BOOK REVIEW- Heart Shaped Tattoo (Zaftig Dating Agency, #53) by Jane Fox *

    .

Dario: If I’m going to get stuck inside my tattoo shop, at least it’s with a gorgeous woman like Kodie.

Kodie: I can’t believe we’re trapped inside Dario’s shop. I just have to hope I make it through without doing anything too foolish in front of the hottest guy I've ever seen.

Sometimes fate needs a little help. Welcome to the files of the Zaftig Dating Agency, where alpha men find the curvy women of their dreams!

Each book in the series is a complete, standalone story.

This is a sweet but sexy short story romance, complete with insta-love and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. If you’re looking for an escape from everyday life with an alpha older man and the curvy BBW younger woman that he loves, this is the book for you!    AMAZON LINK

4 STARS

 

  I knew going in that this was going to be a shorter story with an insta-love attraction.  Usually I don't go in for those but I did enjoy this one.  Both Dario and Kodie were lonely but it also seemed like both had pretty much given up on finding that special someone.  It was pretty easy to hope that the agency had made a good possible match between the two.  The Agency was an unusual idea that I enjoyed both with the note at the beginning and the end..   I also enjoyed the interactions between both of the main characters and the sweet Epilogue at the end.  Don't be fooled though.  The story IS sweet but still has some heat as well. 

 I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW- The Greek Maiden and the English Lord by [Patty Apostolides]

      

Six year old Lily Montgomery wanders from her home in Patras on that fateful night of 1821 when the Ottomans set fire to the Greek city, and is captured by gypsies. Ten years later, she learns about her true identity from her gypsy grandmother and begins her search for her father, who is an English Lord and her mother, a Greek heiress. Her personal journey leads her to England, where she is informed by her cousin, Mrs. Bennington, that her father is away on a trip to the Indies and her mother presumably dead from the war. Lily is sent away to boarding school by Mrs. Bennington. There, she falls in love with Edward Grant, an English lord, but he is engaged to another. When Lily receives news that her father has died in a shipwreck, her whole world turns upside down. She has no funds and is forced to work as a maid to pay her tuition. Love wins the day, however, and a surprise ending will bring happiness to all.

AMAZON LINK 

3.5 STARS 

I liked this story but I can't say that I loved it. It just didn't pull me in as much as I was hoping.  Even with good backgrounds of different locations, history and clothing. 

It did have good main characters with definite challenges placed in front of them getting to their H.E.A.  Plenty of misunderstandings and people working for THEIR own agenda.  Sweet, gentle, trusting Lily gets roped into more than one person's agenda.  Take, Mrs.  Bennington for instance.  Now there was one cold, snooty, controlling, social climbing "witch".  I just kept waiting for her to stick her greedy "knife" in Lily's back.  

 It's a good thing that Lily does have some people in her corner.  Even though there was a time or two that it took a bit of time for what she needed to be conveyed to them. It also took Edward a while to wake up to the fact that he had feelings for Lily.  He was also a man of honor so he also struggled with that too.

One thing that I did notice was that Lily sure spent a fair amount of her time packing and unpacking from one place to another for awhile.

There is at least two surprise twists towards the end of the story. And a quick look at Lily's life afterwards, which I did enjoy.   

I will be giving it 3.5 Stars on Amazon for some of the good things.

 

BOOK REVIEW- Luca Vitiello (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles) by [Cora Reilly] *

 

 I was born a monster. Cruelty ran in my veins like poison. It ran in the veins of every Vitiello man, passed on from father to son, an endless spiral of monstrosity. A born monster shaped into an even worse monster by my father’s blade and fists and harsh words. I was raised to become Capo, to rule without mercy, to dish out brutality without a second thought.Raised to break others. When Aria was given to me in marriage, everyone waited with baited breath to see how fast I’d break her like my father broke his women. How I’d crush her innocence and kindness with the force of my cruelty.Breaking her would have taken little effort. It came naturally to me.I was gladly the monster everyone feared. Until her.Author's note: Bound By Honor in Luca's POV.    AMAZON LINK

3.5 STARS

 It ended up being darker than I even imagined.  While it was well written, the violence while expected was as I said darker than I expected.  All of the people in the story were well written when it came to depth.  And the "relationship" between Luca and Aria came as a big surprise to me.  Luca ended up having a depth  when with Aria that I wasn't expecting.
I  liked how Aria's siblings were close to each other in the story as was Luca and his brother.  Luca and his brother had quite the unique closeness.  Don't even get me started on their father, the current Capo.  He gave me the creepy shivers.  
So it ends up that I liked some parts of the story better than other parts.  That should explain the 3.5 Star rating I will be giving on Amazon.

 

Easiest Homemade Breakfast Sausage Seasoning

Easiest Homemade Breakfast Sausage Seasoning

   

https://texashomesteader.com/homemade-breakfast-sausage/