“Falling for him wouldn’t make you weak. It would make you human.”
Woooooooow, this book was EXCELLENT. This is the first book I’ve read by Breezie Bennett and I was not disappointed at all. This was a fake fiance meets sports romance that has you at the edge of your seat, desperate with each page turn.
This is a story about a hotshot, playboy football player named Leo who falls for a tomboy, sports enthusiast named Frankie when she poses as his fake fiance to help save his public image. Basically, to sum it all up, Leo gets caught at a strip club with a rival football team and the press catches wind of it and has a field day. That’s where Frankie comes in. She is the assistant to Leo’s agent, who is a total a-hole, and is forced to pose as his fake fiance for her job. (Or rather her job is threatened if she doesn’t pose as his fake fiance). As the two get closer, feelings start to rise up and these two soon realize they are in deeper than ever anticipated. The chemistry between these two is electric and palpable. Everyone on the outside continuously comments on how perfect they are together and that each of them can’t hide their true feelings, their facial expressions tell all.
In a moment of blind jealousy and betrayal, all comes tumbling down and it takes an incredible amount of strength and patience to get back what they once had. But, of course, it is worth it in the end. The misunderstanding is cleared up and our lovers get their happily ever after. This is why I love sports romance so much. You get to witness a cocky, self-assured playboy brought to his knees by a spunky, confident, intelligent woman. It’s better than anything, in my opinion.
I adored everything about this book and can’t wait to continue reading the remainder of this series!! How great is it when there are more books with the same characters and you get to hold on to your favorites and grow with them? 5 stars for this STELLAR tale. And thank you, Breezie, for writing such a sweet, heartfelt novel.
“Be mine. For real this time. I’m all in, Monroe. I’m yours.”
“I guess if it wasn’t beautiful, the tragedy ultimately wouldn’t be sad.”
Every once in a while, you find book that speaks to your soul, that is perfectly in tune with who you are, you realize it was almost divine intervention that you found it. That is this book for me. Archer’s Voice has changed my life. Another one of Mia Sheridan’s books that has completely flipped me upside down and inside out. I mean, it’s literally a perfect novel. I haven’t a single thing about it that I would change. It had me laughing and crying within mere pages. It destroyed my heart, only to piece it back together again flawlessly. Mia Sheridan is a master in the art of storytelling. She steals my breath with her words and impeccable characters.
When I think of a word to describe the overall feeling that this novel left me with, I think of tranquility. There’s a calmness in knowing how this story ends, a comfort. These two brilliant and brave humans endured so much both together and separately, only to come together and realize that they didn’t need to fight or run any longer. They could just be. Exactly as they were. It was so painfully beautiful. Archer, our leading man, cannot speak. He is mute. He was shot by his uncle in the neck when he was a child and lost his voice. He has severe abandonment issues and struggles with social interaction. That is, until he meets Bree. Bree’s father was murdered in front of her and she was nearly raped by a madman in her hometown of Ohio. She realizes that she can’t stay there anymore, packs up, and leaves without so much as a backwards glance. She travels to a small town where she once vacationed with her family because it brings her happy memories. She decides to stay there for a while, so she gets a job and leases a cabin. She meets Asher within the first couple of nights, but doesn’t realize he’s mute. She takes an immediate liking to him and after some serious work on her part, they become friends. But there’s obviously more between them. After a haircutting session gets a little too hot between them, they admit their feelings for one another and it’s 3-2-1 blast off!! 🙂 No, I’m serious though, they are absolutely perfect together. Even when Asher makes mistakes and even when Bree gets a little too emotional, they always come back to one another. They are meant to be.
“It’s like, the second I saw him, my life started.”
Thinking back on this exceptional tale, I’m struck with the reminder of the importance of communication. There were so many times in this book when, had Bree and Archer not been able to successfully communicate, things could have taken a turn for the worse. Archer couldn’t speak, but he did know sign language, and, luckily for Bree, her father had been deaf, so she knew sign language too. They were able to communicate that way so they were constantly on the same page. Archer had some issues, at the beginning, where he would shut down and not tell Bree how he was thinking or feeling, but that passed as they began to trust each other more. On the flip side of this, the entire town believed that Archer was a crazy hermit because no one could communicate with him. It showed us, the reader, both sides of the coin. The ignorance of some people and the compassion of others.
This story was remarkable and life changing. I’ve never fallen in love so quickly or had my heartbroken so deeply, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I wish I could read this book all over again for the first time because it’s THAT fantastic. If I could give this 10 stars, I would. It’s unmatched because of how brightly it shines. Mia Sheridan has quickly become one of my favorite authors; I will read anything she writes. I can’t wait to pick up more of her masterpieces. Trust me you guys, take the time to read this story. I will change you. Thank you, Mia, so much, for sharing your gift with us. This was such a pleasure to read. You ROCK!
“I didn’t know enough to dream you, Bree, but somehow you came true anyway.”
No quotes from this one, ladies. This was a short, super-sexy, quick read. I have very minimal to say about it because I read these all the time but don’t usually review them. This one was a new author and kind of hit my in a new way, so I decided, why not?
Charlotte and Duncan were friends in their younger years. Now, Charlotte is freshly 21 and Duncan is about to turn 33. Duncan must get married in order to inherit his father’s company, and he knows that Charlotte is the one for him. Even though they haven’t spoken in years, he gets her to agree to it and, of course, they fall in love. Charlotte only agreed because her father is on the board of Duncan’s company and was trying to take over. Unfortunately for him, he raised a smart, sassy daughter who doesn’t put up with that kind of nonsense. Our story ends with our two lovebirds living happily ever after.
I love these short little novellas. They are usually very high heat but also heartwarming. I’d give this one 4 stars and a round of applause for being so special. It definitely got hot and heavy for a bit in there and it was perfect. I’m going to be reading more Mia Barrett in my future, for sure!
“I want to dance with you today. I want to dance with you tomorrow. And I want to dance with you when we’re eighty and until we can’t possibly dance anymore.”
So I have to admit, from the title of this book, I thought it was going to be about a professor/student relationship. It was definitely NOT! It was even better. This book was romantic and passionate and gorgeous. Everything I could have wanted.
Our two lovers, Gabby and Mason, meet under hilarious circumstances. Mason is extremely close with his family, so much that he treats his nieces as if they were his own children. His niece, Sarah, is going to hang out with friends…and boys are supposed to be there…and Mason freaks out and follows them. He stalks them into a restaurant and takes a picture to send to his brother, Sarah’s father, but he’s stopped by a firecracker of a woman who calls him a pedophile and screams at him. It’s Gabby. The first thing he notices about her, while she’s screaming at him, is how beautiful she is. Sarah recognizes her uncle and saves him from further embarrassment, but Mason can’t stop thinking about Gabby. Gabby is Sarah’s teacher…hence the title of our book. Mason convinces Gabby to go on a date with him and our story takes off. There are plenty of bumps on the road to happily ever after for our lovers, some MUCH bigger than others, but they still end with their own special HEA.
What I loved most about this novel was how much our author focused on the importance of family. Family was a huge priority for both our characters, and it’s why they fit so perfectly together. Even though Mason had major control issues and possibly some OCD, his family loved him anyway. His family was there for him and supported him through his breakup with his ex, Janice. Even when Janice came back into the picture, dropping a huge bomb on everyone, his brother’s stuck it out with him. On the other hand, Gabby’s family had her back through her breakup with Mike and supported her when she felt like she wasn’t ever meant to find true love. Gabby blames herself for a lot of things that aren’t her fault (you’ll find out more about these things when you read the book) and it’s pretty irritating. It’s not necessarily a character flaw, but just that she’s too eager to take the blame for things she shouldn’t. Mason helps her see who and what she deserves. They both grow tremendously through their relationship with the other. This book was fantastic and such an easy, enjoyable read. 5 stars!!
“I will love you until I can’t physically love you anymore.”
“I realized today, that while it’s true I’ll never be able to correct my past actions, I don’t have to deprive myself of love anymore. Because the one I want to love is right in front of me. It’s you, Emma.”
This was a very sweet story of learning to forgive. Everett, our leading man, is a football star with a huge secret. He has an illegitimate daughter that he has never told anyone about. This secret weighs heavily on him and although it definitely helps with his moves on the field, it makes him a very angry, unapproachable person. So much so that the big wigs of his football team hire a PA to keep tabs on him. The PA is Emma, our sweet, spunky heroine. She desperately needed a job and after a video went viral of her tearing Everett a new one at her old place of employment, she lands the job as his PA. Of course, she immediately catches feelings and it’s not too long after that Everett has fallen into her trap and admits that he’s caught feelings too. It’s a cute, fun story with lots of push and pull and just a tidbit of drama mixed together. Emma helps Everett forgive himself for the mistakes he made in the past and Everett, in turn, helps Emma realize all that she’s worth. This was the perfect pallet cleanser if you’re looking for something you can read in one night with a glass of wine. Great characters and an even greater plot. 4 stars!
“The act of forgiving isn’t for the one who is forgiving. It’s for the one who forgives, who has been holding on to something for so long.”
Goodness, I adored every second of this sweet, heartwarming story about two long lost friends coming together again after years of being separated by fate. This charming story focuses in on a big part of our world today: homelessness. John and his adorable five year old son, Jack, are homeless. They have been for six months; living on the streets, sleeping on the cold concrete. Even worse is that it’s winter time. Charlotte is driving by the homeless intersection in town and is stunned by seeing a child, Jack, sleeping there, homeless. It reminds her of herself as a young child. She stops her car and runs over to the child and the man the child has clung to. When she sees who the man is, her world stops spinning. It’s her long lost friend John. You see, John and Charlotte grew up together, in an orphanage. They promised to never leave each other, but Charlotte was adopted by a nice family and couldn’t stay behind with John. She hasn’t seen him since…until now. This story follows both the timeline of John and Charlotte’s present adventure of falling in love, and their past adventure of meeting and becoming best friends. It’s flawlessly crafted and beautifully written.
My favorite thing about this book isn’t the writing though. No. It’s the music. Our author did something I’ve never seen done before. He wrote his own music, produced it, put it on Spotify in a playlist made for this book, and, throughout the novel, interjects each of the songs so you can listen along as you read. IT WAS SO COOL. I can’t even explain how impactful it was and how much it adds to the depth of this story. Wow, just wow. I am so impressed. 5 stars for going above and beyond and doing something I never dreamed would be done. Music and lyrics speak to me on so many levels, and this really solidified this novel for me. Bravo and wonderful job, Kyle!!
Dying for a fast-paced, super sexy, interesting read? Well this is the book for you! Etched in Stone has subtle 50 Shades hints throughout, leaving you drooling. Our leading lady, Vanessa, graduates college and gets a job at Stone Corp. This is a dream job for her and she’s so excited! Then her mom gets caught stealing…and everything goes downhill. After her father died, her mother became a habitual shoplifter as her way of handling the grief. The police officer that came to arrest her mother at the scene, convinces Vanessa to go undercover at her new job and investigate insider trading. So…she’s basically blackmailed into snooping around on her boss in order to keep her mom out of jail. Our story continues and she falls in love with the CEO, Sebastian Stone. For Sebastian it’s insta-love. He knows she’s the woman for him and before the novel is even over he’s already proposing marriage. Everything turns out alright in the end, as it usually does and leaves us in a warm and happy place. This review is pretty short due to the length of the novel. There wasn’t much time dedicated to character development or relationships. I wish we were given a little more backstory on Vanessa’s father and the importance of the necklace at the beginning. I found that part very interesting, but then it kind of dropped off. I enjoyed this novel, especially the silly “stone” jokes that went back and forth between our two lovers. I will repeat again: the novel was very short and VERY fast-paced, so if you’re into that, then this is a perfect read for you! 4 stars!
I’m at a loss for words. Friends, if you haven’t read K.L. Cottrell’s work, you are missing out BIG TIME. I will, without a doubt, read anything she writes. She is simply THAT talented. She writes THAT well, what a gift. Her work is all about the journey, how her characters get to where they need to be. Nothing is rushed or forced, it’s written the way you might imagine a musician composes a song, slowly yet beautifully. Each phrase has a purpose and every chapter adds a little more to the storyline. Her characters are well-crafted and smartly designed. They are each perfectly flawed, as all humans are, but that’s what makes them so relatable and interesting. Cottrell captures your mind and ties you to her characters, you can’t stop reading, you can’t let go of the innate desire to know what happens next, you don’t come up for air until the story ends. It’s the best kind of addiction. Cottrell has mastered romance. Romance is about more than stolen kisses and heated stares. It’s about what it means to fall in love, it’s about the journey of the fall. Our author hits the nail on the head every single time.
“Sometimes you don’t realize you need something in your life until it shows up.”
When You Know is my first taste of paranormal romance since Twilight. And if you know me at all, you know I was and still am a die hard Twilight fan. Team Edward for life, peeps. I say that now because this book is nothing like what I expected when I was first told it fell into the “paranormal” genre. There aren’t any witches or vampires. It’s so much richer and deeper than that. This book is about a girl who can see the future. Now, not necessarily in the way you think, so don’t get ahead of yourself. Our leading lady, Hallie, has visions in the form of dreams and they are very few and far between. But, when she does have them, there is always a purpose. Hallie comes from an abusive household in Ohio, she lives on her own, but still deals with residual mistreatment from her family. She’s been having visions her entire life, but has never been able to tell anyone about them. Then, one night she has a vision about a man and his son. It’s a happy vision, she doesn’t quite understand why she had it…until she is gifted with another vision of the father’s untimely death. She uses clues from her vision to figure out where this man and son live (in Texas, heck yeah!) and runs to them.
I won’t say much about what happens once Hallie gets to Texas, but I will say this. Do you believe in fate? In destiny? What about love at first sight? Well this novel deals with all of that and more. Hallie’s vision leads her to where she’s meant to be. Where she finds her true home and the people who she truly considers family. Her character arc is probably the most extensive I’ve ever read. She grows from having zero confidence and second guessing everything about herself to finding the strength to stick up for herself, the man she loves, and the young boy she adores. Guys, it’s inspiring. She is inspiring. THIS ENTIRE NOVEL IS INSPIRING.
“His presence feels like sunshine. It has been intense and blinding, yes, but it has also been warm and invigorating.”
Okay side note: I need to talk about a moment between Keaton, our leading man, and his son Mason. At one point in the novel, Mason is so smitten with Hallie that he begs his dad to buy her gifts to show his love. Keaton isn’t opposed…seeing as he’s also completely taken with her. But, as they start adding up all the things Mason wants to get for her, they realize it’s going to be a pretty expensive trip…and Mason says “I wish we really had a million dollars.” If they had a million dollars they could buy Hallie the world, right? All I could think about was that Bare Naked Ladies song, If I Had A Million Dollars. My father and I used to sing that song to each other allllll the time when I was younger. I would dance around the living room, belting it at the top of my lungs. I love that song so much, so this part of our novel was so special to me because it reminded me of that time in my life. Just needed to add that tidbit in my review 🙂
If you’re looking for something to read that might change your life, then as surely as ‘Texas’ is spelled with a T, this is the book for you *wink wink*. When readers talk about books that changed the way they view the world, it’s always the stories that leave you thinking, leave you with questions and thoughts. “Tattoo memories” as Keaton would say. Well this book was a tattoo memory for me. Keep in mind, Cottrell writes books on the longer side, so don’t expect to breeze through this one in a day or two. This is a slow burn, a delicious, gradual build up. This is a novel that will leave you thoughtful long after you’ve finished the last page. Take a deep breath and dive in, my friends. You will not regret it.
“Never let me go, I beg him silently. Please. Never.”
It’s now pretty clear to me that I’m into MC romances. Never really thought it would be, but there’s really something about a guy on a motorcycle, isn’t there? I read the first book in this series a while back and loved it, but this one stole my heart.
Our leading man, Judge, is the president of his motorcycle club/gang and ends up kidnapping Ophelia one night after he falsely accused her of stalking him and his boys. She was stalking them…through the grocery store..because she thought Judge was hot. LOL. It was all a big miscommunication, but then later that night, it is discovered that her apartment was broken into and ransacked and it’s not safe for her to go home. She ends up staying with Judge and after many days of playing cat and mouse, they finally jump into bed together. They fall in love. It’s so sweet and sexy to witness and I loved every moment of it. Ophelia (Judge calls her Princess) is very quick witted, opinionated, and strong willed. She doesn’t back down easy and she’s always ready for a fight. That’s part of the reason that Judge falls for her so quickly. He loves her attitude and spunk. They are a match made in heaven. Judge, with his quiet, internal personality and O with her external, guns-a-blazing mindset.
This book was definitely a wild and delicious ride. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and cant wait to check out more of Layla Frost’s work. 4 stars for this beaut! Great work!
I choose you and I will not leave you. “Everyone leaves,” I said, my tears blurring my vision. “They don’t mean to, but they do.”
This was the first book I’ve read by Emma Slate, and I was not disappointed. I don’t often read MCs because they don’t usually appeal to me, but something about the Blue Angels called my name and I had to give this book a shot. Boy, am I glad that I did. I haven’t laughed and cried so much in one book in a really long time. This book is worth every second of your time.
This is actually a really long story. A lot longer than what I normally read, so I’m not going to summarize in the way I usually do. I’m going to give the best synopsis I can in about 3 sentences: Mia meets Colt at the bar she works at and they share a smoldering kiss. Mia’s boss is into some shady stuff and Mia gets caught in the crosshairs and needs protection, so she goes to the Blue Angels (Colt’s people) and they take her in. Mia and Colt fall in love and then a lot of terrible stuff happens, but then our lovers get their HEA. The entire novel is much more interesting than my brief explanation, but you’ll have to read it to get all the juicy details. And maaaan are there some delicious tidbits in there that I am going to go back and re-read asap! This booooooook!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this read. It took me a little longer, but it was worth it. I can’t wait to continue reading more of Emma Slate’s work, now that I’ve discovered her. What a gem! 5 stars for this great novel.
Stealing Our Hearts 