Archives

A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House #1) by Jaime Reese (4 Stars)

Oct20

A great beginning to a new series about people moving on with their lives and romances after leaving prison.

After just getting out of prison himself, Matthew Doner wants to provide a safe place for other new releases. He can provide the funds, but he really needs somebody with a lot of construction experience to make the necessary repairs to the building he purchased. Julian Capeletti desperately needs to work again before he gets kicked out of his apartment. Fortunately, he also happens to be extremely talented at all of the things related to building a home. These two discover that working together is only the start of their relationship.

Matt and Julian are both kindhearted souls. Unfortunately for Matt, he has a pathetic father and a horrible mother who attacks him every chance she gets. Luckily, his aunt spent a lot of time with him and loved him unconditionally. Julian is adorably sexy and loves to tease Matt. Julian also suffered at the hands of his family, but was fortunate that his mother was amazing until she died too soon. Since neither of these guys are very communicative, it makes it really hard for them to move their friendship forward. This was the biggest challenge for me with this story. The majority of the time was spent in their heads or in conversations with others. I really wanted to see more in-depth and emotional discussions between Matt and Julian. There were so many missed opportunities where we could have been watching them get to know each other better.

Nevertheless, it was still a smooth flowing story that was interesting to read with some touching, emotional scenes. I was surprised and thrilled at how fascinating I found the discussions about the construction work on the house. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

A sexy romance between two lonely guys trying to make the most of their lives by giving back to others.

cover

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Covert Delivery by Draven St. James (3 Stars)

Oct18

A strange Easter egg treasure brought them together, but they will have to work through their personal demons to open their hearts to love.

Aspen Starr desperately needs to get out from under his father’s control. A strange package arrives, giving him the chance he needs to start a new life. Upon meeting his new boss, Garren Thomas, the sparks instantly fly between the two of them. Unfortunately, Garren doesn’t like to get involved with somebody at work. He actually doesn’t like to get involved with anybody. Aspen will have to work hard to get Garren to bring down the walls around his heart.

I enjoyed getting to know both Aspen and Garren on an individual level. They were well-developed characters who both had a deep down desire to help others. Both of them had very sad childhoods, and yet they tried to take that pain and turn it into a way of helping others. I enjoyed watching them work together doing psychological evaluations, and I found it interesting to learn a little bit about this area.

I loved when they hooked up at the bar by pure chance. This was followed by the first of many steamy sex scenes. I just wish that they could have spent more time together after that and formed a connection. I just didn’t get to know them enough as a couple for me to get emotionally connected to them. The ending became a little melodramatic when one of the patients became violent. At least it served as a reason for Garren to finally admit that Aspen brought a true sense of happiness to his life.

An erotic romance with family drama and an interesting insight into the world of psychology.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

A Courageous Ride (The Bullriders #3) by Andrew Grey (4 Stars)

Oct15

The third story in this enjoyable series brings us the tale of Indigo, a bull-rider who was seriously injured and forced to quit the rodeo circuit. He converts his family ranch into a dude ranch to keep it afloat. Marshall comes to the ranch for a break from his stressful life. The two are instantly attracted to each other, and began to spend quite a bit of time together which I really enjoyed. These two definitely had careers that didn’t mesh well together, but it was also realistic to believe that they could find a way to make it work. Their interactions were realistic and enjoyable, and I was rooting for them to find a way to be together. I loved the way the author pulled it all together at the end. I adored Indigo. His injury altered his life, and although he wasn’t thrilled that it happened, he didn’t focus on the negative repercussions. Instead, he decided to make the most of the opportunity he was given with the ranch. I loved Marshall. His dedication to his craft, even in the face of constant rejection, was admirable. I enjoyed learning a little bit about what happens behind the scenes with the conductor of an orchestra. Tighter editing would have made this story stronger. Drifting off into too many unnecessary details hurt the flow of the story just a bit.

Overall, another great addition to this series, and I’m looking forward to the next one. Although it can be read as a stand-alone, I recommend the entire series.

Originally reviewed for Swept Away by Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Control by Cardeno C. & Mary Calmes (4 Stars)

Oct13

Pack dynamics and interesting shifters made this an enjoyable romance with some great action sequences.

Vy is arrogant on the outside, but lonely on the inside. A hawk shifter, Vy is excited to finally find his mate in Robert, even though Robert is a bear. Unfortunately, Robert isn’t interested in shifting, and, therefore, doesn’t recognize Vy as his mate. Vy struggled with wanting to be with Robert while at the same time feeling very frustrated that Robert wouldn’t recognize him as his true mate. Instead, Robert is just interested in Vy as a person. This leads to the biggest conflict between these two mates, and gives the story an interesting twist on the instant love we usually see with mates. Fortunately, Robert was an amazing and patient person who was willing to try to work through this issue with Vy. Robert was always going out of his way to help improve the world around him and take care of Vy. Vy matured quite a bit during the story with the help of Robert and Vy’s father. This allowed him to truly step up to being the pack leader. By the end, it was obvious Robert and Vy were meant for each other.

I enjoyed the focus on the different issues with the pack members, and the trouble that they were having with another pack. This aspect of the story gave Robert, an outsider, a chance to prove he was trustworthy to the pack.

The one little thing that bothered me was the constant interruptions between the characters as they were talking to each other. It’s a pet peeve of mine when people interrupt each other in real life, so seeing it happen in the story distracted me.

As a huge fan of shifter stories, I was excited to see two of my favorite authors write this story together.

cover

Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb