Thursday, April 16, 2015

Twins On the Way (The Kavanagh’s of Silver Glen series #4)

This book was read as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) provided for free by the publisher with the knowledge that I would provide an unbiased and honest review/feedback on the work.


AuthorJanice Maynard

Published Date: April 7, 2015

Rating: M (for Mature)

Bookshelves: Vegas, virgin, Italian, twins, misunderstanding, workaholic, North Carolina

Begun: April 5, 2015
Finished: April 6, 2015

Media Type: Kindle

Setting: Las Vegas, Nevada; Silver Glen, North Carolina

Characters: Cassidy Corelli, Gavin Kavanagh

Synopsis: Cassidy Corelli is caught up in a back alley in an argument when a white knight walks by and “saves” her from her attacker, never mind that it was just her brother she was fighting with. Gavin Kavanagh thinks he’s just saved a working girl or another streetwise inhabitant of Las Vegas. Little does he know that in his hotel room is the workaholic daughter of a local casino owner. Cassidy has spent her entire life trying to show her father that she’s smart enough and dedicated enough to run his very prosperous enterprise instead of her brother who her father seems to favor. She just wants one night off. Maybe in the arms of this stranger? It is Las Vegas after all.

On the tail end of a conference where he was the lead speaker, Gavin hasn’t had the time to enjoy Vegas the way he wanted to. Until, Cass comes into his life. She takes him around the city and shows him the sights that the natives know. Captivated, he asks her to return to his hotel room with him and she agrees. He’s never known a woman to turn him on the way that Cass does … until he realizes she’s a virgin.

Two months later, Cassidy tracks Gavin down at his home in Silver Glen, North Carolina. She’s been disowned by her strict Italian father and she’s destitute and homeless. Oh and did she mention … she’s pregnant. And Gavin is the father. He’s been burned in the past and falsely accused of crimes of a sexual manner. Can he trust Cass? Could the baby really be his?

Review: I really liked this book. The characters were lively and lovable. This was no a cookie cutter “virgin-deflowering-pregnancy” Harlequin either. The characters were fully formed and very 3D, which is not like most of the novels out there where it’s clear that the characters were plugged into a formula they know works and it goes from there. I thought that the Kavanagh family was likable enough that I am going to look for the other three books in this series.
In my opinion, this book gets:

Friday, April 10, 2015

A Millionaire for Cinderella (In Love With the Boss #1)

This book was read as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) provided for free by the publisher with the knowledge that I would provide an unbiased and honest review/feedback on the work.


AuthorBarbara Wallace

Published Date: June 2, 2015

Rating: M (for Mature)

Bookshelves: Boston, old money, former stripper, housekeeper, lawyer/attorney, secrets, raising a sibling,

Begun: March 19, 2015
Finished: March 20, 2015

Media Type: Kindle

Setting: Boston, Massachusetts (Back Bay – think old money brownstones)

Characters: Stuart Duchenko, Patience Rush, Ana Duchenko, Piper Rush, Nigel (the cat)

Synopsis: Patience is beside herself. This morning, she found her employer, old-oil-moneyed Ana Duchenko, unconscious and in a heap at the bottom of a flight of stairs. As her housekeeper, Patience knows that Nigel the cat must have tripped up the elderly woman but that doesn't make her feel any better as she has to accompany the woman to the hospital. Patience loves Ana, who gave her a second chance at making a reputable life for herself in Boston. Her salary makes it possible for her to put her younger sister, Piper, through a prestigious culinary school in Paris. And Patience will never have to go back to … well, she’s got a good job now. If only Ana will be alright.

Straight from the airport, in rushes a whirlwind of dark hair and … presence. Asking for the old woman, Patience knows this must be her well-lauded grand-nephew, Stuart Duchenko. She thought he’d be … a Stuart; he was an attorney after all. This strikingly handsome man is not who she pictured. He’s suspicious of her and she’s got herself a little bit of an attitude to boot. Can these two come together to help out Ana? And each other?

Review: I loved that the setting was Boston as I am a Bostonian. Wallace must know the area because I almost could envision the places she was describing down to street corners etc. The characters were well written and dynamic. You cared about them and the problems they were having. I’m enthralled enough with the writing and the characters that I plan to purchase the second book in this series (Beauty and Her Billionaire Boss) which is Piper’s story. 

I really liked that (even though the plot bounced back and forth between Stuart and Patience) that Patience was more represented in the dialogue/point of view. And Stuart, while having all the hallmarks thereof, wasn't the typical uber-alpha male. He listened to Patience, took her word for things, and didn't boss her around. He was the perfect combination of domineering and … well, patient.

In my opinion, this book gets:


Thursday, April 9, 2015

The SEAL’s Miracle Baby

This book was read as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) provided for free by the publisher with the knowledge that I would provide an unbiased and honest review/feedback on the work.



Published Date: June 2, 2015

Rating: M (for Mature)

Bookshelves: extreme weather, tornado, found baby, infertility, SEALs, Oklahoma, cowboy

Begun: March 17, 2015
Finished: March 19, 2015

Media Type: Kindle

Setting: Oklahoma

Characters: Jessie Long, Grady Matthews

Synopsis: Grady Matthews is on leave from the Navy. As a SEAL, he’s seen some things in his life but never the kind of devastation that he’s seeing in his hometown. After a catastrophic tornado ripped through the town, Grady comes home to find his family displaced and living with old friends, The Longs. Only problem? Their daughter, Jessie. The girl who stole his heart as a teenager and then stomped it to pieces. She was the reason he took off for the Navy.

Jessie can’t believe that Grady is back. And living in her house while helping to clean the town. Trapped in her elementary school for a few hours before being rescued, Jessie returns to her parents’ house when she discovers that her apartment, too, has been destroyed. Being so close to Grady is hard but it’s about to be harder.

Mayor Long is also a foster mother and has agreed to take in a baby that was found in a field after the tornado. Helping to clean and rebuild her town, Mayor Long passes “Angel” (the baby – as named by Grady) to Jessie and Grady to watch while she is working hard. But watching the baby causes emotions to resurface and the truth behind Jessie’s breakup with Grady is revealed.

Review: Altom did a fantastic job of creating characters that you really become vested in. Neither one of them is whiney or shallow and you want to care about both of them and see their problems resolve. Not all Harlequin novels are as deep as this one and I’m glad I came across it. It is both well plotted out and well written. Emotions swell with the characters and plot line. I found myself almost crying a few times (and I’m not a crier!). The ending was just perfect.

I definitely will be looking for more by this author whom I had never heard of before reading this book.

In my opinion, this book gets:


Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Triple The Fun (Kings of California series)

This book was read as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) provided for free by the publisher with the knowledge that I would provide an unbiased and honest review/feedback on the work.


AuthorMaureen Child

Publish Date: May 5, 2015

Rating: M (for Mature)

Bookshelves: California, multiple babies, dead parents, hidden baby/ies, alpha male

Begun: April 6, 2015
Finished: April 7, 2015

Media Type: Kindle

Setting: California

Characters: Connor King, Dina Cortez, Colton King, Sadie King, Sage King, Sam King, Jackie Francis (deceased), Elena Cortez (deceased)

Synopsis: Upon the death of her older sister, Elena, and her wife, Jackie, Dina Cortez became the proud auntie/mama of a set of triplets (Sadie (girl), Sam (boy), and Sage (boy)). She was under the impression that the triplets father was out of the picture because he wanted to be. After all, the couple had gotten pregnant via fertilization so they must have struck a bargain with Jackie’s best friend, Connor, when he donated the sperm right?

Wrong. Connor King had no idea that he was a father. And he doesn't discover this until Dina sues him for child support for the triplets. Connor hadn't spoken to Jackie in quiet a long time. The couple had asked him for a sperm donation but had told him after the first implantation that it hadn't worked. Then they disappeared. He can’t understand how they could have lied to him but now that he know about his babies, he will be a part of their lives. And if that means Dina will be a part of his … so be it.

Review: The plot of this novel was over used and not thought out well. It seems to be the send in a series of books about two twin brothers. The first brother (in the first book (Double The Trouble) - it has to be assumed) finds out that he has fathered twins with an estranged wife. Lo and behold, in the second book, the other twin has sired triplets that he doesn't know about.

I couldn't get into this book. I couldn't care any less for the female and male leads. It was terrible! It’s trite and boring and the characters were so flat and boring. I had no real emotions for them. I liked the cover art and I was really hoping to like the plot etc.

In my opinion, this book gets: