GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Favorite by Elle Chance

NOTE: Book has disappeared from Amazon. Here is a Goodreads link

Josh is bartending at his brother's hometown bar because his brother is busy doing something else. He's lamenting on why is he tending bars when he should be chasing down stories as a reporter when Sophie Barlow, daughter of a billionaire, (and classmates, once upon a time) just walked into his bar. // Sophie just needs a little relaxation after a taxing day... but she doesn't want to explain why. The bartender is handsome and flirting never hurts. She's not staying around anyway. Then he revealed he's also a reporter... but she may have already told him too much...

While the meet-cute is cute, and the reason for Sophie to be in town pretty good, I just didn't sense a lot of chemistry between them. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Montana Maverick by Ramona Flightner

Jessamine is hiding out in Bear Grass Springs as the local newsperson... Yes, she writes and prints and sells the news all by herself, a mix of hard news and local gossip. And the most frequent subject of her writing was Ewan, the town's "most disreputable gentleman"... // Ewan is a successful builder and earned his money the proper way. He will never marry... for his own reasons. So what if he frequents the local boudoir? But when Jesse's writing started to impugn on other townspeople's reputations (but always with an element of truth), Ewan is conflicted... as he admired her independent spirit, yet repelled by her lack of tact... (and willingness to admit she went overboard). This is no ordinary courtship... yet it is exactly that...

I am conflicted about this novel. I like the character arc, about how Jesse had to admit the sensationalism she learned elsewhere may not be applicable in a small town, and Ewan admits that maybe he can love again. It's also an interesting way to handle enemies to lovers. But Jesse's initial almost-glee to ignore criticism is very off-putting. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews High Stakes by Kathryn Shay

Dylan O'Neil will do anything to protect his family, esp. from the likes of reporter Rachel Scott, whose leaks have endangered members of his family before, as in kidnapping attempts and more. As a columnist for a newspaper himself, he has an audience, and verbal war started between Dylan and Rachel. When the heads of both news organizations want them to work it out by having Dylan shadow Rachel's work, Dylan finally sees Rachel's private life, which is VERY different than what he imagined. And when sparks of attraction flared to life, neither can resist. But how can Dylan explain he had "fallen for the enemy"?

Ah, this is how "enemies to lovers" should be done. There are a few tropes, like the sick/comfort trope, and later, a hurt/comfort trope as well. But the build-up is exquisite. 5/5

GRR Reviews A Chocolate-Box Christmas by Josie Riviera

Maise, the latest food critic for Bloomingfield Daily Dispatch, was sent to attend a Christmas chocolate cookie contest as one of the celebrity judges. Unfortunately, Maise is having a hard time purging memories of... well, tossing up her chocolate cookies after bad sushi. She wasn't expecting gorgeous Ben, co-owner of one of the chocolate shops, and last stop on her tasting. Ben handles the business side... not the chocolate side. And when he was hesitant answering some questions, her reporter's sense got a tingle... She smells a story (in addition to the chocolate) and he smells... her...

I'm not sensing much beyond pretty much a boy meets girl story, and this is a VERY short 50 page thing. 3/5

GRR Reviews Trust Me On This by Jennifer Crusie

Alec is undercover, trying to catch a serial scammer and his accomplice, using his aunt, professor Veronica, and her rich friends, as bait, at a conference about Shakespeare. // Dennie is an investigative reporter going after the biggest story in her career... except her subject wanted to avoid the subject. She attended the conference but was dodged. She needed to talk to professor Veronica, which means talking to Alec... who mistook her for the scammer's accomplice working the con... It's clear Alec and Dennie have chemistry together, but she thinks he's running interference for his aunt, and he thinks she's running a con... which only makes their feelings even more confusing...

Oh, nice setup, and even nicer escalation. The scene where Dennie had to put the moves on the scammer while wearing a wire, with Alec listening, was ROFL funny.  5/5

GRR Reviews The Exiled Patriot by Jennifer Youngblood

Jayden, reporter, was assigned to interview some eccentric billionaire Lillian Yates about a hidden treasure she's hidden away for someone near her town of Remember near Christmas. But when her quest resulted in her falling into a freezing river, she was rescued by Cannon, a mountain man, and that is clearly not his real name. And then she's snowed in with him. Just who is Cannon, and what tragedy has he witnessed? And while Jayden's curiosity was piqued, she found the truth.... Can she break the story... and betray the man she came to love?

A bit deeper than the usual, the setup seems to be some "meddling", albeit good-natured. The betrayal, however, was trope as heck. 4/5

GRR Reviews Santa Cam by Maria Hoagland

Talia used to be an investigative reporter, but after one too many hatchet piece demanded by her editor, she had enough. She launched MyHeartChannel, but it's not doing well enough merely telling the truth. Searching for herself, she got roped into playing Elf during a Christmas community even... and she was surprised in finding Santa is none other than Camden, pro soccer star... someone she may have wronged before... // Camden just wanted to go home for Christmas, but rescuing a teammate ended up with him getting punched and a PR nightmare for the team... and he's forced to participate in community events for his "penance". Still stewing over the unfairness of it all, he found his "elf" is none other than Thalia, a reporter he had encountered before... but she's changed...

Nice, very nice. Kinda enemies to lovers, but more about the Holiday spirit and doing good than about personal love. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Make Believe Wedding by Vivi Holt

The Holdens and the Belugas are enemies from two generations back, running rival newspapers. Tim Holden left the editing room behind for life as a firefighter. He met Molly Beluga while on the job, removing her from an unsafe building while she's busy cranking out an article. Their families are opposed to them getting involved, which made them wanted it even more, even if just as a setup to get the two families to talk again. But soon, the fake relationship turned very real...

Sort of a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the setup was pretty good, though why they would be the ones who decide to bring the two families back to the table was a bit nebulous. OTOH, having a firefighter carry you down and out of a building is kinda swoon-y... Ending felt a bit too fast though. 4/5

GRR Reviews Last Summer by Kerry Lonsdale

Ella is a journalist specializing in honest interviews, and she has excellent memory... Except for one thing: she can't remember the car accident, or losing her unborn child. In fact, she can't even recall getting pregnant. But her husband Damien assured her that she was indeed pregnant for 5 months before losing the child. But what wasn't he telling her? Determined to find her past, she rescheduled an interview that she had done with Nathan, a retired celebrity adventurer... but he seems to know a lot more about her than he lets on. Nathan looks a LOT like Damien, her husband until you get up close. And she seems to recall being in his arms... And Damien wanted her (again)... but she was there for answers. Soon she found that EVERYONE is keeping answers from her... EVEN HERSELF...

Wow, that's some serious twists and turns that kept me guessing. And there is ANOTHER twist, even when you thought the story had concluded. THEN there's yet ANOTHER twist on top of that. Dang, that's some masterful plotting. 5/5

GRR Reviews Miss Behave by Traci Highland

Piper was inspired by her mostly absentee photographer/journalist father to be a big shot journalist, but she's stuck in a small town paper writing a popular advice column "Miss Behave", where most of her advice involved alcohol. She was hoping that her latest job, write about a local business, Brookes Jewelers, may give her a good show-piece for her new job in Chicago, but it's clear her editor, and Hunter, co-owner of the business, just want a puff-piece. Until the diamonds went missing... While Piper and Hunter unite to solve the mystery and navigate through two very different families, they discover some family secrets that shed a light upon them both... and some dark past...

Nice rom-com and the "dark past" is more of the embarrassing kind than the kind that wants to kill you. There were are a lot of quirky characters and family secrets that's kinda embarrassing, but that's rom-com for ya. Good twists and turns, and how love slowly developed. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Black Book by Amy Deluca

Reporter Bonnie just got a prime assignment from her editor: go interview billionaire author Jack Bestia, whose multi-book fantasy saga has a TV series adaptation, and people are eagerly waiting for his 7th book in the series. Unfortunately, Bonnie gets super nervous in front of her idols, and Jack is one of her idols. And when Bonnie's super-nervous, she gets verbal diarrhea and her hands started waving all over the place... And Bonnie's previous encounter with Jack resulted in... uh... let's not talk about that. // Jack has already missed multiple deadlines, and hates any invasion of his privacy, esp. by a reporter. And he actually had barely a few pages written, a TINY fraction of what he SHOULD have written. This is due to someone leaking his novel outline... and all signs pointed to his ex-girlfriend, not that he'll ever let her in again. Jack decided to be gnarly and drive Bonnie away... but when Bonnie accidentally saw his "new" outline, he had to keep her isolated while he write the book... that means keeping her with him...

Eh... that barely works. And authors don't become billionaires, at least not from a single series. And he hits it big with his 2nd book ever? That's outright FANTASY. George R R Martin is now 71, and he had been writing for like almost 50 years, and he's only now pulling in millions in advances and royalties. He's certainly not a billionaire. And Jack is not behaving logically. He gets nasty, feels sorry, apologizes, then "keep her isolated" for a month, and suddenly, he can write 1000+ pages in a month? Dang, that's some writing speed. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews The Gifted Groom by Sarah Gay

Max Moore is one of the Texas Titan Triplets, who insisted that he won't sign unless the team also signs his two brothers. He was hoping for a few years together to raise their twin sisters, until he learned that two of his brothers are cut or traded. Then he learned that he will be one of the bachelors being auctioned off for a charity... // Rosemary, a columnist for the tabloid Daily Sun, was given her first big assignment: buy a date with Max Moore (yes, with company money) while pretending to be a socialite, then dig up some dirt to dish about his family. She wanted the promotion and the raise that was promised to save her parents from selling her childhood home. Falling for Max and caring for his family wasn't a part of the plan. Now she's caught between doing her job and betraying Max, or destroying her own dreams, yet saving her heart...

Eh... Not feeling much for this one. Darkest hour was basically he found out she's a reporter, not a socialite. But then, what sort of socialite would accept his offer to babysit his sisters for money? And he didn't notice the discrepancy right there? Add the deus ex machina (her parents decided to downsize their home without needing her help) and it's a big "meh" for me. 3/5

GRR Reviews Rocky Mountain Romance by Anna Leigh

Shannon is a university librarian living a quiet simple life until she found Will, a visiting reporter, in her parking spot. Yes, she had an ex who refused to accept they are over, but she doesn't want him to lose his job, so no formal complaints had been filed yet. Will was in town to do research on a daredevil canyon jump done more than ten years ago that somehow, felt off. Was there sabotage? Can anyone actually walk away from that failed first jump attempt? The connection between Will and Shannon is very real. But can they "have a fling"? Or do their heart already belong to each other? And what about the stalking ex?

Pretty good, managed to combine both solving a mystery AND conclude the stalking (AND love) by the end of the book satisfactorily. Felt a lot longer than 188 page length. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Summer with the CEO by Alexa Rivers

Eli is the CEO of his real estate holdings company. While he's a great CEO, his people skills are practically non-existent, due to his screwed up family. He just bought quite a bit of land in a small town that's going to be a big tourist destination soon, with plans to open up a shopping mall and such. But the locals don't seem to be happy about it. When he saw that a reporter had written an article critical of the project, he's determined to make that reporter see reason... and thus Eli met Aria... // Aria wants the promotion to senior reporter in the local paper, and that means write stuff that locals care about, and the biggest issue is the new development project. Meeting the gruff Eli wasn't a great start, but soon Aria saw through the gruff exterior, and fell for the CEO, while Eli learned that perhaps his people skills can be honed. But a one-night-stand which resulted in pregnancy means Aria and Eli have some huge decisions to make, even as Eli struggles with his sister and his family who can't be civil to Aria...

Not bad, but not that good either. Eli knew he's not a people person, so WHY does he think he can convince the reporter to retract the article? The "evil family" angle was totally trope and cliche, and the epilogue change of heart just feels untrue. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Second Chance on the Corner of Main Street by Meg Easton

Whitney loves fun but lived secretly in fear of people around her leaving. Her mother left. The mentor that taught her everything about running the town newspaper left. Even her high school boyfriend left. All she has is the town newspaper, and that can't leave her... and she can't leave it. Then Eli came back to town... // Eli left town twelve years ago, and built a successful team-building business. But when his father had an accident, he had to come back to help run the outdoor rental business, even if he had to confront a town that never forgets, a father he can never please... and the girl he left behind. // When Whitney and Eli got paired to decorate the Fall Market, they have to confront their old feelings... and old wounds. Will they use their second chance wisely?

Sweet, with just enough angst to keep things interesting. The two are not like outright "enemies", but the "betrayal" 12 years ago is definitely not something that can be easily forgiven. But really, no contact for a dozen years? Really vindictive, the pair. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews A Billionaire of Her Own by Emma Kingsley

Andrew Knight created a social dating network and almost instantly became a billionaire. Being a geek, he detests publicity, despite having model good looks. When his company stock ran into trouble, and his PR team insist that only Andrew himself appearing in public can turn things around, he reluctantly agreed to do an interview for a famous magazine, where he will lie to the world... that he believed in one true love all along and that lead him to create the company. He did not expect Maggie to be his interviewer. // Maggie just landed her biggest assignment as a writer for the magazine, and Andrew is the most gorgeous and enigmatic man she had ever seen. And it's clear that Maggie and Andrew connected instantly. But Andrew had to lie to Maggie about being a hopeless romantic... But which is the real lie?

Good amount of angst, even though the darkest hour feels a bit forced. 4/5

GRR Reviews Mrs Scrooge by Barbara Bretton

Samantha doesn't have time for Christmas or love. As a single mom, she's too busy opening her own "meal-ready-to-cook" business. Her daughter has genius level IQ, and Sam is determined to buy everything her daughter deserves... Except her daughter Patty wanted her to be happy... and Patty has concluded that only a good man can do that. When Patty met Murphy at the 4th grade career day, Sam's life will never be the same. However, Sam is one stubborn woman... They don't call her "Mrs. Scrooge" for nothing... Can an ex-reporter, now bartender, and a ten-year-old genius show this single mom that Christmas (and love) are worth having?

Hmmm... Very nice. The "kids as matchmakers" can be a trope, and indeed, their slightly naive and direct mindset makes a great contrast to the adult's inability to speak plainly. But Barbara Bretton has an ability to build characters that are NOT billionaires or otherwise fit tropes like firefighters and cowboys, and this is no exception. 5/5

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Second Chance Hero by Kimberly Readnour

Zach was a phenom pitcher in college, but he had to let Lacey go to concentrate on his career. He tried to let her down easy, but it was a betrayal nonetheless. Five years later, with a Cy Young under his belt, he's doing great, until Lacey walked into his press conference. Zach knew what he wanted... Lacey back in his life. But Lacey, still raw from the betrayal, is determined to avoid him at every step... When Zach suffered what may have been a career-ending injury... Will they let each other go again to "do the right thing"? Or will they fight for what they have?

Good push-pull, and all the baseball terminologies are great, as are the reporter stuff. Zach's darkest hour was also nicely handled, with all that self-sacrificing ****, even as another complication from Lacey arose (which I won't spoil, but you can see from the tags). I guess the question is, is Zach really a bad boy?

Oh, and I enjoyed learning the term "cleat chasers". Yes, it means what you think it means.

Category: Contemporary / Sports

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews The Aimless Billionaire by April Murdock

Brandon found his affluent existence completely meaningless. His friends are shallow and materialistic. Determined to find himself before he "settles down" to join his father's business, he went "undercover", to live his life plainly, by attending a music festival and just live like a normal man... // Jessie is a blogger who loves music and was just awarded a backstage pass to a music festival by a magazine in exchange for some local coverage, which hopefully could turn into more. She had saved every penny to travel to that festival, and have planned the interview. // When Brandon and Jessie bumped into each other at the festival, sparks flew. Brandon's down-to-earth attitude and self-deprecating wit was a perfect match for Jessie's sass and vivaciousness. Yet even Jessie can sense there's something different about Brandon... When Jessie's interview turned into something else, will Brandon's secret be revealed? Will that revelation change their relationship?

More of an "adventure", Brandon was just a general "nice guy" if a bit naive. Jessie is the real star here. But the chemistry here is nice.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Only Ever You by Siobhan Davis

Ryder is the lead singer of the star rock group Torment, but he hid a secret in his past that he dare not let out. And he regretted letting the only good part of his life, a girl named Zeta, go, back at "juvie", but he felt he had to because he was being blackmailed. Years later, Zeta is back in his life, despite all their attempts to avoid each other. And this time, taking it as a sign, he will win her back... and tell her his secret... Even as the secrets drag him under...  // Zeta took blame for a crime she did not commit to escape her childhood, and the only good part was knowing Ryder will be waiting for her when she got out. But he didn't. So she avoided him, even as she kept tabs on him, for she's a reporter for a music publication. When they are forced to meet again, she can't help but to fall for him again... Until his destructive tendencies resurfaced... And to save him, she must learn his deepest and darkest secrets...

Angst-y, but some parts of the plot seem really really forced.

A. Ryder forced to give Zeta up upon leaving juvie... Why? Ryder is worthless at that point, barely putting roof over his head. To protect her, he'll move across the country, based on one threat? Seems a bit... hard to swallow.

B. The darkest hour was really dumb, and the bodyguards were not doing their jobs. Knowing such a threat is out there, and they fail to control the crowd? Meh.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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