GRR Reviews The Barrington Billionaires Books 1-4 Collection by Ruth Cardello

The bundle is of 4 full-length novels and a novella. I may have previously reviewed some of the novels or novellas, but this rating is for the collection. 

The novella was previously reviewed in the anthology of the same name. 

As different members of the younger generation fall in love or met their match, they each have to deal with love and life in their own ways, but always with the support of their large and rich family, but not even love can buy happiness...

Consistent 4/5, worth reading at least. 

GRR Reviews The Marine's Baby, Maybe by Rogenna Brewer

Caitlin just wanted to have her late Marine husband's baby, but a mix-up at the sperm bank means her baby's father is actually her husband's half-brother. "Lucky" Luke had never been lucky in love or family, so the sperm sample he stored was out of formality. But now that he has a child, he can't leave his unborn child or the mother of the child behind...

Quite a bit of angst, obligation, and love comes much, much later. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews A Mother For Christmas by Jackie Weger

Single dad Decker and his 8-year-old daughter need to renovate a Victorian in 30 days (by Christmas) or he'll lose the house, but his decorator just ran off on a honeymoon. That left Annalise, the decorator's assistant, shouldering the workload. Annalise is always sad but seems competent in her job, and bonded with his daughter quickly. There may be a spark between the couple... THEN he learned the cause of her sadness... and why they bonded so quickly... 

The twist was practically advertised, but the author did the best to distract us with red herrings. It's a Christmas story, so some incredulity is expected. Not bad, but not one of the author's best efforts. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews He Said Never by Ruth Cardello

 Riley had been seeing her lost sibling's family behind her mother's back. She understood her mother's fear... The Corisis were ULTRA-rich, and Dominic's father almost put her mom in a wheelchair for life (and she still suffers today). Gavin was just trying to get some coffee when Riley got in his way. Riley was beautiful and full of sass, and there is an instant connection, but neither is ready to make a move... she's still sour from being stood up, and he's in an odd place... His father forced him out of the family company, and won't let him back in until he settles down with the right woman, probably because his father attended two funerals, and realized the family was the only thing that mattered, after raising his son alone. Yet the two would meet again, after finding out they are actually neighbors...

There is a couple of rom-com worthy moments where you will ROFL (Riley needs a little moral support to tell mommy that she'd been seeing the Corisis and the Romanos, and took Gavin along, but mommy inferred a completely different situation... ), and kudos to Ruch Cardello to write a very UNconventional "weird will" story where the MFC and MMC did not get into bed until 80% point, despite the insta-lust sort of situation.

The book also added details or introduced several future story leads, like Cal, who'll be the hero of book 3, and I have a feeling Jared will be the hero of book 4. 4.5/5

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 Matt by M S Parker

Matt had to get out of town after falling for the woman his brother Keith introduced him to, only for her to fall for his brother instead. As a Boston Banker, he's definitely out of place in the plains of South Dakota, when his car broke down. // Gabrielle just buried her father and has problems with one of her ranchhands Carl, and her foreman needs to retire soon. While patrolling her grounds she found Matt unconscious of heatstroke and rescued him. There's a connection between them, and he offered to help out since he needed to get away from it all anyway...

I really don't feel much for this, as Matt's ranch qualifications seem to be pretty minimal and a bit convoluted. And Carl never seemed to be much of a threat.  2.5/5

GRR Reviews Traded by Tess Thompson

Kara is a nurse in WITSEC after doing the right thing. She left everything behind, hoping for a fresh start. Brody is the SuperBowl winning QB coming home to rest and needed a nurse for his mom and his housekeeper / 2nd mom. So he hired her, and they slowly fell for each other. But he had a "no woman" rule after a bad breakup and she's full of secrets and refused ANY spotlight... Can this relationship ever work? 

The serendipity is strong in this, and the solution felt very "Gift of the Magi" -ish. But somehow I don't really think they click as a couple, as Brody just feels... schizophrenic... He's both not suspecting enough... AND too paranoid. At least there are no TSTL moments. 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Cowboy King by Madeline Ash

Mark and his two brothers, Kris and Tom, are just cowboys on a ranch in America when they received news that the Kingdom of Kiraly needs them... as Mark, i.e. Marcus, is now the next in line for the throne. But what does three cowboys know about being royalty? // Princess Ava has her own plans to escape with her secret, apart from her parent's "strategic marriage" plans for her, preferably with the new King Marcus of Kiraly. She has plans to make the new King hate her, but Marcus turns out to be a kind man, and she found herself falling for him. Now she has to choose between escaping and loving the king...

Not bad, even though Ava turned out to be a bit wishy-washy, but it all made sense, due to the amount of pressure she had been under. Not too much cowboy-ing in the Alps. 4/5

GRR Reviews Going Down Hard by Carly Phillips

Cassie wanted to save her family company left by her grandpa, and she worked hard and is the chief editor of a subsidiary magazine. Getting an interview with Derek, founder of Blink and new tech billionaire, would be the scoop of a lifetime. But Derek was her gardener's son... Make that, former gardener, and Derek does not grant interviews, ever. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try... // Derek knew Cassie as someone who went along with mean girls that humiliated him. When her father accused his mother of stealing jewelry and kicked them out with no references and no insurance, it lead to his father's death. He was sure of that. Yet here is Cassie needing something from him, and there is a connection. He was shocked to learn that she and her mother (supposed owner of the missing jewelry) never knew they were fired and blacklisted. When Cassie found that her father had given the job of CEO to her brother, who never spent a day working, and also kicked her out of her place to make way for her brother, she has no one to turn to except Derek...

While there is proper karma for the bad guy, it was all tell and no show. Which is quite unsatisfying. The character arcs also feel shallow. Cassie was hardworking but totally naive and powerless against others, other than minor passive-aggressive defiant gestures. Derek was the angry young man who wanted revenge, and actually softened up a little. The problem is Cassie's father, who really shows no sign of competence whatsoever, until after the bit where Cassie talked to her mom, and her mom promised to give her father an earful. There's really NO SIGN that he would change, then he did. It doesn't FEEL right. 3/5