GRR Reviews Their Secret Bargain by Kay Lyons

Nick is the black sheep of the Tulane family full of doctors and lawyers, but he is a shrewd businessman running a fitness center and a bar. When his son Matt has problems in school, he needed to hire a tutor for the summer fast... // Jenn had been put down all her life by her family and her (now ex-) husband for being a full-figured woman, but she loved to teach. // The two made a bargain: she'll tutor Matt, and he'll train her to lose the pounds... For two months, up to her trip to Paradise Island. He, a gorgeous 6-pack hunk, can't possibly want a chubby girl, and she can't possibly fall for a high school dropout... right?

Eh, conflicting feelings for this one. Jenn's fine, but Nick... has mercurial moods. He had NEVER disclosed to his family (he's in his late 20's or early 30's?) that he's functionally illiterate, and grew apart from his family because he feels ashamed. So when Jenn insists that he show up at a family wedding, he decides to dare her to go with him. Eh? And it's not the first book I've read with the plot of MFC finds MMC with a learning disability, cured him and fixed his family problems. Still, the little details are not too bad. 3/5

GRR Reviews The Wild One by Ruth Cardello

NOTE: Same series as "The Broken One" reviewed earlier

Mauricio Romano is between jobs, trying to figure out his direction in life. His family is rich (he's technically a billionaire), but he's not spoiled... just... cocky. And visiting his buddy Felix in Paris was just the time to lose some steam. But losing his heart to an American visitor? Never. Right? // Wren Heath was visiting Paris at the invitation of her friend Cecil. Meeting Mauricio, the avowed bachelor and player, wasn't quite in her plans, but having a weeklong fling with a gorgeous guy in the city of love sounds wonderful... Especially if what happened in Paris, stay in Paris. Right? 

This one leaves me a little conflicted. I can see Wren's thoughts, as she kept saying this is "just a fling", and even though she'd LIKE it to be permanent, she was prejudiced by Cecil's opinion of Mauricio, that he's good at building a fantasy, and she's viewing all his moves as "building a fantasy for her" even when he's sincere. What I have a little problem seeing is how Mauricio turned from an avowed bachelor to a one-woman man. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Dawson

 Phronsie, betrayed by love, is moving back to her hometown for a break. Meeting her best male friend Judd (since kindergarten!) again was great... Then he had a crazy idea... They are best friends, already knew everything about each other. Since passion inevitably fizzles, but friendship stays... Maybe they should get married. And she said yes... Because it made so much sense. But as the preparations get underway, and as the wedding date gets ever closer, Phronsie started having doubts... Just what does it mean to be in love?

An interesting flip of the trope... Usually, you have the reverse... The heart wants the other, but the head says "are you SURE!?"  This one has the head say "makes perfect sense" and the heart goes "but what are you missing?!?"  4/5

GRR Reviews About Face by D E Haggerty

Frankie, a high-powered event planner, suffered severe injuries in one leg and a permanent scar on her face. Forced to take a long break from her third-floor city apartment (and wardrobe, and girl-friends) she went to live in the suburb with her grandparents. Unfortunately, her grandma kept trying to set her up with (loser) grandsons of her friends. Fortunately, her extremely handsome physical therapist, Brody, agreed to be her fake boyfriend, to help stop her grandma's horrible matchmaking. But she didn't know that her assistant, Jackson, has the hots for her, and Brody wants to take their fake relationship into the real category...

Can be subtitled as "How Frankie got her groove back", Frankie basically had to decide whether her city life is actually worth living, after being forced to take a break. But the story also took a couple meandering turns, like Frankie decides whether to slap down the evil ***** substitute who wanted her job permanently, and how her new bestie secretly has the hots for Jackson, but that's actually a setup for the next novel in the series. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Clash by C A Harms

Payton was abused by the person that should be there to protect her. Her only refuge was her neighbor family, which includes Dylan, who will cherish her. But is that love? Will he betray her just like other men in her life?

While the story fo abuse and survival is emotional, the love story seems to fade into the background here, until the emotional self-loathing (I'm not good enough, my abuser said so) takes over. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews The Sounds of Secrets by Whitney Barbetti

Lotte (nickname of Charlotte) had been in love with Sam (short for Samson), but he never noticed her, apparently. Lotte always wanted to travel, despite inheriting a space as a dance studio in London. She took the risk of selling the studio and do a bit of travel in the US, but Lotte also has a hair-pulling problem... She deals with stress with hair pulling, so much sow her brows and her hair are in patches and she had to disguise it with makeup. Before she left, and after a few too many drinks, she and Sam had one night, but he left, and she... left for the US. But this roadtrip only made her realize she's a stranger in a strange land. When she suffered an injury, Sam came to the US to spend some time with her... and shared his own problems and secrets. But is that enough for a relationship?

Oooh, seriously angst-y type romance, which is this author's specialty. Her main characters are all flawed, suffering from loss and grief, yet managed to nonetheless find love. If you like serious people finding love without billionaires and other fantasy elements, this is a must-read. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Bon Bons to Yoga Pants by Katie Cross

Lexie is pretty, and she knew she's overweight... over 250 pounds at age of 22... But eating for stress relief had her stuck in her ways. Fortunately, there is now an incentive... She's obsessed with Bradley, a handsome guy who seems to be into her over FB... With her younger sister's wedding coming in a few months, and she's the maid of honor (and Bradley will be there) she's determined to make a change, by joining the "Health and Happiness Society". But as Lexie slowly comes to grips with her weight problem, and the pounds started to come off, will Lexie figure out WHY she overeats, and will she see the root problem of her self-image?

Great rom-com with a lot of self-deprecating humor about her own weight, as well as going into the core problem of eating as coping mechanism to stress. It's also a bit of self-discovery. Even Bradley's too-good-to-be-true persona wasn't a total cliche. 5/5

GRR Reviews The Handmaid's Billionaire by Gigi Marlowe

Mattie is a handmaid in Malibu, working odd service jobs while she tries to work on her writing. She would have never met Corbin, billionaire movie producer, and older guy, until Valentina, billionaire matchmaker, brought them together. They seem perfect together, but Mattie is unsure, as she was a runaway bride... left her fiancee at the altar, not ready to take that step. Does she deserve someone as handsome and rich and wonderful as Corbin?

NOTE: 111 page short novel

Not bad, pretty sweet, but the darkest hour wasn't that dark. Basically, Mattie has to decide between another go with her first love, or Corbin, who already loved her. The choice is pretty obvious. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews My Best Friend, the Billionaire by Serenity Woods

Izzy is physically scarred from an accident in her youth, and her family had always been poor. But she has great friends, including Hal King, one of the King brothers, whom she met back in high school. And Hal's rich and handsome and everything an (unwanted) girl can ask for, a great platonic friend. And now, they both work at Noah's Ark animal sanctuary. Izzy believed Hal will NEVER want her... but Hal is tired of holding back... He wanted to woo Izzy... forever. But can Izzy believe in him... and herself?

Okay, Izzy is in self-denial ALMOST to the point of being masochistic, and this is NOT a sweet romantic. There is sex, and there's drama because Hal's ex (another employee) is creating drama. And Hal has super-human patience, but then, it's almost like he's coaxing Izzy much like he coaxes a mistreated dog into accepting his help. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Guy on the Right by Kate Stewart

Theodore (Not "Teddy", and not "Theo", just) Houseman, former band geek, now marching band rock star, just found his forever girl on campus. And her name is Laney. Unfortunately, so did his roommate, football royalty, and campus superstar Troy. But this time, the #underdog will win, unless of course, Theodore forfeits. And why would he do that?

The story surprises me sometimes, that that doesn't happen often. There's a lot of sass and humor in this college, and I wish I went to a college like that. OTOH, I guess I didn't quite get why Houseman would blow up like how he did that caused the darkest hour. Though the grand gesture was perfect. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Challenge by Deana Farrady

Jasmine and Sara are roommates living across the hall from Matt and Harrison, also roommates. Matt, a "lazy blogger", flirts with Jasmine a lot, but Matt's also never serious about anything. Harrison is on his way to a PhD and is platonic friends with Sara. Then after a get-together, and a lot of wine, Sara proposed "the Challenge"... Jasmine and Matt will pair up, Sunday eight till midnight... go have sex, and work out their sexual tension. Sara and Harrison will do the same. Next week, they switch partners, then switch back the week after. Any of them can call stop. It's NOT supposed to affect their friendships. And all four, after a bit of pondering, agreed. But how can taking that extra step not change their relations fundamentally? As each learned a lot more about their friends, and work through their unrequited love (or lust), each also learned a lot about his or herself. And nothing will ever be the same...

On the surface, the idea seems... preposterous. But the sex is sensual, and the self-discovery exquisite. However, by the end of the book, there's a morose period, where basically Jasmine fell into some serious self-pity. OTOH, I really like the half-Asian angle. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Dreamy BIllionaire Neighbor by Dyanne Gordon Green

Colby is a handsome billionaire, but somehow his luck with women was horrible, and at 29, he's convinced he's a loser... Until Ellie moved in next door. And now Colby sees new possibilities... // Ellie had given up on men after a horrific experience that she could tell no one about. Moving into her aunt and uncle's condo (next to Colby) was her running away from her problems. Meeting Colby was nice, and slowly he melted through her walls. But when she panics again, will she run just like she did before?

This is very Christian, with no sex, and barely any kisses. And there are many scenes of Bible reading and prayers. My problem is Colby's self-inadequacy seems to require no trigger... It just randomly pops up at the most inopportune moment, as if it's just there for dramatic purposes. The ending feels forced.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

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