GRR Reviews Going Down Hard by Carly Phillips

Cassie wanted to save her family company left by her grandpa, and she worked hard and is the chief editor of a subsidiary magazine. Getting an interview with Derek, founder of Blink and new tech billionaire, would be the scoop of a lifetime. But Derek was her gardener's son... Make that, former gardener, and Derek does not grant interviews, ever. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try... // Derek knew Cassie as someone who went along with mean girls that humiliated him. When her father accused his mother of stealing jewelry and kicked them out with no references and no insurance, it lead to his father's death. He was sure of that. Yet here is Cassie needing something from him, and there is a connection. He was shocked to learn that she and her mother (supposed owner of the missing jewelry) never knew they were fired and blacklisted. When Cassie found that her father had given the job of CEO to her brother, who never spent a day working, and also kicked her out of her place to make way for her brother, she has no one to turn to except Derek...

While there is proper karma for the bad guy, it was all tell and no show. Which is quite unsatisfying. The character arcs also feel shallow. Cassie was hardworking but totally naive and powerless against others, other than minor passive-aggressive defiant gestures. Derek was the angry young man who wanted revenge, and actually softened up a little. The problem is Cassie's father, who really shows no sign of competence whatsoever, until after the bit where Cassie talked to her mom, and her mom promised to give her father an earful. There's really NO SIGN that he would change, then he did. It doesn't FEEL right. 3/5

GRR Reviews Where the Stars Meet the Sea by Heidi Kimball

Juliet and her little brother Harry were taken in by her titled aunt after the death of her father, a Scottish sea captain, and her mother, a titled lady who eloped for love. Juliet knew she would receive her inheritance on her 21st birthday, and she will have no nobility title. Until then her disapproving aunt controlled everything, including sending Harry off to a strict boarding school in London. Forced to accompany the family to visit Shaldron Castle, Juliet only wanted to keep to herself, as she does not know how to react to her cousin (her aunt's son) who professed to love her. A chance encounter with a boorish stranger with a walking stick caused her to lose her temper and control of her tongue. She was shocked to find out this is none other than Duke of Halstead, her host. She was shocked again when the duke seems to express an interest in her, even as he was supposed to marrying another titled lady. It was clear the Duke cares not for the expectations upon him, not even by his own mother and grandmother, esp. after an injury that crippled him for life, and caused him to withdraw from everything, esp. love. Neither expected this friendship to grow, but it did. Yet, her evil aunt has an ultimatum for her that will destroy her dreams.. 

Okay, the plotting and the angst is quite good, as the setup and push-pull was done really well. However, the ultimatum and the resolution really makes no sense. While the darkest hour was well done, the way from there to the grand resolution seems to have taken a few too many turns and as a result, the momentum was lost.  4/5

SPOILER

AHEAD

YOU'VE

BEEN

WARNED

Basically, the evil aunt threatened to take Harry from the boarding school (where he's hazed by the blue bloods because he's just a commoner) and drop him off at the dock so he can be shipped off as a cabin boy (the way to work your way up to maybe captain one day), if Juliet won't marry her son. Juliet was forced to accept, but a month later, decided she can't live with her decision, and will protect her brother some other way than kowtowing to her evil aunt. So she rescinded the acceptance. Then her evil aunt produced a letter from the school's headmaster, stating that her brother had run off from school leaving a note stating that he's going to join a ship, which was what he wanted anyway, as he can't take another day of the horrible school. Juliet then left her aunt's house and made her way to London trying to find her brother by prowling the docks alone...

This makes absolutely no sense. The aunt's LEVERAGE over Juliet was hinged on Harry staying in school. If Harry had escaped, there is no leverage. Showing her the letter was out of pure spite, and it was also revealed that her aunt really just wanted her inheritance, which aunt will control as her assets will belong to her new husband, which is aunt's son. For money, the aunt is willing to bind two people in marriage that do not love each other, basically ruining two lives, yet there was little background on WHY she would make such decision. That's a very "flat" villain. Coupled with lack of leverage, and the glee she produced the letter to force some anger/sadness out of Juliet, feels VERY very flat and ruined a great setup for the angst-y romance. 

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 Christmas in Echo Creek by Kacey Linden

Willow had to escape Seattle with almost nothing, in the middle of winter, and ended up in Echo Creek, and was rescued by the town, esp. the handsome deputy Cale. Having never experienced generosity without expectations of reciprocation, Willow was doubtful and distrusting, but with no car, she had to accept the help of shelter and job... while looking over her shoulder, worried that her evil drug-running brother would chase her down... But Cale, who figured her out, and understood who she's running from, is determined to help her feel safe enough to stay, and perhaps, even learn to trust and love... Even as her brother arrived in town...

While stranger stranded in town was helped/protected by cop had been done bajillion times the polish on this one is quite good, and the twist on the trope for the darkest hour was done very nicely, if a bit more comical than you'd expect. 4/5

GRR Reviews Nowhere Left to Fall by Kat Mizera

NOTE: Ends on an HFN, but the story continues for 2 more volumes.

Tariq, better known as "Erik", is rich, and technically a prince, but his father abdicated to marry a commoner and moved to the US, leaving Erik's uncle as king, and it seems his cousin may be ascending the throne one day... which may force the country into civil war as he's courting the religious right and possibly dissolve parliament. But Erik is just a diplomat playboy... Until he met Casey, rockstar. But her band is dissolving, and she's left with not much to do. Falling for each other was never the plan. Yet they did.  But when his cousin did the unthinkable, Erik will have to do the unthinkable as well to save his love...

Good twists and turns, if a bit cliche plotting to set up the next two volumes. The motivation for the bad guy was never really discussed, and the plot seems to move at a very leisurely rate. 3.5/5

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 A Mail-Order Bride to Heal His Heart by Etta Foster

Alexandra always suspected there's a reason why her family didn't love her. When she found the reason, her father refused to answer. Determined to make her own way in life, she left the East coast as a mail-order bride to Caleb out west. While Caleb is a gentleman and richer than he ever expected (in fact, he has a housekeeper to do most of the chores!) Caleb has his own problems... He has an evil cousin who believes that Caleb's ranch belongs to him due to some imagined "injustice" perpetrated upon his father (Caleb's uncle) by their grandpa. And the cousin is the vengeful sort that would sabotage his ranch. In fact, this cousin Zeke married Caleb's first mail-order bride. What has Alexandra gotten herself into?

Eh... the storyline barely makes sense. It's clear cousin Zeke's sole purpose is to mess with Caleb, except none of this harassment actually gets him closer to his goal, unless Caleb gets killed. And how exactly does this affect Alexandra? Sure, Alexandra did show some character growth, as she did learn a little to use a gun and to ride a horse, but that's about it. Meh. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews His Dream Baby by B B Hamel

Connor lost his son Ryan when the mother Harper simply disappeared one day with him. Only years later did he find that Harper had died in a different city... and he immediately travelled there. Which is where he met Leah.  // Leah was asked by Harper (her cousin) to be the legal guardian for little Ryan. But Harper is a Gallo, and Gallo is known to be a crime family, and they want little Ryan to be "raised right". When Connor also showed up, Leah had to accept Connor's help, even as she fear that Connor is there to take Ryan away from her. But the Gallos are not giving up to make Ryan theirs...

Uh... For supposedly career criminals and crime family, the Gallos are a bunch of hamburglars. A WRITTEN warning to the couple that outright states that they will DIE if they don't hand the kid over? WTF?! And despite having multiple vehicles and dozen men surrounding the couple, they somehow let them get away? Sure, it's kinda sexy, but enemy is just flat out STUPID. 2/5

GRR Reviews All Or Nothing by Natalie Ann

Ben Harper returned from war broken, having lost his best friend, brother of another mother, Trent. He settled into "director of security" for a hospital, hiding his inner demons from everyone, including himself. Ben came to know Presley, one of the nurses working there. She's vivacious, sexy, doesn't take gruff from anyone (not even him) and she saw through his disguise... because she has a few inner demons of her own. Their attraction is undeniable, but can they work through their own problems so they can love each other?

The beginning was way too much of a teaser, and felt almost unnecessary, just there for the shock value and the tease. The slow burn of the two meeting, slowly seducing each other, yet refuse to disclose their own secrets, is good. It's always the delusion that they can "get it out of their system" by going to bed, only to need more. Yet there's always the secret that festers in the background. The darkest hour feels a bit... forced.  4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Accidental Wedding by Debra Elizabeth

Keira, already jobless and helping her sister's family to move out of Vegas, decided to try her luck in a casino before going back to job hunting. There, she literally ran into the most gorgeous guy she'd seen, AFTER she won a good amount. When he asked her to dinner, she's happy to oblige. And they talked about their circumstances. Turns out, Cade is an Earl, but unless he marry in the next few days, he will lose control of the estate to his brother, who cares nothing of the estate, or the townfolks employed by it. As Keira had nothing else to do, she decided this is her grand adventure... Marry the earl, and move to England for a whole year. What can she lose, except maybe her heart?

Good polish, but ended on "sensitive ear, fragile ego" trope. Meh. Cade was a bit TOO perfect, IMHO, and Keira, for all her strength, didn't even bother to ASK and made the worst-case assumption. *sigh*  4/5

GRR Reviews Legacy of the Heart by Evelyn Boyett

In the old west, Abby was sent to a "finishing school" in the East at the age of 15, and forced to leave her beloved Montana ranch behind. She hated her father ever since and never returned... Ten years later, Abby returned upon learning of her father's death... and found that she had inherited the ranch, and foreman Mac will show her how it's done. But there's a saboteur among the ranch hands... For Abby has an evil uncle, who wanted revenge for having been slighted decades ago by Abby's father, and he will "encourage" Abby to sell him the ranch. Forced together by circumstances, Mac and Abby have to trust each other.

About as trope as Old West romance goes without invoking mail-order bride, there are so many tropes here (just look at the tags below). It felt as if it's written by formula, with tropes after trope piled on to make things last a bit longer. While the polish is good, it can't disguise that it's filled with trope after trope. 3/5

GRR Reviews Crazy for the Boss by Ashlee Mallory

James was the black sheep of the family, but when his grandpa gave him another chance after he had to take a break for health reasons, James was determined to do things right as the interim CEO. And the first thing he did was hiring Quinn Taylor, a young attorney that is championing an employee assistance program (EAP) that should improve morale.  But Quinn is beautiful and passionate, and James fell for her... // Quinn knew about being an underdog... Her mother was badly treated by her last employer after PTSD left her unable to work. Working for James comes with a large salary that would put a dent in her debt far faster than she imagined... if she doesn't have to sell her soul in the process. // When a trip left both stranded in her hometown, the sparks flew, but an unexpected source of trouble means James may have to make a choice... Do the safe thing, or go for what he wanted?

Somehow the darkest hour didn't QUITE work for me. But it's still good. 4/5

GRR Reviews Fake Marriage to her TV Husband by Kacy Cross

Lilith needs publicity to save her business when her half-sister chose to ruin her business via online review bombing. Joining a reality show seems to be a dream come true, and getting married to her TV husband Dane sounds great, as Dane's handsome and suave. But Dane's hiding a huge secret... Dane's actually the high school nerd that got rejected by Lilith. He underwent a total transformation, and the whole show is actually a revenge plot: he'll make Lilith fall for him, then reject her on national TV in the final episode with a full reveal. Except, the more Dane got to know Lilith, the more he realized he got it all wrong. But the producer is determined to see the revenge show through...

Eh... Not feeling much here. How can you make a whole SERIES out of a single revenge idea doesn't really make any sense to me. And online review bombing isn't that hard to fix. Was Lilith really that bad of a person? 

3/5

GRR Reviews Maybe Series Collection 1 by Ella Miles

NOTE: This collection is no longer available, in favor of the new collection, which includes 3 more books and a new title.  I'll give each of the books separate ratings.  The overall rating is 3/5 as an average of all three.


Maybe Yes (book 1) -- Kinsley Felton grew up rich and beautiful. She was a model for Seventeen magazine, and she graduated from Yale... but with a mostly useless degree. She can inherit an empire her family had built for a hundred years, if she accepts what her family asks of her... Such as marrying the chosen heir to the empire. But she wants to learn to love by herself... And she thought she had just found the man... Until her grandfather called her and changed EVERYTHING... Her father is dead, and she needs to be wed ASAP to make sure the line of succession will continue. And she needs to meet him ASAP.

I saw where the plot was going pretty early on but the journey there was enjoyable. 4/5






Maybe Never (book 2) -- Kinsley Felton had fallen for Killian... except he wasn't what she thought he was... but an FBI undercover agent who had been infiltrating her family for years. Convinced of her family's innocence, Kinsley refused to take a plea deal. And Killian found himself crossing the line to save Kinsley from herself. But the truth they discovered will shock them both, and sent them on the run around the globe...

This one, I have trouble to stomach. An FBI agent, OFF the case, went to investigate? Took a witness on the run and went rogue?  3/5









Maybe Always (book 3) -- Kinsley has finally learned the truth about her family, and it was devastating. And she is still in love with Killian. To save his career, she had to leave him. To save her soul, she had to bring down the cartel... From the INSIDE. That means going undercover as herself. // Killian knew why Kinsley ran... she is planning something dangerous. He needs to save her, but he has been arrested by the FBI and dumped in prison. Until fate reunited them once again...

I have trouble stomaching this one too. Turned sadism into sex in the guise of torture? That's pretty sick. The rest of the plot was okay.

3/5

GRR Reviews Her Brilliant Cowboy Billionaire by Erica Penrod

Jamon is a cowboy turned billionaire when his invention for rehabilitating horses took off. But a Texas Cowboy is not exactly Billionaire Cove material. He hired Gemma as a PR consultant to poilsh his image.  Gemma was used to billionaires who already knew money. This rags-to-riches guy is seriously challenging her sanity. But Jamon's life is not all grins and giggles... "Relatives" and "friends" came out of the woodwork, all wanting money. Jamon's brother who developed an addiction to opioids due to an old injury, just keeps coming back like a bad rash, despite quitting rehab only 2 weeks in. When Jamon's brother took drastic action to force Jamon for money, can Jamon save Gemma?

Sorry, but "Jamon" is a horrible name for a Texas cowboy. Jamon is a VERY Jewish name, and Jamon in Spanish means "ham". I seriously doubt any mother in Texas would name their boy Jamon, who must have been teased mercilessly in school. The plot is also a bit... infantile. Bad guy tie her up to a tree? Really? Faint even without sighting any blood? Oh, come on.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

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

GRR Reviews The Queen's Fake Fiance by Emma Kingsley

Bianca of Belmonte is about to become the first female ruler of the small kingdom, without being married. When the opposition wanted her to resign and give the throne to her cousin, she instead chose to fake engage the most honest guy she knew: Dr. Paul Reese, whom she was fond of for years. But she doesn't know if he returns the sentiment... // Paul had been in love with Bianca, his best friend's sister, for years, but Bianca is way too busy to think of him as more than just friends. When Bianca needed help, he can't say no, but what will she think when he let her know his true feelings?  Better keep mum about it...

Eh, I didn't feel that much of intrigue, or how a fake engagement can be that much of a problem. The hot-and-cold thing between Paul and Bianca also bothered me a little.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

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

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Scandal by Nadia Lee

Meredith is a single mom that took over the CEO position of The Lloyd Development after the ouster of its previous CEO in a scandal. Before this, she's best known for running several charities. When a client, Daniel, demands Meredith to accompany him to visit his upcoming resort's job site and see how far its behind (despite status updates that says everything is on-time), she had to go. Daniel and Meredith knew each other, for she's his baby sister's best friend, and she had always a thing for him. Now forced to work together to resolve the problem, Daniel and Meredith found themselves falling for each other. But Meredith had kept a secret for many years. When Daniel's enemy made a devastating endgame move, forcing Meredith's secret into the open, will their affection for each other survive?

Didn't quite like the deus ex machina ending, but everything else up to that, including the secret, was magnificent.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Trouble in a Tight Dress by Lori Sjoberg

Austin is the head of Six Points Tactical Security, and working for him is a diverse crew of security experts, including cybersecurity expert, Nina Petrov. Austin and Nina want each other, but they are not going any further other than saying "hi", as he's her boss. However, Nina is hiding a big secret... She walked away from her Bratva princess life almost a decade ago, but a chance encounter at a social meeting in Florida means her secret is about to be blown open... and what's worse, her brother, who had taken over the business, wanted her back in the family biz, the one she ran from... and he, with a business deal in the area, has the resources to force her. Now Nina has to choose between either telling Austin and enlist his help despite her "betrayal" in keeping her secret, or run again, as she cannot risk her brother hurting the only true family she has...

While the action is quite good, the whole plot is trope. It's a standard protector/woman-in-peril plot.  And the romance is a bit of meh, nothing I haven't seen before.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic suspense

Primary Plot: ex-mob princess, now a cybersecurity expert, is hot for her boss when her brother wanted to force her back to the family "business"... Can she tell her boss, or will he be disgusted?

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews Landry's Back in Town (Rocky Ridge) by Margery Scott

Landry's Back In Town sets up a "criminal" trying to fit back into life, and a lady do-gooder trying to rehabilitate his reputation (and failing). The setup was a bit on the simple side.

In the old West town of Rocky Ridge Colorado, Landry Mitchell went to prison for robbing a bank. He didn't actually do it, but try explaining that to the sheriff. He went back to the town after his release to earn his living as the blacksmith but his town wasn't ready to forgive him. Olivia Harding wants to help people, and she cares for the orphans and the less fortunate. Landry saved her from two mean drunks when they caught her out at night. When she saw Landry was rejected by the town, she wanted to help. But Landry doesn't want her help. He's tainted, and he had nothing to offer Olivia... Then his no good brother (the guy that got him in trouble) came back...

I felt the romance was a bit forced, as the FMC basically forced her way into his life, whether he wanted help or not. That's... annoying. The "change of heart" that set up the end was also rather annoying. All in all, it came out as average.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man tried to live normal life after serving time in jail saved a woman in town. Now she wanted to rehabilitate his reputation...

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews Unraveling Molly by Tuesday Embers

Unraveling Molly is a hard novel to read sometimes, as there are scenes of severe bullying (including physical) and overall passive abuse. Once you get past that to understand why the FMC is taking all the abuse, then perhaps you can understand the moral of the story, and the man who loved her for who she is.

Molly was adopted, and mostly unloved. Molly Luco never made waves, and always cleaned up after others, even when family members turned abusive. She planned her escape, and she just needed to hang in there a little longer, until a man from her past came back into her life, and made her realize it is okay to want something for herself. But he's dangerous to her plans, even as he only wanted to protect her, from herself if need be...

In the first 1/3 of the book, Molly came across as a spineless doormat and one just can't understand why. Once you got to the point where she actually revealed her escape plan that things started to make sense. I've debated a long time whether I should give this a 3/5 or 4/5. In the end, I think the twist was enough for a 4/5 but consider this as really 3.5/5 rounded up.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman being bullied and badly treated at home (she's adopted) cannot let the only man she loved interfere with her plans...

Tropes: family pressure, alpha guy, protector, evil relatives, reunion

Overall Rating: 4/5