ANYONE BUT NICK (Anyone But… Book #3) by Penelope
Bloom is the third book in the King Brothers contemporary romance trilogy. This
one is an enemies-to-lovers romance that can be read as a standalone, but I
preferred to read them in order to see each of the brothers fall and keep all
of the connections and timelines straight between characters.
In high school. Miranda always felt a special connection to
Nick King. When she finally built up the courage to slip a poem into his locker
to let him know, she does not sign it and it is the cause of a seven-year misunderstanding
and her hatred of Nick King.
Miranda has her life all planned out in steps to get her to
the top of the corporate ladder with the perfect mate. But it has all fallen
apart. She broke up with her perfect boyfriend and was fired from her perfect
job. When she goes to apply for a new VP position, she can not believe Nick
King just bought the business.
Nick is impressed by Miranda’s resume, but he wants more. He
never understood what happened to their friendship in high school and he has
never been truly satisfied with any other woman. Nick gives Miranda the job.
Will he be able to work with Miranda on a strictly professional level or will
they be able to give their friendship a second chance and turn it into more?
I enjoyed Nick trying to find the right way to deal with
Miranda, while not treading all over her feelings, but I had a difficult time warming
up to Miranda. I did not understand why she was so set on her professional
persona when her best friends and family were all fine with the real Miranda.
It took her too long to figure that out. Once Cade got involved, I enjoyed the
story more and Miranda started to loosen up. The sex scenes are explicit, but
not gratuitous.
This is a good close to the trilogy, but not my favorite of the three books. I loved reading the epilogue that showed the families all happy in the near future. This is a fun and entertaining trilogy to read.
***
Author
Biography
Penelope
Bloom is a USA Today, Amazon, and Washington Post bestselling
author whose books have been translated into seven languages. Her popular
romances include His Banana, Her Cherry, Savage, and Punished.
Her writing
career started when she left her job as a high school teacher to pursue her
dream. She loves taking her imagination for a spin and writing romances she’d
want to live. She likes a man with a mind as dirty as sin and a heart of gold
he keeps hidden away. Her favorite things include getting to wear socks all
day—pants optional—and being a positive example for her girls. Showing her
daughters that no dream is too big, no matter what anyone tells them, is worth
all the late nights, doubts, and fears that come with being a writer.
ANYONE BUT CADE (Anyone But… Book #2) by Penelope Bloom is
the second contemporary romance in the King Brothers trilogy. These books are an
enjoyable mix of romance, laughter and smokin’ hot sex.
Cade King is the other twin, who is never serious unless it
comes to negotiations for work. Seven years ago, he cost his girlfriend her
soccer scholarship with a stupid prank that went wrong. Since then he has never
been in a serious relationship and hides behind his money and success. He can’t
be hurt, if no one really knows him, right?
Iris swore seven years ago with her two best friends to
never again date a King brother. But they are back in town and already one of
her friends has fallen. Iris values the success she worked hard for to become a
law enforcement officer, but something is missing. Cade is still a temptation
hard to resist.
Cade receives the news that he is the father of a five-year-old
son that he never knew was out there. He asks Iris for her help and even though
she knows she shouldn’t, she cannot resist Bear. Can Iris forgive Cade and can
the two work together for Bear?
I really enjoyed this book. The dialogue was laugh out loud
funny at times and ridiculously funny at others. As much as Cade and Iris were
great for each other, Bear made them even better. I loved when Bear would be a
mini-Cade and the action between the two throughout shows the difference, I
felt realistically between how a man or a woman play with a child. Even when it
seemed as though all the secondary characters were against them, Iris and Cade
stayed positive and worked things out. The sex scenes were explicit, but not
gratuitous. I love when I finish a romance and have a smile on my face.
I love all the brothers and I am looking forward to Nick and
Miranda’s story!
***
Author
Biography
Penelope
Bloom is a USA Today, Amazon, and Washington Post bestselling
author whose books have been translated into seven languages. Her popular
romances include His Banana, Her Cherry, Savage, and Punished.
Her writing
career started when she left her job as a high school teacher to pursue her
dream. She loves taking her imagination for a spin and writing romances she’d
want to live. She likes a man with a mind as dirty as sin and a heart of gold
he keeps hidden away. Her favorite things include getting to wear socks all
day—pants optional—and being a positive example for her girls. Showing her
daughters that no dream is too big, no matter what anyone tells them, is worth
all the late nights, doubts, and fears that come with being a writer.
Today I am giving everyone another look at the Brothers In Blue Trilogy by Jeanne St. James. I previously reviewed all of these books separately as they were released.
Below you will find my book reviews for Max, Marc and Matt and author info. Enjoy and give these books a read and/or listen on audiobook if you missed them the first time around. You will not be disappointed.
***
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
BROTHERS IN
BLUE: MAX (Brothers in Blue #1) by Jeanne St. James is a HOT contemporary
romance read that introduces the reader to a rich, immature party girl that has
her whole life turned upside down and a small town cop, who is an ex-Marine and
all Alpha.
Amanda
Barber is a young, rich girl partying all over Miami with her friends and no
responsibilities. Suddenly, she has to move to small town PA to live in her
dead father and stepmother’s home to care for her 22 year old special needs
half-brother and his dog. She has never met Greg and Chaos due the messy
divorce of her parents and has no idea how to deal with him or his needs.
I did not
like Amanda at first, but as the story progresses and you see how she is trying
to learn to help Greg and stand on her own two feet for a change, she pulled me
to her side. You learn her backstory slowly, and like me, the small town folk
did not care for Amanda at first either. She makes mistakes, but you also watch
her mature quickly. She wants to go back to her old life at first, but things
conspire to make her want to stay more and more as the story progresses.
Max Bryson
is a third generation police officer in his hometown and the oldest of three
Bryson boys. When he first runs into Amanda, he has trouble believing such an
immature girl has been assigned the care of Greg, but even as her attitude
chafes, he finds her extremely hot. The back and forth between these two was
extremely well written. You can see in each encounter the strength in Amanda
continues to grow as she stands up to him and takes control her own life and
Greg’s. How much Max’s attitude changes towards Amanda is also realistically
written. The emotional growth of both Amanda and Max is what makes this an
engaging romance.
It was great
getting to know all the secondary characters in this story, also. Max’s loving
and stable parents and his teasing younger brothers. Not so nice, but necessary
to understand Amanda were her mother and ex-boyfriend from Miami. I am looking
forward to reading Marc’s story next.
Please Note:
Although this is a small town love story it does contain many explicit sex
scenes throughout the story. They are well written, integrated into the story
and very, very hot!
***
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
Another HOT
book about a Bryson brother from Manning Grove!
BROTHERS IN
BLUE: MARC (Brothers in Blue #2) by Jeanne St. James has the second Bryson
brother having to train the new police recruit who just happens to be female.
For an alpha male like Marc, who also happens to still believe there should not
be any female officers, being made her FTO (field training officer) by his brother
the chief seems like a sick joke.
Leah Grant
is determined to be a police officer just like her deceased father. She has
fought all the stereotypes and risen to the top of her training class to have
no one, but Max offer her a job. Manning Grove is very small town to her old
home of Philly, but she is determined to make it, even with the chauvinist
beliefs of her FTO.
As Marc and
Leah train and ride together, their chemistry starts to override their common
sense. They try to keep their work life separate from their increasing
attraction, but Marc wants her in his bed as much as Leah wants to prove she is
as capable as any male officer. The taboo of trainer and trainee does not stop
these two, but they do keep it out of work hours.
These two
have explosive chemistry in bed and are so perfect for each other. There are
explicit sex scenes that are well written and have a surprising appearance of
nipple rings and other sex toys. I also loved that Leah stayed at Marc’s
parents’ house when she moved to town so that we continue to be involved with
the whole family from Max’s story in Book #1. This romance can be read as a
standalone because of its own HEA, but the family ties and small town life
carry over.
I love that
Ms. St. James has made each of these books in this series unique so far. I
appreciate that they are not both the same premise with new names inserted. I
am looking forward to what happens with the last Bryson boy, if he ever comes
home!
***
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
What a great
addition and emotionally charged finale to the Bryson brother trilogy of books!
BROTHERS IN
BLUE: MATT (Brothers In Blue #3) by Jeanne St. James has the youngest Bryson
finally returning home after several deployments overseas to a job and extended
family that he is finding very difficult to deal with due to PTSD.
Matt Bryson
believes his mind is broken. He is not ready to accept help except what is
forced on him by his brother to keep his job as a police office in their small
town. He has buried his emotions and is barely making it day to day.
Dr. Carly
Stephens is Amanda’s obstetrician at the local hospital. She is tall, calm and
extremely professional working hard to help her elderly parents and save money
to adopt a baby of her own one day that she cannot have herself. When Matt ends
up being the brother to rush Amanda to the hospital to deliver, he is attracted
to Carly’s calm and leadership. Carly is attracted to the hot police office.
They start
out as landlord and tenant, but soon agree to a sexual, no commitment
relationship. They are just too different and want different things out of
life. Matt with his OCD and PTSD believes he will never be able to love and he
never wants children. Carly is too busy earning and saving money for her future
home and adoption and just wants the hot sex. But can they truly keep to this
arrangement? Hot, steamy sex is great, but soon emotions become entangled and
they will have to find a way to compromise or break.
Matt had me
all tied up in knots emotionally. There are many forms and degrees of PTSD and
I feel Ms. St. James handled Matt’s character responses in a realistic way. I
especially agree with the way that Matt had to handle a lot of his decisions on
his own and in his own time. Carly was an equally strong character because even
though she is a doctor, she knows she can’t heal Matt, she can only love and
help him. The plot was a delicate back and forth written with empathy and
compassion.
It was great
reading about all the characters from the previous two books, also. I am going
to miss these brothers, the loves they found and the entire extended family.
This is an excellent contemporary romance series with plenty of hot and steamy
sex scenes. They can all be read as standalones, but is much more fun to read
them all in order and get three HEAs.
***
Author Info
JEANNE ST. JAMES is a USA Today bestselling romance author who loves an alpha male (or two). She was only thirteen when she started writing. Her first paid published piece was an erotic story in Playgirl magazine. Her first erotic romance novel, Banged Up, was published in 2009.
She is happily owned by farting French bulldogs. She writes M/F, M/M, and M/M/F ménages. Want to read a sample of her work? Download a sampler book here: BookHip.com/MTQQKK
STARTING OVER AT BLUEBERRY CREEK (Sweetwater Springs
Book #4) by Annie Rains is another wonderful addition to the Sweetwater Springs
contemporary romance series. Ms. Rains has written a friends-to-lovers story
that pulled at every one of my heartstrings.
Brenna McConnell put her college education to become a
teacher on hold to finish raising her younger sister, Eve when their parents are
killed in an accident. Brenna takes over her mother’s catering business with
her aunt and when her sister graduates from high school she fears her sister’s
desire to become a firefighter like their father. Eve is headstrong and
difficult with Brenna acting like a mother instead of the sister she misses
which causes a rift between them.
Firefighter Luke Marini moves next door to the sisters to
start over in a new town. He immediately notices the beautiful brunette next
door, but one of the reasons he moved was to get away from his previous
neighbor and have people not know about his past. Brenna welcomes her new
neighbor even as he seems cold to her neighborly advances, but Luke is finding
he cannot stay away from the temptation of the sweet Brenna.
Luke helps Brenna realize that her sister is an adult, even
though she may not act like one at times and it is time for Brenna to work on
realizing her own dreams. Brenna is used to sacrificing for others and she is
finding it difficult to only think of herself, especially when wonderful
firefighter may be her chance at a future that may be slightly different than
what she always dreamed of.
I love Ms. Rain’s storytelling! It pulls me in to her small-town
characters and lives effortlessly. Brenna and Luke both had so much going on
emotionally, past and present and yet Ms. Rain’s writing makes you feel empathy
and not sympathy. The growth and changes flow throughout the story, including Brenna
and Eve’s relationship. Sometimes what we believe will make us happy, is not
necessarily so and both of the main characters learn that and grow. All the
secondary characters are fully fleshed out and the sex is all behind closed doors.
I love this book and all the Sweetwater Springs books and recommend them all! I want to thank Forever Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC. It was very much my pleasure.
A Favor for a Favor (All In Book #2) by Helena
Hunting is a contemporary romance that will have you laughing out loud and/or teary
eyed more times than you can count throughout this fun and entertaining read.
This is the second book in the “All In” series featuring alpha professional hockey
jocks from Seattle’s new expansion NHL team, but it is easily read as a standalone
romance.
Stevie Bowman is excited to surprise her boyfriend returning
from her trip early to her and her boyfriend’s new apartment in time for her
birthday. But the surprise is on her when she walks in and finds him in bed
having sex with someone else.
Her brother, Rook helps her out by letting her live in his
team apartment he is not using while she gets back on her feet. As she stumbles
in late at night, she wakes her neighbor, who is not happy to be woken up. Stevie
just wants to hide and get away from this jerk of a neighbor.
Bishop Winslow cannot believe his strait-laced team captain
is keeping a side piece in his apartment. He already hates that Rook was made
team captain instead of him and this makes it even worse. Imagine his surprise
when he finds out the mistress is actually the hot younger sister.
Bishop suffers a severe groin injury in the very first
pre-season game. Stevie offers Bishop a deal. She will assist with his rehab so
he can return to the ice sooner, if he will give her a letter of recommendation
which will help advance her career in sport physiotherapy. Can they keep it
strictly professional?
I absolutely love Bishop and Stevie. They are perfect
examples of “do not judge someone because you don’t know what they are going
through privately.” The underwear war had me laughing out loud.
I am fast becoming a huge fan of Helena Hunting’s romances. The
characters are realistic, full-fleshed and the dialogue is pitch perfect. She
captures the sex appeal and down-and-dirty language and foibles of young
professional male athletes. The women she creates are strong, but surprisingly
quirky and/or have an emotional impediment that I would never think would work as
a match for these men and yet each is the perfect match.
I highly recommend this contemporary romance and author!
***
Author Biography:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Helena Hunting lives on
the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately
intolerant cats. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance with all
the feels to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.
Today I am excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for a new women’s fiction/contemporary romance from Colleen Hoover titled REGRETTING YOU.
Below you will find a Q&A with the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review, a book summary, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway for $100 gift card from Amazon. Good luck and enjoy!
***
Q&A with Author Colleen Hoover
You are
‘label-less’ in the fact that you write in several genres. Readers never know
what to expect next. If someone asks, how do you label yourself?
When I self-published my first novel I had no
idea what genre to put it in. I thought I had written a drama but it turns to
that I had written a romance. I’ve learned a lot since then, but I still don’t
put a lot of weight in genre when I write. When your best friend is begging you
to read a book, it’s not going to matter what genre it is when someone you
trust is passionate about the story.
To keep all of your stories and characters
straight, you must be very organized.
I’m the most disorganized person you will ever
meet! I have no schedule. I can’t wake up before nine in the morning. I
probably don’t go to bed until like three in the morning. I usually work about
16 hours a day.
What happens if you get blocked when you are
writing?
If I get stuck writing, I go for a drive and
play music. Music really helps me plot. I love The Avett Brothers, X
Ambassadors, Airborne Toxic Event…I could go on and on.
What can you tell readers about your latest
release Regretting You?
I would spoil it if I told you about it! Most
of my books are like that. I can’t say what they are about or it spoils it. But
I can say that Regretting You is told from a dual
point-of-view centered on the inner lives of both a teen and adult protagonist.
Sounds like lots of different types of readers
will be interested!
Absolutely. I wanted to write a book that
bridged the gap between young adult and contemporary romance so that mothers
can read with their daughters. I think it’s exciting to see people sharing
reading experiences.
***
Excerpt
Despite
knowing I just pissed my mother off by being half an hour late for curfew, I
still can’t stop smiling. That kiss with Miller was worth it. I bring my
fingers to my lips.
I’ve never been kissed like that. The guys I’ve
kissed in the past all seemed like they were in a hurry, wanting to shove their
tongue in my mouth before I changed my mind.
Miller was the opposite. He was so patient, yet
in a chaotic way. It was like he’d thought about kissing me so often that he
wanted to savor every second of it.
I don’t know that I’ll ever not smile when I
think about that kiss. It kind of makes me nervous for school tomorrow. I’m not
sure where that kiss leaves us, but it felt like it was a statement. I just
don’t know what exactly that statement was.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket. I roll over
and pull it out, then fall onto my back again. It’s a text from Miller.
Miller:
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when something significant happens, I get
home and think of all the things I wish had gone differently. All the things I
wish I would have said.
Me:
Is that happening now?
Miller:
Yes. I don’t feel like I was entirely forthcoming with you.
I roll onto my stomach, hoping to ease the
nausea that just passed through me. It was going so well…
Me:
What weren’t you honest about?
Miller:
I was honest. Just not entirely forthcoming, if there’s a difference. I left a
lot out of our conversation that I want you to know.
Me:
Like what?
Miller:
Like why I’ve liked you for as long as I have.
I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t.
I’m staring at my phone with so much intensity that I almost throw it when it
rings unexpectedly. It’s Miller’s phone number. I hesitate before answering it,
because I rarely ever talk on the phone. I much prefer texting. But he knows I
have my phone in my hand, so I can’t very well send it to voice mail. I swipe
my finger across the screen and then roll off the bed and head to my bathroom
for more privacy. I sit on the edge of the tub.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” he says.
“Sorry. It’s too much to text.”
“You’re kind of freaking me out with all the
innuendos.”
“Oh. No, it’s all good. Don’t be nervous. I
just should have said this to you in person.” Miller inhales a deep breath, and
then on the exhale, he starts talking. “When I was fifteen, I watched you in a
school play. You had the lead role, and at one point, you performed a monologue
that went on for like two whole minutes. You were so convincing and you
looked so heartbroken I was ready to walk onto the stage and hug you. When the
play was finally over and the actors came back out onto the stage, you were
smiling and laughing, and there wasn’t a trace of that character left in you. I
was in awe, Clara. You have this charisma about you that I don’t think you’re
aware of, but it’s captivating. I was a scrawny kid as a sophomore, and even
though I’m a year older than you, I hadn’t quite filled out yet, and I had acne
and felt inferior to you, so I never worked up the courage to approach you.
Another year went by, and I continued to admire you from afar. Like that time
you ran for school treasurer and tripped walking off the stage, but you jumped
up and did this weird little kick and threw your arms up in the air and made
the entire audience laugh. Or that time Mark Avery popped your bra strap in the
hallway, and you were so sick of him doing it that you followed him to his
classroom, reached inside your hoodie, and took off your bra and then threw it
at him. I remember you yelling something like, ‘If you want to touch a bra so damn bad, just keep it, you perv!’ Then you stormed out. It was epic. Everything you do is epic,
Clara. Which is why I never had the courage to approach you, because an epic
girl needs an equally epic guy, and I guess I’ve just never felt epic enough for you. I’ve said epic so many times in the last
fifteen seconds—I’m so sorry.”
He’s out of breath when he finally stops
talking.
I’m smiling so hard my cheeks ache. I had no
idea he felt this way. No idea.
I wait a few seconds to make sure he’s done;
then I finally respond. I’m pretty sure he can hear from my voice alone that
I’m smiling. “First of all, it’s hard to believe you were ever insecure. And second, I think you’re pretty epic, too,
Miller. Always have. Even when you were scrawny and had acne.”
He laughs a little. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I can hear him sigh. “Glad I got that off my
chest, then. See you at school tomorrow?”
“Good night.”
We end the call, and I don’t know how long I
sit and stare at my phone.
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
REGRETTING YOU by Colleen Hoover is a mash up of a
story containing women’s fiction/mother-daughter drama and contemporary romance
elements all written seamlessly into a book that I could not put down.
This book starts by giving you a glimpse of two young couples
that consist of two sisters and two best friends.
Flash ahead seventeen years, and the four are back together until a tragic accident that shatters all of the people left behind. The mother/daughter relationship is one focus of this story and also the relationship of the daughter and her new boyfriend, but there are also long-lasting consequences for everyone around them.
I recommend you just get this book and start reading because
any type of summary will give preconceived notions which will not even come
close to the expectations and emotional upheaval you will experience yourself
while reading this book. Even with all the heartbreak and anger, the author takes
you on a journey of differing types of forgiveness and love.
This is definitely a book that will stay with you even after you finish the last word.
***
About the Book
Title: Regretting You
Author: Colleen Hoover
Release Date: December 10, 2019
Publisher: Montlake
Summary
Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would
like nothing more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she
did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams
on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her
predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it
increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the
household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But
that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable
accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond
just Morgan and Clara.
While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds
comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s
been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and
misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it
might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.
***
Author Biography
Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling
author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It
Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity.
She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It
Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was
adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family
founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that
offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities
each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and
their three boys. Visit www.colleenhoover.com.
