GRR Reviews Roping the Cowboy by Kennedy Fox

Katarina and Braxton had a hot and steamy one-night stand. But next morning Kat threw him out and then pretend he never existed. So when Kat later showed up at Braxton's Circle B Ranch B&B to serve her gluten-free sugar-free organic pastries, it's time for Braxton's revenge... Practical jokes soon turned into all-out prank war... Katarina will deny her attraction to Braxton, but Braxton is determined to show her that he wants her... long-term...

Pretty funny short, good chemistry. 4/5

GRR Reviews Billionaire's Rival by Jeanette Winters

Charles Lawson is the new head of Lawson Steel, and he has five brothers to watch out for and a lot of legacies passed down from his grandfather and father. Their main rival is Maxwell Grayson, who often used underhanded tactics to win bids and almost destroyed Lawson Steel... a while back. Charles is going to take down Grayson once and for all... but Rosslyn may yet change his plans... // Rosslyn can call Grayson uncle, but an estranged one. Her mother was disowned after marrying someone the family did not approve of. Rosslyn took the secretary job for her uncle and it's miserable, but she'll make do... Until Charles' plan took effect... will Rosslyn be the lynchpin for Charles' plan... or its failure point?

There is definitely a lot of family history and stuff to go over, and quite a bit of corporate espionage and conflicted feelings. But somehow, I don't really feel there's a lot of chemistry between the two. It has great polish. The ending was a great twist. 3.5/5

GRR Reveiws The Billionaire's Plan by Hayley Wescott

Sadie tried to save her marriage by having a child, but it didn't work. She ended up divorced anyway. After she moved back home as a single mom, she found that her first boyfriend, Bryson, is also back in town. Now a rich real estate developer, they tried to rekindle their romance. When Sadie suddenly found that her ex, now married to someone else, wanted to contest custody, she confided in Bryson. It just happens that Bryson needs a fiancee for his next real estate deal... and learning that Sadie's ex was the guy that almost ruined him when he got started... Bryson wanted to help Sadie by offering a "fake engagement"... Be his pretend-fiancee, and he'll bankroll her custody battle. He has the perfect attorney in mind. He didn't mention the part about her ex being his enemy though...

Plot somehow feel clumsy and brute-forced, the religious messages way too overt, and the about-face that came so hard (ref: Sadie's ex ) you'll feel the whiplash. 3/5

GRR Reviews Merging with the Billionaire by Jenna Brandt

Conrad has a grand plan of revenge against the college bully that almost destroyed his future. Now a billionaire, his plan is to take Boswell Oil from the spoiled brat by first doing a merger with them with his solar energy business. He did not count on meeting Tiffany Boswell, his nemesis' sister, co-owner, and with a lot to prove (and definitely no time for love). Now Conrad wasn't sure about his plan of revenge anymore, but can Tiffany overcome her own brother's animosity toward Conrad?

Clean, but not that romantic, IMHO. 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Protector Billionaire Groom by Taylor Hart

Parker, an ex-FBI agent, no longer has a job, thanks to his obsession finding what happened to his one true love, Arianna / Ari, who disappeared more than ten years ago. He used official resources without authorization, and was forced to take "early retirement". Then he got the shock of his life: His Ari is still alive, but attempting a kamikaze mission to kill a notorious drug kingpin to avenge her father (who testified and got the kingpin's father arrested, but was discovered while in WITSEC and was murdered). And it's going down at the Christmas Ball. She had cosmetic surgery and more and a new identity and became a Congressman's aide, and that congressman is courting this kingpin for his financial backing. Parker must rejoin the FBI, temporarily, not only to first thwart the hit but convince Ari to STAY undercover in order get juicier details so the good guys can arrest the bad guys... and Parker will become Ari's "handler"... And maybe Ari will be Parker's Christmas miracle.

As a romantic suspense, I'm afraid logically this doesn't really work. I can accept that Parker may be the best initial contact, and the "pretending to be her beach bum depressed brother" was initially amusing, but I already saw the twist coming, and having a shootout in the middle of Charles Degalle Airport tarmac? Hmmm... What would the French police have to say about this? Hmmm? 3/5

GRR Reviews Hidden Michael by Victoria Pinder

Sophie testified against her boss and now bad guys are after her and her family. She managed to pack some bags and escaped with her sisters on their way to her cousin's island. But when the rowboat captain died of a heart attack while rowing them, they have to save themselves, fast. And they found land... that belonged to Michael Hanniel, a self-made billionaire who changed his name and plotting his revenge (Count of Monte Cristo style) against those who betrayed him and killed his family... And he and Sophie have the same enemies. Michael knew Sophie is strong and capable, and he will protect her family, and he wanted her. But nothing can change his revenge, years in the making... Not even Sophie...

It's clear this is basically inspired by Count of Monte Cristo, as Michael's birth name was Dante, clearly named after Edmond Dantes, the main character of Dumas' work. But Sophie just comes across as TSTL. She has no usable skills, yet she decided to interfere in Michael's revenge plans in the name of "helping him", only to be captured. DUH!!!!!!!  And the ending is way too convenient. Not one of author's best works. 3/5

GRR Reviews His Vow by Lilian Monroe

Zane is a CIA agent, undercover with the Russian mob, trying to nail a US Senator for smuggling arms. It just happens that Senator Nathan Blanchet had destroyed his family fifteen years ago. And Zane was about to get his revenge when he found that Senator's daughter Sadie, the girl he had kissed once, is now all grown up, and a pawn in Senator's power games. He must protect her... at the risk of his duty... and his honor.

Sorry, but this CIA agent is a joke. Let's not even worry about CIA on FBI's turf (arms smuggling and treason is FBI's territory, not CIA) or *possi commitatus* act... The fact that Zane's handler actually called him by his REAL name over the phone instead of cover name is just BAD OP-SEC AND STUPID. Zane saved Sadie from being trampled at a concert and actually revealed his identity to her was stupid, but almost believable. For her to be in his class (his cover was international law professor) was okay (with his cover name). But his decision to REVEAL TO HER that he's a CIA agent is just outright STUPID. And how can CIA not know about his past with the Blanchetts? And age problem. He's a professor already, and he once kissed this girl? How old are they again?  And that's where I stopped reading this piece of crap.

This is basically some amateur writing some generic hero and tried to cast him as a CIA agent WITHOUT proper research or editing. There are way too many holes in the plot it's worse than Swiss cheese. It's total crap. 1/5

GRR Reviews Cherishing Her by Annabelle Love

Jessica knew injustice. She was attacked by her boss, then when she brought charges, his lawyers turned the tables and accused her of entrapping him. Not only did she lose, she ended up paying HIS lawyer fees AND got slapped with a gag order, and nobody will hire a lawyer with a history of suing their boss. Which is why she's a temp now... barely making ends meet, for she had nowhere else to go. And she can NOT allow any man to get close to her... //  Max knew Jessica, his new temp, had been hurt before. He could see the panic in her eyes when he got close to her. He knew that PTSD look from his brother, who came back from the Middle East broken.  He wanted her, but knew he had to be careful...

Eh... While Jessica is easy to understand, Max seems to have a split personality, occasional alpha male, often "sensitive guy", sometimes oblivious. And the revenge scene, left to the very end, felt... rather unsatisfying.

Also, the legal situation doesn't make sense. Rape charge is a criminal charge i.e. State vs. Perp.  What was described would only work if a) criminal charges are dropped then b) the perp sued HER for defamation in a civil court which are separate actions.  2.5/5

GRR Reviews Beware the Rich Man by Laura Landon

NOTE: Regency Romance (Victorian England)

Blake Edison, textile importer, and one of the richest men in London, has no title, but he swore an oath to destroy Duke of Somerset. The heartless bastard, eager to protect his own reputation, allowed Blake's mother to suffer and die by deliberately refusing to help, and Blake ended up an orphan on the streets. But circumstances have changed. Blake had been buying up Duke's debt slowly, and he will destroy Duke's latest plan... To have his son (Blake's half-brother) marry Lady Willow Gilchrist for her dowry left by her grandmother, in exchange for two estates... // Lady Willow understood duty to family. She loves to design clothing, but that is scandalous in itself, so it's only in secret. She met Blake, and they share a common passion: textiles. The attraction is immediate, but neither can act on it. Lady Willow knew she was promised to the son of Duke of Somerset, in order to secure two estates to help her family's future, as the two younger brothers have no estates to support themselves. And Duke of Somerset is eager to get her dowry to fulfill his debts. Yet her heart already belongs to Blake... 

Ah, taboo and forbidden love, good setting, nice intrigue, and good amount of angst. Yet the story just feels... full of logical holes. Being one of the richest men, Blake had no guards or attendants. And why the Duke ordered an attack on him also made no sense. Duke doesn't know Blake was his "bastard son", yet instead of attempting to negotiate for his debt, he simply went ahead and ordered the attack on Blake for POSSIBLY interfering with Lady Willow's plan to marry his son. There was also Blake doing a totally virtuous thing... when he could have seduced Lady Willow just as the Duke feared. And Lady Willow TOTALLY did NOT react when she finally learned WHY. The end also felt a bit deus ex machina, when it was finally revealed that Duke actually doesn't own the estates in question. He sold them off long ago to fund his ill-fated investments. How can Lady Willow's family not insist on some verification before committing their daughter's dowry and future? Feels TSTL. 

4/5

GRR Reviews The Karma Book Club by Kayley Wood

Mia has a big problem. She let her best friend Kat stay in the apartment she had rented with her boyfriend Doug, only to have Kat steal Doug, and convinced him to kick Mia out of the apartment she mostly decorated with her own money! Fortunately, her three sisters came to her rescue, but scoring her another perfect apartment... But a colossal screwup means Logan was also renting the same apartment... and Logan was freshly out of a scandal not too long ago. Forced to cohabitate, at least temporarily, Mia and Logan eyed each other wearily. But Kat and Mia are competing for the same junior even planner promotion. Mia's sisters have a plan... They shall conduct a karmic retribution scheme on Kat and Doug, and they want to use Logan's questionable morals to good use. After all, what can go wrong? Uh... how about everything?

Part rom com, part karmic revenge, let's just say things don't always go as planned. Good plotting. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Fake Marriage to her TV Husband by Kacy Cross

Lilith needs publicity to save her business when her half-sister chose to ruin her business via online review bombing. Joining a reality show seems to be a dream come true, and getting married to her TV husband Dane sounds great, as Dane's handsome and suave. But Dane's hiding a huge secret... Dane's actually the high school nerd that got rejected by Lilith. He underwent a total transformation, and the whole show is actually a revenge plot: he'll make Lilith fall for him, then reject her on national TV in the final episode with a full reveal. Except, the more Dane got to know Lilith, the more he realized he got it all wrong. But the producer is determined to see the revenge show through...

Eh... Not feeling much here. How can you make a whole SERIES out of a single revenge idea doesn't really make any sense to me. And online review bombing isn't that hard to fix. Was Lilith really that bad of a person? 

3/5

GRR Reviews His Surprise Package by Ashlee Price

Aaron can't believe his sister Marjorie is dead, drowned in a bathtub, and 2 months pregnant. He was sure her then-boyfriend Max had killed her, but Max was exonerated in court, and promptly disappeared. Seven years later, Aaron still hadn't hunted down Max. After a night of stupid parties and gotten very drunk, Aaron found himself having married Teri on a dare. Teri just wanted to be an interior designer, and getting married to Aaron, who's rich and influential wasn't the plan, but she'd enjoy it while it lasts (which is not very long). When he refused to let her go, she's confused, angry, and sad. But he had his reasons: Teri is really Max's biological sister, and she'll be the perfect bait to lure Max out of hiding, so Aaron can get his revenge... But the longer they sorta live together, the more real feelings they develope for each other... Even though Aaron reminded himself "she's related to the killer of my sister"... Until she's threatened, and he'll protect what's his...

Eh, Aaron is hot and cold, just outright weird. I don't like it. I find such elaborate revenge plots to be rather dumb and impossible to realize, and is a trope in itself.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews Hang Your Heart on Christmas by Heather Blanton

Robert "Dent" Hernandez had been hunting for his father's killers for eight years as a US Marshall. He went back to Evergreen WY to see his mentor Sheriff Ben, while accepting two fugitives when the newly arrived schoolmarm Annie distracted him for a second. One of the fugitives made for an escape, Ben was killed, as was one of the fugitives. Dent is stuck in Evergreen while circuit judge ordered Dent to take over as interim sheriff of Evergreen while a replacement can be found. Dent slowly fell for Annie, but his vengeance comes first... and she's jittery due to bad prior experience... Until he learned something that changed everything... then someone tried to rob the bank... and Dent had to call in more US Marshals to assist... but can he give up killing?

Nice, clean, and Christian (somewhat) historical western, there are some good plot twists, and character arc is pretty good. And there aren't that many tropes.

Category: Historical Western

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Marriage in Name Only by Dorreen Owens Malek

Years ago, Ann had to leave Heath behind without a goodbye. Ann is a rich girl, and Heath is from the wrong side of tracks whose only talent is fixing things. But they had a love affair that summer... A decade later, Heath is now a millionaire yacht builder and Ann's family is disgraced, with the business ruined by her alcoholic brother. Ann was forced to return to the town, and Heath offered her a devil's bargain: marry him and be a dutiful wife, and he'll save her pathetic little brother from jail, and maybe her company business too. // Heath had been waiting a decade for the revenge. Ann had been playing him all along, and now that he's rich among the elite, he's determined to have her and make her pay. When Ann told him her father threatened to have him arrested (Ann was technically underage at the time) he did not believe her. He will marry her, and treat her with cold disdain. He will even have sex with her but never sleep in the same bed. But what will happen when he finally learned she wasn't lying?

Uh, sorry, the personality flip came too fast, and the woman was the silent suffering type, no spark, no nothing. Crying silently in private. ARGH. 2/5

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 2/5

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

GRR Reviews This Christmas by Michelle Brouder

Jeff is a bit too helpful... except to himself. As a young and handsome firefighter, he should have no problem getting dates. With his mother always trying to set him up on dates, and nobody wanted to go on a second date with him or accept his dog, he's resigned to living alone. Then Holly moved into the other unit in his duplex. // Holly trusted a man once... her fiancee then proceed to steal all her money to feed his gambling addiction, saddled her with huge amount of debt, despite liquidating everything she owned, then pulled a disappearing act, leaving her to pay BOTH portions (it'll cost more to fight bills when she's already on a court-ordered repayment plan) by working multiple jobs as both a schoolteacher and a waitress. // When Jeff met Holly, they realized they have met a long time ago, back in college, just once. They are hesitant in exploring this lingering attraction they have for each other. But when Jeff suffered a health scare, and Holly found a clue to her ex's whereabouts, can they help resolve each other's problem before the Holidays?

Sweet, romance, about two hurt people finally found each other. I think the earlier meeting scene didn't add much to the story, IMHO.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews The Mail Order Bride Carries a Gun by Wanda Ann Thomas

Ella Hunter didn't want to be a mail-order bride, but when a photo appeared in the marriage gazette, of a man holding her dead brother's saber, she thought only of revenge. Ella agrees to marry the soldier turned cowboy called Ty Haven, but it was only a ruse to reclaim her family legacy. But Ty turned out to be nothing like she expected... // Ty runs a ranch in the Wyoming Territory with his brothers, mostly not by blood, but they are family. Their parents were dead, shot down by someone. They suspected a competing ranch owner, who always have threatened them, inducing them to sell out, but there was no proof. He needed a wife because his home needs a woman's touch, and his two "adopted" boys need a gentler hand of guidance. And Ella is beautiful but no less tough. But she's hiding a secret...

Do marriage gazette really have pictures back then? Would the guy's "photo" appear in the SAME ISSUE that he was seeking a bride? This doesn't really make that much sense, does it? Or did someone happen to just keep all the old issues around? The complications, on the other hand, are pretty good, and the bit about the other brother Boone was obviously a setup for subsequent volumes. It has nice touches.

Category: Historical Western

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Brighter Than Gold by Cynthia Wright

Katie MacKenzie helped her father run a saloon in 1864 Columbia California. Gold Rush had come and gone, leaving a declining town. Katie dreamed of being a writer and reporter, and she wrote for the local news about the Griffin, a Robin Hood highwayman who robbed the mine owners and gives to the poor town folks. Then Jack Adams came to town. Jack is a rogue and there is serious sizzle between the two despite their tendency to drive each other wild (with frustration). But when Katie's father died during one of Griffin's holdups, where an evil mine-owner was also shot dead, Katie was consumed by thoughts of revenge... // Jack Adams came to the sleepy town for justice, and that's not his real name. He has a very different life in San Francisco, but he'll gladly play the rogue to win Katie's heart. When he failed to intimidate the evil mine owner, he had no choice to marry Katie and reveal his true identity... But he can never tell her the secret... that he is also the Griffin... But when circumstances forced them to confront each other and the truth came out, will their love survive?

Some parts are good, some parts are like... WTF? I was supposed to believe that Katie had such an erotic dream, she allowed "Jack" to deflower her (yes, take her V-card) and she didn't wake up? And Jack actually would take advantage of a sleeping woman? And this is supposed to be... ROMANTIC? Some parts are good, some parts are cringe-worthy.

Category: Historical Western

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews Black and Blue by Cynthia Rayne

Ex-SEAL Jackson West is starting over after death of his son. He formed Black Star security with his buddies, and their first job is to apprehend three US Marshal fugitives who escaped during transport. Jackson did not count on someone cutting on on his ops... tough as nails ex-Marshal Annie Foster, who was one of the Marshals that was shot during that escape attempt. // Annie is determined to hunt down the three fugitives to atone for letting her partner down (he died during the escape attempt). She was surprised when Jackson offered her a job... even more surprised when he offered up companionship. But one of the three escapees is a serial killer and they will not give up easily...

Not too bad, pretty realistic but the relationship was a bit of meh. Jackson is a bit too nice and understanding.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

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

GRR Reviews Protecting Summer by Susan Stoker

Sam "Mozart" Reed had been chasing after a serial killer for most of his life, ever since he learned that his little sister Avery was abducted, tortured, and killed. He grew up, and became a SEAL. But this killer was never caught. Years, later, with a lead, he's going up to the tiny town of Big Bear, California. That's when he ran into Summer. Summer had it all, until was all destroyed. Her friends shunned her. With no job, no prospects, she left, and wandered into Big Bear, where her car died, leaving her stranded, with a job that barely put enough food on the table and shivering at night. Then she met Mozart, who promised to come back for her. So she waited. But someone else is waiting... watching...

SEAL with enough free time to travel around, and the rest of his team can find a helo to drop them in the middle of nowhere? A serial killer who's basically a boogeyman, never been found? Who just happy to be a handyman who gave off the 'wrong vibe'? And the killer knew a navy SEAL is after him, almost two decades later? Sorry, the tropes are just too cliche here. At least the author knows how to polish the prose.

Category: Romantic suspense

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews The Beautiful Thief by Mallory Crowe

Melody wants vengeance, and she doesn't care how she'll get it. Watching one's mom shot dead in front of her can do that. She wants Blondie and Baldie, the actual shooters, and whoever ordered them dead, even though Blondie may have given her a chance to escape... Now with her super-hacker sister Toni's help, Melody has a lead... // Adam couldn't believe Melody found him. He didn't let her go so she can get herself killed, and barge into hostile territory is a good way to do that. But getting away with her won't be easy when she both wants him dead and needs him to find the other perp "Baldie" and the mastermind... and the mastermind behind him. But when the mastermind can buy enough of the police force to frame Melody for murdering a cop, how can this fugitive pair, running from both the mob and the law, survive and achieve their goal... and clear themselves?

Pretty good plotting, even though she did more than a few "too stupid to live" moments, even though it seems to make sense on a certain level, and the karma she accumulated worked for her later.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Overall Rating: 4/5

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