Review: The Brazen (Calamity Montana) by Willa Nash

About the Book

Kerrigan Hale’s personal life is about as exciting as a bucket of tar. With hard work and hustle as her steadfast companions, who needs romance or adventure? Her empire in Calamity, Montana, isn’t going to build itself.

For years, her mentor—and investor—helped make her dreams come true. Until his unexpected death put her fate in his grandson’s hands. A brazen billionaire, he seems intent on ruining Kerrigan’s life.

But if Pierce Sullivan thinks she’ll go down without a fight, he’s sorely mistaken. Pushed to the extreme, she drives to his ritzy mountain lodge to force the arrogant You Can Call Me Mr. Sullivan to hear her out.

No sooner does she arrive than a snowstorm traps her with Pierce. Stranded together for days, she’s in for the battle of her life. Pierce is nearly irresistible by candlelight. Without his suits and fancy cars, he’s almost human.

Except only a fool would let down her guard. And Kerrigan can’t risk her future. Not when she doesn’t know if he’s out to pilfer her dreams . . . or to steal her heart.

Review

This book had a solid start. I was genuinely enjoying the hate relationship between Kerrigan and Pierce, and their desire to stop this instant attraction they had together. Kerrigan because Pierce had come to town to collect a debt that she couldn’t pay. Kerrigan had a business relationship with Pierce’s grandfather before he had passed. Pierce’s complicated relationship with his grandfather, and his assumptions about Kerrigan and his grandfather’s relationship is what fuels his desire to not want to pursue his attraction.

My interest in their story started to decrease towards the middle of the story. Kerrigan and Pierce are trapped in because of a snowstorm and their feeling towards each other quickly change. To quick for my liking, they are no longer enemies and they do a complete 180. Then enter the dramatic twist. Kerrigan and Pierce are separate for months, without contact with each other. It started getting harder to continue this story.

Although I enjoyed Kerrigan and Pierce in the beginning, a lot of their development started to lean on situations that happened off screen. And their story was riddled with annoying tiny time jumps. I would much rather their progression feel natural, and Kerrigan’s forgiveness towards Pierce be slowly earned.  

Final Thoughts

The Blazen starts off with a strong hate connection between Kerrigan and Pierce, unfortunately, the book is too afraid to have the main characters hating one another, and forces them to switch their feelings too soon.  

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Review: Sycamore Circle by Shelley Shepard Gray

With a busy life as a single mother, Joy Howard has her plate full. With an active teenager, working as a literacy tutor and painter to survive, romance is not even something she has time for. As they say, people come into your life for a reason. Love can come when you’re not looking.

One thing that Bo Beauman wasn’t in the market for was a girlfriend. However, when a breath of fresh air caught his attention and shined brighter than the son, he caught a glimpse of the possibility of letting someone into his complicated life. On the road to changing his life, being a counselor to fellow ex-cons and working to create a stable life, he is looking to go forward rather than backwards. Taking a chance, they both hit it off and despite their obvious differences, gives him a purpose and hope to look forward to. 

As their interests grow, Joys starts to get random texts and phone calls from unknown callers. Uncertain who to trust, she struggles to cope with the situation and finds herself cautiously leaning towards Bo. As things escalate and the truth is uncovered, the boundaries of their potential relationship get pushed to define the possibilities that seemed like a limited future. 

Sycamore Circle is the anticipated follow up to the initial book in The Rumors in Ross County series. Honestly, this is a tough one for me. I’m new to the series and wonder if reading the preceding book would have influenced my thoughts. This book not only introduced me to the author but this sequel comes anticipated from the first book. My issue isn’t with the plot of the book. As I was reading the book, I was waiting for that moment that just demanded an emotional investment. It just wasn’t there for me. I felt neutral but interested to see where it would take me. I loved the characters in the book and their storylines but I wish there had been more. 

Bo and Joy were complicated and frustrating. Two different people that were destined to be together, I wish their relationship could’ve been more definitive and fleshed out. I wanted to fall in love with the redeemed man who deserved to prove he could love and be loved. The love/hate relationship with certain members of his family and when he had that call and request from his brother, I was so invested to see how that would play out because what they thought played a huge role in how he felt about himself. We saw how that was affected by his interest with Joy. If he would’ve gotten that moment alone with his brother, and got the acceptance that he was a changed man, that confidence would’ve transformed his insecurity of his self worth.

The transition of their situation is where I was stuck. I loved the two broken people coming together. I just wish there was a more cohesive emotional continuity to them. Yes, they had issues and trust problems that built and led them where they had to go but what were they? I get where some things can be inferred but their conflicted status between friends, wanting to date, and acquaintances is what disconnected me from wanting to love them. This perspective would've made this page turning for me. 

The suspense element of the book was well played. I would’ve never expected that plot twist and that brought some excitement for me. I will say that part of the book to the end piqued my interest more with resolution with the epilogue. 

Despite my thoughts, I’m going to go back and read book one and anticipate book three if there shall be to see if I feel differently. From reading how other readers felt about this book, they overwhelmingly loved it so I will definitely keep an open mind. If you are a fan of this series, I encourage you to check it out to see what it’s about because it has a good plot and for continuity with the series. 

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Review: Come What Maybe by Kerri Carpenter

For some, life doesn’t always go as planned. People like Lauren Wallace, who plan every aspect of their lives, came back to Seaside Cove for a reason. She wasn’t looking for romance but found out quickly that no matter how many lists, plans or vision boards can prepare you for when life takes you on a detour, some rules were made to be broken.

Lauren Wallace is fiercely independent. As a social media strategist, she is a planner. Her life is composed of lists, excel sheets and vision boards. Coming back to Seaside Cove temporarily, armed with a mission to help her sis get her life back on a track was her top priority. Trying to take everything in, before she can even take a breath of the beautiful scenery, the presence of her strong-willed grandmother is making her question everything of her existence. Needing a place to collect her thoughts, she heads straight to the place her grandmother told her not to go. Well, it’s 5 o'clock somewhere and it goes downhill from there.

Alright, downhill might be exaggerating but it all depends on what perspective you look at. I’m just going to mark this moment as the catalyst for the detour of Lauren’s current life plan. As she tries to take the edge off her return, she heads down to the local bar and runs into her high school frenemy, Ethan Allister. Being Seaside Cove is a small town, where everyone knows your business, their encounter sparks the gossip mill when they have a high school reunion that they will never forget. 

As they hang out more and give the town something to talk about, their situationship reveals a secret that just throws her world upside down. Trying to lay low, fearing how her grandmother will react, she leans on her sisters to keep things under wrap until the right moment. With all that sneaking around, an unexpected moment with her grandmother brings news about the past that will change her future.

I really loved this book. I love the first books that make you really excited about the rest of the series. This was the first book in her new romantic comedy series, Seaside Cove. There’s always something special with these books set in New England. There’s a certain vibe and the setting just makes you not want to leave. 

I don’t know what had me doubling over more laughing, the golden girls and men at the bar or the grandmother. Her grandmother’s wit and quick comebacks were hilarious. There were so many wonderful parts to this book that just keeps you equally invested. You have Lauren and Ethan which was such a rollercoaster. The relationship between the sisters, your typical sibling stuff but the loving moments were sweet. The relationship with the grandmother comes off prickly but the big life moments and revelations really grab your heart. 

I can’t wait to see who’s next because all the ladies deserve to have their hea, especially their grandmother. There’s so much of their story that I would love to dive into. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and see who’s next. I’m recommending adding this one to your tbr series list.

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Review: Final Offer by Lauren Asher

Summary

From TikTok sensation Lauren Asher comes the final book in the Dreamland Billionaires series.

Callahan

I'm the Kane brother everyone gossips about behind closed doors.

Trust fund brat. Washed-up athlete. High-functioning alcoholic.

No one knows the real me but her.

Lana Castillo―my childhood best friend and the only woman I ever loved.

When I broke her heart six years ago, I promised to never return to Lake Wisteria.

I kept my word until my grandfather's will changed everything.

To receive my inheritance, I was tasked with spending a summer at the family lake house before selling it.

The request was simple in theory until my entire plan blew up on the very first day.

Turns out Lana doesn't just live at the house, but she claims to own it, too.

Alana

Falling in love with Callahan Kane was a mistake.

He told me so before destroying my heart and our friendship six summers ago.

When he promised never to come back, I foolishly believed him.

But then Cal showed up again, intending to sell his grandfather's lake house.

The biggest flaw in his plan?

My name is on the deed.

Review

The Dreamland Billionaires series has been one that I had wholeheartedly enjoyed. I read Fine Print a few years ago, and love the relationship between Zahra and Rowan. I waited months for Terms and Conditions to be released and went in with so many expectations and ideas about how I wanted the book to go. And although I enjoyed it, my expectations had not been met.  

For the final book – Final Offer, I tried to keep my expectations low. Even with low expectations, I finished reading the book and felt a little disappointment. Final Offer wasn’t a terrible book; however, for a book ending this trilogy I expected it to go out with a bang.

Final Offer did start off on a high so high that I giggled because I assumed this was going to be my book of the year. Cal and Alana were going to be great, and the top couple of the series. I spoke too soon. The high unfortunately doesn’t last that long.  

After the meeting with Cal and Alana in the first few chapters, the book sort of drags on. There are a few cute moments between them and others. Cal and Alana were supposed to be giving friends-to-lovers, and second-hand romance. Unfortunately, readers aren’t given full context of their relationship before they got together, while they got together, and after they ended it. There are a few flashbacks, however, with a book 600 pages I expected the author to really dive into the emotional history of the two of them. I wanted more.

As far as the characters. I like Alana, and her strong backbone. It’s hard to talk about her without getting into spoilers, but she was great. And often time she did deserve better. As for Cal he was a golden retriever with a dark past. And his journey really pulled at my heartstrings. There were several times where he was treated unfortunate. I understand the need for everyone in the town to dislike him due to how him and Alana parted; however, their constant need to be rude him felt overboard and exhausting.

Final Thoughts

Final Offer doesn’t feel like a conclusion to a series. It feels a like a middle book. When the book eventually did conclude, it was underwhelming. However, the romance does shine with outstanding and memorable moments with Cal and Alana. Those moments are sparse and mixed between drawn out events. 

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Review: The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson

Who doesn’t love a fake romance trope? Usually, those are the books that really grab your heart and this one was no exception. The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson had the right formula to charge my inner nerd gal. As a fan of Sariah’s, this was so much fun to read. This was such a sweet, funny romantic comedy that will definitely swoon and charm its way into your heart.

We are introduced to Anna Ellis, a chemist. She is such a likable character who you just want to become besties with. She is smart, funny and in love with the wrong person. She feels he is the man of her dreams. Ever since he helped her one day, she has been completely smitten but guess who he is? None other than her boss, Craig Kimball. Her life mission is to grab his attention and ride off in the sunset but only one problem, she has no idea how that will happen until she stumbles upon his half brother, Marco and oh does he have a challenge for her.

Marco is cute, smart but has a bit of a mystery to him. He is CEO of the company and has a bit of a rival relationship with Craig. Marco has a lot going for him and with this competitive spirit, Craig tries to get everything Marco has, personally and professionally. So when Anna finds herself in a compromising situation, Marco offers her a solution to get what she wants and in exchange and him as well. He proposes the idea of a fake relationship that would make Craig jealous and give her what she wants. This sounds all nice until the lines of fake and real blur blend together. The heart knows what the heart wants. Sometimes, what’s meant to be might be standing right in front of you. Will this be the solution to their chemical equation?

As always, Sariah’s books are such a sweet treat. This is a standalone book that can be read without any of her other books. For all the introverts out there, this will really make you swoon. Besides the fun dialogue and chemistry between Anna and Marco, Catalina was so much fun and such a supportive friend. I always love to see great friendships. We can’t forget Anna’s grandparents. Their sense of humor and relationship with Anna was a nice addition to the book. Overall, this trope is always fun getting to the hea. If you are a fan of Sariah, then you will enjoy this one. If you’re looking for a fun, sweet nerdy rom-com, add this to your TBR list.

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Review: The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson

Summary

Rival photographers are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly.

Photographer Cassie Harris loves her job—her company Buxom Boudoir makes people look beautiful and feel empowered with her modern twist on classic pinup photography. Cassie’s best friend, Dana, is about to launch her own dangerously dreamy lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot and direct the career-changing national campaign. But company politics and Dana’s complicated pregnancy interfere, and Cassie finds herself—a proud plus size Black woman—not behind the camera but in front of it.

Though she’s never modeled herself, Cassie’s pretty sure she can handle the sheer underwear and caution tape bralettes. She’s not sure she can work so intimately with the chosen photographer, her long-time competitor in the Chicago photography scene, Reid Montgomery. Their chemistry is undeniable on set, however, and feelings can develop faster than film…

Review

The Accidental Pinup was a book that I was extremely excited to read, and unfortunately, my expectation were far too high with this one.  I’ll start with the positives first. One thing that I truly enjoyed was the body positive and the representation. Both of those were high points in the story. I admired with Cassie and Dana were doing. And it was empowering to read. In addition, I really enjoyed the friendship between the two of them. It was something real and honest. It was the best relationship in the book, and I enjoyed reading their scenes.

I thought Cassie was a great main character. And I liked how strong and no nonsense she was. Unfortunately, her love interest, Reid, was extremely boring. I wished he had more flavor or something because it made him and Cassie’s romance one of the most anti climatic aspects of the book. I didn’t feel the connection, and all and all Cassie seemed too good for him.

Final Thoughts

The Accidental Pinup is held back by a stale and uninteresting romance; however, it does succeed at other points within the pages. 

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