GRR Reviews Million Dollar Date by Susan Hatler

Abigail is on her way to meet her blind date (via her home) when she was stopped by a very handsome cop for speeding. And he's not giving her a break at all. Not even when she explained she's already sad that her favorite dog rescue is closing due to the rescue's landlord needing to sell. She's doubly shocked that she found her blind date is none other than the cop that pulled her over... That's going badly. Then she realized he may be the key to save the dog rescue, as he will be recommending the next charity to fund for the city... So a second date will be necessary... // Cooper is a by-the-books cop, but he used to be a bad boy rulebreaker until a tragedy gave him an epiphany. Now he plays by the rules, even though he had a kind heart. Abigail has the right attitude, but Cooper has to make decisions based on how much good can the city's donations do. And Abigail is definitely interesting. If she wants another date, he'll gladly oblige... 

The ending felt like deus ex machina to me, and I really don't understand how he got the payout, when it should have gone to the other guy's family? I can understand he got half or something. The push-pull is fine, but some of the tactics from Abigail were a bit... unorthodox. It's rom-com, sure. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews If You Love Me by Ciara Knight

 Drew has a job: get the town to sign off on the revitalization plan for his boss. He was definitely not ready to be ensnared in small-town politics involving crazy elders and a mayor playing him like a chess piece. And he definitely was not ready for Carissa, the town's best baker... // Carissa is a small town girl but the pain from losing who she thought was her forever man to who she thought was one of her best friends still lingers. Except that "friend" is back in town and was determined to show up everyone else. // Drew wanted to know Carissa better, but Drew also wanted to advance his career. Are those two goals compatible? Or will Carissa feel betrayed after learning that Drew may not stay? 

As a series starter, the setup was pretty good as it introduced all of the cast while giving them different personalities, yet made Carissa the main character, and set up an "antagonist" as well. There is some sparks flying, so it's not too bad. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Roping the Cowboy by Kennedy Fox

Katarina and Braxton had a hot and steamy one-night stand. But next morning Kat threw him out and then pretend he never existed. So when Kat later showed up at Braxton's Circle B Ranch B&B to serve her gluten-free sugar-free organic pastries, it's time for Braxton's revenge... Practical jokes soon turned into all-out prank war... Katarina will deny her attraction to Braxton, but Braxton is determined to show her that he wants her... long-term...

Pretty funny short, good chemistry. 4/5

GRR Reviews Grill Me, Baby by Sophia Knightly

Chef Paolo wants to win a spot on Miami Spice cooking show to help his family.  So does chef Michaela. Paolo cooks with a passion, while Michaela... cooks healthy low-calorie fares that are just as enticing. The two can't be more different, and the competition for the spot can't be more fierce. So neither can foresee the passion that develope between them, even as both have to deal with family problems and expectations left them conflicted...

Very good, never a dull moment, even as both started with the wrong idea about each other. Very well done "enemies to lovers" novel. 5/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Hope by April Murdock

Kayla can't believe she won a chance for a full destination wedding at a luxury tropical resort, as one of the five couples for the finals. Kayla accepted the engagement proposal from her fiancee for a while, but he refused to set a date. As both lived in Vegas, and he's a bit of cheapskate, she thought this would be perfect... a free vacation in the Caribean, AND possibly a full wedding package. What's not to like? She didn't count on seeing her first-love, Silas, again... // Silas grew up in riches... as his parents have a resort empire. But Hotel Paradeisos is all his. This wedding contest promo was his hotel manager's idea. He didn't know Kayla would be among the couples... It was clear that her fiancee did not love her... And he never knew why she ran from him way back when... But he never said this is his hotel either...

Interesting twist on reunion, coupled with triangle, resort, disguised billionaire, and wedding contest.  But Kayla's recoil felt a bit overdone. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Life After Wife by Carolyn Brown

Sophie can't believe Aunt Maud only left her HALF of the ranch, and the other half to Harley-riding ex-military Elijah. Sophie just wanted to ranch after being betrayed before... But so did Elijah, wanting to get past his own survivor's guilt. Neither would give up an inch, and they are complete opposites... But perhaps there is another way... They can work TOGETHER...

Nice polish on opposites attract / forced proximity / co-workers with a lot of sassy dialogue, but not much beyond that. 4/5

GRR Reviews Baby Inheritance by Mckenna James

Valentina just found out that her father had been arrested for fraud, and all her accounts are frozen, leaving her with virtually nothing. For a trust fund daughter, used to mani/pedi/spa group meets, this is a total culture shock, esp. when her rent is due, and even pawning her jewelry didn't come close to resolving her debt. Her grandma offered her one hope: grandma will give her an allowance AND and let her inherit if she will get married and get pregnant. But with who? // Hudson has a construction business, but it's got a severe cash crunch. No bank would lend him money. When Valentina, his sister's best friend, asked him for this favor, his eyes just about bugged out. While Valentina is beautiful, he doesn't like her that way... right? But when both of them need money VERY soon, and Valentina also found her cousin is also in the hunt to be written into the grandma's will, it became a race... of who will get married and get pregnant first...

While this at least puts a spin on the "weird will" leading to "fake to real marriage", the plot itself doesn't really make sense, at least for Hudson. He must be REALLY lousy in business to hit a cash crunch so hard, and/or didn't have a credit line to tide things over. Also, he seems to be spending a lot of time with Valentina when he was probably working by himself, hoping to salvage the project. And somehow, the cash problem magically resolved itself after they got married, without a loan? Also, how Valentina just took ONE report without asking for a second opinion to give up... sounds really wrong to me. At least the epilogue resolved the issues and the bad guys got karma. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Veterinarian's date with a Billionaire by Amelia Addler

Juliet needs to save her veterinarian clinic serving low-income neighborhoods, and she needed to make a feel-good video featuring her former patients and their pet parents. She wasn't sure what to think when she found her junker died, and her rich but douche ex James came to her rescue. // James knew he was a douche to Juliet back in college, and he's here to make amends. Having a chance to rescue her and chauffeur her around is perfect. It also gave him a chance to get away from his over-demanding father. So they go on this road trip, take plenty of footage, and living together. And they did rekindle their relationship. But this is just temporary, right? What happens after the contest is over, whether she wins or not?

Not feeling much about this one. It's pretty obvious, from the way plot goes, that Juliet will NOT win, and this will also serve as the darkest hour, and James will get the blame. And the grand gesture will be James somehow get Juliet to forgive him. The bonding and the cute animals are nice, but that doesn't change the fact that the plotting feels flat. 3/5

GRR Reviews Million Dollar Devil by Katy Evans

Elizabeth aka "Lizzie", despite being heir apparent to the Banks Fashion empire, can't seem to please her father. For the latest men's fashion line, she needed to recruit "the perfect man"... Suave, sophisticated, a successful businessman, and hers to control (just a little). When all eight candidates turned her down (some just ogled her), she was devastated and despondent. Wandering into a seedy bar wasn't her plan... Nor was meeting James aka "Jimmy", the Youtube Daredevil, who'll do almost anything for a few hundred bucks. Lizzie saw the diamond in the rough... If she can't find the perfect man... She'll create him... But can she ever let him go after that?

Okay, an interesting tale of gender-bent ugly duckling transformation, However, having multiple nemeses around doesn't really help the situation. There was "LB" her father's right-hand man (who secretly wanted her to fail)... What happened to him? There was ONE SENTENCE, and that's it. Oh, and the opposition? The rival fashion house Quill Couture? Who also has a daughter, dirty Kim, who wanted do James just for the heck of it? And the bullies that chased Jimmy's brother around just because they can? Nobody really got their comeuppance. The grand gesture was nice and fitting. But the resolution... a bit lame. Needs an epilogue. 4/5

GRR Reviews In the Market for Love by Megan Squires

Sophie lives a busy and fulfilling life in the small town of Fairvale, California. She's a flower farmer, with a lease on growing fields. She also runs a successful farmer's market. Her flower arrangements and flower shop are beautiful, but she'd never been loved. She went out of town for a networking event. As she is on her way back to Fairvale, she managed to put her luggage in the wrong vehicle and it left without her... // Cole had tried to please his father for too long as a junior landscape architect. This assignment on the other side of the country was his first chance to take a lead role in designing a garden for a contest. He was surprised to find an extra piece of luggage in the trunk of his ride, and he had to return it. Meeting Sophie was... very nice. But she clammed up after learning that his landscaping will be on her flower farm... Even as they know they have feelings for each other, Cole wasn't ready to disappoint his father on his first solo outing... but Sophie wasn't ready to lose her flower farm either... Will they let a contest destroy what's between them?

Good conflicting responsibilities, though the solution came in the form of deus ex machinas, TWICE, which is rather... disappointing. 4/5

GRR Reviews Million Dollar Marriage by Katy Evans

Penelope (call me "Nell") and Luke both need half a mil. She needed to repay her student loans. He needed it to pay debt owed on his grandpa's bar (now his). They joined the new reality show "Million Dollar Marriage" where the couples, legally wed (but can be annulled at end of show), will join various challenge activities around the US (including Alaska). They are total opposites. She's a multi-PhD squeaky-clean nerd. He's a bar-owner who used to be an addict but cleaned himself up. Both are too busy to date. Both needed the money. The challenges will bring them together like nothing else... and it was just supposed to be a business transaction... Right?

While the "fake reality show love turned very real" plot had been done before, this is a very nice polished version of it. I am NOT too sure about the darkest hour though. I felt that was not explained well. 4/5

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 Cowboy's Secret Bride by Cora Seton

Carl is a millionaire living in Chance Creek renting a cottage from the Cooper clan, while searching for a ranch to buy to settle there permanently, because that's where Camila operates her Afghan-Mexican fusion restaurant with her Afghani partner, and she won't marry him if he won't settle in Chance Creek, and that means buy property here. Carl was drawn into the Cooper vs Turner feud when the Cooper matriarch, Virginia, promised Carl first dibs at the PERFECT ranch for him... If he will help Coopers clan do a major project to help them win the war between the clans... // Camila is renting a place from the Turner clan. And while she loves Carl, she can't love someone who's not living in Chance Creek permanently. And poor Carl has been searching for a ranch for THREE YEARS. Then Camila got a bit of shock from her mother... Camila needs to go back to Mexico to reclaim an ancestral mask, the symbol of her clan, for her papa from a side of family she only heard about, but never knew. And Carl just offered to go with her for the mission impossible... And on this trip. Camila will learn a lot more about herself, her family, her clan... and Carl than she ever expected to...

While I like this intro to the series, and the setup was quite good for subsequent shenanigans from other members of the Turners and Coopers, some of which are already in this novel, this novel also managed to go in too many different directions that got a bit... confusing. Carl ended up fighting multiple fires on multiple fronts (doing the project for the Coopers, going with Camila to Mexico, fixing the Mexican problem, solving his best friend Sven's problem, hiding his romance with Camila from the Coopers) that it was getting a bit messy. Similar thing with Camila: hiding her romance with Carl (who's an honorary Cooper) from the Turners, deal with her papa's misogyny (woman can't be head of his restaurant, even when his son doesn't really want to run one, and Camila does), with mama's demand to bring the mask back (which is mission impossible) and learn the REAL reason mask is where it is, and deal with her relatives in Mexico, some hostile, some enigmatic. While EVERYTHING was resolved at the end, it took a while for the various subplots to resolve itself. Even at only 260 pages, it just felt the book has "one subplot too many". On the other hand, the various little details about Mexican cooking, history of Chance Creek, and so on are good touches, and previous characters from her older Chance Creek series makes guest appearances. I like it well enough, I'll just call the extra sub-plot "minor" problem. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Royal Catch by Kylie Gilmore

Gabe, the crown prince of Villroy, knew his father's ill and he may be expected to take the throne soon. He understood he needs to take a wife. He didn't expect his parents to arrange for a Survivor meets The Bachelor challenge, with multiple princesses... Nor did he expect for one of the contestants to steal his heart so early... yet so unsuitable for him... // Anna is not a princess, but she's impersonating one. The real princess Polly is in jail for identity theft... because Polly wanted to hide from her family and used a dead person's name to buy a house for her VERY VERY distant cousin Anna (they share a common ancestor six generations ago). Polly can't hire a lawyer to sort out her mess without alerting her family as her money's tied up in the house. Cousin Anna, who really does look like Polly, hopes to get the inheritance money for Polly to sort out her mess, only to land in one of her own... it seems she was lured to the island with false promises, yet there may be a prize at the end. But Anna knew she's not a princess. As soon as she gets enough prizes, she'll go. She didn't expect she and Gabe fell for each other, but she will let Gabe go, even if she has to leave broken-hearted, so he can do his duty. But will he let her?

Well, it's... entertaining. Kylie Gilmore has a knack for setting up comedic yet serious situations in her previous novels, and this is no exception. While the overall plot's been done, this is a fine rendition of it. 4.5/5

GRR Riviews Riptide of Romance by Jennifer Jones

Justice has finally returned after years of wandering the beaches, catching the best waves, and fixing motorcycles. But his uncle's death brought him back. However, his return also triggered a visit from a bill collector: his uncle's surf shop owes 50K to the bank, and he has 30 days to make up the amount... or the shop will be foreclosed on, and his old rival let him knew that it will be razed and condos be built in its place. The only chance for Justice to save the shop was to enlist the help of the woman he left behind: Lola Cortez, daughter of a surfing legend, and enter a wade pool tandem surfing contest with the grand prize of 100K. However, Lola was also the girl he left behind... and Lola's boss is the banker, and has an axe to grind against his entire family... And he's got the money and skills to back up his threats... Can Justice and Lola triumph after all? Will they rekindle their love?

Eh, the "evil" guy has ZERO good about him, which made him cartoonishly bad. The rest was actually quite good. 4/5

GRR Reviews On the Market by Rachael Herron

Liam and his brothers are contractors and house-flippers. Their life is perfect, at least, as perfect as having a foster son driving him nuts can be. Then a TV producer called. They want to do a reality show based on them... with an angle about romance. A woman will buy a house, the brothers will renovate it, and date her. And they'll earn a lot more than just flipping houses. Then the producer, Felicia, arrived. And she fell in love with one of the houses... It's as if it was her dream manifested in reality. Suddenly, she's the contestant, and Liam had to date her. Country boy meets city girl. The Bachelor meets Property Brothers. And their lives will never be the same.

Now that's an interesting setup. Lots of double entendre and hidden meanings. Is it real or is it for the cameras? While reality TV romance had been done many times before, mixing it up with handyman trope is pretty ingenious. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Bride's Billionaire by Sophia Summers

Kayla is in Rio for business, but while there, she went into the world-famous wedding boutique to help a friend shop for a wedding dress... and met a fellow American, Tyler, admiring her looks. Tyler is friendly, gorgeous, and romantic. And they had a great time. They stayed up late till 3AM doing samba and more. It's not until the business meeting next day that they meet again in surprise, and realized they are competing for the same client... And in business, someone must lose... Right?

Ah, VERY sweet. The only problem is at the beginning, where Tyler "slipped a Benjamin"... in Brazil? Tsk, tsk. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews My Dashing Billionaire by Katie Evergreen

Edward is a British prince, 31st in line to the throne. He's tired of royal life, but he knows he has duties to the crown. He sponsors several scholarships at one of London's most prestigious art colleges, and he just opened up the competition to worldwide. And that's how he met Everly, one of the competitors from the US, and he had fallen for her, but his family has other plans... // Everly is from a small town in Kansas. Getting to the UK was her first time on a plane, much less out of the country. She's homesick and definitely stranger in a strange land, not to mention one of her competitors is outright sabotaging her... But her art is too good to be denied, but can she fall for a British prince?

Hmmm... Some parts are way too obvious (let's just say someone is a fake) and one of the twists is like "wuh?" But the rest of the touches are pretty good. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Always You by Lucinda Whitney

Isabel had been corresponding from Lisbon (Portugal) with a penpal Elliot in London for fifteen years, first as just a way to practice her English, but later, as her confidant. Now employed as school director of an English Academy in Lisbon, Isabel is happy until she learned that the school is hiring a consultant, Simon. Fearing for her job, Isabel is hostile toward Simon, despite Simon's assurances that he's NOT after her job.  But the more she got to know Simon, the more she melts... But she actually wanted Elliot, right? // Simon had been looking for his penpal Amelie for fifteen years. Getting a job in Lisbon is luck. Finding out by accident that Isabel is his Amelie is a pleasant surprise. But how can he win her trust for his revelation, when he has yet ANOTHER secret he cannot divulge yet?

Ah, now that's a good combination plot, combining TWO levels of disguises. Let's just say Simon is not totally honest about his reason being at the academy, but that's because he HAD to lie about it. I'm sure you can guess why. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Plumb Crazy About You by Pamela Gibson

Cassie is determined to strike out on her own, and her plan was to buy the civil engineering firm "Plumb Crazy" where she works, because her boss wants to retire soon. She had always been the neglected one, with her supermodel sister taking the spotlight, and she refused to be a failure. When a new engineer, Nick, came to town Cassie was suspicious. Her fears were confirmed when this engineer had already been around the world and his father ran one of the biggest engineering firm on the West Coast. The ONLY reason he'd be here was... He wants the company. So why was he so nice to her? And... even kissed her?

Nice, very nice. for a novella (under 70 pages), this packed a LOT of plot, reluctant push-pull, hidden agenda, angst, it's got EVERYTHING. It's even got an ending that makes sense, by channeling O'Henry's "Gift of the Magi". 5/5