Book review: UNTIL I GET YOU, by Claire Contreras

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sports romance, first and second chance at love, a stalker, what a mix!  I loved the story and loved the characters.  I love it when you have this hockey star in college, all the woman drop like flies at his feet, then he meets this girl dressed in baggy clothes, looks at him in disdain and wham! He falls!

My pulse was going through the roof with the suspense of Lyla’s stalker but I also enjoyed the sarcastic banter between Lach and Lyla.  She was like the walking dead, no feelings, just surviving, and when she met Lach, she started having feelings.  It was a difficult balance, maneuvering her developing romance with Lachlan and hiding from her stalker.

The story has two parts. In the first Lyla and Lach meet and fall in love, and they’re separated by dramatic events.  In the second part, Lach finds Lyla and plans revenge but what he finds out shatters his heart.  Then they both go for revenge.

The plot was fantastic and the characters wonderful.  I had palpitations from the suspense!  The story is a little blabby and it would flow much better without so many repeated explanations, but the suspense and the romance were on point and it was a lovely read. 

Purchase links

Amazon Ebook: https://geni.us/UIGYAM

Amazon Paperback: https://mybook.to/UntilIGetYouPB

B&N Paperback:http://bit.ly/3zj2vER

Audible: http://bit.ly/3Koc1g4

 Narrated by: Joe Arden & Kasha Kensington

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/40YRmEZ

Free in Kindle Unlimited

 

About the author

Claire Contreras is a New York Times Best Selling Author who traded her psychology degree to write fiction. Don't worry, she still uses her knowledge on every single one of her characters.

She's a breast cancer survivor (x2), who was born in the Dominican Republic, raised in Florida, and currently resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband, two adorable boys, and French bulldog.

Her books range from romantic suspense to contemporary romance and are currently translated in over fifteen languages. When she's not writing, she's usually lost in a book.

Connect with Claire

Website: http://www.clairecontrerasbooks.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClaireCon_

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

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

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2BgzLQ0 

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/ClaireContrerasBB

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clairecontreraswrites?lang=en

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

 BOOK to 21000

Book review: IF THIS IS LOVE, by Jewel E. Ann

 “A voice in my head whispers, “If this is love …” It’s. So. Unfair.”

I started crying as soon as I started reading!  The story is unrelenting angst and suffering and yearning for a happiness that was constantly out of reach.  Fletcher Ellington was an evil, ruthless, and controlling man who dealt with the people around him like a god who controlled their will and their lives.  

Milo and Indie were soulmates, their love is the once in a lifetime gift, but they were not meant to be.  During the whole story we are reading heartbreak after heartbreak, and feeling that it’s hopeless.  Even the family around them added to the despair, characters that were petty, entitled, machiavellian, with the sole purpose to own and ponder on those less fortunate.

I started loving the story, the innocence and the beauty and the charred grilled cheese sandwiches, then started resenting the unrelenting travesty of love and family and caring.  Milo and Indie were good but the rest of the people around them were not.  And it kept on going for the rest of the long story until finally a small sliver of light shined through.  In the end, I started skimming because although I love angst, it was relentless.  I also wanted positive moments of beauty and love, but all the moments in this story were full of bittersweet, forbidden love and yearning.  And of feeling trapped! 

I didn’t feel happy when it ended, I felt frustrated and torn because although of course it ends with an HEA, the bitterness never left me.

Purchase links

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3Hv7NC2

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

Audible: http://bit.ly/3lZADCn

Narrated by: Meg Sylvan & Tim Paige

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3DfFa9t

About the author 

Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she's not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance. 

 

Connect with Jewel

Website: https://www.jeweleann.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7505427.Jewel_E_Ann

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jewel-E-Ann/e/B00IJYHDIG/

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/485996228236493

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JewelE_Ann

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jewel-e-ann

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

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeweleannauthor

Book review: COACH, by Devney Perry

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Treasure State Wildcats #1

Ford & Millie

Second chance, single parent and sports romance! This is my crack and I’m addicted!  Devney Perry presents a beautiful second chance story, perfectly balanced, wonderful characters.

Ford Ellis came back to Mission, Montana, to his alma mater university, to coach the football team.  He lived his dream of playing in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, but he didn’t get to live his dream of having the woman he wanted.  Ten years ago, just when he was about to start a relation with Millie, the woman he wanted, his ex-girlfriend arrived with news: she’s pregnant. 

Now divorced, with a nine year old daughter, he’s back and finds Millie working in the same university, as Assistant Athletics Director, a job that works closely with his.  Determined to get his woman this time, he goes on the hunt, but his prey turns out to be freaked out and hard to catch!

I loved everything in this story!  Ford’s longing for a relation he had to leave behind and now wants to rekindle, watching the woman he wants and admiring all that she is as opposed to all that his ex-wife wasn’t.  Images of Millie with his daughter Joey and how effortless she won Joey over with her care and cookie baking lessons.  

The love story evolves slowly and a little rockily due to work politics that make it difficult for them to be together.  Ford insists and Millie retracts, that seems to be their couples dance during the story, but it doesn’t detract from the strong feelings and the desire to be together.

Once again, Devney Perry delivers the perfect second chance romance and adds in the irresistible sports aspect.  I loved every word!

Purchase links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3LIFHWr Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/CoachDP Audible: http://bit.ly/42Q3DgC Narrated by: Ava Erickson & Teddy Hamilton Goodreads: https://geni.us/GWAKO

About the author: 

Devney is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in Washington with her husband and two sons. Born and raised in Montana, she loves writing books set in her treasured home state. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her family. Writing one book, let alone many, was not something she ever expected to do. But now that she's discovered her true passion for writing romance, she has no plans to ever stop.

 

Connect with Devney

Website: www.devneyperry.com

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2kncXnb

Amazon: https://geni.us/nAXkP

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/devneyperrybooks

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324585607979213/

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/devneyperry

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/devneyperry

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2v1Hr7t

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

Book review: COLE, by Tijan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And to continue with my Tijan addiction, Cole is now my favorite book boyfriend, until the next one!  I loved this story because of the characters.  I loved Addison, felt sorry for how broken she was, even one year after the death of her husband Liam.  Then the tingles when she met Cole, mysterious and dangerous looking.  No surprise he’s a mafioso, he looked like the alpha in a crowd of six guards!  Then the night of the gala when he came in with Carter Reed, the deliciousness just went sky-high!

As with the other mafia books, this was exhilarating, a page-turner.  I loved how Cole is the one who approached Addison after just one look.  Apart from his looks, he acts just like a regular guy except they can’t go out and date like regular couples.

We get to see Addison slowly come alive again, see how much she hungers for Cole and how she makes peace with the loss of Liam.  I loved that Cole asked about Liam, invited Addison to share about him.  In sharing, Addison healed.

Addison has a best girlfriend, Sia, who promptly falls in love with her neighbor Jake, there’s a nosy weird neighbor Dawn, an older hippy couple who smell like and others who make up a great group of friends, some humor moments and a cute circle of friendship.  I find that in all Tijan books, the heroine has a knack for making friends and getting their loyalty and care.  I love this!  

Of course, there’s lots of Mafia stuff going on, there’s a surprising twist about Addison and mafioso affairs, and the suspense ratchets sky high.  It was exhilarating, entertaining, steamy and wonderfully emotional. 

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3nBHx18

About the author

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing after college and once she started, she was hooked. She's written multi-bestsellers including the Fallen Crest series, Ryan's Bed, Enemies and others.
She is currently writing many new books and series with an English Cocker she adores.

 

Connect with Tijan:

Website: http://www.tijansbooks.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4851199.Tijan

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tijan/e/B00DJG52QE

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

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

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

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tijansbooks

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@tijan_author

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tijan

   

Book review: BRUTALIZE ME, by Michelle Heard

Corrupted Royals #3

Armani De Santis & Tiana Petrov

Michelle Heard has really hit her stride with her Mafia stories!  She mixes her sweet stories with the edgy world of Mafia and ends up with sizzling, wonderful stories that have all the feels and all the thrills. 

Armani De Santis is part of a trio of close friends, with Misha and Alek.  They are enforcers of different arms of the Mafia or Bratva, which are now cooperating with one another, following the close friendship between Luca Cotroni and Victor Vetrov.  Misha is getting married to Aurora, and he asked Armani to take care of his little sister Tiana, promising her in marriage to him.

Tiana arrives with their adoptive parents, the Aslanhovs, and many tender moments happen between the siblings.  Tiana feels adrift because the person who raised her and gave her the only safety she ever knew is now marrying the love of his life so she won’t be first in his life.  

I loved Tiana! She’s all contrasts of sweet and unassuming, but also generous and brave in facing her future as her brother takes on another life away from her.  When her adoptive father promises her to a monster, she tries to take the abuse in order to let her brother enjoy his honeymoon.  When she can’t take it anymore, she calls Armani for help and all the wheels are set in motion for Armani to stake his claim on his betrothed.  

Armani is the chill one of his trio of friends, but even so, he goes through a lot of emotions during this story.  I thought Alek was a little psycho but he reveals a different side in this book, a trauma he lived through.  And Tiana flourishes from a scaredy little cat to a woman who takes on her sensuality and doesn’t hesitate to ask for her pleasure.

It’s a wonderful story full of the usual betrayals and violence of the mafioso world, in contrast with the love and tenderness of family and lovers.  The author worked the emotions in this story like a virtuoso playing a concerto!  Very riveting and very satisfying indeed!

Purchase links

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTPBZ6L8

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BTPBZ6L8

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BTPBZ6L8

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BTPBZ6L8

 

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62399657-brutalize-me 

About the author

Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she's always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.

 

 

Connect w/Michelle:

Website: https://michelleheardauthor.wordpress.com

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

FB Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/118971435201074

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleAHorst

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/michellehorst                                                

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18108320.Michelle_Heard

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-heard

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTd5K2HcN/

Newsletter Signup: https://preview.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/p6m4o4

 

 

 

Book review: THEN COME LIES, by Nicole French

Silver Spoon #2

While reading this book I was so angry for Frankie and at Xavier!  Most of the book, he’s so clueless on what his actions mean for Frankie and his constant neglect, in spite of the love he says he feels for Frankie and Sofia, and it made me mad.

Xavier has a lot of stressors on his shoulders.  His uncle had several strokes that incapacitated him to run the Duchy estates, so Xavier had to run take over.  After a month of solitary touristy rides around London, Frankie was ready for a change, and she insisted on going with him.  Otherwise, he would have left her alone in London.  And this is where the story got very dicey!

A new couple, adjusting to a new relation in a new place, with the press of the paparazzi and public opinion, then to travel to a new place with a bunch of snooty snobs! It was sheer hell for poor Frankie, not so for Sofia who got a wonderful nanny that took her around to see the farm animals.

It was a mess of miscommunications, sheer torture for a woman with insecurities dealing with a culture radically different to her Brooklyn neighborhood, and the machinations of the women around Xavier who want her gone gone gone.

This was a riveting read, and instead of me wanting Frankie to deal and conquer against all odds, all I wanted was for her to get out of that antiquated and stuffy environment.  Escape to her place where she can be happily herself and breath free.  

The book ends with a cliffhanger and for some reason, I’m sure that the final installment is going to present huge changes for Xavier and Frankie, and hopefully, that Xavier will open his eyes and his heart to what is truly important.  Great middle book in a trilogy, it was full of action and emotions!

Purchase links

ttps://bit.ly/3kZ8z1t

Available in KU

About the author

Nicole French is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She's also a hopeless romantic, Springsteen fanatic, and total bookworm. When not writing, she is hanging out with her family, playing soccer with the rest of the thirty-plus crowd in Seattle, or going on dates with her husband. In her spare time, she likes to go running or practice the piano, but never seems to do either one of these things as much as she should.

 

Keep up with Nicole French and receive your FREE copy of one of her books when you subscribe to her newsletter: bit.ly/NicoleFrenchNewsletter

 

Connect with Nicole French:

https://www.nicolefrenchromance.com/links

Book review: FIRST COMES LOVE, by Nicole French

Silver Spoon trilogy #1

I love surprise baby stories and this one delivers.  I love that the characters don’t spend a lot of time fighting over the deception, but instead working towards being parents together.  Even so, there’s a lot of secrets being held by both, that are uncovered little by little.

Francesca met Xavier Sato while clubbing with her friends after college midterms.  He seduced her with his looks (he looks like a young Keanu Reeves) and his British accent.  They spent 20 days in his hotel room having monkey sex and were preparing for their final night before he returned to UK.  Francesca suddenly realized she was pregnant and was going to tell him but then he emailed her: he’d just learned that his fiancee had a brain tumor so he was leaving immediately to be at her side.  Faced with that prospect, Frankie decided the best course of action: let him go and have the baby on her own.

Five years later, Xavier has an empire of restaurants all over the UK.  He’s going to New York to check out the competition and see about opening a restaurant there.  At the same time, Frankie is working as a teacher in a primary school and has her daughter at a nearby daycare.  She had to abandon her dreams of being an English Literature University Professor but instead she has a precious little girl, Sofia.

One day, her big brother Mattie took her to a party and she got a big surprise, Xavier in person.  She had so many feelings going through her.  The chemistry was there full blast, there was anger and betrayal together with desire and she debated whether to tell him that they had a daughter.  Some of the things he said dismayed her so she left, still undecided.  When he got to her house and got face to face with Sofia, it was like looking at his baby picture.  Then he had to negotiate being able to spend time with Sofia after all the trash talking he did, saying he was incapable of loving anyone.

It was cute seeing Xavier learn about little girls, wearing a boa, watching princess movies, and being completely dominated by a little girl.  The love story between Frankie and Xavier was different, rocky because he had withheld a lot of information from her and she had a hard time trusting him.  For me, the beautiful part was seeing a hardened, jaded man turn into a softie with his daughter.  The restaurant he finally opened was an ode of love to Sofia, you have to read the description to learn who dictated the decoration.  It was a cute story, seconded by the love story between Frankie and Xavier.  

Purchase link

https://amzn.to/3TZthvr

About the author

Nicole French is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She's also a hopeless romantic, Springsteen fanatic, and total bookworm. When not writing, she is hanging out with her family, playing soccer with the rest of the thirty-plus crowd in Seattle, or going on dates with her husband. In her spare time, she likes to go running or practice the piano, but never seems to do either one of these things as much as she should.

 

Keep up with Nicole French and receive your FREE copy of one of her books when you subscribe to her newsletter: bit.ly/NicoleFrenchNewsletter

 

Connect with Nicole French:

https://www.nicolefrenchromance.com/links