Book review: TO THE CHASE, by Julia Wolf

Mile High Billionaires #3

Tore & Bea

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The beauty of Julia Wolf’s stories lies in her incomparable characters.  In this book, Bea and Tore are magnificent, Bea is quirky, different, mean when she gets mad, but loving the rest of the time.  Tore is autistic, so he’s very literal, very focused, very intense.  He misses social cues and couldn’t care less.  I loved that he was so perfectly imperfect, all those scenes where he was overwhelmed but tried to process fast and perform.  Bea was his perfect match because she understood him like no other and appreciated his uniqueness and sexy nerdiness.  

Only a genius nerd like Tore would build an app just to keep contact with Bea during the two years they were separated.  The conversations between Bea and Anthony, her digital butler, were enchanting.  

Tore moved to Denver due to a contract between his cyber security company and the DoD.  The fact that Bea was there was a big enticement.  After a very sad loss, Tore took some time to reorganize his life and then go to the chase of Bea.  He was determined, if slightly clueless on how to proceed.  Thankfully, he had the help of his dandy father and enthusiastic nieces and nephew!

The story is delightful and entertaining, with humorous notes, a slight industrial intrigue, and wonderful characters.  Tore and Bea were a combination of dour and vibrant, one determined suitor, an independent woman who wanted to belong to a beloved one, great friends, kids and precious big dog.  A page-turner for sure!

Purchase links

FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/4l0LPrk

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4kF0vwp

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

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Book review: DREAM ON, by Jennifer Hartmann

This is the angsty type of story that I like, people dealing with issues that stop them from realizing their dreams.  Stevie dreams of a future in Hollywood, doing films with music and singing.  Lex has already done Hollywood, but a traumatic event has him running away to Chicago.

Stevie is poor but has a happy home life; Lex is wealthy but has a crappy home life.  Guess who is better off?  He sees Stevie’s home and it smells like happiness and he loves being there, crawling from her bedroom window to the roof and look at the stars.  This is the happiest he’s been.

 A tragic accident tears them apart, Lex returns to Hollywood and his movies, she’s left with physical damages and a broken heart, making do with singing at a bar.  

When Lex realizes he needs her at his side to give credence to the movie based on their story, he brings her home and realizes why he hasn’t been happy and why he can’t sleep.  His mother is a cancer eroding their lives, and I saw Lex acting as a wimp, taking all the manipulations and believing that he’s not enough to protect Stevie.

Stevie’s side of the story is full of love, family and support.  Lex’s side is full of manipulations, expectations, horrible memories.  This contrast works during all the story, and I feel sorry for Stevie’s all encompassing love, and angry at Lex’s listlessness.

This story was so riveting, as Lex and Stevie work for their happiness, Stevie with a ferociousness full of love and determination.  I saw Lex as an empty soul, like his life in Hollywood and his parents killed his zest for life, his acceptance of not having happiness. He was sort of floating around, accepting cues from his mother and his agent, letting events move him around, not doing anything to secure his happiness and take charge of his life.  

I got a little tired of seeing him suffer from insomnia, suffer from his mother’s constant bullying, coast along in an insufficient life, and not rallying.  I realized then that he’s only twenty-two, he’s young and he didn’t have the best modeling on how to live a successful life, unlike Stevie who had excellent models.  

I haven’t been so happy at reaching an HEA!  This couple really had a hard time getting there, but once eradicating the poison from his life, Lex finally got it and zoomed up high.  Great story!

Purchase links

FREE with #kindleunlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/45haCkU

Limited deluxe edition paperback: https://geni.us/DreamOnNovel

Audible: https://bit.ly/4lQWFkB

Narrated by: Angelina Rocca & Lee Samue

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4kpbme2

About the author 

Jennifer Hartmann resides in northern Illinois with her own personal romance hero and three children. When she is not writing angsty love stories, she is likely pondering all the ways she can break your heart and piece it back together again. She enjoys sunsets (because mornings are hard), bike riding, traveling, bingeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns, and that time of day when coffee gets replaced by wine. She loves tacos. She also really, really wants to pet your dog.

http://www.jenniferhartmannauthor.com

Book review: HANDSOME DEVIL, by L.J. Shen

Forbidden Love #3

Tate and Gia

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gia and Tate’s relation went from toxic to devoted and we got to enjoy the turbulent ride.  Gia is a beautiful and kind woman with a lovely British accent, biracial due to a Jamaican father and white Cuban mother. Tate is everything dark, ruthless, a predator with a perfect body and broken mind.  He’s obsessed with Gia, and when she needed help with her ailing mother, he pounced and demanded marriage in return.  Then the war began!

This was similar to the movie War of the Roses.  They were both feral, but under all that toxicity there was attraction.  Gia fought her attraction, denied Tate of his marital rights, he was horrid in his treatment of her, and yet, underneath it all, you could sense that he was taking care of her.  

As the book progresses, I enjoyed seeing a Tate that starts to care for his wife, protects her not out of responsibility but of concern for her safety. Gia is snarky and sassy, never gives an inch, but is falling, very reluctantly, in love with her husband.

I loved how his heart jump-started and started feeling again, although it took a lot of rife and mayhem and danger, before it happened.  His horrible childhood and Gia’s family loss were very sad moments in the story, but it was balanced with the subtle humor, sarcastic prose, and slightly unhinged moments of the story.  There were some ick moments (e.g. the Ferrantes initiation), a kidnapping, some gritty violent events.  Even though the author warned about triggers, none of it fazed me except the ick moments, and they only caused some indigestion.

All in all, this was another fantastic journey into LJ Shen’s brilliant and creative world, where anything goes, it’s all crazy ongoings before the couple settle into domestic bliss.  It was certainly a page-turner full of all the emotions, highly entertaining.

Purchase links

FREE in Kindle Unlimited

ebook: https://amzn.to/4cTjUqJ

Audible: https://tinyurl.com/hdljsaud

Deluxe Edition Paperback: https://amzn.to/3ELzTtZ

Indigo Exclusive Edition: https://shor.by/NMB5

Walmart Exclusive Edition: https://tinyurl.com/y979h86h

Add Handsome Devil to Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/hd3ljsgr

 

Start the Forbidden Love series today → https://amzn.to/4lsG6LX  

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 L.J. Shen

Website  www.authorljshen.com 

Instagram (@authorljshen)

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).

Join LJ's mailing list for exclusive material ➜ https://bit.ly/3LhsIrb

Website ➜ www.authorljshen.com

Book review: OVER THE MOON, by Laura Pavlov

Chadwick Brothers #3

Clark & Eloise

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lighthearted and wonderful, this story warmed my heart!  The third in the Chadwick Brothers series, this one has been the most charming yet.

Clark is a hockey player, his team just won the Stanley Cup where he shot the winning goal, and he ended up with an MCL injury.  So he goes back home to Rosewood River to rest and rehab his injury, with plans to come back to his team, ready for another winning season.  

Eloise has just graduated with dual degrees in physical therapy and athlete training, she’s joined the San Francisco Lions hockey team where her father is the coach.  Her father sent her to Rosewood River to work on his prized player, to ensure he comes back stronger than ever.  She’s not happy but she’s obedient, moves grumblingly for three months, expecting to be bored out of her mind.  She thinks Clark is a cocky player and she’s in for a surprise!

What follows is a fun romance, where Clark charms Eloise, gives her a new nickname Weeze, and makes her fall in love with him, his family, and his town.  She’s immediately swarmed in the small town vibes, acquires new besties, and gets closer to Clark, recognizing he’s actually a very nice and decent guy beneath all that cockiness.  I loved Clark and his enjoyment of life, he works out with his music playlist at full blast, he pelts out the lyrics and dances to the rhythm.  Pretty soon he has Weeze singing and dancing to the tune too!

The only negative vibe in Eloise’s life is her new boss, Randall Tallon, who makes snarky comments about nepotism, misogynistic phrases, general grumbles which show he’s jealous and feels threatened by her.

The romance and sexy times are everything, the Chadwick family is charming and loud as always, the Chadwick brother’s group chat is hilarious, the Taylor Tea is still causing Bridger his usual tantrums, Emilia is a wonderful friend and landlord to Weeze, and Rafe Chadwick is still obsessed with his pickleball tournaments. Everything I love about small town and sports romance is present and strong in this wonderful story, and I loved it thoroughly!

Purchase links

FREE with Kindle Unlimited 

https://geni.us/overthemoon1

Paperback: https://geni.us/OvertheMoonPB

Audible: https://bit.ly/4lFEjTc

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4hK7dyX

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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X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurapavlov2

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

Book review: MIDNIGHT BETWEEN US, by Claudia Burgoa

Timberbridge Brothers #4

Kier & Simone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Intense, emotional, and angsty, just how I like my books!  I devoured this book, then re-read slowly to enjoy and savor the angst.  This author enjoys wrenching my heart and putting it together again, and I love it!

I never thought Simone and Keir would ever get their HEA because they were so broken.  They both used the same strategy to deal with their issues: keep people apart, live alone, bury the pain deep inside so it doesn’t come out and unravel.  Except the love they had for each other, which they had buried deep and wanted to ignore, still existed and was too strong to resist.

I loved how the author structured this story.  It has reminiscences from a stormy past, for both Simone and Keir.  Keir comes from the Timberbridge brothers, who had such a crappy home life, full of violence, hatred, and abuse.  Since Keir was one of the oldest brothers, he took a lot of the abuse to protect his little brothers, so he has a lot of issues and dysfunctions to deal with.  Instead of giving us instant redemption and reconciliation, the author took the characters through tribulations and more heartache.   There is a part that was so emotional that I felt like my chest was going to crack open.  

Simone is the product of a teenage pregnancy, and what is worse, her grandfather is the town’s preacher.  She had to live with her mother’s bad reputation and her grandparents abuse of her mother, who finally left, and the strict, loveless household she was forced to live in.  They were each other’s comfort until Keir up and left without a goodbye, until he appears almost dead and tied up, in the trunk of a car.

There’s a feeling of menace, as Keir stays hidden from the Hollow Syndicate, the ones who beat him up and left for dead.  Simone was assigned to patch him up and keep him alive.  Then to keep him at her house which is like a fortress.  Imagine all the feelings and chemistry and guilt floating around for Keir, who abandoned Simone twenty years ago.  There’s resentment and pain on her part, guilt and repentance on his.  It’s all yummy angst!

Another thing I loved was seeing Atlas, oozing marital happiness and even giving out advice!  And then I understood that the older Timberbridge brothers, Malerick and Keir, are the most broken because they got the brunt of the abuse, and luckily their books were left for last, so the best was left for last, yay.  I have my suspicions about Malerick, let’s see if they turn out to be true.  Now I can’t wait for the final book, Malerick’s, and see how it’s all resolved.

Purchase links

https://geni.us/MidnightBetweenUs

About the author

Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. 

She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breaths away. Her books are the perfect blend of steamy and heartfelt, filled with emotional characters and explosive chemistry. Her writing takes readers to new heights, providing a variety of tears, laughs, and shocking moments that leave fans on the edge of their seats.

She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, her youngest two children, and three fluffy dogs.

When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At nights, she likes to binge watches shows or movies with her equally geeky husband.

Connect with Claudia Burgoa:

https://claudiayburgoa.com/wp/links/