GRR Reviews Why Stars Chase the Sun by C R Ellis

Jade, with her best buddy Jasmine, had gotten their wedding planner business off the ground. But her heart still wasn't healed from her fiance's sudden cold feet three years ago. A chance encounter (she threw a branch for her dog at the river) hit Emmett, canoe-ing and looking at her, in the head and they can't quite keep their eyes off each other. But Jade wasn't quite sure what to do with their attraction. After getting to know Emmett a little (who is indeed, charming, sweet, and handsome), and couraged supplied by alcohol, Jade proposed something outrageous (but made sense to her)... a day and a night with Emmett, no strings attached. And Emmett needs a lot of convincing, for he was wrestling with his own demons, having been burned by love before...

Seriously angst-y slow-burn kinda love. It's quite exquisite, as you will have to read quite a bit to find out why Emmett is the way he is. Pace could be upped a little, IMHO. 4.5

GRR Reviews The Perfect Distraction by Susan Coventry

Beth can't live in the city anymore when her fiancee called off their wedding. She moved to Harbor Springs to live in her aunt's cottage. It was just for the summer, and be reunited with her sisters is a bonus. She didn't count on meeting Colton... // Colton is a single dad taking care of his son Joey and working in his family's woodworking biz. The divorce was contentious and he is in no mood for any relationship, not even with the beautiful neighbor Beth. But when he learned that Beth is a teacher, he hired her to tutor Joey over the summer. And what was meant as the perfect distraction to help Beth heal over the summer soon became a lot more...

Now that's the proper way to do a slow-burn romance, when love came from an unexpected direction. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews A St. Vincent Valentine by Olivia Noble

Madison is a top-notch real estate agent, but suffering from a broken heart. Her boyfriend is going back to his first love. So when she got a call to meet with the woman with a business proposition, she's of mixed emotions. Turns out, she's being 'tested' for the biggest real estate deal of her life... a chance to sell a VERY FAMOUS St. Vincent mansion, owned by a VERY mysterious client who demanded a signing of NDA before she can even set foot on the island. She passed with flying colors, and the client is definitely mysterious and swoon-worthy. But she's just his realtor, even as she finally realized who he really is...

Angst-y, mysterious, but is that conducive to love? There's only so much one can do with 'enigmatic'. I just didn't feel much longing and wanting here. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Then He Happened by Claudia Burgoa

Eileen has ALWAYS been overlooked by her family, when her sister got all the drama. Now that her sister's pregnant, Eileen has been shanghaied and guilted by her family into planning a shotgun wedding... Scheduled on her birthday AND graduation day, in merely weeks. Good thing the best man is gorgeous, and seems to notice her... // Jason is a cynical and rich playboy who was left at the altar by a woman he loved with all his heart. Now he has none to give. Now his no-good cousin needs the biggest bailout of them all... He knocked up a girl and needs to marry her. Jason knew he'd end up footing most of the bill... and he can see that Eileen is the quiet one in the background, always bailing out her family... without complaint. And Eileen doesn't even fall for his charm. Now he's on a quest to show he's not as shallow as Eileen thinks he is... and perhaps... even prove he has a heart to give.

Awwww... Everyone knew siblings and families like that... and people who sit in the background, NEVER take any credit. Though this one is, for laughs, amped it up to 11. Nice tale. 5/5

GRR Reviews Snow Country by Kristin Neva

Beth dreamed of a Christmas wedding for a long time, and she thought she'll finally get it this year. To have her fiancee call off the wedding with zero emotion left her reeling. She thought she had lived a proper religious life and followed the teachings toward a happy fulfilling married life. Desperate to find herself, she went to visit her grandmother living on Copper Island in upper Michigan. Her mother told her to convince grandma to move to California so she could be cared for and not live alone. Upon arriving in town, Beth was pulled over by a state trooper for speeding but merely given a warning. Beth failed to convince grandma to leave since the neighbor "boy" checks on her all the time. The boy turned out to be the state trooper who pulled her over. Beth stayed, determined to convince grandma, even as she felt herself falling for the "boy" and her belief in "proper" courtship and marriage sorely tested. Then she found that grandma has weakness on her right side, and it's NOT just carpal tunnel. After one too many instances, she finally convinced grandma to go see a doctor, only to receive devastating news: ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Will grandma be forced to move to California? What will happen to Beth and her budding romance?

Very nice, life in the upper peninsula was depicted very well, and one can almost see Beth's thoughts. Yet her persistence in following those edicts that did NOT work for her was also... frustrating to see. There's a Narcotic Anonymous saying commonly paraphrased as "Insanity is doing the same things over and over hoping for different results". And Beth's character arc is finally realizing that she should live for herself, NOT someone else's edicts and orders.

Category: Contemporary / Spiritual?

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Faking Forever by Catherine Bybee

Shannon divorced her no-good husband, who married her for political reasons (to get elected governor) only. She wanted a family for herself, and she may settle for a "sperm donor" (just a fling) if the right one came along. Her photography business took her to Mexico to cover a destination wedding until the bride did a runner, and the jilted fiancee Victor accused Shannon of sabotaging his wedding. // Victor never thought he'd end up on a honeymoon for ONE, and who else did he ran into but the one woman who caused the whole thing... By asking the runaway bride is a wedding what she really wanted. But Shannon's words also got him thinking... and reflecting what he really wanted out of life. And between the water and sky of a Mexican beach and a lot of tequila, Victor and Shannon shared a kiss. But they know what happened in Mexico... should STAY in Mexico... So they came up with a pact to stay away from each other for 3 months, and see if they still want to get together... But as the deadline approaches, their professional and personal lives started to intersect, even as their respective pasts came back to haunt them via tabloids. Now, Shannon and Victor have to really decide whether they should be together...

Wow, that's an interesting twist on the storyline about jilted groom, and good character arcs on both. A must read for me.  If you have KU, you get the audiobook too.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Forgiving the Billionaire by Anne-Marie Meyer

Hannah left town after being humiliated by her then beau (and best friend) Logan at the prom... He never showed up. And she always seems to be disappointing her mother. She swore she'd never return, but seven years later, she's back... // Logan is a single dad when his woman ran away, not content to be a small-town wife. But when his real father finally found him, and made him the heir (he has terminal cancer), he found himself chased by golddiggers. // Hannah and Logan are not over each other, but just as he was about to tell her why he betrayed her at the prom, his ex came back, asking for reconciliation. Will Hannah leave? Does Logan want Hannah to stay?

Really not feeling much about this one. All the angst seems just so... shallow. Hannah has no backbone, and Logan's ex is way too shallow. Logan's a big softie.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews The Neighbor's Secret by Kimberley Montpetit

Allie decided to head home after she was jilted on her wedding day... Her lawyer fiancee ran off to take care of a case instead of showing up at his own wedding. Humiliated and angry, and tired of being smothered by her family, Allie decided to rent a home... only to be accosted by a handsome stranger... who claims to own the cottage she just rented and needed to move back. He has old ties to the town, but he's back with a fake name "Ethan" and some hush-hush project... with no room available in town, they are forced to share the residence... And Allie is confused about "Ethan"... he seems to be sincere, yet she knew next to nothing about him... or his secret project(s). Yet Allie found herself falling for him... Then her ex-fiancee showed up asking for a second chance...

The plot was simple: jilted woman ran off and found new love, must choose between new love and old flame. The complications about the secret project or town was good. The whole book just feels... light-hearted, and not particularly tense. If that's the style you're looking for, then this is right up your alley. For those who prefer a bit more angst instead of giddiness, this is probably not for you.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Bedding the Best Man by Virna DePaul

Gabe is a poor kid with rich friends that finally found his talent in the ring, and parlayed that into a franchise of sports-adventure stores. He had a crush on Brianna Whitcomb, a rich girl that seems to want him, but he's too ashamed to take it any further, and let his rich friend Eric take the spot. After, all, they are a far more fitting couple... Until years later, when Eric left Brianna at the altar. What Brianna cannot tell Gabe was she had erotic dreams about Gabe while in Eric's bed... Gabe knew Bri is Eric's girl, and he's Eric's best male friend... There's no way he can do Bri behind Eric's back, no matter how much he wanted to and she's technically single... for he's definitely not good enough... But their passion for each other cannot be denied...

Okay, there's a LOT OF ANGST in this novel. And a LOT of back and forth that initially it's very depressing to read. Once you got through the sad parts, and they slowly come together, then the novel starts to be less depressing.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Timber by Frankie Love

Jax lives as a mountain man in the woods after the town sheriff decided to run him out of town for sleeping with sheriff's daughter (she's of legal age ). He left to save his company and his friend. He didn't expect an angel, in the form of Harper, to drop into his lap... // Harper was a home-schooled 21-year old virgin and daughter of a preacher who was dumped by her fiancee a week before their wedding and needed to find herself... She got stuck near Jax's cabin, and she wanted Jax... But it's what happens after... that's the problem. Jax is fine being single... His log cabin is just big enough for himself, and maybe Harper too. But when Harper realized she's pregnant, and her family regarded her as a source of shame, what will Jax do?

I wanted to like the push-pull, but "preacher's daughter learning to like sex", "insta-lust a mountain man", and "it feels so good, how can it be wrong" are cliche. The plot is simplistic and over the top.

Category: Contemporary / Mountain man

Overall Rating: 2/5

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

GRR Reviews The Husband Maker (Vol 1) by Karey White

Charlotte is sometimes called Charlie, and by some of her closest friends, "Chuck". But her strangest nickname was "The husband maker". Every one of her boyfriends went on to leave her, and to marry the very next girl they fall for. But no, not her. Charlotte thought her streak was finally broken when Kyle swept her off her feet. They were deeply in love, and he's rich and caring man. He's also a senator's son with political aspirations, and a wife can only help that. But when a reporter fabricated quotes from Charlotte to fit her attack agenda, will their relationship withstand the test?

Very rare for romance, this ends on a SAD note. In fact, it's argued by many (most?) romance authors and reviewers that a "sad ending" book CANNOT be romance, but merely "fiction with romantic elements". While I enjoy the struggle, it's also a bit sad. And their story will continue in the next volume. I am not sure about the reporter's angle. It seems to be out of nowhere.

Category: Contemporary

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

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

GRR Reviews The Importance of Getting Revenge by Amanda Abram

Lexi, a high school student, was dumped by her boyfriend of three years, Jeffrey... on the night she planned to offer up her v-card. And the only one who can really console her is the one guy she can't have... her best friend's brother Jase, her former childhood friend, and her ex's school nemesis. Then Jase offered her a chance to get revenge... Jase will fake woo Lexi to make Jeffrey jealous, and Lexi will refuse to take Jeffrey back, completing the revenge. But soon, things got very complicated indeed... When Jase wanted to get together with Kylie, the hot (and genuinely nice) cheerleader, while avoiding his own reputation of having dated most of school's female blonde population, while Jeffrey seems to be still stuck on the new girl she dumped Lexi for, despite them needing to do a project together... Then Jase's friend and Jase's sister also got involved, and soon, fake jealousy turns into real jealousy, and what you want... isn't always what you get...

Reads a lot longer than it seems, at 323 pages, this high school drama feels YA, but a very mature YA. Sex was discussed, but nothing beyond making out. And what was supposed to be a fake boyfriend story got a couple twists and turns to it. It's good, but a bit slow.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Take Me, Cowboy by Jane Porter

Jenny's fiancee ran off just before the wedding was about the start. He's rich, powerful, and her boss, and she was his personal assistant, who knew him like no other. It should have been the perfect match, but he said he's not ready to be married... in front of the altar. What made the day worse was Jenny's humiliation when she was spotted, still wearing her Vera Wang wedding gown she spent her entire savings on, by none other than bronc riding champ Colton, who used to be her neighbor and she had the biggest crush on. // Colton is back in town to attend the Marietta Copper Mountain Rodeo, and he goes after what he wants, which would include Jenny. Colton's heart was broken before from a bad marriage, and he swore he'd never get married again, so all he can offer is a fling. Moreover, Jenny's not that kind of girl... too fragile from her utter humiliation and heartbreak. However, is that really what she wanted? Moreover, what happens when the rodeo concludes? Is Colton leaving?

The polish is good, and emotions are powerful, but introducing Charlie the douchebag fiancee again at the end just to reinforce a point, while dramatic, seems slightly overdone and turned it into melodrama.

Category: Contemporary / Western

Primary Plot: Jilted Bride Meets Old Crush Who Can Only Offer Fling After His Own Heartbreak...

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Eye of the Beholder by Ruth Ann Nordin

Eye of the Beholder has a frustratingly self-deprecating FMC that may make you swear instead, though the plot twists are actually quite good.

Mary was nineteen and a marriageable age, but she was plain compared to her prettier sisters and no one would marry her locally in Maine. So she cast her fate to the winds and became a mail-order bride to Omaha, Nebraska. Except her intended groom took one look at her and called it off. But fate has other plans for her, as Dave, nearby, offered to marry her instead. Dave is handsome and relatively well-off, and it was "obvious" to Mary that Dave didn't marry her for her beauty. But Mary has many other skills, sewing, cooking, and more. Dave really loves Mary, but will he able to convince her of that with more complications in town?

Mary's self-deprecating to the point of the readers (okay, me) screaming "get a backbone, woman!" But the story took a couple interesting twists.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: Can the plain daughter, rejected by her mail-order groom, accept the love of another man?

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews The Montana Bride (The Marvells) by Jeannie Watt

The Montana Bride sets up an interesting reunion, runaway bride, different worlds, AND secret baby romance and managed to juggle all the tropes without too many cliches.

Jacie Rose ran away from her hometown of Cherry Lake years ago. A drunken party got her pregnant, and her stepfather beat her for besmirching his name and his reputation. She was about to ask her best male friend Brett to marry her just to save her when she realized she'd be saddling him with her for life, so she ran. Ten years later, she is a certified building engineer and is happily raising her daughter... And just took a job back in Cherry Lake to rebuild the historical hotel. She never imagined she'd be next door neighbors to Brett, after all these years. // Brett was sad that Jacie had jilted him that day ten years ago, but he can understand why. Now that she's back, he's not letting her go... But Jacie refuses to take a lover, as she refuses to choose between her daughter and her love, as her daughter always comes first. But as pressure mounts on the project and her step-father as slimy as ever, will Jacie want to lean on Brett for support?

The knee in the balls for the end was okay, but somehow, the "big evil" was built up to be some boogeyman, and if that's all that's needed it didn't quite come across as satisfying. Brett just comes across a bit too passive, IMHO.

Category: Contemporary / Western

Primary Plot: Single mom went back to her hometown, now with a career and daughter, found the man she left behind 10 years ago still waiting

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Who I Am With You (My Kind Of Country) by M. Lynne Cunning

NO LONGER ON AMAZON

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27835622-who-i-am-with-you

Who I am With You is a contemporary romance that ended on a sad note, but with more volumes to go, the story wasn't quite resolved yet. It also featured some serendipity that can only be explained as... karma. And people fighting it.

Chad Kirkwood decided his life as country star Chad Ashford was such a lie, and his woman had run off with his producer Jay, he had to get away from it all. He drove into a small town, and a "farm hand wanted" ad was perfect for him. So he showed up at Katie Wicken's farm. Katie had to leave her job in the city to care for her ailing father, who finally passed on... just as her fiancee decided she'd changed too much and didn't want her anymore. Broken, she is single-handedly managing the farm, and help from Chad was just in time, but she cannot afford to let anyone into her heart, esp. any lies. Then Chad's past caught up with him...

Let's just say that Chad and Katie are linked in more ways than you'd expect, in a totally soap-opera worthy twist. As for what that is, read the book. IMHO, the ending doesn't really make that much sense, and the pace was generally quite... leisurely.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Country star Chad whose woman ran off with his producer picked a town to hide and work, and ended up on Katie's farm...

Tropes: disguise, performer, jilted, betrayed, small town, ranch/farm, cliffhanger

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews If You Only Knew by Maggie Fox

If You Only Knew, which was previously titled "Knowing You" featured a rather weird triangle that barely made sense, and some of the plot twists just left me feeling "what a douchebag!"

Faith broke it off with her old boyfriend when he's too much of a wandering heart... (and dick). It was painful for her because they were quite serious, engaged and all that. Now she just wants to run her bakery in town. She fell for the new sports store guy, Zane, only to realize Zane's business partner is none other than her cheating ex, now going by his middle name, Matt. While Faith got pretty serious with Zane, Matt was there to tempt her... Why? Will Zane understand there was nothing there anymore? But both Zane and Matt are keeping secrets... and Faith has to ferret them out to find out if she has a chance with Zane...

Sheesh, way too many mind games. Let's just say you'll be exclaiming WTF?! at Matt's behavior by book's end. I did.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman fell for the new guy in town, only to realize his business partner is her ex; why does her ex seems to want her back now?

Tropes: restaurant bakery, triangle, evil ex, jilted, family secrets

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Burn by Shey Stahl

Burn is basically a "fated mates" novel with a lot of sex. It is also VERY long at almost 500 pages. The evil douchebags prefer blackmail as their weapon (thus despicable), and the almost deus ex machina ending was not that believable. That left me rather ambivalent. If the pace was edited somewhat and the climax explained better I'd give it a better rating. But I like the setup well enough to give it above average.

Milena Wellington, GM of Wellington Plaza Hotel, grew up with money, but she worked hard for her own success, having worked through almost every position in the hotel (including dishwasher, laundry, and more) before taking over as GM only in her twenties. However, after catching her BF doing another woman, her BF kicked HER out (she paid the rent, but it's his lease) so she's couch-surfing at her friends. Her colleagues at work saw her as young tyke not worthy of being GM. With no home per se, and refused to take a room at the hotel as her own, she's technically homeless, which cuts down on her love life, except that hot one-night stand with the scorchingly handsome firefighter... // Caleb Ryan was destined to be a firefighter, and he did so, serving with his brothers. His own love life is lousy... The one girl he thought he could get serious with turned out to be a stripper (and his ladder mates won't ever let him live that down). Except this one girl Mila he had a one-night stand with... he can't get her out of his head... // Does this couple actually have a chance with each other, when Caleb got a jealous colleague determined to get a promotion by any means he could, and Milena has an admirer who can't seem to take no for an answer?

The threat to relationship is mainly self-loathing. The two careers didn't collide until the end, and I hate to say, the bad guy's ability to sabotage the floor was TOTALLY unexplained. And his flipping from admirer to stalker was unexplained as well. Why would hotel office be high up? It's the rest of the details that made the story interesting. The other nemesis was not handled well either. The two nemesis just came across as crazy douchebags.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a firefighter fall for a one-night stand, who turned out to be a hotel heiress and now hotel GM?

Tropes: family pressure, different worlds, firefighter, stalker, jilted fling to a thing

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews ClickandWed.com Boxset, Books 1 - 3 (Cli by Bonnie R. Paulson

ClickandWed.com 1-3 tried to make the idea of a modern mail-order-bride work (marry someone sight unseen) and for the most part, it works, but the story seems to lack a certain spark

Book 1: With this click I thee wed -- She's a lonely divorcee whose own family doesn't want her and her ex treats her like a doormat, not only turning the entire town against her (even though he's the one cheated), her ex is suing her for emotional abuse. He's a rancher who stands to lose his parent's house and ranch, and had his heart broken when he realized his now ex-wife married his prestige, not him. Yet the pair somehow got married when she got drunk and clicked on "I do"... Now she's flying across the country to meet her husband for the first time... Can this work, even when it was so... crazy?

Somehow, the evil douchebag didn't get his karma. The tale didn't quite have the spark of "strangers got married" stories of other authors. It just feels too... detached somehow. 3/5

Book 2: I_do.com -- A young doormat woman, pushed by her family into EVERY decision (as if she has no will of her own), was emboldened by her best friend into taking the biggest chance of her life... She walked out of her wedding to a man she does not love (and earned a hard slap on her cheek from her mother, who then disowned her), and went off to meet someone she had not seen... and be wedded by proxy... basically a modern mail order bride! Can such a romance work?

The new husband is okay, and there doesn't seem to be any karma for the parents either. it's all about her getting a spine. And while it has the character arc, it didn't quite have the touch of other authors like Kirsten Osbourne or Merry Farmer who also wrote books based on similar premises. The husband was kinda boring. 3/5

Book 3: DIY Vows -- the BFF of the previous novel's heroine (the same woman who paid for the setup) is going to be matched with someone in SF/Oakland, with a top compatibility score... 99.5%. But he's actually just betting with his brother on a dare, even as he's fixing up his mother's historical building in Oakland... or trying to. He is being stretched too thin, as he can't do both at the same time. She's a handywoman who can't wait to get out of her stupid town, and she's setting up her own "The Home Doctor" renovation / fix-up contractor business when it's clear the guy she matched does NOT want a wife. So she tried to keep her "kinda-wife" and the "Home Doctor" identities separate, even as she fixed up his house. What she didn't know is he knew she's both... and he's falling for her... hard...

It's mental games: she's playing some, he's playing some, they pretend they don't know about each other's games but they do... Somehow, I failed to see how that translates to romance. But at least the plot was pretty good. 4/5

All in all, average series. It's certainly innovative, but seem to lack that certain spark, whether angst or comedy or other.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: N/A, collection, three books about modern equivalent of mail order bride finding their love with a mate they never met...

Tropes: marriage, mail order bride, collection, different worlds, disguise, jilted, weird will, arranged marriage, family pressure

Overall Rating: 3/5 (average of 3)

GRR Reviews Finding Focus by Jiffy Kate

Finding Focus is a northern reporter enjoying some "Southern Hospitality". Somehow, the book just didn't feel that Southern to me, but that's perhaps I kept comparing it to the OTHER book I read with almost the same premise.

Sheridan "Dani" Reed is an unemployed photojournalist having a very bad time in NYC. Her boyfriend just left for a vacation... WITHOUT her, and her BFF is doing a job in the deep south. With nothing to do, and her BF being both evasive and controlling, she decided she need to get her mojo back and accepted a freelance job for Southern Style magazine and went down to Louisiana to interview the Landrys, esp. Micah Landry, the playboy. She tried to keep it professional, but that good old Southern Charm is hard to resist... and Micah was similarly drawn to the professional and vivacious beauty in front of him... But when an unexpected development pulled her back to New York, is this romance going to be nipped in the bud?

Frankly, I find the book has almost the exact same plot as Galahad in Jeans (Louisiana Knights Book 2) and I have to say this version comes up rather short against the Louisiana Knights.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: jilted northern reporter went to Louisiana to do a piece on a Southern playboy, falls for him, but she needed to go back up north... 

Tropes: reporter, jilted, opposites, attract, family secrets

Overall Rating:  3/5