Tag: #romance

Book Review: Twisted Irish by Sara Brookes

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

I am completely surprised by how much I loved this hero and heroine. I was not sure what to expect with a biker club BDSM contemporary romance, but Ms. Brookes has written a romance that delivers!

TWISTED IRISH (Sinner & Saints Book 4) by Sara Brookes opens at the Riding Irish Biker Club’s Valentine’s Day cookout on Oahu. Olivia Woo is invited by her boss from the tech company she works for, who also happens to be the president of the club. She is always chasing excitement, danger and chaos in her computer simulations and real life. Secretly she runs simulations of BDSM sex. She is not sure if it is right or wrong, but she wants to find someone to help her explore her fantasies. Looking for a place to evade all the men she is being introduced to at the cookout, she finds the club’s secret basement dungeon.

Jon Swagger has worked hard to keep his darker side in check since leaving the Marines. He has been afraid that no one will ever understand his killer past and has only had casual sexual encounters, but the rest of the club is finding love and he finds that he wants that for himself. He is a DOM and designed the dungeon and a very special chair that plays an intriguing part in this story. When he sees the blue haired vixen, he is immediately drawn to her. When he catches her in his dungeon, he wants to give Olivia the sexual experience of her life. What neither of them expects is that they are exactly what each of them needs.

This is a short book that is full of empathy, exploration and love between the H/h. It does make references to previous situations from previous books in the series, but not enough to confuse or detract from this story. The sex scenes are well written and extremely explicit, sexy and hot. This story is well worth the read for a fast romance and romantic introduction to BDSM.

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

Book Review: Brothers In Blue: Max by Jeanne St. James

max

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!

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

Book Review: Embattled SEAL by J.M. Madden

embattled SEAL

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

EMBATTLED SEAL (Lost and Found #4) by J.M. Madden is a character driven romance that had me reading straight through the night, crying sad tears and then happy tears.

Harper Preston was a Navy SEAL sniper and nearly fatally wounded on Lost and Found’s last operation. As his boss and friend wait for him to wake from surgery, a woman shows up and takes control. She is Harper’s estranged wife that no one knew existed.

Catherine “Cat” Preston has come to Harper’s hospital bedside once again. She has always understood what she signed up for by being a SEAL’s wife. His job would always come first, he couldn’t talk about his time away and she would basically be a single parent, but 18 months ago he left his family and cut all communication thinking he was doing what was best for them. Cat disagrees and she has plans to abduct her husband and settle the future of their marriage and family once and for all.

I loved that so much of this story was told from Cat’s point of view. She loves and understands her husband. She was strong and took care of their home and children while he was away. She took care of him when he was home, so when he just left, she was devastated. She knew he was having problems adjusting to civilian life, but he didn’t communicated how bad it was and he wouldn’t go for help until LNF hired him and made it mandatory. LNF saved his life and now he wants to save his marriage.

This story delves into the mind and marriage of a military man that his country has turned into a killing machine that has seen and lived through the horrors of war. Injuries, PTSD in all its forms and the fear of accidentally hurting those he loves are discussed. The stigmatism, even if it is only in his own mind, of seeking psychiatric help is also discussed. I feel this book handled the communication issues between Cat and Harper realistically and with a lot of mutual love.

Another great addition to the LNF series!

Book Review: Fire and Midnight by Sandra Renee Appet

fire and midnight

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

WOW! My new book boyfriend’s name is Ryan “Reyo” Zeigler. Half Mexican, half German, beautiful, sexy, smart and loving. This story has everything I want in a romance!

FIRE AND MIDNIGHT by Sandra Renee Appet is a beautifully written contemporary romance about a divorcee who is all work now that she has an empty nest and she believes her time for love has passed her by and a gorgeous ex-escort who was very successful, but only did the job for the money to realize his dream of his own restaurant.

Janes Keegan’s divorce is final and her son is off to college. When she has to take a trip to San Antonio from NY for business, her BFF informs her she set her up with an account on “The Cowboys”, an exclusive, high-end escort service. She is not comfortable with this idea and is about to delete her account when she views a blue-eyed, dark haired arresting man and she presses “Book”.

Ryan “Reyo” Ziegler’s dream has always been to open his own restaurant on the San Antonio River Walk. He has stripped and then been an escort, always working towards his dream and now that Vine is open and doing well he is done with that empty life. He told his old boss he was done, but she left his profile up and she now asks him to do this one last job. He is intrigued by Jane’s picture and bio and agrees to this last escort.

When Jane and Ryan meet in person, there is an instant attraction, but also the feeling of being comfortable with each other. Ryan doesn’t want Jane to think he is only interested in the money and makes a deal with her – no strings, a fun relaxing weekend and her payment refunded. When their weekend is up, Ryan wants to continue to see where their relationship will go. Jane has to decide if she truly believes Ryan wants her or if this is just a beautiful dream that has to end.

This romance had my emotions all over the place. Ryan is a hot, sexy hero, who is everything a woman could want and Jane has all the insecurities and strengths of a middle aged divorcee trying to put herself first for a change. Ms. Appet brings this H/h to life with realistic situations, extended family and friends, and a love that survives and strengthens with every trial. This is a beautiful romance!

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

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: 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.