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/

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Book review: LONG TIME COMING, by S.L. Scott

Another brother’s best friend romance, to add to the gazillion I’ve read this year.  But in this case, this one has been so incredibly romantic that I actually loved it, in spite of not being a trope I like. I loved the small town vibe, the cowboy/cowgirl element to the story, all the subtle plot lines that add so much to the main plot of second chance, brother’s best friend love story.

Christine had dreams of a career, but those stopped when her mother died and she took over the running of her parents’ farm.  There’s some resentment over the fact that her two older brothers skipped town and left her with the sole responsibility of the farm, and taking care of their aging, ailing father.  

Tagger Grange had also left town, studied Finance with Christine’s brother Baylor, and both were making lots of money as financial advisors in New York.  Tagger had a sudden urge to come visit his hometown, see his parents, and bring his son to visit the place where he grew up.  Same as Christine and Baylor, he had a happy, magical childhood, and he’s only now revisiting and enjoying the memories.  He introduces his son Beck to all his old haunts, the cowboy life, riding horses, all the joys of his boyhood.  And this makes him reassess the quality of life his son has in New York versus the quality of life he could give his son here in Peachtree Pass, Texas.

Christine had a crush on Tagger when they were in school, and it comes blazing back as they share days working in her ranch. She falls in love with Beck, falls back in love with Tagger, but there’s an issue of distance and how to make it work.  Also, there are issues with Beck’s mom, who is a snotty, uppity New Yorker and turns her nose up at dusty Texas and frumpy cowgirls.  Charming, she is not!

I loved how the issues are handled, with lots of respect and consideration.  Loved how Tagger fell back in love with his roots and with Christine, loved how his priority is his son’s happiness.  I even loved that he was respectful to his mother’s son, even though she was to toxic.

It was a lovely read, romantic, a slow reminiscent story of a forgotten and loved childhood and new discoveries. Utterly charming!

Purchase links

https://geni.us/LTCAm

About the author

Kylie is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling, Audie Award winning author. 

She has sold over 2,000,000 books and was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year four times by the Australian Romance Reader’s Association. Her books have been translated into sixteen different languages. She is based in Queensland, Australia; living and working on land traditionally owned by the Jagera people.

Contact her at info@kyliescott.com

Connect with Kylie Scott:

https://kyliescott.com/

Book review: UNDER THE SAME SKY, by Claudia Burgoa

 I’m loving this series! Each book is more scary than the previous one, as we read about a small town besieged by an organization, but the townies don’t realize it. Only Nysa is aware because she saw a man being buried in her farm. She escaped the men, and ran away from town, stayed running, hiding, moving around. Three years later, she came back to town and it’s as if the criminals were waiting for her to come back and for the action to begin again.

The author did a great job creating a suspenseful feeling to the story, it even got me paranoid!

Initially, Nysa was closed off, didn’t want to share what happened years ago, and the warnings that started coming at her. Her neighbor was intrigued by her, very much attracted, and was very willing to help her. I loved how little Maddie enchanted Nysa and made her open up. Having to stay close is what made them succumb to their attraction. Both were adverse to commitment, but the danger and suspense helped them overcome the hesitation.

The Timberbridge Brothers #2

Hopper & Nysa

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Timberbridge brothers felt more like enemies than family. Their abusive father used to beat them mercilessly and taunted them against the other, often making them fight between themselves. There was an environment of hate, and their mother would turn her face away and didn’t stop it. Hence their resentment and abandonment of their mother when she got terminally ill. The town troubles are making the brothers start to work together and it’s a part of the series I like very much. I loved that in spite of their issues, all the uncles love their niece so much, she has them twisted around her little fingers.

As with the first book, the story doesn’t end with a resolution on the organization targeting the town, and in my case, I ended with more questions than answers.  Atlas is not what he seems, a simple tattoo artist, and I hope it will be cleared up in his book which comes next.

The story is entertaining, suspenseful, keeps you riveted wanting to know what happens next, and is sort of vague on what the criminals are doing.  It seems everyone is in a waiting game, faking a normal life when it’s anything but.  Interesting!

Purchase links

https://geni.us/UnderTheSameSky

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/ 

Book review: PROTECTING WHAT’S MINE, by Siobhan Davis

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had high anxiety as I read this book. This has got to be the most suspenseful book Siobhan Davis has written! I was biting my nails, reading feverishly, waiting for the moment that Sloane’s ruse would be discovered.  High stakes drama, indeed!

I loved Sloane and hurt for her so bad. She was genuinely kind, seriously gorgeous, and so very loving. I can’t imagine the pain of knowing how much her mom was suffering, and the hurt of loving a man, while also deceiving him, waiting for the moment she would lose him and her little prince Elio. I also loved Cristian. In spite of being a mafioso, he was a man of principles, hardly felt like a criminal, as Sloane observed. 

The author kept me at the edge of the seat, wrung my heart with anxiety at the gritty moments of the story. I enjoyed the love story, the lovely moments with the Accardi twins and other famiglia, and cheerfully hated Isa and her vindictive ways. The author also never disappoints when she exacts justice to the baddies and those scenes gladden my heart. 

As always, Siobhan Davis gives me a lot of drama, this time a huge lot of suspense, murder and mayhem as expected, then sweet loving sexy times. I can’t wait for the next one!

Please note: the book is a standalone, connected to the Mazzone mafia world. No need to read the previous books, but it will enhance enjoyment of this one, since the reader will know the other characters that appear in the book, and their very interesting stories.

Purchase links

https://bit.ly/PWMEBookU

Available in Kindle Unlimited

About the author

Siobhan Davis™ is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Top 5 bestselling romance author. Siobhan writes emotionally intense stories with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She has sold millions of books and her titles are translated into several languages.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.

Originally from Ireland, she now lives in Cyprus with her husband.

Join the author's mailing list to receive a free e-book plus tons of bonus content. Refer to the official author website.

Connect with Siobhan Davis:

https://linktr.ee/siobhandavisauthor 

book review: A WINDING WAVE OF MAGIC, by Nicole French

This book is long and impressive.  The author wrote such a complex story of magic, so very perfectly crafted that I even began to believe it.  I was taken on a trip to a magic world where the fae are fighting to be seen, there’s politics involved, mystery, and murder.  And above all, an exquisite love story, of the slow burn, strong hot chemistry, and forbidden type too! The age cap with this couple is out of this world!

Cassandra is a socially inept witch who doesn’t have control of her powers, Jonathan is a lawyer/sorcerer who is in charge of her recently murdered grandmother’s will, leaving her in charge of a secret and due to inherit a position in a council of mage.  They have to act with utmost care and precaution because Cassandra hasn’t come into all of her powers yet. Jonathan has promised to help and protect her, but there are secrets she hasn’t learned yet.  And secrets are Jonathan’s trade!

We are taken on an adventure of discovery, of magic tricks, and personal tricks. There’s darkness following them but also friends who teach and help. The story is very convoluted, But surprisingly easy to understand and follow, so impeccable is the author’s writing and the world she has developed for us readers. 

The story ends in a sort of happy ending but also a soft cliffhanger. You can choose to stop here or to continue to the next book whenever it comes out. I can guarantee I will be waiting anxiously to dive into this fantastic, magical world again!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://geni.us/dKBysjg

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/4iKhcoI

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 here

 

For more information on Nicole French and her books visit: https://www.nicolefrenchromance.com/

 

Connect with Nicole French:

https://www.nicolefrenchromance.com/links