Review: La Fleur de Blanc by Lexi Maxxwell

Posted July 16, 2015 by Marsha in Women's Fiction / 0 Comments

laFleur de BlancTitle:  la Fleur de Blanc
Series:
Author:  Lexi Maxxwell
Genre:  Romance, Women’s Fiction
Published:  February 14, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

A young woman with a little girl’s dream. Two handsome suitors. And an adversary determined to crush her before she stands a chance.

Lily Whistler has a dream, birthed from the most fanciful Parisian memories of her late mother: to open a floral shop called La Fleur de Blanc, selling only white flowers. Back home in Kansas, such a fairy tale notion could never survive … but in the fashionable seaside town of Cielo del Mar, California, Lily has gambled her inheritance that it will.

At first, the upscale shopping center of the Palms Couture seems fertile soil for Lily’s dream. The weather is beautiful; the vistas of the ocean are breathtaking; the customers are elegant and wealthy. There are even two men who’d suit Lily’s fancy if she had time for such things: charming Len, who operates a fine food cart, and dark and brooding Matthew Vitale, who runs Bella by the Sea — an elite restaurant that hosts only a few couples per night at an exorbitant price — with his father Marcello.

But the one thing Lily didn’t anticipate standing in her way was a nemesis: Kerry Barrett Kirby, who owns nouveau house across the courtyard. Kerry seems determined to crush Lily into the dirt for a reason Lily can’t imagine … and wields a power and seniority at the Palms that Lily (new, naive, and out of her element) can’t hope to fight.

Lily only has one chance to make her shop work — a tall feat, considering the prior shops Kerry has driven out of business, and the way the Palms always bows to Kerry’s will. But Lily’s charm has bought her a handful of unlikely allies … and as Kerry will find out, quiet little Lily Whistler has more than a few country girl tricks up her sleeve.

La Fleur de Blanc is women’s fiction with an edge: part coming of age story, part underdog tale, part romantic comedy, plenty hilarious, and stuffed to the brim with empowerment.

Read on for my thoughts on la Fleur de Blanc.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: His Love by Jennifer Gracen

Posted July 15, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

His LoveTitle:  His Love
Series:  Summer in New York #3
Author:  Jennifer Gracen
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  July 14, 2015
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Toni Westmore doesn’t do relationships. She has a demanding boss at her high end Soho art gallery job and an even more difficult and critical mother – who needs the mess of a relationship?

Enter Irish Doctor Gavin McKinnon, her friend’s brother, also known as the perfect summer fling: tall, muscled, smart, funny, definitely ready for a good time and stamped with an expiration date. He’ll go back to Ireland and his family medical practice in a few weeks and she’ll return to her real world and plan her next career move.

Gavin’s in town not only to visit his sister, but to try and heal his broken heart. He gets a little help when Toni, his sister’s friend and roommate, enters the picture. Inexplicably drawn to her, Gavin tries to remind himself to look but not touch, but Toni is hard to resist… and when she offers him a no strings fling, how could he say no?

But as Gavin’s departure date looms, Toni realizes that her sexy summer fling is anything but. And she was sure she could kiss Gavin goodbye with no regrets…

Will she attempt to break their no strings rule? Or will Gavin leave Long Island without looking back?

Read on for my thoughts on His Love.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Angels’ Share by Jennifer Bramseth

Posted July 15, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Angel's ShareTitle:  Angels’ Share
Series:  Bourbon Springs #3
Author:  Jennifer Bramseth
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  July 14, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

After the deaths of her parents and husband, high school history teacher Lila McNee inherits her family’s land and retreats to her childhood home in search of safety and solitude in Bourbon Springs, Kentucky. Yet instead of the peace she needs to heal, she discovers her neighbor to the north, Bo Davenport, the owner-distiller of Old Garnet Distillery, desperately wants a big chunk of her land along the property line which has been subject to dispute for years. Bo wants land to expand the distillery, one of his father’s last wishes, and sees the property as rightfully belonging to Old Garnet. But the land is Lila’s refuge against a world that has only brought her heartbreak, and is the home to her beloved and historic springs–the very spot from which Bourbon Springs derived its name over two centuries earlier.

After months of fruitless negotiations, Bo sues Lila. And she sues him back. Drawn together by conflict born of love of the same place, the two find themselves falling for each other. But if they can’t find a solution to the land dispute and figure out a way to share that which is most dear to them, they not only risk losing the lawsuit, they also risk losing their chance at love.

Read on for my thoughts on Angels’ Share.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Maggie’s Turn by Deanna Lynn Sletten

Posted July 15, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 2 Comments

Maggie's TurnTitle:  Maggie’s Turn
Series:
Author:  Deanna Lynn Sletten
Genre:  Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction
Published:  July 14, 2015
Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Maggie has always put her family’s needs in front of her own, until one day—without forethought—she drives away, leaving behind her indifferent husband and two sulking teenagers.

As she begins a quest of self-exploration, she meets new people, enjoys new adventures, and rediscovers long-neglected passions. For the first time in years, Maggie contemplates what she wants from life and soon realizes that her deteriorating marriage can no longer continue as it is. Can she and Andrew repair their broken relationship, or is their marriage over?

Left to his own devices, Andrew is forced to take over the household responsibilities and bridge the growing divide between himself and his children. Slowly, he begins to understand what drove Maggie away—and how he can’t bear to live without her. But is it too late? Will Andrew lose Maggie forever?

Read on for my thoughts on Maggie’s Turn.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Hittin’ It by Amie Stuart

Posted July 15, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Hittin' ItTitle:  Hittin’ It
Series:  Marked for Love #2
Author:  Amie Stuart
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  July 14, 2015 (original with 2 stories 2009)
Publisher:
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

As a professional hit man, Will Collier has more secrets than most. But on a sweltering Texas night, the lives he’s taken rank second place to the love he’d like to be making with a sensual Bohemian beauty.

Sabrina Walker is intimately familiar with the havoc Cupid can wreak. She’s determined that love will never seduce her again, until she meets Will Collier and discovers that some secrets are better when shared.

Warning: This book contains a spunky, plus-sized heroine, a sassy Beagle named Scamp, and a sexually frustrated hitman who can’t figure out what women want…Then again, what man can?

Read on for my thoughts on Hittin’ It.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Heart and Sole by Miranda Liasson

Posted July 14, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Heart and SoleTitle:  Heart and Sole
Series:
Author:  Miranda Liasson
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  July 14, 2015
Publisher:  Entangled Indulgence
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Getting even.
One step at a time…

Maddie Kingston just walked away from everything in order to take over her family’s struggling shoe business. And she’s in some serious trouble. The majority of the company’s shares have been bought out by none other than Maddie’s ex-boyfriend, self-made billionaire Nick Holter. Now Maddie needs his help…even if it means buying Nick from a charity bachelor auction.

After the Kingstons destroyed his grandfather’s career, Nick vowed to take over their company. He’s inches from victory when he finds himself bought and paid for…by his sexy ex-girlfriend who’s hell-bent on saving her family’s company. Between their families’ feud and their own unfinished business, tempers – and emotions – run hot. Too hot.

Because kissing with the enemy is a guaranteed shoe-in for trouble.

Read on for my thoughts on Heart and Sole.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Angelbound Origins Bundle by Christina Bauer

Posted July 14, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Angelbound OriginsTitle:  Angelbound Origins Bundle
Series:  Angelbound Origins
Author:  Christina Bauer
Genre:  Paranormal
Published:  July 14, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Follow the adventures of Myla Lewis in the ANGELBOUND ORIGINS SERIES, Books 1-3. This bundle may be read as a standalone or as a prequel to the ANGELBOUND OFFSPRING SERIES.

ANGELBOUND (Book 1)Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She’s not your everyday quasi-demon, part-demon and part-human, girl. Myla lives for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory’s Arena. That is, until she meets Prince Lincoln, a super-sexy half-human and half-angel demon hunter. But what’s a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a royal demon killer? With a love with fighting for, Myla’s about to shake up the after-realms.

SCALA (Book 2)Myla Lewis has a whole lot of trouble. A magical object called Lucifer’s Orb is threatening millions of souls, and it’s Myla’s job to make it go away. Plus, an old enemy is plotting to separate Myla from her Angelbound love, Prince Lincoln. But Myla and Lincoln are fighting back. Can they stop the Orb, save Purgatory’s souls, and stay together… Or will both the after-realms and their relationship be destroyed?

ARMAGEDDON (Book 3)Myla Lewis once fought gladiator-style in Purgatory’s Arena. Now, she’s fighting again, only this time in Hell. And the stakes have never been higher. The King of Hell, Armageddon, has kidnapped Myla and Lincoln’s young son, Maxon. With so much at risk, Myla knows the time has come to kick Armageddon’s ass or die trying. Don’t miss the exciting conclusion to the ANGELBOUND ORIGINS series!

Read on for my thoughts on Angelbound Origins.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Always Remember by Shelia Seabrook

Posted July 13, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 2 Comments

Always RememberTitle:  Always Remember
Series:  Rocky Mountain Romance #1
Author:  Sheila Seabrook
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  August 9, 2013
Publisher:
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Borrowed, Kindle Unlimited
Cover Description:

A midnight summons from rancher Nate Coltrane brings singer Jessie Adams back to the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Seventeen years ago, Jessie gave up Nate’s child for adoption and she hasn’t been home since. How can she sit by her mother’s side, surrounded by constant reminders of all she loved and lost? How can she face Nate without telling him the truth about the child he never knew existed?

Nate doesn’t think Jessie has the guts to return home and face him, but when she does, he’s afraid of losing everything he loves…for the second time in his life. But he’s made a promise. Bring Jessie home. Give her mother one last opportunity to heal the rift with her daughter. Nate will do anything for Jessie’s mother because if not for her, he might never have known the love of his child.

But sometimes the truth turns out to be a lie.

Read on for my thoughts on Always Remember.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Savage Hunger by Terry Spear

Posted July 12, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Savage HungerTitle:  Savage Hunger
Series:  Heart of the Jaguar #1
Author:  Terry Spear
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Shifter
Published:  October 2, 2012
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Kindle Unlimited, Borrowed
Cover Description:

As a jaguar he is graceful and gorgeous. Speedy and stealthy. Fierce, independent and wild. As a man he is passionate and powerful, wilful and wonderful.

And he’ll stop at nothing to protect what’s his…

In the heat of the jungle, jaguars are clawed, dangerous, and hungry for love. With hopes of overcoming night terrors and thanking the man who saved her life, Kathleen McKnight returns to the Amazon.

A jaguar at heart, Connor Anderson doesn’t just protect her, but wants to claim her for his own.

Read on for my thoughts on Savage Hunger.  No true spoilers, promise.

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