Review: The Night Before by Jacinta Howard

Title: The Night Before
Author: Jacinta Howard
Published: December 14, 2017
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 135
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: B

summary from Goodreads
Ava couldn’t believe she’d let her best friend talk her into coming to a mind numbing holiday party on the night before Christmas. As Ava counts the minutes before she can leave, all she can think about is how much she wants to snuggle up on the sofa with a crappy holiday movie and drink too much eggnog (with rum). That is, until an old classmate, Elias Young, sits next to her at the party. Elias is way too charming to be any good for her, but fate forces Ava to put that tired theory to the ultimate test. Is it happenstance? Serendipity? Or, is the night before Christmas also the night before everything Ava thinks she knows about love changes for good?

Review: Merry Christmas, Baby by Alexandria House

Title: Merry Christmas, Baby
Author: Alexandria House
Published: December 11, 2017
Pages: 22
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: B

summary from Goodreads:
Having to work on Christmas Eve is bad. Having to work the graveyard shift on Christmas Eve is worse. Having to work the graveyard shift on Christmas Eve when your life is a mess? Well, that’s some BS. There doesn’t seem to be a Merry Christmas in store for Sunday Marks, but maybe one call can change that.

Review: Love, Lies, & Loyalty by Shelia Sewell

Title: Love, Lies & Loyalty
Author: Shelia Sewell
Published: October 25, 2017
Pages: 174
Publisher: Self
Genre: Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: D

summary from Goodreads:
Sheree, the outspoken teacher. Shaina, the unhappily married housewife and mother. Morgan, the career-driven attorney. Maven, the bonafide hood girl turned business owner. Best friends for over two decades.

Every Friday night you can find Sheree, Shaina, Morgan, and Maven sitting at their reserved VIP table at Rico’s, the most popular thirty plus lounge in the city. The girls enjoy exquisite cuisine and specialized cocktails while dishing about life, love, and relationships.

There’s usually no room for secrets among these friends because they’ve shared everything: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright scandalous and illegal. But that is all about to change.

Life has a way of bringing trouble right to your front door, and that is exactly what happens to these women. The past comes out to play and wreaks havoc on the present. Old flames burn out, new ones ignite, and everyone gets burned in the process.

When secrets and lies threaten the bond between these friends, will the loyalty and the love they have for each other be enough to see them through? Or will the reservation at Rico’s be put on hold forever?

Review: Dance with Me by Alexia Daria

Title: Dance with Me
Series: Dance Off, #2
Author: Alexia Daria
Published: December 12, 2017
Publisher: Swerve
Pages: 308
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: C+

summary from Goodreads:
Natasha Díaz is having a day. She’s trying to prove she can make it as a professional dancer, but she’s overworked, out of cash, and her roommate has just moved out. When she comes home to find a hole in her ceiling and her bedroom flooded, she’s desperate enough to crash with the one guy she can’t quit. She accepts his offer with one condition: no sleeping together while she’s living with him.

Dimitri Kovalenko has never lived with a woman before. But when Tasha’s in need of a place to stay, he suggests she move in without a second thought. He accepts her condition, hoping she won’t stick to it. They’re good together, both in the ballroom and the bedroom. Since their first dance, she’s never been far from his thoughts. Sure, she’s a pro and he’s one of her show’s judges, but they’re not currently filming, so no one needs to know.

Living in close quarters shows Dimitri a side of Natasha he’s never seen before, and he likes it. A lot. Too bad she’s doing everything in her power to keep him at arm’s length. When an injury forces Natasha to take it easy or risk her ability to dance, it’s his chance to show her that the rules have changed, and she can trust him with her heart.

Review: Whatever It Takes by Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker

Title: Whatever It Takes
Author: Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker
Published: December 4, 2017
Publisher: Pocket Books
Genre: Erotic Romance
Pages: 90
Source: NetGalley
Rating: D
Purchase: Amazon

summary from Goodreads

India Parker has gotten to the point in her life where she accepts she will always be alone. All of that changes, however, when her best girlfriend asks her for help in catching her husband cheating on camera.

When India returns the camera, she comes across pictures of Devin, her friend’s twenty-three-year-old son. Only he’s not a boy anymore, and he wants to prove to India that he’s man enough for her.

Review: My Boo by Daaimah S Poole

Title: My Boo
Author: Daaimah S. Poole
Published: December 4, 2017
Pages: 85
Genre: Erotica
Publisher: Pocket Star
Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: D-

summary from Goodreads

Gina seems to have it all: a great job, her own house, her own car, and a steady boyfriend. The only problem is she’s in Philadelphia, and Chris, her long distance boo, lives in Washington, DC. They’ve been dating for a year, and Gina is finding it harder and harder to come home to an empty bed. But she and Chris just can’t find the time to be together. Khalil, her best friend and roomie’s ex, however, might be able to show her just what she’s missing…

Review: Leslie’s Curl & Dye by D.L. White

AhhTitle: Leslie’s Curl & Dye
Author: D.L. White
Published: September 9, 2017
Publisher: Self
Pages: 325
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: B
Purchase: Amazon

summary from Goodreads
Leslie Baker, owner of Potter Lake’s original hometown beauty shop, the Curl & Dye, has a problem.
Her problem isn’t her dwindling customer base. And it’s not the shifty, shady Mayor of the idyllic lakeside town.
Her problem is a muscular, handsome, 6’4” former basketball superstar with a solid physique and colorful sleeve tattoos. Kade “KC” Cavanaugh is back in Potter Lake following his NBA retirement and the business he’s opened, a slick and shiny co-ed salon, directly competes with Curl & Dye.

KC is all too eager to pick things up where they left off fifteen years ago, but Leslie can’t forget how he pushed her away after an intimate encounter, then dropped out of college and left her behind for the bright lights of professional ball.
Though she won’t admit it, time and maturity have eaten away at Leslie’s anger and her long-buried attraction to Kade Cavanaugh has resurfaced.
With a vengeance.

Now there is a larger problem: Leslie and KC find themselves in the center of a city wide drama, and with both sides of Potter Lake at war and their livelihoods at stake, the two have to stop sniping at each other and start working together.
And maybe, in the process, forget the past and revive a budding romance that was very special…a very long time ago

Review: The Sweetest Part by LaShae Latimore

Title: The Sweetest Part
Author: LaShae Latimore
Published: October 23, 2017
Pages: 285
Genre: Urban Fiction
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: D-/F
Purchase: Amazon

summary from Goodreads:

Miles Lundy, a decorated detective from New Jersey is a stand-up guy…. on paper. He lands his dream job right out of college and manages to work his way up within the Police department by the time he’s thirty-five despite the odds stacked against him. He eventually marries the love of his life, Shayne and proceeds to make a life for himself and his wife. Miles has knack for trying to always do the right thing. His only vice is his weakness for the ladies. With an addiction to the feminine physique and a reputation for loving, leaving and moving on to the next, drama ensues.

Shayne has managed to look the other way for years when faced with her husband’s indiscretions. But how many second chances does it take to get to fed up? Shayne un covers yet another of Miles’ infidelities, but this one proves to be far more damaging than she could have imagined. Slowly, Shayne’s sanity starts to slip away and a Savage is born. Sick of playing the victim, She sets out to seek sweet revenge stopping at nothing to show Miles’ how expensive the cost of screwing over the wrong woman can be. A deadly course of events brings Miles face to face with his sins leaving him waist deep in a web of lies, betrayal and Murder. Will Miles have the strength to fight his demons and be the man that he set out to be, or will karma have something a little different in mind?

Review: Stranded with the Navy Seal by Susan Cliff

Title: Stranded with the Navy Seal
Series: Team Twelve, #1
Author: Susan Cliff
Published: November 1, 201
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 288
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: NetGalley
Rating: C
Purchase: Amazon

summary from Goodreads

For one navy SEAL, danger and passion are brewing in paradise 

Working on a cruise ship was supposed to be the perfect distraction for chef Cady Crenshaw. Instead, it made her the perfect target. Abducted and thrown overboard into foreign waters, she has only one shot at survival…and it comes at the hands of an irresistible ally.

Navy SEAL Logan Starke’s protective instincts were locked and loaded the moment he met Cady at the ship’s bar. When a violent struggle to take down her captors leaves Logan and Cady stranded on a deserted island, he leaps into rescue mode. But the hot sand and the even hotter attraction between them can’t be denied…and temptation could be the deadliest threat yet.

Review: Always by Joy Avery

Title: Always
Series: The Lassiter Sisters, #3
Author: Joy Avery
Published: November 10, 2017
Pages: 133
Genre: Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: C+
Purchase: Amazon

summary from Goodreads:
How does love repair a shattered heart…

After her recent divorce, a new relationship is the last thing on Sadona Lassiter’s mind. Who needs the complication? Unfortunately, Mount Pleasance, North Carolina’s handsome veterinarian is starting to grow on her. A huge complication. She can’t deny her attraction to Keith Fremont, but is she ready to risk her heart again?

…piece by delicate piece.

Keith’s content with his mundane life—all work and no play—until Sadona strolls into his practice with an injured dog. Captivated by the beautiful woman, he’s determined to get to know her. And he does. But will he allow a devastating betrayal in his past to keep him from securing a future with the woman he loves?