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 Traded by Tess Thompson

Kara is a nurse in WITSEC after doing the right thing. She left everything behind, hoping for a fresh start. Brody is the SuperBowl winning QB coming home to rest and needed a nurse for his mom and his housekeeper / 2nd mom. So he hired her, and they slowly fell for each other. But he had a "no woman" rule after a bad breakup and she's full of secrets and refused ANY spotlight... Can this relationship ever work? 

The serendipity is strong in this, and the solution felt very "Gift of the Magi" -ish. But somehow I don't really think they click as a couple, as Brody just feels... schizophrenic... He's both not suspecting enough... AND too paranoid. At least there are no TSTL moments. 3/5

GRR Reviews Borrowing Kisses by Kat Bellemore

 Zoe, the special assistant to the mayor of the small town of Amor, knew her town will never be the same after the nearby space sport opened for space tourism. But when the real estate developer Stephen arrived, with the blessing of the mayor, to buy out a few businesses so the town can grow, she chose to sabotage Stephen to drive him out, to "save" her town...  // Stephen is a workaholic raised by a workaholic after the loss of his mother. He knew a promotion is promised if he can get the town to buy in, and he's NOT trying to mess up the town. But with "help" like Zoe thwarting his every move, his overall mission may be in jeopardy... // Stephen and Zoe are total opposites... He's a disciplined deal-maker. She's a free-spirit friend-maker. Yet there is an intense attraction there that neither can deny. But will they be fighting too much to give love a chance? 

Okay, the back and forth is actually pretty good, and the changing of mind makes sense. However, it's certain that the "spaceport" bit was written without a technical consultant. There is just NO WAY that even a civilian spaceport would let just random gawkers go up and TOUCH the ship... or let a pilot offer "inside tours" after a landing.  This is not a 747. Not that you can touch the skin of a 747 from the ground anyway. Maybe the engine cowling. But this is supposed to be a spaceship? Spaceplane? Whatever... 3/5

GRR Reviews Slim To None by Freya Barker

Emma's daughter is all grown up, and she decided to move to Cedar Tree and start her life alone. Being disabled and needed to use a cane or walker, she is nonetheless beautiful and active, doing freelance bookkeeping and bake pies for her best friend's diner. Until a strange phone call in the night stirred her blood like never before... // Gus, private investigator, is on the trail of bail jumper who may have info on a mob boss he wanted to take down. Links took him to Cedar Tree, where he is supposed to find a bookkeeper... like the Red-headed Emma. When someone tossed Emma's house, and Emma's clearly in danger, Gus steps in as Emma's protector, and love bloomed. But someone from Gus' past is watching... and waiting for retribution...

Good romantic suspense with a couple of good twists and turns, plus enjoyable main characters. Gus is protective without overbearing and a disabled heroine? An unusual but inspired choice. 5/5

GRR Reviews Ruthless Kiss by Amelia Wilde

Jasper is a ruthless developer buying up property all over town to be refurbished and earn massive profits. Until Isabella bulled her way past his secretary with anger and sass... // Isabella's clothing line is about to go international. She learned that her mother (and indeed, all the tenants) are being evicted. So she went straight to the source of the problem: Jasper. // Isabella found Jasper attractive, and to help her mother, she'd do anything. And when Jasper suggested she be his plaything for a month, in exchange for her mother staying put, she surprised both by saying yes. Their chemistry is off the charts, and they are VERY compatible in bed (which came later). They both planned to use sex to get what they wanted... but what do they REALLY want?

I am not sure what to think about this one. Sex is pretty good, if a bit repetitive (I can only read about a nipple pinch so many times). But the escalation doesn't really work, nor did the darkest hour. Isabella's mom first wanted to save her unit, then she escalated by wanting her daughter to save the WHOLE BUILDING (i.e. all of her friends). Darkest hour was really weird. Basically, Jasper's father, normally leaving Jasper a free reign, suddenly decided to interfere... first by insinuating that Isabella is a golddigger (she's a multi-millionaire!) then by selling the building out from under Jasper (to Isabella)  And because of the sale, Jasper came to believe that Isabella was playing him. For what? Great sex? Logically this makes not a lick of sense. 3/5

GRR Reviews Fractured by Lori Sjoberg

Carter was a good soldier, but when he felt he was losing his soul, he got out and returned to his family farm and equestrian center.  Meeting Amy, the new horse trainer, was a shock, but he sensed that she has a secret vulnerability that she was not ready to share... // Amy changed her name and looks and left everything behind after she was acquitted of her husband's murder. Her brother-in-law publicly announced there's a miscarriage of justice, with EVERYTHING left to her. The only thing she has left was her love of horses. And she doesn't need Carter... to mess things up. But when her past came back to haunt her, can Carter protect her?

Good mystery, a good twist on hidden identity and protector. The ending is also handled quite nicely. Although I don't see how the bad guy plans to get away with... whatever he was doing at the end. Of course, she still needs saving, but that's kinda beside the point. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Amazed By You by Cheyenne McCray

Celine, fashion designer, needs her product launch to go perfectly, and on budget, as she had put EVERYTHING on the line. She has no time to babysit a cowboy ranch owner who's miffed at city folks invading his domain. That is, until she met Jayson face to face... // Jayson lost a bet and ended up with city folks all over his ranch doing a commercial shoot, interrupting his ranching. Though secretly, he's impressed with Celine running the show. When the two finally meet, sparks flew (the good kind). But Jayson has a secret, and not even saving Celine's life may redeem him from that...

Not bad, good polish on opposites attract story. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Rough Around the Edges by Laura Westbrook

Chloe just started her job as an assistant bookkeeper at Jackson's construction equipment company, while keeping a secret: she inflated her resume a bit. She hoped to learn the rest on the job under supervision. Jackson is a hands-on kind of boss... When Chloe arrived, he had his head through the ceiling installing a network cable for her computer, that Chloe mistook him for a contractor at first. Jackson also commutes on his motorcycle and kept up his physique that all females appreciate, including Chloe. When Jackson's bookkeeper quit, Chloe found herself the head bookkeeper, in way over her head, and keeper of a secret... Jackson may be contemplating selling the company. In order to save her job (and everybody else's jobs too), Chloe has to do something about her growing attraction to her boss...

A couple minor things stood out for me... a) Generally a network cable install goes through the walls, not through the ceiling tiles, and doesn't involve drills, esp if one can use those adhesive cable anchors to the walls. b) I don't quite understand Jackson's personality... he's either the strong and silent type (toward Chloe, almost embarrassing her), or the wonderful boss helping his employee out type (that she found out later). The two don't really mesh... But Chloe's solution and the slow-buildup is pretty good. 4/5

GRR Reviews Stay With Me by Kristen Proby

Amelia, beauty vlogger, is getting a divorce, but her ex is determined to hurt her by contesting everything, even AFTER the judge had already granted the divorce. So she went to live with a cousin, who found her a cabin to housesit, so no one can find her. Not that she wanted to meet ANY men (except delivery guys)  Until she met her neighbor Wyatt.. // Wyatt was intrigued by his new neighbor, always receiving stuff, and sometimes high profile visitors. So when Amelia came knocking on his door, needing some help, he's happy to oblige. But he has an evil ex too...

Not really feeling too much beyond the "hot neighbor" tropes. 3/5

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 Falling in Love with a Police Officer by Ellie Hall

Owen is a single father and police. He moved back to his hometown Hawk Ridge Hollow to help his daughter settle in, even though his brothers have all left the area on their own careers, despite family riches. Falling for his daughter's kindergarten teacher, Brynn, was not in the plans. // Brynn left the big city behind after losing her cop husband in the line of duty. She swore she will never date a cop again. She had no children, and being a teacher seems to be the closest she would get to a family. When Owens needs a sitter for his daughter because he works the night shift, and Brynn needs a "room parent" to help with the school, they ended up spending more time together. But when she made a mistake, how many secrets can they confess to each other to regain trust?

Nice, and the family fortune barely factored into the story, merely as a background element for tension. It's basically two damaged people coming together. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Cowboy's Imperfect Plan by Hayley Wescott

Tyler used to be a rodeo champ, but he got married, had a kid, then the marriage turned sour, he went off the deep end, became a drunkard, and lost custody. But he is a foreman for a rancher who regarded him as the son he never had. And he's been years sober. When the rancher had a stroke, he found out about the will giving him the ranch... with a caveat... // Adaline just found out that her mother had lied to her all her life... Her father was not dead, and in fact, left her a ranch... with a caveat... She has to marry Tyler for a year. Adaline was a recovering addict herself, but less than a year sober. Would a marriage help or hurt Tyler's custody battle, when Adaline kept her struggles secret?

Baby custody battle and marriage of convenience is nothing new. But having it in the same novel with weird will, sudden family, and hidden past? That's at least an interesting combination. 4/5

GRR Reviews Passion's Child by Ann Major

Amy is a single mother... of a child not her own, but she loved as if he was. She had to run away after a terrible betrayal. Years later, the child, nicknamed "Triple" because he's a lot of trouble, is seriously ill, and that's when Nick, her husband that betrayed her, reappeared. Nick wants his family back, but Amy is not ready to give up the secret that had her fleeing him years ago...

The book was first published 30 years ago, so the sensibilities and circumstances have changed a bit. it's a classic, but the plot can be considered "trope" by modern standards, as the author was one of the founding members of "Romance Writers of America". Read it for its own sake, not against backdrop of modern sentimentalities. 4/5

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 Winning His Wife by B B Hamel

Kayla thought she got lucky when she was chosen to attend Gradus Unversity. She didn't know she was part of a draft, chosen and sponsored by Reed. The sponsor can choose to woo the girl he sponsored, and perhaps, marry her when she graduates. But Reed is a rebel... He just participates, because he needs his father to release the trust fund he's funneling into his tech company and charity. So he picked the most independent girl of them all, Kayla, who didn't care or want the special privileges of being a "sponsored girl". In fact, she doesn't even know what being sponsored entails. She's too busy handling queen bee bullies. Kayla did find Reed attractive, and vice versa. But when she learned what being sponsored REALLY means...

Eh, didn't feel much for the setup. Bullying was idiotic. Three students set an entire backpack full of content on fire, and nobody gives a hoot, not even staff and custodians? But when a sponsor intervenes, he gets called out for "breaking the rules"? Kayla is so simple-minded she never thinks of a way to get back at the bullies, just react, or let Reed "save" her somehow. The whole premise was kinda creepy, but secret worlds are kinda like that. But the characters? Reed is okay. Kayla? Lame. And no karma on those bullies? Meh. It doesn't really make me want to read the rest. 2/5

GRR Reviews Bella by Cynthia Woolf

Bella became a thief by necessity to survive the streets of New Orleans. She assuaged her guilt by giving away half of her loot from the rich to the poor French emigres in the city while saving up for her dream to open a French restaurant in San Francisco. But her last job didn't go as planned... While she got away, the police were after her. She signed up as the mail-order bride of Robert and traveled out west to Oregon City. She didn't know that Robert is the town Marshal... Or someone followed her out West, intending to take her loot for his own... When will Robert find out? What will he do? Will he able to protect her?

Nice adventure, good twists and turns, though why she just doesn't hold the evil doer at gunpoint for her husband is somewhat exasperating. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Jilted BIllionaire Groom by Jennifer Youngblood

Sunny Day (not her real name) left her job and her life behind to save her nephew Ian, who witnessed something he shouldn't. She's now working as a hotel maid in Utah, hoping to stay far away from the bad guy's radar. Bad guy had already taken her sister's life and left Ian an orphan. She never expected to run into her high school crush, Finley, in Utah of all places... // Finley still can't get over being dumped on national TV. Reeling from shock, he left Dallas behind to hide on a family-owned hotel in Utah, only to run into Ian and Sunny. Feeling an instant attraction to her, yet not knowing why, he knew he had seen her somewhere before, Finely wanted to woo her, but she has her secrets to keep...

FOUR problems with the plot, which


CONTAINS SPOILERS


YOU'VE BEEN WARNED


A) Ian just blurt out the secret in his nightmares?

B) A child's rambling is worth killing people over? Fancy lawyers can knock that down easily.

C) How would Finley's family doctor's intern recognize the boy anyway? Where's the link?

D) And the intern wanting the money for himself? Instead of sending a real killer? Phooey.

2.5/5 due to these plot problems.

GRR Reviews Let's Get Textual by Teagan Hunter

Delia and Zach would have never met except Zach wrote down the number wrong and accidentally texted Delia instead of his client, and Delia, believing the text was from her brother, replied. And thus started this unconventional friendship via text and calls. The two didn't even meet until weeks later. Yet somehow they knew each other VERY well before they even met IRL (in real life) with a good sense of humor, and that somehow led to one baby goat being adopted. But both Zach and Delia have a few secrets...  Things got VERY dicey when one of the risque photos sent to Zach somehow leaked... Was Delia betrayed by Zach?

Good discussion of privacy and limits and squeezing this texting thing for all its worth. The reasoning for the leak and the perp makes sense, even though it really felt petty in hindsight, but it works for the plot. And the baby goat's cute. The author managed to craft an enjoyable book but also with a great theme. 5/5

GRR Reviews The Off-Season by Megan Green

Ian, better known as "Tag", is a shortstop for the Washington Rampage pro baseball team, and he was apparently betrayed by a woman he had taken to bed, VERY consensually. The woman is now alleging rape as legal blackmail, and Ian was told to make himself scarce in the off-season while the PR team negotiates for her silence. He went to a friend's cabin in the small town called Maple Lake in Colorado, where people didn't recognize him. He found himself neighbor to Lexi, who has her own demons to conquer, and he wanted to help her fix up her old house. Ian and Lexi fell for each other, but can their love survive both of their secrets?

Apparently, the public will believe tabloid reporters, then later, confessions that contradict such tabloid reporters. Public must be really gullible. *sigh*  4/5

GRR Reviews Seaside Heartbeats by Stacy Claflin

Lana has just finished getting her architect license despite her heart problem (that can be managed). But a flareup in Kittle Falls, where she's spending a vacation with her family, sent her to the office fo cardiologist Brayden, one of the Hunter brothers. // Brayden left behind his practice in Dallas to be closer to his parents in Kittle Falls, which also meant leaving behind his GF. Meeting Lana made him want to try for love again...  Brayden also was intrigued by the legend of the founder of the town, Kittle, that disappeared. The pair agreed to try to solve the 160-year-old murder mystery and stumbled into a coverup that lasted generations... and may claim their lives...

Interesting pivot into romantic suspense, but I'm surprised they didn't suspect the cop earlier. 4/5