Category: Contemporary Romance

Review: Break in Two by M J Summers

Posted June 9, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Break in Two
Series: Full Hearts #1
Author: M J Summers
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotica
Published: November 5, 2013 – May 27, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

Thirty-one year old Claire Hatley is running from Seattle having just discovered that her live-in boyfriend has traded her in for a twenty-two year old hostess. Devastated and alone Claire must make a fresh start.

She answers an ad for a chef at a guest ranch just outside Colorado Springs and finds herself face to face with Cole Mitchell, quite possibly the sexiest man to ever ride a horse. Common sense tells them to stay away from each other, but their attraction is not to be denied. He gives her a glimpse of what love should be, but just as she starts to trust him, the past comes back to tear them apart.

Join Claire and Cole as they embark on the stormy love affair of a lifetime.

Read on for my thoughts on Break in Two. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Married in Montana by Kirsten Osbourne

Posted June 9, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Married in Montana
Series: At The Altar #1
Author: Kirsten Osbourne
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Published: April 16, 2015
Publisher: Unlimited Dreams Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

Savannah is tired of the dating scene, even though she wants to get married and have a family. She knows her mother will never move on with her own life as long as Savannah is single. Savannah goes to see a matchmaker, specializing in setting up couples who meet at the altar. At first, she thinks Scott is a dream come true, but his blundering soon makes her crazy.

Scott, a Montana bison rancher, doesn’t have time to find a wife. His work is all-encompassing. Besides, he tends to have a hard time getting women to go out with him more than once. When he runs into a matchmaker he’s known all his life, he tells her about the problems he’s had to see if she can help him. When he meets Savannah at the altar, his heart stops for a moment. She’s exactly what he’s looking for. Will their diverse backgrounds keep them apart? Or will they be able to work through their differences to make their marriage a loving relationship?

Read on for my thoughts on Married in Montana. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Two Nights with His Bride by Kat Latham

Posted June 8, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Two Nights with His Bride
Series: Montana Born Brides #6
Author: Kat Latham
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: June 8, 2015
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:

Wedding fever has hit the little town of Marietta…

Soap opera star Nancy Parsons is madly in love with Hollywood’s favorite leading man, and they’re getting married on her parents’ stunning horse ranch just outside Marietta, Montana. Actors, athletes, and politicians will be there to watch Hollywood’s most extravagant couple say I do.

There’s just one problem. The bride’s childhood friend Wyatt Wilder knows Nancy’s making the biggest mistake of her life. Sure, Jared’s got looks, money, fame, and—it seems—Nancy’s heart. But when her bridesmaids hire him to lead them on a girls’-only adventure, Wyatt has two nights in the wilderness along the Yellowstone River to show her what a real man looks and acts like. A rugged, tough, loving man.

But will he be able to do it before she says “I do” to the wrong man?

Read on for my thoughts on Two Nights with His Bride. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Too Charming by Kathryn Freeman

Posted June 7, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Too Charming
Series:
Author: Kathryn Freeman
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: September 18, 2013 – Reissue June 8, 2015
My Rating: 4 star
Source: NetGalley
From the Cover:

Does a girl ever really learn from her mistakes?

Detective Sergeant Megan Taylor thinks so. She once lost her heart to a man who was too charming and she isn’t about to make the same mistake again – especially not with sexy defence lawyer, Scott Armstrong. Aside from being far too sure of himself for his own good, Scott’s major flaw is that he defends the very people that she works so hard to imprison.

But when Scott wants something he goes for it. And he wants Megan. One day she’ll see him not as a lawyer, but as a man … and that’s when she’ll fall for him.

Yet just as Scott seems to be making inroads, a case presents itself that’s far too close to home, throwing his life into chaos.

As Megan helps him pick up the pieces, can he persuade her that he isn’t the careless charmer she thinks he is? Isn’t a man innocent until proven guilty?

Read on for my thoughts on Too Charming. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: How To Bake The Perfect Apple Pie by Gina Henning

Posted June 5, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: How to Bake the Perfect Apple Pie
Series: Home for the Holidays #3
Author: Gina Henning
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: June 4, 2015
Publisher: Carina
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Blurb:

A scrumptious pie. A long distance guy. 4th of July fireworks guaranteed.

Lauren Hauser has it all…nearly. With a shiny new job and sparkly new engagement ring on her finger, the only thing she’s missing is her gorgeous new fiancé by her side. Should she be worried? Jack’s kisses are as sizzling as always and, sure, long distance is hard but, she and Jack are solid, right?

Of course the stress of planning a wedding—or not—is nothing compared to the stress of baking an apple pie. Because it’s not just any apple pie that Lauren must bake for the 4th of July contest; it’s her grandmother’s famous, award-winning apple pie! Yet Lauren is determined to make this pie her own and a little apple pie should be no problem for the Hauser clan dessert queen…!

But with her new job taking up so much time, a prize pie to perfect and the growing distance between her and Jack, Lauren begins to wonder if she can really have it all… Only one things for sure, there’ll be fireworks this 4th of July!

Read on for my thoughts on How to Bake the Perfect Apple Pie. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Never Refuse A Sheikh by Jackie Ashenden

Posted June 5, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Never Refuse a Sheikh
Series: International Bad Boys #7
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: June 5, 2015
Publisher: Tule Publishing – Holiday Books
My Rating: 5+ stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Blurb:

When the sheikh claims a wife, she cannot refuse …

Altair is a man perfectly in control both of himself and the power he wields as regent of Al Harah. Yet in order to retain his stronghold on the country he loves, he must wed a princess wilder than the Bedouin tribe she was raised in. A princess who only has one word for him: no.

Princess Safira knows what freedom means and it isn’t a palace or a crown. Neither does it mean being told what to do by a man with more ice in his veins than blood. Safira is innocent in the ways of men, but the heat in Altair’s gaze calls to a deep, unclaimed part of her soul she cannot deny. Altair seems hell-bent on civilizing her, but she’s not so easily tamed. Especially not when she can sense the wildness that lives in him.

Read on for my thoughts on Never Refuse a Sheikh. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Bayou Bound by Linda Joyce

Posted June 5, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Bayou Bound
Series: Fleur de Lis #2
Author: Linda Joyce
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: January 25, 2014
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Blurb:

Biloxi Dutrey grounds her jet-setting photography career and returns to Mississippi when she learns her family home, Fleur De Lis, is headed for financial ruin. She plans to save it by scooping up the job of Keeper. But that means breaking tradition, and her family isn’t cooperating.

Veterinarian Nick Trahan is new in town and wants folks to stop matchmaking. He won’t settle for just a pretty face. He wants the perfect woman, one who believes in family and commitment the exact opposite of his parents.

Nick rescues Biloxi during a raging storm, but the squall is tame compared to the tempest between them. Soon they experience the backlash from the long-standing feud between their families. If Biloxi surrenders her dreams for Fleur de Lis and tows the line with tradition, will she also be forced to give up on “forever love” due to the hate their families still harbor?

Read on for my thoughts on Bayou Bound. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: One Night with the Cowboy by Eve Gaddy

Posted June 3, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: One Night with the Cowboy
Series: Whiskey River #2
Author: Eve Gaddy
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: June 3, 2015
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Blurb:

Meet the Kellys of Whiskey River, Texas, men who have always gone through life, and women, with their father’s legendary charm.

Trey Kelly has it all. Eldest son of Boots Kelly, Trey runs the Kelly ranch, and Trey’s heart is with his “babies”, Kelly’s Champs, the World Champion cutting horses he breeds and sells. Women love Trey and he loves women, but he’s never met the one he wanted for keeps. Until…

Reclusive Ariana Wright‘s lavender farm sits next door to the Kelly spread. Ariana is a smart, ambitious chemist and after the car accident that left her scarred, the success of her new line of lavender-based beauty products is all Ariana is interested in.

Convincing Ariana to take a chance on love is a task that takes all of Trey’s cowboy determination. But can Ariana let go of the wounds of the past and give herself more than one night with the cowboy?

Read on for my thoughts on One Night with the Cowboy. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Love On A Spring Morning by Zoe York

Posted June 3, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Love On A Spring Morning
Series: Pine Harbour #3
Author: Zoe York
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: June 2, 2015
Publisher: ZoYo Press
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

Duplicity. Desire. Denial. They were doomed from the start.

Ryan Howard has zero interest in the movie being filmed in Pine Harbour or the high maintenance stars staying in the cottages at the end of his lane. He’s just barely holding on to the raw remains of his life and the fantasy world being concocted around him is, as far as he’s concerned, a complete waste of time and energy. The one bright light in his life is an intern on the set, Holly Cresinski, and their quiet conversations at the end of the day on his back porch.

Holly hates her life, too, which is entirely unfair because she’s blessed beyond measure. She’s at the top of her career–as film actress, Hope Creswell–and surrounded by people that mean well. But Ryan makes her laugh, and cry, and before she can find the words to explain her deception, he kisses her.

Read on for my thoughts on Love On A Spring Morning. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: The Lake Season by Hannah McKinnon

Posted June 3, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: The Lake Season
Series:
Author: Hannah McKinnon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction
Published: June 2, 2015
Publisher: Atria Books
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Blurb:

Set in the weeks leading up to an idyllic New England wedding, this “enticing and refreshing” (Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author) novel sparkles with wry wit, sweet romance, and long-kept family secrets.

Iris Standish has always been the responsible sister: the one who studied hard, settled down, and always made the right choices—even when they came at the expense of her passions. Meanwhile, her sister Leah dropped out of college to “find herself” by hiking through Yellowstone and switches jobs nearly as often as she switches lovers, leaving Iris to pick up the pieces in her wake.

But now Iris’s life is coming apart at the seams, and when Leah calls her back to their childhood home with a desperate cry for help, she is thrust headfirst into preparations for her sister’s wedding to a man their New Hampshire clan has never met…with her own marriage and family on the brink.

Still, despite the rush of dress fittings, floral arrangements, and rehearsal dinners, Iris is learning to put herself first. And amid a backdrop of late-night swims and a soul-restoring barn renovation comes Cooper Woods, a high school crush who beckons with the promise of a new start.

While Leah faces a past that has finally caught up to her, Iris prepares to say goodbye to a future that is suddenly far from certain. As Hampstead Lake shimmers in the background, Iris must decide when to wade in cautiously and when to dive—and, ultimately, how to ferry herself to safe harbors in this novel of second chances and the ties that bind.

Read on for my thoughts on The Lake Season. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Beautiful Surrender by Priscilla West

Posted May 30, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 2 Comments

Title: Beautiful Surrender
Series: Forever #3, Surrender series #3
Author: Priscilla West
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: November 4, 2013
Publisher:
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

No one is who they seem to be.

Kristen let Vincent into her heart because he seemed so different from everyone in her conservative world of wealth management. She thought they shared something special, but when she realizes that Vincent has been playing her the entire time, her heart is crushed.

As Kristen’s relationship with Vincent reaches a crisis point, a man from Kristen’s past returns looking for a second chance. Is her ex-boyfriend really looking for redemption or is his goal something more sinister?

Kristen struggles to hold herself together, until she discovers a revelation that will change everything.

Read on for my thoughts on Beautiful Surrender. No true spoilers, promise.