GRR Reviews The Wild One by Ruth Cardello

NOTE: Same series as "The Broken One" reviewed earlier

Mauricio Romano is between jobs, trying to figure out his direction in life. His family is rich (he's technically a billionaire), but he's not spoiled... just... cocky. And visiting his buddy Felix in Paris was just the time to lose some steam. But losing his heart to an American visitor? Never. Right? // Wren Heath was visiting Paris at the invitation of her friend Cecil. Meeting Mauricio, the avowed bachelor and player, wasn't quite in her plans, but having a weeklong fling with a gorgeous guy in the city of love sounds wonderful... Especially if what happened in Paris, stay in Paris. Right? 

This one leaves me a little conflicted. I can see Wren's thoughts, as she kept saying this is "just a fling", and even though she'd LIKE it to be permanent, she was prejudiced by Cecil's opinion of Mauricio, that he's good at building a fantasy, and she's viewing all his moves as "building a fantasy for her" even when he's sincere. What I have a little problem seeing is how Mauricio turned from an avowed bachelor to a one-woman man. 4/5

GRR Reviews Aloha Hideaway Inn by Elana Johnson

 Stacey runs Aloha Hideaway Inn, a charming B&B in Getaway Bay, Hawaii. She has an excellent garden and she's sure she's doing fine. But when a mega-resort Sweet Breeze opened not far away, she had to check out the competition... and that's how she met Fisher DuPont. // Fisher DuPont worked hard to build his resort, and he's perfectly willing to go undercover boss, to make sure every guest is getting the tip-top service. And that's how he met Stacey. // Fisher and Stacey should be competitors, but they remained friends. But when both were gun-shy about relationships due to prior betrayal, is there any hope of love between them, with a tropical storm bearing down on the island? 

Not bad as a build-up, but some personal issues for Stacey felt like it came out of nowhere. It also tried to setup the characters for book 2, and thus reads a bit... unsatisfying. 3/5

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 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 Love in a Pawn Shop by Bonnie Edwards

Dix has a pawn shop in a tough neighborhood, and wanted her teenage brother Riley get into college so he can do better. Could she be blamed if she nags him all the time, esp. if he keeps hanging out with Carlos, who may be mixed up with the bad crowd? When nosy cop Dane barged into her life, things get complicated quickly, esp. if Razor the pitbull keeps staring at Dane's... nuts. // Dane was in town to find out what happened to his grandma's jewelry, and it's clear it went to Dix's pawn shop. Did Dix swindle his grandma? Is it a fencing operation? Just what is Dix's relationship with grandma Mitzi? And why did he feel... warm and fuzzy about Dix? What is her real name anyway?

Cozy mystery, lots of zany but fun characters. Even Riley's struggle with Carlos (whether to trust or to save) is interesting. 4.5/5

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 Decker and Joy by Elle Rush

Private Investigator Decker is chasing down an escaped prototype named E.L.V.I.S for North Pole Unlimited's top-secret research division, and he knew it's somewhere in this town, a few weeks before Halloween... // Joy is busy handling foster animals and the store at Kitten Caboodle. The policy is not to allow the adoption of black kittens during October, and they just happen to have three (came as a package). So when someone starts to get REALLY insistent on adopting those kittens, something feels very wrong. // Decker and Joy met when Decker found that his missing prototype may have been shipped to Joy's store, just as someone pulled off a triple kitten-napping by starting a huge distraction. Now the two will have to work together...

Light-hearted and fun, but it's more adventure than romance. 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 The Cowboy by Molly O'Keefe

Cody and Bea have an informal arrangement... No names, no faces, no talking. She's his morning girl on the balcony over his work site. He's a broken cowboy, and she'll take whatever he can give. Until he walked into her bar, and he didn't know it's her. She's in love with the broken cowboy, and she can no longer keep the secret, but he's not in love with her... at least, not the public version...

Interesting angst-y take on a bit of obsession, and somewhat unconventional. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Stuck on You by Amelia Wilde

Beau Bliss knew his brother runs the resort, and he's the entertainment director... sorta. Well-known as "the party guy", he throws events that people attend... sometimes with embarrassing results. And being non-confrontational, he's also used to being stereotyped as the f***-up. Having (virgin) mimosas in the morning doesn't help. When the latest PR disaster hit, Beau was suddenly saddled with an outside event planner consultant Claire... (by his brother's orders) who's prim and proper, his complete opposite, and probably out for his job. But Claire's so uptight, she can use some loosening up... And Beau would love to do it for her... except if he does that, he'd probably be out of a job...

Nice way to handle opposites attract, by layering on the conflicting personality, plus a "misunderstood" trope. Claire's character arc however, is quite shallow compared to Beau's, as she's hiding from her family and such. Still, like Beau's layers. 4/5

GRR Reviews Rough Around the Edges by Laura Westbrook

Chloe just started her job as an assistant bookkeeper at Jackson's construction equipment company, while keeping a secret: she inflated her resume a bit. She hoped to learn the rest on the job under supervision. Jackson is a hands-on kind of boss... When Chloe arrived, he had his head through the ceiling installing a network cable for her computer, that Chloe mistook him for a contractor at first. Jackson also commutes on his motorcycle and kept up his physique that all females appreciate, including Chloe. When Jackson's bookkeeper quit, Chloe found herself the head bookkeeper, in way over her head, and keeper of a secret... Jackson may be contemplating selling the company. In order to save her job (and everybody else's jobs too), Chloe has to do something about her growing attraction to her boss...

A couple minor things stood out for me... a) Generally a network cable install goes through the walls, not through the ceiling tiles, and doesn't involve drills, esp if one can use those adhesive cable anchors to the walls. b) I don't quite understand Jackson's personality... he's either the strong and silent type (toward Chloe, almost embarrassing her), or the wonderful boss helping his employee out type (that she found out later). The two don't really mesh... But Chloe's solution and the slow-buildup is pretty good. 4/5

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 High Stakes by Kathryn Shay

Dylan O'Neil will do anything to protect his family, esp. from the likes of reporter Rachel Scott, whose leaks have endangered members of his family before, as in kidnapping attempts and more. As a columnist for a newspaper himself, he has an audience, and verbal war started between Dylan and Rachel. When the heads of both news organizations want them to work it out by having Dylan shadow Rachel's work, Dylan finally sees Rachel's private life, which is VERY different than what he imagined. And when sparks of attraction flared to life, neither can resist. But how can Dylan explain he had "fallen for the enemy"?

Ah, this is how "enemies to lovers" should be done. There are a few tropes, like the sick/comfort trope, and later, a hurt/comfort trope as well. But the build-up is exquisite. 5/5

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 Trust Me On This by Jennifer Crusie

Alec is undercover, trying to catch a serial scammer and his accomplice, using his aunt, professor Veronica, and her rich friends, as bait, at a conference about Shakespeare. // Dennie is an investigative reporter going after the biggest story in her career... except her subject wanted to avoid the subject. She attended the conference but was dodged. She needed to talk to professor Veronica, which means talking to Alec... who mistook her for the scammer's accomplice working the con... It's clear Alec and Dennie have chemistry together, but she thinks he's running interference for his aunt, and he thinks she's running a con... which only makes their feelings even more confusing...

Oh, nice setup, and even nicer escalation. The scene where Dennie had to put the moves on the scammer while wearing a wire, with Alec listening, was ROFL funny.  5/5

GRR Reviews Her Christmas Wedding Fake Fiancee by Jennifer Youngblood

Sofia has a great cleaning business. So when a prominent CEO, Colin, accused her employees of being negligent, she had to investigate personally. But the two alpha personalities quickly collided and neither would give an inch.  Then Colin made Sofia an offer she can't refuse... Be his fake Christmas fiancee to sooth over his family hassling him about finding a wife... and he'll forget the whole thing...

Rom-com, trope-ridden, but decently polished. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews her Kind-hearted BIlionaire by Juliette Duncan

Phoebe still can't get over the death of her fiancee only weeks before their wedding, even a year later. When her best friend decided to drag her to Asia on a volunteering trip to Southeast Asia, she decided to go. // Nicholas is an Aussie billionaire with his two siblings... but lately it feels as if he's the only adult left. His little brother just spends and spends, and his sister just goes on these "meditation retreats", yet both are shallow as ****. Feeling a bit lost, he wandered into a local church, and heard about a volunteer opportunity in Bangkok. He decided to take a month off to volunteer... undercover. // Nick and Phoebe met in Bangkok at a rehabilitation shelter for trafficked children, and they connected. But he's hiding his identity and had not given himself to God,  She's feeling guilty of falling for someone less than a year after her fiancee's death... Can they find love?

A bit too overtly religious, and there was no resolution for Nick's two siblings, who are STILL shallow as ****. Pure dress pieces. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews His Runaway Bride by Lindsey Hart

Brynn refused to be a chess piece to be moved around by others. When her father promised her to some hotshot shoe company founder as conditions for a business merger, she ran. Finding love never was in her plans. Yet there's sexy stranger, Kayson, who saw her as is... desirable and her own woman... // Byron chased his fiancee across the country, but he has no idea how to bring her back. When he ran into her, he gave her a fake name, Kayson. And when she asked him is she desirable, and to prove it, he can't say no. After all, she will be his wife... right?

A very nicely done "hidden identity" romance. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Billionaire Butler by Dobi Daniels

Emily has survived abuse and heartbreak. She's getting by, but barely. When her moment of weakness to help a friend ended up costing her job, then her landlord informed her that she has to vacate ASAP, she literally can't go any lower... Until she met the guy who was the cause of it all... // Geoffrey is the family butler for the billionaire Dexington family and well-to-do himself, and he was getting a special item for the family when a woman slipped and ended up tossing the coffee all over the item and him... as well as accidentally kneed him in the groin. But he didn't know she'd lose her job over this. So when she applied for a position over at his Christmas tree farm, he made sure she got the position (and she is qualified). And it seems despite the initial animosity, they really have a lot in common... but can he learn her secrets in time to save her?

The threat seems to come really late and wasn't integrated well. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Ten Dates with the Billionaire by Amberlee Day

Athena makes no apologies about being a geek, and despite having made billions as head of a major software company, she's just as socially awkward and unpretentious as she was, willing to look for some adventure... if someone will just show her the way. Then she met Fisher, a glassblower artist, on a team-building exercise. She dressed normally, and Fisher did not recognize her. They hit it right off, and Fisher is just the adventurer she needed... hiking, snorkeling, mountain climbing, and more. When a workmate "dared" Fisher into taking a woman out on ten dates, Fisher chose Athena, and Athena, needing a plus-one for her high school reunion, chose Fisher. It was perfect... Until he learned she's ultra-rich... But is that really a problem?

Gender-flipped version of typical "undercover billionaire", pretty well-done. 4/5