GRR Reviews Taming her Cowboy Billionaire by Natalie Dean

Bryant is the black sheep of his conservative and religious family, seemingly going against the values he was brought up with but nonetheless becoming successful. But despite his success, his heart remains empty, while his four brothers all found love... And it was at his brother's wedding when he encountered Keiko... Keiko is beautiful, smart, talented, and religious (goes to Church on Sundays, and more), and has a great group of friends. And many people even warned Bryant "don't mess with Keiko, she's too good for you". And Bryant agrees... Keiko is too different, probably too good for him. But Keiko has her own demons... and Bryant will find them, when Keiko decided to help him reconcile with his family by understanding his pain...

You almost forgot Keiko's part-Asian until she mentioned it, and until she shared her own demons. But all this started when she decided to get nosy? Hmmm... Still, it's actually quite good, just didn't feel very western or cowboy. 4/5

GRR Reviews Delicate Balance by Brooke St James

Henry, one of the four Blair Brothers, is a rock star of the band Delicate Balance. He left the hometown of Astoria to seek his fame years ago. And Aiden always had a thing for Henry. So when Henry and the entire Blair family came to the restaurant Aiden waitressed at, she was both surprised and delighted... and this time... Henry noticed her...

Aiden is a bit self-effacing and backbone-lacking, at least, until she accepted that Henry really does want to love her, not just to bed her. This is clean and spiritual, no sex, but more subtle kind of love and support that clean romance readers can appreciate.  4/5

GRR Reviews Cherish Me by Autumn Macarthur

Naomi and her best friends buried a time capsule of their hopes and dreams when they were thirteen. Then they forgot about it. Decades later, Naomi, now known as "Nai", is back in town when her aunt had fallen seriously ill. Forced to put her job as PA to a billionaire on hold, she has to run a small town bookstore for her aunt, care for her aunt's animals (a parrot, a cat, and two dogs), manage gajillion things to around the place (cleaning, fixing a leaky roof...) and manage the flaky staff. Oh, and met her old crush, Mateo, now handsome local cop. But Mateo was the one that stood her up for her junior prom. Will God show her the way forward?

Sweet, and not overly religious, both have reasons to be shameful, and insecure, and the connection between them is good. And there's a good cast of other characters to help things along. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews A Waltz for Amber by Kimberly Rose Johnson

Amber needs to make her dance studio in town a success, and having her students perform at the town's Christmas recital should do it... except all of her students have choir practice that night. And the high school music teacher refused to reschedule. And the teacher, a recent returnee to town, happens to be her old nemesis Chris... // Chris knew he did a lot of things wrong back then, and being cruel to Amber was a part of it. He would like to make amends, but he wasn't sure how, without compromising his own principles... But he will definitely help her in any other way. But can he make Amber see him in a new light?

There are some religious messages in here, but not excessive. Pretty good, as the two had to work together to create the entire Holiday show, and learn a lot about each other. It's a bit more complex than typical romance plot, without being angst-y. 4/5

GRR Reviews Even Still by Hannah Jo Abbott

Paige had to abandon all her plans when her parents died. She was the oldest, and she ended up raising five siblings, working as a waitress at twenty-two. She has no time to rest, much less find love... Until Russell came into her life. // Russell is back in his hometown and was excited to be the new country club manager. Meeting Paige was unexpectedly good, and she's unforgettable. And talks with the staff shows that Paige definitely deserves a promotion and raise to restaurant manager... she's already doing most of the job. AND he wanted to help her in other ways. But she's resistant... she's afraid of him pitying her... and more. But when a project forced them to work together, can she let God and love back into her heart?

Eh... the religious message is a bit overt here. We're talking about she talked to God, and He talked back (in one-word answers). Darkest hour and more made good sense. However, Russell is really bland as a character. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Dreams of Sweetwater River by Lisa M Prysock

Jill is a travel writer on the east coast, and a war widow, raising three kids. She lost her faith when a routine mission in Afghanistan claimed the life of her husband. When all three of her kids started having issues, she decided to move back home to Wyoming, which is when she ran into Logan, an old acquaintance of her family, and a childhood crush, until she found her man in uniform. // Logan was a pro bullrider until one too many injuries had him retire from that life. His faith was what allowed him to hang on through the downs. Now he's determined to turn his father's ranch into a dude ranch resort. Finding Jill again was a blessing... But Logan can't be with someone who had lost her faith...

Okay, inspirational, yes, Christian, sure. But starting EVERY chapter with a Bible quote or a hymn quote... well, feels slightly overdone, but that's just my personal feelings on this matter. Romance was low-key simmer, and kids were a bit underused. But overall, it's still a good story, just not great.

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 Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd

Lexi has a degree in French, but no job to apply it to... Until she finally got one as front facing clerk at a French bakery, after a convo with the manager. Pay is barely tolerable, but she has her eyes on the assistant manager position. She's also interested in the manager/baker, who's French... and quite flirty... Or the young lawyer that comes over quite frequently... After she screwed up his order, and managed to save the day. But as Lexi goes through life, she has to make decisions... Even as life presents her multiple paths... and she will have to choose between safety... and adventure, and God will help her decide.

Overtly Christian without littering the book with Bible quotes, it's spiritual without going overboard with the Christian references. The actual recipes are a delight as well (Boyfriend Bait Beef Stroganoff, any one?)  But this isn't really a romance per se, but more of a coming of age story, about how Lexi finally found her calling, or at least, on her way to it. 5/5

GRR reviews A Reason to Live by T K Chapin

Jonathan lost his wife four years ago, and in full grief, he pushed everyone away, including God, and only work numbed his pain. When a relative left her daughter in his care while she put herself together after abuse, Jonathan ended up taking guardianship of her, but he soon realized he can't both do his job and raise a child. So he hired Kylie. // Kylie knew she wasn't on best terms with God... her one night of lust left her a son as a reminder. She needed a change, and when a stranger in a restaurant offered her a babysitting job that pays her better, she can't really refuse. And in time, she came to know Jonathan's wounds, but she can never be with a man who hadn't found God...

Some parts are quite good, but some parts are really "meh". 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Snow Country by Kristin Neva

Beth dreamed of a Christmas wedding for a long time, and she thought she'll finally get it this year. To have her fiancee call off the wedding with zero emotion left her reeling. She thought she had lived a proper religious life and followed the teachings toward a happy fulfilling married life. Desperate to find herself, she went to visit her grandmother living on Copper Island in upper Michigan. Her mother told her to convince grandma to move to California so she could be cared for and not live alone. Upon arriving in town, Beth was pulled over by a state trooper for speeding but merely given a warning. Beth failed to convince grandma to leave since the neighbor "boy" checks on her all the time. The boy turned out to be the state trooper who pulled her over. Beth stayed, determined to convince grandma, even as she felt herself falling for the "boy" and her belief in "proper" courtship and marriage sorely tested. Then she found that grandma has weakness on her right side, and it's NOT just carpal tunnel. After one too many instances, she finally convinced grandma to go see a doctor, only to receive devastating news: ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Will grandma be forced to move to California? What will happen to Beth and her budding romance?

Very nice, life in the upper peninsula was depicted very well, and one can almost see Beth's thoughts. Yet her persistence in following those edicts that did NOT work for her was also... frustrating to see. There's a Narcotic Anonymous saying commonly paraphrased as "Insanity is doing the same things over and over hoping for different results". And Beth's character arc is finally realizing that she should live for herself, NOT someone else's edicts and orders.

Category: Contemporary / Spiritual?

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Blind Date with a Billionaire Biker by Evangeline Kelly

Tirzah had lived a sheltered life in an ultra-religious community. Her parents wanted to marry her off quickly to a suitable match from a neighbor, but she has her own ideas about love and marriage. When her not-quite-fiancee took her to town, right into a dangerous situation, and left her there cowering while he ran for safety, Tirzah was rescued by a biker on a Harley. Later, when circumstances forced Tirzah to relocate to California to live with her birth grandpa while her father tries to pay off a loanshark, Tirzah met the biker who saved her... Dex... // Dex is the illegitimate son of an industrial tycoon, and after trying to connect and getting rebuffed during his youth, Dex wanted nothing to do with his billionaire father. Dex has survived the military and is now a part of a motorcycle club Bikers for Christ. Rescuing a girl was a part of his nature. Meeting her again, and to find she's the club president's granddaughter means definitely "hands off", even if he's assigned to guard her and protect her. But Tirzah already knew that Dex is the man for him... even if she had to upend her entire life and break off from all she knew... But when her mother's illness drew her back, will that be the end of her dreams?

VERY religious, since you're talking about an ultra-religious community AND Bikers for Christ MC. Yet they don't see eye to eye, of course. Bikers? Dangerous BAD people. Etc. This thing is so f***ing clean, Tirzah and Dex didn't even have a proper kiss until they got married. That's how CLEAN and SPIRITUAL this book is. But in spite of all that, the book does give you an emotional roller coaster.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

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

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.

GRR Reviews Proven Love by Mary Manners

Megann returned to Wildwood to help her estranged mother after her heart-attack. She left town years ago when her father died and the kids in school, esp. Colton, the rich kid, were mean to her. She got a job as the church secretary upon her return. She was shocked to find Colton as the youth pastor at the church... // Colton was definitely the privileged kid back in the day, but he's a single father now when his sister died, leaving him a niece to raise. He knew he hurt Megann before, and he wants a way to make it up to her. But she's only here temporarily, right?

Good layering of the backstory, and the slow revelations. Basically, both have backstories they haven't shared, even as they found even more surprises. As this is about a church, this is clean, although a bit angst-y. There were occasional Bible quotes but rather sparse. But the overall theme is redemption and forgiveness.

Category: Contemporary / Spiritual

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

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

GRR Reviews Desperate Cowboy Seeks Mail Order Bride to Save Ranch by Rosie Atwood

Katie at 25 wants to escape the crushing poverty of the east coast and saw mail-order bride in Colorado as her only escape. But on the way, she lost the ticket and was forced to get off the train in Kansas and to help a kind woman running a boarding house to earn enough money to buy a ticket to resume the trip in a month. She didn't know that his groom needs her sooner (two weeks), in order to inherit the ranch. Then her groom came to find her...

While the characters are okay, there's way too many Bible quotes sprinkled throughout the talk, and yes, this is VERY spiritual. And the groom, Matthew, obviously needs to find his way back to God. Argh. He just took off and left his grandma and his ranch to run itself. That kinda makes sense and kinda didn't. Also, why adopt a disguise to "check the girl out"?

Category: Historical Western

Overall Rating: 2.5/5 (rounded up)

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

GRR Reviews A Christmas Mail Order Bride For Samson by Charity Phillips

A Christmas Mail Order Bride for Samson by Charity Phillips is a "shovelware" book where the main story is quite short, but "bonus content" ended up being 90-95% of the book.

Samson needs a bride by Christmas, and by God, he got one! But will she be good enough and will he be good enough for her?

It's clean, it's Christian, and it's BORING AS HECK! 

I won't bother to rate the rest. Most of those are just amateurish stories almost picked at random.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: A boring Christmas historical mail order bride Western story, with 95% more "bonus content"

Tropes: mail order bride, boy meets girl, different worlds, spiritual, holiday

Overall Rating: 2/5

GRR Reviews Women of Strength: Inspirational Histori by Pure Grace Publishing

NOTE: Book no longer available on Amazon. Linking to Goodreads profile instead.

Women of Strength collection is a bundled book containing clean (i.e. no sex) western historical romances that seems to lack polish or ends rather abruptly. There are mail-order bride stories, trail bride stories, and even just straight adventure stories where the women were forced by evil stepfather or stepmother to leave their home and take a chance on the frontier, though one or two were just about defying the family. Most stories seem to end on the note "Yes, I will stay with you", and several of them relied on deus ex machina to get there. If you want to read a bunch of stories where good things simply HAPPEN to good people, these stories would do. If you actually want to read stories about good people actually DOING things to change their circumstances, this is probably NOT a collection you'd want to read.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: N/A, collection

Tropes: N/A, too many to list

Overall Rating:  2/5

GRR Reviews Double Blessing (Angel Romance Series) by Kellie McAllen

Double Blessing is about faith, love, and serendipty between two sets of lovers, twins Maddox and Cheydan, and their respective lovers, Maddy and Lissie. The book is spiritual without being religiously preachy. There are no Bible quotes anywhere in this book, and that made it approachable to even agnostic readers.

Maddy struggled for years trying to get out from under her drinking aunt and a series of bad boyfriends, only to find her world collapsing around her. Her savings had been stolen. Her cash stash robbed. She can't go home with a drunken man in her home wanting to get his hands on her... and her job had just been eliminated. With no savings, no job, and no home, Maddy has joined the new homeless, and came to the attention of Maddox, who was working at the supermarket the Maddy came in a bought a can of tuna and one banana... three days in a row. Maddox and his twin brother Cheydan are Celestia Divisa, half-angels on Earth. Maddox gives away most of his income to help people, and he's drawn to this girl who seems to need help. Elsewhere in town, Cheydan, Maddox's twin brother, just started his job at an adoption agency, and a girl Lissie, came in asking for help to find her birth parents, because she has a kidney disease and need a transplant soon, and need a blood relative if they can be found. Cheydan found himself drawn to this girl, who don't seem to be in the best of health, and bent some rules to get her the information, only to see it turn into a dead end. Maddy's life can't sink any lower, and she can't allow herself to hope it can turn for the better, even with Maddox's help. Lissie's life is ending soon and she's giving up all hope, even with Cheydan's help. Both half angels need to decide if they should use up their one miracle each allowed in life to convince their respective girl that hope is not beyond their reach...

Clean romance does not mean boring, and this book managed to present dramatic turns of emotions, sacrifices, and revelations that will have you tearing up in despair to cheering in triumph as you realize there will be a happy ending for both after all.

And no, I'm not spoiling the ending for you, but you can probably guess from the title. If you want a prime example of how paranormal / spiritual fiction can/should be done without wolves / bears / dragons / vampires / sex, this is the book you SHOULD read.

Category: Contemporary / Paranormal

Primary Plot: Two half-angel twin brothers fall for two different girls, one's low down in life, one's life is ending; Can they be saved?

Tropes: spiritual, different worlds, scars, sick/comfort

Overall Rating:  5/5

GRR Reviews Sapphire Ice (Inspirational Romance) by Hallee Bridgeman

Sapphire Ice is about a girl finding her way back to God and love after sacrificing herself to put two younger half-sisters through school, without regard for her own needs as a result of her own difficult childhood, and a former street tough but now a generous pious businessman is who she needs. It is a spiritual journey, and it can turn off some readers expecting something a bit more explicit, but it seems to serve its market well.

Robin Bartlett grew up believing all men were savage beasts, and having her mother shot dead by her father would do that. She went through the foster system with one foster sister, lost a half-sister to it only to regain her later. She worked two jobs and went without to give her two sisters a chance in life by funding their college all by herself. She would accept no help from anyone, and she had lost her faith in God a long time ago... until she met Tony. Antonio "Tony" Viscolli grew up on the streets and had a rough life. He entered a church one day, hoping to rob it, but instead, had a crisis of faith and was fostered by the youth minister, reformed, and became a real businessman. And he just bought the restaurant that Robin bartended. Robin resented the charismatic and powerful Tony, and suspected his attention to her is simply expecting some sort of payback. Tony knew that God led him to Robin for a purpose, but can he show Robin the way back to God and love?

As an inspirational romance, there is no sex in this book, just soulful kisses and a deep sense of longing, and Tony insisted that Robin had to find God before he can love her. But he was nice to her, and expect nothing in return, much like God expected us to love. People who are a bit cynical may find this eye-roll worth, but it was properly plotted, complete with a darkest hour. However, as with most inspirational romance, the only obstacle is one's heart, and most evil simply change their stance upon being confronted and have a change of heart. Which is why this doesn't get a 5-star. If criminals just need a bit of talking-to, there wouldn't really be crminals, would there?

Category:  Contemporary / Spiritual

Primary Plot: Woman busy raising two half-sisters have no time for love... or God, until someone showed her the way...

Tropes: scars, restaurant, clean, spiritual, evil parent

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews A Good-Hearted Man by Barbara Kaylor

A Good-Hearted Man is a Christian Romance about forgiveness and faith. There are barely any kisses and definitely no sex, and liberal doses of Bible quotes and Christian values. However, the plot was actually quite good, and it followed all the romance structure, from the meet-cute to the escalations up to the darkest hour, and even the resolution. The main problem, however, was the pace, as the novel just feels... SLOW.

Sarina Bridges is on her own. After death of her parents and constant berating by her two spinster aunts that she's worthless and useless, she finally leaves for Nashville, but her plans were ruined by theft of her travel funds, and she drifted into town, and sought shelter in a shed, after trespassing onto private property, only hoping to spend the night. That's where Jess Slinger found her. Jess was a former wrestler, and now the town farrier. He had inherited the farm from the couple who took him in at his lowest, at death's door and lead him to the Lord. He had desired a wife and family, and the appearance of Sarina can only be a sign from High Above, so instead of calling the sheriff, Jess offered a helping hand, and earned the enmity of bitter locals who are afraid of strangers, esp. the "law-breaking kind". Jess is determined to protect Sarina, but is Sarina staying around, or will she leave to give Jess peace? Esp. when Sarina was accused of a crime she did not commit? In times of need, will the couple turn to love and faith of each other?

If you need a feel-good novel that is really slow paced, this book should be quite good, and it could be even YA even though the characters are quite a bit older. Non-religious folks may be a bit turned off by liberal use of Bible quotes and vast amount of faith displayed by both. It didn't bother me.

Category:  Contemporary / Christian / Clean Spiritual

Primary Plot:  Girl with nowhere to go; Guy wanting a wife and family; A Town Weary of Strangers; Is there a happily ever after?

Tropes: different worlds, spiritual, clean, christian, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  4/5  (rounded up from 3.5/5)

GRR Reviews Healing Her Heart (Crystal Lake) by Laura Scott

Healing Her Heart is a tight romantic suspense and betrayed trust with a secondary plot of domestic violence. All the plot was resolved in less than 100 pages, which is very nice and tight plotting. Doctor Gabe Allen had a rule about never dating nurses because he was forced from a major metro hospital when a nurse who seduced him found that he had no intention of going long-term and accused him of sexual improprieties. When treating a domestic abuse victim, he came to know ER nurse Larissa with a generous heart. But Larissa also came to the small town to escape a past. Gabe wanted to know Larissa better, but both are hesitant to profess their love with their baggage. When the crazed abuser took Larissa hostage in the hospital, only Gabe may be Larissa's last hope for survival and redemption...

As said before, the plot was tight and all the stuff was wrapped up nicely in such a short novel where everything tied together. The only... "problem" was the MMC did not actively resolve the problem, but he made it possible to delay the gunman so police can arrive and take care of the problem.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Doctor who vowed never to date nurses again found the one nurse he'd really want to date, but will she have him?

Tropes: hot for boss, spiritual, scars, hospital, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  4/5