GRR Reviews Boss I Love to Hate by Mia Kayla

Brad is one of the three brothers running a big printing business. Sonia is his secretary, and obviously will NOT sleep with the boss. In fact, she was strictly ordered NOT to by the other two brothers. Brad can be horribly annoying that Sonia told others he's BILK (boss I'd like to kill) but Brad's actually not that bad in private... When Sonia found out that her ex, along with his new girl, was invited to a wedding she must attend, she panicked. She hadn't dated in a long time, and in desperation, she asked her boss, Brad, to pose as her date, even if she had to cash in a favor... It'd be easy for Brad, right? Except this time, Brad knew who he wanted to complete his family... Sonia...

Good combination, hot-for-boss mixed with fake-date-to-show-my-ex. The problem is Sonia's self-inadequacy... Why must she have a fake date, just to show her ex off? It's sorta understandable, yet kinda laughable at the same time. Brad's a nicely complex character. The order NOT to sleep with Brad was because Brad had seduced several secretaries before, and cause more than a few problems. That's a bit... cliched trope aka "manwhore". 4/5

GRR Reviews The Substitute Bride by Kathleen O'Brien

The Substitute Bride has a decent setup, and plenty of angst about secrets and lies, but some parts of the plot and personality traits could have been handled better.

Marly Akers' mom did EVERYTHING to make sure that Marly don't end up like her: unwed, pregnant, and living with her mother. But Marly is back in town, unwed, pregnant, and now, living with mommy. Marly resigned after her editor forced her to put out a hatchet piece on his enemy... just as she found out that her one "safe" BF turned out to be a bastard... and she's pregnant. Now, she's back in her hometown of Marietta MT working a part-time gig in the local tiny paper, until she figures out what else to do. Meeting Drake Everett, who stood her up at prom, after inviting her out, was NOT a good reminder. But Drake has changed, and Marly realized this Drake... may be worth falling for. But when she needed to cover the Great Wedding Giveaway for the local paper, she found that Drake may have been one of the intended grooms. Does that mean Drake was a cheating bastard? Signs seem to be clear that Marly should stay clear of Drake, but her heart is demanding the opposite. And she's not going to stay in town... is she?

There are plenty of angst, and the mom's manipulative, but it's also a moral lesson: the most things change, the more it stays the same. Is her heart in the right place? Is it law of unintended consequences? WHY should she stay clear of Drake? Some parts of the complications don't make sense. And the suspicions are also hard to explain except with "insecure".  She's a reporter who staked her reputation and integrity on the truth. Yet she couldn't ask Drake what really happened? While I liked the drama, the personality doesn't fit, thus, 3/5.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young pregnant woman had to go home in shame; met the man who broke her heart back in high school...

Tropes: pregnancy, return, reunion, betrayal, hate your job, insecure

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews Longing for Love (Gansett Island Series) by Marie Force

"Longing for Love" is a part of author's Gansett Island series, where a large family and existing residents deal with newcomers, returnees, and tourists. While each book did concentrate on one couple, the amount of drama around other ancillary characters was numerous enough to be a distraction if you don't like this style of writing. But usually the plots wrap around themselves. It's a bit like soap opera.

Tiffany Sturgil is opening a lingerie boutique Naughty and Nice in downtown Gansett, just in time to drive the local police chief Blaine Taylor nuts. It didn't help when Tiffany's ex is creating trouble as well with the town council, which is just even MORE headache for the perpetually busy chief... Who really do want Tiff quite badly. Blaine had several failed love affairs and knew he can't jump into this full force... In the meanwhile, the rest of the characters on the island are back with more adventures as well. Joe and Janey return to Gansett to find his mother's big secret... Evan learned that Grace never told her parents about him... and more.

Somehow, the character's very parallel lives and never really interacting much with the main story. If they interact with the main plot a bit more, this could have been a 5/5.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Police Chief wants the new proprietor of Lingerie shop in town, but her evil ex is causing problems with the town council...

Tropes: Law enforcement, different worlds, scars, hate your job

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Worth the Gamble (Hidden Springs Book by Kristine Raymond

Worth the Gamble is a Western Historical Romance in the author's Hidden Spring series. It is sweet, romantic, and the plot points are VERY appropriate, but due to the resolution NOT achieved by either character for the darkest hour (though the grand gesture is recognizable) I cannot give this story 5/5 stars.

Olivia Thatcher is practically a spinster, getting older. While her career as Hidden Spring's teacher was fulfilling, her heart aches for love... until Dallas Trent came to town. Dallas is a gambler, and extremely honest. The problem is he's too good, AND he's a gunslinger too, and he made more than a few enemies, and his reputation preceded him... for shooting a man over game of cards, a reputation he did not deserve. But Dallas Trent is a learned man, and when Olivia ran into problems with her students, Dallas came to her rescue, and their friendship developed into a lot more. When Dallas is accused of murdering another gambler, and only Olivia can be his alibi, Dallas chose to remain silent to save Olivia's reputation in town...

SPOILER AHEAD

Dallas' silence is his grand gesture, but it LED to the darkest hour, instead of resolving it. It was up to the sheriff and the rest of Hidden Spring to track down the witnesses and alibi for Dallas to exonerate him and achieve the Happily Ever After. HEA was not achieved through the FMC or the MMC's efforts.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot:  Town teacher fell for the honest gambler / gunslinger. When he's accused of murder, she is her alibi, but he'll protect her reputation by staying silent...

Tropes: sacrifice, different worlds,

Overall Rating:  4/5 (rounded up from 3.5/5)