Book review: Kings of Linwood Academy series, by Callie Rose

I read this delightful series on the first days of the year, just what I needed to take my mind of this dreadful Covid illness!  

Harlow and her mother Penelope leave their shabby house in Arizona and travel to Fox Hill, Connecticut, for a new job and new opportunity to improve their lot.  Penelope is to be housekeeper at the mansion of Samuel Black, and Harlow was registered to study in an exclusive private school in the district, Linwood Academy.  With the six figures salary Penelope was offered, they have high hopes of getting rid of the crippling debt they incurred in Harlow’s treatment when she had leukemia at ten years old.  

The mansion was huge, the owners seemed to be kind, things were good, except for the bullying Harlow is subjected to at school, typical when a new, poor student arrives at a posh school.  In spite of this, Harlow is a great student and a great worker and she has no problem in helping her mother at her work in the mansion.  The son of the owners, Lincoln, is part of a claque called the Kings and they reign supreme at the school.  There’s a strong attraction between Linc and Harlow but there’s also mistrust irradiating from Lincoln.

When Harlow and the kings witness a murder of a school student, the trauma brings them together.  And when Harlow’s mother is arrested for the murder of the student, the story gets super dramatic, and Harlow demands that they help her clarify the murder to prove her mother’s innocence.  The series covers the work Harlow and the kings do as they investigate and shows how they fall for each other.

The author did a great job in developing the character of each of the kings, including the twins Dax and Chase.  Initially I thought that the love interest would be between Lincoln and Harlow, with Dax, Chase, and River as close friends, but as the story develops through the three books, we see that relations develop between Harlow and the other three.  I usually have an ick reaction to reverse harems but the author did a great job in presenting a lot of tenderness and affection first before turning it into sexy times.  There’s a lot of hugging and comforting and banter within the group.

The first two books end in cliffhangers and I could’t help grabbing the next book in a hurry to read what happens next.  The suspense is great, there are several layers in the story, since within each of the houses of the kings there are issues, plus there’s a ton of bullying and intrigue at the academy.

Harlow’s relation with her mother is heartbreaking, as Harlow works hard to solve the murder to clear her mother.  Likewise, Penelope struggles to reassure her daughter that she trusts justice will be done and she will be found innocent.  There are moments you can’t help but cry because they try to envision being together in the future without a plexiglass between them.  Every time Harlow visits her mother at the jail, they end with palms meeting at the clear wall, with “I love you”, truly heartbreaking.  The kings are relentless in helping Harlow, even when they get in trouble with their parents for helping her.  

This was a super entertaining read, a lovely love story, four boys who were perfectly portrayed, each one different, each one unique, and each one lovable. Harlow is magnificent, in her quest and her intelligence as she works for her mother’s innocence.  Best way to start the year!

Purchase links

The Help:  https://amzn.to/3ikhk4Z

The Lie:  https://amzn.to/3GgMOku

The Risk:  https://amzn.to/3jY6zWl

About the author

Callie Rose is a bestselling author who loves to write books that will grab you by the feels and not let go till the very last page. She loves twisty plots, tortured bad boys, strong FMCs, and redemption stories where that shit is *earned*.

For new release updates and other fun goodies, sign up for her mailing list: https://www.callieroseauthor.com/newsletter

She promises not to bite (or spam you)!

Book review: Emma of 83rd Street, by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding

This modern take on Jane Austen’s Emma is just fantastic!  I read Emma many years ago and yet I could get a sense of how this book’s Emma was similar to Austen’s Emma.  I loved that the story is based in Manhattan’s Upper East Side and loved the group of characters.  

Emma is a little entitled, thinks she can matchmake her friend Nadine and make her over into a more fashionable self.  Sometimes you get the feeling she’s like a puppet master and she’s moving the strings.  In spite of her machinations, she has a heart of gold and her essence is to help others.  Her father is a riot with his horrible kale smoothies, her sister Margo is a little intrusive and dominant but she also means good.

I loved broody Knightley.  I don’t remember the character in Austen’s book, but this one was perfect for the story and perfect for Emma.  The slow burn in the story, Emma’s ingenuity in not recognizing the chemistry between them, her constant optimism were all the layers that made this book so enjoyable.  Poor Emma was so deluded and she was the last one to even realize her feelings, it was so cute.

The transition from friends to lovers is slow and completely believable.  Actually, we knew they were in love way faster than they realized.  I loved that it was a slow burn, no sexy times until later in the book, so we were delighted with a beautiful story, completely dependent on character and plot line.  It was beautiful and now I want more.  There’s a character, one of Knightley’s friends, called William Darcy so I already have designs on the next book!

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC sent by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Book review: Irresistibly Broken, by J. Saman

I’m so glad I requested this book to review!  These characters are so intense and their relation was equal parts banter and sizzling foreplay.  I had a great time reading their story!

Aurelia had a very sad childhood.  Born to a ruthless and ambitious woman who barters her beauty and youth in exchange for money and status, Aurelia has been carted from marriage to marriage.  One of her mother’s marriages was to Zaxton Monroe’s father, owner at the time of Monroe Fashion.  Zax hated his stepmother, and like a little jerk, he took it against Aurelia and was cruel to her.  She was eleven years old at the time.

At present time, Aurelia is just starting her first day of work at Monroe Fashion.  Zaxton is the current CEO and Aurelia is hoping he won’t see her, since she’s to start as a lowly intern.  But she’s mugged as she’s arriving to work, Zax rescues her and then learns who she is.  His father helped her get the job so he suspects her and starts watching her closely.  And this is when the fun begins.

Even if her life has been difficult, Aurelia never lost her ability to be positive and make the best of what she’s got.  So she sasses Zax every time he’s grumpy with her, and is incorrigibly cheerful. She really rocked his world!  Never before he’d encountered someone he doesn’t impress, doesn’t get to obey him, and talks back at him almost constantly.  The poor guy is frustrated but he also realizes he was cruel to her when she was little so he has some guilt.  She’s so sunshiny to his grumpiness and I loved how exasperated and fascinated with her he was.  

There are secondary characters who are a blast and add so much spice to the story, mostly Lamar, who is irreverent and walks all over Zax and Aurelia.  Zax has his group of friends from when he was in a rock band who are like his family.  Aurelia only has one girlfriend Iris, but soon finds her group of friends inside Monroe Fashion.  She’s brilliant, creative, uber talented and everything that Zax needed to jump start his dead heart.  By the end, he’s a cheesy smiling loving guy and it was a beautiful transformation. so glad I requested this book to review!  These characters are so intense and their relation was equal parts banter and sizzling foreplay.  I had a great time reading their story!

Purchase links

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

http://geni.us/IrresistiblyBroken

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3RHiGn1

About the author

J. Saman is a USA Today bestselling author who is addicted to Diet Coke, sour candy, and indie rock. She swears way too much (especially after a glass of wine) and has a penchant for sarcasm (or so her husband and children like to tell her).

She's an admitted lover of second chance romances, love triangles, and the perfect amount of angst. She is best known for writing contemporary romance filled with smart, strong women, and sexy alphas who have a softer side--especially for their women.

 
Connect with J.
Website | https://www.jsamanbooks.com
Goodreads | https://bit.ly/2KGoGPC  
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Book review: Promises We Meant to Keep, by Monica Murphy

Lancaster Prep #3

Sylvie Lancaster & Spencer Donato

As I started to read Sylvie’s story, I recognized the Munchausen by Proxy syndrome and was fascinated! I thought it was a brilliant plot to redeem Sylvie who was so terrible in previous books.  As a victim of this kind of abuse, Sylvie was raised as a sickly child, subject to her mother’s machinations, alienated from friends and family, totally dependent and dominated by Sylvia.  On top of this, she’s part of the Lancaster family, who are prone to manipulation and lies to get what the want.  The combination was toxic and that’s who Sylvie was initially.

It was a stroke of good luck that Sylvia forced Sylvie to marry Earl Wainwright because that was the bridge she needed to get out of her mother’s shackles.  As we read the story, we see how Sylvie works with herself to be truthful and loyal to her siblings and close friends, faces her feelings with Spencer, tries to get out of all her manipulative ways.  Going away to California was great because she was facing her issues and learning to know and accept herself.

I think the author did a brilliant work in this story and with Sylvie’s growth.  There’s a constant tension from fear of Sylvia appearing by surprise when we least expect her.  There’s the bittersweet yearning that Sylvie feels for Spencer when she felt she had burned her chances with him.  I loved Spencer and how loyal he is to his friend Whitt and how helplessly in love he is with Sylvie, in spite of her antics.  She was really deserving of love and forgiveness and there was a scene between her and Summer that made me cry.  

I was riveted to this book and could not put it down, I loved the psychology of the plot and the intense feelings between Sylvie and Spencer.  I also loved having Whitt and Summer so present in the story and the reconciliation of Sylvie with her father, her brother, her sister and her friend Summer.  It was sweet and sexy and utterly fascinating.  Totally recommend!

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3WVNK4E

About the author

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She's also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.

A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she's not writing, she's an assistant coach for her daughter's high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she's at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she's at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she'll even write about this experience.

 

Connect with Monica

Website: http://monicamurphyauthor.com

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyGR

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1YUl0Vm

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyFB

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

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Verve Romance: https://ververomance.com/app/monicamurphy

Book review: Playing Hard to Get, by Monica Murphy

Super excited to be reading Knox Maguire’s book, Owen’s boy!  The Callahan/Maguire sports romances are my favorite series by this author, starting with Drew and Fable, then Owen and Chelsea and then on to the next generation with their kids.  It feels like long standing friends!

Knox is a sweetie!  He’s big and muscular and focused, a wide receiver, and with great chances of getting into the NFL.  There’s a brief mention of knee problems but it’s wiped away with a spot of PT.  He meets Joanna in the campus bookstore and from there they meet several times.  

Joanna is recovering from a breakup and she’s still in the moping stage.  But her roommate Natalie is good at pushing her to go out and have fun and this is when Knox sees her and sort of sets his sight on her.

The story develops swimmingly, once Joanna internalizes that she’s worthy.  She usually feels like she looks horrible and is not interesting enough, especially for a campus football idol like Knox Maguire.  He’s wonderful in that he brings up her esteem and makes her feel beautiful and desired.  

This couple is super cute and what I loved the most is that they repeat history.  Joanna starts tutoring Knox in English since he’s dyslexic and struggling in class.  His parents had the same story: his mother was his father’s tutor in university.  I loved that they’re always so true with each other, open with their feelings and thoughts, even when they feeling insecure about the other.  They are a lovely couple!

There were parts of the story that I didn’t like, for example, in the beginning there was too much character rumination instead of interaction.  I loved that it was a slow burn romance, but initially the pace felt way too slow.  Once Knox and Joanna started to date, then the plot took speed and most of it was dedicated to sexy times.  I expected to see more of Knox’s parents and was disappointed to see so little of them.  There’s a little side plot between Camden and Blair, Knox’s sister, so I’m hoping this will be the next book.  I liked Cam!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SX973j

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

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3Ej9vVP

About the author

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She's also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.

A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she's not writing, she's an assistant coach for her daughter's high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she's at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she's at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she'll even write about this experience.

 

Connect with Monica

Website: http://monicamurphyauthor.com

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyGR

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1YUl0Vm

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyFB

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

Instagram: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyIG

Twitter: http://bit.ly/MonicaMurphyTW

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2ZAthV1

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

Verve Romance: https://ververomance.com/app/monicamurphy

Book review: Brutal Play, by Alison Rhymes

False Start series #2
Noah & Lorelei

For those who thought that Alison Rhymes couldn’t redeem Lorelai Simmons, they have been proved completely wrong!  Not only did she redeem this character, but she also made us pity and like her, notwithstanding her wrong actions.

In Brutal Play, Drew McKenna cheated on his wife June with Lorelai.  We suffered and cried as we read how June processed and dealt with her husband’s cheating.  While dealing with this issue, she also accepted a contract to do TV programs with Noah Anders, Drew’s former competing quarterback and enemy.  Noah turns out to be a great friend and he helped her navigate her route to reconcile with Drew.  We also know that Lorelai is part of Noah’s past, same as Drew’s.  In the first book, we hate her for being the other woman.  In this book, Noah rescues her when she went to Drew in desperation, seeking help and after June slapped her silly.

As I expected, Lorelai has a horrid past, and her actions didn’t come from a desire for money per se, but to rescue her mother and baby sister from a religious, pedophilic cult.  In this rescue effort, she used all her assets, liquid and real state and is now currently penniless and homeless.  Noah takes her to his apartment and proceeds to vilify her, humiliate her, hurt her, all in the name of a petty revenge.  Lorelai is captive because she has nowhere to go, nothing at all to live with.  She can’t work because everyone hates the woman who “tried to break up” Seattle’s favorite couple, June and Drew McKenna.

This book made me cry several times.  Such is the profound despair that Lorelai lives in.  And yet, in all occasions, she behaved with grace and charm, even if she sometimes sassed Noah back.  We learn about her history, her reasons for her actions, and we learn to forgive her, because her story is really horrible.  When she disappears for two days and comes back with her little sister Olivia, we all fall in love with this little human, Noah most of all.  Olivia was the perfect vehicle to demonstrate the horror from which she came, in her innocent ways.  She was lovely and cute and cuddly and I loved seeing how Noah fell in love like a ton of bricks.  

The route to redemption was complicated because Noah is then torn between two women he loves and needs in different ways.  I loved how the author treated this challenge and loved that the solution was not perfect but completely believable and real.  And in so doing, she has been cemented in my opinion as a very strong and talented story teller.

Purchase links

One-Click here: https://mybook.to/brutalplay

𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 (Book 1): https://amzn.to/3g3udij

Add Brutal Play to your TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61850104-brutal-play

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://bit.ly/3dRWR5b

Alison can be contacted at alison@alisonrhymes.com

Book review: Broken Play, by Alison Rhymes

This book blew me away! It involves cheating but the author treats the theme with so much delicacy.  The process this couple went through is covered in such a humane manner, the anger, the sadness, the guilt and the betrayal.  I found both to be such compelling characters, the betrayal was horrible but their love was so strong.  I didn’t know if there could be a solution, but then I realized there were holes in their relation and they hadn’t worked on them.  I loved the process the author took in their growth, I was fascinated by the character development and how both were seen in their own views with their strengths and weaknesses.

June and Drew McKenna have been married five years but have known each other since little kids.  Drew was June’s older brother’s best friend, and she was the little sister who followed them everywhere.  She’s always loved Drew, and he had his eye on her but he never dared touch her, she was too innocent and pure.  Instead, he dated all the girls until her senior year in college.  She was assaulted, he rushed to the hospital and proposed right there.  So they went from friends to engaged, married one month later in Vegas, and rushed into the life of a professional NFL quarterback.

To the public they were the perfect couple until they were no more.  I was so riveted that I could not put the book down.  I loved how Drew kept working towards a solution, while June worked towards her growth.  There was such a driving force that kept them tied together in spite of the betrayal.  I loved the process with the counsellor, how she took them through their paces, loved Leighton and June’s family who stepped close to help, loved Noah who was so pivotal to June’s growth. This book is a total triumph in its trope and I cannot wait to read the next one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3CceBkT

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://bit.ly/3dRWR5b
Alison can be contacted at alison@alisonrhymes.com