Book review: TEMPEST, by Alison Rhymes

Seattle Blades #3

Gavin & Odette

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Whenever I’m going to start a book by this author I know I’m in for a wonderful emotional story.  Her female characters are strong women with vulnerabilities and the men they love are flawed but with the capacity to grow and evolve into the man they deserve.  Such is this story!

Odette and Gavin were together for only sixty-nine days, the summer after senior year, before leaving for college. Gavin had a girlfriend for three years but he loved her like a sister, he was with her obeying parental pressure. The girl he always crushed on was Odette, the odd, quirky and very talented girl, who has ambitious plans to make it big in the fashion industry.  Then his previous girlfriend turned out pregnant and he left Odette, married his old girlfriend and sent them all on decades of regret.

Eighteen years later, divorced Gavin is playing his last hockey season with the Seattle Blades and Odette came to Seattle to mentor in a fashion design program. And as fate would have it, Gavin’s daughter Tori is one of the mentees which brings them near once again. And a lovely, angsty and bittersweet story begins!

I loved, loved this book! I found their second chance was full of old hurts and regrets. I hurt for Odette because she’s the who lost the most. And Gavin had to fight hard for his second chance and convince Odette that she’s the one, not a placeholder. All of this happens in the midst of the hockey scene and the fashion world where Odette reigns supreme. I liked that Odette is as famous and rich as Gavin, if not more, so he has nothing to offer, just his heart and sincerity.

I loved all the rumination the characters did, as they analyze their feelings and try to understand what the other went through. Odette was very closed up, but she was also kind and generous, Gavin was determined and willing to give her whatever she needed to trust him again. The emotions involved, the insecurities and regrets were very present and I felt each conversation and all the tears that were shed. A truly beautiful romance!

Purchase links

Free in Kindle Unlimited

https://geni.us/ARTempest

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://tinyurl.com/ymrrdtfc

Alison can be contacted at alison@alisonrhymes.com

Book review: TORRID, by Abbi Glines

Judgement #2

Liam & Liberty

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was dying to read Liam Walsh’s story and the author surpassed my expectations!  I loved Liam and Liberty and Ozzy! Going with age gap and surprise pregnancy tropes was genius, because nothing else would unnerve this bad boy, er, man. 

I loved seeing Liam as a loving grandfather, loved seeing Madeline settled as the wife of the Mafia boss and bossing him like a queen! I loved Liberty, a modern-time Cinderella, who received horrible treatment from her evil step-mother and sister, and in spite of being in a hot mess all the time, she never stopped being kind and positive.

Idiot Liam believed all the lies he was told by the evil sister, only to be brought up short as he saw his whole crew captivated by Liberty’s sheer goodness and willingness to help. Even his dog Ozzy changed flanks! He got some deserved knocks and I was glad he did!

As always, Abbi Glines draws us readers in with the addictive stories of the bikers and mafiosos, their women, dogs, assorted enemies, and yummy sexy times. They are super entertaining, have cute humorous moments, and are just plain deliciously sexy. I especially loved Ozzy, Liam’s Great Dane, rambunctious and social, who transferred his loyalties to Liberty and defended her like a champion. The part where Ozzy pulled his doggie bed to her side of the bed was such an awww moment!

As always, entertaining, sexy and fun, these stories have turned into a necessary hit to my book addiction, and I await each one with fervor and gratitude.  Please keep them coming, I love all these bad boys!

Purchase links

https://geni.us/torrid

Find more books by Abbi Glines: https://abbiglinesbooks.com

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

Twitter: @abbiglines

Instagram: @abbiglines

Snapchat: abbiglines

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

Book review: ALONE WITH YOU, by Aly Martinez

I knew I was in for an angsty read as soon as I started the book, plus the author is known for her heart wrenching stories.  Gwen is looking for something to give her purpose after her divorce from narcissistic Jeff, so she bought a diner and plans to change it to a cafe. But her plans interfere with Truett West’s Wednesdays routine of spending one hour with a club sandwich he won’t eat. As soon as we meet Truett, we learn two things: he and Gwen have history, and Truett is victim to mental health.

Truett and Gwen had more tragedy than anyone deserves, and both are suffering for it.  Truett lives in a jail of guilt, imprisoned in a house where he was once happy, punishing himself for failing the people he loves.  It’s a self imposed asylum from life and love and it’s going on for eighteen years. Likewise, Gwen endured a ten-year marriage to a narcissist, the only gain she got is her adored son Nate.

When Gwen sees Truett for the first time in over a decade, two things come clear to her, they still have chemistry, and he’s the one love that got away.

Their story is very bumpy and very heart wrenching.  This is a man possessed by guilt, and only Gwen gives him peace.  She gives him kindness when she sees he’s a wreck, and when he starts to come out of his solitary shell, he begins to realize it was self imposed and not truly deserved.  His fight for mental clarity, for happiness once again, is very hard to read.  His love for the woman he lost twenty years ago is formidable and makes him move mountains of the emotional kind.

When you start this author’s books, you go in blind. As you read, she starts giving out pebbles of information, and this process goes on until the end, when you get the complete picture.  Nothing is as it seems, and there are plot twists that leave you with your mouth hanging open.  It’s a thrilling ride, as well as an emotional ride.  I already know her style so I dive in blind and expected the roller coaster ride, and she never disappoints.  There are moments of levity with her friend Lucille who helps with the diner reconstruction and turns into a bestie with her mischievous son Nate. 

Prepare to have your heart broken, keep tissues handy!

Purchase links

Free in Kindle Unlimited

https://geni.us/AloneWithYouAM   

About the author 

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four young children. 

Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, charcuterie boards, and her mildly neurotic golden retriever. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.

She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly Martinez:

https://linktr.ee/AuthorAlyMartinez

🔥Spicy

🔥Enemies to Lovers

🔥Second Chance

🔥Twists & Turns you love from an Aly Martinez novel!

🔥Emotionally Gripping

🔥Romantic Thriller

Book review: BEATING HEART, by Laura Pavlov

Magnolia Falls #4

Nash & Emerson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a beautiful love story; not just the romantic love story between Nash and Emerson, but the love between a father and his son.  Cutler a.k.a. Beefcake, is a precious and precocious little boy who has won the hearts of everyone surrounding him, his father’s band of ‘ride or die’ brothers, and the women who love them. It’s beautiful to see a little boy surrounded by so much love and see how well he returns it.  Beefcake has more game than his father, and he secures all the girls he likes within his circle of loved ones.  He certainly can give his Pops some lessons in love!

I love the source for the title of this book; it means that Nash’s heart beats only for his little boy.  Of course, by the book’s end, his heart also beats for Emerson, but the story is a little bumpy because Nash believes he has only one purpose: raise Cutler and make sure his boy grows up healthy. He assures everyone constantly he has no other space in his beating heart but only for Cutler.  Is he in for a reconning!

I loved Emerson, who broke up with her fiancee  just before her wedding and came to hide in this small town only to find love of all kinds, friends, little patients, clinic coworkers, Nash and his band of brothers and their women.  She has lots of gumption, coming from a family of rambunctious three brothers and two male cousins.  She could take Nash on very easily, and melted for Cutler.  And to double the cuteness, there’s Winnie, Emerson’s Bernedoodle, who is huge but behaves like a toy poodle.  

It’s fun to see a reluctant single dad fall in love with his son’s pediatrician, fully aided by his son, who claimed her first. It was a joyous read!

Purchase links

FREE with #kindleunlimited 

 https://mybook.to/BeatingHeart

Audible: https://adbl.co/4cjQkbR

Narrated by: Savannah Peachwood & Teddy Hamilton

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3Xn9ucO

About the author

Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost-grown kids, and dog-whisperer to one temperamental yorkie and one wild bernedoodle. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after. Be sure to sign up for updates on new releases. Laura loves to hear from readers!

 

Connect with Laura

Website: https://www.laurapavlov.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6569734.Laura_Pavlov

Amazon: http://amzn.to/3c1xKZX

Facebook: http://bit.ly/3eSvEdp

Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2OKU6T5

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Bookbub: http://bit.ly/3ii8Vdp

Book review: UNBREAKABLE LOVE, by Stacey Lynn

The Kelley family #3

Gavin & Penny

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Short and sweet, and what I expected from Gavin’s story, that Josie would choose her new mom!  Penny arrived in New Haven to teach third grade, Josie’s group. She’s gorgeous and sweet and Josie fell in love with her. And of course, started a campaign for Gavin to meet her and like her.  She’s shopping for a mom!

Gavin still has a hole in his heart from the betrayal that Josie’s mom did him.  She bailed when Josie was a few months old and left him, a sixteen year old boy, to fend for himself.  Luckily he has wonderful parents who helped him out, and he started a construction company when he graduated high school and has been doing very well.  Still, he has walls around his heart and no intention to open them up, his only concern is taking care of his little girl.  So imagine his irritation when his little girl is all but pushing him in Penny’s direction! He forgot the manners his mama taught him and got very nasty indeed!

Penny comes from a crappy childhood, a stripper mother, and having to raise her little sister Maize from the age of eight.  She has an idealized idea of what her mother was which doesn’t jive with what really happened.  Anyhow, the memories keep her locked up and wary from men.  Until Gavin and Josie explode in her life and fill her with possibilities.

This was a sweet love story, with lots of family love thrown in.  For a woman who has been starved of family love, who spends holidays alone with her sister, who has been carrying such a heavy responsibility of raising a little sister, finding this large, noisy, and caring family was like finding Nirvana.  Then, when Gavin changed his ways from snarky to sexy, she was a goner.

It was a sweet love story, a little too heavy on Penny’s lack of experience on the men front, but perfect for Gavin, who needs someone who had only been with him. From the initial pushy little girl, Josie goes into sassy cute little girl and all was right again with the world.

Purchase links

FREE in #kindleunlimited

 

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

Amazon Worldwide: https://geni.us/7jNcEvD

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3KPkb0A

Read the other books in The Kelley Family series:

Undeniable Love (novella): https://viewbook.at/undeniable24

Unending Love: https://viewbook.at/30p4zp

Unstoppable Love: https://viewbook.at/unyielding24

About the author

Stacey Lynn likes her coffee with a dash of sugar, her heroes with a side of bossy, and her wine a deep shade of red.

The author of over thirty romance novels, many of which have been best-selling titles on Amazon, AppleBooks, and Barnes & Noble, she loves being able to turn her vivid imagination into a career that brings entertainment and joy to her readers. Focused on sports romance and emotional, small-town romance, she also loves stretching herself in different genres.

Born in Texas and raised in the Midwest, she now makes her home in North Carolina and loves all things Southern. Together with her ultimate tall, dark, and handsome hero, she has four children. Her life is a chaotic mess that fights with her Type-A, list-making, neurotically organized preferences and she wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Connect with Stacey

Website: www.staceylynnbooks.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6995826.Stacey_Lynn

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stacey-Lynn/e/B00CD6VVQG/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/staceylynnbooks

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

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