Heiress in Red Silk by Madeline Hunter book review

I have to say that I really love this book!  I read it twice before writing this review.  The beginning of the story had the best hook when one of the main characters, Kevin Radnor, was introduced as being on the path to eccentricity.  I got the sense right away that he was not going to be sticking to societal conventions and expectations.  I had to laugh out loud when he got up and left the brothel before doing what he came to do because of a bonnet. Rosamund Jameson was also a lovely, intelligent and fun character! I loved her determination to make a good life for herself. The unconventional pairing of these two characters is the best and makes for an engaging read.

As you can tell by the title, Rosamund is the heiress and it is a life that she was not prepared for.  I had to admire her for not giving up her love of designing hats and bonnets, even though it was frowned upon for people of means to work.  One of my favorite scenes is where Rosamund is looking at Kevin’s moth collection and calls him out for being weird.  That right there set the tone for the rest of the relationship for me.

Both Rosamund and Kevin have what it takes to be successful in business ventures, despite what society expected of them.  This was definitely part of the fun of their story. The sex scenes were off the charts.  I may have gone back to reread a few parts 😉How can one resist a man who puts his partners pleasure ahead of his own? Swoon.  Their trip to Paris…soooooo romantic.  His eccentric personality made him inventive in the bedroom *fans self* I was totally rooting for them the entire time. 

If you are looking for a historical romance to immerse yourself into; read this book.  The historical detail, the description, the settings, the characters all stand out to me. The dialogue will make you laugh out loud and whisk you away into another world.  I am a huge fan of Madeline Hunter’s books and this one does not disappoint.  It was published at the end of April this year and I am a bit late in posting the review, the red dress on the cover will make it a perfect July read 🏖

A Wolf After My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson book review

Well, heeeeeeelllllllooooooo Oz Adway, our sexy wolf shifter accountant. Oz has recently decided to dabble in investigating social work cases of cub shifters, which is quite the departure from accounting. As you can expect, his first case is a doozy. Readers will be introduced to Lila Kai, an ordinary “stable” (human). However, she doesn’t even flinch at the idea of there being a shifter community, so there is something obviously unique about her. As the story starts, she is moving into a cursed house and takes in a wearbear cub. Totally normal, right? Oz is tasked with finding the cub and it’s also a bit of a test to see if he has what it takes to be Interspecies Placement Agency investigator. This book is a great follow up to Bears Behaving Badly, where we first meet Oz. 

In this world, weird is the norm. If you like paranormal romance with lots of humor than this book is for you. Davidson has a talent for the strange and the weird being funny. It’s unexpected to crack up during a suspense arc, but it totally happens in these books. It’s what makes them unique. It’s definitely more focused on the mystery and a bit less on the steamy romance, but there is a happily ever after. I would argue that Lila totally deserved getting something good in life and Oz is just the man to be with. One of my favorite details about Lila is that she drives a decommissioned ambulance and people kept mistaking her for a real EMT. So, she did go and get EMT training, but didn’t do it as her job. It was kind of a backup because of what she drove. 

The mystery part of the story is about trying to dismantle the shifter trafficking ring. There are kernels of truth within the story about racism and supremacist groups. They are not in your face, but are the foundation for the shifters going missing. This book is fun, with enough action and suspense to make you keep reading well after bedtime. If you love shifter paranormal romance, this series is for you!

Meant To Be Immortal by Lynsay Sands book review

Are you ready to fantasize about a hot, nerdy immortal (aka Vampire)? Well, Mac Argeneau just might be the book boyfriend for you. Mac is a hematologist doing research on blood for Immortals. Totally makes sense if you have immersed yourself in this world before. If you have kept up with the previous 31 books in this series, you will know that the family trees are huge and intertwined. Mac is one of Basil’s 23 children and he has been on his own for a very long time. Sands does not disappoint on the bedroom scenes, but I would say that this was a bit more of a slow burn because Mac was trying to woo CJ and not just surprise her with the whole Life Mate story. I mean, wooing is super romantic. It gets even better when the rest of the family steps in to “help”. Readers will recognize some of the family members from previous books, but you could jump right in without knowing all the details from their backstories. They are funny and determined so a few of the scenes will make you laugh out loud as they try to help with the wooing. 

I think you will like CJ’s character. She is a former police officer who is now an investigator of the police. She does the detective work when there is a complaint against a police officer. Because of that, she is not very well liked by the officer or the department she is investigating. However, she is called in to investigate a local arson case because that particular small town does not have enough police to take care of it. It just so happens that it’s Mac’s house that caught on fire. He had just moved in and he barely escaped. In fact, it would have been impossible for a human to escape such a devastating fire. So, now she has two investigations to conduct in the same small town. 

I love the Argeneau world and I keep coming back to read all the new releases. I enjoy the author's style of writing and the humor sprinkled throughout the books. I also love the sexy scenes and the great chemistry that all the couples have. Nothing better than a happy ending! I highly recommend this series, especially if you want to escape into a bit of fantasy set in the real world. I just read somewhere else today about a STEM romance and I sort of laughed at that term. However, I think I would consider having a lab and being a hematologist fits right into the Science and Technology part of the acronym, so maybe we label this a paranormal STEM romance???

Then There Was You by Mona Shroff book review

I think you will fall in love with these characters. The featured couple is Annika and Daniel. Annika is a kindergarten teacher and moonlights at a bar. Daniel is an ER nurse practitioner and flight medic. Both work a lot to compensate for other issues going on in their lives. It’s clear that Annika and Daniel have some serious chemistry going on and you can’t help but root for them to get together. Annika’s family is trying to match her with Sajan, who is a doctor. Daniel is still coping with a divorce. There is a lot going on, but it’s all very realistic and maybe not so far removed from what the average person deals with. 

I thought this book was going to be a light hearted romance romp, but it turned out to explore issues of racism, miscarriage, school shootings, grief and there was some violence. It was most definitely a tear jerker, several times over. I wasn’t expecting that, but I couldn’t put the book down. It was engaging and I really wanted these two to get to that happy ending. I love the connections that grew from the secondary characters. They were quite well developed. The dialogue flowed smoothly and the setting was well described. I recommend this book for when you are in that emotional mood and don’t mind shedding a few tears.

Forgiven by Garrett Leigh Book Review

Review:

If you are in the mood for a second chance romance, I highly recommend giving Forgiven a try. The main couple in this book is Luke Daley and Mia Amour. Luke left town ten years ago. Mia got on with her life and moved to Paris. They both find themselves coming back to Rushmere, England at just about the same time. Mia opens up a florist shop and Luke takes over his uncle’s construction business. Now, they just have to pick up the pieces of what is left of their relationship. 

I really love the name the author chose for the character Mia because it just really fits the story. I don’t always comment on the names, but this just stood out to me. I also love that the dialogue was not Americanized. It stayed true to the author's voice and the British setting. Both of the characters faced tragedy in their lives and led them to the decisions that drove them apart in the first place. There are a lot of emotions to unpack and deal with to set this second chance into motion. As you can guess, it helps to have some support when trying to deal with emotional pain. I was a little surprised by the element of suspense in the storyline and the reader is treated to some mystery and action as Mia, Luke and the police try to figure out who is stalking Mia. The sex is steamy, the scenes are intense the characters take turns being frustrating. I think you will find yourself cheering for Luke and Mia to work out their issues because they clearly belong together.

Mine to Keep by Rhenna Morgan book review

I love Rhenna Morgan’s Haven Brotherhood series 💙💙💙. A few of those books are something that I have been rereading during this pandemic season. Escaping into a fun fantasy world is just what I need. NOLA Knights is a spinoff of the Haven series and there are some recurring characters, which is super fun to see. You can read the book as a stand alone, but I am very particular about my series reading 😉 

Our two main characters (who don’t know they are looking for love...yet) are Bonnie Drummond and Roman Kozlov. Bonnie has tried to do her best to get away from her family that does any thing to cheat the system or con someone out of their money. Roman is an enforcer for Sergei Petrovyh and making strides in getting his own businesses up and running. He has a dark past and feels that he is not worthy of anything good in his life. He is trying to make up for things he did by moving forward as a man of honor. 

Bonnie’s father is sick and there is not a lot of money to pay for his medical bills. Bonnie works all the time, but it’s difficult for her to make ends meet. He brother and father go missing one night and Bonnie calls the only person she can think of to talk to. She calls Cassie and she brings the mafia! Bonnie doesn’t want any shady dealings, but she doesn’t expect to have feelings for Roman. Roman just came along to do his job and help someone in need, but things quickly changed as sparks started flying between him and Bonnie. 

I love that this book explores shades of gray in the world and in actions people take. Rhenna Morgan is a master at writing alpha characters who are bound and determined to keep their women safe and to provide for them. It may be a swoony fantasy, but it sure is a hot and sexy world to escape into. Throughout the series, she has her characters leave their past behind them and start over with a person they have fallen in love with. Roman loves with his entire soul and it takes a while for Bonnie to learn to trust him and allow him to take care of her. If you are ready for a strong, sexy Russian to fall in love with...you need to read this book!

Bayou Dreaming by Lexi Blake Book Review

I love Lexi Blake books! I was so excited to see this new small-town contemporary romance series. This is the third book and it’s Zep and Roxanne’s turn to fall in love. I really did crack up at their semi-flirting stage. I don’t really know what to call it. Roxanne left the NYPD and ended up in Papillon, Louisiana as a police officer because she had met Armie, her boss, at a law enforcement conference. He hired her when she came to him looking for a job. She needed a fresh start: new job, new town, new state, new friends. When she got there, she met the town bad boy and made what she thought was a bad decision. Zep wanted more and Roxie thought he was in it for the chase. She kept him sort of close and kept arresting him. Only in a small town could you throw someone in a jail cell to just keep an eye on them. I really did crack up at their semi-flirting stage. I don’t really know what to call it. I love that Zep didn’t really complain about it…I’d say he kind of looked forward to it because it was the only time Roxanne would spend with him. 

I loved this book so much that I read the ARC three times! A woman could easily fall in love with Zéphirin Guidry. OMG! So hot, sexy, smart, funny and kind. What more can a woman want? As the reader, you can see right away how much he gave up and my heart just hurt for him. The sex scenes were off the charts and I love the emotion that was detailed in them. So hot! The chemistry was amazing. Zep was so there for everything she needed. I love how the author made Zep show he cared by helping. All men need to learn from Zep 😉 His zest and enthusiasm for life was contagious. I could also feel Roxanne’s annoyance and frustration with her mom. I mean, who wants to hear that their eggs are shriveling up? And from their mother!?!?! You really get the sense that she was searching for where she belonged. Love, Love, Love!!! Read this book today. It just came out and I promise, it's soooooo good.