She's the One review by Erin Nicholas

She's the One by Erin Nicholas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5/5

She’s the One is the 1st book in a 5 part Counting on Love series by Erin Nicholas. It is apparently a continuation of sorts to Nicholas’ Bradford series with some characters bridging the gap. I haven’t read the Bradford series as of yet but with some characters I’ve met I definitely will start asap.

Amanda Dixon is the oldest of her 3 sisters. Her brother Connor is their oldest sibling and has been a father figure in their lives since their Dad died unexpectedly years ago. She is the leader, the mother hen, the one she wants her sister to come to for advice, help or anything really. She doesn’t want to let her brother or sisters down, even as she has a secret in her past only Connor knows about. She knows she needs to have more of a life for herself but she can’t seem to stop. Can she find a way to work and have fun too?

Ryan Kaye is an all around manly man. He is a top-notch paramedic, football player and party guy. He knows the Dixon sisters as well as their brother Connor, his quarterback, and can honestly say he is interested. Emma has flirted with him in the past but they’ve never hooked up, not that he corrects the assumptions on that rumor.

Amanda assumes Ryan and her sister Emma have hooked up in the past, she envys Emma and how she handles herself. During a birthday party for her youngest sister, Olivia makes a birthday wish that Amanda and Emma trade places for one weekend. Each living life the way the other one would. That leads Amanda to make some wild choices for her weekend and she wants Ryan along for the ride. A motto of WWED (What Would Emma Do) makes her realize she had the wild child inside already.

Ryan can’t believe Amanda wants him to be a part of her wild weekend. He is definitely the man for the job. What he doesn’t count on is being the tame one during their night out. He realizes Amanda needs to get something out of her system and he doesn’t like the way she thinks about him and his past. He does the hardest thing by walking away. Can he make her realize she needs him for more than just one wild night?

They have quite a few obstacles to overcome, Connor, a car accident and missed signals but Amanda and Ryan are both strong characters who know what they want.

I read this book 2nd after reading book #2 first. I can honestly say that usually bugs the heck out of me. Not so with this author and this series. Each book is individual even though part of a series. You can easily read each on its own and know pretty much all there is to know to enjoy the story. I love that about books in a series. It doesn’t always help my OCD with reading order but it wasn’t unbearable.

I will most certainly read more from Erin Nicholas (and have already).






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Surprise Daddy by Nicole Snow ARC review

Surprise Daddy by Nicole Snow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3.75/5

I’m really struggling with this review, so let me just put it all out there. Surprise Daddy is the first book I’ve read by Nicole Snow. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to be honest and say I’ve never heard of Nicole Snow before, which isn’t a bad thing by any means. Word of mouth or social media is sometimes how we find our next favorite author. That being said I don’t know if I would consider her a favorite of mine, just yet anyway.

The writing style of this author, or at least this book since I have no frame of reference for any of her other novels, is not one I usually enjoy. It is written in 1st person POV and at times it rambles on so quickly I lost track of what was happening. Now I will admit, this is only the 2nd author I’ve read that uses the 1st person POV for storytelling. 99% of what I read is the standard 2nd person or even 3rd person storytelling with secondary character interactions. With the previous novels I read using this format, it took me a few pages of the 1st book to catch on but then it was easy to keep track in the subsequent novels. In Surprise Daddy it took me almost a full chapter to get the flow and even then it moved so fast sometimes I lost track of who was talking. Little Mia would sometimes get lost in the adult narrative and I would have to re-read to see her little girl wisdom in the story.

Surprise Daddy is a novel about Sarah “Sadie” Kelley and Marshal Howard. Sadie is back home trying to get herself established after leaving school to help out at home. Marshal is ex military and the town outcast trying to raise his young daughter as a single father. Sadie applies for a job as nanny to little Mia and gets involved with Marshal and sees the stigma he carries. There is also a backstory between Marshal and Jackson (Sadie’s brother).

I must admit the strong warring character personalities of Marshal are a little off-putting and far apart at times. He is a hard-nosed, rude talking, arrogant, know it all who dotes on his daughter. He rudely speaks to each person he encounters in the first few pages while sweet talking Mia. He obviously struggles with who he is now but it seems so manic sometimes I find it not realistic. Then it takes only a few speaking up moments by Sadie to get him falling in love already with her, sweet-talking her up and down. I’m all for the fall in love fast scenarios but even this one seemed rushed. And it so randomly comes up that she is a virgin, didn’t understand that one but it didn’t have a great impact on anything anyway.

This book has some typos, missing words, spelling errors etc. Reading an ebook I never know if that is just typing input errors not reflected in the paperback etc but it’s all I have to reference at the moment. There are lots of nicknames in this book, some good, some cute, not ignorant and rude. Marshal calls Sadie “Red”, the town calls Marshal “castoff”, Marshal calls Mia “honeybee”, Sadie calls Marshal “crasshole” it goes on and on. I’m not sure I am a fan of having a character have that type of stigma associated with them to where even Sadie’s parents call him “castoff”.

I would have liked to dive more into Sadie’s mothers mental issues and see if we could better understand her. She seemed to only have a placement as a conflict back ground player.

I did look at some other reviews after I finished the ARC. I did see a few that mentioned Surprise Daddy wasn’t written in the same style as some other books written by Nicole Snow. Even though this book had me confused and trying to stay focused throughout most of it and some places felt extremely rushed, I would probably give the author another chance to wow me. This story had potential, loads of potential but I didn’t feel like it was addressed well enough to make me invested in this story.




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All I Have by Nicole Helm Review

All I Have by Nicole Helm

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a cute novella I read as part of a 4 pack ebook bundle. It was a quick story but filled that short time with good story bones.

Mia and Dell have neighboring farms and they both set up shop at the local farm market. Dell is known as the naked farmer and it drives Mia crazy. They start a little boy vs girl competition to bring more customers to the farm market and their perspective farms. Dell has more to lose than Mia though as his farm is holding on by a thread.

Throughout the story they find they have more in common than they thought. Can they come up with a way to be together and also keep both of their farms productive?

I have read a few Nicole Helm books and this was a cute quick novella to keep me motivated through more books by this author.




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It Takes Two by Erin Nicholas Review

It Takes Two by Erin Nicholas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It takes Two is the first book I’ve read by Erin Nicholas. It was also the first I read in the Counting on Love series, and I hate when I read a series out of order. The good news is that these books can stand on their own with minimal carrying over and lots of explanation to previous happenings.

Isabelle Dixon thought she could have a wild and crazy night before she has to settle herself into a new lifestyle because of a medical issue. She thinks Shane Kelley is the perfect candidate for the job. 6 months later she can’t believe she is still seeking him out and can’t seem to let go.

Shane Kelley has fallen fast and hard for Isabelle Dixon. He has asked her to move in with him multiple times and won’t take no for an answer. He thought their biggest obstacle was her brother Connor but it seems like they can’t get past something bigger. He won’t give up even when she seems to be keeping something really big from him.

Isabelle and Shane take a humorous road trip to find out if they can truly make it work between them. Each stop, on their way to a vacation house, has humor, angst, trials and truths. There may also be a little fun game included in their adventure, not known to all the parties involved.

I love the dynamic between the Dixon sisters, each with their own strengths and issues. Isabelle seems like a good mix of a party girl with a stay at home girl. She has to make some big choices with an unexpected health issue that hits her. She wants to hide herself away from the world but also loves being with Shane. Can she have it both ways and have them both happy?

Shane is the over the top, romantic boyfriend we all crave in life. Well maybe. He does go a little over the top sometimes but hey props for creativity. He loves Isabelle and wants to be with her all day every day. He knows she is hiding something from him but can he overcome the issues to make her happy for forever?

If you haven’t read anything by Erin Nicholas, what are you thinking? The Counting on Love series, which apparently is a semi continuation of the Bradfords series with brief appearances by some Bradford characters, is the perfect place to start. I haven’t read the Bradford series yet but I’m anxious to now since completing the Counting on Love series.




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Christmas time stresses

Ugh, does anyone else have a love hate relationship with the holiday season? I love Christmas, love all that it represents but man does it stress me out. There is never enough time, never enough money, never enough {insert anything here}. At the start of every year I say, "this year I am going to start shopping early etc etc". Yea that never happens, what do they say about the best intentions? I wish there was a way to just let go of the stresses and just full out enjoy every minute leading up to and encompassing the holidays. Family dinner with underlying tension, shopping malls filled with slow moving rude people, people on vacation for the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas just everywhere. Deep Breaths, deep cleansing breaths. It's the magic of the season, or so they say.......

Royal Baby Maker by Nora Flite review

Royal Baby Maker by Nora Flite

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This novella was the first I've read by Nora Flite. I really enjoyed this re-release, it was a nice fantasy for a plain jane like myself haha.

Nellie and Bishop could not be more different. She is a dog walker he is a prince. She walked into his world looking for a job and winds up with so much more than she ever imagined. Could this fairy tale have a happy ending?

Bishop is tired of being a prince, he just wants a normal life. Time to receive his family wealth is running out unless he produces an heir soon. His mother has a long list of suitable wives waiting in the wings but none of them spark his interest.

Bishop entices Nellie with a plan but will she agree?

This is a quick read but I don't felt like much was left untouched or rushed though. It was a thorough story with backstory, mischief makers and epilogues. I would definitely give a novel Nora Flite a place on my shelf.



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Moonlight over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan ARC review

Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Do one thing every day that scares you. I think that is the best advice we could give ourselves on a daily basis. How many times have we just went status quo and always wondered what if. Harriet Knight is status quo. She is an average girl, with an average life, with average problems. But the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas she decides to challenge herself daily. No more status quo, start living outside the box. The plan is going worse than expected though and then she finds herself on the internet dating site date from hell. The best way she can think of to end said date is to jump out of the bathroom window. That is how we meet Harriet.

Harriet is a dog walker/pet sitter along with her twin sister Fliss. The started their own company and it has really taken off. Her sister has recently moved out of their apartment to live in the Hamptons with Seth (read Holiday in the Hamptons, you won’t regret it). Harriet finds herself alone for the first time in a very long time. After jumping out the bathroom window she heads to the ER to get her ankle checked and in walks Dr. Ethan Black.

Ethan Black is all ER all the time. He puts his very heart and soul in to his daily life and enjoys going to work everyday. Maybe the reason his marriage failed is because he puts 100% into his job. 100% means 0% left over for anything else. He is quite happy in his every day routine until his sister calls with an emergency. He'll do anything for his sister, well maybe anything.

Harriet agrees to change locations for one of her customers because an emergency takes them out of town. Her regular client "Madi" is staying with her “uncle”, a busy doctor, and needs to get her daily walk there instead of home. Harriet and Ethan meet again and realize they need each other to navigate this new normal. Can Ethan still put his heart and soul into work, but make a relationship work. Can Harriet realize she is great the way she is and "challenge Harriet" is a perfect way to get the happy ever after she craves.

I loved Harriet, more than any single main female character I can think of for a while. She is an every woman, self-conscience, has a stutter, awkward, shy. Being a dog walker/pet sitter myself I feel like Harriet (minus the stutter but just as awkward). I also loved revisiting the O’Neil family in Vermont. The way the author paints the scenery each and every time, makes me want to jump in the car and head to Vermont immediately. One of the other things I enjoy about Sarah Morgan novels is the English phrases that inevitably make their way into the writing. There are usually 3 or 4 common English phrases that don’t quite translate to US actions. I enjoy finding them though, and if not immediately known how they translate, finding the answer. None are every so strange though that it affects the flow of the story.

Even though I received this book in exchange for an honest review, it is another great novel from Sarah Morgan, as if I expected anything less. I am adding this to my From Manhattan with Love shelf immediately, hope you do the same right now.




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Maid to Crave by Rebecca Avery review

Maid to Crave by Rebecca M. Avery

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Maid to Crave by Rebecca Avery
Man Maid book 2

Maid to Crave is book 2 in the Main Maid series. It is the first book I’ve read by Rebecca Avery, it was part of a 4 book collection I rented through my library and Overdrive. Sadly this was painful to get through. I literally had to force myself to finish this book. The story line had so much potential I just felt like this was a horribly novice writing style and it just didn’t work for me.

Tori Stewart is a single mom to a 6 year old boy. Her friend recommends using the Man Maid service that she had luck using (and finding love). She agrees just hoping to not get the one Maid that makes her heart flutter, Seth Lewis.

Seth Lewis is a former military man who comes to work for his friend at Man Maid services. He is working not only as a Maid but as a stripper to pay for his brothers medical bills. He remembers Tori from a wedding a little bit back but doesn’t see her other than his potential boss.

Tori and Seth realize they can become friends and maybe then morph it into something more. Like I said, this story had such great promise but the writing really killed it for me. I would like think I would give this author another chance at her writing style but I can’t say that for sure just yet.




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The Last First Date by Maggie Wells

The Last First Date by Maggie Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Last First Date by Maggie Wells

Maggie Wells is a new author to me. I read this as part of a 4 book collection through overdrive. The Last First Date was a cute very short novella. As with any other novella I read, well most of them anyway, I am left wanting. This one cut off a little sharper than most so I felt like I needed more answers than normal.

Overall it is a cute short story. Detective Langley “Lang” Sheppard finally has a day off and is having the worst first date of this life. Jessica Vickers is dealing with recent life setbacks and is just trying to get to the New Year to start over fresh. They each are just holding on to their pathetic lives until the clock strikes midnight. A chance stop at a local convenience store finds them in each other’s path and so it begins.

I wish it would have gone a couple more chapters to set up a little more of the story. There are some pretty comical sections that made me laugh out loud. I liked Maggie Wells’ writing style so I probably will give another story of hers a try (after getting through my TBR shelf first ha)






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Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates review

Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have to start this review by mentioning the cover art on this book. This is one of the best covers I’ve seen in a while, makes you feel like part of the story right from purchase. Anyway, on to my review of Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates, continuing the story of the Donnelly brothers in Copper Ridge. I have been a fan of Maisey for quite a while and more so of the Copper Ridge series. I think as I made my way through and got to the Donnelly brothers books Alex became my favorite brother. I don’t know what appealed to me first or just as a whole but I liked him from Finn’s book straight through to Liam’s (currently reading). Alex got into my heart, yes I know he is fictional haha, and I was routing for him from “go”.

Alex Donnelly and Clara Campbell are the main characters in Wild Ride Cowboy. Alex is the youngest Donnelly brother and was in the military. He comes back to Copper Ridge with his (full) brother Liam to his family ranch after his grandfather passes away and leaves him ¼ of the ranch. His older ½ brothers are also living at the ranch (Finn, Cain have their own stories) and they must figure out how to survive this newfound family atmosphere. Alex has a painful background with both his home life growing up and his military background. He comes back not only for the ranch but to take care of a responsibility he inherited from a fallen friend.

Clara Campbell hasn’t had a great life. Everyone she’s loved in her life has died on her. She was starting to feel cursed then Alex walked into her life and took over. She knew what she wanted, or so she thought, but Alex may know better. Can they work together to save her ranch and their hearts?

Personally I loved this book. As I said above, Alex was a favorite character of mine for a while. Putting him with Clara, someone 10 years younger than him, was a great choice. They help each other grow and flourish, getting strength off each other. My absolutely favorite part of the book was when Alex told Clara she had the appetite palette of a 6 year old haha.




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Review of Keep Me Cowboy by Nicole Helm

Keep Me, Cowboy by Nicole Helm

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3.75 out of 5 ~ Continuing on with my cowboy loving theme lately I found myself downloading a free copy of Keep Me Cowboy by Nicole Helm. Having just finished another I downloaded via Overdrive I jumped right into this one having loved her writing style. Keep Me Cowboy is part of a multi author series called Montana Born Rodeo (77th Copper Mountain Rodeo). Now normally I can’t handle reading things out of order in a series but generally what I’ve found happens with these types of multi author is they can be read separately or together. They normally don’t hinge plots through these types (but I’ve seen some that do). I have zero idea if that is what happens with this series and the plot flow does leave some questions that may indicate a follow through.

Keep Me Cowboy is a novella about Jess Clark and Cole McArthur. The McArthur name is a prominent name in Marietta, Montana and Cole is the black sheep of said family. Jess comes from a broken home, foster home after foster home finally landing at the door of the well to do McArthur family. Jess and Cole become friends and then typical teenage crush ensues. Cole leaves town abruptly and 10 years later Jess shows up on his doorstep looking to bring him home.

Jess has longed to belong to someone, anyone, who would love her and care about her and not leave or abandon her. Her biological father was abusive and her brother was “trouble”, they separated the siblings but she has been searching for him every since. Jess started building a relationship with Cole only to have it end suddenly. She didn’t know why people don’t stay with her.

Cole felt stifled by his family, wanting him to become a doctor and follow the medicine footsteps they felt he was destined to follow. He heard the call of the rodeo and answered. His big regret was leaving Jess behind. He felt he made the right choice 10 years ago by walking away but now he isn’t so sure. Can he be strong enough to not walk away again?

This novella, as most are, is too short to fully build a backstory for me. I wanted to know more about the why’s in the past not the quick build to getting people back together. The author does a pretty good job about trying to answer as many questions as she can but I’m still left with a bunch. I’m curious now if any of the novellas previously or future will address my questions.




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Review of Rebel Cowboy by Nicole Helm

Rebel Cowboy by Nicole Helm

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Rebel Cowboy is book 1 in the Big Sky Cowboys series and also book 1 for me for author Nicole Helm. I am currently in a cowboy phase, ha, so I saw this on Overdrive and scooped it right up to read over. A Harley Davidson parked in between dusty pick up trucks always gets right to my soul.

Rebel Cowboy features a NHL player down on his luck named Dan Sharpe. He goes home to his family’s ranch to get his head back in the game and relax. Hires a ranch consultant named Mel Shaw and hope he can help get him started on his ranching ambition. Until it turns out Mel Shaw is a she NOT a he and she makes him start to think twice about everything. Can he ditch the bad attitude and bad reputation that follows him and show her who he truly is (if he even knows himself).

Mel Shaw is hanging on by a thread. She is so tired from holding it all together, the ranch, her dad, her brother, the family name; she doesn’t know how much more she can take. Enter an offer from a rich professional hockey player turned amateur rancher to help her guide him starting a ranch and it’s money she just can’t turn down. She wasn’t ready to see past the stereotypical jock jerk and get to know the honest man beneath. Will she drop her own guard and stereotype to let him see the real her? Does she even know who that girl is anymore?

Throw in abandonment issues, famous parent, self pity, secondary character issues and a llama and we are off and running. This book got me on all levels, I was laughing out loud, tearing up, turned on, researching llama care and routing for the both of them. I can’t wait to read the next books in the series and see how each character I’ve come to know finds what they are looking for. A great read from Nicole Helm and definitely now on my list of go to authors. Do yourself a favor and buy, rent, borrow Rebel Cowboy today.




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Review of One Perfect Night by Bella Andre

One Perfect Night by Bella Andre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I stumbled upon this novella at the end of another author's book. This novella started my obsession with all things Sullivan. Bella Andre puts so much realism into each character she writes. Each book I read makes me feel like I am part of this awesome fun loving family. Noah Bryant and Colbie Michaels meet at the top of a snow covered mountain and it is pretty much love at first sight. Neither character has a huge role in the Seattle Sullivan series (though Colbie does appear sporadically throughout the future novels. It is the perfect teaser book to get you hooked on the Sullivan family. I'm so glad I found this little lead in, now to find more hours in the day to read about the Sullivans haha.



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Review of Crash Landing by Lori Wilde

Crash Landing by Lori Wilde

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


While I have quite a few Lori Wilde books sitting on my TBR shelf, this one was a freebie of the day for my kindle and I decided to give it a gander. I read it in about a day so it flowed pretty well. Here are my thoughts on Crash Landing by Lori Wilde.

We start the book with a girl staring at a hunky guy, I mean who doesn’t like to do that on occasion right?? Sophia Cruz likes very much what Gibb Martin has to offer in the looks department. He is an American, she is Costa Rican and American by birth. He is all business all the time, while she likes to take each day slow and steady. What could they possibly have in common??

Gibb needs a ride to Florida quickly because his best friend is getting married after only knowing his fiancée for a month. He is backing out of partnering with Gibb, because of his new love, on a new money making deal and that can’t happen. Sophia is a bush pilot and his only hope to get there in time to stop the wedding. Now if he can only stop lusting after her long enough to get focused on stopping this wedding.

Sophia wouldn’t mind a quick roll in the hay with this rich boy but no long lasting relationship, why would he possibly look at her twice? She really needs the money so she goes against her own better advice and agrees to fly him to Florida. A long close cabin ride will certainly not help squelch her desire.

Gibb and Sophia get to know each other on the flight then the unexpected crash landing on a deserted island gets them even closer. Will they find out they have more in common than they both realize?

I liked the flow of this story for the most part. I feel like it started off and a good pace then slowed a little in the middle. Without giving too many spoilers I feel like there was a weird middle part on the island that served no real purpose but I thoroughly enjoyed the part with the monkeys. I am giggling still as I write this review. I liked Lori Wilde’s way of capturing the culture and interactions so you could really picture it all in your minds eye. Crash Landing captured my attention pretty quickly and kept it all the way through. I would say this was a good way to get my feet wet in Lori Wilde’s title pool.





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Review of A Million Little Things by Susan Mallery

A Million Little Things by Susan Mallery

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A Million Little Things – Susan Mallery

A return to Mischief Bay and a return to why I love Susan Mallery.

I finally had a chance to sit down and read A Million Little Things by Susan Mallery. I haven’t read anything by Susan for a while (was spreading the love to other authors) but I remembered why I love her books so much. While I wait for Secrets of the Tulip Sisters and Happily Inc (I have major Fool’s Gold withdrawal) I sunk my teeth into this story. Having already read The Girls of Mischief Bay and The Friends We Keep I am familiar with the town and its inhabitants. From the first novel Pam and her story, her ups and downs, laughs and sadness moved me. I must say though in this novel she upset me, thoroughly, I was actually surprised by how much. A Million Little Things focuses on Pam, Miguel, Zoe, Steven, Jen, Kirk and Lucas. All their stories intersect and flow together so smoothly and seamlessly it is hard to get confused or lost in keeping up with the story. Steven is Pam’s son so she plays a major part in both his story as well as her own. I wish there would’ve been more detail on her story vs putting her so solidly into Steven’s.

Needless to say, without too many spoilers, A Million Little Things doesn’t disappoint. With cameos and mentions of past characters I remembered why I love all things Susan Mallery. Pick up your copy today and dive right in to their stories.




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Missing From Me by Jayne Frost

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The following are my thoughts on Jayne Frost’s novel Missing from Me, the 3rd book in the sixth street band series. Any thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

I’ve said this before (many times) I am an extremely picky reader, if the first sentence doesn’t grab me right off I then give it the first page. If that fails I set that book aside to give it another go at a later date, if still not a go it gets the heave ho from my collection to someone else’s shelf. This book, like the other 2, is written pretty much in the 1st person POV of Sean. Anna has some chapters all her own in her POV but I feel like it is mostly Sean’s POV. It does get a little confusing if you aren’t used to reading stories told this way (I wasn’t) but it becomes a little easier to maneuver the more you read this style of writing. Usually you get a chapter or ½ chapter spoken from each lead to build the story, but this way has proven an interesting way to navigate.

The Male/Female lead characters in Missing from Me are Sean and Anna. Sean is the drummer in the band Caged (an up and coming rock band), Annabelle is his ex girlfriend (the one that got away) that comes back into his life. This book was described to me as more of a “darker” “grittier” version than the 1st two in series but I can say I didn’t get that too much (or maybe I am already too dark and cynical haha). As with Gone for You and Fall with Me this story didn’t disappoint with the build up, come together, conflict and resolutions that are pretty much the blueprint of romance novels. But it did leave me with questions (as the 1st two did also), which I hate to have when I finish. I hate giving away too much of the books for people that haven’t read it yet.

I would say if you enjoyed the first two in the series you will probably enjoy this one too. Sean was a little more "jerkish" than Cameron and Christian but I don’t think it surprised me. A lot of “stereotypical rock star behavior” but I would say it is a pretty well written book. I don’t know if I would go back and reread again and again but it made for an entertaining read. As I’ve said before, I don’t know if this series will end up as keepers on my bookshelf but I am giving them a good chance for a spot. I received a free advance copy of this book with no obligation to post a review.



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Leather and Lace by Jessie Evans

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Through a free book of day web page I stumbled upon a new to me author named Jessie Evans. Leather and Lace (Lonesome Point Texas) was the first book I’ve ever read by Jessie and can I just say, I will now be reading the rest of the books in her repertoire.
Leather and Lace is book #1 in the Lonesome Point Texas series. The main characters are Mia Sherman and Sawyer Kane. Mia’s family is one of prominence in the community and she recently returned home after a relationship turned bad and failed. Sawyer Kane was new to town coming for work opportunities, having ended a bad relationship recently. Neither was looking to start a new relationship until when they literally run into each other changes that.

Mia’s family has established themselves as solid settlers of Lonesome Point Texas. Mia’s grandmother runs the historic society old town, trying to keep the sightseers coming back to enjoy the history and ghost stories it provides. Mia runs her own lingerie store trying to shed the old stigma of being the town prankster but failing miserably. She just got out of a failed relationship and is just looking to have a little fun with her friends and family. After a night out with friends she decided to have a little fun with the items from her store and panty up the town. She “decorated” her cousin’s yard and while trying to escape detection, ran full force into Sawyer Kane. With a family curse and haunted house in her life this was not what she was looking for.

Sawyer Kane headed to Lonesome Point in place of his uncle who wanted him to check out a possible refurbish project. Trying to find a place to eat one night let him smack dab into Mia Sherman. He wasn’t looking for a new relationship but after their run in he can’t get her out of his mind. Can he convince her to give a relationship a chance, curse be damned.

Throw in a back story of drama, bad relationships and psychotic exes leads them toward each other and questioning getting involved again. I can’t wait to get further into Lonesome Point and its fun loving residents.




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Close Contact by Lori Foster ARC review

I don’t know about you but my brain hates when I read books, I know are in a series, out of order. The great thing about Lori Foster books is you can do that with most of the connected books, and not be totally lost in the process. Now my brain still hates it thoroughly but it isn’t as bad. Close Contact is the 3rd book in the Body Armor series. I have both Under Pressure (Leese’s story) and Hard Justice (Justice’s story) on my waiting to be read shelf but so far others have crept in before them.

Close Contact is Miles’ story. We met Miles in the Ultimate series (another favorite series of mine). And Maxi is Miles love interest in Close Contact. This story flows really well from start to finish. I have no idea if we met or knew about Maxi before this book (hence the brain pain from not knowing haha), but I felt we got to know her pretty well during this book. Miles and Maxi had a back story of a brief hookup that left each one with lingering wanting for the other. Fast forward to an attack on Maxi that lead her to search out the one person she knew she could trust, and the one person she knew would protect her. Throw in some conflict, a who done it, and you have another great Lori Foster novel. I must toot my own horn and say I figured out pretty early who was going to be behind the who done it part of the story but there were still lots of twists and turns getting to the payoff. On the fun side of the story, Close Contact has some cameo appearances by Leese, Justice, Catalina, Fallon and even briefly Armie, Cannon, Denver and Stack. Love those little nuggets of nostalgia for those of us that love all literary world to be connected and revisited.

There is also a great set up during this story for the next novel, Fast Burn, featuring Brand and Sahara. Sadly, not being able to compare it to the first two Body Armor books leaves me a little dissatisfied but knowing Lori Foster novels like I do, I doubt there is much of a difference in this story appeal with the other two. Reading Close Contact has made me doubly excited to get started reading Under Pressure and Hard Justice. I received Close Contact as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I didn’t want to spoil the story too much but wanted to give a good sense of the appeal of this story to you. I hope I’ve made you excited to purchase Close Contact soon.

What happened, being first and why that might not be the best way to be

I've struggled over a week with what to write for this post. As most of you know my cousin passed away unexpectedly and needless to say we are all quite shocked and saddened. What was even more shocking to me is the way some people handled the news, both on Facebook and via private messages to me. What does this have to do with being first you ask, well let me explain what I meant by that. Facebook is a great tool to use in our culture to help, encourage, support etc. It can also be a way to attack people while faceless and cowardly. What I've also been seeing is the urge, the need to be first. First to comment, first to post, go viral, breaking news. Now while it is helpful to post things so people who may not get their news from other avenues see these posts, it is all too much. I ask you, is the need to be first worth the risk of destroying someone else's whole world. Here is where we curve back to my cousin and her passing. Some people on Facebook posted the news of my cousin's passing BEFORE her family was even notified of her death by the authorities. Now while I understand the need for some people to post absolutely every single thing that happens in their lives there should be some period of decorum, restraint, compassion that stops us from possibly breaking news to people that don't know it yet. How would you feel if it was you logging onto Facebook one afternoon to find out that your family member was dead or some other personal tragedy. Why have we turned into the culture of post first, breaking news, need to know everything now? What happened to just plain old sympathy, empathy and understanding in each others lives?

The other most popular question during this time was What Happened? Now I somewhat understand the question because she was young, it was unexpected, it was sudden. But seriously, does that help? Does that offer support or sympathy to the family? Do the details of their death somehow change the fact that she passed? For those who absolutely need to know: What happened is; parents lost their daughter. A little girl lost her mother. Siblings lost their sister. Aunts and Uncles lost their niece, that is the extent of what you need to know of what happened. We need to stop and think, take time to realize we don't need to be the one to break the news, to know the whole story, to get the inside scoop. All we need to do is be there for each other, say I'm sorry, ask how you can help. Remember that knowing the how, what, why, when doesn't change the pain their family is feeling. It doesn't bring them back.

Facebook can be a wonderful tool to bring people together, to make actions happen, to see results, but it can also be a hindrance with the need to be the first to publish something. The first to post, the first to like, the first to comment, the first. Sometimes being the first is not the best. If you don't know what to do in the situation, wait for official notice or obituary. If you don't see those see if a family member has acknowledged or posted. If they haven't posted about it, probably not a good idea for you to. If you don't know who a family member is to check this, you probably shouldn't post anything until it is official. There needs to be a way for families to grieve and still get support and sympathy without compromising the integrity of a loss as substantial as this.

Sometimes it is just better to be last.

Holiday in the Hamptons by Sarah Morgan ARC review

Holiday in the Hamptons is the first book I’ve read from the From Manhattan with Love series. Although I have read many other books by Sarah Morgan previously, Puffin Island series and more. This book grabbed my interest from page 1 sentence 1. Even in the prologue, as short as it was, so much was conveyed as part of their backgrounds and current situations in life. You get a glimpse of life style and status differences but also the raw emotion of love. You can’t control love, you just go with the flow. We have all had that teenage crush, that one true love that may get away from us. How often do we wish we had a do over? Felicity “Fliss” Knight and Seth Carlyle came from very different walks of life. He was friends with her older brother Daniel and became her protector right along side her brother. Life handed them very different upbringings but a similarity brought them together and created an understanding with each other despite their differences. 10 years ago they had a passion filled beginning with not much else to make their relationship work. Now a decade later Seth realizes he is meant to be with Fliss and sets the reconciliation in progress. He knows he will need to take it slow with Fliss to get her to drop the wall over her feelings and heart. But it won’t be an easy thing to accomplish because Fliss doesn’t want to see Seth again; she does everything she can to put herself as far away from him as possible. She runs he follows and they get to have the do over most of us dream about. Can Seth get Fliss to lower her resolve and let him into her most personal thoughts and emotions? This book was so well written, from the realistic dog walking business (I am a self employed dog walker coincidentally haha) to the life of a vet. Having real life situations we’ve all experienced like a crappy parent mirrored by seemingly perfect ones. A grandmother everyone wished they’d had and a twin sister to share your secret thoughts and desires. And who doesn’t want to be a member of the poker princesses in their silver years? Once again Sarah Morgan hits life right on the head. Holiday in the Hamptons is one book I will read over and over again. And of course now I have to start at the beginning of the series to catch up on those I’ve missed. I received this book in exchange for an honest review, and boy am I glad I did.

Mortgage Companies and Taxes

Mortgages ugh. I wish we all had unlimited funds to buy and sell what we need in the housing world but that just isn't realistic. So we rely on Mortgage Companies to help fulfill our wish of home ownership. We purchased our forever (fingers crossed) home about 8 years ago. We had a good down payment and some gifts from family but we still needed to secure a mortgage for a close to $200,000. My husband busted his ass to get our house paid off in 7 years (almost exactly), double, triple payments a month. He rocked it and I am so very proud of him. Now we own the house outright and have zero dealings with the mortgage company anymore. Or so we thought. Fast forward 11 months to our Sunday afternoon return home from a family vacation. Going through the mail we find a letter from our township saying our 2016 taxes weren't paid. Um what? Our taxes were taken out of our mortgage escrow account right? Wrong..... It seems that our Mortgage Company (as well as others) hold the taxes basically the whole year paying them at the very last possible moment. Since we paid off our mortgage in August it was just the "right" time of year that the Mortgage Company could collect our interest all year long and then just not pay the taxes. Now you may be wondering where that money went. Well we did get the money back last year after payoff. It was only marked Escrow, no explanation, no tax bill, nothing but "escrow" in notes. We assumed (yes yes Ass U Me) that it was over payment for early payoff and went about our business. Sigh. Now we owe about $10,000 in taxes instead of $5,000. So heads up everyone. If you didn't know before you know now, and if you knew already great for you, wish we did. Happy house hunting and payments y'all!!

ARC review of Worth the Wait by Lori Foster

Worth the Wait by Lori Foster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Worth the wait is a follow up book to Don’t Tempt Me, which was first released in July 2016. I happened upon Don’t Tempt Me after completing a book by another author. I loved it and was hungry for a continuation of the Guthrie Brothers story. After waiting for months and months its finally available to read to be transported to Clearbrook once again. Lori Foster, honestly, is one of my favorite authors. She has the ability to put you right in the middle of each and every book she writes. You feel the emotions each character feels, you can hear the sounds, almost smell the smells, and picture each character by her incredible descriptions of people and their surroundings. Worth the Wait is about main characters Hogan Guthrie and Violet Shaw. We met both characters in Don’t Tempt Me and got a muted sense of their attraction to one another. While I loved the characters of Hogan and Colt in Don’t Tempt Me, I don’t know if that transferred over to Worth the Wait where Hogan is concerned. Colt is a dream kid, funny, helpful, loves his family. But I found myself wishing I knew more about Hogan, overall his back-story seemed rushed along.

As with most Lori Foster novels we find ourselves getting involved in secondary characters and stories both separate from or including main characters. Some we hope to see get a book of their own (Barber, Colt) and some well maybe we don’t. Worth the Wait has a possible don’t with a secondary romance between Nathan Hawley and Brooklin Sweet. I enjoyed Nathan’s brief introduction in Don’t Tempt Me but I felt like his story was just randomly inserted in the book as a way to fill the pages. After finishing the book I feel like I know a little more about Nathan but mostly that his story was just a way to fill the pages between Hogan and Violet’s dance around each other. I know Nathan wasn’t a main character for this book and I know he was a friend of Hogan and Jason. I also know his story with Brooklin ties in to the story of Hogan and Violet, I just don’t feel like his time was in this book.

Seemingly I felt like the story between Hogan and Violet dragged on a little long with some interactions taking a long time on mundane things and speeding through things that may have set up a bigger connection between them. I think more time could have been spent on Violet’s family life, her connection with her uncle etc and grow that a little more for her back-story. Both main characters fell a little flat with detail on the who/what/why of their pasts. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely felt right for each other, I just didn’t get swept away by their romance as I normally do with a Lori Foster novel.

Overall I enjoyed Worth the Wait, even the parts that bug me like being able to see someone roll their eyes behind big ridiculous sunglasses, but it probably won’t be one book I go back to read and read over again (i.e. Rowdy, Trace, Zane to name a few). Sadly this book just didn’t grab my uninterrupted full interest, this time. But I know Lori Foster will grab my attention over and over again with each new book she publishes. I received Worth the Wait as an ARC in exchange for an honest review (watch out because blunt is my middle name). Hope this review helps now hurry and buy your own copy of Worth the Wait to prove me wrong, everyone loves to be right!!

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