GRR Reviews A Mother For Christmas by Jackie Weger

Single dad Decker and his 8-year-old daughter need to renovate a Victorian in 30 days (by Christmas) or he'll lose the house, but his decorator just ran off on a honeymoon. That left Annalise, the decorator's assistant, shouldering the workload. Annalise is always sad but seems competent in her job, and bonded with his daughter quickly. There may be a spark between the couple... THEN he learned the cause of her sadness... and why they bonded so quickly... 

The twist was practically advertised, but the author did the best to distract us with red herrings. It's a Christmas story, so some incredulity is expected. Not bad, but not one of the author's best efforts. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Cowboy King by Madeline Ash

Mark and his two brothers, Kris and Tom, are just cowboys on a ranch in America when they received news that the Kingdom of Kiraly needs them... as Mark, i.e. Marcus, is now the next in line for the throne. But what does three cowboys know about being royalty? // Princess Ava has her own plans to escape with her secret, apart from her parent's "strategic marriage" plans for her, preferably with the new King Marcus of Kiraly. She has plans to make the new King hate her, but Marcus turns out to be a kind man, and she found herself falling for him. Now she has to choose between escaping and loving the king...

Not bad, even though Ava turned out to be a bit wishy-washy, but it all made sense, due to the amount of pressure she had been under. Not too much cowboy-ing in the Alps. 4/5

GRR Reviews Aria's Christmas Wish by Victorine E Lieske

Kendra is a single mother raising her daughter the best she can, and Christmas is approaching fast. She knew who the father was... Country music star Jacob, but she can never tell him. She was petrified when Jacob returned to town, and saw her daughther. She denied she's his, but there is no mistaking those eyes. What had Jacob done for Kendra to hide a daughter from him? How can he redeem himself... and get his family back?

The reason is both reasonable yet overblown. It's nice, but not that... great. 4/5

GRR Reviews Gwynneth Ever After by Linda Poitevin

Gwynneth (just Gwyn) is a single mom raising 3 kids (a daughter and twins) as an architect. Her husband walked out after the twins are born, claiming he's overwhelmed. And she's too busy to worry about anything else. Until a chance encounter in a theater had her sitting next to Gareth Connor, Hollywood superstar. What is he doing in Ottawa? And why is he so nice to her? // Gareth is in town for his own secret... He's there to meet his daughter, now 18, under ultra-secrecy. Seeing the effect of separation on Gwyn's daughter had him reexamine his life... is Gwyn and her kids his chance at redemption? Or just complications? Can Gwyn accept him, or will her insecurities ruin their relationship?

Good details, and no major plothole except one: why the children were NOT vaccinated, given that Canada started universal varicella (chickenpox) vaccination in Ontario (which includes Ottawa) by 2004... Also, if he's there secretly, he's certainly making no effort to disguise himself while out of Gwynn... 4/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire's Blue Blood by Amy DeLuca

Single mom Cinda, the owner of Fairy Godmother Cleaning Agency, is quite busy managing her business (including two of her half-sisters) and has no time for a man. Her last man left her a present (in the form of pregnancy) 5 years ago and was never heard from since. When flu swept through town, Cinda had to put on a maid's uniform to clean her client's house... and that's when she ran into Prince Alexander... // Prince Alexander takes a vacation every year with his family, but hates America... and hadn't been back for five years. He just wanted to get the Holidays over with. Their early arrival surprised the cleaning crew... Esp. Cinda... Because Alex is her ex... the one that left her that surprise... And she can't tell him about his son, because she can't risk him taking her son away from her... And they are now stranded away from everyone by the storm...

Basically a retelling of Cinderella, complete with "evil" step-mother. Good job mixing in secret baby trope along with forced proximity, but it's still trope. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Forgotten Reins by Susan Lower

Sarah opened her equine rescue op with her best friend and her best friend's brother, Josh. But her inheritance isn't quite enough to pay the bills esp. with all the upkeep like fence posts and whatnot. But when Sarah went to a horse auction and saw a horse that can barely move, she can't walk away, and she ended up buying her for $7, even though the mare was given a minimal chance of survival. Next day, the vet arrived, and she was stunned to find Michael Wolfe, who bought the property next door, as the new vet. What she can't tell him is she's a single mom, and her son's daddy is Michael. They had that one night, and then she was sent packing... What had happened that night... and why did Michael never searched for her? How can she tell him now?

Somehow, the story just feels very... clumsy. The narrative flow was OFTEN interrupted by Sarah suddenly falling into a day-dream recalling events from the past. And Michael is basically completely clueless, never once suspecting that someone had "interfered" with his life, then and now. And Sarah is still the meek girl, even at 25 and a mother, easily intimidated. 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Billionaire Cowboy Doc by Dobi Daniels

Rebecca, who was a celebrity once, is back in the US, now a single mom, but when she injured her arm tussling with the paparazzi and protecting her daughter, she had to go to the ER. And who else would she see except her baby daddy Max? Except he, the ER Doc, didn't recognize her... But he did save her from even more paparazzi and offered up his ranch as her hiding spot. Was he only pretending to not remember her, or did something happened to him?

Hmmm... interesting setup for secret baby and it's rather good twist to combine it with an amnesia plot. 4/5

GRR Reviews Irresistibly Tough by Victoria Pinder

Billionaire physician Oliver Bentley can't believe his entire family was arrested for alleged scam and to get himself out, he just needed to marry someone. And he needs to get out because his mother needs treatment. He was even more surprised when his intended bride was none other than the one that got away... His former girlfriend, Rachel. But Rachel has a huge secret... She bore him a son five years ago and never told him. Now, married to Oliver, she has to decide whether to divorce him in 30 days and be safe... Or risk it all for forever...

Not feeling much for this one, as this one relies more on plot than the characters. There's only so much a doctor and the secret baby tropes can advance the plot. The rest is basically enemies attack and attack, and suddenly came up with a different attack, only for the good guys to save the day. 3/5

GRR Reviews No Broken Beast by Nicole Snow

Clarissa returned to her hometown Heart's Edge when her sister vanished from their candy store. She left the town years ago when the hotel burned down, killing her father. But she's keeping secrets... Because Leo stayed behind... and is her child's father. Leo had since become the monster around town known as "Nine". The town never knew that her father made a deal and turned the labyrinth below her family mansion into a secret lab to create monsters like Leo... and Leo risked everything to save her that night. But the evil isn't done with that place, and her sister is now paying the price. Clarissa will have to save her sister, with Leo's help... but Leo will meet his match... a fellow monster, with his own plans...

An interesting way to do a beauty-and-the-beast story albeit combined with a ton of other tropes... the sci-fi bent seems to be inspired by Resident Evil's Umbrella Corporation, combined with secret baby and more. It's just that... this book doesn't quite know whether it wants to be a scifi story, a conspiracy story, or a romantic suspense story. It just felt a bit... off. 4/5

GRR Reviews Please Keep Me by Mimi Barbour

Belinda can't believe her four-year-old dove into a lake trying to save a puppy. She was grateful that a man dove in and rescued both of them. Until she learned that he's Dr. Reed Carlton... Then she was reminded that night... When her daughter was conceived. She went to a party at the Carlton house. She woke up in bed, naked, sore, with no memory of what had happened, but the evidence was quite clear... // Reed knew he found Lindy, the girl from almost five years ago, that he never forgot from that one night. But why does she seem to hate him now? Why did she disappear that night? Her daughter liked him well enough. And the puppy... Well, he's keeping the puppy for now... So he can get Lindy back... and her daughter too, of course...

Good use of the pup as a meet-cute and continued excuse for them to meet. But she simply assumed she's raped yet did nothing about it except to be a single mother? That doesn't sound very... smart. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews The Temptress by C J Fallowfield

Lulu came from a distinguished background. Her father works with British Intelligence, but she didn't want government service. So she created "Sweet Temptations", a honeytrap agency, to test men (and women) for their spouses, and if the customer pays well enough. to MANUFACTURE proof of straying. But her personal life floundered, for she's a single mother with a son from ONE blessed union with a Frenchmen, Luc in Paris, who's so skilled and so loving, she had not experienced such passion EVER SINCE. But due to circumstances beyond her control, she lost contact with him, and held an everlasting regret since. Her latest job came as a personal request by a Mrs. Le Grande, who flew to London specifically to meet with her, and offered up a 7-figure fee to "prove" her husband had strayed.  Seems Mr. Le Grande comes to London for a few days every week. So Lulu wore her disguise and approached the bar... and got the shock of her life... For Mr. Le Grande is none other than her Luc. Now she's caught between her job, her status quo... and her love for Luc... And Mrs. Le Grande won't let her walk away that easily...

Very good, and very hot sex. Though the frequent flashbacks to six years ago and back to today had robbed the narrative quite a bit of the momentum, IMHO. I personally would have started in the bar, as she approached the guy (she didn't know is Luc), then start the flashback, continue until they lost contact), rather than jumping back and forth between present and past. The motivations even make sense. One last remark: the first thing a blackmailer should do is to make sure there's nothing that can be held over the blackmailer him/herself, and let's just say, Mrs LeGrande didn't do that. But how that's found was a bit too... easy, as if it's a deus ex machina.  4.5/5

GRR Reviews Nora's Promise by Sedona Hutton

Nora's sister Lynn died, and Nora has to raise her 9-year old nephew Ben. She didn't expect to be dumped by her boyfriend AND lose her job as office manager at the same time (since her "no kids! ever!" boyfriend is also her boss). But after an encounter with her grandpa from the beyond and a lead, Nora found Ben's biological father, a job, and a place to live in the little town of Serenity... // Davey, a winning NASCAR driver, was VERY careful when it comes to female fans, but his estranged mom's message about his possible son got him distracted for the final race that he crashed. He lost his chance for a first-place finish for the season. Bitter and angry, he went to his mom's place (first time ever), only to find that Ben is indeed his son, and his estranged mom did not willingly abandon him. He understood that his father was abusive and vowed to do better, but he needed Nora's help. And their relationship developed. But Nora's vegan ways soon affected his own relationship with his sponsors. Will Davey have to choose between his career and his family?

Good touches throughout, no obviously plot holes that I can sense, and characters all make sense, though some readers may be turned off by the paranormal bits (how grandpa came back a few times to guide her), and well as Nora's ability to actually converse with animals (telepathically) such as having a convo with a cow, and they knew they will be slaughtered for meat. Though there's not enough of it to be tagged paranormal. 5/5

GRR Reviews Second Shot by C M Seabrook

Kane was a best friend to Sam, his coach's son, and Brynne, his coach's daughter. The obvious rule applies: don't even THINK of touching her. And Kane became an excellent defenseman and went to NHL, where coach also went. But Sam died, and Brynne hated him forever for letting her brother go down that dark road. After the funeral, they had one night to forget. Then she disappeared for a whole year. Now she's back... with a son that's 3 months old. It's OBVIOUS who the father was... And Kane will get her back... Until the news leaked...

To put it plainly, Brynne's family is FUBAR because her father (coach) hid things from them, not wanting to shatter their illusions and memories, choosing to become a taskmaster instead, which only made things worse, since it turned both Sam (the son) and Brynne into runners/avoiders who deal with feelings by running away. And Kane, taking cues from coach (her father), did the same thing: took the blame and let Brynne think the worst of him when he could have said a few things to clear it up. But no, he had to be the strong silent (and suffering) type. ARGH. Yes, it's emotional, but it's angst. Nobody wanted to talk about things, everybody wanted to play God (it's better for you this way). ARGH!!!!!!    3.5/5

GRR Reviews Barefoot with a Bad Boy by Roxanne St Claire

Gabriel Rossi, ex-spy, now consultant, fell for CIA linguist Isadora while she was training under him. But she left on an assignment, and was later, declared dead. Gabe also learned of a child by Isa, presumably his, also dead. Years later, retired, Gabe was approached on the beach of Barefoot Bay by a woman, who knew things ONLY his Isa would know about... yet she looked NOTHING like her. His spy training told him this had to be a trick, but his heart wonders... could it be true? // Lila has been working deep undercover for years with full body modification, that she no longer sees herself as Isadora. But with unknown threat stalking her, despite her semi-retirement, and the need to protect her son, she had no choice but to approach Gabe for help. But any attempt to get close to Gabe resulted in a splitting headache. And Gabe, instead of offering her sanctuary to hide, offered to help her entrap whoever is after her. They don't realize the threat is actually MUCH closer than they realized... And betrayal comes from unexpected direction...

Good spy thriller combined with romance. 5/5

GRR Reviews The Unstoppable Patriot by Jennifer Youngblood

Landry is a star running back for the Georgia Patriots, but his love life was apparently a bit of a mess, after leaving his love, Daphne, behind six years ago and there hadn't been anyone serious since. When a car accident left him with retrograde amnesia, and he lost 6 years of memories, he found that the world has changed, and nobody would tell him why Daphne is not at his side. Desperate to woo Daphne back, it's clear that EVERYONE is keeping secrets from him, esp. who is the father of Daphne's child, and these secrets may destroy him... or set him free.

Eh... Not feeling much about this one. It's pretty obvious who the kid belongs to, and holding grudges for years never is healthy, and parents are just... nasty, all in the name of "love". 3/5

GRR Reviews The Road Leads Back by Marci Bolden

Kara never expected to see Harry again. Twenty-seven years ago, they spent one night together that changed their lives. He disappeared one night, stood her up at the prom. She found she was pregnant, and was kicked out of her home. She ended up on a bus to Seattle and lived in a community of unwed mothers, where she gave birth to Phil and raised him to the best of her ability. It was an itinerant lifestyle, until her art started selling, and they finally settled down. Now Phil is a father, raising a child with Down's syndrome after the mother left. Harry's appearance sent Kara's life into a tailspin. Over almost three decades, without a single letter answered, she had convinced herself that he left her for good. But as both realized to their horror, his mother, in the name of "protect his future", had NEVER told him about her. Kara wasn't ready to reconcile as the pain can't be erased with just a single confession, but Phil, currently unemployed, is desperate for a fresh start, even if it's in Kara and Harry's hometown where Harry offered him a position. And it is there, where all the secrets will be exposed, and no one will ever be the same...

Wow, from such simple "secret baby" and "betrayed by family" tropes, this book really puts your emotion through the wringer. 5/5

GRR Reviews When We Touch by Tia Louise

Emberly and Jackson were secret lovers, because Emberly's religious family despises Jackson's poor family. Jackson promised to come back for her, but due to other people's interference, he didn't come back until 10 years later, needing some time off after a grueling case as a trial lawyer. But his return to his hometown was met with shock... Emberly was still there in Oceanside, raising her daughter, believing Jackson left her behind, but Jackson only did so after receiving letters claiming Emberly did not want him back. Jackson wanted back into Emberly's life, but their respective families intervened again. And he has to go back to the city for his job... Right?

Ah, the typical "evil family intervention that destroyed young love gets second chance" plot. While the touches are good, there really is very little new ground covered in this novel. Everything is pretty much, as expected. 4/5

GRR Reviews Hometown Heartbreaker by Joleen James

Ruby regretted getting pregnant at 16 and giving up her baby girl for adoption. She left to make her life. Ten years later, she's back to her small Alaskan hometown, only to find her daughter is being raised by the one man she never thought she'd see again... her one-night stand, hometown golden boy, and the father of her child, Dane. //  Dane had to give up his own dreams when a twist of fate had him raise his own daughter that he gave away at birth. He was not ready to share his daughter with anyone, even her mother, but he didn't have a choice. And it's clear whatever burned between Dane and Ruby is still there... smoldering... But can they ever trust each other again?

Angst-y, but that's the way this sort of reunion goes... At least this is an interesting twist on secret baby. 4/5

GRR Reviews Second Chance With her Athlete by Hanna Hart

Ruby and Carter were high school sweethearts in Baton Rouge, Louisiana... He's not approved by her family, but they didn't care. Carter was destined for college football, and picked UC Berkeley in California. They were supposed to go together. Until Ruby suddenly vanished one day, and all Carter got was "she's fine, stop contacting us". // Five years later, Ruby was forced to move home as a single mother. Unknown to her, Carter is also back in town, to take care of his uncle (who has MS), and is currently the quarterback of the Baton Rouge Bears. Carter was surprised when he found Ruby... even more surprised that she has a daughter. Just imagine his shock when he finally realized he's the father... But when the season finale game coming up, will the shock affect his game? Will he ever forgive her?

Well, this book is your standard "secret baby" and all the tropes are used. But some parts about American football seems to be a bit... off. Why she ran without asking him five years ago was also a bit of... "fragile ego". Other parts are quite good.  4/5

GRR Reviews Secret Daddy by Scarlet West

Trina and Drake were a secret couple. Drake is best friend with Trina's brother Tom, but Drake left town to pursue his acting dreams. Ten years later, he's back in town, and wanting to see how was Trina doing. What he didn't know was Trina has a daughter, almost 10. She never told anyone who the father was and was almost disowned. Drake suspected, but wasn't sure if he's the father. But he will find out...

For the secret baby trope, this book really added nothing special. Everything was drawn out, and made longer, and the thinking process only kinda/sorta make sense. He's like "if I'm the father, she would have told her brother, who would have told me, so I can't be." when it's obvious she didn't tell anyone. She's like "but I can't tell him..." because she had to fall back into love with him first... Eh...

3/5