Book review: Promises We Meant to Keep, by Monica Murphy

Lancaster Prep #3

Sylvie Lancaster & Spencer Donato

As I started to read Sylvie’s story, I recognized the Munchausen by Proxy syndrome and was fascinated! I thought it was a brilliant plot to redeem Sylvie who was so terrible in previous books.  As a victim of this kind of abuse, Sylvie was raised as a sickly child, subject to her mother’s machinations, alienated from friends and family, totally dependent and dominated by Sylvia.  On top of this, she’s part of the Lancaster family, who are prone to manipulation and lies to get what the want.  The combination was toxic and that’s who Sylvie was initially.

It was a stroke of good luck that Sylvia forced Sylvie to marry Earl Wainwright because that was the bridge she needed to get out of her mother’s shackles.  As we read the story, we see how Sylvie works with herself to be truthful and loyal to her siblings and close friends, faces her feelings with Spencer, tries to get out of all her manipulative ways.  Going away to California was great because she was facing her issues and learning to know and accept herself.

I think the author did a brilliant work in this story and with Sylvie’s growth.  There’s a constant tension from fear of Sylvia appearing by surprise when we least expect her.  There’s the bittersweet yearning that Sylvie feels for Spencer when she felt she had burned her chances with him.  I loved Spencer and how loyal he is to his friend Whitt and how helplessly in love he is with Sylvie, in spite of her antics.  She was really deserving of love and forgiveness and there was a scene between her and Summer that made me cry.  

I was riveted to this book and could not put it down, I loved the psychology of the plot and the intense feelings between Sylvie and Spencer.  I also loved having Whitt and Summer so present in the story and the reconciliation of Sylvie with her father, her brother, her sister and her friend Summer.  It was sweet and sexy and utterly fascinating.  Totally recommend!

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3WVNK4E

About the author

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She's also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.

A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she's not writing, she's an assistant coach for her daughter's high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she's at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she's at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she'll even write about this experience.

 

Connect with Monica

Website: http://monicamurphyauthor.com

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyGR

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1YUl0Vm

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyFB

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/monicamurphyreadergroup/

Instagram: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyIG

Twitter: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyTW

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2ZAthV1

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Verve Romance: https://ververomance.com/app/monicamurphy

Book review: Playing Hard to Get, by Monica Murphy

Super excited to be reading Knox Maguire’s book, Owen’s boy!  The Callahan/Maguire sports romances are my favorite series by this author, starting with Drew and Fable, then Owen and Chelsea and then on to the next generation with their kids.  It feels like long standing friends!

Knox is a sweetie!  He’s big and muscular and focused, a wide receiver, and with great chances of getting into the NFL.  There’s a brief mention of knee problems but it’s wiped away with a spot of PT.  He meets Joanna in the campus bookstore and from there they meet several times.  

Joanna is recovering from a breakup and she’s still in the moping stage.  But her roommate Natalie is good at pushing her to go out and have fun and this is when Knox sees her and sort of sets his sight on her.

The story develops swimmingly, once Joanna internalizes that she’s worthy.  She usually feels like she looks horrible and is not interesting enough, especially for a campus football idol like Knox Maguire.  He’s wonderful in that he brings up her esteem and makes her feel beautiful and desired.  

This couple is super cute and what I loved the most is that they repeat history.  Joanna starts tutoring Knox in English since he’s dyslexic and struggling in class.  His parents had the same story: his mother was his father’s tutor in university.  I loved that they’re always so true with each other, open with their feelings and thoughts, even when they feeling insecure about the other.  They are a lovely couple!

There were parts of the story that I didn’t like, for example, in the beginning there was too much character rumination instead of interaction.  I loved that it was a slow burn romance, but initially the pace felt way too slow.  Once Knox and Joanna started to date, then the plot took speed and most of it was dedicated to sexy times.  I expected to see more of Knox’s parents and was disappointed to see so little of them.  There’s a little side plot between Camden and Blair, Knox’s sister, so I’m hoping this will be the next book.  I liked Cam!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SX973j

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/PlayingHardTG

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3Ej9vVP

About the author

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She's also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.

A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she's not writing, she's an assistant coach for her daughter's high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she's at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she's at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she'll even write about this experience.

 

Connect with Monica

Website: http://monicamurphyauthor.com

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyGR

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1YUl0Vm

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyFB

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/monicamurphyreadergroup/

Instagram: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyIG

Twitter: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyTW

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2ZAthV1

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/msmonicamurphy/

Verve Romance: https://ververomance.com/app/monicamurphy

Book review: Brutal Play, by Alison Rhymes

False Start series #2
Noah & Lorelei

For those who thought that Alison Rhymes couldn’t redeem Lorelai Simmons, they have been proved completely wrong!  Not only did she redeem this character, but she also made us pity and like her, notwithstanding her wrong actions.

In Brutal Play, Drew McKenna cheated on his wife June with Lorelai.  We suffered and cried as we read how June processed and dealt with her husband’s cheating.  While dealing with this issue, she also accepted a contract to do TV programs with Noah Anders, Drew’s former competing quarterback and enemy.  Noah turns out to be a great friend and he helped her navigate her route to reconcile with Drew.  We also know that Lorelai is part of Noah’s past, same as Drew’s.  In the first book, we hate her for being the other woman.  In this book, Noah rescues her when she went to Drew in desperation, seeking help and after June slapped her silly.

As I expected, Lorelai has a horrid past, and her actions didn’t come from a desire for money per se, but to rescue her mother and baby sister from a religious, pedophilic cult.  In this rescue effort, she used all her assets, liquid and real state and is now currently penniless and homeless.  Noah takes her to his apartment and proceeds to vilify her, humiliate her, hurt her, all in the name of a petty revenge.  Lorelai is captive because she has nowhere to go, nothing at all to live with.  She can’t work because everyone hates the woman who “tried to break up” Seattle’s favorite couple, June and Drew McKenna.

This book made me cry several times.  Such is the profound despair that Lorelai lives in.  And yet, in all occasions, she behaved with grace and charm, even if she sometimes sassed Noah back.  We learn about her history, her reasons for her actions, and we learn to forgive her, because her story is really horrible.  When she disappears for two days and comes back with her little sister Olivia, we all fall in love with this little human, Noah most of all.  Olivia was the perfect vehicle to demonstrate the horror from which she came, in her innocent ways.  She was lovely and cute and cuddly and I loved seeing how Noah fell in love like a ton of bricks.  

The route to redemption was complicated because Noah is then torn between two women he loves and needs in different ways.  I loved how the author treated this challenge and loved that the solution was not perfect but completely believable and real.  And in so doing, she has been cemented in my opinion as a very strong and talented story teller.

Purchase links

One-Click here: https://mybook.to/brutalplay

𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 (Book 1): https://amzn.to/3g3udij

Add Brutal Play to your TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61850104-brutal-play

About the author

Alison lives somewhere in the shadow of a Pacific Northwest Mountain, bordered by the Puget Sound, and not too far from the country roads she grew up on.

When not writing, she can be found avidly reading, traveling with youthful wanderlust, or slowly turning the inside of her house into her own personal houseplant jungle.

Content Warnings for Alison's books can be found on her website alisonrhymes.com

You can join Alison's newsletter to receive early news and bonus scenes: https://bit.ly/3dRWR5b

Alison can be contacted at alison@alisonrhymes.com

Book review: Broken Play, by Alison Rhymes

This book blew me away! It involves cheating but the author treats the theme with so much delicacy.  The process this couple went through is covered in such a humane manner, the anger, the sadness, the guilt and the betrayal.  I found both to be such compelling characters, the betrayal was horrible but their love was so strong.  I didn’t know if there could be a solution, but then I realized there were holes in their relation and they hadn’t worked on them.  I loved the process the author took in their growth, I was fascinated by the character development and how both were seen in their own views with their strengths and weaknesses.

June and Drew McKenna have been married five years but have known each other since little kids.  Drew was June’s older brother’s best friend, and she was the little sister who followed them everywhere.  She’s always loved Drew, and he had his eye on her but he never dared touch her, she was too innocent and pure.  Instead, he dated all the girls until her senior year in college.  She was assaulted, he rushed to the hospital and proposed right there.  So they went from friends to engaged, married one month later in Vegas, and rushed into the life of a professional NFL quarterback.

To the public they were the perfect couple until they were no more.  I was so riveted that I could not put the book down.  I loved how Drew kept working towards a solution, while June worked towards her growth.  There was such a driving force that kept them tied together in spite of the betrayal.  I loved the process with the counsellor, how she took them through their paces, loved Leighton and June’s family who stepped close to help, loved Noah who was so pivotal to June’s growth. This book is a total triumph in its trope and I cannot wait to read the next one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3CceBkT

About the author

Alison lives somewhere in the shadow of a Pacific Northwest Mountain, bordered by the Puget Sound, and not too far from the country roads she grew up on.
When not writing, she can be found avidly reading, traveling with youthful wanderlust, or slowly turning the inside of her house into her own personal houseplant jungle.
Content Warnings for Alison's books can be found on her website alisonrhymes.com
You can join Alison's newsletter to receive early news and bonus scenes: https://bit.ly/3dRWR5b
Alison can be contacted at alison@alisonrhymes.com

Book review: The Intern, by Marni Mann

Dalton Family #4

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sizzling hot is what this book is! It also starts with a bang because there’s a hot sex scene right at the beginning, and through the story, we get several, very lengthy and very detailed sex scenes with Hannah and Declan.  And, and, and, there’s a lot of sexual tension and anticipation throughout the book.  It’s really a super sexy hot cocktail!

Hannah meets Declan when he comes back to his Alma Mater university to mentor a group of law students.  He notices this gorgeous spitfire who is clearly very talented and on her way to become a brilliant litigator, which is what he is.  Dalton is, at the moment, a successful litigator who never loses a case.  Soon after, he switches jobs to the Dalton Group in a very profitable contract to be their prize litigator.  And then, on his first day, he’s assigned an intern, and two guesses who he got?

The big surprise is that Hannah is a Dalton, as in, the baby cousin of Dominick, Jenner, and Ford, the hotties who starred the previous books in this series.  So now you have it, a seriously aroused and deprived playboy who has to mentor the woman he’s been having wet dreams with, and now she’s unavailable!

Grumpy/sunshine, age gap, playboy/innocent, and forbidden love is brilliantly portrayed by Marni Mann.  The sexual tension and the grumpiness in Declan is lovely, since he used to be a “love and leave them” playboy and now he’s harping after a woman he can’t have and she’s around, in all her sexiness, all the time.  I found his rants and tantrums amusing, and loved how Hannah pampered him with apple baked sweets.  I also loved Hannah’s close relation with Ford, which we had already seen in The Single Dad.  She has a twin brother, Camden, also graduating in law, so I hope he’s next!

As always, the writing is impeccable and the plot moves at a nice clip so it never bores.  I loved both characters and loved that both are intense, have lots of integrity, and are dealing with a situation that is new and difficult, and are as cautious and considerate as necessary to avoid hurting the other.  It was entertaining and for those who love sexy times, it was a heck of a good time!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://geni.us/TheIntern

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3xebkPN

About the author

USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann knew she was going to be a writer since middle school. While other girls her age were daydreaming about teenage pop stars, Marni was fantasizing about penning her first novel. She crafts unique stories that weave together her love of darkness, mystery, passion, and human emotions. A New Englander at heart, she now lives in Sarasota, Florida, with her husband and their yellow Lab. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, working on her next novel, she’s scouring for chocolate, sipping wine, traveling, or devouring fabulous books.

Connect with Marni

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MarniMannFB

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1597153177180837/

Instagram: http://bit.ly/MarniMannIG

Pinterest: http://bit.ly/MarniMannPin

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IsSRWC

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/MarniMannBB

Website: http://marnismann.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5400988.Marni_Mann

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Book review: Beauty and the Baller, by Ilsa Madden-Mills

 

Ilsa Madden-Mills stories are magical!  They enchant with the superb plot, the charming characters and the brilliant setting where she places them.  There are strong feelings but also lighthearted moments, her female characters are strong women.  They may be in dire circumstances but there’s an inner core of strength and resilience that moves them through the story.  Her male characters may be clueless and arrogant, but they are innately good men with a strong honorable core.  So it’s no wonder that the story sucks you in and you spend a wonderful time reading her books.

In this story, Ronan was one of the best quarterbacks in the country.  He was enjoying the best time of his life, with a brilliant career in the New York Pythons and a lovely fiancee.  But then a tragic car accident took away both his career and his fiancee.  Devastated and drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he attends the Pythons annual ball with his best friend Tuck.  Then a beautiful woman appears, dressed as Princess Leia and is about to be taken out.  Encouraged by Tuck, he saves the woman, and he’s so entranced with her that he takes her to his hotel room and they have a one night stand.  She leaves during the night, but her inner brilliance impacts Ronan and jump starts his soul, leaving him determined to turn his life around and start living again.

Two years later, Nova returns to Belle Blue to take care of her little sister, after their mother’s death.  Ronan is also in Belle Blue, as football coach in the town high school.  And as fate would have it, he’s also her new neighbor!  Ronan needs a PA for his coaching job and Nova is looking for a job.  And since this is Texas and football is king, when Ronan requests that Nova gets the job, she’s hired.  And we’re off to a wonderful romance!

I loved all the nuances and little side plots that this story had.  I loved Sabine, Nova’s little sister.  She’s super smart and highly functional autistic, so she’s very factual and their conversations are quirky and fun.  I loved their morning rituals of pancakes and singing.  I loved neighbor Lois who was trying to snoop Nova’s mother’s price winning jelly recipe.  The plethora of characters make this book so vivid and fun, plus the steamy scenes, the snappy dialogue between Nova and Ronan, their inner turmoils that keep them stuck in past problems, how they deal, they learn and they grow.  This was romance in its best presentation, magical, fun, angsty and beautiful.  A real delight!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3CRMSE1

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BeautyBaller

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3CRmo5r

 

Add Beauty and the Baller to Goodreads→  https://bit.ly/3uhUb4F

About the author

Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

 

Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4. 

 

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero. 

 

She's addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.

 

 

Connect with Ilsa

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nY2pxT

Instagram: http://bit.ly/35xfNfo

Stay up to day with Ilsa by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2ZWaTYh

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Book+Main: http://bit.ly/2s4j9ci

Website: https://www.ilsamaddenmills.com

Join her Unicorn Girls Group on FB, the best way to keep up: http://bit.ly/37B6Nay

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Book review: The Wife Before, by Shanora Williams

Very entertaining whodunit thriller!  Samira marries Roland Graham, professional golfer whose reputation has been stained by the death of his first wife.  There’s a mystery about the death, he was initially accused, but there was insufficient evidence, so he was acquitted.  

However, Samira believes in him and falls in love, so she marries him. Then later she finds information and starts to investigate and learns that not all is how everyone thinks.

The author did a great job in keeping the reader interested as the plot gets more and more convoluted.  The story was entertaining, although not very deep into character development.  I didn’t feel like I knew any of the characters except for Samira because the book is written in first person and we read about her thoughts and feelings. I also didn’t feel any suspense as I read, just curiosity and interest as the mystery is unravelled.  It still made for very entertaining reading, as Samira, who was flighty and never finished anything, decided to finish this investigation to the last consequences.  

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3PWnnZU

About the author

Shanora Williams is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty romance and diverse suspense novels.

She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the mother of three amazing boys, has a fiercely devoted and supportive husband, and is a sister to eleven.

When she isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her family, binge reading, or running marathons on TV streaming services while scarfing down something sweet and salty. Visit her at shanorawilliams.com or interact with her on Instagram @reallyshanora.

Want to be kept up to date on new releases? Copy and paste this link to join my mailing list: https://bit.ly/ShanoraNewsletter

Book review: Made For Me, by Natasha Madison

 I read this book during Christmas and maybe the season makes one emotional, because I cried many times during this story.  In this book, we enjoy more of the Horton and Grant siblings, cousins, parents and uncles.  By this time, I know everybody but lost count of who belongs to who.  Anyhow I love these families and the strong bonds they have. 

Julia, as in Jillian’s twin, is a social worker.  She loves what she does and gives it her whole heart, and it does get broken sometimes.  One of her cases gets into a fatal accident and Julia accompanies her baby daughter to the hospital.  Dr. Chase Grant is the attending at the ER and receives Julia and treats the baby.

Julia and Chase have known each other for many years, given he’s Michael’s cousin (Jillian’s husband).  For many years they have been playing a flirty game, never daring to cross a line, until now.  Julia’s emotional breakdown overcame Chase’s restraint and he’s distraught for her, needing to help her and assuage her distress.  

While Julia faces many work related problems, Chase seeks to console her and his attentions turn sexual.  From a very angsty situation, the story changes into a very sizzling hot story. Then we get the family involved in helping Julia’s legal situation and of course, interfering into their personal situation and it’s a comical situation with tragic overtones.  

I liked that in spite of the heightened emotions, there was a lot of love and support from this big family, and a perfect boyfriend who had nothing more than Julia’s well being as his purpose.  On the other hand, I noticed that Julia spent several days overwrought with her work situation, then spent one week in a sex marathon with Chase where there were lots of laughs and good times.  The week after that, she has an appointment with a lawyer and we’re back to the melodrama.  Felt a bit weird but otherwise, the story was fantastic.

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3hXRtj2

About the author

When her nose isn't buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she's in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It's a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn't listen to her...

 

Connect with Natasha Madison:

https://linktr.ee/natashamauthor

Book review: Princess and the Player, by Ilsa Madden-Mills

What I love most about Isla Madden-Mill’s stories is that they involve broken characters and a group of friends that are sometimes better than family.  And this motley crew show so much love and support that it makes the story super heartwarming, apart from the steam of the sexy scenes!

Francesca and Tuck have crappy upbringings; Francesca was abandoned as a baby and grew up in the foster system, Tuck grew up wealthy but with chaos from a mentally ill mother and a father with anger issues.  Both have fears that prevent them from having fulfilling love relations, but that hasn’t stopped them from having lovely friends.

As they meet up, fall in love, they recognize each other’s dark places, accept and love them.  And what is best, they mix their family, not of blood but of the heart and make a better crowd.  Their only challenge is the fear inside themselves of letting go, of trusting the love for the other.  For Francesca it was easier but she was hiding a secret that she didn’t confess for fear of losing Tuck.  He was loving Francesca but perceived there was something in between them.

Tuck was dealing with the upcoming end of his career and was slowly imploding from his inner demons.  He only found peace in the arms of Francesca.  And Francesca was dealing with all the losses she had suffered in her life, and concerns about her parentage.

This story was deliciously angsty and lovely to read.  You can’t help falling in love with Jasper, Cece, Brogan and Mr. Darden.  They provide the lighthearted repartee and the loving devotion of true friends.  So apart from the romance and the sexy times, you get a lot of entertainment and laughs and end up feeling like the world is not such a crappy place.

Purchase links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KWVJJ6
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/PrincessPlayer
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3jXSR2s

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/392Sim1

About the author

Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

 

Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4. 

 

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero. 

 

She's addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.

 

Connect with Ilsa

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nY2pxT

Instagram: http://bit.ly/35xfNfo

Stay up to day with Ilsa by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2ZWaTYh

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EESfM9

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2GaR6cn

Book+Main: http://bit.ly/2s4j9ci

Website: https://www.ilsamaddenmills.com

Join her Unicorn Girls Group on FB, the best way to keep up: http://bit.ly/37B6Nay

Sign up for phone alert for book releases (max of 4) Text ROMANCE to 21000