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 Running After a Heartbreaker by Jami Albright

Hailey promised her mom to keep the bar open, but her father (and co-owner) wants to sell the money-pit (the land's worth a lot more). And her ex-husband is still in town, with his new family, and putting tears in her daughter's eyes daily. When country music artist Beau "The Heartbreaker" Callen landed in town (after half of his band is in jail and the other half in the hospital due to an epic brawl) and needed a place to crash, Hailey offered up her backyard guesthouse... with the caveat that Beau headline a few shows to bring patrons back to the bar. Neither Beau nor Hailey needed complications, but complications they will get... Esp. when Beau discovered that Hailey can sing... and his own backup singer had to bow out...

Good complications left and right, great escalations and rom-com. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Chasing the Ball Girl by Trish Williford

Ryan Cruz is a man-whore, and being the star pitcher of the Blue Birds means he gets plenty of female attention anywhere he goes. Until he noticed their ball girl at the annual ball...  // Ball Girl Sammie just wanted to finish college (in pharmacology) and there are only a few months to go. She cannot afford any distractions, even though she has a crush on Ryan for years. When Ryan noticed her, she declined, knowing his playboy ways. So what does a player have to do, to prove he's no longer a player?

Kinda sweet, kinda stupid and lashing out at the wrong moment, with the right amount of groveling for the grand gesture. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Courting the Cowboy by Liz Isaacson

May just got her ultimatum from her dad... Even though she had been running the restaurant for a decade and thus has no love life (or any life) to speak of, she needs to find a husband in 12 months... or the restaurant goes to her sister (who's married, but has NO business running the restaurant). Unfortunately, Grape Seed Falls only has cowboys for dating and she's burned out on cowboys. She went for online dating, and was surprised to find someone how's a good match... he turns out to be foreman of a local ranch... Kurt, who's just as a workaholic as she is, except on a ranch. Now May is conflicted... she thought she sworn off all cowboys but Kurt is nice and sweet enough to make her reconsider, but he's a bit too close to home... and her family is driving her nuts with all the expectations. How's a woman supposed to balance her heart and her restaurant?

Not as angst-y as you'd expect, and the whole thing is kept very Christian and sweet (no sex, no swearing), not even overtly Christian message except occasional praying. 4/5

GRR Reviews Rock Hard Cowboy by Christina Hovland

Tucker retired from his "cowboy rock-n-roll" business when he can no longer write music, and he refused to retread his old songs ad infinitum. But when America's sweetheart Mackenzie Bennett tripped in a club and faceplanted into his crotch (and caught by paparazzi), his departure from music biz may end up as a joke. So he reluctantly agreed to a PR stunt... // Mackenzie is a fine actress. It wasn't her fault that her last few movies bombed. She needs to turn the bad PR around, and that means pretending to date Tucker. In fact, convince Tucker to write and perform the theme song for her next movie would be even better... Even if she had to go spend Christmas with his family. But when the news of her "deal" (convince Tucker to write the next movie theme song and the role's hers) leaked, will Tucker feel betrayed? Or will love between them conquer all?

Good rom-com, but I think the parents are a bit TOO perceptive, and I don't quite see why Tucker was so butt-hurt from this supposedly "betrayal" (not quite enough sad backstory to justify that sort of reaction). The comedy bits are good. Lots of embarrassing moments. 4/5

GRR Reviews Gambling with the Billionaire by Agnes Canestri

Billionaire Ryan returned to his home town to buy out and dismantle an old restaurant called Sapphire. The owner wanted to sell to fund his daughter's college plans. It should be a clear-cut and emotionless deal, except for the restaurant manager Bianca, and her love of oldies. Her passion had turned the aging taverna into the coolest jazz restaurant in town. She may just be trying to save her job, and Ryan may look a lot like Dean Martin, but Ryan hadn't done relationships and does not plan to start... ever. Not even Bianca spending four grand to win him at a bachelor auction would change his mind... but what about his heart?

Hmmm... characters are deeper than they first seem, but from the start Ryan is a conflicted man. He pretends he's an emotionless robot, but the fact that he will put himself on the auction block to help the local cause means he really *does* care, if he will just admit to himself. While Ryan has a character arc, Bianca doesn't seem to have one. 4/5

GRR Reviews Small Town Scandal by Kay Lyons

Darcy got pregnant by a loser, and she headed toward her mother (who's always chasing after a boyfriend) who promised to help. On the way there, her car slid off the road, and she was rescued by Garrett, hot attorney and hospital administrator, who has a steady girlfriend Rachel, who is creating her own art studio. With no hotel room available and snow storm not letting up, Garrett offered up his guest room. But his generosity was viewed as scandalous by the small town, esp. when the hospital owner wants his daughter Rachel (Garrett's girlfriend) married ASAP. What Garrett didn't know is his best friend and fellow lawyer Tobias, a guy from the "wrong side of the tracks", has the hots for Rachel, despite her father's hostility. But he can't betray his best friend... Or is that really betrayal, when it's clear (to Tobias) that Rachel and Garrett were never in love?

Wow, the self-denial is thick in this book. It seems the ONLY one who's honest about his/her own feelings is Tobias. He wants Rachel. Rachel thought she's in love with Garrett, even though she just wants independence from her overbearing "women should be married" father. Garrett thought he's in love with Rachel, but it's more friendship than love, not to mention his boss (and her father) keeps threatening him with his job or his brother's job (who's a surgeon in the hospital). Even Darcy wasn't sure what she wanted. She doesn't want to disrupt Garrett's life, but she's involved nonetheless. Add Garrett's sweet but hard grandma, and Darcy's mother flaking out, and you have the darkest hour where Garrett had to make a decision before Darcy tries to leave, despite late-term pregnancy.  If you can look past the ton of self-denial ("I'm not in love with...") the book is actually quite good. Though the evil dad's attitude was never explained nor karma applied. 4/5

GRR Reviews Work in Progress by BJ Harvey

Jamie has several brothers, and they are going into business together. Cook Brothers Construction's first project is to flip this house. He had it all set in a five-year plan. Except his ex didn't agree... That's why she's now the ex. While drowning himself with a bit of alcohol and work and loud music, he injured himself on job site, which leads to meeting the neighbor, single mom April, living with her ex-mother-in-law, in a rather... inauspicious circumstances. But Jamie's great with her kid and wanted to be everything to her. But she's still feeling the betrayal of her cheating ex (while she was pregnant). And what happens when the house is finished?

Good use of time limit and cute kid, and the rather unconventional family setup, while keeping it relatively light-hearted despite both were victims of betrayal. 4/5

GRR Reviews Balancing Act by Danica Dawn

Desi, paralegal, is in love (lust?) for her boss Eric. She wanted to be a lawyer, but she flunked LSAT so she's going about the roundabout way: one more year as a licensed paralegal, and she can take the bar exam without it. But balancing her work, her dream, and her love life is not so easy, when she found a hot cop to drool over, only to have him turn into a stalker, and her boss confessed his love for her, only to sic an LSAT tutor on her, in order to make her a partner...

The problem with romantic suspense with a stalker is the bad guy tends to end up as jack-in-the-box pop-up horror, have him show up in the middle of nowhere. It starts to read a bit like the movie Unlawful Entry. The emotional beats feel... off. Instead of everything building to a crescendo for the climax, it felt as if the author merely substituted one problem with another, just to have the stalker reappear at the end for the climax. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Legal Affairs: McKayla's Story by Sawyer Bennett

McKayla graduated from law school and joined Connover & Crown LLP. She was completely surprised when her then boyfriend took her to dinner, not to propose, but to dump her. With a bit of prodding by her bestie, she joined a "one-night-stand" club where members agree to meet members for one-night-stands. And "178" is a sinfully good guy in bed. Two weeks later, McKayla found out 178 is no stranger at all... He's Matt Connover, and her new boss. This is McKayla's story... on how she eventually captured Matt's heart. But it's a long one...

At over 400 pages, cut up into six "volumes" (each with a mini-cliffhanger) there are certainly quite a few twists and turns. This is erotic romance, so there is a LOT of sex. 4/5

GRR Reviews A Whyte Christmas by Michele Brouder

Kate may act like she's enjoying the Holidays, with flashing Christmas tree earrings and a lot of (fake) cheer, but she's secretly grieving over a lot of things. Her father had passed away, her engagement is toast, and her copywriter career is kaput, as she'd been let go and rehired as the receptionist. Then she found that her ex (the one who cheated) was hired as the creative lead (instead of promoting the existing senior creative)  When the ad company's biggest client decided to come and micromanage, what can you do but smile and say "yessir"? // Gavin Whyte knew why this (incompetent) firm was picked to run the drug company's ad campaign... The owner is a cousin of boss's wife or something like that. But with his own promotion on the line, he'll babysit the campaign himself. He was a little surprised when the boss offered up Kate as his companion, to "show him the sights". But let's just say Kate is a bit of a klutz, and Gavin, with his blue eyes and Irish accent, is a panty melter. But Gavin doesn't really have time to woo Kate, and he's leaving eventually, right?

Oooh, nice mix of tropes and full character arcs for both main characters. Add a set of quirky characters and some old tropes (like the tone-deaf but "inspirational" boss, much like the one in Dilbert) and minions ready to backstab each other, and it's a good Holiday tale. 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 Her Restless Billionaire by Cidney West

Delaney is an interior designer who has her own business, but her architect father's shadow has a far reach. Delaney got the job to help billionaire Ashe Holdener flip a mini-mansion and redesign the interior, but her first view of Ashe was him, without a shirt, digging a hole in the ground... and she almost drooled. Delaney was glad to get a project without her father's influence, and she strove to keep Ashe happy. And Ashe found himself attracted to Delaney's vivaciousness. But Delaney's "ex" Liam was hanging around, hoping to date Delaney again. Who will Delaney choose?

Just didn't feel much about this one. Liam just never seems to be a proper threat. And a billionaire flipping houses, even if it's a mansion, just feels... wrong.  3/5

GRR Reviews Trusting the Billionaire by C C Snow

Elle was a waitress who got fired when Troy's date knocked Elle's tray over and the entree ended up in Troy's lap. Troy found Elle's sass admirable and wanted to know her better, but she ran away, had enough of alpha jerks who think they are gifts to womenkind, having been betrayed once before. Elle was helping out in a cafe when he saved a rich pregnant woman's young child, which lead to her being hired as that woman's personal assistant. That woman turned out to be Troy's sister-in-law... and so they meet again. But Elle's past came back to haunt her... Elle's evil ex, Carter, who seduced her into bed while engaged to her half-sister, wanted to use her "indiscretion" to blackmail Elle to steal secrets from Troy. Troy saw betrayal, and Elle refused to explain when he's being so judgmental...

I kinda like it and kinda don't. I can see why Elle prefers to call out her inner b**** when accused, but it really seems to be a VERY stupid way to handle things. The twist was handled very nicely. Still, I honestly don't see why Elle would see herself as the homewrecker. As the logic goes, "it takes two to tango", so why was it her fault? 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Miss Behave by Traci Highland

Piper was inspired by her mostly absentee photographer/journalist father to be a big shot journalist, but she's stuck in a small town paper writing a popular advice column "Miss Behave", where most of her advice involved alcohol. She was hoping that her latest job, write about a local business, Brookes Jewelers, may give her a good show-piece for her new job in Chicago, but it's clear her editor, and Hunter, co-owner of the business, just want a puff-piece. Until the diamonds went missing... While Piper and Hunter unite to solve the mystery and navigate through two very different families, they discover some family secrets that shed a light upon them both... and some dark past...

Nice rom-com and the "dark past" is more of the embarrassing kind than the kind that wants to kill you. There were are a lot of quirky characters and family secrets that's kinda embarrassing, but that's rom-com for ya. Good twists and turns, and how love slowly developed. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Close to Her Heart by C J Carmichael

Dani is a professor, so an affair with a tenured professor wasn't a good idea, but the widower father Adrian was so compatible and swoon-worthy she succumbed to his charms. Yet Adrian always claimed to be protecting his daughter and won't commit to Dani. Then Dani found she's pregnant. She was the woman of the house raising her siblings after death of her mother. Is she ready to be a mother... esp. with the possibility that her baby may be suffering from Down's syndrome? And what about attention from her neighbor Elliot, who always wanted her, but it never seems to be the right time?

Nicely handled unrequited love with betrayal, aka A secretly loves B, but B is involved with C...  Elliot is one of the nicest guys around, and there's also a bit of "everyone but you" trope going on. Nice mix. It's just that you kinda feel that Dani is just too... weak. 4/5

GRR Reviews Sweet Tea & Second Chances by Dylann Crush

Cassie left town to chase her own dreams, leaving Robbie behind. A decade later, after her grandmother died, Cassie is back to prep the house for sale. And it just happens that Cassie needs the proceeds to fund her restaurant buy-in with her partner/boyfriend. But she needs a contractor fast, and the only contractor who has time in town happens to be Robbie, her old flame...  But Robbie has his own problems as his pa, the old sheriff, is dying fast, and Robbie was sorta seeing Caroline, except she's away in South America at the moment...  and his pa had been hiding secrets... It had been over for years between Cassie and Robbie,  and they are on separate paths... right?

On the one hand, I like how the characters are set up, but it also relied on cliche such as "sins of our fathers", basically older generation meddling in the younger generation's lives "it's for your own good, at least I thought so." And the darkest hour turns out to be not that dark after all. 4/5

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 The Billionaire's Temporary Marriage by Tamie Dearen

Cole Miller is well known for his green mechanical arm and face of Limitless, the company launched by four friends, each with a disability. But people, esp. women, only see him as a billionaire, and his "iron-clad" contract to appear on TV show "Billionaire Matchup" didn't help, where he's supposed to marry a contestant or forfeit a million dollars. When he spilled Brooke's coffee at a local cafe, a solution presented itself... // Brooke can't believe she's finally pregnant... her now ex-husband divorced her because she couldn't... except that "one final time" somehow cinched the deal. But as a counselor to unwed mothers at a religious charity, she had to be married. When Cole heard about her circumstances, he proposed a temporary marriage. He can get out of marrying some TV contestant (since he's already married!) and save a million bucks (minus whatever Brooke gets), and she gets to keep the job which she desperately needs so she can get her counselor certification. Love's got nothing to do with it... Right?

Great plotting, as the escalation just keeps squeezing them tighter and tighter, without relying on tropes such as "weird will". Like the darkest hour (the hospital stay) and the grand gesture (tearing up the report). AND it's clean. 5/5

GRR Reviews Southern Comfort Christmas by Barbara Lohr

Cameron is about to marry Harper, but the two families can't seem to agree on anything, as one's from Chicago, the other from Savannah. There are no agreements on venue or menu. Harper's mom wants to give Harper her old wedding dress, but it won't fit. Harper found that without the "Missus" to her title she can't do much to help Cameron... esp. after Cameron broke his ankle on a job site. And the disagreements just keep getting worse, even after the whole venue was moved to Savannah from Chicago. Harper's interior design business was also running into some problems with the bluebloods. Is there a way for this couple to have a blessed drama-free Christmas and wedding?

NOTE: This is technically a sequel to Finding Southern Comfort, and you'd get more out of this novel by reading the previous ones in the series. Some parts did drag a bit, as the complications did spin in a couple different directions. There's Harper's work, Cameron's work, Cameron's kid Bella has problems at school, the wedding planning, the two families didn't get along, their respective families "meddling", and so on. Both have pretty big families, so it can get a bit complicated keeping track of everybody. But the book felt longer than it actually is. 4/5