Book review: RESTRAIN ME, by Michelle Heard

Corrupted Royals #4

Max Levin & Camille DuBois

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Michelle Heard has done it again!  When this book started, it felt like a normal bodyguard story.  But then the author exceeded all my expectations and made the story spectacular and full of emotions, very thrilling.

I loved both characters! Camille is a socialite, but not the entitled, pampered type.  She wants to be a photographer but her father keeps her very sheltered and protected and doesn’t want her to work.  So, she’s resigned to this empty and shallow life.  When her life is threatened due to his political decisions, her father hires the world’s #1 assassin to protect her.  

Initially, Max was like a Robocop, no feelings, just an icicle of a person.  When they assisted to one of her functions, he acted over the top, Camille had a hissy fit and demanded that he act like a human, not a robot.  Since he feels guilt about her, he tried to comply with her requests, tried to befriend her, and the rest is, as they say, history.

“Our paths crossed once. Christ, it’s almost been ten years since I last saw her face. She was seventeen and just starting her life. And I almost took it from her.”

Camille is not your regular socialite, spoiled and petulant.  Rather, she is quiet, kind, generous, and loves photography.  Her obsession are her snacks and soda drinks!  

Likewise, Max is not your regular assassin.  He has a heart and he has morals.  He’ll never shoot innocents and will never target women.  He had a sister who had leukemia and her heart’s desire was to marry Max’s friend Nikolai Vetrov.  His friend didn’t hesitate and made his sister happy in her last days.  For this reason, when Nikolai asked for his help protecting Camilla, Max didn’t hesitate and took the job.  And slowly and inexorably fell in love with this lovely woman!

I cracked up when Max takes Camille to a safe house, she’s taking a bath and sees a spider.  Her screech brings Max running, and she demands action from her assassin:

“I get the heebie-jeebies, doing a little dance as I keep pointing at the spider. “Kill it. Kill it. Kill it.”

And Max the assassin, took the spider in his hands and took it outside.  I didn’t miss the important contrast in his actions.

I had a laugh when Max and Nikolai talk on the phone and complain about their women, Nikolai about Abigail, Max about Camille.  I loved reading about Max’s insecurities in holding Camille’s love.  When she hugs him and expresses her love, he feels bathed in love and feels like he’s home.  The story has hard moments, has tragedy, and very hard times for both.  Through it all, there’s a devotion and a sense of home that can only happen in the presence of the other.

Michelle Heard has hit it out of the park again with this story! Emotional, with funny parts, great banter, a great love story and exciting times with an assassin doing his job.  I love her mafia stories!

Purchase links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYW81G53

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BYW81G53

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BYW81G53

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BYW81G53

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62399717-restrain-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.

 

 

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Book review: I’M SNOW INTO YOU, by Brenda Rothert

Sven’s Beard #1

Grady & Avon

Delightful and adorable!  One of the best small town stories I’ve read, with a perfect chronicle of how fast the gossip train works.  It takes literally minutes and the whole town knows your business!

Avon received an inheritance from an uncle she didn’t know she had, so she came to this little town in northern Minnesota, called Sven’s Beard.  Upon arrival, she learns she inherited a newspaper, the building it’s located in, and the apartment above.  She intends to sell everything, since her life and her job is in San Diego.  But when she arrives, she finds Bess, the newspaper editor and a harridan who immediately put her to work.  Since there are employees involved who need their paycheck, Avon starts to work, writing articles, taking photographs, doing the City Hall and Police beat round ups, in order to keep the newspaper going until she can sell it.  But what she couldn’t predict is how enthralled she would get with the job and the town and the inhabitants.

And best of all, the Police Chief Ryan Grady, a man as huge as he is grumpy, who can’t deal with this woman who doesn’t know how to dress for cold weather.  She constantly aggravates him, defies him, and insists on doing things her way.  Who can resist such an attractive woman?

There’s a huge statue of Sven in front of City Hall, all in oxidized bronze except for the beard, which is shiny because everyone rubs it for luck.  Sven is dressed as Santa’s during Christmas, all Wednesdays are Svensday and afternoons are free, no work allowed.  There are many cute and quirky customs that made this town unique and enchanting.

This was such a wonderful grumpy/sunshine romance, both characters were adorable.  Grady starts as this irritable man but he softens to the point that he carries Avon’s bag on his shoulder when her arms hurt.  There’s a hysterically funny scene when his friends take to carrying bags too and exchange tampon boxes in between them, all in jest of how Grady is now whipped.  I loved how Grady worried about being a good boyfriend, how he should treat Avon to convince her to stay, how he obsesses about what kind of attentions she would like, so cute.

There are also angsty parts where Avon realizes her parents have a history in this town that she knows nothing about and she goes about finding out and mourning all over again their loss.  

All the elements are present, angst, humor, steam, suspense, family drama, all conspiring to make one fantastic story.  The plot starts slow but picks up speed and turns riveting as the suspense increases.  Great reading!

Purchase link

https://geni.us/ImSnowIntoYou

 

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.

Book review: FALLEN FOE, by L.J. Shen

Cruel Castaways #2

Arsène & Winnie

Reading the first part of this book, I felt like there was an earthquake going through me, I felt so much anger and destruction and betrayal.  I couldn’t believe that Arsène, a guy who is a genius, could be so obsessed to marry his stepsister who is such a horrible person.  There is absolutely no love lost between them, as much as they declare to the contrary.  And yet, they wasted more than 20 years in a meaningless relation, unless you give meaning to distrust and unhealthy obsession.  Their relation was so toxic, full of oneupmanship, it was like a case of who could screw the other the most, who would win in whatever unhealthy games they played.

Then we meet Winnifred, a beautiful woman who has no artifice, clearly talented, generous and kind, loved by her friends and neighbors.  Of course Arsène would despise her, she’s a type of person he’s never met and I was sure he was afraid of her, of her genuineness and her inner beauty.  Since he’s grown with so much hate around him and directed at him, he can’t trust kindness when he sees it but he was entranced anyway.

I loved reading how Arsène’s issues unflowered, each time revealing a new depth, a new discovery.  His road of discovery was accompanied by his two cronies, Riggs and Christian.  I loved seeing a domesticated Christian, loved seeing there’s a new group of girlfriends composed of Arya, Chrissie and Winnie.  And of course, I wonder about Riggs, his nomad life, his lack of structure, and how the author will compose his story.  Can’t wait!

In truth, this book has to be read to experience the maelstrom of emotions it evokes, the frustration when Arsène doesn’t understand, when Winnie keeps the apartment exactly like it was before and continues with the routine she used to have.  I wanted a tornado to rip everything away, clean all the bad memories and give them new life.  The author starts with a male character who is so clearly antisocial and seemingly unkind, then she makes him fall in love and give away pieces of his pride.  The female characters are wonderful, emotionally fragile perhaps but with an inner core of strength.  Winnie shines in this book as she grapples with the assertiveness that Arsène wakes up.

There was a lot of depth to Arsène and Winnie and I loved seeing how they brought light and love to each other’s darkness and despair.  I loved noticing how sardonic Arsène was in the first part of the story and how frequently Winnie made him laugh in delight in the second part. The passion, the banter, their insults were astronomically fun to read! It was multilayered and complex and I loved reading every word!

Purchase links

FREE in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XPSZU4

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

Amazon Audio: https://bit.ly/3JquSHe

Amazon Print: https://bit.ly/3kI6KWf

About the author 

L.J. Shen is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary, new adult, and young adult romance. Her books have been translated in over twenty different countries, and she hopes to visit all of them.

She lives in Florida with her husband, three rowdy sons, and even rowdier pets.  She enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows, and reading to her heart’s content. 

Connect with her on her website at www.authorljshen.com or on Instagram (@authorljshen), or join her Facebook group at http://goo.gl/QZJ0NC. Sign up for her newsletter at https://bit.ly/3LhsIrb, and text SHEN to 313131 to get new release alerts (United States only).

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Book review: SAVE ONE THING, by Julia Wolf

Savage Academy #1

Beckett & Luciana

Lovely, with just the right amount of steam and angst.  I love YA and this story is the perfect example of why.  Teenagers with crappy families, in an exclusive school where there are cliques, rivalry and girls vying for the athletes.  Fun times!

Luciana is just starting her senior year at the exclusive Savage Academy, with a scholarship for field hockey.  She’s stoked, ready to play hard and get a scholarship to a D1 University.  She has her besties with her, Delilah, Bella, and Eve. She’s friendly and nice, and everyone likes her, except for Beckett Savage.  They met when they were thirteen, Beckett’s brother is friends with Luciana’s brother in law.  Their first meeting didn’t go well because although Luciana was friendly, Beckett was grumpy and mostly silent.  The few times he talked he was rude, so Luciana wrote him off as a no friend.

Now both are in SA in their senior year, both staying at the athletes dorm, and it’s funny how he looks at her.  Intense and silent is his mode and it’s a little unsettling.  Then he starts being nice to her, he’s there when her car mysteriously has a flat tire, so he gives her a ride to visit her family who live near his family.  All this contact makes Luciana look at Beckett in a different way.

The story progresses in a predictable manner but it’s their personalities who make the story unique and entertaining.  Luciana is happy go lucky, nice and friendly with everyone.  Beckett is the quiet and intense type, and pretty soon he turns possessive and jealous.  He’s also super sweet and protective.  But, as always happens with these teenagers, issues come out and they need the maturity that their families provide.  In their case, Luciana’s sister and Beckett’s brother because their parents are crappy parents.

I loved the characters, their friends and their siblings.  Although Luciana and Beckett had their issues, they’re teenagers, they haven’t mature completely, so it was expected.  I loved that once together, they were devoted and driven to succeed as a couple.  Lovely family drama!  Now I need to go find the other related stories!

Purchase links:

FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3JnyU1z

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

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3yOqivU

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

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