Book review: LOVE ME BOLDLY, by Stacey Lynn

Deer Creek #2

Holly & Graham

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This series seems to be about women who have dark times in their lives and I’m all for that.  I love angst followed by light, and both the books so far have shown me that.

Holly Jones has been the town pariah for too many years.  First, her mom leaves home, looking for her next high, her father crumbles and turns into the town’s drunk.  Holly was raised in bars, doing her homework while her father drinks.  And to top it all off, her father kills a girl and ends in prison. The accident ruined the town’s tourism season, and in small-minded fashion, Holly was paying the price for her parents’ crimes.  The result of it is that she has trust issues, expects the worse of people, and lives with a “glass half-empty” mentality.

When Holly met Graham, in her last semester of college, he feel hard but she had strong walls of protection.  He was persistent, and eventually they dated, but she learned a secret that ties her dark past to his past and she blocked him from her life.  Then, her baby brother falls into her arms, and she now has a new purpose in life.

Six years later, Graham is back in town, sees her, and seizes the moment to get his second chance.  Again, he’s persistent and determined, and poor Holly doesn’t know what she’s up against.

I enjoyed all the angst, even thought Holly’s negativity irritated me sometimes.  Even so, I understood that with her life story, she didn’t have reason to expect positive things to happen to her.  I loved that Graham was so persistent and loved so hard and boldly, that he was finally able to break the chains that bind her to a closed-off life.  I loved how she received her little brother and made him her life, giving him the life and love she didn’t have in hers.  And I loved how, eventually, she ended up with a village of friends who loved her and cared for her, even if it took her a while to realize that.  

The story has many dour moments, with small moments of sunshine, and as the story develops, Holly starts to question her dark attitude, hope begins to shine through, and some bravery comes forward, daring her to trust and love.  This is women’s fiction at its best, evolving and working through issues towards a bright and shiny future, and I loved this.

Purchase links

Amazon: https://bit.ly/43aWPwF

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

Apple Books: https://bit.ly/3DwuzKr

Nook: https://bit.ly/4ho4OK8

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3Fk2mqP

Google Play: https://bit.ly/4bDzuWu

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4k7gmnP

About the author

A long-time dreamer, Stacey Lynn has always loved the emotional journey of two different and complex individuals finding their way to a happily-ever-after.

The author of over fifty 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 emotional, small-town romance, she happily admits her books might require keeping tissues nearby.

Born in Texas and raised in the Midwest, she now makes her home in North Carolina and loves all things Southern. Blessed with her ultimate tall, dark, and handsome hero, and four children, she loves every minute of her wild and wonderful life.

 

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/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/staceylynn.author

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/staceylynnbooks

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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stacey-lynn

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/staceylynnbooks/_created/

Book review: HERE AND NOW, by Corinne Michaels

Ember Falls #2

Miles & Penelope

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was cute and sweet all the way through.  Penelope and her son Kai are on the run from a danger in their past, they’ve been in Amber Falls for a few weeks, enough for Miles Anderson to meet Penelope and fall for her like a ton of bricks.  It was cute to see all the shenanigans he invented to meet with her and gain territory in the fight for her heart.  Penelope is wary and defensive, she’s on the run, she doesn’t want to get involved but Miles is so cute (and hot!), such a decent person, he’s hard to resist.

It was cute to see Miles visiting Prose and Perk, where Penelope works as a barista, and order coffee, which he hates, and act like he’s drinking and enjoying (inward shudder!).

He’s cute, he’s persistent, he’s canny and irresistible as he embroils Penelope into “accidental” dates.  Penelope resists but who can withstand being the focus of such a dedicated courting, from such a determined suitor.

There’s a low thrum of suspense because we don’t know when Penelope’s endangered past will come to visit, so we’re on the lookout.  Miles is decided and protective. And we’re spellbound reading.  I had credibility problems on some of the action but enjoyed the suspense.  In the end, a highly entertaining story!

Purchase links

FREE with Kindle Unlimited

https://geni.us/HereandNow

Available in ebook, audio, and in print!

Duet Narration by Jason Clarke & Angelina Rocca

Indie paperback available until April 1, 2025

Goodreads: https://geni.us/HAN_GR

About the author

Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romance novels. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love, and she enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak before finding a way to heal them through their struggles.

Corinne is a former Navy wife and happily married to the man of her dreams. She began her writing career after spending months away from her husband while he was deployed--reading and writing were her escapes from the loneliness. Corinne now lives in Virginia with her husband and is the emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children.

 

Connect with Corinne

Website: http://corinnemichaels.com

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2N1H2Gb

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NVZmhv

Facebook: https://bit.ly/1iwLh6y

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

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CMBOOKS TO 77948

 

Book review: IN THE DETAILS, by Julia Wolf

Mile High Billionaires #1

Clara & Jake

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We met Clara Rossi in Luca Rossi’s story Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife, and I perceived her as a very stuck-up woman until she started having problems with her husband and she turned into a very vulnerable woman.  This book happens three years after disaster struck when her husband was arrested for going psycho and stealing from Rossi Motors.  Two days after that tragic day she gave birth to their daughter …

In this book she starts pretty much the same, seems stuck-up, but this time, she’s a woman with high protection walls around her heart, trust issues, a heart closed to love except for her daughter, brother, sister-in-law and two besties.  The only exceptions to her stern façade is when she hops on her Rossi motorcycle and goes out of the city, visits a biker bar, and gets it on with biker dude Jake.  It’s her monthly escapade and it’s what keeps her sane in her very structured existence.

When both of her worlds collide, Jake is in a black suit, visiting her company, proposing a collaboration between his brother’s company, Motor Zone, and Rossi Motors, it’s like a tsunami hit.  

We get to watch as Clara falls in love, opens her heart and trusts another man, one painful step after another, with a lot of precaution and fear.  Her little girl, who is precocious and very social, latches on to Jake and makes him fall in love with her preciousness.  He also has a teenage daughter, so he knows little girls and has a very rare talent for making dutch braids….

I loved that this book moves slowly and cautiously.  Both Jake and Clara have protection walls around their hearts, so there’s a lot of reluctance.  Both girls help a lot in getting their parents together.  I loved seeing Clara come out of the fog around her, she was clearly traumatized by her husband’s crimes and the utter betrayal she felt.  She had a very closed bubble and no intentions of getting outside that bubble. 

It’s a battle on the business front and the heart front and I enjoyed every moment.  I loved Jake and Nellie and Sage and grew to like Clara in all her defensiveness.  The story is brilliantly written, has the perfect pace, and the character development it spot on.  I felt like I knew Jake and Clara, even brother Jeremy who is a nervous wreck most of the time.  The relation between brothers is very interesting, not a perfect one, as all siblings relations are.

I don’t know who’s next in this series but bring it because I love this author’s books!

Purchase links

FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/45TYPIS

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

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3Wd26A1

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

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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