GRR Reviews Wild Open Hearts by Kathryn Nolan

Luna has made herself a billionaire by focusing on changing the cosmetics industry with Wild Heart... No animal testing and ethical sourcing. Until she was betrayed by her supplier... Now her fans believed they were betrayed as well. To avert total disaster, she will help a charity and get some good PR for both. // Beck has two motorcycle outlaws for his parents... and he left twenty years ago. He knew his Lucky Dog charity which rehabilitates abused dogs can always use more money. When Luna offered to help, all he saw was "being used"... But when his funding source ran dry, the charity needs Luna... // Luna never expected to grow fond of the gruff and dangerous-looking biker but she knew he's a big softie inside. Beck can't believe he can grow to tolerate the ultra-rich billionaire who's actually a hippie bohemian chick. And after a kiss, neither can stay away... but as her PR nightmare continues, and his parents making their presence known, will they unite to resolve their problems... Or will their differences prove too much for their love?

Actually a lot of fun to read. My problem is they keep talking about the bad parents, but in the end, they merely needed a talk to go away. Somehow, THAT lead to a darkest hour... Which is kinda lame. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Road Home by Krista Sandor

Jenna left town to make their own way after one too many times her mother's boyfriend laid his hands on her for perceived wrongs... and her mother aided him rather than protect her. Fourteen years later, when she got a call from the hospital that her mother had been committed to the psych ward for talking about suicide, she immediately drove back to Langley Park. Did her mother finally got away from her no-good boyfriend? Can her mother love her? She ran into Ben, her classmate way back when, and teenage crush... It is clear that their current admiration is mutual. But there seems to be a stalker after Jenna, even as Ben still reels from his wife's suicide.  But for them to move forward, each must confront their past...

Good twist, even though it's somewhat expected after the eliminated the obvious suspect. But the overall reasoning and plotting is still good. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Marry Me at Dawn by Lucinda Whitney

Gabriela came out of the emergency hospital feeling very down... She just found out that she can no longer bear children. Her cousin put her up in a resort in the Azores, so she can hide out and hopefully figure out what to do from there. // Damian vowed to be the opposite of his philandering father by never giving his heart to anyone. He revived the family business, and was doing great, until Social Services handed him baby Claire, legally his as his name is on the birth certificate. He hid out in the Azores... at the same resort... When Gabriella showed up by accident. // Damian found Gabriella beautiful and great with the baby. When his lawyer and best friend told him to marry her for a year, he barely hesitated, and Gabriella, perhaps overwhelmed by a chance to have a family, even if it's a fake one, said yes. But will this family last? And what happens when Damian found out who the father REALLY is?

Good twist at the end (on who's the father), how the fake relationship built up slowly. But I think Gabby was a bit too fast to give up on Damian. 4/5

GRR Reviews Taming Scrooge by Sophia Summers

Ezra, super developer, was raised by his cold father. He is strong-arming the the locals to accept his resort that will revive the sleeping town of Sanders Corners... by tearing down most of the iconic Main Street, including the famous Christmas Shoppe, open year-round with ornaments and more from all over the world. The city is mostly onboard, but Star, owner of the Christmas Shoppe, and daughter of the Christmas tree farm owner, is not giving up without a fight. She co-chairs the Festival of Trees with Ezra, hoping to get close to him and win his heart... But he has his own problems, when his father suddenly said they'll lose EVERYTHING unless they push the deal through, and they shall wreck the Christmas Shoppe on Christmas morning with a wrecking ball...

The story just feels very... forced. Ezra's father is basically super-scrooge that held on to a grudge for decades (and how does suing for half of everything at divorce even work after decades? Or did they NEVER divorce?)  And how he just "gracefully" accepts defeat at the end? WTF?!  And the town council flip-flopping? Argh!  2/5

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 Forgotten Reins by Susan Lower

Sarah opened her equine rescue op with her best friend and her best friend's brother, Josh. But her inheritance isn't quite enough to pay the bills esp. with all the upkeep like fence posts and whatnot. But when Sarah went to a horse auction and saw a horse that can barely move, she can't walk away, and she ended up buying her for $7, even though the mare was given a minimal chance of survival. Next day, the vet arrived, and she was stunned to find Michael Wolfe, who bought the property next door, as the new vet. What she can't tell him is she's a single mom, and her son's daddy is Michael. They had that one night, and then she was sent packing... What had happened that night... and why did Michael never searched for her? How can she tell him now?

Somehow, the story just feels very... clumsy. The narrative flow was OFTEN interrupted by Sarah suddenly falling into a day-dream recalling events from the past. And Michael is basically completely clueless, never once suspecting that someone had "interfered" with his life, then and now. And Sarah is still the meek girl, even at 25 and a mother, easily intimidated. 3/5

GRR Reviews Marriage of Convenience by Katy Kaylee

Sara wants to get away from her controlling ex, despite her upbringing in a super-religious family. She went to the big city and started an internship, and falls for her boss Chase, but office romance is prohibited. Until he needed a fiancee to satisfy his own family... and she's the perfect candidate... Then her evil ex arrived...

Slightly over-the-top, with a religiously-tone-deaf almost-evil family, add a bit of Cinderella noticed by a prince. A lot of tropes, as Chase is the quintessential workaholic can't-ever-satisfy-my-father type guy, and Sara is the ingenue virgin. Even the plot is trope... with a TSTL moment leading to a kidnapping. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Stealing the Bride by Nadia Lee

Court (short for "Harcourt") is a billionaire who tries to stay away from all the family drama. One night at his brother's nightclub, he met the woman of his dreams... She won't give her name, so he called her Skittles (like the candy), and she called him Whiskey. It was a great night... Next morning, he found no woman, just 50 bucks on the nightstand. WTF?!  He somehow tracked her down, and interrupted her wedding... Except it wasn't her wedding... But her twin sister's wedding. Yikes. And her name is Pascal. She's fiercely independent, but she can't get a promotion at her father's firm as a financial analyst. Cort wanted to help her, but wasn't sure how without "interfering"... Was it betrayal? And who can she turn to?

The momentum was very uneven. It's as if this was two books stitched together. The first part, about a one-night-stand leading to a wedding interruption, was a great story in itself. The rest of the book, while intriguing, just somehow never quite measured up, and Pascal's father needs some serious karmic payback for stringing her along for YEARS. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews No Broken Beast by Nicole Snow

Clarissa returned to her hometown Heart's Edge when her sister vanished from their candy store. She left the town years ago when the hotel burned down, killing her father. But she's keeping secrets... Because Leo stayed behind... and is her child's father. Leo had since become the monster around town known as "Nine". The town never knew that her father made a deal and turned the labyrinth below her family mansion into a secret lab to create monsters like Leo... and Leo risked everything to save her that night. But the evil isn't done with that place, and her sister is now paying the price. Clarissa will have to save her sister, with Leo's help... but Leo will meet his match... a fellow monster, with his own plans...

An interesting way to do a beauty-and-the-beast story albeit combined with a ton of other tropes... the sci-fi bent seems to be inspired by Resident Evil's Umbrella Corporation, combined with secret baby and more. It's just that... this book doesn't quite know whether it wants to be a scifi story, a conspiracy story, or a romantic suspense story. It just felt a bit... off. 4/5

GRR Reviews Clash by C A Harms

Payton was abused by the person that should be there to protect her. Her only refuge was her neighbor family, which includes Dylan, who will cherish her. But is that love? Will he betray her just like other men in her life?

While the story fo abuse and survival is emotional, the love story seems to fade into the background here, until the emotional self-loathing (I'm not good enough, my abuser said so) takes over. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Stay by AJ Alexander

Addison is the only daughter of a major hospital's owner. She's expected to be a doctor's wife and little else. When her fiancee, a hot new surgeon, f***ed a bimbo in their bed, and was not the least apologetic for it ("How else will I be chief of surgery?"), she left for her "bad influence" cousin's place in California, determined to hide for the summer and start her teaching job in the fall. She can't trust any men who like her... they probably want access to her family through her. She had an instant attraction for Cole... until she learned Cole is her cousin Violet's dog walker. // Cole is a man-whore... Being good with dogs, lots of dogs, makes the ladies swoon. He'd also been burned before. He once wanted a veterinary career, until he decided he doesn't want to be office-bound, so he started a dog-walking business that paid surprisingly well. And his fiancee, the one she grew up with, left him, blaming his "lack of ambition". Cole knew Addison is out of his league, but he wants her as her, not as a conduit toward something else.  But how does he convince her of that?

Not bad, but the father and the fiance are just pretty flat evil and didn't seem they got any karma at least by book's end. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Betraying the Billionaire by Victoria Davies

Julian wanted to take his company to the next level, and marrying one of the Abbot sisters will gain him access to the European market and the prestige of their name. So he proposed a marriage of convenience. What he got... was not what he was expecting. // Holly was always second best to her twin sister Lillian. But when their father told Lillian that she had to marry Julian to save the family business ("think of all those jobs and retirement plans"), Lillian disappeared. No matter, said father. Holly will pretend to be Lillian while the family locates her. But Julian wasn't what Holly (pretending to be Lillian) expected, and Holly fell for the man... as the wrong twin. When the deception was revealed, who will come out whole?

Normally twin-switch-a-roos end up being comedic. This one was drama all the way, lots of reluctant love, disguise, and conflicted loyalties. I was just surprised at the unredeemable douchiness of the father, who, even in the epilogue, remains unredeemed... but not destroyed. Missing that bit of karma. 4.5/5

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 Reveiws The Billionaire's White Lie by Amy Deluca

Art photographer Kristal had always lived in a mansion and indulged in her photography as a hobby since she has a trust fund that can easy support her frugal living. But her father passed away, and her step-mother abruptly informed her that the mansion is being repossessed, and someone stole her trust fund. She's off chasing another man to support her lifestyle, sayonara! Kristal is reduced to couch surf at her best friend's place (and babysit if available) and waitressing at a high-end restaurant, but she won't take handouts... // Hunter rose from humble beginnings to a tech billionaire and he never forgot Kristal, the rich but kind not spoiled girl from school When he suddenly found Kristal as his waitress, he was stunned. But his attempt to help her was rebuffed until he came up with a white lie: he needs a roommate at the rented mansion to help pitch a TV show with his six housemates, often jokingly called together, the seven dwarves, and Kristal can be their Snow White. Hunter will fund the TV show himself if he can just get Kristal close to him... even if this Snow White never finds her prince in him...

This is a modern retelling of a classic fairy tale, and the setup isn't too bad. The tension however, doesn't ratchet up quite right, as the darkest hour pretty much had to be her moving out to pursue her own career and place to live, probably far away. And the ending was a far-too-convenient overheard confession by the two people that betrayed Kristal. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Living Hope by Mandi Blake

Natalie works several jobs which barely kept the roof over her head, food on her table, and kept payments on her mom's medical bills. Then the convenience store she worked at was robbed at gunpoint, and she felt her life pass before her eyes...  // Deputy Jake swore to serve and protect, and his arrival at the convenience store, brought him Natalie, who was shocked by the robbery, but was able to provide enough details about one of the suspects. Jake wanted to help her, but she's rejecting him, being too busy to contemplate romance. But when her mother finally passed away, Jake was there to catch her. But soon, Natalie's estranged father showed up, claiming to own the house and wanted to evict Natalie. Jake will protect Natalie to the best of his ability, but will Natalie lean on him at all?

The nemesis was introduced a bit late and barely made an impact until the darkest hour. The intro was also a bit too long and the pacing just felt off. 3/5

GRR Reviews My Hot Boss by Betty Shreffler

Emma was betrayed by her BF who suddenly "needed space". On the night she went out for a girl's night out with her BFF she ran into Grayson... but before they can leave, she ended up vomiting on his shoes. Too mortified, she just went home and sulked. A month later, she suddenly found that Grayson is the new head agent of her office... and very interested to pick things up where they left off. But office rival Rachel also wants to bed the boss, and not above spreading vicious rumors. Grayson himself is damaged by upbringing after his father was betrayed by his own wife and taught Grayson to be a vindictive misogynist who only sees women as playthings to be toyed with, but never loved. Emma is tired of hot/and cold attitude from Grayson and wants him to make a decision... one way or another...

Writing is good, and sex is hot, but Grayson's hot and cold attitude is off-putting. Maybe it's because we can't see into his brain to see his thought process. All we can see is how he acts, and it's very... "mercurial". He claims to hate his father, yet he acted just like his father and keep taking his advice. "They always leave you, so you must leave them first."  What a bunch of crock. It took a very convenient "crisis" to push him into making a decision instead of simply reacting. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Claiming a Cowboy by Daisy Gold

NOTE: 60-page novella

Chloe made all the arrangements to leave her parents for three months so she can visit her sister, married to a cowboy in Oklahoma and a new baby already. It'd be a good escape as her father was always haranguing her about why doesn't she get a better job, why doesn't that new son-in-law upgrade their house, and so on. But she does owe them after her illness which almost bankrupted the family. Right? Until she saw who came to pick her up... // Liam wasn't happy to pick up Chloe. While Chloe was the woman of his dreams, he had rejected her that night, because she's his brother's wife's sister, and too young and innocent (over a decade age gap). But Chloe, despite feeling humiliated, is determined to show Liam that the attraction is mutual...

An interesting twist ending complete with a grand gesture. Good attraction if a bit instant. Good short, even if the evil turned out to be flat. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Mail-Order Brides of Spring Water Box Set (1-3) by Kathleen Ball

NOTE: This Box Set / Collection has three books and should be read in order. While they are independent stories, you get more if you do read them in order.

Book 1: Tattered Heart

Georgia aka "Georgie" lost everything and everyone in the Civil War, in spite of (or because of) high class. And she learned how to live quickly, with the former-slaves teaching and sheltering her. With no other possibilities, she accepted a mail-order bride proposal in Texas with a former-Confederate Captain. But her arrival completely surprised Parker, who was deceived and betrayed by a woman who he believed he will marry after the war. He had no idea his deranged mother had arranged for a bride for him. But he will marry her. He had no idea what depravities and cruelties Georgie would be subjected to while he's away for business...

Detailed, and Georgia was almost broken, which was very hard to read at times. It's mostly about Parker winning back Georgie's trust. 4.5/5


Book 2: Shattered Trust

Max wanted to win his own home offered by Parker and Georgie, and he decided to get a mail-order bride as well. He got Veronica, who came with a surprise: a 4-month old baby girl, even though she claimed to be a widow of 3 years. Veronica was clearly hurt before, and she can no longer live in the town that chose to condemn her (she was forced). Max wasn't sure how to treat Veronica, except very tenderly, and accepted her. Then the baby daddy showed up...

Nice, VERY detailed, and basically someone who's down and out, tries to do better, only to be beaten down again. And only faith and love can carry them through. 4.5/5


Book 3: Glory's Groom

Glory grew up in an orphanage, but she's old enough to be married off. She can teach, but is that going to be of any use on a Texas ranch? And what about being a wife? // Kent, a friend of Parker (see Book 1) won the next "house" by marrying Glory. Outside, hooded figures terrorized the freed slave community. Ranch owner Parker decided to hire the freedman as help on the ranch at the same salary as his other help. This leads to conflict with the town, while Glory found many children on the ranch without education and organized a school. But is that enough to sustain a marriage?

Good mix of adventure, and people at their best... and worst. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Racing Hearts by Lauren Landish

Luke is one of the Bennett Boys, who prefers to stay in the background doing stuff and let his brothers take the credit. He has his own horse breeding business that lets him travel the country, but he is feeling a bit lonesome. // Shayanne is a Tannen and a tomboy. She and her brothers have taken over the family ranch after discovering their dad had almost buried them in his gambling debt. Now, in addition to running the family ranch, she also raises goats and has a specialty handmade soap business that is taking off. However, she's also feeling stuck, having been the only woman in the house. // Tannens and Bennetts used to be friends, until the previous generation had a falling out. So Luke and Shay were surprised to run into each other at the large tree at their property border. They had always been friendly, despite family feud, and that leads to an affair, which also has that Romeo and Juliet taboo feel. Both are very loyal to their respective families... and fond of each other. When Shayanne's father died of a heart attack, Shay and her brothers will discover an act of betrayal that left them shaking in rage. And Luke and his family may have one chance to finally make peace...

I like the twist, despite the "unfairness" of it all. And the relationship was handled very well. 5/5

GRR Reviews Turbulent Waters by Melody Anne

Nick, coast guard helo pilot, was the sole survivor when his helo went down in stormy seas. While in rehab, he met his new physical therapist: Chloe. She's sexy, smart, and guarded. And Nick wanted to woo her. But she has a deep dark secret... she's there at the behest of her father to dig up dirt on Nick... to destroy him, for one of the dead on Nick's final flight was her brother. But the more time she spent with Nick, the more she realized Nick is someone who'd give up his life "so others may live" (creed of the Coast Guard). But how can she let Nick know the truth? Or is it too late?

While the plot has been done before, the motivation twist was somewhat novel. However, the end was a bit of tell, not show, and the darkest hour was kinda long. 4/5