Tag Archives: contemporary

ARC Review: The One Real Thing by Samantha Young

Posted in 3 hearts, Reviews by

The One Real Thing by Samantha Young
Series: Hart’s Boardwalk #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 6th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street is back with the first in a sexy new romance series set in a small town on the Delaware coastline.

Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts…

While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.

Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her.

Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for….

First, I have to talk about the gorgeous cover of The One Real Thing!! The colors look so, so pretty together. Sunsets are always stunning, and I love that it’s a theme with the covers of the series. As for the book itself, TORT is a good introduction to Hart’s Boardwalk, but I can’t say that I loved it or connected all that well with it. This book might not be for everyone, but I see the potential this series has, and I’m still very much looking forward to the upcoming books.

Small-town romances are usually a hit or miss for me, but TORT lies somewhere in the middle. While I adored the tight-knit community and all of the secondary characters, I just didn’t connect with the main characters at all. Jessica and Cooper didn’t feel unique, and though their romance was sweet, it was too slow and underwhelming. Nothing about them particularly sparked – that being said, it sounds like I hated them, but I truly didn’t. They were just OKAY, but they did grow on me near the end of the novel.

I struggled with a big chunk of the middle of the book – I’d find myself skimming because things just weren’t moving along fast enough for me. Of course, if you’re a fan of the author (her On Dublin Street series is amazing) and you have a lot of patience, I’d definitely recommend giving this book a try.

TORT is a great introduction to the series and its characters. I’m excited to read more about the rest of Hart’s Boardwalk’s quirky inhabitants – shy Emery, volatile Vaughn and Bailey, and even Cooper’s ex-best friend. I have high hopes that the series will continue to grow and get better. This is Samantha Young, after all!

3 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Hart’s Boardwalk series

 

#1 ~ The One Real Thing: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Every Little Thing: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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ARC Review: Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by

Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen
Series: Brooklyn Bruisers #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 6th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The first novel in a sexy new series featuring the hockey players of the Brooklyn Bruisers and the women who win their hearts—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Ivy Years series.

In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold…

Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.

Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast….

I’ve missed hockey romances so much! I haven’t read one in quite a while, so Rookie Move came at the perfect time. Plus, this one is a second chance romance, one of my favorite tropes, so how could I NOT enjoy it? If you’re a fan of the author or second chance romances, you need to get your hands on this book. It’s full of fun, flirty banter, a wicked sexy hero with a dirty mouth, and a sweet romance that will make your heart flutter. I seriously ADORED this book, and I can’t wait for more of the series!

Damn, how he’d missed her. This was too much and yet not enough, either. He deepened the kiss, stroking her cheek with his thumb, his groin tightening at the feel of her skin under his hand. She tasted like the happiest years of his life.
She tasted like his.

Six years ago, Georgia Worthington broke both her and her high school sweetheart’s hearts when she left him. They haven’t spoken or heard from each other since, but right when Georgia is trying to prove her position as the Brooklyn Bruisers’ publicist, none other than Leo Trevi, the one love of her life, gets traded to the team. Georgia won’t let anything get in the way of her job, but Leo is hard to resist, so she has to avoid him as much as necessary. But Leo has other plans, one of which includes winning the love of his life back…

“It’s exactly this easy. You and me, alone together. There’s not one thing about it that’s complicated. You’re mine, Georgia Worthington. I don’t care what your fucking dad thinks. I spent six years trying to get over you, and it didn’t take. Our time is now.”

I had so much fun reading Rookie Move. It’s the perfect summery read – a heartwarming romance that will make you smile, some delicious chemistry that heats up the pages, and wonderful characters you can’t get enough of. I loved Leo so, so much. His dedication and love for Georgia, even after all those years, has never waned. He is the SWEETEST hero you will ever meet – and his being a hockey player is just a plus. 😉 And Georgia herself is such a strong, independent woman, despite what happened to her in the past that caused her to break up with Leo. I felt for her, I hurt for her, I was happy for her. She made me feel so many emotions! These two are brilliant characters by themselves, but together, they are like magic.

This isn’t quite the 5 star read for me, because the third person POV isn’t my favorite, and I couldn’t really connect with the characters as much as I wish I did. But this is totally a me thing, and I have no doubt that tons of other readers will love this first Brooklyn Bruisers novel. I’m so excited to see what Sarina Bowen has in store for us next in the series! (And can Nate and Becca PLEASE have a book!?)

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Brooklyn Bruisers series

  

#1 ~ Rookie Move: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Hard Hitter: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (Jan. 3, 2017)
#3 ~ Pipe Dreams: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (May 2, 2017)

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ARC Review: Too Wild to Tame by Tessa Bailey

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by

Too Wild to Tame by Tessa Bailey
Series: Romancing the Clarksons #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 6th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Sometimes you just can’t resist playing with fire . . .

By day, Aaron Clarkson suits up, shakes hands, and acts the perfect gentleman. But at night, behind bedroom doors, the tie comes off and the real Aaron comes out to play. Mixing business with pleasure got him fired, so Aaron knows that if he wants to work for the country’s most powerful senator, he’ll have to keep his eye on the prize. That’s easier said than done when he meets the senator’s daughter, who’s wild, gorgeous, and 100 percent trouble.

Grace Pendleton is the black sheep of her conservative family. Yet while Aaron’s presence reminds her of a past she’d rather forget, something in his eyes keeps drawing her in. Maybe it’s the way his voice turns her molten. Or maybe it’s because deep down inside, the ultra-smooth, polished Aaron Clarkson might be more than even Grace can handle . . .

Has there been a Tessa Bailey book I haven’t enjoyed!? I think not. I’ve been loving the two Romancing the Clarksons books (but I have a feeling the next two will be the ones to SLAY ME) and already I want more! Rita Clarkson got her HEA in the previous book, and now it’s Aaron’s turn. But this man doesn’t fall for a well-mannered girl who would fit his politician persona – instead, Aaron falls head over heels for a hippie… and the daughter of a senator.

“Moments, Aaron. This is one of them. Come live in it with me.” She brushed some snow out of his hair, soft fingertips grazing his ear. “Please?”

Aaron is the classic politician – perfectly coifed, put together, and well, a little fake. His entire career, he’s been putting on a persona that he doesn’t even recognize anymore. And now that his career is in jeopardy, he’s got to do everything he can to salvage it, because if he’s not a politician anymore, who is he? But the one thing standing in his way of succeeding is the one girl who’s capable of turning him inside out, who happens to be the daughter of the man he’s working for.

Grace Pendleton is the black sheep of the family. She’s not the typical politician’s daughter – instead, she acts out for what she believes in, almost always making trouble for her senator father to cover up. Grace is free-spirited and full of life, but she’s also got scars from her past that she doesn’t let bring her down. I adored Grace. She was a heroine I totally felt for, and wished was real so I could know her in real life. Her free nature and wild spirit is a little inspiring, and it’s those exact things that drew Aaron to her. Their chemistry is just as wild as Grace is, and despite how much Aaron tries to resist, he can’t. But he’s still got walls around his heart that won’t let him be all in with the one he wants – so can Grace break them down or will he lose the best thing that’s ever happened to him?

“… I’m yours. Wherever I am, I’ll be yours, baby, hippie, Grace. My Grace. Your Aaron.”

Aaron and Grace brought out all the heartache and swoons in me. I was hooked onto their romance, and for once I wasn’t too frustrated with the back and forth and ups and downs between them. Their struggles felt honest and real to me, but what made it better was all the support they had from the rest of the Clarksons (and Sage, who I’d say is an honorary Clarkson anyway). I loved getting to know more about Peggy, Belmont, and Sage, and to say I need their stories ASAP would be an understatement. Tessa Bailey knows how to hype up her readers, because I’m DYING to get my hands on Peggy’s book now! April can’t get here soon enough.

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Romancing the Clarksons series

  

#1 ~ Too Hot to Handle: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Too Wild to Tame: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Too Hard to Forget: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (April 25, 2017)
#4 ~ Too Bonded to Break: Goodreads (Sept. 5, 2017)

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Release Day Review: Breaking Him by Sherilee Gray

Posted in 4.5 hearts, Reviews by

Breaking Him by Sherilee Gray
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: September 5th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Folks in town call him a monster—say he’s dangerous. But I know him simply as Elijah Hays, the quiet, gentle giant who works with the horses on my ranch. I can feel him watching me, that steady intense gaze making me crave things I don’t quite understand, burn in a way that frightens me. He’s always kept his distance…until that night.

I remember him coming to my rescue, me following him into the barn, giving him his first taste of a woman, and his inexperienced yet barely reined touch turning me to ash.

Now all I can think about is exposing the dark desire I see deep inside him—having him turn those dark desires on me. That low, gritty voice rasping orders in my ear. Those huge, rough hands holding me down when a storm blows in.

I want his surrender. His control. I want to break him…and have him break me…

Y’all, I haven’t read some good smut in ages, but Breaking Him pushed allll the right buttons for me. Lovely heroine I adored? Check. Alpha hero who’s the strong and silent type, a cowboy, a gentleman, and a VIRGIN? Check, check, check. Hot, dirty, sweaty, sexy smut where the hero basically worships the heroine and deals out some good dirty talk? CHECK! So basically, I loved this book – I had so much fun reading it, and if the author’s other books are anything like Breaking Him, I’m going to need to start them stat. You can never have too much smut in your life!

I wanted to break through, break him—so I could put him back together piece by piece and make him whole again.

After inheriting her father’s ranch, Abigail has barely been able to keep the ranch afloat. It doesn’t help that every day she’s insanely attracted to and distracted by her ranch hand, the big, brooding Elijah Hays. Thanks to the way he grew up, everyone in their small town thinks he’s a monster, but Abigail’s the only one who knows otherwise. She sees him for the good, kind, honest man he is – that she just happens to imagine him in her sexual fantasies doesn’t influence the way she sees him either. But when Eli accidentally walks in on her masturbation session, the chemistry that’s been brewing between them suddenly explodes, and these two can’t keep their hands off each other.

“You feel so good. So soft and warm and goddamn perfect.” He licked his lips. “Darlin’, you’re all over my hand.” I was gripping his biceps, and the muscles twitched. “I can smell you. Christ, I think I’m losing my mind, Abigail. Making you feel good, it’s all I want to do. I never want to stop.”

I love me some virgin heroes, and a cowboy one at that. Eli is my favorite kind of hero, too, one who’s protective, caring, and willing to do anything for his woman. Abigail is the only one for him, and he makes this so obvious I couldn’t help but swoon. I loved the way these two were together, how well they worked both on the ranch and in bed. And though Eli is a virgin, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what he’s doing – the smut in Breaking Him nearly reminds me of Tessa Bailey’s, and that’s high praise if you know me 😉 But of course, Abigail and Eli can’t stay on the ranch forever. The town’s judgment, the fate of the ranch, and all the outside forces seem to be against these two being together. But the love and dedication they have for one another isn’t so easy to break.

“You’re my salvation, Abigail,” he said, voice low and guttural, each word punctuated with an almost violent thrust of his hips. “Right here, inside you, I’m redeemed. I’m the man you need. I’m yours and you’re mine.”

This is erotic romance at its finest. If you enjoy that genre, you MUST give Breaking Him a try! I loved the characters and the smut. If anyone can tell me where I can find more virgin cowboy heroes, please tell me, because I am ALL about that now. Now I’m off to read more books by Sherilee Gray, because I need more of her smut in my life!

4.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

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Release Day Review: For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne

Posted in 4.5 hearts, Reviews by

For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne

For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne
Series: The Wedding Belles #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 30th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Will a budding wedding planner and her bad boy neighbor stop banging heads and start hearing wedding bells in the sexy second novel in USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s irresistible new series that marries Sex and the City with The Wedding Planner?

When small-town girl Heather Fowler finally gets promoted from assistant to actual wedding planner, she’s determined to make it as one of Manhattan’s elite Wedding Belles. Unfortunately, her first client demands an opulent black-tie affair at the Plaza…in five months’ time. Heather’s days quickly become a flurry of cake tastings, dress-fittings, RSVP cards, and bridal tantrums. But what she’s really losing sleep over is the live music blaring from her playboy neighbor’s apartment all night.

Five years ago, Josh Tanner was an up-and-comer on Wall Street, complete with the penthouse and the migraines. But a grim cancer diagnosis made him realize there is more to life than the corner office. If only he could convince his pretty, workaholic neighbor to let loose, too. As Heather lets down her guard, Josh is surprised when he starts falling for the sweet, vulnerable woman hiding beneath those power suits. Soon, it’s Heather’s turn to convince Josh to take the biggest risk of all: love.

I am falling more and more in love with Lauren Layne’s The Wedding Belles series with every new release! If you like wedding romances or sweet contemporary romance, this series – and honestly, this author – is a must read. The characters are adorable, the romance is swoony, and the wedding planning backdrop is perfect for a light-hearted, summery read!

Heather Fowler is living her life-long dream – to be a wedding planner living in NYC. Well, she’s almost living out the dream, since she’s currently only an assistant wedding planner. But her next wedding will make or break her career, since she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime to plan celebrity Danica Robinson’s wedding. But with the bride completely hands-off the wedding, the pressure and stress to get everything right and perfect starts to get to Heather… and it doesn’t help that her late nights become even more late thanks to a rowdy neighbor blasting music at inconsiderate times. She goes to confront the guy in 4A, but what she gets is something more, something better than she could have imagined.

Once again, it was this snotty, mouthy woman who’d managed to shake him out of his funk.
It was becoming increasingly clear that his intriguing new neighbor might be exactly what he needed to make him feel alive.

Josh Tanner is a cancer survivor who knows how short life can be and is living his life to the fullest… or is he? He threw away a job doing what he loved, and now he’s in a band making music and not having any worries. When the girl in 4C comes over to confront him about his late-night playing, he finds himself intrigued by her, and the more he gets to know her, the more he wants her – but only in bed, and not for a relationship. I’ll admit, I’m a little tired of heroes who are adamantly against having anything to do with love, but Josh is something else. He’s an adorable, frustrating, lovable man, with many layers to him that make him feel real and genuine. And he’s seriously the SWEETEST – with the things he says and does, how could Heather NOT fall for him!?

He was good.
He was the best.
He was everything.

I love when the MCs bring out the best in each other, and Heather and Josh do exactly that. Josh makes Heather realize there are other things to appreciate in life than a high-pressure job, and Heather makes Josh notice how he’s not exactly living the full life he expected to after surviving cancer. The two of them make the most adorable couple – I had a smile on my face practically the whole time I was reading their story! Their banter, their sweet moments, their inside joke with banana bread… all of it made for a fun, worthwhile read. For Better or Worse is a feel-good, slow romance with touches of meaningful moments that warmed my heart. I would definitely recommend this to those who loved the first book. And can I just say how freaking excited I am about the final book of the series!? I need To Love and to Cherish ASAP.

4.5 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: The Wedding Belles series

 To Have and to Hold by Lauren Layne For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne

#0.5 ~ From This Day Forward: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#1 ~ To Have and to Hold: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ For Better or Worse: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ To Love and to Cherish: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (Oct. 18, 2016)

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