GRR Reviews Love on the Boardwalk by Nikki Lynn Barrett and Shannyn Leah

Eva is back in Cinnamon Bay to run the boardwalk cafe she inherited... AND hide the fact that her ex-fiancee was a cheating bas****. She took "Cafe Amour" off the menu because it's just bunk. It's NOT a love potion even if two people share it... // Mack is in Cinnamon Bay to search for the family that gave him up for adoption way back when. But what he found instead was Eva, a delicious coffee drink, and a legend about love and a lighthouse. Sharing the coffee with Eva was nice, but what will he discover about his own past, and does that mean a chance with Eva... or not?

Series starter, good setup, if a bit quirky about love and lives lost, and unusual circumstances. 4/5

GRR Reviews Breakup Boot Camp by Beth Merlin

Joanna was about to get married, and she's busy getting herself into shape to fit into the wedding gown... Until a discovery led to her canceling the entire wedding... Because her fiancee is a cheater... for MONTHS. She needs help and an escape from her friends and family... so she signed up for Breakup Boot Camp... where she can learn about self-care, spa, yoga, surfing, and a lot of talking with a therapist to get over the only person she had loved... Could the cheating be partly her own fault? Why had she abandoned her career? Did she ever accept the loss in her life? What responsibility does she have in the demise of her own relationship? And does she like Chef Todd?

More chick-lit than romance, it's a bit deeper than you'd expect, and I like it. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Author by Lexy Timms

Annie has a boss who blamed her for his mistakes, berates her in front of clients, and is generally an ass. But she needs to put food on the table, so she puts up with it during the day, and go with friends to relax at night... like to bars. // Lincoln is a bartender at night, which gives him for his other job... romance author. But he just writes stuff to put food on the table, not really believing in love himself after a betrayal. // The two met, and it seems they are the perfect fit, but Annie is too busy for relationships... but that's only because of her terrible boss... Can Lincoln help her see that?

Good, but not that great. 4/5

GRR Reviews All I Want for Christmas Eve by Olivia Noble

Eve lives alone at the edge of civilization... Okay, Alaska. Then Adam fell from the sky on Santa's Sleigh. No, not a joke. That's the name of his plane, really. So she rescued him, and they got snowed in, of course. He cracks a lot of Adam and Eve jokes. And he's handsome. And she's lonely and willing...   And it's almost Christmas. How can it go wrong?

At under 150 pages, it's steamy Holiday romance. Good setup, if a bit corny from the beginning. Though the gradual revelation was used very nicely. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Favorite by Elle Chance

NOTE: Book has disappeared from Amazon. Here is a Goodreads link

Josh is bartending at his brother's hometown bar because his brother is busy doing something else. He's lamenting on why is he tending bars when he should be chasing down stories as a reporter when Sophie Barlow, daughter of a billionaire, (and classmates, once upon a time) just walked into his bar. // Sophie just needs a little relaxation after a taxing day... but she doesn't want to explain why. The bartender is handsome and flirting never hurts. She's not staying around anyway. Then he revealed he's also a reporter... but she may have already told him too much...

While the meet-cute is cute, and the reason for Sophie to be in town pretty good, I just didn't sense a lot of chemistry between them. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Country Christmas Date by Ranee S Clark

Dru is a famous country rock star and rich, and the paparazzi portrayed him as a playboy. So he went to a quaint little country inn for Christmas, somewhere no one will expect him (but will probably recognize him anyway). And meeting Amber across the hall is very nice... // Amber knew of Dru's reputation and is wary of his attention. But Dru managed to convince Amber to accept a dozen dates, and it'll go only as far as she wanted. After all, she's only around for ten more days...

Good "holiday fling" short, under 100 pages. 4/5

GRR Reviews Ready to Fall by Daisy Prescott

John is a genuine lumberjack. He wears jeans and plaid. He's big, has rugged good looks, and a dog named Babe. It seems his new neighbor, Diane, has her own secrets and scars, but so does he. She's a city girl just taking a break in the country getting over her own problems, such as an ex-husband intending to draw out the process. He's a country boy living in the countryside and his girlfriend is not really going to divorce her cheating husband after all. Why does being tour guide for Diane feel so right?

Told from John's POV, there seems to be quite a few randy un-PC thoughts and plenty of f-bombs that may turn off some readers. It is rather... charming, as we are in John's head, but then, a guy's head is not clean. So this isn't sweet or clean. I like the characters and their interactions. 4/5

GRR Reviews Dear Santa: The Party by Mona Ingram

Paige just finished catering a high-profile Christmas party for a high-tech company and was just checking the final details when a guy from the cleaning crew walked in. Already exhausted, she accepted invitation to relax a little. He's handsome, and a good listener. She didn't know that's actually the company CEO, late to his own party, and wanted to know Paige a lot better...

NOTE: This is a 80-page short, and it is indeed sweet and hopeful. 4/5

GRR Reviews Fall Fast by Zoe York

Navy SEAL Nathan just finished visiting his family and is flying back to his base/home in San Diego, but a snowstorm just stranded him in Chicago. Emme, flight attendant, just finished signing her divorce papers in Chicago and is trying to fly out on any standby. Neither got their wish, and both sensed a connection so they agreed to a drink in the airport bar. Then it became a bit more, as they got a hotel room. Emme and Nathan both agreed to not use any names... as Emme is not ready for a relationship, and Nathan is not ready to let her go yet. The night was... excellent. But will Emme be ready for more... like move to California, maybe not now, but in a few months?

Pretty short, and a lot of sex, but that's the way this sort of story goes... A connection that could lead to more, and learning how to love again for Emme. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Fat Rules by Misti D Mosteller

Maddy knew she's a chunky monkey that's also smart and funny, but people seem to only notice her size... at 266.5 lbs. Her mom is smothering, and her grandma is feeding... Which is not helping her waistline at all. She created the series of "fat rules" to help control her self-esteem such as "never run, death before jigglies". But when a birthday disaster struck, her friends mounted an intervention with tough love... which lead to a guy who appreciates her as is...

Feels like a memoir and fantasy melded together, with a dose of harsh reality and indomitable spirit. There is a lot of love in this book. 4/5

GRR Reviews A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas by Kim Redford

Misty is just driving into Wildcat Bluff near Christmas when she was flagged down by a half-naked cowboy who needed her help to put out a suspicious grass fire. Turns out he's Trey, hot cowboy, and volunteer firefighter. She's surprised she was able to help, as she had bad memories of both fires and Christmas. Someone is committing arson in the area, and Misty can't tell Trey that she's actually an investigator trying to find out if the fires are set by their rivals, or is there a separate firebug involved... But they definitely feel hot for each other...

Nice, good bits about personal fears and overcoming them. The mystery aspect OTOH is a bit on the "meh" side. 4/5

GRR Reviews Finding Home by Jackie Weger

Phoebe is just 24, but she knows how to fend for herself... even with two of her siblings in tow. However, she's trying to find a home for her clan, and she's running out of cash and gas. Things looked REALLY bleak when she backed into Gage Morgan's truck, and he decided to hold her bumper (with the license plate) hostage until she comes up with $70. She doesn't even have $7, but what she does is a ton of pride and ingenuity. With a lot of fast-talking (and emotional blackmail/ con) she managed to talk herself into Morgan's home and became a babysitter/housekeeper for Morgan and his little girl, while she finds work nearby. It's clear that Morgan's been hurt before, and isn't about to trust any women ever again...

Very different from the author's previous works. Love the language, as Phoebe, let's just say, lacks education, just a lot of "country smarts", and the vocabulary shows. You can laugh at Phoebe's attempt to talk herself out of a jam... or to express love, and how it still works out. 5/5

GRR Reviews Stay With Me by Kristen Proby

Amelia, beauty vlogger, is getting a divorce, but her ex is determined to hurt her by contesting everything, even AFTER the judge had already granted the divorce. So she went to live with a cousin, who found her a cabin to housesit, so no one can find her. Not that she wanted to meet ANY men (except delivery guys)  Until she met her neighbor Wyatt.. // Wyatt was intrigued by his new neighbor, always receiving stuff, and sometimes high profile visitors. So when Amelia came knocking on his door, needing some help, he's happy to oblige. But he has an evil ex too...

Not really feeling too much beyond the "hot neighbor" tropes. 3/5

GRR Reviews Chasing Rainbows by Mona Ingram

Taylor left her supermodel career behind after being betrayed in the worst way. She hid on her father's remote ranch, hoping to get over the hurt and learn to live and trust again. Finding a message in a bottle was a surprise... it's from a man trying to move past the death of his wife, that even his daughter is urging him to try again. He sounds too good to be true, but how can she find out if she's not willing to try? And when her father interfered, how will they react?

Warm fuzzies all around, and signature Mona Ingram story. 4/5

GRR Reviews Gwynneth Ever After by Linda Poitevin

Gwynneth (just Gwyn) is a single mom raising 3 kids (a daughter and twins) as an architect. Her husband walked out after the twins are born, claiming he's overwhelmed. And she's too busy to worry about anything else. Until a chance encounter in a theater had her sitting next to Gareth Connor, Hollywood superstar. What is he doing in Ottawa? And why is he so nice to her? // Gareth is in town for his own secret... He's there to meet his daughter, now 18, under ultra-secrecy. Seeing the effect of separation on Gwyn's daughter had him reexamine his life... is Gwyn and her kids his chance at redemption? Or just complications? Can Gwyn accept him, or will her insecurities ruin their relationship?

Good details, and no major plothole except one: why the children were NOT vaccinated, given that Canada started universal varicella (chickenpox) vaccination in Ontario (which includes Ottawa) by 2004... Also, if he's there secretly, he's certainly making no effort to disguise himself while out of Gwynn... 4/5

GRR Reviews Shop On Main by Kay Correll

Owen is in town to do one thing: make things right with his long-lost half-brother and the half of his family he didn't know about... By buying them a building they lost long time ago. But would that ever be enough to compensate for what his father did to both of his families? Can he ever have a family that he wanted? Falling for someone in town wasn't her plan, but Bella was so courageous, starting from almost nothing, yet with a keen eye on design... // Bella barely clawed herself out of poverty and has her own shop and home... Until someone just bought the building out from under her, leaving her with NOTHING. Then came the second betrayal... the man she fell for is the very cause of her ruination...

Somehow this story just seem to lack the overall polish, and it went for the serious angst-y tone. The conflict also seems to lack nuance. Owen is basically trying to have his cake and eat it too (trying to make up for his father's sins by buy his half brother's family a large gift) WHILE trying to save Bella's shop because he just realized he's going to make Bella homeless and jobless if he accomplish the first. Bella is basically: "I love you, but you ruined me, so I can't love you now (fix it!)"  2/5

GRR Reviews Choose Me by Donya Lynne

NOTE: HFN ending, continues for 2 more books

Greyson is rich and so well-endowed, most women cower in fear when they... uh... see how big he really is (down there). And he refused to date any engaged or married women. Which seriously restricted him to mostly... his own hands. So he spent most of his efforts on growing his sports equipment empire... and next on the list to acquire is Freedom Cycle. // Katherine has two kids whom she just sent off with her ex (and his new wife) to California for the next two months. She had an annual tradition of going on a "Manhunt", to find a boyfriend for the summer... and break up just before her kids come back. She's also about to become the new CEO of her family bicycle company, Freedom Cycle, when her father retires VERY soon. // Katherine and Greyson met at a club, and the attraction is instantaneous. But neither knew of the other's full identity. Katherine sees Greyson as her perfect summer fling, and Greyson sees Katherine as the only women so far who can take him full-on, and enjoy it, practically "made for him". Then they discovered that he's trying to buy her company, which she won't agree in a million years...

Sex is hot, if in a very cavalier way, and let's just say they seem to enjoy making out in public restrooms more than in beds. It's a bit off-putting at first, until you get into it. 4/5

GRR Reviews A Chocolate-Box Christmas by Josie Riviera

Maise, the latest food critic for Bloomingfield Daily Dispatch, was sent to attend a Christmas chocolate cookie contest as one of the celebrity judges. Unfortunately, Maise is having a hard time purging memories of... well, tossing up her chocolate cookies after bad sushi. She wasn't expecting gorgeous Ben, co-owner of one of the chocolate shops, and last stop on her tasting. Ben handles the business side... not the chocolate side. And when he was hesitant answering some questions, her reporter's sense got a tingle... She smells a story (in addition to the chocolate) and he smells... her...

I'm not sensing much beyond pretty much a boy meets girl story, and this is a VERY short 50 page thing. 3/5

GRR Reviews Walker Island Box Set Vol I (1-3) by Lucy Kevin (aka Bella Andre)

THREE BOOK COLLECTION will be rated separately, with an overall rating at the end. These novels are pretty short (barely over 100 pages) and sweet.


Be My Love

Hanna Walker returns to her home, Walker Island, to make a documentary about her namesake, and to document the Walker / Peterson feud that had been going on for decades. She was surprised when Joel Peterson denied her request to access the island archives. When Joel found he can't stop Hannah, he joined her on her quest, determined to see the truth told. But as they started to unravel the mystery around the origins of the feud, they also found their attraction toward each other growing. And love may be the one thing that will finally end the feud once and for all...

Pretty good with a mystery as the framing plot, sort of opposites attract, plus a family feud, good conflicting responsibilities. 4.5/5


No Other Love

Morgan Walker is back at Walker island to launch her organic makeup line, after being a celebrity makeup artist in New York for many many years, and is about to get her own TV makeover show. Having her own family plot growing her own organic plants for her makeup line would be perfect, esp. when she'll be seeing her entire family of sisters and grandma. But that also means she'll see Brian, her ex, whom she broke up with seven years ago... for her career. And this time, he wasn't ready to let her get away again.

Not feeling too much with this one except regrets and promises. 3.5/5


When It's Love

Rachel wanted adventure... Until her BF dumped her when he found she's pregnant six years ago. Left to fend for herself as single mother, Rachel had help from her family on Walker island.  Rachel was not worried about the professional surfer Nicholas in town, as he's there to do a TV show. But when she's asked to step in for a lead role, she found that perhaps, she can use some adventure in her life after all...

Rachel basically has to learn to love again, while Nicholas... is the guy to offer her the chance. Good polish, nothing too special. 3.5/5

Overall rating 4/5

GRR Reviews Like a Winter Snow by Lindsay Harrel

Joy is a women's counselor who put her life on hold to care for her aging parents, one with Alzheimer's. She reluctantly went to England to help her best friend's wedding, and met Oliver, who may be her one true love... on the wrong side of the planet. She resisted love with all her might, because she must return to care for her parents... right?

Solution is expected, and this is NOT deus ex machina because the author managed to setup the solution early in the book, but buried it quite deeply. 4.5/5