GRR Reviews Tycoon Takedown by Ruth Cardello

Melanie, a single mother, just had her son asked where is his father. So she gathered up the courage to travel from a Texas ranch to New York City to find him. Yes, it was only one night. Yes, that's his son. But this emotional journey won't be easy... // Charles, a New York millionaire on top of the investment game, rarely gets asked for a favor by his sister Sarah in Texas. So when Sarah asked him to keep an eye on her best friend Melanie while she's in New York, he can't say no. When Melanie was purse-snatched while on the phone with Charles, he went alpha male protective... only to find Melanie had the situation well in hand... having taken down the armed mugger by herself, and gained the viral moniker "Takedown Cowgirl". Now Charles is totally smitten with Melanie, and Melanie loved the domineering Charles in bed. but Melanie's life and son are in Texas, while Charles lives in New York. Can this relationship ever work? 

Nice, very nice. There is some light bondage in the sex scenes, but it's light sensual bondage. But the more important thing is there is a definitely character arc to both MMC and FMC. Charles started out as the quintessential domineering alpha male who don't want kids or single mothers, and ended up as not only a good father, but also chose to mentor a young man out of a life on the streets. Melanie started out as a woman on a trip of redemption (Must find father of my son) and ended with a father for her child (just not the one she was first looking for) and ended up gaining a family and a lover who did not try to change her (not that she'll put up with it). 5/5

GRR Reviews Ruthless Kiss by Amelia Wilde

Jasper is a ruthless developer buying up property all over town to be refurbished and earn massive profits. Until Isabella bulled her way past his secretary with anger and sass... // Isabella's clothing line is about to go international. She learned that her mother (and indeed, all the tenants) are being evicted. So she went straight to the source of the problem: Jasper. // Isabella found Jasper attractive, and to help her mother, she'd do anything. And when Jasper suggested she be his plaything for a month, in exchange for her mother staying put, she surprised both by saying yes. Their chemistry is off the charts, and they are VERY compatible in bed (which came later). They both planned to use sex to get what they wanted... but what do they REALLY want?

I am not sure what to think about this one. Sex is pretty good, if a bit repetitive (I can only read about a nipple pinch so many times). But the escalation doesn't really work, nor did the darkest hour. Isabella's mom first wanted to save her unit, then she escalated by wanting her daughter to save the WHOLE BUILDING (i.e. all of her friends). Darkest hour was really weird. Basically, Jasper's father, normally leaving Jasper a free reign, suddenly decided to interfere... first by insinuating that Isabella is a golddigger (she's a multi-millionaire!) then by selling the building out from under Jasper (to Isabella)  And because of the sale, Jasper came to believe that Isabella was playing him. For what? Great sex? Logically this makes not a lick of sense. 3/5

GRR Reviews Loving the French Billionaire by Violet Jackson

Yolanda is a successful international lawyer working for a big firm in Chicago, and her goal is to be made partner, and that is coming very soon, if she can help this French billionaire by the name of Tomas expand his business into America. She didn't expect to fall for this exotic foreigner... // Tomas knew that his mate would have to keep up with him, and Yolanda is exactly his type: smart, curvy, and beautiful. But she's also got a reputation as a ballbuster (but only when someone got too... hands-on) Tomas will bulldoze obstacles out of her way so she has time to be wooed. And initially, it worked. They spent some quality time together. Then she found out what he did behind her back... Then she found another surprise...

Eh, while this is BWWM (black woman, white man), there was virtually NO innovation in plotting, and for all the sass she shown, once she got her second surprise, she's as meek as a domesticated cat. She also doesn't seem to suffer from any Black woman issues, just generic female issues. Just didn't feel any "black" other than physical descriptions... Could be just about anybody.  Darkest hour wasn't dark at all. Everything was forgiven within a few moments. Meh.  2.5/5

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 Protecting Her by Hope Ford

NOTE: 40-page short.

Ryder knew he had to protect Sierra, who's naive to the world. Her dead brother's best friend Johnny stole her laptop and her TV to fund his drug habit. She went to Johnny's place of work, only to find that Johnny stole there as well and Ryder, with Alpha Security, was there to help change the locks and implement further security measures. Sierra did not want to involve the police, but Ryder is not taking any chances... Ryder will protect Sierra himself, and buy her replacement stuff and woo her, even if there's an age gap...

Things were sweet and sexy and protective until I encountered the expression "breed her", which seriously turned me off. Breed is NOT a sexy word when used in a sexual context, where it means... f--- her until she's pregnant. It's practically a porn term. Characters aren't that deep, and Johnny, who moments ago was about to turn violent, apparently reformed after a stern talking-to by Ryder (backed up by his fist). Way too convenient. And what's with the ass-grabbing cover? 2/5

GRR Reviews Kaleidoscope Hearts by Claire Contreras

Elle is still not over her fiancee's death after a whole year. But she had to sell their house while keep running their art gallery. And that's when Oliver came back...  Elle was almost inseparable from Oliver once... but he left her for medical school, and she, in a fit of anger, accepted the engagement proposal from Wyatt, which just went on and on and on... They never did get married. Now that Oliver is back, Elle had to keep him away, because she can't be heartbroken yet again... But Oliver will not let her get away this time either...

Somehow, Elle just didn't grab my sympathy, despite losing her fiancee of several years. And neither did Oliver, who's alpha and possessive, yet he doesn't really have a right to be. 3/5

GRR Reviews Another by FIona Cole

NOTE: This is technically a sequel to "Lovers", but can be read separately.

Carina was a pretty wild and adventurous young woman... Enough so that she invited her boyfriend, Jake's best male friend Jackson into bed to have a threesome. It was memorable. But that's also when Jake realized he's really gay and wanted to marry Jackson and regrettably, dump Carina. Carina met a mystery man in a bar, who reassured her she's lovable. Months later, on a blind date, Carina met the mystery man again, at a "blind date boudoir photo session". His name is Ian. It was clear they have a real passion for another, and when the photographer had to leave temporarily, they had a quickie, but then she felt ashamed and did not leave a surname or contact info. Only two months later did she realize she got pregnant... A few months later, Carina found that Ian was actually quite close by, which is also when he found she's pregnant. He obviously wanted to take care of his baby mama, but Carina isn't the kind of woman that lets an alpha guy do what he wanted... Can they make peace for the sake of the baby?

Nice, complex personalities, an alpha guy making mistakes but is so lovingly making them you'd want to forgive him. Carina covers her vulnerability with sass and bitchiness that occasionally goes a bit overboard, but it's perfectly understandable. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Saved Kisses by Ella Goode

Amethyst aka Amie, felt extremely betrayed... when she found her supposed boyfriend shagging... her mom. She left it all behind, and went to a different city to seek a little help from a brother-in-law. She didn't expect to find an gruff alpha that will sweep her off her feet... // Greyson is busy expanding Sokolov Security and onboarding the rookies. He has no time to babysit boss's sister-in-law and the new office manager, but helping her get started would free him from the desk work he detested. He wasn't ready for Amie, or the protective feelings she evoked from him... or how he wanted to make her his forever...

Eh... didn't feel much.  3/5

GRR Reviews Surrender by D M Mortier

Billionaire banker Ronan knew he's unique... Being half-Asian and grew up as a part of a crime family can do that. But he thought it left it all behind when he assumed control of his father's bank in Jamaica and made it successful. He had learned to never trust a woman as his equal, for he had witnessed how his Chinese mother had destroyed his father bit by bit. When he finally found the woman of his dreams, a junior attorney at his own bank, Tara, he did not hesitate to woo her... Tara will fulfill a role in his life as the mother of his children, nothing more. He shouldn't be surprised when his... "generous" offer was refused. // Tara had seen her mother with one man after another. In fact, she doesn't even know who her father was. Tara knew that when she marries, she would do so only for love. Casual sex? Forget about it. But when Ronan came calling... she wanted to give in. But his controlling ways? He'll get a kick in the balls first. // Ronan and Tara came together like a storm, and they fought just as hard. But Ronan has bigger problems... He's a part of a secret society called "The Order", doing good in the world by taking down criminal heads that the law can't touch. But someone is targeting him... and they will do anything to get to him, including targeting Tara, now pregnant with his child...

I'm not sure what to think of this. I like the idea of a half-Asian hero with a checkered past, but really, seems the author watched too many Chow Yun Fat movies where the hero mows down bad guys by the dozens. And let's just say the ultimate bad guy? "Mostly tell, little show".  It's kinda exciting, but the romance is a bit of "meh", esp. with the jealous possessive alpha Ronan that's surely NOT appreciated by Tara.  3/5

GRR Reviews Kissing Micky by Ellen Devlin

Tom "Micky" McCullin is an enforcer for Washington Guardians pro ice hockey team... a perfect fantasy guy for Liz, who has major insecurity issues but covers it up by being friendly to a LOT of the players of her favorite hockey team. Liz and Tom met at a pool party, and it was lust at first sight. But Tom has a lot of problems, including unable to bear "wine and dine" events, and unable to take a joke. Will Liz mellow him out and let him play at his best? Or will his bad attitude and possessiveness end their relationship before it starts?

Some parts are good, some parts are funny and cringe-worthy at the same time... the best comedy? Let's just say Liz's solution for Tom's inability to bear "wine and dine" mingle events is to take him to a hotel room about once an hour and have hot sex, which mellowed him out for an hour. Repeat as needed. And at first his possessiveness was... maddening. I don't think enough hints had been dropped to explain his behavior. Later we finally learned why he's that way. IMHO, the pacing can use a bit of work, some plots can be rearranged better. And yes, there's a lot of sex.  3.5/5

GRR Reviews Mr. Vega by Xyla Turner

Faith is a failing artist and her home business can't keep her afloat. Forced to find a job, she fell back to what her Trinidad mother recommended and had done: being a nanny. And the interview with the Vega family was... unpleasant. Mr. Logan Vega is handsome as ****, European, and an utter asshole. His wife, however, was very nice, and hired her the next day, despite her lack of experience. And the kid accepted her with no problem, as Logan was often away on business. Until it was revealed Mrs. Vega has terminal cancer., and Faith became a part of the Vega family, without question, and eventually, Faith came to love her employer... Who wasn't as bad as she thought... But can she be her own woman amidst his alpha ways? Is she more than a rebound? Does he really love her?

Some parts are brilliant, like the culture shock (Caribbean black is NOT regular black). In case I hadn't made it clear, this is a BWWM romance of the "falling for the nanny" trope. The loss and grieving were handled nicely, as Faith was a part of the grieving process. And there was a good comeuppance in the epilogue on why do people assume she can't be a part of a family, esp. good when the (white) kid called her (a Caribbean black woman) mommy and why would people assume she's a nanny. Her own family drama was rather minimal though. 4/5

GRR Reviews Charmed by the Cowboy: Cooper by Debra Clopton

Beth is just settling into her uncle's little ranch in Ransom Creek with her baby goats. Her evil ex is still looking for her, and she's keeping a low profile. Meeting her neighbor the Presley brothers, esp. Cooper, is nice, for he's helpful, big, strong, and kind. And definitely swoon-worthy. But Cooper has his own evil ex who is always stalking him... always making a scene. And when her evil ex caught up with her, Cooper will be there...

Good, but not extraordinary. The "evil ex's" came off more as "annoying" instead of real threat to their relationships. 4/5

GRR Reviews Maneuver by Chelle Bliss

Delilah barely got out of the car with her baby Lulu when her drunk father sped off... with her purse, phone, and everything else. With nowhere to turn, she entered the bar across the street "just to use the phone" and met Lucio Gallo... Big, gruff, but sweet, protective, and caring. AND he's good with babies. Delilah then learned that she's stranded, as her father had also stolen all her money in her various accounts. But Lucio will save her, get her a job, a place to stay, and treat her like a woman deserves to be treated. It doesn't matter what douchebags she had in her life before this (two men who don't deserve to be fathers). Lucio will be there for her... and his big and boisterous (but loving) family will be hers as well.

Okay, the family is great, and the guy's swoon-worthy. My problem has to do with the opposition, i.e. the two douchebags. "Sperm donor" showed up ONCE near to end but Delilah sent him packing with a few sharp words (if you want us back, are you ready to pay "back child support?"). Her father was practically chased away by the Gallos.  Oh, and the Gallos are nearly "flawless", other than being related to a crime family. *sigh*  Guy's too perfect, and his opposition too lame. 4/5

GRR Reviews Wild Temptation by Mari Carr

May desperately needs her job, as personal assistant to CEO Lochlan, to succeed. It's the only way to stay ahead of the bills for her mom and "her" kids she had to take in. She may be young and looks inexperienced, but she works hard, and she doesn't take charity... Until Lochlan. // Lochlan built his company with a little family help, but it's successful now. He was devastated when his existing PA left to hug her grandkids, and her replacement appears to be young, inexperienced, willowy blonde... who may be a submissive. When trouble at home forced May to reveal her life, Lochlan is going to make sure May understands that Lochlan wanted to claim her... and he protects what is his... And they will enjoy doing kinky things together.

Okay, we've seen the trope about the female who did too much. Work 12 hour days, still gets home to make the meals, even WALKS home to avoid paying for a cab or bus fare... Because she refused to accept ANY HELP. You say independent woman. I say masochist. May here is one of those. OTOH, Mari Carr has a way to get the dom/sub relationship described nicely without getting into cliche or douchebag stage. Sex doesn't enter the picture until late in the book. 4/5

GRR Reviews Body (A Trinity Novel) by Audrey Carlan

Body has good dialog and good scars for the two main characters, but the darkest hour was, IMHO, a too-stupid-to-live moment.

Gillian is a fundraiser for the Safe Haven Foundation, and she dedicated her life to the cause because she was an abuse survivor herself, having finally put her abuser in jail and fled to the opposite coast. She found 3 great female friends in San Francisco, but she craves a man in her life that can give her some hot sex, and her current BF is so vanilla, he cringed at her request for doggy style. She came to know Chase Davis, the alpha billionaire with his own dark past and the biggest donor to the foundation at a gala, and he swept her off her feet. Their chemistry is undeniable, but he also hit her trigger points about her prior abuse with his alpha personality. When her evil ex started stalking her, can Chase keep her safe?

The dialog is above average, IMHO, and the triggers plausible. However, I find the darkest hour a total letdown. Let's just say Gillian didn't appreciate certain things that Chase did for her, and she responded by cutting off the relationship. Talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face! Youch! Still, a better than the average tale.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman desiring a lover found one hot billionaire, but his alpha personality also triggered her PTSD from prior abuse...

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Beyond Shame (Beyond series) by Kit Rocha

Beyond Shame is an interesting mix of post-apocalyptic dystopia and erotic romance that sets up a very interesting world that's an odd mix of scifi, MC, and different worlds tropes about self-discovery and redemption, and it was certainly interesting.

Noelle Cunningham wanted to rebel against her prim and proper role as councilman's daughter in a closed post-apoc dystopic society, Eden, that turned against immorality so far, pre-marital sex is illegal. After a conviction for fornification, she was dumped out the gates of Eden, with just the clothes on her back, into the gang-controlled sectors that she only read about. Stalked by low-life, she was barely rescued in time by an unlikely savior... // Jasper "Jas" McCray is a bootlegger and cage fighter for Sector 4's boss Dallas O'Kane. He fought his way up from nothing to be the right-hand man of the boss, and sworn into the gang... all for one and one for all. He did not expect to deal with a sheltered innocent city princess who literally fell into his arms. And Noelle is so snow-white innocent... she's still a virgin, and intensely curious about sex. And soon she and Jas will explore every one of her fantasies, with a little help from O'Kane's band of misfits, including Lex, O'Kane's squeeze, to nurture, and accept her own power of sexuality... and embrace it...

The world-building was virtually seamless. You can read the subtext AND the context simply through the actions of the characters, no info-dump needed. There *are* some info-dumps, but not a lot, and the sex scenes are frequent, that this could be termed erotic romance, but the point is outside of Eden, anything goes, and sex is nothing to be ashamed of, except that society tells you. I don't quite get the reason for such extreme morality, but that's why it's a dystopia. I look forward to reading the future volumes. So why 4/5?  It's just a little shy of perfection, as it's a bit too obvious bodyguard story.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: In a dystopic future, a councilman's daughter was dumped out the gates for trying to have sex, and was rescued by gang's top fighter...

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Righteous Lies (Dancing Moon Ranch) by Patricia Watters

Righteous Lies relies on a few too-stupid-to-live moments to drum up the tension, but once you got past some of those "wait, WTF?" situations there are some ingenious plot twists leading to a good ending.

Grace Templeton is a widow, who managed to save some of her dead husband's sperm. Seven months later, fertility clinic informed her and another couple that there was a mix-up. Grace was actually pregnant with someone else's child, and the other woman has her dead husband's child. This was devastating news, as the other couple was hoping to make a baby and have stem cells to save their other child, but the husband's sterile (long story) and was using sperm from his twin, Jack Hansen. This mix-up of epic proportions left both couples reeling. Grace went into early labor due to shock, and when that was resolved, she ended up moving to Jack's working guest ranch where she can be watched 24/7 for any problems. Grace thought she can never love again, but Jack slowly worked his way into her heart, with his domineering but caring ways. But with Jacking hiding a devastating secret, how can she resolve her baby situation with Jack? And what will happen to that other baby?

Grace's TSTL behavior can be blamed on shock and disgust and grief, at least temporarily. The part about moving to Jack's ranch was not that well explained. Once the situation was properly setup (Grace in forced proximity to Jack, and the other couple's own problems) the story started to shine with a couple pretty good twists. There's a reason for Jack's implacable domineering behavior toward Grace (which I am NOT spoiling) and the situation did result in a happy ending all around for the most part. Originally I wanted to give this 5 stars, but the more I thought about it, I think the beginning could have been handled better. I enjoy the twists, but perhaps not the characters that much.

Category: Contemporary  (it's NOT really western)

Primary Plot: Two families are tangled together when they learned fertility clinic mixed up the sperm...

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Delicate Ink (Montgomery Ink Book 1) by Carrie Ann Ryan

Delicate Ink is about a woman running away from her trauma, meeting a "bad boy" who's actually not that bad. In a way, the plot is trope, and there seem to be a few too many subplots flying about. This also has a bit to do with a bit of D/s relationship and a little kinky sex. It came off as a bit of mix bag.

Sierra Elder moved to Denver and opened her own fashion boutique. which was one of her immediate goals. Her other was to get a tattoo... a large one that can cover her horrific scars from that one thing she... doesn't want to talk about. It happens that her place was across the street from Montgomery Ink, a tattoo parlor operated by Austin Montgomery. But their first meeting was not a happy one... // Austin Montgomery is over thirty, and not married. being a guy who owns a tattoo parlor, inked sleeves, and scruffy beard didn't help him in the dating scene much. And his previous woman is getting too clingy (and the one before that was... ten years ago). When Sierra walked through the door, Austin was not a happy man, but there was something between them. For Austin was a dom in the BDSM scene and he recognized a sub when he saw one... But this sub had been hurt before... by who? But even as Austin drew Sierra out of her shell and learned about her own trauma, the Montgomery family is facing its own crisis, and Austin got his own surprise later. Will the couple share their burdens, or drive each other away, believing it's better to shoulder the burden alone?

Instead of coalescing into one giant problem, the problems faces by FMC and MMC separately were resolved separately. Which made the ending rather a bit of ho-hum. There were also several additional characters that seem to serve little more than distractions. All in all, this is a good... but flawed book.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a prim and proper woman with secrets and starting over fall for a tattoo parlor dom with inked sleeves and gruffy exterior?

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews YIELD - Emily & Damon (Fettered) by Lilia Moon

Yield managed to capture the excitement and sensual feel of kink while understanding the lifestyle, even though the premise, upon reflection, is trope as heck. It is, however, very well polished and enjoyable.

Emily is Seattle's best wedding planner with the superpower to handle all details and not leaving out a single one. When one of her clients wanted a wedding in a BDSM club, she didn't bat an eye, even though she never been in one. Her preparations lead her to Club Fettered, owned by Damon Black, the most "notorious" dom in Seattle. Damon knew Emily was way too innocent to play in his world, he hoped he can scare her away with a demonstration... 24 hours with him, as sorta BDSM for Dummies. But she didn't react the way he thought she would. Now he can't stay away...

This is about the sensual way to do BDSM, just light spanking and some toys. Though it's basically a fantasy... an experienced dom somehow found a noob that turned out to be an ideal sub after ONE encounter and gently groomed her. But it is quite titillating and enjoyable.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a wedding planner who had never done BDSM as a sub fall for the city's most notorious dom after just 24 hours?

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Seduction on the Cards by Kris Pearson

Seduction On the Cards tried to set up a reporter vs. alpha male, but somehow I just didn't feel the connection between them.

Kerrigan "Kerri" Lush was assigned to interview an anti-gambling crusader at the last second when the regular reporter had to go to the hospital. Kerri was expecting an older grandpa in a suit. What she got instead was a handsome stud in motorcycle leathers: Alex Beaufort, who's also an incorrigible flirt. Kerri fell hard for the Frenchman and learned his past was bitter enough to make him the man he is today. Alex found Kerri to be tempting, but when he also found she carried a debt AND has a minor gambling addiction, and her happy facade hides some deeply buried sadness, is she someone to stay away from... or spend forever with?

Somehow I don't feel the connection between the two for this one. They are pretty much opposites attract, and the flirting is fine, but a connection between the two beyond the flirting... I just don't feel it.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a reporter with a minor gambling addiction fall for an anti-gambling crusader who's rich and handsome?

Tropes: opposites attract, reporter, scars, alpha guy

Overall Rating:  3/5