GRR Reviews Cowboy SEAL Homecoming by Nicole Helm

Alex left Montana behind a long time ago with his bad memories, and became a navy SEAL, an elite warrior. But when injuries forced him and two fellow teammates to retire, there is no place to go except back home... and meeting Becca who now lives there... a step-sister he never really knew. Becca will help Alex turned the family ranch into an equine therapy center to help wounded veterans, but will she also rope Alex's heart?

While this is technically a step-sibling romance, the two are so estranged they may as well be strangers. Romance is slow simmer. This is a series starter, and the setup is good. 4/5

GRR Reviews Not Quite Perfect by Rebecca Norinne

Victoria met her dream man on the ferry while heading to her mother's (sixth) wedding. Really. Professor David Carstairs is the perfect guy. Smart, suave, smooth, sensual. They even had a night of perfect bliss and vowed to see each other after their respective weddings. Yes, he's there to attend his father's wedding. Then they got the shock of their lives... His father is marrying her mother... They just became step-siblings... But true love can't be denied, despite awkward family dynamics... right?

While the plot *had* been done before, this is VERY good polish on the awkward situation. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Take me Again by Carly Phillips

Sebastian is one of the Knight brothers. He and Ashley were temporarily step-siblings, and may even have feelings for each other. But their one drunken make-out session was interrupted, and Ashley was soon sent to a boarding school in London, and they lost touch. A decade later, Ashley just learned that Parker, another Knight brother, just lost his wife from opiate overdose. Ashley had to return to the US as a part of the family... And leave her British suitor Jonathan behind, as Jon refused to accept that she's not ready for commitment. Ashley knew seeing Sebastian again will be difficult, but to help Parker deal with the problems caused by his wife's death means she'll be forced to work with Sebastian closely... He needs to help troubleshoot the problem and smooth over difficulties with the client, while she, a forensic accountant, can track down financial irregularities. And they discovered secrets long kept. But are they willing to admit their feelings for each other? Will she go back to London? Then Jonathan showed up...

Some parts, like background, misunderstandings, respective scars, and so on, are very good. But the annoyingly persistent Jonathan, the lame antagonist (and part of the very simple mystery) just feels... half-baked. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Resisting Him by Leslie Johnson

Charlotte aka "Charlie" has a best male friend, Marcus, while in Australia. And he is a boyfriend too. Until Charlie's mother executed a plan to get her out of the way so she can marry Marcus' father... By sending her back to the US, supposedly for a 2-week visit... In reality, she went back to care for her dying father. Seven years later, Marcus and Charlotte had not communicated in between. Charlotte has a boyfriend, sorta, who as they are both music teachers, and he wanted to write music for Broadway. She, however, got a position to teach at the school she once attended in Australia. And obviously, it's time to see Marcus again...  Except for this time, Charlotte's mom had apparently cheated and separated from Marcus' father, and Charlotte is caught between her desire for Marcus, and her need to support her mom...

Something just feels... off about all these characters, as if they are all selfish archetypes, and therefore, flat evil. "Mom" sacrificed and guilt-tripped and tricked Charlotte into returning to the US, and broke apart the young couple for her own happiness. Marcus acted like a selfish jerk when she won't come back for him and cut off all contact. Skip past seven years. Mom somehow cheated with a different rich guy (she blamed alcohol) and refused to sign divorce papers, but you can't win back someone who refused to talk, esp if that person is ready to marry someone else. And that leaves Marcus and Charlotte out in the cold again. Except this time, they won't be step-siblings. I honestly can't feel much of a personality for Marcus. Seems we're all supposed to feel sorry for Charlotte. This isn't one of the author's best works.   2.5/5

GRR Reviews Crush by Aubrey Wright

Luke and Dixie are step-siblings. They fell for each other, but due to step-dad's tough treatment and small-town attitude, they never acted on their desires. Instead, Luke was mean to Dixie, to drive her away so he's not tempted. Ten years later, Luke's back in town for a restaurant project and Dixie tries to run the tourism center. But Adam, the guy who got Dixie's V-card, is now the police chief, and he wants her back. Luke's ready to take his relationship with Dixie to the next level. But Luke's father is still in town, and they still hate each other. When Luke and Dixie's relationship leaked, will their love survive?

Some people get a bit queasy with step-sibling romances. I don't. But there are a few things here I guess I just don't get. Why is Dixie so *stuck* to this town, even with all the horrible things said about her even back then? And the ending regarding Adam was wrapped up a bit TOO conveniently.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews His Demands by Ali Parker

Bethany is running out of money to finish school. Her mom is barely getting by. So why wouldn't mom marry her BF Kent, who's a billionaire owner of a huge accounting firm? With a little prompting, mom agrees, and the wedding is moved up. Kent is happy to pay for Bethany's school... if she'll intern at his company for a year. But nothing wrong with that... Except Kent's son Damon is the CFO there too, and Bethany found herself falling for the hot but aloof boss... Esp. when Damon wanted to avoid the other way-too-interested female interns by faking a relationship with Bethany (no one knew they are soon-to-be step-siblings). However, while the bitchy interns can't get to the CFO, but they can pick on the newest intern...

There's a wee bit of a cliffhanger as this book is merely part 1 of 3 (this used to be six books, but they've been combined into 3 books). The adventures of Bethany are actually quite decent, as it's a good twist on falling for the boss AND step-sibling at the same time AND fake BF/GF at the same time, but cliffhanger nature and juggling too many emotions left me slightly confused. Add the the cliffhanger, and it's only 2 stars out of 5. (cliffhanger = -1)

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Combining Hot for Boss with Step-Sibling Romance into a Cliffhanger

Overall Rating: 2/5

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

GRR Reviews The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson

The Ugly Sister Strikes back is a high school romance with complications of family problems (in terms of stepsiblings). The drama is handled well.

Quirky and snarky Mattie Lowe is not having a good year. Her mother (divorced) seems to hate her and belittles her online. The school mean girl is out to get her... AND her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful girl in school AND dating Mattie's secret crush, the football captain Jake Kingston. After suffering one too many humiliations, Mattie rallied enough support and ran for class president... against Jake. Yes, Ella can keep Jake... and Mattie will rule the school. But the transformation comes with a price... What will she do if Jake wanted to date HER instead? Can she really be cruel to her step-sister? What will the class mean girl do in revenge? What will Mattie wear to the masquerade ball?

It's basically high school drama but done well. Don't want to spoil the ending, but the mean girl got put in her place. Obviously, it did take a little bit of deus ex machina to get there, and Jake came across as slightly dreamy, but I guess it's swoon-worthy for high school girls.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: When the quirky and snarky girl meets tough life in and out of high school, the girl campaigns for class president!

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Snowed by Pamela Burford

Snowed managed to push an uncomfortable subject: suspicion of incest, and managed to wring a romance out of that uncomfortable aspect. I admire how the plotting was tackled.

Leah Harmony just got her world upended... The parents that brought her up... are really her grandparents. Her mother was raped at 15 and died in childbirth. Leah's consumed with the idea... confront James Bradburn, the man who ruined her family. She finagled an invitation to the Bradburn estate, intending to confront the old man, but instead, found James Bradburn Jr., his son. When Leah's "date" tried to force himself on her, she barely escaped, locked herself in a bedroom, and fell asleep upon exhaustion. She woke up with James Jr next to her... She's in his bed! She felt a surge of attraction to him, esp. when he told her he's adopted and hated his old man's guts, but she had to leave... then found she had been snowed in for several days, and "forced" to spend a lot of time next to the delectable James Jr. But soon she found out he had been lying about being adopted... and therefore he can never find out who she really is, and she must break his heart...

So, is Leah really in love with her half-brother? Or is he really adopted? I rather enjoyed the plot twists, but I don't think they've been foreshadowed properly of sufficiently to make them enjoyable, but rather, feels like "phew, we dodge a bullet there" kinda excuse. Let's just say there's another twist you'll have to read the book to find out.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: A woman bent on confronting the man who raped her mother found herself attracted to a man who may be her half-brother?!!!!

Tropes: step-sibling, revenge, protector, scars,

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Billionaire's Virgin - A Standalone Roman by Claire Adams

Billionaire's Virgin as a novel really makes no sense. The FMC's action made zero logical sense, and basically all we are left are the sex scenes.

To recap, Isla and Levi were step-siblings. Isla had a weight problem when young and was teased by Levi. This formed a forever kind of hatred. Isla went on to own a fitness center but it was barely surviving. When Levi's dad died, he left 80% to Levi and 20% to Isla, making her an instant... BILLIONAIRE. Isla's bestie came up with the plan to seduce then dump Levi to "teach him a lesson", since Isla is not about to hand over her v-card to her nemesis. But the more time they spend together, the more Isla fell in love with her step-brother...

So basically, we have a VIRGIN tried to play a playboy. Does this make ANY SENSE to you? All for petty revenge? As a setup for "enemies into lovers", I had to say this is the most IDIOTIC setup I've ever read. It made more sense than alien kidnap romances, I guess.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: A billionaire virgin decided to seduce and leave her billionaire step-brother for revenge, but falls for him for real instead

Tropes: step-sibling, virgin, revenge

Overall Rating:  2/5

GRR Reviews Highway Song (Smokey's Roadhouse) by Jessa Jacobs

Highway Song was somewhat unexpected, as it was basically two chained stories between Rex, the band leader, and Amy, the bartender.

Amy had been on the run for several years, trying to avoid the cartel after witnessing the murder of her mentor/savior, after suffering horrific abuse. She spent every last dollar and hid out in the middle of nowhere Wyoming at Smokey's Roadhouse, an MC-owned club, and the club owner took her in, no questions asked. She never expected her ex-stepbrother Rex and his band's bus broke down in the club's parking lot, stranding him and his band there for days. They are on their way to Seattle hoping against hope for a chance at a recording contract, and since yelling wouldn't help, Rex is trying to seduce the barmaid, not recognizing Amy was once his step-sister... from over a decade ago. When local trouble at the MC and arrival of substitute bus meant even Amy had to leave, Amy joined the band as the lead singer and they won the recording to contract, and Amy even fell for Rex, who is there to protect her... by taking her out of there, and now that she's lead, she can't leave. But little did they know that a new threat was just around the corner, but it wasn't the gang that was going to get her...

From there the focus of the book basically shifted as Amy was... actually, that'd be a spoiler. The ending, however, was a bit too fast and convenient, as if the author ran out of time and pages.

There's even a "break the 4th wall" moment when the author kinda joked about the public loved the band for the step-brother/sister romance angle.

While I like the 'star-crossed lovers' angle of the story, I can't help but feel that the story could have been tighter. It just felt... wordy, with too many plot elements at times.  But still, I like it.

Category:  Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman on the run had to joined her former step-brother's rock band to get out of there... and she fell for him too... 

Tropes: step sibling, performer, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Review Burn: A South Beach Bodyguards Book by Erin McCarthy

Burn started off with an interesting meet cute: a former-step-sister Isabel, suffering from partial amnesia, was showering in Ryan's apartment. As Ryan slowly figured out who the girl is and the circumstances on why she ended up in his place, there's some very weird sexual tension between the two as Ryan vowed NOT to touch her, while Isabel (who insists on calling herself Julia) tries to seduce Ryan, figuring that he's the best guy to receive her v-card, while Ryan and the rest of "Miami Security" tries to figure out what happened to Isabel's head to cause her amnesia and whether whoever did it is still out there.

The problem with this book is it couldn't quite decide it wants to be a mystery or romance, so it ended up as a lukewarm mystery that spent much of the middle of the book describing the sexual tension between the two, and as expected, the real threat came when both characters have a too-stupid-to-live moment and let jealousy / lousy-logic lead them down the wrong decision tree. Not much of a grand-gesture though.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man finds (former) step-sister with partial amnesia, needed to protect her (from whatever caused it) and fell for her

Tropes: woman in peril, amnesia, protector, step-sibling

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Review: The Teacher's Billionaire by Christina Tetreault

Teacher's Billionaire by Christina Tetreault combined the trope "secret daughter revealed" with the trope "step-brother romance". The result is well-polished, but nothing really special.

Callie Taylor is the secret daughter of Senator Warren Sherbrooke, who was on his presidential campaign. Callie is just a school teacher whose mother kept the secret of her father only to reveal it after her death. Callie had no intention of joining the rich and famous Sherbrooke empire, but the news did reach the Sherbrookes. Dylan Talbot, Callie's step-brother, and a billionaire in his own right, agreeing to the campaign manager's plan: keep close tabs on Callie to make sure she doesn't ruin the campaign, and in staying close to Callie, Dylan fell for Callie... 

While the emotions and deceptions are suitable, the darkest hour and grand gesture are merely average, which is why this book only gets an "OK" mark. The characters are adequate, and there are no antagonists in this book. All in all, pretty average romance.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Billionaire suddenly found he has a new stepsister while his father is on a presidential campaign. He had to keep an eye on her to make sure the campaign is not threatened but fell for her instead.

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Review: Shameless by Hayley Hunter

Shameless by Hayley Hunter was described as a "stepbrother discipline romance", but it is really a "coming of age" story for a young woman finding herself. Unfortunately, the stepbrother character is really empty.

Catelyn graduated college but had to move back to her hometown due to lack of jobs and moved in with her step brother Turner, and so far the only job prospects were local grocery store (where she worked when she's 16!) or even smaller places. And in a small town there is no privacy anywhere... anything that was done immediately enters the rumor mill and is known around town. Catelyn slowly falls for her stepbrother Turner and decided to try modeling for a women run spank kink website which pays quite well, only to find that Turner is quite skilled in spanking. Catelyn found out she's actually quite turned on... And Turner is quite happy to oblige. When evil nosy cousins found her secret modeling gig and spread it all over town, Catelyn had enough and decided to fight fire with fire...

Shameless is a very fitting title as by the end, Catelyn is no longer ashamed of her desire for kink AND for her stepbrother. She'll not deal with such by hiding anymore. So she is, literally, shameless, but not in the "flaunting" way, but the empowering way. Catelyn started out is a young lady barely moving through life. One day she found her kink... and also found her stepbrother irresistible. Thus the kink and edgy label. As the book progressed and she learned more about herself and seek out what she wanted. She is nicely defined with complex needs, not only for self-worth, but also for her kinks, and they evolved nicely throughout the book. Going through life dealing with multiple extended families and both friendly and evil acquaintances and cousins is also quite interesting. There's a big catfight that was truly the highlight of the book.

My main problem with the novel is with Turner, the MMC. The mysterious big stepbrother was never fully defined, nor did he ever explain where did his taste for delivering spanks came from. It just seems awfully convenient. Later in the book he got very protective and decked another guy at a dance club which is how Catelyn found that they really... really... want to go to bed together.

All in all, due to lack of development on Turner, I can't give this book a top rating. Out of 5, I can give this book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Category: Contemporary / Bad Boy

Primary Plot: Young woman found she had a hankering for spanking kink... and her stepbrother's talent of the same

NOTE: BDSM - spanking

Overall Rating: 4/5