant and moved in with another woman. But she barely talks to her father, who's always too busy saving others (he's in law enforcement). Her family is with her uncle's family, then she ran into Liam, her high school sweetheart... // Liam is a surgeon in Baton Rouge, and has agreed to appear on a medical TV show, which would have given him a 5 million signing bonus... Unfortunately, his surgeon wife has died of an undiagnosed heart condition, leaving his contract in danger of cancellation. Finding Gemma again made him want to reconnect. Then he found that Gemma's headaches are due to a brain tumor...  And she has no money to test and confirm, much less operate. Liam has the perfect plan... He needs to be married. She needs the money... So they should get married... even if it's fake.

Eh, didn't feel much on this one. Not sure if it's even LEGAL to require a doctor to be married to get on TV. In a will? Sure. In an employment contract, esp. if it's beyond his control? it just screams "discrimination"!  The rest of the book was meh. 3/5

GRR Reviews Billionaire Unattainable -- Mason by J S Scott

Laura is a plus-sized (super)model with her own business. She is financially secure, but she has no family. With her biological clock ticking, she wanted a child for her loneliness... but she has no boyfriend... at least none that are not jerks. Then came billionaire Mason... who wanted to help her... by knocking her up the natural way. And he's handsome, and former linebacker. Why would he offer himself to her? He's the unattainable billionaire... Right?

Eh... way too many tropes. She has inadequacy issues, he's wounded on the inside by his ex and doesn't trust any women, so he offers "business deals", not love. He wants plus-sized woman because he's afraid of breaking the thin ones. The darkest hour barely made any sense. Some parts are okay, but overall, mediocre.   There are better novels with this particular trope. 3/5

GRR Reviews The Baby Maker by Lili Valente

Emma wanted to expand her family winemaking business, and she wants a piece of land that someone else wanted... that someone else being Dylan, who needed the place to start his beer brewing business, as he already grows hops. But Emma wanted something else... With no family left, she desperately wanted a baby. In fact, her ex-husband cheated on her because she can't conceive, and married that other woman when that woman became pregnant. When Emma heard that Dylan's clan is known to have "strong swimmers" (super-sperm), Emma decided to make Dylan a deal... Help her get pregnant the natural way (yes, sex), and once she's pregnant (or by end of three months), she'll let Dylan buy the land by bowing out of contention. // Dylan wanted to say no. In fact, hell no. But when Emma put on her sexy moves, Dylan didn't have the heart to refuse. And bareback sex was phenomenal. But when it comes time to part, can they really let each other go?

Hmmm... the plot was pretty trope by this point (i.e. make me a baby / fall in love) but there are some rather novel polishes on the trope, such as land deal (even though it wasn't talked about much after the arrangement was in place). And the land deal seems to be on hold for MONTHS and MONTHS? OTOH, the supporting characters are nice. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Tie Me Down by Katie Douglas

Alana fainted at a gas station in Arizona, after fleeing her evil boyfriend Jimbo, who got her pregnant, then beat her for daring to "interfere" in his criminal ways. When he told her she can't keep the baby, it's time to flee the city. Alana was rescued at the station by Lawson, a local cowboy with his own ranch. But can Lawson protect Alana, and convince her he's the one?

Not bad for a novella (right about 100 pages) proper beats and evil ex and all that. Nothing like super-good, but it's quite good. 4/5

GRR Reviews Contract Baby by Fallyn Briggs

Layla had been platonic best friends with Keenan since kindergarten, and she was very glad that Keenan found Amelia to marry, and very saddened when Amelia got terminal cancer. She agreed to be their surrogate, intending to help with Amelia's last wish, but it's obvious to others that she had been in love with Keenan half of her life. When Amelia fled, refusing to let Keenan see her die, Keenan is broken. Can Layla help Keenan out of darkness with her love?

I am not too sure what to think of this. Some of the stuff was just way too melodramatic, while there's also some powerful raw emotions in the mix. Call it 4/5

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews The Rancher's Baby Bargain by Mary Sue Jackson

Aidan, former jock, is determined to make his family ranch work, but his passion is in his craft beer business. But he's suffering from a mite problem... they are ruining his hops crop, and with no hops, there is no beer. Then Lucy, his old lab partner, showed up... // Lucy was a geek, and still is. She created a special pesticide to destroy all those mites... but she wants something in return... She wants to get pregnant, and Aidan is the man to do it. She gets the baby, and he gets the pesticide. It'd be a business transaction, and love's got nothing to do with it. Yeah, right.

Eh, not feeling it much. There really wasn't much push-pull here, or at least, I can't feel it much. There's also a bunch of sub-plots like Aidan's family, the ranch in financial ruins, big company want to mass produce his beer, Lucy's all-natural stain remover being discovered in town, and will Lucy go back east to her research job. The whole thing felt a bit... shotgun... all over the place.

Category: Contemporary / Western

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews Love Me at Sunset by Lucinda Whitney

Catarina Romano had to flee from the paparazzi when her Spanish husband died in a scandal... and she's pregnant. Her cousin brought her to the family mansion "Sunset Manor" in Portugal, to allow her to hide out, and giving her time to think. // Afonso trusted the wrong person and paid for that with several months in prison. Now he's out and vowed to stay totally honest, and was offered a job as the groundskeeper at Sunset Manor, which is where he met Catarina. //  Catarina was confused by Afonso, who cared for her without asking for anything in return. But she can't fall for him, as she kept many secrets from him. // Afonso found that his past may have returned to haunt him when that wrong person he trusted have returned and may be planning something to finish the job he interrupted...

The suspense plot didn't work for me, as a lot of the elements seemed to reference earlier novels and without a backstory, I'm left to wonder what was the motivation for the bad guys. And even after getting the explanation, I'm left wondering. There was also a long stretch where almost nothing happened to keep up the suspense. The end was also wrapped up a bit too nicely. All in all, I'd say it's good but flawed.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Cold as January by Katie Graykowski

January Jenkowski had enough of men. She's pregnant. When she called the baby daddy to tell him the news, he hung up on her. So she blocked him on the phone, social media, and left word for doorman and bouncer to not admit him under any circumstances. AND her brothers who run a motorcycle club are ready to do a smackdown on him if he ever dares to show his face... // Dr. Giles Nixon was overseas attending a conference when he got the call from January, and the phone call dropped in the middle of his call, then he got called away, his partner fell sick, and he had no chance to call back before he was blocked (in so many ways). He knew January was a bit young for him, but they are good together, but he kept saying the wrong things. But he's determined to see January, even if he had to take a punch in the stomach for it...

Awwww, that's sweet... But how do you convince a woman who thought she was over you to give you another chance, that it was all a misunderstanding?

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Accidentally Yours by Ilsa Ames

Tiago is a bar owner and bartender. June is one of his customers... she just sits in the back and sips her wine and relaxes. Then Tiago has a proposition for her... Tiago had a horrible father and left to find his own way. His father died and left him a huge inheritance, but there are terms... such as get married and produce a child within 24 months. Normally, he'd just told the lawyers to bug off, but there's something else... His goddaughter (his best friend's daughter) needs a heart transplant or an experimental treatment that costs a lot of $$$$. He doesn't want or need for money, but for the little girl... // June had been lusting over Tiago for a long time, but she stayed to herself... Her parents were minor con artists, and she left them far behind, wanting to run a non-profit so kids don't have to be like her. And Tiago's proposal would give her quarter of a million bucks, enough to help her foundation to help plenty of kids. And to have sex with Tiago... But she still has her v-card... Can she ever be good enough? They got married, and sex, after a little coaching from Tiago, is stupendous. But when they couldn't conceive despite plenty of trying...

The build-up was good, and June turned out to like sex quite a lot (perhaps a bit too well, considering she never did it before, but perhaps you can chalk that up to the romance novels she read). The problem I have is with the darkest hour... Retrograde amnesia? Really? And she managed to drag her cat crate far enough so nobody associated the accident and her? No ID or anything?

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Beginnings by Katina Gavin

Angel is retiring from DEA after leaving the SEALs on medical discharge, having lost most of a leg. He has one last assignment... deal with a bunch of pot growers who may have killed two hikers who stumbled upon their camp. In town, he came into contact with Lindsey, who lost her husband in 'stan 8 years ago, and still grieving. Elsewhere in town, super genius Devin, hiding in town with his handlers and security team, had fallen for Lindsey's little sister Jamie, despite his complete lack of social graces. Angel's old SEAL buddy Joe had always loved Lindsey's twin Sydney, but Sydney refused to commit because she had no intention of becoming a Navy wife... or widow. Can these three couples sort out their differences?

A bit scatter-brained, I'm afraid to say. The novel had ballooned to over 500 pages due to cramming three separate plots together and they don't integrate well, even though it's in the same town. The characters definitely have their moments, but the plot could have been handled better, IMHO, or separate into two novels or something.

Category: Contemporary / Military / Romantic suspense

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews An Island Christmas Wedding by Susan Coventry

Jess and Shane, plus Hannah and Ty are off to the US Virgin Islands for their double wedding, but not all are going quite well. Jess is worried about seeing her father and sister again, from whom she was estranged from. And Hannah is worried about fitting into her wedding gown... while pregnant. And Matt, the best man and Shane/Hannah's brother, is falling for maid-of-honor, who's Jess's sister... This Christmas will be interesting indeed!

Sorta sequel to another novel, this is "the further adventures" with a bit of Christmas is for forgiveness and family theme. Good.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Branding the Virgin by Alexa Riley

Mary Jane is a virgin. She's too distrustful of men, but she wanted a family. So she went to a sperm bank. After she got pregnant, she found that a sperm bank mix-up means she got sperm from a father who has some personal problems... And she had to meet the father... even if in disguise. // Ty got stomped in the nuts after a bull-riding accident. Now retired, he can't get it up any more, though his doctors said the equipment all works. He saved some sperm "just in case". When he expanded his ranch, he needed to hire a housekeeper, and "MJ" applied. And Ty got hard... What is it about her that got him stirring? Will she ever tell him she's the proud mama of his baby?

Apparently, one can be a virgin and still become pregnant through sperm donor. (I checked) But the rest of the plot really makes no sense. It's insta-lust leading to sex and more sex, and yes, pregnant sex.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 2/5

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

GRR Reviews Hidden Secrets by Carolyn Brown

The four generations of Brewster woman are taking a road trip to Oklahoma... ordered by the family matriarch, great-grandma Hannah. Her best friend died and left her the farm, and she's tired of her life in the east. But she has secrets to confess to... But then, so did Karen (grandma), Sue (mom), and Kim (daughter). Kim is pregnant by a man she only married for one-day. Now that man is engaged to someone else... Sue is divorced when her husband ran off with someone Kim's age. And there are some bitter divorce proceedings... And Karen has her own secrets to hide... When Sue and Kim found new potential partners in the Oklahoma town, and each took up new responsibilities of the farm, they will reveal all their secrets... and change their lives forever...

More chick lit than romance, there are a lot of little twists and turns as each of the secrets was revealed, and the confession helped turn each woman's life around, in a way.

Category: Contemporary / Chick-lit

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Coming Home by Mary Jane Morgan

Francie went back to home hometown for two reasons: her papa is suffering from dementia, and she's pregnant. Except the baby daddy cheated on her and she already dumped him. She just wants to give riding lessons and make a living. When one of her boarder's dog scared a horse into kicking a rider's grandma, breaking her leg, she came to know Matt, protective father who hated adrenaline junkies, such as his now dead wife, leaving him alone to raise the daughter. He had forbidden his daughter to ride horses, but his mother (girl's grandma) took her anyway, forging his signature. Yet when Francie and Matt met, there is an instant attraction between the two, which manifest in hostility... For one's a bit of a free spirit, and the other an orderly man... The two opposites attract, yet both deny their feelings... He can't stand horses (and horsewoman), she's hiding her pregnancy (for it's early)... But they need each other...

Both characters have good arcs, she's too stubborn to accept help, and he's protective to the point of smothering. But Francie's ex feels like a total let down.

Category: Contemporary / Western

Overall Rating: 4/5

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