GRR Reviews Slim To None by Freya Barker

Emma's daughter is all grown up, and she decided to move to Cedar Tree and start her life alone. Being disabled and needed to use a cane or walker, she is nonetheless beautiful and active, doing freelance bookkeeping and bake pies for her best friend's diner. Until a strange phone call in the night stirred her blood like never before... // Gus, private investigator, is on the trail of bail jumper who may have info on a mob boss he wanted to take down. Links took him to Cedar Tree, where he is supposed to find a bookkeeper... like the Red-headed Emma. When someone tossed Emma's house, and Emma's clearly in danger, Gus steps in as Emma's protector, and love bloomed. But someone from Gus' past is watching... and waiting for retribution...

Good romantic suspense with a couple of good twists and turns, plus enjoyable main characters. Gus is protective without overbearing and a disabled heroine? An unusual but inspired choice. 5/5

GRR Reviews At Last by Miranda P Charles

Gemma doesn't do casual but is looking for one true love. Greg doesn't do long-term, as he vowed to shape up and live up to his family legacy. It doesn't help that his two brothers have married and his family is VERY rich, so he has a LOT of women after him. The two remained friends... Until Gemma seems to have attracted the attention of a stalker who wanted to ruin her any way possible. Greg will protect her, but is that love? And when Gemma agreed to a fling, is she lying to herself?

Hmmm... Good but with flaws. Gemma's lying to herself that she can do a fling is believable. It's basically self-denial. Greg's self-denial, however, goes much much deeper. It's obvious he doesn't want anyone else to have Gemma, but he can't admit it to himself. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Fractured by Lori Sjoberg

Carter was a good soldier, but when he felt he was losing his soul, he got out and returned to his family farm and equestrian center.  Meeting Amy, the new horse trainer, was a shock, but he sensed that she has a secret vulnerability that she was not ready to share... // Amy changed her name and looks and left everything behind after she was acquitted of her husband's murder. Her brother-in-law publicly announced there's a miscarriage of justice, with EVERYTHING left to her. The only thing she has left was her love of horses. And she doesn't need Carter... to mess things up. But when her past came back to haunt her, can Carter protect her?

Good mystery, a good twist on hidden identity and protector. The ending is also handled quite nicely. Although I don't see how the bad guy plans to get away with... whatever he was doing at the end. Of course, she still needs saving, but that's kinda beside the point. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Comfort and Joy by Abby Knox

Joy can't believe she saw Brady, her high school crush, again... Or that he's the new health inspector shutting her cookie business down for missing some items not needed in a bakery (who needs a grease trap in a bakery?)  But she has other problems like a creepy neighbor (and alderman) who keeps hanging around her place and wanted to date her (and may be causing other troubles)... But don't worry, Brady may be by-the-book, but he's quite protective...

Under 100 pages, it's pretty fast moving. Though how Brady just bought her a whole new kitchen is a bit like... Wait, how did he afford all that?  And the evildoer is revealed a bit too early. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews The Road Home by Krista Sandor

Jenna left town to make their own way after one too many times her mother's boyfriend laid his hands on her for perceived wrongs... and her mother aided him rather than protect her. Fourteen years later, when she got a call from the hospital that her mother had been committed to the psych ward for talking about suicide, she immediately drove back to Langley Park. Did her mother finally got away from her no-good boyfriend? Can her mother love her? She ran into Ben, her classmate way back when, and teenage crush... It is clear that their current admiration is mutual. But there seems to be a stalker after Jenna, even as Ben still reels from his wife's suicide.  But for them to move forward, each must confront their past...

Good twist, even though it's somewhat expected after the eliminated the obvious suspect. But the overall reasoning and plotting is still good. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Lost Memories and New Beginnings by Lorana Hoopes

Dr. Brody thought he was done with love as a widower. But when he saw the woman in the mangled car, some protective instinct stirred. Later, he realized she had lost her memories, except fear... someone was after her, and it was clear someone ran her off the road. They found out who she was, not a good person at all. But the present her isn't like that at all... And whoever targeted her is still out there...

Good romantic suspense, decent twists, 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Hard to Stay by S Jones

Lexi ran from her evil boyfriend who has her family enthralled. No one would believe her boyfriend is also banging her sister, while mentally abusing her. And he's rich and can get away with a lot of stuff. So she ran. And met Brad... // Brad is a cop with a shitty history in love. There's Emily, and Samantha... but that's in his past. Now with Lexi, he wants a fresh start, and as a cop, he knew she's keeping secrets. When evil Colton showed up, intending to force her back, Brad is there to protect her. But Colton has plenty of underhanded tricks up his sleeve...

Brad has no temperament for a cop. He's easily goaded by fellow officers, esp. the douchebag one. And it's pretty obvious he's being set up by Colton for something. Except Brad swallowed the bait, hook, line, and sinker. This is basically "PMS pro" cliche trope. The ending is a total cop-out and a deus ex machina, where basically Brad came up with even BIGGER connections than even Colton can call upon. And what sort of family Lexi has that listens to a stranger and not their own daughters? 2/5

NOTE: This book managed to hit no less than THREE corny tropes: deus ex machina, PMS Pro, and Heart-break savior.

GRR Reviews Meet Me In London by Jennifer Youngblood and Haley Hopkins

Audrey had been video chatting with William, a genuine Brit that she met online. They hit it off well, and she just told him that she'll be visiting London, and hope he can join her on a tour. However, her flight was unpleasant. A weird guy Aidan shared her cab and seems a bit obsessed with her... and fellow tour member Zane was rude and annoying... and... no William. As Zane slowly worked himself into her heart, and Audrey also felt uncomfortable, as if she's being watched, she started to wonder what did she really feel toward William... Then her stalker actually showed up...

*sigh* It seems the authors cranked this out without actually researching the Brits. Brits don't have a firearms fetish like us Yanks. In fact, the vast majority of London metro police (about 90%) is not armed, and even their criminals rarely use firearms. A Yank living in London, already under suspicion by police, should not have been able to get a firearm. The rest of the plotting is not too bad though. 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Football Boss Fake Fiance by Taylor Hart

Ocean Brady just want his entire family to enjoy a stress-free Christmas, in spite of his brother's ALS... and him lying about having a fiancee (having broken up with her for months). Oh, and he doesn't know how to cook either. So when he came upon Augusta, clutching her ankle and in pain on the beach and rescued her, then found her sister is a caterer, everything seems to fell into place... He'll hire the cooking sister to cater the dinner, and he'll hire Augusta to be his fake fiance. It'd be totally worth it to see his family happy... and it would help Augusta's education fund. And Augusta, who fled her home, fearing his ex's stalker ways, agreed, as who can be more protective than a nice footballer? But as they play a couple for a week, they found they have real feelings for each other... Is there enough time for a Christmas miracle?

With a novel like this, you can expect the evil ex to show up, and the brothers, (all footballers) will save the day. And it'd still be satisfying. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews That Unforgettable Kiss by Tamara Ferguson

Kate Callahan is destined to run her family construction business, and love was never in the picture. Michael Murphy is just an intern, but he is going for an architecture degree, and interning at a construction site was much better than being office help at some architectural firm in Chicago. Kate and Michael met, and they actually shared that one unforgettable kiss. But it was just a summer fling... right? But Kate was prophesized to share her life with the person with that kiss, and Michael... Has a life back in Chicago. They let each other go, but six years later, Kate finally admits to herself she made a mistake, when she found Michael is now engaged to someone else... but will Michael admit to himself that he's making a mistake, and he needs Kate back? And when a stalker is after Kate, can he protect her?

The problem with this novel is you weren't quite sure where is the story. The "six years ago" is all background material and may have been better as a prequel or even just the backstory. It's the current day that is the seriously angst-y parts. 3/5

GRR Reviews Taken by Tuesday by Catherine Bybee

Judy is just a college graduate, except for a very famous brother, actor Michael Wolfe. She moved to LA and lived in her brother's mansion, working an internship hoping it will lead to a long-term job, but so far she's doing secretarial work. However, one bright spot in her day is Rick, one of her brother's bodyguards that would like to court her. Rick likes Judy's spitfire attitude. But when a stalker attacked Judy in her parking garage, and Rick became the primary suspect, it's clear the stalker isn't done with her, and Rick may have to risk everything to save her...

Nice handling of the threat, trying to narrow down the suspect pool, and so on. Police procedural was nicely handled, and the pivot from romance to romantic suspense was again, handled very nicely, which is this author's forte. No obvious plotholes. 5/5

GRR Reviews Fiance by Friday by Catherine Bybee

Gwen is the daughter of an English duke, and schmoozing the rich and powerful for the discrete matchmaking business Alliance (who arranges marriages of convenience for powerful people) is right up her alley. But she secretly lusts after her ex-marine bodyguard Niel, who's handsome, big, and protective. But Neil cannot reciprocate... She's a client, she's also from a different world. But when Niel's past caught up with him, he had no choice but to execute his own bug-out plan... with Gwen in tow. The enemy will target anyone to get to him, even Gwen... and he will have to risk everything to save them both, but will he trust the wrong people?

Interesting pivot from romance to romantic suspense, and kept the mystery and twists coming. Excellent plotting, with no obvious plot holes. 5/5

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

GRR Reviews A Secretive Mail Order Widow for the Humorous Rancher by Elliee Atkinson

Nancy became a widow when her husband, heir to banking family, was killed in a bank robbery. Nancy was then forced out by her (former) in-laws. With no choice, she became a mail-order bride, and ended up in Low Valley as wife to Ben, who was happy to meet Nancy, and enchanted by her beauty, but he can also see she's hiding a secret... However, Bea, a maid on the ranch, claimed that Ben was his, and she'll do anything to get rid of her competition...

Decent love triangle, though why didn't they escalate this to the ranch owner is beyond me. 4/5

GRR Reviews Hero Next Door by Lara Swann

Mack retired from the Marines to start a family, but when his wife left him, all he's got left was his son, Tyler. His neighbor Naomi, who just moved in, seems haunted by something. They are attracted to each other, but they agree to go slow for the sake of Tyler. Then her past, in the form of an evil ex, came back to haunt her...

The ex-military single dad meets stalked woman has been done bajillion times before, and there really is nothing that stands out. For all the talk of safety, Naomi had a TSTL moment which obviously lead to the darkest hour.  2.5/5

NOTE: The bonus novel was not reviewed. It's a standard fair secret baby reunion novel.

GRR Reviews Bella by Cynthia Woolf

Bella became a thief by necessity to survive the streets of New Orleans. She assuaged her guilt by giving away half of her loot from the rich to the poor French emigres in the city while saving up for her dream to open a French restaurant in San Francisco. But her last job didn't go as planned... While she got away, the police were after her. She signed up as the mail-order bride of Robert and traveled out west to Oregon City. She didn't know that Robert is the town Marshal... Or someone followed her out West, intending to take her loot for his own... When will Robert find out? What will he do? Will he able to protect her?

Nice adventure, good twists and turns, though why she just doesn't hold the evil doer at gunpoint for her husband is somewhat exasperating. 4/5

GRR Reviews Last Chance by Natalie Ann

Riley left behind her dental practice when she felt uneasy and stalked. The strange empty cards, and phone calls that said nothing kept bothering her. She moved to Lake Placid and met local police chief Trevor when he needed wisdom teeth extracted ASAP. Trevor can tell Riley was afraid of something, and he wanted the life in town to be quiet and placid like the name, so that's why he wanted to 'save' Riley... right?

Good mystery and slow-wooing. The ending was a good twist too.  4/5

GRR Reviews My Christmas Fiancee by Serenity Woods

Maggie reinvented herself as Meg, and moved across New Zealand with her son for a new start. Now she's Meg, blonde, and sophisticated. She found a job as PA to three top execs, and she wore a wedding ring to ward off suitors, even though she sensed that Stratton, one of the execs, may be interested... // Stratton may be a lover, but he never goes for a claimed woman, like Meg. Stratton is pursued by Natalie, who is basically stalking him and making scenes, so convinced that they'll be good together, she will change his mind. Stratton was so desperate, he came up with a desperate plan: get a fake fiancee to scare off Natalie. When Meg's stalking ex showed up, Stratton was able to fend him off to protect Meg, and the plan solidified... Meg will be Stratton's fake fiancee. They can solve each other's problems. It has nothing to do with love... right?

Now that's some plotting. Though both of them beset by a stalker problem? What a coincidence. :)  Still, everything is plausible, no obvious plot holes, and yes, there are some steamy scenes. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Worth the Risk by JB Heller

Abe has been assigned to protect Kallista, only to realize he had a one-night-stand with her at her friend's wedding months ago. Kallista is a good person and has no idea why she's getting these vague threats or why her father would pay for a 24-7 bodyguard. Nor is she some damsel in distress that's going to swoon over an alpha macho protective guy, even if that guy had known her very well indeed... So who's really after her, why, how can they solve the problem once and for all?

I find the book good at some parts, bad at others. Abe seems to flip between alpha lovable jerk and cold-protective bodyguard, as if he can't be both at the same time. There's a twist when one of the attackers was unveiled, and it's pretty good. But let's just say what followed really made no sense. The big battle was chaos, the multiple viewpoints and time-jumping didn't help. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews His Protected Artist by July Hunt

NOTE: 50-page short

CEO Luke knew Alexis, the BBW artist is his perfect woman. Which is why he commissioned her art to be the centerpiece of the building. But the night before the grand opening, Alexis found someone had graffiti'ed her creation. Alexis cannot let anything affect her success. She was abandoned by her family when she chose art for her path. She will do anything to fix this problem. She didn't expect Luke to visit personally... or for his help... Can she accept him? Who's targeting her art any way?

For a 50-page short, it's actually not bad. 4/5