Book Review: In A Ranger’s Arms by Donna Michaels

in a ranger's arms

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

IN A RANGER’S ARMS (The Men of At Ease Ranch, #1) by Donna Michaels has a ranch full of hard bodied, ex-military men, a curvy and intelligent heroine, smart, snappy and flirty dialogue and a love struck cow named Lula Belle.

Former Army Ranger Stone Mitchum has big plans for the Texas ranch and construction company he, his brother and two of their Ranger friends have bought to help ease the transition for ex-military men back into society. Stone is a born leader who personally shoulders the guilt for any problem and especially when one of their close buddies tries to commit suicide. He has put his own personal life on hold to devote all his attention to the ranch and men, until he has a run in with his new tenant. His mind might say no, but his body is ready to go.

Jovy Larson is in a contest with her cousin for control of her Grandfather’s company. She has four weeks to show the most profit, but there is more to this contest. Jovy has to run a gluten-free, vegan restaurant in Texas cattle country. As she is hanging her sign for her restaurant, The V-Spot, a crazy cow comes charging towards her ladder. Luckily Stone is there to catch Jovy and save her from harm. Jovy wants her surly, and sexy landlord immediately, but she wants to win control of her Grandfather’s company, too. They both know she will be gone in four weeks. Surely they can keep their hands off each other for that long.

What makes this romance POP is the dialogue. It is completely natural and true to life. Every snarky, sweet, emotional, funny comment fits the character and that moment in the story. Jovy is a strong, intelligent business woman who has a heart of gold and is open and honest. Stone is the strong leader who takes too much responsibility for things he can’t control. Ms. Michaels brings these two together is a heartwarming and sexy hot romance that has you cheering them on throughout the story. I am looking forward to the other men of At Ease Ranch meeting their perfect matches.

Book Review: Serenity Stalked by Craig A. Hart

serenity stalked

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Another fast paced thriller featuring Shelby Alexander from Craig A. Hart. Yes, please!

SERENITY STALKED (The Shelby Alexander Thriller Series Book 2) has everything you want in an action packed, short, intense and tightly plotted thriller. In this second book, a serial killer has made his way to small town Serenity to make an anonymous kill and move on, until he sees Carly.

Shelby’s girlfriend, Carly asks him to deliver a message to an ex-boyfriend to quit texting her. The message is delivered, but then the ex-boyfriend, his wife and baby are all found murdered the next day. Shelby is seen leaving the home and an anonymous caller tells Sheriff Wilkes he can find the knife that killed them in Shelby’s storage shed. Since no love is lost between these two, Wilkes is ready to lock Shelby up.

True crime writer, Quinn Edwards warns Shelby of his impending arrest and tells him to get lost and she will help with the case. Believe her or not, Shelby goes, but Carly won’t leave with him and this is just what the killer is waiting for.

This is a quick read that you will want to finish in one sitting. As with Mr. Hart’s first Shelby book, all of the characters are fully fleshed. Shelby is a great lead character with wisdom, strength he has realized is changing with his age and his own moral code. I am looking forward to many more adventures featuring Shelby.

Book Review: Adrift by Micki Browning

adrift

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Well, another new author has me hooked by her debut mystery for her series.

ADRIFT (A Mer Cavalllo Mystery #1) by Micki Browning features Dr. Meredith “Mer” Cavallo, a marine biologist, currently working as a safety dive master in the Florida Keys as she waits for a funded research position. On a normal afternoon tourist group dive, Mer rescues a man five miles from the boat he came out on, who swears he doesn’t know how he got there and he saw a ghost on the wreck of the USS Spiegel Grove.

Mer needs money and is financially bribed into a night dive with a paranormal group filming a documentary trying to prove the existence of the ghost on the USS Spiegel Grove. The dive goes terribly wrong and Mer stands to lose all of her scientific credibility because she believes she saw a ghost as she tries to save one diver while she loses another. The police are suspicious of Mer because she was involved in both incidents surrounding the wreck and she knows she has to clear her name if she is to have a chance to return to academia and she refuses to believe in ghosts.

This story has mystery, suspense, surprising plot twists and a great lead character.  Ms. Browning leads you down one path, only to twist and turn you onto another, always with facts and logic. I have never been to The Keys or been diving and yet I was never bored or lost as the logistics and technical elements were woven into the story. Mer is a character that at first was a little too cold for me, but as I got to know her through a past love interest (who is going to be an interesting story himself), her brothers and mother, you realize that she isn’t really cold, just intellectually brilliant and socially inept, similar to Dr. Brennan from the Bones series. I am now hooked and need to know what path Mer will follow in the future. Hopefully the next book will be out soon!

Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Group-Alibi and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Looking forward to more in this series.

Book Review: Isabella: Bride of Ohio by Debra Parmley and Robert Arrow

bride of Ohio

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

ISABELLA: BRIDE OF OHIO (American Mail-Order Brides Series, #17) by Debra Parmley is part of an interesting writing project. Fifty authors are writing a fifty book American Mail-Order Bride series that releases one book a day for fifty days.

Isabella Britta Stolt arrives from Sweden with her parents only to have them quarantined on Ellis Island and die. On her own at seventeen, she hears of work in a factory in Massachusetts. It is long and tiring work, but she has a roommate from Sweden and a few friends. Then the factory burns down. Luckily Isabella and her friends make it out alive, but now they must all make decisions for their futures.

A mail-order bride paper is passed around the factory girls and they decide to try their luck with the gentlemen they find to write to. Isabella writes to Donald Jenks, who seems to be a successful accountant in Yellow Springs, OH looking for a wife. His description of his home and life is everything a future bride would want, so she begins her journey to Ohio.

On the train to Ohio, Isabella meets two men; one who will try to kidnap her and one who will save her more than once. Thomas “Tom” Allenby is an undercover Pinkerton man working a case of missing women from the train. He is instantly taken with Isabella and comes to her rescue. He knows she is taken, but he will cross paths with her again in her future home.

This is not the typical mail-order bride romance where they live happily ever after. This groom is not who he seems and the story takes a major twist. There is a forced sex scene, but it is mostly described and not played out in present time description. Isabella is a woman of her time with few choices, but she has the resilience and strength to always move forward. I loved Isabella and was so glad she got the HEA she deserved in the end.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Murder By The Book by Devorah Fox

murder by the book

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

I really enjoyed MURDER BY THE BOOK by Devorah Fox which is a mini-cozy mystery that is packed into 27 pages. I KNOW!!! I was very surprised that such a short story had almost everything I look for in a much longer book.

Candy Wadsen comes into work at the Sugarloaf Inn and Resort to find her loathsome boss murdered at his desk. Candy is a mystery book buff and knows what to do, but reality is very different from books. She is quickly cleared with her alibi by the hunky Sergeant Dan Petrowski, but the rest of the staff had to stay for an after work meeting and all become suspects.

This is a wonderfully clever who-done-it that had me guessing until the end. All of the characters were your usual cast of quirky cozy mystery types and they were well written for the short length of the story. When you want a very quick and smart mini-cozy mystery, grab this one and you will not be disappointed!

Book Review: Strike Fear by Beth Rhodes

strike fear

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

I have anticipated reading STRIKE FEAR (Hawk Elite Security Book 2) by Beth Rhodes after having read and reviewed Strike Back, the first book in this series.

Tancredo “Tan” Byrne has been made head of the new Personal Safety Department for Hawk Elite Security. He enjoys the excitement of the overseas operations, but he feels he has to stay close to what is left of his family. Growing up poor, the service saved him from the streets, but his mother has always had substance abuse problems, his brother committed suicide in prison and his sister is autistic and mainly left on her own. Not many know of his family’s past and current problems and he wants to keep it that way.

When Tan is hired by Elizabeth’s father to make sure Elizabeth knows how to stay safe and to continue her personal security training, he feels it will be an easy job since she was a world class athlete. He feels she is a spoiled, rich princess that has been given everything until he spends more time with her and starts to realize his mistake.

Elizabeth “Liz” Whitney was a world champion skater until she was attacked. It took a year of healing and rehab to get back on her feet, but the fear has always remained. It is a daily effort to live on her own and get her skate costume design business going. She has refused help from family and makes sure Tan realizes her accomplishments have been hard earned on her own.

What starts as a training assignment turns into the need for a personal bodyguard when Liz is attacked and she resembles the victims of a killer on the loose. There are plenty of suspects and until the killer is caught, Liz is in constant danger.

I enjoyed this installment to the Hawk Elite Security series. It is a typical bodyguard romantic suspense story that while having no new twists, was well written. I was impressed that Ms. Rhodes included instances of racial prejudice that most interracial stories avoid. There is a lot of sexual tension between Tan and Liz as he fights to maintain his distance, but when they do get together, the sex scenes are hot and steamy. A very satisfying addition to the series.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.