GRR Reviews Married by Monday by Catherine Bybee

Carter is running for governor of California and needs a wife to "settle down" his image. He's rich and handsome, but too many women just saw him as a conquest or rich sugar daddy. The "candidate" he had in mind is Eliza, his best male friend's wife's best friend, and a matchmaker. They seem to squabble, but in a somewhat flirting way that left both a little breathless. But Eliza prefers to be in the background for a reason... and if Carter wants her, there will be nowhere to hide her secrets...

Interesting pivot from mystery to romantic suspense, with all the proper karmic payouts done properly. 5/5

GRR Reviews Just Say You Love Me by B Love

Jaxon has a governor for dad and a judge for mom, and he wants to do public service by becoming the next mayor, having made his fortune as an investment company owner. But he needs to soften his image with a wife... and he can't stand the woman his mother approves of. When he saw his waitress Luana, and later, also found her working for his social media campaign, he realized who he wanted... // Luana is about to become the first college grad in the family while working two part-time jobs AND an internship, and she wanted to go to law school. She knew how her brother, Lucas, sacrificed his own future for her when their parents abandoned them, and Lucas abandoned his own chance at college to raise her. When Lucas found himself even deeper in the financial hole, and had resorted to crime to stay afloat, Luana cannot abandon her brother... So she agreed to be Jaxon's fake wife in exchange for Lucas to be spared. // Jaxon and and Luana are nothing alike... but they have a common goal, and she believed in his vision. But can they love?

Nice, very nice. Occasionally the book got very... preachy, with some serious social message that can be somewhat controversial, but the push-pull between Jaxon and Luana is quite powerful. It's just that despite being 250 pages, the pace just feels... slow.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

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 Brands Who Came For Christmas (Th by Maggie Shayne

The Brands who Came for Christmas is a bit of holiday cheer but the initial meetcute seems overly fortuitous, and the subsequent surprise baby trope seems a bit too conflicting. While the overall feeling is cozy, one can't help but to feel hot chocolate is just empty calories.

Caleb, running away from the path set by his father, had a flat tire in a small town Big Falls, and that resulted in one night of bliss with the small town beauty Maya Brand. But when his father had a stroke, he sped back to the city without a goodbye. But he can't get Maya out of her mind, but he can't disrupt her attempt to fit in as the respectable one... Eight months later, he received an anon photo of a very pregnant Maya. He sped back to town, intending to do the right thing... But Maya is not ready to trust the guy who left without a word... And neither is her family... How can he convince them he's not here to do damage control to his senate campaign, when he hadn't even decided he wanted to run? What happens when the gossip reporter found him in town? What will happen when a blizzard hit, stranding everyone?

Sweet, but this is almost pure "sudden baby" trope, shifting into "secret baby" trope. It is nicely polished with disapproving father, wise mother, a couple of oddball sisters, and a guy who can't quite express himself.. The blizzard seems to be a bit... serendipitous? fortuitous? whatever. But the initial meetcute is really... uh... doesn't make sense? As if both of them just, for no particular reason than they met, chose to throw out all they were for one night of bliss? And is the rest of the struggle really a struggle? It shows polish but for the initial meetcute brought it back down to a "meh". I really wanted to give this 4 stars, but I don't quite feel it deserved it.

Category:  Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a prospective senator do the right thing when he found he got a small town beauty pregnant? Will her family accept him?

Tropes: accidental pregnancy, return, reunion, politics, small town, betrayal, sudden baby, secret baby

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Sins of My Father (Black Brothers Series B by Lisa Cardiff

Sins of My Father is a contemporary romantic suspense that featured revenge, undercover / hidden identity, and seduction tropes. It has a couple twists that are interesting.

Archer Black has an agenda. As head of Black Investments, he's filthy rich, and his goal is to bring down Senator Thomas Wharton. For they have a blood debt they need to settle. Unfortunately, the best way to gain access to Senator Wharton is through his stepdaughter, Langley Mayer. Archer proceeds to woo Langley. Langley found a list of women with prior dalliances with her stepfather the senator. And the women on the list are turning up dead. When Archer spotted operatives stalking Langley, he realized Langley may be next. Archer has fallen for his mortal enemy's stepdaughter and needed to protect her from everyone, maybe even himself...

The final twist was pretty good, but it's probably telegraphed a long way (hint: title). Though I find the seduction slightly forced.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic suspense

Primary Plot: Rich man intending to destroy the senator seduces the senator's stepdaughter, only for fall for her for real...

Tropes: disguise, revenge, evil enemies, politics, conspiracy, protector, woman in peril

Overall Rating: 4/5

GRR Review: Second Chances complete series by Peggy Bird

Second Chances (Complete Series) by Peggy Bird is a collection of loosely connected novellas set in Oregon, USA. Each novella features a different set of characters and deal with different issues, but it is a linked universe with earlier characters appear in later novellas, and they are of good consistent quality and short but satisfying reads.

The subject covered varies. One has a psychological stalking, another has murder of homeless veterans, a third has a white power organization infiltrating politics... The author has done the research for the extra details that added to the flavor of the book, like how a glass kiln is used to forge glass art, or how PTSD affects veterans, how Jewish Christmas dinner is like, and so on, without making them seem superfluous, for most of the details are integrated into the plot.

The pairing are refreshing: gallery owner and a sculptor (with a false intent), police detective and a girl being framed for murder, older female reporter and younger photographer who stumbled into political intrigue, district attorney and a hot cop who's also a childhood friend... There is a little bit of the "why does this guy/girl have this much effect on me", but it's only in measured doses.

All in all, if you like good romance novella collection, read this series.

Category: Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: N/A (collection of multiple stories)

Overall Rating: 4/5