Mini Reviews

Here are some quick reviews of books I’ve read the past month and a half. Life got in the way and I haven’t had much down time to read. I hate when that happens. 😦

The Follow 2: Blocked by Eliza David

King and Shauna are deep in their relationship. Things are going great for both of their careers. King is tasked with producing the soundtrack for an upcoming film. It’s a great opportunity but unfortunately he is experiencing writer’s block. This causes tension in King’s and Shauna’s relationship because Shauna isn’t familiar with the process that King goes through to create music. Things gets worse when King asks his former flame to help him write the song.

I loved revisiting King and Shauna. Both of them got on my nerves with their issues and juvenile ways. There was a lot of immaturity going on it’s hard to believe these people are professionals and in their early 30s. I enjoyed the book despite King and Shauna being too stupid to live. LOL! I will say that I felt like the author took the easy route with Shauna’s relationship with someone from her job. Made it too easy for King to be the good guy even though he was no way innocent in his behavior.

Rating: C+

Princess of Zamibia by Delaney Diamond
Dahlia and Kofi had a whirlwind romance that ended in heartbreak and distrust. Kofi returns three years later to claim the heir to the Zamibia throne. He gives Dahlia two options: return to Zamibia with him or live without her son.

I love a second-chance romance and secret baby romance. My two favorite tropes. I would have liked it better if the hero wasn’t such a prick in the beginning. I didn’t like Kofi for most of the book. Yes he was hurt that Dahlia kept his son from him but he never gave her a chance to explain her side. Also, he doesn’t trust her due to some shady dealings done by her boss that Kofi thinks that Dahlia did. Again, Kofi would not listen to Dahlia or let her clear her name. His high-handedness was annoying. Yes he’s royalty but he was also an arsehole. The romance moves pretty quickly. There’s some added drama (which I thought was unnecessary) towards the end but alls well that ends well. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

Rating: C

Something Special by Tiffany Patterson
We met Gabriella and Jamal in the Safe Space series. Their relationship was contentious in that series and nothing has changed. The sexual tension between these characters was off the charts. It got to the point where I yelled, stop arguing and bone already! I enjoyed this book a lot. I could not put it down. I loved revisiting Chanel and Xavier (from Safe Space series). I will say that the last bit of the book, the author added, in my opinion, unnecessary drama with a new character. I felt that it was out of the blue and interrupted the flow of the story. Everything was going smoothly and to throw this wrench in the plot took me aback. And then it was resolved rather quickly. Why add it at all? Thankfully it didn’t ruin the book for me.

Rating: B-

Review: Let Me Love You by Alexandria House

Title: Let Me Love You
Series: McClain Brothers, #1
Author: Alexandria House
Published: Februray 5, 2018
Pages: 322
Publisher: Self-published
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: C+

Favorite quote: “And this motherfucker is wearing gray jogging pants.”

summary from Goodreads:
Trying to put past hurts behind you is hard when your ex is a fool, but buoyed by child support and alimony, Jo Walker is moving forward with her life, pursuing a career, raising her little girl, and trying to live in peace. She believes she has all the bases covered in her world. But what about her heart?

Rap legend Everett “Big South” McClain is divorced, too, knows all about failed relationships, and has relegated his love life to casual connections rather than pursuing something real. That is, until he lays eyes on Jo.

She’s exactly what he never knew he needed.

He’s what’s been missing from her world.

Will she accept what he has to offer and let him love her?

Review: The Bittersweet Bride by Vanessa Riley

Title: The Bittersweet Bride
Series: Advertisements for Love, #1
Author: Vanessa Riley
Published: January 29, 2018
Pages: 259
Published: Entangled Amara
Genre: Historical
Source: Netgalley
Rating: C
Purchase: Amazon

summary from Goodreads:
Widow Theodosia Cecil needs a husband to help protect her son. The former flower seller turned estate owner posts an ad in the newspaper, and no one is more surprised than she when her first love, the man she thought dead, reappears.

Ewan Fitzwilliam has been at war for six years. Now, the second son of a powerful earl is back but his beloved Theo needs a husband and will not consider him. She believes Ewan left her—in desperate straits—so she denies the feelings she still harbors for the handsome, scarred soldier. Theo and playwright Ewan must overcome bitter lies and vengeful actions that ruined their youthful affair. Theo must reveal her deepest secret in order to reclaim the love that has long been denied.

Review: Tempest by Beverly Jenkins

Title: Tempest
Series: Old West, #3
Author: Beverly Jenkins
Published: January 30, 2018
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 384
Genre: Historical romance
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: C

summary from Goodreads:
What kind of mail-order bride greets her intended with a bullet instead of a kiss? One like Regan Carmichael—an independent spirit equally at home in denims and dresses. Shooting Dr. Colton Lee in the shoulder is an honest error, but soon Regan wonders if her entire plan to marry a man she’s never met is a mistake. Colton, who buried his heart along with his first wife, insists he only wants someone to care for his daughter. Yet Regan is drawn to the unmistakable desire in his gaze.

Regan’s far from the docile bride Colton was expecting. Still, few women would brave the wilds of Wyoming Territory for an uncertain future with a widower and his child. The thought of having a bold, forthright woman like Regan in his life—and in his arms—begins to inspire a new dream. And despite his family’s disapproval and an unseen enemy, he’ll risk all to make this match a real union of body and soul.

Review: Scoring with the Wrong Twin by Naima Simone

Title: Scoring with the Wrong Twin
Series: WAGS, #1
Author: Naima Simone
Published: January 15, 2018
Publisher: Entangled Brazen
Pages: 175
Genre: Contemporary
Source: Purchased
Rating: D

summary from Goodreads:

Shy, awkward Sophia Cruz has a hard time telling her vivacious identical twin “no.” But when her sister begs her to swap places for a modeling shoot, she caves … again. Then Zephirin Black walks onto the set. The brooding, aloof, and gorgeous tight end for the Washington Warriors. But she can keep it professional… She has to. Because the adorkable Cruz twin has no luck with guys once they compare her to her sister.

After a bad break-up, Zeph hasn’t been big on second chances—and even less with trust. But he finds himself giving please-call-me-by-my-middle-name-Sophia both. The woman he’d dismissed as a spoiled cover model is different from the first time he met her. Quirkier. Funnier. Definitely sexier. What started as one night turns into another…and another…and another…

Still, Sophia can’t go on keeping her secret from him. But telling Zeph the truth will mean losing him for good.

Review: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Title: The Wedding Date
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Published: January 30, 2018
Pages: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Rom Com
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: C-/D+

summary from Goodreads:
A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel.

Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn’t normally do. But there’s something about Drew Nichols that’s too hard to resist.

On the eve of his ex’s wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend…

After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she’s the mayor’s chief of staff. Too bad they can’t stop thinking about the other…

They’re just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century–or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want…

Promo: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Excerpt:

Alexa danced with Lauren, letting the movement and the laughter shake away her annoying thoughts. When she felt a hand on her waist, she turned to see Drew behind her and laughed again, at how ridiculous the evening had been and how much fun she was suddenly having. He took ahold of one of her hands and swung her around to face him and laughed back down at her. Other members of the wedding party joined their group and danced with and around them, but song after song came on, and he never moved from her side.

“Water?” he said in her ear after they’d been on the dance floor for a long time.

“Yes, please.” She walked with him over to the bar.

She glanced up at the ornate clock over the bar, surprised at how late it had gotten. And how much she didn’t want this night to end. Damn it, it had been fun to be Drew’s fake girlfriend, but she knew that once the clock struck midnight, so to speak, the fairy tale would be all over.

He leaned against the bar, his jacket off, his bow tie untied, a little sweaty and disheveled from dancing. Good Lord, this guy was hot.

He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his tan forearms. She wanted to run her fingers up and down them and feel how warm and strong they were.

She needed to stop letting her imagination run away with her.

“Um,” she said. “It’s getting late, and if I want to make the last BART train back to the East Bay, I should probably leave pretty soon.”

Why had she said that? Why, when she was standing next to a hot guy, basically panting over him? If she was Maddie, hell, if she was Amy, she would have grabbed one of those hot forearms and wrapped it around her body, letting him know what she wanted without having to say anything. Sadly, she was Alexa, so she would flee instead.

He put his water bottle down and looked at her.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” she said. Olivia and Maddie would get mad at her for not throwing herself at him, but they didn’t understand that she just didn’t know how. Plus, rejection from this guy was the last thing her self-esteem needed. Talk about the opposite of getting back on the horse; that would make her avoid horses, and stables, and all farm animals for another few years. So to speak.

He stepped closer to her and put his hand on her waist. Her hand landed on his arm, and, without even meaning to, she ran her fingers up and down. Oh God, touching him like this was as good as she’d thought it would be.

“Or”—he looked straight down into her eyes—“you could stay.”

A question was in his eyes, and a smile hovered over his lips. His thumb drew slow circles on her hip and then moved up her side to her ribs. His other hand moved up to her face and traced the outline of her lips with his fingers.

She shivered.

He waited.

“Or,” she said, “I could stay.”

Review: Be My Forever Bride by Martha Kennerson

Title: Be My Forever Bride
Series: The Kingsleys of Texas
Author: Martha Kennerson
Published: January 16, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin Kimani
Pages: 224
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: D

summary from Goodreads:
He vowed to love and cherish her…It was like something out of a fairy tale: being swept off her feet, then eloping with her one true love, Houston oil tycoon Brice Kingsley. Then a devastating diagnosis and a threat from her past forced Brooke Smith Kingsley to leave the man she loved. Now she has a chance to make things right, but only if she can keep her secret–and her distance–from her irresistible husband.Though he couldn’t accept Brooke’s reasons for running away, Brice never gave up on her or their marriage. And with the beautiful tax attorney back in his life, reigniting passion stronger than before, he can’t bear to let her go ever again. Even as a revenge-seeking blackmailer schemes to bring down the Kingsley empire, Brice will fight for their future–a love that’s for now and forever.

Review: The Italian Billionaire’s New Year Bride by Scarlet Wilson

Title: The Italian Billionaire’s New Year Bride
Author: Scarlet Wilson
Published: January 1, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 256
Genre: Contemporary
Source: Netgalley
Rating: C-
Purchase: Amazon

summary from Goodreads:
“Ms. Gates, would you like to earn a quarter of a million dollars?”

Phoebe must be dreaming. She’s bowled over by gorgeous Italian billionaire Matteo Bianchi’s offer of redecorating a spectacular house in the Hamptons and a mansion in Rome…and Phoebe can’t refuse! It’s just what she needs to take her mind off losing her fiance.But when they’re snowed in together on New Year’s Eve, their attraction explodes like the fireworks outside. And as Phoebe works her magic across the two properties, Matteo wonders… Could he finally open his heart and make her his bride?

Review: Overtime for Love by Synithia Williams

Title: Overtime for Love
Author: Synithia Williams
Published: January 1, 2018
Pages: 224
Publisher: Harlequin Kimani Romance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: C+

summary from Goodreads:
Desire is a game without rules 

Optimistic and hardworking, Angela Bouler prides herself on getting through life without asking for an assist. School, two jobs, caring for her nephew, Cory—she’s keeping all together…then Isaiah Reynolds bounces into her life. The Jacksonville Gators’ star forward is coaching at Cory’s summer camp, but guardians and mentors aren’t supposed to mix—and certainly not surrender to red-hot kisses…

Isaiah has an image of the perfect partner in his head, and it doesn’t quite mesh with Angela’s hectic life. Or her evening job serving drinks at a gentlemen’s club. But deep down, she’s the only woman who sparks a true connection. He’s expected to keep his image spotless, but instead he’s risking everything on a strong, sexy, complicated woman. Winning her heart won’t be easy, but it’s becoming the only play that really matters…