GRR Reviews Something So Perfect by Natasha Madison

Matthew made too many mistakes as a hockey bad boy and was cut from the team at 23. When a different team wanted to give him another chance, he'll accept any terms, because he wanted to be back on the ice... Even accept a chaperone that will keep him out of trouble. He didn't expect the chaperone to be team owner's daughter, Karrie... //  Karrie was glad her father finally gave her a job... just not babysitting a washed-up hockey jock. And while Matthew is insanely hot and knew it too, he also drove her up the wall with his sweet-craziness. But as long as he's playing great and not ruining his image... it's okay, even if she ended up in his bed, right? But do they have a future together?

While dialog is good, somehow Matthew just feels a bit too... crazy? But the description is apt... it's sweet-kinda-crazy. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Just Breathe Again by C A Harms

Faith had tried city life, but she's tired of the hustle and bustle. So she moved back home to help her dad run her cabinet making business. And that's where she met Aaron... // Aaron had it all, and lost it all. He can't move on... he just ran away. Meeting Faith did make him feel something... and feeling is to be avoided. But Faith, like her namesake, will persevere to help him move on... and perhaps, teach him to love again...

Seriously angst-y MMC, the chemistry between Aaron and Faith wasn't explained that well though. It's almost as if Faith enjoys having the metaphorical door slammed in her face again and again as she reached out for Aaron. While emotional, it also left it a little empty. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Second Shot by C M Seabrook

Kane was a best friend to Sam, his coach's son, and Brynne, his coach's daughter. The obvious rule applies: don't even THINK of touching her. And Kane became an excellent defenseman and went to NHL, where coach also went. But Sam died, and Brynne hated him forever for letting her brother go down that dark road. After the funeral, they had one night to forget. Then she disappeared for a whole year. Now she's back... with a son that's 3 months old. It's OBVIOUS who the father was... And Kane will get her back... Until the news leaked...

To put it plainly, Brynne's family is FUBAR because her father (coach) hid things from them, not wanting to shatter their illusions and memories, choosing to become a taskmaster instead, which only made things worse, since it turned both Sam (the son) and Brynne into runners/avoiders who deal with feelings by running away. And Kane, taking cues from coach (her father), did the same thing: took the blame and let Brynne think the worst of him when he could have said a few things to clear it up. But no, he had to be the strong silent (and suffering) type. ARGH. Yes, it's emotional, but it's angst. Nobody wanted to talk about things, everybody wanted to play God (it's better for you this way). ARGH!!!!!!    3.5/5

GRR Reviews her Billionaire Lifeguard by Sophia Summers

Trey and his friends/co-workers are vacationing in Mexico. Being half of a top cosmetic company means he hadn't taken time for himself for a while. While on the beach, he found a woman who seems to be immune to his charm. her name is Scottie, and later when they meet again, she mistook him for a lifeguard. And he decided to continue pretending to be a lifeguard. When he found out Scottie is actually the daughter of his deceased hero and business mentor, he's determined to help her, even as he realized she was betrayed by her BF and board, and despite her escape, they were still trying to ruin her, in order to gain full control of her company. But when Scottie learned that Trey may be pondering a business venture with her enemy, will she ever trust him again?

Eh... The resolution was so fast it felt like a deus ex machina. That was not handled well at all. 3/5

GRR Reviews Roped Cowboy by Ella Primrose

Buddy, caretaker of Country Coop ranch, found himself in love with his boss, Hailey, the daughter of the new owners of the ranch. He thought himself unable to love another after death of his wife years ago, but he can't get involved with his boss... // Hailey knew what direction she wanted Country Coop to take, and she'll need Buddy to do it, but Buddy is so hunkalicious... Until Hailey learned that her parents may have a different plan for Country Coop than her own. Can Hailey save the ranch? Can Buddy trust Hailey not to betray him? Can they love each other?

A bit short, and the setup a bit simple, but that's what a short novella does. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews The Dangerous Thief by Mallory Crowe

James was an assassin turned bodyguard. Willa is a mob princess turned social activist. He's guarding her, she's determined to right her family's wrongs, after accidentally witnessing her father kills someone. And THEY... are out to stop her. So she goes on the run... and he'll protect her...

The author tries to tie in the previous books in the series by having the others show up as secondary characters, and it sort of works. Willa is about as spoiled princess as can be, but she's still TSTL at times. She wants to suddenly "grow a set of balls" and go back undercover in her own household to get something on dear daddy? ARGH. Yes, there's HEA, but the plot's rather... infantile fantasy. Basically, James had to pull her... uh... ovaries out of the fire.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews Irresistible by Melanie Harlow

Mack is an ex-marine raising three daughters alone after his wife died. He's also the CFO of Cloverleigh Farms. Being a single dad is not easy, and he needs multiple nannies to help out, one of whom was the boss' daughter, Frannie, who's 10 years younger. And he found himself slowly, but inexorably drawn to Frannie, who can cook, clean, great with his kids, and is just a nice person, and very much a woman... // Frannie had a congenital heart defect and it took multiple surgeries as a young child to fix. As a result, her parents are overprotective and she ended up isolated from almost everything, despite having multiple siblings. She had a crush on Mack for years, but she's a nice girl and can't proposition anyone. Frannie also wants her independence... by becoming partners with a cafe owner in town and be their baker. But can Mack be a father and a lover at the same time? Or will he cut and run?

I love the push-pull, until it's time for the stupid "I'll be a douchebag, get you to break up with me, because I know what's best for you." trope. ARGH!!!!!! 

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Wolf Hunger by Paige Tyler

Dallas SWAT has a secret... its members are all wolf-shifters. Officer Max was attending an awards dinner when he realized he found "the one", the one true mate for him, Lana. And she's clearly a wolf-shifter too... The scent is unique. However, there are two major problems... She's the deputy chief's daughter... and she doesn't know she's a shifter. And Deputy Chief doesn't want Max around his daughter. Things soon grew dire, when hunters, who vowed to hunt down all werewolves arrived in Dallas and started gunning for Lana... and killed her roommate in Austin (where she attended school) and even attacked the police chief himself. Now Max must not only protect Lana... while revealing the truth of her nature, but also show how much she means to him... even as the hunters mount a full-scale attack on the wolf safehouse...

Good action, the interesting escalation by introducing the hunters (keeping shifters secret gets kinda old). The secrets of Lana and Max's origin story gets a little depressing, but they do add to the characters.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Dear Jane (Animal Attraction) by Marissa Clarke

Dear Jane has enough angst and tension to be a good romance, with family drama, work drama, a bit of taboo ("daughter of the boss"), and some fun bits.

Jane Dixon cannot get a boyfriend. NONE of her prospects got beyond a second date. Usually, some sort of disaster happens, from accidental coffee in the guy's crotch to tablecloth going up in flames, it seems there is nothing Jane can do to get a break. She's also burned out at work. She never really wanted to be a lawyer, but her family had always been lawyers... esp. when her father was also her boss. Her only solace was in her rescue cat Gandie (Gandalf) and her platonic co-worker Eric. // Eric wanted to be a junior partner, and he'd worked at the firm for years, rose from nothing. He had a crush on Jane, but there's a very strict non-fraternization policy at work, not to mention she's the boss's daughter. He just needs to make it six more weeks to the review... In a moment of insanity, he promised to set her up with his friends... but when disasters keep happening, he had to offer her solace. Soon they realize they are really into each other... but they have their respective careers to think about...

Ah, this is a good rom-com, with just sufficient angst. The darkest hour was a "I don't care about your explanations!" "But it's not what it seems..." but the resolution to that is brilliant.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman didn't want to be lawyer / Platonic friend promised to be Cyrano / Are they into each other instead?

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Cold Hard Cash by Frankie Love

Cold Hard Cash is a "commoner falls for royalty" novel, albeit set in the music world.

Cassius went to jail for protecting a female friend. He turned to rap and he found he has a talent for it, esp. when his brother became his manager, and the girl he protected became his girlfriend. And he became the rapper "Cashflow". But his life changed one night. Before a local show, he found his girl necking his brother... and the same night, he was discovered by Kendricks Music Group which will make him famous. But at what cost? // Evangeline Kendricks is a princess of the music industry, but she hated the control her father has on her life. She no longer wanted to play music despite her Julliard education, but her father just dismissed her objection. Leaving her father's office in a rage, she ran into Cassius also leaving in a rage over his girl in his brother's arms. With some shared grief over betrayal, they got together, perhaps out of a sense of rebellion, perhaps out to test her limits... but when Angel was forced to choose, she chose his career over her desires, and was forced to break his heart. But they are not done with each other... They reconnected later... only to run into Cassius' old crew from the hood...

This book is good but left me wanting in several places. The darkest hour was somewhat forced and resolved with a simple change of heart (her father giving in and accepted her relationship with Cash). It was good, but it could have been better.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Newly minted rapper fell for the music mogul's daughter, but when her father objects, can she let him go to save his career?

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Inferno Falls Trilogy (Books 1-3) by Aubrey Parker

Inferno Falls Trilogy is a series of three books set in the same universe and location with some shared characters. I found the characters deeper than usual, but seem to spend way too much time in their heads thinking about things in one way or another, which makes the world seem very... angst-y.

Book 1: Boss's daughter -- Riley James graduated and is coming home to learn from her father's real estate company... and ran into her father's protege, Brandon Grant, who also is running the company... Brandon found himself drawn to Riley, but can he romance boss's daughter and not betray his mentor's trust?

Book 2: The Forbidden Muse -- Gavin lost his love and his bandmate, and his will to create music... Until Abigail sang her heart out and broke down his walls. Gavin no longer knnew what to do... Abigail reminded too much of what he had lost, but her talent and love cannot be denied...

Book 3: The Second Chance -- Maya found herself a single mom when her man, Grady, left town to satisfy his wanderlust. She got by in town being pursued by multiple men as "easy", but Grady is back, and Maya's plan to cope came crumbling down, and nothing will be the same ever again.

None of the plot were very clever or memorable. If you enjoy reading about introspective characters torn between various obligations, these books are probably for you.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: N/A, collection, see above for blurbs

Tropes: return, enemies to lovers, boss's daughter, different worlds, Teacher/Student, single parent, reunion,

Overall Rating:  4/5