In Love with Romance

I had high hopes for this one. The cover is beautiful and the blurb catchy but I had to stop at the 15% mark. I couldn't ignore the story was being told more so than shown ((see how I just did the same?). It just wasn't engaging for me. Good premise but I just couldn't get into it.

Rebel Bride (Lust in the Tudor Court, #2)The blurb in this book is what got me. I thought I'd enjoy it (and I did somewhat) but the heroine just killed me!

In Rebel Bride Susannah is betrothed to a guy who can be her father, she obviously doesn't want to be married to such a man. She likes Hugh, a guy who's best friends with her new brother in law, and who works for the King.

Their attraction is mutual and she wants to have sex with him but Hugh doesn't give in easily, because there'd be consequences he doesn't want to deal with. Plus, he's below her station.

Susannah discovers her dad's affair with a servant and she decides to escape. In her rush to runaway from her dad she gets caught by a couple of men who first want to rape her and almost do. But then she talks herself out of the situation and they take her to their boss, who then wants to force himself on her too but realizes he can probably marry her, let her give him a kid or two before he lets his men have her too. Ugh. This is sickening.

As her luck would have it she escapes them. Hugh rescues her and they can't keep their hands off each other so they give into temptation. Hugh then wants to marry her and Susannah declines because she wanted it to be a one-night-stand. I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I mean...A.One.Night.Stand...in um, 1536! But hey, it was the Tudor Court so anything went.

Most of the book Susannah spends her time giving Hugh reasons why she doesn't want to marry him, including that she doesn't love him. Hugh spends his time trying to convince her. Their sexy time was HOT, but the story was MEH.

I wanted to wring the Susannah's neck throughout the book. I get that Susannah wanted to be an independent woman, that she didn't want to be married. She wanted the freedom to do as she pleased but HELLOOO it was 1536. The detail in the scenes slowed down the story too, which didn't help any when I was already annoyed with Susannah. Would I recommend this book? Not unless you like annoying heroines. This was definitely not for me.

Loved this story!
Christmas With the Billionaire RancherThis book was nothing like I thought it'd be. It was better than better. It was funny, sexy, scorching hot, and so much more. It is supposed to be a Christmas story because it all happens during the holidays but it is not focused on the holiday craze.

Mandy Baxter introduces us to Nate Christensen a.k.a. super hot rancher at his dad's funeral. He's there because he has to be there not because he wants to. If it were for him he'd open up the coffin and drop in it the millions of dollars his dad left him as inheritance. Nate wants nothing to do with the money. His dad never gave him or his brothers anything before, why should he now?

His father's widow pretend cry makes him sick to his stomach and it's not until the end of the book that the reader discovers why Nate's dad's betrayal.

While Nate is trying to figure out how to get rid of the money he suddenly inherited, Chloe comes along. She crashes the funeral not for the reasons anyone may think. She can care less about Nate's dad. She's there because she needs funds for her foundation and rumor has it Nate wants to give his away. So before anyone else decides to sweet talk Nate she decides to make a go for it. She's there strictly for business and nothing else. But when she starts talking with Nate business is the last thing that comes up in the conversation and not for lack of trying. They chat about one thing then the other, the more they talk, the more he draws her to him. Finally she decides to leave because it is obvious she'd never get anywhere close to her real business matter with him. The truth is it's been a while since the last time she was close to a man like Nate. Being close to him makes her lose her focus and wish he stopped talking and kissed her instead.

And what do you know? Her wishes come true. As you can predict of one-night-stands, one night is not enough for either one of them. But let me say, the way Mandy Baxter wrote this story the "can't get enough of you" twist isn't like all the others out there. She developed the characters so well that even I, as a reader, couldn't get enough of Nate and Chloe. I read this in a couple of hours and couldn't believe it when it was over.

If you're looking for a nice contemporary romance this would be one book to pick.

Hot ToyI think this is one of my favorite holiday short stories now. What's more is it didn't have any sexy time and I LOVE sexy time! On this one Jennifer Crusie went only as far as throwing a few kisses here and there. My book friends will probably raise their brows when they hear how much I loved this book.

This was a previously published work as part of an anthology and now it's being published by itself. If you haven't read it, you should. And if you've read it, then I'd recommend a reread.

Trudy is looking for the toy of the year for his nephew. The thing is it's Christmas' Eve, and the store is out of those toys. She doesn't give up easy and so she starts searching shelf after shelf hoping that someone had purposely hidden the toy some place else. In her search for the toy she stumbles upon Nolan, a Chinese literature professor, whom she went out with a few times. When she sees him she pretends he's not there.

Trudy really liked him but since he walked out on her at a Chinese Film Festival she's never forgiven him and nothing will change that, or so she thinks.

At the store she also stumbles upon Reese, her dad's former RA. In an effort to get rid off Nolan she flirts a little with Reese. She ends up having two conversations at once as all three of them know each other. In her search she finds the toy, except it is not this year's edition but last year's. She doesn't care. She takes it. Nolan offers her a lot of money for it, and so does another lady she bumps into at the register. No matter what Trudy holds on to it. What she doesn't know is all the people she's coming across are not who they seem to be and soon she finds herself in a lot of trouble.

Let me just say I read this while sitting at the dentist's office and was cracking up. People gave me the looks as if I was crazy and all I did was shrugged and say, "What? reading is better than browsing through Facebook, no?"

I highly recommend this short story. Yeah. It's borderline movie crazy. I sure hope nothing like this happens or has happened to anyone in real life, because if it did it wouldn't be as funny.

The Duke and Miss Christmas is a super short story by Amelia Grey. It starts with Crispin, who is the Duke of Hurst, visiting his uncle and family after being away from England for quite some time.

It’s early morning and he’s riding out in the mountains, taking in the tranquility of the place and making plans on what he’d do after the holidays. He’s minding his own business when he spots a young girl under a tree. He figures she must be in trouble since no one is around and decides to help her.

Though his instincts are right and he’s full of good intentions the young girl’s sister doesn’t think so. Gwen appears out of nowhere and in her haste to rescue her sister, she bashes him with the basket her sister was carrying. Basically she breaks it on his head.

What neither of them know is that this is one of many encounters they will have. Soon, Gwen’s brother in law shows up and he quickly invites Crispin to dinner.

Crispin takes the opportunity because he wants sweet revenge, though he doesn’t yet know how he’ll make Gwen pay for the scratch she gave him. One thing leads to another and it doesn’t take long before they realize their little quarrel has turned into something else they can’t ignore.

This is a nice holiday read. Short and sweet. It would’ve made an excellent full length novel. The ending feels a little too rushed, but other than that it reminded me of those Hallmark holiday flicks.

Crazy for Him by Sofia Tate is a super short read. It’s the story of Lucy and Tomas. Both of them are opera singers, which I thought was a nice twist compared to all the other stories out there.

I also found I’m late to the party, because it turns out these two characters make an appearance in the earlier Davison and Allegra’s books (I’ll have to read those one of these days).

In Crazy for Him, Lucy and Tomas are already married and with two kids. As Tomas drives to their destination Lucy proposes that they retell their love story to each other. The way in which the story is told is in first person from both POVs.

It is through a series of flashbacks that Lucy and Tomas tell each other their own version of how they fell in love, the ups and downs they had to overcome to be together.

The story is way to short so I can’t say anymore without giving it away. I’ll leave it at: if you’re looking for a good feel kind of story, this would be a good one to pick. It can be read in two hours or less.

I received a copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

This was my first time reading Roni Loren, even though I've followed her on Twitter for like ever. I met her at RWA this past July and I felt horrible confessing I'd had her on my TBR for the past few years and I just hadn't gotten around to reading her work yet.

Roni was so gracious she decided to solve my problem and rectify the situation right there and then. She not only gifted me but also autographed a copy of Call on Me. Of course that only made me feel like the worse fan, because how dare I not read her before now? Right?

It took me a while to read Call on Me. It's a long book. But that's not the reason it took me a little longer to read it (I've just been busy with the day job). I have not read any of the books in the series, (obviously since I only got around to finally reading this); however, I was surprised to find I didn't have to. The book is the love story of Pike and Oakley. Although it seems that some of the characters from the previous books make an appearance, there's no need to read all the 7 books before this one. Geez, I do have a lot of catching up to do, don't I?

In Call on Me, Pike is the drummer of a band called Darkfall. He had a rough upbringing and has been estranged from his family for years. There are many things he can't forget and forgive and which made him who he is now. He's got everything he needs and he's not looking for love, but he's not running away from it either.

His friend talks him into doing some charity work for underprivileged kids. At first he's determined to decline the offer but then he recalls how people from this place helped him and his family, and so he accepts to help for the sake of giving back to the community and all that.

When Pike goes to see what he got himself into he is intrigued by Oakley. A woman with an unforgettable voice. What starts as harmless flirtation soon turns into something else. Oakley wants nothing to do with him. She has a daughter and truthfully, what guy would want to date someone who's got a kid? It turns out Pike doesn't mind her kid so much. He discovers Oakley's secret second job and just when she thinks he's going to turn away Pike tells her it actually turns him on. As they get to know each other they learn that what they thought mattered doesn't, not if means they can't be together.

This is a passionate read with three-dimensional characters. There aren't any lose ends. Roni does a fabulous job at tying everything together and answering all questions as the story progresses. The ending is more than satisfying. It makes you sad their story is over, yet you're happy about how it all was resolved.

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A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin (The Debutante Files, #1)I received an autographed copy of this book by Sophie Jordan at RWA this year. The author is just as lovely as her writing. I'm a sucker for regency romances and so I was looking forward to devouring this book.

It took me longer to read than I wish it had, but I'll blame my day job for that. Anyway about this book...

Rosalie is dropped off at the door of the Declan, the Duke of Banbury. He happens to be her stepbrother (not by blood, his dad just married Rosalie's mom and adopted Rosalie). When they were kids Rosalie used to follow Declan around wherever he went, but it's been several years since the last time she saw him and she doesn't have high hopes that he'll take her in. The thing is her mom is nowhere to be found and she's got nowhere else to go.

Declan isn't happy about the situation. Seeing Rosalie in his house reminds him of his past and of the hatred he feels toward her mom for what she did to him. Given that he doesn't have the heart to toss Rosalie out on the street, he decides to give her the largest dowry so long as he gets rid off her by marrying her to someone STAT.

The problem is that as the days go by and they spend time together they start having feelings for each other. The try their best to ignore them but one thing leads to another until it is too late. Their story doesn't go without tragedy. When Rosalie's mom resurfaces she also wants to marry her off but not for the same reasons as Declan. Declan finally faces his demons and sends Rosalie's mom away for good.

This was such a lovely read. Fast-paced, with laughs and aww moments. I think my favorite part is every time Declan called Rosalie "carrots". If you're looking for a regency romance, this one's for you.

This is one of my favorite and best reads this year. I LOVED it!

Full review forthcoming.

I finally finished all three books in the Scandals with Bite series! These books are perfect for anyone who likes historical romances with a twist. These stories aren’t your regular historical romances, oh no. There are vampires in it, which makes them a total page a turner.

I have to say Bite at First Sight wasn’t my favorite. But don’t take me wrong, it was still a very good read. I just thought I’d love it as much as I loved book two.

In Bite at First Sight, Rafe Villar falls head over heels Lady Rosslyn, who cares nothing more but to be accepted to a medical school so she can become a physician. The problem is: people laugh at her ambition since that kind of career is considered for men only. So one night Rafe catches her at the cemetery ready to exhume a man who’s been dead for two days. It turns out vampires are scared because they think there’s a vampire killer after them, except Lady Rosslyn is no vampire killer at all.

Rafe tries to erase her memory but his luck would have it that she’s immune to his powers so he takes her prisoner and writes to the Elders letting them know of his predicament. He’s given two options: Change her or kill her. He doesn’t want to do either at first, but later changes his mind only he can’t Change her because he already Changed someone else.

While all that is happening, there’s another vampire who wants to kick Rafe out of being Lord of London and starts turning vampires against Rafe until he’s got enough to start his revolt. There are killings, rogues, kidnappings surrounding him, as well as an eminent war, which makes it all an entertaining read.

I guess the reason I wasn’t crazy about this one as much as I was about book two is because this one reminded me too much of the Twilight Saga with things such as: writing to the Elders and the battle at the end of book three, the only difference was there were no werewolves.

Overall, I still recommend this series. Brooklyn Ann has a way with words and keeps you turning the page until you reach the end of the story.

Shane is the most broken hero I've ever read. He took me in an unbelievable roller-coaster of emotions. Wendy, I ❤️ You. What an amazing story.

Beth is a gambler’s widow who’s seen better times. Since her husband died she’s done her best to keep her chin up, and made it her mission to rescue misfits.

Though she says she doesn’t miss her old life, deep inside her she does. She loves the thrill of the game. The rush of winning and losing, of upping the stakes, and winning everything back just when she thought it all lost. But she’s done well keeping herself away from all that kind of fun. After all it was only fun when her husband was alive.

She lives with three other women and they couldn’t be anymore different from each other even if they tried. Nothing much is happening with her life, save for the persistent Clay. He wants her to marry him but not because he loves her. All he’s after is her homestead and adding her land to his. Although Beth makes it clear she isn’t interested, everything changes the moment a beautiful stranger seeks refuge in her barn.

Simon is hunting the man that’s hunting him. He’s been accused of theft and murder. He isn’t a saint and he sure has killed one too many a man, the crime Clay is pinning on him isn’t one he committed. He knows he’ll probably die trying to kill the man who wants to kill him, but he rather die trying than not try at all.

His plan goes awry when he faces Clay and a wound to the chest forces him to return to Beth’s place for help. Beth doesn’t think twice about helping him, the only problem is his charms are more than she can take. The sentiment goes both ways and they know the more time they spend in each other’s company the harder it’ll be to part ways.

Simon is forced to leave after one of Beth’s roommates gives him up to the sheriff and company. Beth goes after him hoping to help him but soon changes her mind and hopes to convince him that they can have a future together. Their adventure sure is an adventure of a kind. They have all sorts of people looking for them, which makes it harder for Beth and Simon to agree to a life together.

I hadn’t read a western historical romance in years, and this sure made for an entertaining read. Beth is compassionate but very astute. I enjoyed her strong character, and at times I thought she was stronger than Simon. Simon seemed younger than Beth and at times he could be a bit childish. Perhaps it was the predicament he was in, which didn’t let him offer or be for Beth what he wanted to be or do. This is a refreshing read for historical romance lovers looking for a new twist in the historical genre.

The heroine can't even be considered naive. She's almost too stupid to get the things she wants. She's portrayed as innocent but she's not--her actions are the opposite of someone who's her age, has a kid, and is trying to survive. Too many lose ends, repetitiveness, and things unexplained.

Fantastic!

I loved this book!

Gracie Gable is a famous sports blogger and website designer. Even though her wardrobe (including her shoes)gives the impression she grew up having it all, the truth is completely the opposite. For starters she never had a family, not the kind she’s always dreamt of having, and two of the closest people she ever had she lost.

Her last chance at having a family of her own is presented when her brother-in-law dies and in his will he gives her the chance to have custody of her nieces, if only she spends three months at his farm house with the girls and the son, Jake, no one ever knew he had.

Jake is none other than a football player she got in a fight with on her blog not too long ago. Their fight cost him a fine and a forced apology. To both their surprise having shared custody of the girls isn’t something neither saw coming nor want and for different reasons.

Since his reputation is on the line as a result of his recent conduct Jake accepts to move into the farm house. He never knew his dad had a family, and to have two little girls thrown on his lap out of nowhere angers him. But his anger lasts less than a second the moment he meets his two sisters. As for Gracie, well, he decides there are other ways in which he can make her pay for the fine that she cost him.

To Win Her Love is entertaining, so much it’d bring tears to your eyes and make you laugh and aaw many a time.

I'm devouring this series. Absolutely fabulous!