Thursday, February 12, 2026

bkfunnel/ Cuffing His Bride (Glamorous Brides# 1)by Cassi Hart

Book cover Cuffing His Bride by Cassi Hart  amazon

For any other questions, please contact:
Cassi Hart <cassi@cassihartromance.com>

 Amelia 

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Review by Feb 21, 2026Bksprout/ ROBERTO: An Off-limits Surprise Pregnancy Mafia Romance BY Claire Kirby

  Booksprout

 amazon

I took my dream job in an Atlantic City casino—then discovered my boss is a mafia attorney whose baby I now carry.

When my college roommate hires me as Marketing Manager at Conti Enterprises, I see it as my ticket to the top.

What I don't expect is her uncle Roberto—the mysterious executive whose dark eyes strip me bare and whose quiet authority slowly exposes a raw hunger I didn’t know existed within me.

At forty-four, the widowed attorney is everything I shouldn’t want.

Grumpy. Closed off. Lethally magnetic.

Late nights revitalizing our marketing campaign blur into something far more primal as I’m introduced to soft restraints and whispered commands.

He touches me as if I already belong to him and unlocks something deep inside me, as I realize I have fallen for this enigmatic man.

Then I find it—evidence of money laundering buried deep in files I review daily. My hands shake. My world tilts.

 The man I'm falling for is a criminal.

The family that embraced me could destroy everything I've built.

Roberto's confession shatters me—they're the notorious Conti crime family, and he's their legal weapon.

I'm planning my escape when twoSo pink lines appear.

Now I'm trapped between the safe life I left behind and a dangerous man whose baby is growing inside me—in a world I never knew existed.

Mature
Novel
Romance surprise pregnancy mafia romance age gap romance off-limits romance office romance best friend's uncle
Hosted by ARC Team
Note from the Author

This is the third stand-alone in The Conti Family Series. Both the first and second books were #1 Best Sellers with stellar reviews. The books can be read in any order, and you will not need to have read books one and two before enjoying ROBERTO.

Must review on:
Amazon
Optionally review on:
Goodreads
Bookbub
File(s) available:
EPUB (Send via email & download) 
 
----MY REVIEW NOTES TITLED:  Olivia gets tired of so many Lies and Secrets 
It starts out slow, building a good foundation with plenty of descriptive scenes of locations and systems.  And some of the people like Caterina Conti who is not only her college friend but also now her exacting but good boss. It got into too much information for my comfort when it came to setting things up  for the casino. But Caterina is keeping secrets !
Olivia Romano thrives in chaos so she can bring order. Roberto is farther in that category. He's an annoyingly controlling, neat nick who MUST have order and Quiet times to function.  His housekeeper knows what to do..coffee and food in the morning to keep his edge calm. Who is Maria and why does he keep shutting thoughts about her? It was a question that I kept thinking until it got cleared up. 
However, things got more interesting to me when Roberto and Olivia get stuck in an elevator when everyone has already gone home. She gets panicked.  Shes not good in an elevator on her good day according to her.  Things get incredibly sexually tense and includes rough play. 
I liked when the family members were included in more depth and it was shown that his brother, Antonio was the "charmer" of the group. Danger happens to a CLOSE family member but it does get "resolved."  The family pulls together and Olivia gets a closer look, a different view to this dangerous family. 
 Happy ending for Roberto and Olivia does earn a sigh and smile from me on how it all ends for them. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

bfunnel/ *Negotiating Love* by Nomaya Jax /?sample?

 Book Cover For any other questions, please contact:
Nomaya Jax <Nomayajaxauthor@nomayajax.com>

I don’t make mistakes in business. Ever.

When my wife betrayed me to leak company secrets, I handled it like I would any hostile takeover—calculated, strategic, ruthless.

Then I met Amira.

Single mom. Beautiful. Tangled up with the wrong man.

I only meant to warn her. I didn't plan on hiring her. I didn’t plan on touching her—or kissing her—or imagining how she’d sound moaning my name. But I did.

Now the lines are blurred. She’s in my life, my bed… and somehow, always on my mind when I should be focused on anything else.

And the man she trusted before me? He’s not done causing trouble.

I thought I had everything under control… until protecting her becomes the only thing that matters.

-----MY REVIEW NOTES- This is just a cliffhanger sample

A good intro to the story that can be bought from the author for $2.99 But to be honest, this is just a taste ending on a cliffhanger. Too bad thought because it was starting to get interesting when it ended.

 Julian Carr and his friend and business associate Ryan are on a personal plane discussing Julian's business and Julian's unfaithful wife Sienna.  She has no idea that she has been caught cheating and there is proof. She thinks she's safe. No idea what's coming for her.  Brent Walker is her co-cheater.  And his beautiful girlfriend Amira Sterling has no idea either.   I love that name Amira.  She has a 3 year old daughter named Emma with this nasty guy and it's going to break their hearts.  Both of them are sweet and I'm not sure who Julian's going to fall in love with first but the daughter definitely looks good for it !

ARC/Mignon Mystery (The Good Chef Mysteries) by Elsie Grey

 Mignon Mystery: The Good Chef Mysteries amazon

 Book 7 of 8: The Good Chef Mysteries 

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GK56MVJ7
  • A61 pages
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 11, 2026
  • A tender cut. A small-town secret. And a mystery that won’t stay off the menu.

    When a respected local figure is found dead, the quiet rhythm of Pine Grove is thrown off just as Lily Good is settling into life as a chef once again. Between running her restaurant and nurturing the community she’s come to love, Lily hoped the past was finally behind her.

    But old instincts don’t fade easily.

    As whispers ripple through town and loyalties are tested, Lily finds herself drawn back into an investigation where nothing is as carefully trimmed as it appears. With the help of familiar faces—and a few carefully prepared dishes—she begins to uncover a truth that someone is desperate to keep hidden.

    Warm kitchens, small-town charm, and a mystery simmering just beneath the surface, Mignon Mystery is a cozy culinary novella perfect for readers who love comfort food, clever clues, and a heroine who follows her intuition—both in the kitchen and beyond.

    Each title in The Good Chef Mysteries is a binge-friendly cozy novella, ideal for curling up with one delicious mystery at a time.

    ------------ 

    My 4 star Review TITLED: Wait for the Twist !

    I liked the short dedication at the beginning of her book that was to her sisters and her readers. Nice touch. And this is a sweet, good, clean mystery. 

    An unwilling group gathering meet at Lily's restaurant to eat and they aren't a happy group of relatives.   They are there to humor their mother/ grandmother  to appear as a getting along group. They actually can't stand each other. Lily and her boyfriend Detective Lance Philips are working together again and are clever as usual.  People lie but wait for the twist it's a good one.

    Several good recipes are added at the end of the book.  I enjoyed this shorter story that I was given as an ARC.  It's mentioned that Lily's next adventure continues in "Kipper Killer." 

    Saturday, February 7, 2026

    bkfunnel/ Death in Onsen by Ann Rose

     Book Cover  For any other questions, please contact:
    Ann Rose <annrosetheauthor@gmail.com>

    A struggling food show, a marriage on the rocks, and a dead influencer in the Japanese hot spring...

    What do they have in common? Me.

     

    When my soon-to-be-ex and I arrived in this beautiful Japanese spa village to film our YouTube food show, becoming a murder suspect wasn't part of my content strategy.

    But after a famous influencer propositioned my husband and I told her where to stick her yoga mat, she turned up dead in the hot spring. Now I'm racing to solve the crime before I either become the next victim or star in "Japanese Prison Cuisine" for life.

    Between faking marital bliss for our fans, a blackmail note, and my actor husband's TV-cop "expertise," this Japanese getaway has become my worst nightmare. (Okay, at least the sushi is to die for).

    My grandma always said I had a talent for kneading myself into fine messes, but this might just be my masterpiece.

    Death In Onsen is the delicious first course of An International Foodie Mystery. Perfect for fans who love their mysteries served with a side of snark, a pinch of romance, and a generous helping of international intrigue.

    My 4 STAR REVIEW TITLED:  Megan deserves Better (Just a Taste)

    As I was reading it I kept thinking, "Dump that handsome, entitled bum, Reed Prescott.!" Follow through on it. He really is a man-child like she said.  He played Detective Bennett on TV until he got killed off and now he's the main face on their Vlog together. He constantly complains and leaves her with all the work. He had one moment of thoughtfulness. 

    Megan does get some good, funny digs in though. When Aurora Wynters  another Vlogger who is a fake, not nice lady, Reed goes all googly eyed ! Sure, she's a wealthy multi-millionaire from her work.  But she's fake from the ground up and makes her assistant work like a slave. 

    The story though short had potential however: 

    I liked that it was set in Japan and I got to read about different things abut the food and culture but it did end in a cliffhanger which I  don't like.  To be this edition was a bookfunnel one. Just not sure if I will be following up in:

    The full book link is Amazon 

    bkfunnel/ Surrender Your Tomorrow by A.L. Jackson

     Book cover Surrender Your Tomorrow by A.L. Jackson For any other questions, please contact:
    A.L. Jackson <aljacksonauthor@gmail.com>

     Redemption Hills


    ARC- kindle bought/ Claimed By My Family's Rival: An Enemies to Lovers Forced Proximity Romance by Lainey Skies

     Claimed By My Family's Rival: An Enemies to Lovers Forced Proximity Romance   AMAZON  my amazon review

    My father sold me to his enemy as collateral, and now I'm falling for the man who owns me.

    I hate Raffaele Moretti. The cold-blooded enforcer who dragged me from my home in handcuffs, who locked me in his penthouse like some prized possession.

    My father traded me to save his own skin. Now I'm collateral for a debt I didn't owe, trapped with a man whose ice-gray eyes see straight through every wall I build.

    I fight him on everything. Every rule, every command, every attempt to break me.

    But then he takes a bullet meant for me. Then he whispers my name like a prayer when he thinks I'm asleep. Then he holds me through the nightmares, his hands gentle for the first time in his brutal life.

    I'm not supposed to want the man who stole my freedom. I'm definitely not supposed to fall in love with him.

    Now there's a hit out on my life, and his father demands my death to keep the peace.

     

     MY 5 STAR REVIEW

    Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2026

     Sofia Romano wakes up in the middle of the night. There are unfamiliar voices and shouting !So she sneaks downstairs in her silk pajamas and gets caught listening ! She gets furious at the men threatening her father and burst into the room where armed men point guns at her. Raffaele Moretti is one of them. Although he is both amused and surprised by her courage, he's been planning this and takes her right then ! He is a 6'3" man who is an enforced and son of Don Moretti. She was taken for leverage, collateral for the $2 million debt that her father owes them. This has been well planned and when she gets to her new luxurious "suite", there are clothes, shoes, makeup and toiletries all tailored to her style. She's furious once again. She is fierce, and unafraid to confront Raffaele although he often tells her she should be. She's also smart and sassy.
    Raffaele was told by his father..I know that she's pretty and I know you as a man but she's to be untouched until I decide what I'm going to do with her. Yeah, good luck with that. Raffaele is often impressed with Sofia and after awhile he realized he's in deep trouble already with his attraction for her. Thing is she is fighting that same attraction too ! It cracked me up when his friend and also good man in organization would often, call out through their door, "Urgent ! Boss, we have a situation!" It happened usually when Rafffaele and Sofia were in the middle of their own "heat" of a situation. Nothing in that area of sexual heat happens until a while later. Their sweet, sassy romance was one I enjoyed.
    Matteo was also a good guy when it came to having Raffaele's back even when he had some doubts from time to time. Especially when dealing with Sofia. But Matteo is loyal to the end.
    They have treachery coming at them from every corner and the battles are intense. Who can they trust?
    Great surprises towards the end and I loved how it all ended. Especially the phrase that came about AFTER they became enemies and then they weren't. They were both trying to survive especially after finding love together. The Phrase? "Together. Always." They fought TOGETHER til the end.