GRR Reviews Accidentally Into You by Ashlee Price

Lily was just a nightclub manager when she witnessed something she shouldn't have... Her boss Burke ordering someone's murder. Now framed for the same murder, she was fortunate to encounter a straight cop, who took her to Grant. Grant is a tech billionaire with a hidden personal vendetta against Burke. While he doesn't want to babysit, he also cannot standby to see her dead. As Grant seek evidence to put Burke away, Burke knew someone is after him... and then betrayal came from an unexpected source...

Eh... Didn't feel much chemistry between the two other than forced proximity. And the betrayal is practically "by the book", and always occur at the most stupid time (when she decided he doesn't love her and she wanted to leave, despite having nowhere to go and bad guy still out there). That's a TSTL moment. 3/5

GRR Reviews Perfect Summer by Katie Graykowski

High school teacher Summer is having the worst day of her life. Her alarm clock failed. She's late for class and she wore whatever she picked off the floor. She had to wear ugly glasses because she didn't have time to put in contacts. She even drove over the only thing left by her grandpa: the rosebush he planted for grandma. Then when she arrived at the school, she found herself in front of a dozen cameras and even more reporters, as she was awarded (ambushed?) "teacher of the year". But unlike past winners, she didn't get a car or a vacation or even a computer for her kids. She got an NFL Quarterback, Clint (with questionable intentions) to help her mentoring her troubled kids. // Clint needs a reputation makeover. He can't compete with the young bucks much longer, and he needs to close a 100-mil endorsement deal to retire. His agent insists that this mentoring thing will cinch the deal. Clint slowly found that Summer is a great teacher, and while initially, the intent was to merely use her, he came to value Summer greatly and wanted to help her kids, esp. Marco.  But is there love between them?

Nice, very nice. Deep background without being boring info-dump. I feel the darkest hour was a bit forced (again, fragile ego, worst case assumptions), but the book is still great. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews No Time for Lullabies by Sydney Logan

Melody is an award-winning songwriter with a city office. But when a death in the family (her wild cousin, now a single mother, has died) called her back, Melody was suddenly reminded of all she had lost... Esp. Brody, the man she thought she'd marry and have kids with... but she left him years ago, after a traumatic loss that shattered them both. // Brody abandoned his life plans and became a pediatrician for his town, and he never forgot Melody. The funeral brought her back, but what happened next shocked them both... Her dead cousin had named Melody as the guardian of her baby daughter. Is this karma that will bring Melody and Brody back together, to help them through the loss that they suffered long ago?

Ah, a good mix of sudden baby and second chance trope. I have a little problem with the cousin's deadbeat boyfriend/sperm donor... Showing up so late and only to put a scare into Melody.  Almost felt like an afterthought. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews My Antisocial Billionaire by Katie Evergreen

Ellie Mae believes herself cursed. She's stuck at a deadend waitressing job she hated. Her loser ex-boyfriend still comes by to gaslight her (and still has a key to her apartment). She applied for a job at "Heartbook", only to have the interview canceled due to some unsavory PR revelations about CEO Blake that went public and viral. And guess who she bumps into when she exits the building? Yep, Blake himself. // Blake, the reclusive billionaire of Heartbook, is having a PR crisis. Someone posted misogynistic rants on his account, dating back MONTHS. Did he got hacked? Or is someone inside out to destroy him? And why can't he keep his mind off the amazing girl who gave him hope, and seems to be the only people who believe in him?

The problem with the process of "figuring it out" here is actually quite dumb in the book. With a problem like this, the first thing you do is figure out "who" could have done it, and that means who has the current password and was it ever changed. You don't suspect outside hackers first. The "evil ex" angle should have been explored first. It shouldn't take Blake DAYS and trek across town to figure that out.  And the "solution" to it all was exactly as I expected.  Ellie Mae grew a backbone over the course of the character arc. Blake... is kinda bland. Still, the story has good polish, and wasn't bad to read. 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Fake Billionaire Boyfriend by Laura Ann

Hazel is a quiet romance author who just hit a writer's block. Looking for inspiration, she decided to book a camping trip at the new castle resort operated by the "Overnight Billionaire Bachelor Brothers". Turns out Nelson, the youngest of the three billionaire brothers, is handling the group personally. // Nelson knew "balls and chains" (aka wife) like his brothers already found are not for him. He enjoys adventure and did not want to settle down yet. He likes Hazel's calm demeanors, and when another camper refused to leave Hazel alone, Nelson stepped up to protect her, even went as far as proclaiming to be her boyfriend (fake, of course). It's what any guy would do... right?

Sweet, with the creepy suitor that was overly aggressive, but not in the physical sense, basically an over-the-top sorta-alpha manner that was definitely anti-trope. That can be thought of as throwing shade on the "alpha" types. The ending was one of those "I thought... wrong" tropes, but it was handled well. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews My Bereaved Billionaire by Katie Evergreen

Nate is a billionaire running the world's most successful online dating agency. The problem is he had to pretend to be married for years. After all, who'd trust a single guy to help them date and get married? But with the company successful, it's time to "stage" the death of his "fake" wife. And that means conducting a wake in the hometown of his "fake wife"... Pebble Cove. And turns out the only available venue is at the Pebble Cove Motel. // Liberty fled Pebble Cove as soon as she was able to. But she's back, to help her dad run the Pebble Cove Motel after he had fallen ill. With only a young brother and sister team, they barely manage to keep the place running, and this "wake" would make a dent in the medical debt her dad's racking up quickly. She wasn't looking for love, and while she felt a connection toward Nate, he had just lost his wife. That would be very inappropriate... It didn't help that Nate's (evil) father invited himself... and the media.

Some of the plot didn't move that smoothly. Nate just feels like a doormat at times, letting others dictate his life, from his assistant to his overbearing (fake-friendly) father. Of course, he grew a spine by the end, but only after his father, pretty much out of spite and greed, destroyed any goodwill between Nate and Liberty. I also found it to be a bit weird that Nate basically fell for Liberty over the phone, and vice versa. Still, it has pretty good polish. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Accidental Wedding by Debra Elizabeth

Keira, already jobless and helping her sister's family to move out of Vegas, decided to try her luck in a casino before going back to job hunting. There, she literally ran into the most gorgeous guy she'd seen, AFTER she won a good amount. When he asked her to dinner, she's happy to oblige. And they talked about their circumstances. Turns out, Cade is an Earl, but unless he marry in the next few days, he will lose control of the estate to his brother, who cares nothing of the estate, or the townfolks employed by it. As Keira had nothing else to do, she decided this is her grand adventure... Marry the earl, and move to England for a whole year. What can she lose, except maybe her heart?

Good polish, but ended on "sensitive ear, fragile ego" trope. Meh. Cade was a bit TOO perfect, IMHO, and Keira, for all her strength, didn't even bother to ASK and made the worst-case assumption. *sigh*  4/5

GRR Reviews Hard Boss by Caleb Borne

Gianni, Italian tycoon living in London, had a crush on Emily, the American friend of a business associate. When Emily came to visit, he found she's an artist, and he had to keep her around. So he hired her to do two paintings for his charity auction in Venice. There is chemistry between them, but Emily does not trust easily, and Gianni has his problems. His "side-piece" Diana is not happy that she's being cast aside. His business rival Marcello is out to humiliate him in every way possible, and that includes wooing Emily...

Good twists and turns in the plot. The darkest hour was slightly trope, and grand gesture could have been... grander. The initial premise, infatuation from merely a photo, seems a bit... weird. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Wedding Cake Crasher by Alexa Riley

Sugar and her best friend crash weddings. Sugar is there for the cake, but her friend is looking for "the one". Their latest expedition may surprise them... // Hank knows construction, but when groom's wedding cake was waylaid by a flock of geese on the morning of the wedding, Hank was forced to reinvent himself... as a baker. And the results are... spectacular (as in magnificent). And who's that lovely creature sampling the cake? Maybe he ought to sample her too...

Nice, short, and sweet. At less than 100 pages you get a fast-moving plot that still satisfies. And surprisingly, virtually zero tropes. 4/5