GRR Reviews Off The Hook by Laura Drewry

Kate jumped on the chance to learn all about a fishing lodge with a secret mission from her boss, who suggested that since the existing owners are unlikely to be able to afford their tax bill, much less refurb the place to re-open, she may be running it when it's all over. But when she realized one of the co-owners was her ex, Liam, to whom she was married to for less than a day, 10 years ago, this may turn into an impossible assignment... // Liam was a pitcher in the Major Leagues, but he's getting old and his prior injury means no team wanted to hire him... for now. That means he needs to move back home and help his brothers get the fishing lodge their late father left them... and a mountain of unpaid taxes and "deferred maintenance". Marrying Kate in a drunken stupor, then leaving in the middle of the night and divorce by mail was not the smartest thing he'd done, but he felt it was necessary. Now that Kate is here... 

Excellent "conflicting feelings" reunion, with a couple layers of motivations. Kate refused to leave because she MAY get a managerial job out of this, and Liam... simply can't afford to let her go, not to mention they really do have feelings for each other. Unfortunately, one of the plot points required a "most fortuitous accident" and I feel that's a weak point of the book. Though the end is very satisfying.  4.5/5

GRR Reviews Crush on You by Amelia Wilde

Roman, now controlling the family Bliss Resorts, is a demanding boss. So who is this total babe claiming to be his new assistant? Turns out, she's Jenny, former high school schoolmate (and with a hidden crush on him). But he can't be distracted, even if Jenny's oh-so-tempting...

Tries to pivot onto a sort of disguise/mystery/undercover thing, but it's mostly "hot for boss/secretary" trope. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Seduced by Sunday by Catherine Bybee

Meg is a matchmaker for Alliance, a matchmaking firm that specialized in marriages of convenience. She wants to investigate a secluded island resort operated by Valentino Masini, a sexy businessman. A secluded island with very discrete employees can be very good for Alliance's clients, and even though Meg considers herself off the market, she does notice Valentino's charm... and attempt to woo her. But Valentino and Meg soon found themselves in the middle of a mystery... Valentino's sister is being wooed by a winemaker, and someone wants Meg and her entire party off the island. What did Meg get too close to?

Again, the pivot from romance to romantic suspense was done almost seamlessly and all the plot points flowed properly. There was even a perfect karma payoff at the end.  What's even more amazing, it sets up the next and final novel in the series. 5/5

GRR Reviews Crushing on the Billionaire by Liwen Ho

NOTE: 52-page short

Devon is vacationing in Maui, contemplating his life. He has more money than he can spend, but his life is lame without love. When he spotted his ex, Kylie, on the beach, he can't believe his luck... // Kylie is actually working... She's the nanny to an young child with an entitled mother. When the child got away from her for a moment and ran into Devon, she was let go. Devon can easily fly her home on his jet, but he wanted to just stay and enjoy the time, but she needs to go home and find another job, because her family has lost their fortune, and her mother needs her to earn a paycheck for medical treatments. But Devon can easily afford all that, if she'll just let him help her...

Ah, another "pride goeth before the fall" story, where the girl was "too proud to beg" and all that. Didn't really feel much here though, but then this is a 52 page short. 3/5

GRR Reviews The Honeymooner by Melanie Summers

Work-a-holic Libby was about to marry her fiancee, the steady-as-a-rock Richard, and become the perfect power couple. They even agreed to use the honeymoon trip as a part of her work in evaluating a resort for mergers and acquisitions for her job. So she was utterly shocked when Richard did a runaway groom and canceled the wedding via text... that coward! But with no choice but to go on a honeymoon trip as a single, she traveled to Paradise Bay with two goals 1) get Richard back, and 2) get the resort owner Harrison to sell. And Harrison... well, wanted to change her mind by inviting her out on various adventures. Libby now is conflicted. She can see why Harrison is failing and can find plenty of room for improvement, not necessarily be acquired. But she's also discovering a version of herself that she hadn't seen for many many years. Which version is the real she... and which one does she wanted to be?

As you may guess, Richard comes back at the worst possible time to basically force a confrontation (albeit, im a more rom-com way). But the combined self-discovery and falling in love combined with conflicted loyalties never really gets old. 4/5

GRR Reviews Welcome to Riverside Ranch by Sophie Mays

NOTE: Cliffhanger, kinda Happy-for-now ending, 126 page short novel

Piper was just handed her dream: being the assistant director for a film project she wrote. While she planned for a jungle adventure, being told by studio head to change the setting to a Colorado ranch/resort is not bad... but having her crush as the star? Run into production problems? And being attracted to the head cowboy, Blake? That could be a problem... // Blake knew that his family ranch has a ton of tradition, being owned by them for a VERY long time, but tradition won't keep the ranch running in the black. That's why a new wing of the resort is about to be done, and not even a film crew can ruin his good mood. But a feisty city girl named Piper leading the crew? That could be a problem...

Sweet, fun, and romantic, in that they try to accommodate each other. But the story is unfinished, as the Blake wanted to see Piper in her home element: Los Angeles. That's for the sequel... This volume by itself? Technically a cliffhanger. 3/5

GRR Reveiws Something Borrowed by Eve Dangerfield

Elle hated weddings, esp. destination weddings. (She also hated to fly.) But for her best friend, she can make one exception... Until she found herself seated next to none other than her nemesis, Jackson... // Jackson was a douche, and he knew it. Emphasis on "was". He wants to prove he's reformed to Elle, but he can't think of how, esp. when Elle doesn't even want to be next to him. When he noticed something about Elle... He decided to take the gamble... One week of submission to Elle... any orders (short of illegal or dangerous stuff, of course) to him will be followed... EXCEPT getting himself off. Yes, that. He will go blue balls for a week. And if she STILL hated him by the end of the week, he'll leave her alone forever. Unable to resist, they get involved, and their relationship turned VERY complicated indeed... She found he had indeed changed, but is it for the better? And he found her domineering attitude in the bedroom refreshing... and he liked it... But will they really resolve their differences before the wedding?

Oooh... Femdom kink, albeit in such a delightful way that you almost don't realize you're reading D/s. Yes, Jackson tried to top from the bottom, but Elle put an end to that quickly. This may be the best "fun" intro to D/s relationship romance I've found so far. 5/5

GRR Reviews Summer of Change by Elena Aitken

Samantha aka "Sam" loves Cedar Springs, and she hates change... like the upscale resort that's opening nearby with the hot springs, owned by Trent. Trent just wanted to share the healing hot springs with everyone. Trent and Sam meet, and it's like fire and ice. Neither would back down. But as both came to see the other's viewpoint, and gain an understanding, grudging respect developed, then friendship... Then a kiss that changed everything...

Not bad, a bit on the low-key side, but I like slow-simmer romances. Trent apparently didn't quite pull the town together before building the resort (uh... did he import all the labor?) and that lead partly to Sam and other local's opposition. A bit egotistical of him. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Heartstruck and Heavensent by Kari Trumbo

Madison is a very private librarian. Nobody knows her well, and that's her choice. She based her life on her parents, who are Christians with zero public affections, that love is something to be shamed. So much so, she left Kansas behind and went to New York City. She's even more ashamed because she has a secret side job: romance writer. And she's actually quite decent at it... Until she hit a writer's block. When three of her best online friends roped her into a week at the Broken J Ranch in Wyoming as sort of a writing retreat, she accepted, as anything would be better than writing nothing. Which is where she also met a quiet wrangler by the name of Randall... // Randall has land in Kansas, and he's just working in Wyoming to save up some money to outfit his own ranch. Randall was drawn to Madison, but Randall's leaving soon, and Madison, even sooner. Madison knew that Randall is a Christian, and is strong and good-hearted. But she can't do long-distance, and she didn't like being Christian... or did she misunderstood what being a Christian meant all along? And is there really a chance with Randall, if they can both go back to Kansas?

Okay, this is Christian / Spiritual, but not too obviously so. It doesn't beat you over the head with Bible quotes and such. You can even say it kinda broke the 4th Wall, albeit circumspect, by having characters that are romance novel writers discussing what constitutes a spiritual romance, and even made threw some shade at traditional publishing vs. indie publishing. 4/5

GRR Reviews her Billionaire Lifeguard by Sophia Summers

Trey and his friends/co-workers are vacationing in Mexico. Being half of a top cosmetic company means he hadn't taken time for himself for a while. While on the beach, he found a woman who seems to be immune to his charm. her name is Scottie, and later when they meet again, she mistook him for a lifeguard. And he decided to continue pretending to be a lifeguard. When he found out Scottie is actually the daughter of his deceased hero and business mentor, he's determined to help her, even as he realized she was betrayed by her BF and board, and despite her escape, they were still trying to ruin her, in order to gain full control of her company. But when Scottie learned that Trey may be pondering a business venture with her enemy, will she ever trust him again?

Eh... The resolution was so fast it felt like a deus ex machina. That was not handled well at all. 3/5

GRR Reviews Fool Me Once by Catherine Bybee

Divorce attorney Lori is a divorcee herself, and she's a part of a secret company called Alliance, that arranges "marriages of convenience" for rich and famous clients. She doesn't believe in happily ever after. When several of her clients are now single, and one of them was embroiled by controversy due to unexpected circumstances, she arranged a Caribbean cruise for the group and found herself tempted by one man: Reed. // Reed quit the police force when his superiors were more interested in a cover-up than justice. Becoming a PI seems natural, meeting Lori was definitely a bonus. And when Reed found out Lori's secrets, he found himself conflicted, as Lori was not the target (yet she unwittingly supplied the clue that allowed him to figure out the rest), but if he reported back, Lori will take the fall. And if he confessed, Lori would surely never wanted to see him again... Then the decision was taken out of his hands, for there are other players at play as well... And they all wanted Lori's secrets...

Ah, nice twists and turns. Reed is definitely a conflicted character who wanted to do the right thing, and tries to ride that line between ethics. Lori's cynicism was tested again and again. Like this a lot. 5/5

GRR Reviews Nina (Beach Brides) by Stacey Joy Netzel

Nina was a diehard romantic and had been let down by love. She went with eleven other book club friends to Enchanted Island, and in their final night, she was supposed to toss a wish of her ideal boyfriend into the ocean as a "message in a bottle". But she brought it back with her. Eight months later, Nina was visiting a Wisconsin town. As the personal assistant (and best friend) to a Hollywood star, she promised to attend the Valentine's Day charity auction in place of her boss. It's almost fate that she ended up sharing a house with Finn (who was promised by her boss's brother to renovate house). // Finn was medically discharged from the military after almost losing his leg. Returning to his hometown, he's smitten with Nina after that fateful meeting. But Nina wasn't quite ready to try again. Finn wasn't giving up though, esp. after finding her message in a bottle of her "dream hero"...

Sweet, and good use of dog (very appropriate name and eyes), plus a darkest hour and grand gesture that makes sense. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Kiss at Midsummer by Meg Easton

Elise lost her mother six years ago. She wanted to complete her mother's bucket list, and one of the items was to buy her childhood home back. She found a job at the Royal Palm Resort and worked her way up to activities director. She needs to cater to this special client, Merit, to get the bonus pay which would give her enough for the down payment. But there's a condition: Merit's business partner wanted him to date and have fun. But Elise also knew that Royal Palm has a "no fraternizing with guest" policy. Merit turns out to be a total workaholic who had to be forced into his vacation, and it took Elise some creative finagling to get him to forget work with activities such as parasailing and sand castle building (with kids). But an unplanned spa day (accidental couple) and a dance at the Midsummer Ball, and other activities as a couple, and Merit found himself falling for Elise, and vice versa, even though Merit was supposed to date other guests, not Elise... And Elise found her job in danger when she was caught with Merit...

The darkest hour was pretty much trope "sensitive ears, fragile ego", when Merit found out about the "side bet" bonus deal his business partner made with Elise, and concluded she's a golddigger and cut off all ties, and thus Elise may lose her job and her chance to buy back her old home. Resolution? A bit of meh. Still, the slow burn was pretty good. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Reluctant Bride by Elle E Kay

Addison and Zachary had made a marriage pact in their teens. They were best friends and always together, but they did not know what life was ahead. Decades later, Zach is billionaire, and Addison is surprised to hear from Zach, shocked when he invoked the marriage pact. She was both thrilled that he remembered, and disbelief that he intended to marry her. But she agreed, and soon, her entire family and his friends are heading to his private island for a beach wedding. Then he sent off his entire staff for a paid cruise on a cruise ship he chartered, so he can spend some time alone with his new bride. Unfortunately, a tropical storm hit soon, and they have to cooperate to survive...

A billionaire and assistant who planned EVERYTHING except for a tropical storm... Hmmm... There's a bit of "everyone but you" feel. But the idea of being swept off one's feet has that bit of Cinderella feel to it, but not much else. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Fake Billionaire Boyfriend by Laura Ann

Hazel is a quiet romance author who just hit a writer's block. Looking for inspiration, she decided to book a camping trip at the new castle resort operated by the "Overnight Billionaire Bachelor Brothers". Turns out Nelson, the youngest of the three billionaire brothers, is handling the group personally. // Nelson knew "balls and chains" (aka wife) like his brothers already found are not for him. He enjoys adventure and did not want to settle down yet. He likes Hazel's calm demeanors, and when another camper refused to leave Hazel alone, Nelson stepped up to protect her, even went as far as proclaiming to be her boyfriend (fake, of course). It's what any guy would do... right?

Sweet, with the creepy suitor that was overly aggressive, but not in the physical sense, basically an over-the-top sorta-alpha manner that was definitely anti-trope. That can be thought of as throwing shade on the "alpha" types. The ending was one of those "I thought... wrong" tropes, but it was handled well. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews My Bereaved Billionaire by Katie Evergreen

Nate is a billionaire running the world's most successful online dating agency. The problem is he had to pretend to be married for years. After all, who'd trust a single guy to help them date and get married? But with the company successful, it's time to "stage" the death of his "fake" wife. And that means conducting a wake in the hometown of his "fake wife"... Pebble Cove. And turns out the only available venue is at the Pebble Cove Motel. // Liberty fled Pebble Cove as soon as she was able to. But she's back, to help her dad run the Pebble Cove Motel after he had fallen ill. With only a young brother and sister team, they barely manage to keep the place running, and this "wake" would make a dent in the medical debt her dad's racking up quickly. She wasn't looking for love, and while she felt a connection toward Nate, he had just lost his wife. That would be very inappropriate... It didn't help that Nate's (evil) father invited himself... and the media.

Some of the plot didn't move that smoothly. Nate just feels like a doormat at times, letting others dictate his life, from his assistant to his overbearing (fake-friendly) father. Of course, he grew a spine by the end, but only after his father, pretty much out of spite and greed, destroyed any goodwill between Nate and Liberty. I also found it to be a bit weird that Nate basically fell for Liberty over the phone, and vice versa. Still, it has pretty good polish. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Nanny's Billionaire by Carly Morgan

Evie is out of a job and soon to be homeless. Her career as a country music singer was dashed when a prospective label suddenly dropped her. She would love to be a nanny to two adorable girls, but it's their father that she has a problem with... For he's none other than Kane Warren, country music's bad boy, recently divorced with drama covered in all gossip rags and news. But she also loved his music. Her phone has a playlist full of them. But what chance does a girl have to spend time at an island beach resort? She had to go... but someone had already called dibs on Kane... his business associate and widow Penelope, who told Evie, in no uncertain terms, Kane is out of her league. Then she found that her ex is also on the island as a backup musician, and wanted her back. Add a kitten named Fabio, a freak thunderstorm, and a lost girl, and it's clear that Evie's feelings about Kane (and possibly vice versa) are complicated.

Kitten and kids are cute, but some of the angst makes no sense. You can really stretch the truth by claiming Kane's special event on the island was an expense item that forced the label to drop Evie, but that'd be really stupid reasoning, just looking for something to blame. And some of the complications, like Evie's ex, are very late and didn't tie in well to the main plot. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Wife for Now by Penny Wylder

Celia is Luke's personal assistant, and she had a crush on Luke for the longest time, but both treat each other professionally, with some verbal flirting, but nothing else. Then one day he shocked her with a proposal... Pretend to be his wife, since he has a bit of a bet with his friend who's getting married. And it was the best days of her life, as Luke treats Celia just like a wife... Including a ring, honeymoon suite, and even his husband duties (yes, in bed too). But... it was just pretend... right?

Sweet, sexy, and the darkest hour works, even though it's also a bit... naughty. Not to spoil the story, but it's quite nice, even though the tension isn't quite there. 4/5

GRR Reviews His to Save by Julia Keanini

Lottie is heading home for the summer to work in her family B&B in Blue Falls, Idaho. Her job as a teacher doesn't pay that well, and living in a big city means money is tight. Knowing the handsome cop Leo on the flight back was delightful, but not much else. // Leo is one of the heirs to the Heathcliff fortune... he already has a billion dollar trust fund, not that he needed it as a police detective. But when his grandpa said the family resort in Blue Falls is not doing well, something is definitely wrong. The resort is first class, but the place is less than half full when it should be completely full. // Leo and Lottie arrived in town and soon realized their respective families are at all-out war, both sides claiming the other has sabotaged their business. But something wasn't adding up. With battle lines being drawn, Leo and Lottie will have to choose sides...

Ah, that's a nice romantic suspense mixed with some small-town charm and comedy, and a nice dose of mystery. The setup took a while, but it was worth it. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Risky Play by Rachel Van Dyken

Seattle wine heiress Mackenzie was jilted at the altar and heartbroken. She ran off to Puerto Vallarta Mexico to sulk alone. She encountered a gorgeous hunk "Hugo", and settled for a one-night stand using a fake name, and even gave up her V-card, as he seemed to hint at wanting more. But when she woke up alone, she knew no man can be trusted. // Slade just needed to get away from it all. Finding "Ashley" at the resort as a woman who understands him was magnificent, but playtime with her means he wasn't there when his father passed. And he needed to head home immediately. // Just imagine their faces when Mackenzie shows up as his personal assistant.  But they can't remain enemies for long, as someone is out to get them BOTH... and he plays dirty...

Ah, I like this one. Woman's not weak, guy's not macho ****, and there's even a common enemy to unite against.

5/5