WHITE LIES, by Skye Warren

 Smoke and Mirrors #2

I felt like the first part of this story was the adventurous, suspenseful part of the book, and the second part was the cheesy, romantic part.  Both were enjoyable in Skye Warren’s inimitable style!

At the end of Red Flags, Sienna was accused of endangering the circus by scaling the ferris wheel just for fun.  Logan didn’t believe her that she thought she was saving a little girl.  Choosing to believe his circus family, he banished Sienna from the circus.  She left, and was almost immediately kidnapped by her childhood bully Kyle and his minions.  And yet, Logan had a niggling feeling that there was a lie involved and he had banished Sienna without reason.  Once he confirms it, he finds Sienna’s little dog and realizes she’s been taken.  And the hunt begins!

Sienna feels betrayed and abandoned once again, Logan feels immense guilt over having doubted her.  A lot of information comes forth, as the story evolves and all the little intricate details of the plan to get rid of Sienna is out.  In a way, Logan also feels betrayed by his friends, so there’s a lot of disappointment going around. Sienna is shown as very brave and resourceful, as usual. She’s a survivor!

Once Logan finds Sienna, we see a very remorseful Logan promising the world to Sienna, who feels like she can’t trust anyone anymore.  This part was more angsty than suspenseful, and it was also more fun because they end up in North Security facilities, with Liam North and his wife Vanessa.

There are fun and cute parts, a lot of Logan groveling, which I enjoyed, steam as always, and we get a feeling that the future of Cirque Des Miroirs is somewhat in peril. We get another cliffhanger with a surprising plot twist, so now we have to wait for the final installment of this entertaining series! 

Purchase links

Amazon: https://bit.ly/46A8RhJ

Apple Books: https://bit.ly/48B6hJR

Nook: https://bit.ly/417sRGI

Kobo: https://bit.ly/48AFwp2

Google Play: https://bit.ly/46U3r0s

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3Q9iE9b

About the author

 

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance such as the Endgame trilogy. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. Her books have sold over two million copies. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, sweet dogs, and evil cat.

Connect with Skye

Website: http://www.skyewarren.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5339130.Skye_Warren

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BX2sUG

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyewarren/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1569845016592572/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyewarrenbooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/skye_warren

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/skye-warren

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skyewarrenbooks

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/skyewarren

SWEET SIXTEEN, by Brenda Rothert

Brenda Rothert went a little dark with this fascinating story of small town, football, and high school hijinks.  It was such a riveting story!

Roper, Missouri, is a small town, where nothing happens, so it’s understandable that high school football reigns supreme.  The football players are seen almost like gods, so not surprising that they are conceited and entitled.  

Chase is the team quarterback, he’s not that bad, he comes from a crappy home life with an abusive father who is pushing his dreams upon his son, he’s under a lot of strain as his father is trying to make his decisions for him.  All he wants is to get drafted and take his mother and sisters away from that horrible man.

Gin is a fantastic character, I loved her so much.  Her mother is a famous author, so they live in a gorgeous mansion. Gin is an awesome girl, raised by a mother who taught her to respect her body and her dignity. Still, she dresses sloppily, dyes her red hair black, and tries her best to be invisible.  She only has two friends, Raj and Lauren, and pretty much ignores the rest of the students. She’s looking forward to graduation and escaping this hick town!

When Chase decides to choose her as a recipient of the rose on game day, she not only refuses, she insults the tradition and calls it for what it is, an action whose only purpose is to degrade the girls who receive the rose.  You need to read the book to learn what the Sweet Sixteen tradition is about.  It’s sickening and horrible. 

I loved the ruckus that starts as a product of Gin’s actions.  I loved the road to redemption and growth that Chase goes on.  Gin’s relation with her mom is stellar and has brilliant moments during this story.  And through it all, Gin shines as she stands by her principles and forces a sort of revolution.  It was very intriguing and exciting, with many dramatic moments.  It kept me riveted to the very end, very happy and proud of Gin, hopeful for Chase as he grapples with the concepts, and disgusted at this small town school, with its lack of tolerance for diversity. Very recommended!

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3uVUXsx

About the author

 

A former print journalist, Brenda Rothert has written more than fifty romance novels. From hot hockey romance to steamy romantic suspense, Brenda creates fresh characters in every story she tells. Her print and e-books have been translated into German, Italian and Portuguese, and her audiobooks have been translated into German.

ASHES, Abbi Glines

Smoke series # 10

Wilder & Oakley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I liked Wilder from when he appeared in Straight Fire, so I was excited to read his story.  I read this book with a lot of fascination and some frustration.  I can’t believe a guy can be so dumb and stubborn in trying to hate a woman that deep down, he really loves.  How can you know a woman and not really know how she operates?  The question of the year!

Wilder and Oakley met when she was sixteen, he was twenty-three.  From the get-go, Wilder was entranced by Oakley’s beauty and warm personality.  He only befriended her because he deemed her too young for him.  He kept them on a friendship basis until she turned eighteen, then they started dating until she went to college and he went hostile to her.  

Soon he was marrying her stepsister whom he got pregnant, and thus starts nine years of unrequited love and enmity.  I was so angry at Wilder! He suddenly starts hating her and never thought to talk to her and clear things up? As the book progresses and the mafia business starts heating up, truths are revealed little by little.  In all events, Oakley is only guilty of loving Wilder without hope and without much pride.  Her feelings and her heart are always open and visible as she loves this man and forgives him for the way he treats her.

I loved Oakley, her generous spirit and how hard she loves.  Loved little Sarah, who had an idillic childhood thanks to Oakley and none to her mother.  As for Wilder, I could cheerfully smack him for being such an idiot.  I loved how he progressed from being a jerk to Oakley, to being grateful for making little Sarah happy, to being possessive and jealous, and finally!, giving in to the huge love he’s always had for her.

The story, as all the stories in this series, is fascinating and riveting.  I loved the glimpses we got of Gage, Kye, Hunk, and Blaise.  This is the Georgia branch of the Southern Mafia and I can’t wait to continue reading on the other guys, especially Thatcher. He gives me vibes he’s psycho like Gage!

Purchase links

1-CLICK now! https://books2read.com/u/b6lB

Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202147915-ashes

About the author 

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party, and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She finally moved to New England into a home that is 200 + years old with it's own ghosts. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she being born in Alabama, her life in New England is as close as she will get. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, and/or watching Netflix like the introvert that she is. 

You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. 

www.abbiglinesbooks.com

TikTok @abbiglines

REEVE, by Siobhan Davis

All of Me #4

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was everything I didn’t know I needed!  I was apprehensive because I knew what was going to happen, but I wasn’t prepared to have my heart wrenched with sadness and compassion for Reeve.  I wasn’t happy with him after reading the first books, I kept thinking that he was wrong and selfish, but reading this book, I realized, he’s a kid!! He lost his way and didn’t know how to find it again, mostly because he didn’t have a father who showed him the way.  He wanted to prove himself to everyone and sadly, made mistake after mistake.  He loved Vivien so hard, so constantly, she was his reason for living, and reading his story broke my heart!

I loved reading his side of the story because now I can love Reeve like I didn’t love him the first time around.  I feel total empathy for both him and Vivien.  They were victims of circumstances and unscrupulous persons around them.  I’m so grateful to the author for writing this story and giving me another aspect of this beautiful and angsty love story.  Whereas before I felt anger at Reeves for being manipulative, now all I feel is love and compassion for this little boy who only wanted to be loved. Have tissues and be prepared to cry your eyes out!

Purchase links

Amazon →  https://bit.ly/ReeveEBook

Add REEVE to Goodreads → https://bit.ly/3M3Jayf

Watch the trailer here →  https://bit.ly/ReeveTrailer

About the author

 

Siobhan Davis is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Top 5 bestselling romance author. Siobhan writes emotionally intense stories with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She has sold over 2 million books, and her titles are translated into several languages.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.

She lives in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.

Join the author's mailing list to receive a free e-book plus tons of bonus content http://eepurl.com/dl4l5v (just copy and paste this link into your browser.) 

Connect with Siobhan:

Website: www.siobhandavis.com

Facebook: AuthorSiobhanDavis

Instagram:@siobhandavisauthor

TikTok: @siobhandavisauthor

Readers Group: https://smarturl.it/SiobhanSquad

P.S.: YOU’RE INTOLERABLE, by Julia Wolf

The Harder They Fall #3

Elliot & Catherine

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You know how you should always leave the best for last?  Then, that’s what this author did when she wrote about this trio of friends, Weston, Luca, and Elliot.  As I was reading the previous stories, Levi always shone as the serious, collected, very efficient in a very cold manner type of guy.  You only knew he had feelings when his sister Eloise appears and gets married to his best friend Weston.  You discover he has feelings, he’s generous, he loves his sister above all things.  But, he’s always logical, cold, almost like a cyborg.  I actually thought that he might be in the Aspergers spectrum, since he’s brilliant and way too literal.  Then later in the book we discover the reasons why he needs to live in such an orderly existence.

When Catherine appears at Levy Developments to interview for a job, she collides with Elliot and accidentally spills her coffee on her blouse and his shoes.  She tells him she’s coming to interview but her clothes are ruined, he challenges her to overcome the problem and she would get the job.  And she does!  You need to read the story to find out her brilliant solution!  And she ends as Elliot Levy’s executive PA.  And then learns how exacting and demanding a boss he is.

Catherine is in a jam; she bought a house to flip, spend a lot of money on the property and contractor, she’s accidentally pregnant by her friend, and he abandons her with everything.  So, she needs this job badly, and she needs to deal.  She does, by writing little notes everyday, expressing how she feels about her cranky boss, then hiding them.

We are subjected to a beautiful story, we get to see the non-cyborg side of Elliot, we see his love for a beautiful baby girl that’s not his, but he treats as though she is, even celebrating her big burps, his generosity and protection for Catherine.  He’s still a little too logical and I got some laughs at his bloopers.  He’s new on this wooing business, after all!  The blooming relation between them is beautiful to witness, how he takes over the care of an infant in such a studious manner, investigating all aspects before diving in.  The author brings us a tender view of a man who needs order in his life, but can effectively open his heart and his life to the chaos that a baby brings, a woman who is a firecracker, and loves everything involved.  

“Having you as mine has calmed the storm I was unaware had been left behind by my past.”

Be prepared to have your heart melted, moved by the intense feelings behind Elliot’s cyborg manner, feel compassion for Catherine’s feelings of being unwanted, be charmed by her friends Davida and Raymond, who claim their place as the baby’s “daddies”, and Elliot’s friends who so staunchly stand by their friend, ready to defend him from unwise decisions.  It’s completely charming and riveting, and Elliot definitely melted my heart!

PS: I’ve seen a lot of Miles through all the books and he totally improves on each story.  I’m hoping he gets his own book and it should be a hoot, since he is a hoot.

Purchase links

Amazon: https://mybook.to/PSYI

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/45KqNoZ

About the author

Julia Wolf writes sexy rockers, broken bad boys, snarky heroines, and bad ass women. She's a firm believer in happily ever afters, no matter how rocky the road is to get there.

Julia lives in Maryland with her husband and three crazy, beautiful children. When she's not writing romance, she's reading it. Some of her favorite things are, in no particular order: goats, books, coffee, and Target.

 

Connect with Julia

Website: http://juliawolfwrites.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17563191.Julia_Wolf

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Julia-Wolf/author/B078VDJ3Z1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJuliaWolf

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2086152844974595

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/JuliaIsWriting

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