Aug 12, 2024

{Review} Northern Twilight by Samantha Young



Northern TwilightNorthern Twilight by Samantha Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BLURB:

As teenagers, Callie Ironside and Lewis Adair were inseparable. So much so, Lewis still can’t work out where it all went horribly wrong, or why he’s spent the last seven years in London away from the love of his life.

Callie knows exactly where it all went wrong and while she tried to move on—learning pastry techniques in Paris and dating French men—returning home to Ardnoch to work in her mother’s bakery only reminds her of the future she lost with Lewis.

But when a visit to London brings them unexpectedly together, the passion, pain and animosity between them leads to a one-night stand. For Lewis, it’s the beginning of winning Callie and his life in Ardnoch back. For Callie, it’s a mistake that’s shaken up the devastating heartbreak she fought hard to forget. However, Lewis is determined to fight for her, and proves it when their night together results in more than just unresolved feelings.

As they come to grips with impending parenthood and the mistakes they’ve both made, Callie and Lewis will not only have to decide to fight for a love that has endured so many years apart, but a mysterious adversary who seems intent on destroying the future they’re building together.

REVIEW:

I was super excited for this story because of how Callie and Lewis were in the prior series, I knew they were meant to be but was curious on how they got there.

Callie and her mother went through hell and back because of her father, their journey through he moms romance was one of my favorite stories. With what she went through Callie struggled with her emotional response and she acted before she thought the whole thing through. Even though i struggled with her actions because I felt they were slightly immature for her age, what she went through as a child made me more sympathetic.

Lewis stole my heart as a sweet kiddo, I loved how as a child he was so protective and trying to be strong like his father and uncles. As an adult he is one of my favorites, he in a way had to grow up fast, he had a great family but the loss of his mother and not having that connection matured him. I love that he is caring and learned to be more watchful of his younger sister half sister. Just like his father and uncles the protectiveness and wanting to be there is so strong. But its his love for Callie that never goes away is what I adored the most about him. He's always loved her and was broken when he lost her.

In the end Samantha Young knows her audience, she knows how much we care for all the characters in her series, both past and present. The readers get updates on the past couples and learn more information about characters that will be the focus of the future. I can't wait to know more about Lewis sisters and their journeys to finding happiness.

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May 10, 2024

{Review} Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young

Skies Over Caledonia (The Highlands, #4)Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb:

It’s been five years since Jared McCulloch’s grandfather Collum passed away and he inherited his farm in the Scottish Highlands. After his grandad saved him from his past life, Jared is determined to honor Collum’s legacy. But not only has a series of bad luck put him in danger of losing the farm, his estranged father is disputing the will. In a desperate situation, Jared realizes he’ll do just about anything to save the land.
Even marrying Allegra Howard, a woman he’s avoided at all costs.
A woman who tempts him beyond reason.

There’s only one place that makes Allegra Howard feel safe; one place that feeds her artist’s soul. Allegra wants to settle down in Scotland and expand her business. But there’s a hitch: immigration intends to return her to US soil.
Panicked, Allegra finds the one person just as desperate as she is. The same person she’s lusted after for years. In exchange for marrying her, she’ll invest financially in Jared McCulloch’s farm.

However, living together only forces them to acknowledge their searing mutual attraction. And with it comes an undeniable emotional connection Jared’s not sure he’s ready for.
Yet, blurring the lines of their arrangement is the least of his concerns when someone begins terrorizing the farm.
Allegra and Jared came together to save what matters most and now that might just be each other. And unless they can figure out which of their pasts has returned to torment them, they could lose their chance at a real future together...

Review:

Marriage of Convenience Done Right

Samantha Young is one of my top five favorite romance authors, I love her world building. Character growths, and of course the romance.

The Highland series continues as a sequel to the Adair series with secondary characters now getting their own stories. I was super excited to not only get Jareds story but also Aria's sister Allegra.

This story focuses a lot on Jared and Allgeras past. Jared grew up with an awful father figure and lost the one man who became his father figure. Allegra has to deal with her parents' constant horrible treatment, and everyone around her treats her like she's always badly behaved, but she's been hiding a secret. Together, these two help each other heal but are able to face their fears because of each other support.

As always with Youngs stories, there is a mystery hidden, and it makes the readers constantly guess who is behind it all.

In the end, I have to say this was my favorite story in the Highland series. I have been rooting Allegra after her first introduction, and Jared's love for his cousin just warmed my heart with how much of a big brother type he is.

I can't wait for more of this series, and I can see the possibility of the children getting their stories told in the future.

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Jul 25, 2023

{Release Blitz: Review} The Wrong Wife by L. Steele

The Wrong Wife by L. Steele is now live!



The Wrong WifeThe Wrong Wife by L. Steele
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: Contemporary Romance (Erotic)
THEME: Opposites Attract

REVIEW:

The Wrong Wife is my first introduction to L. Steele and it was a great one. I love to fullness of the side characters, it really pulled me into the world along with the main characters Knight and Penny, they supported the story and introduced me to the past characters without confusing me. Of course now I need to read the past books because I have to see how these other couples were brought together.

The Wrong Wife follows Penny who has an awkward encounter with her best friend Abby's brother Knight, who has just returned from being held captive after a mission gone bad with the military. Knight has come back changed, haunted by the loss of his team and being tortured. He's hardened and angry, Abby is determined to help her brother and get him back to the living. She thinks Penny, who is bright and bubbly with help knock Knight back into the world and to his family and friends. Penny nor Knight are prepared for each other, both so opposite but their attraction is fire. Together they go through ups and downs, challenging each other in things they both didn't know they needed or wanted.

Overall I liked this story, at the beginning Penny is a little much, but she calms down a little and is less annoying. She matures and also brings out the best in Knight. The romance is as I said fire, the chemistry burns on the pages and the dirty talk is fan worthy. I look forward to reading the past books and also more future writing from L. Steel, she knows romance and knows how to bring a lot fo characters together without being overwhelming.

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He's my best friend's brother.
My new boss.
And now my fake husband.

Knight Warren. The country's most sought-after heartthrob, and retired military vet, is my complete opposite.
He's confident when I'm collaborative.
Grumpy where I'm sunshine.
Surly where I'm... happy go lucky.
He's the hardened ex-soldier.
I'm still trying to find my calling.
The only thing we have in common is that we both love his sister... who's also my best friend.

So when she asks me to help Knight find a wife I can't say no.

Turns out he'll inherit the father's empire as long as he gets married within the next month.

I agree to work as his assistant and interview the women who apply for the position. But Knight hates every one of them.

With the deadline drawing close, he proposes I marry him--with conditions.

One year of a fake marriage.
One year of living together.
One year of pretending I belong to him.

In return, he'll pay off my debts and take care of my mother's medical treatment.

But stipulations are never that simple.
Especially when the chemistry between us detonates.
Forced to live under his roof I know I'm falling for him.
As the days pass I begin to think he reciprocates my feelings.
Until he introduces me to his real wife...

This is a billionaire, forced proximity, one-bed, fake marriage of convenience, and a best friend's brother novel. It is a complete standalone.


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Meet L. Steele



L. Steele writes stories featuring powerful men and strong women who bring them to their knees. When she's not writing she enjoys trading trivia with her husband, watching lots and lots of movies, and walking nature trails. She lives with her family in London.

 

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Jul 8, 2023

{Release Blitz} Heartless by Grace Goodwin

 


Heartless by Grace Goodwin is now live!



Warrior. Doctor. Spy. I am Commander Helion, a heartless terror, relentless and unforgiving. Merciless. 
My destiny is not to claim a female, to have a family, to be rendered helpless by love.
Despite this, I am matched. A beautiful human female is now mine. Despite my warnings, she is determined to leave her mark on me, body and soul.
Honor demands I resist. I tell her the truth. I will not place a mating collar around her neck. I cannot protect her—especially from me—my choices—the horrors I face every day.
Just one moment of weakness and she gets under my skin, makes me want things I cannot have. She is everything I am not—and the most dangerous creature I have ever faced.
Claiming her—keeping her—is not possible with my pivotal role in this never-ending war. There is no place in my duties for desire. For need. Too many innocents count on me for protection. Too many lives are at stake, including hers.
The enemy is always ready and waiting, but I never expected her to be among them.
For the first time in my hardened life, I question my sanity. My dark soul. I begin to understand exactly what my enemies have stolen from me—and realize there is no limit to what a heartless warrior will sacrifice for love.


 REVIEW

This is the first in the Primal Mates series but its apart of the main series Interstellar Brides. I was excited for this one because Helion has been an important figure through out the series and side series. I was curious on how this character was going to handle being matched and having a mate.

Heartless follows Willow who was rescued from a Hive ship and went through hell, she has finally put herself together in a way and has also been chosen as a bride being mated to Commander Helion. However Helion though good looking, powerful and intelligent, he has a one track mind and its to destroy the Hive at all cost. Both have a deep drive for something Willow to create a new live and get away from what happened to her and Helion wants to stop the Hive.

Overall I liked this story, I would say this was a 3.5/3.7 stars for me. I always love the connection between matched mates and their journey into figuring things out. There is always miscommunication, however I didn't really like how Willow handled things on her end as she blamed Helion and didn't bother to ask nor did she share. But he got the blunt end of things. Since normally there are two mates the Primary and his second, Helion not having a second caused issues too. I don't think that Willow handled that well and was a little peeved with her actions. The romance side as always is on fire, its intense and I always like how to couple balance each other out. This series is always just getting started so I cant wait to see who is next in Primal Mates.

In the end there is a lot of action scenes and I loved seeing the past couples pop in to see how they are all doing. The Hive is still insanely scary and I'm looking forward to seeing how they can be stopped.


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Meet Grace Goodwin



Grace Goodwin is a USA Today and international bestselling author of Sci-Fi and Paranormal romance with more than one million books sold. Grace's titles are available worldwide in multiple languages in ebook, print and audio formats. Grace is an avid reader, an escape room enthusiast, sci-fi nerd, coffee fanatic, and an eternal optimist forever believing that Earth will, some day, have a Star Trek style future. Grace loves to hear from readers.

 

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May 2, 2023

{Book Blitz: Review} Beyond the Thistles by Samantha Young

A grumpy vs sunshine, age-gap, romantic suspense set in the Scottish Highlands.

Beyond the Thistles by Samantha Young is now live!

Beyond the Thistles (The Highlands, #1)Beyond the Thistles by Samantha Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

BLURB:

It's been a long time since Walker Ironside left behind Scotland and the memories that haunt him. Yet after years of traveling the world as a bodyguard, Walker misses his homeland enough to return. To a village in the Scottish Highlands that plays host to an exclusive members-only club, Ardnoch Estate. If not happy, Walker is content working with the elite security at the club and maintaining his bachelor lifestyle. What he doesn't need is distraction in the form of the enticing but too-young newcomer, single mother Sloane Harrow.

Sloane never imagined she'd get pregnant at sixteen. Or that a decade later she'd escape from California with her daughter, Callie, to start over in the Scottish Highlands. Hidden and safe from Callie's dangerous father, Sloane is satisfied with their new lives. Her daughter is happy. Sloane has a stable job, a quaint cottage, a passion for baking that might just be turning into a business, and a huge crush on brooding security guard Walker Ironside. Unfortunately, the grumpy Scot seems immune to Sloane's charm, but she can't help but try to seduce him with cupcakes and baked treats whenever the opportunity arises.

However, when someone arrives in Ardnoch intent on destroying Sloane's life, Walker is the first to step forward to protect her and Callie. Even if it means giving into temptation and awakening his own demons. Because in doing so, Walker faces failing not only to shield Sloane from her past, but to safeguard her against his own.

REVIEW:

After falling in love with the Adair series I thought it was going to be hard to move on from that world and into another, Thankfully Young kept her readers in the same beautiful location and were able to see how the other couples have been doing.

Beyond the Thistles follows Sloane, who is trying to start over in her life, leaving the horrible life she left behind and is hiding from, for a new start for herself and her daughter. Her boss and friend offered her a position at a special members only club which offered her a lot and a safe place her her daughter. Now that they are settled in and she also starts baking locally, her true passion, she cant help but notice the brooding but sexy Walker Ironside, who left his position as a bodyguard for on of the Adairs to working at the same members only estate.

Walker is a little trick and extremely closed off, even though he wants to keep Sloane at a safe distance she and her daughter are hard to say no too. Especially when danger from her past comes knocking.

As always, the mystery, suspense and romance is top notch with Samantha Young. her beautiful world building and the Scottish Highland setting is always wonderfully done. Walker and Sloane stole my heart as my new favorite couple, and I loved getting to know more side characters from the past series and seeing some old favorites.


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Meet Samantha

Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She's been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. Samantha writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction and is currently published in 31 countries.

She resides in Scotland.

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Feb 24, 2023

{Release Blitz Review} Slow Burn by Jessica Prince

 


Slow Burn by Jessica Prince
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
THEME: Opposites Attract

BLURB:

When she started on the path to her new life, she never could have guessed where it would lead her.

Deva Kent spent most of her life dreaming of escaping. She hated being forced to live among the Fellowship of the Enlightened, the small community closed off from the rest of the world, and was desperate to spread her wings and discover something new. When she applied to be a nanny for a single father and his two-year-old son, the Fellowship wasn’t happy, but she knew that was her fresh start. However, she never thought she’d end up falling for the man with more baggage than he could carry and storm clouds in his eyes.

Laeth Harker’s world fell off its axis the morning a past one-night-stand showed up on his doorstep with a son he knew nothing about in tow. He barely had his own life together and didn’t know the first thing about caring for a child. But after spending most of his life screwing everything up, he was determined to do right by his own flesh and blood. He just didn’t know where to start.

When Laeth hired Deva on as his son’s nanny, she was supposed to make his life easier. But the way he felt about her was the very definition of complicated.

Their feelings might have started off at a slow burn, but once it catches, it’s hot enough to set the world on fire.

REVIEW

The 7th book in the Redemption series doesnt disappoint, the lead female in this story really pulled at the heartstrings. I felt for her and wanted to protect her as much as the whole town wanted too. Prince does a fantastic job crafting her small town stories and intertwining them with the past characters.

Slow Burn follows Deva Kent, who was left by her father after her mothers passing with a small community called the Fellowship of the Enlightened, the family whom took her in treated her poorly and they didn't allow her much freedom as well as tell her every sin the local town was apart of. She yearned for freedom and a way to live her life, when a friendship that formed at the market gave her the opportunity to leave her trapped life and discover friendship and romance.

I loved this story, Deva was the most innocent and kind soul, she was discovering so many new things, from foods to movies for the first time, where it was the norm for most people. It was interesting to see how she handles the towns playboy Laeth and his new position as a father. The were both so opposite that it just worked.

In the end I loved their addition to the towns couples and it was a sweet but sexy romance, mixed with some suspense.

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**The Redemption series is a series of interconnected, standalone, small town romances.**

Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

SLOW BURN


Born and raised around Houston Texas, Jessica spent most of her life complaining about the heat, humidity, and all around pain in the ass weather. It was only as an adult that she quickly realized the cost of living in Houston made up for not being able to breathe when she stepped outside. That’s why God created central air, after all.

Jessica is the mother of a perfect little boy–she refuses to accept that he inherited her attitude and sarcastic nature no matter what her husband says.

In addition to being a wife and mom, she’s also a wino, a coffee addict, and an avid lover of all types of books–romances still being her all time favs. Her husband likes to claim that reading is her obsession but she just says it’s a passion…there’s a difference. Not that she’d expect a boy to understand.

Jessica has been writing since she was a little girl, but thankfully grew out of drawing her own pictures for her stories before ever publishing her first book. Because an artist she is not.

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Feb 21, 2023

{Release Blitz: Review} Only You by Samantha Young

 


Only You by Samantha Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
THEME: Best Friends

BLURB:

Once upon a time, Monroe Sinclair was Brodan Adair's best friend, but now he's a stranger and one of Hollywood's leading men...

It took Monroe Sinclair eighteen years to return home to Ardnoch after a fateful night that devastated her friendship with Brodan Adair. She fled her unrequited love for him, as well as her difficult family life, and tried not to look behind her. Only a daughter's guilt could lure her back to the Highlands and the assumption that Brodan Adair rarely ever sets foot in their hometown. She can handle seeing the rest of the Adairs so long as she can avoid her ex-best friend and the only man she's ever loved.


Nothing is more important to Brodan than family, and only his demons have the power to keep him from them. For years, acting was something he was lucky enough to be good at, yet it wasn't his priority—Ardnoch and his siblings were. But when a ghost from his past returned out of the blue, Brodan tried to outrun its haunting, taking him further and further from home. When exhaustion finally forces him back to the family fold, the last thing he wants is to encounter another ghost. But that's exactly what Monroe Sinclair has been to him. When a promise to his nephew obliges Brodan to work with Monroe, it forces them to face their past. The explosive connection that has always existed between them resurrects truths long buried. Yet, just when they might be on the brink of a second chance, the ghost from Brodan's past finally catches up to him and threatens not just their happiness, but their very
lives.

REVIEW:

I love this series so much, but Only You hit me a little different, it was very emotional and heartbreaking and I loved every minute of it. The two leads were so hurt by the past and had to overcome so much to push forward. Their journey was beautifully written and all the past characters helped guide them to where they needed to go.

Only You follows Monroe Sinclair, a long time family friend of the Adairs and best friend or former best friend of Brodan Adair. Something in the past hurt Brodan and Monroe which lead to a bitter and heartbreaking end to their friendship. When Brodan decides to come home after years of avoiding family and his heartbreak being in the limelight, he has to come face to face with his past. Monroe has to deal with Brodans distain and horrible treatment, I felt for her and wished he could see how much it hurt her. Both characters had a lot of pain and a lot of growth through the story and Young always does a fantastic job intertwining her series together with the past characters.

In the end I loved this one so much, the epilogue was always a wonderful bonus to see everyone in their happy places. There were two new characters introduced that I'm looking forward to hopefully coming back to see how their possible romance turns out too.

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