BOOK REVIEW- A Cowboy for Keeps (Chestnut Creek #3) by Laura Drake *

Description

From a "fabulous new voice in romantic fiction" (NYT bestselling author Lael Miller): an arrogant cowboy meets a headstrong woman determined to take custody of his niece, only to realize that she may be the family he was always searching for.
There's not much that could rattle a cowboy like Reese St. James. But when his twin brother dies in a car accident, Reese is stunned to discover he has a six-month old niece, Sawyer. Wanting to make up for lost time, Reese heads down to Unforgiven, New Mexico, to bring her home. He doesn't plan on Sawyer's guardian giving him any trouble, but the intriguing, independent woman is turning out to be more than he bargained for.
Lorelei West had given up hope of having a family of her own until her sister's tragic death brought little Sawyer into her life. And now there's no way she's going to let Reese take her away. Lorelei knows hotshot, good-looking cowboys like him -- she's dated enough of them -- and she intends to stand her ground. Yet the more time Reese and Lorelei spend together, the harder it is to deny the attraction building between them. But opening their hearts to a baby is one thing -- can they also open their hearts to the possibility of a happily-ever-after?  AMAZON LINK
                                 4 STARS
           
What a good emotional story.  Both Reese and Lorelei were strong main characters, written with depth.  I enjoyed them both. Even when no matter how hard he tried Reese manages to open his mouth and inserts his foot.  He even admits he's not good with words.  How likable is that?  It didn't take long to begin to cheer for him, especially when you see how wounded and alone he has been.  
Lorelei has wounds of her own.   And being around Reese just seems to bring out the worst in her.  She spends a lot of time saying, "I'm sorry."  She knows she's been snippy and unfair.  And that really grinds her.  She has such a heavy load of responsibilities but to her Sawyer is a joyful one. One of those responsibilities is her mother who she dearly loves.  A mother who is often confused by the stroke she suffered. 
There is also humor in the story especially in the way both Reese and Lorelei talk with Sawyer. 
 The community where Lorelei lives is like a loving family.  It might be a gossipy one but it holds some interesting people.  They add a lot to the story. 
You know there is going to be plenty of misunderstandings between the M.C.'s.   But towards the end there is also at least one person who stirs things up too.   
It ends with a H.E.A. and a solid enjoyable Epilogue.


 "I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

BOOK REVIEW- Blow Me Away: A laugh out loud, friends to lovers rom com! (Mile High Matched Book 2) by Christina Hovland *

It's all fun and games until somebody falls in love...

Jase Dvornakov has always loved women, 80's hair band music, and things that go boom. He used to disarm bombs in the Navy, but he's back in Denver after a mission overseas went sideways and destroyed his future, including his marriage. Now he arranges flowers in his family's floral business because flowers don't explode.

Cookie-baker extraordinaire, Heather Reese, has had one too many rounds of heartache, so she's sworn off men and prefers to spend her evenings binge-watching game shows. Plus her no-men rule gives her time to focus on her dream come true--Heather's Cookie Co.--her very own bake shop with an underground following for naughty shaped treats. She refuses to be interested in the hot-shot florist across the street. He is trouble with a capital T. Sexy trouble, but still, a hook-up with Jase is a hard nope.

Desperate to avoid his family's incessant matchmaking, a fake breakup with the beautiful Heather is just what the florist ordered. If his family believes Heather decimated his heart, they'll leave him alone. Heather isn't so keen on the idea, but Jase is determined to make it worth her while. When a pretend breakup becomes the real romance neither was expecting, together they'll have to decide if it's finally time to light the fuse on love...AMAZON LINK
    3.5 STARS

Both of the main characters were interesting people; quirks and all.  And speaking of quirky people ALL of Jase's family fits that bill.  Especially his grandmother who is one hilarious force of nature.  She does things her way, no matter any opposition.  
I found this hard to rate because I really enjoyed the humor that played a big part in this story.  It's emotional as well.  
However after a while I kept waiting for Jase to find his backbone when it came to dealing with his family.  It makes it all that much harder for him though because he genuinely loves them. 
I found his taking the easy route a bit old after a while. 
There IS a H.E.A. though which I always like to see.
 

BOOK REVIEW- Cornered at Christmas (Rushing Creek Crime Spree Book 1) by Barb Han

 He’ll do whatever it takes

To keep his family safe.

Mitch Kent is shocked when he sees his wife, Kimberly, just before the anniversary of her supposed death. He learns she faked her own death to protect her family from an ominous threat and came back to see her husband and her young twins one last time. But she was followed, and now she’s desperate for her husband’s help. Mitch will need a miracle to reunite his broken family…if Kimberly’s dark past doesn’t kill him first.   AMAZON LINK
   3 STARS

This was a good EMOTIONAL story.  All of the emotion also often dragged the story down a bit for me. 
True the main characters were good ones with a depth to who they are.  And Kimberly's past gets opened up bit by bit.  The main facts are there but there are also things that she has kept close to herself.  
Mitch has always had a great support system when it comes to family.  And they show up in this story and do have his back once again.  He even has a few really close friends that he would trust with his life.  All the things that Kimberly has lacked for years.   
Things come to a dramatic confrontation towards the end.  With a few twists and an extra surprise at the end.  

BOOK REVIEW- The Princess & Her Bodyguard (The Cinderella Escape Book 2) by Mindy Neff *

 Contemporary Romance Small Town Romance Romantic Comedy

Book Details

A house full of babies and a very brawny man…

After narrowly escaping marriage to the wrong man, Raquel Santiago flees to a beautiful little village in France to regain her independence—away from the strict protocols of a princess in training. She should have known she couldn’t hide forever.

When unrest befalls their country, Cole Martinez, head of Valldoria’s Royal Guard, vows to protect Raquel and her virtue, to never leave her side—despite the heiress’s protests. But he didn’t bargain for baby-sitting duties to boot!

Raquel’s small country home isn’t big enough for her, her baby photography studio and her bodyguard—especially one as sexy and infuriating as Cole! He is always underfoot, watching her, touching her…How can she ignore him when the tough man held a baby so tenderly?
AMAZON LINK
   3  STARS

This was a sweet, charming, not real deep but clean romance story.  
It was nice to see Raquel come into her real self once she has escaped from the rigid protocol of her Princess life.  She has some serious skills when it came to her photography.  And the babies add a touch of whimsy especially when  Cole gets unwillingly dumped into the mix.
Cole is used to being in charge.  He gives an order and it gets followed.  He mistakenly believes he can do the same with Raquel.  He learns differently pretty quickly.  She's fought too hard for her freedom to just give in and go home.   
 There is some humor, attraction and a bit of danger that happens towards the end.  It also has Raquel trying to practice seduction skills on Cole.  Which has Cole running for the hills as much as he can.  He's a man of honor and sees no future with Raquel. 
There is a sweet H.E.A. with a quick peek into Book #3 which features Prince Anthony.  He appeared in this book and was quite an ally to and for Raquel.   He was the laughing, almost like a brother that Raquel never had.


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

BOOK REVIEW- The Handfasting (The Knights of de Ware Book 0.5) by Glynnis Campbell *

 A French knight betrothed to a Highland heiress falls in love with his spirited bride, then realizes he's been tricked into wedding the wrong sister.

When Sir Noël de Ware comes from France to claim his betrothed—the most beautiful heiress in the Highlands—he's sure he's been given the best holiday gift ever…until he discovers the spirited lass he's wedded and bedded is not the right sister. Ysenda of Rivenloch never intended to be a counterfeit bride, and when she begins to fall in love with her handsome husband, she becomes trapped in her own deception. Only true love and a Yuletide wish can set things straight and grant them a happily ever after.  AMAZON LINK
        4 STARS

What a charming, emotional story.  Oh, it had it's sad moments in it too.  Like how Ysenda's father, the laird treated his physically deformed son.  He treated him like an he's an idiot.  The laird mocks him and encourages others to do the same.  

Ysenda must handfast with Sir Noel pretending to be Cathalan, or her beloved brother, Cambeul, will lose his life.  Ysenda knows that it is no idle threat that her father is making. 
It was really easy to like Noel and see that he is a man of honor.  I also liked how he interacted with Ysenda. Yes, there is an quick attraction between the two.  
I felt like this was a pretty full story story for something with a shorter amount of pages.  There is humor in the story which I always enjoy.  And it comes to a smile worthy ending!

BOOK REVIEW- Soccer Mom (Killer Moms #1) by Eve Langlais *

 A Bad Boy Inc. Spin-off series.

 Can a woman with her past and secrets ever take a chance on love?

Being a single mom is tough, but Carla doesn’t mind the minivan and the PTA meetings. What does concern her are the random acts of violence striking too close to home.

Has someone discovered her secret alter ego? An assassin for hire, Carla’s done her best to cover her tracks.

Is it enough?


The coach who keeps flirting with her doesn’t appear to suspect that she’s more than she seems; however, when danger threatens, Carla won’t be able to hide the fact that she’s a killer mom.

And she’ll do anything to keep her son safe.  AMAZON LINK    
    3 STARS

This was a good story idea with interesting main characters.  Carla is one hair trigger momma when it comes to protecting her son Nico.    You touch her son, you die, for real.  And no one will find the body now or maybe ever. 
Philip was a tough guy to figure out at first.  I have to admit he kind of came off as kind of  a buttoned up "suit".   But keep digging there's more to him that just that image. Philip's boss was even harder to figure out at least at first.  But it wasn't long before I suspected his real motives.  Towards the end of the book, that suspicion was confirmed.  
I really wanted to like this book more than I did.  There is humor which did help.   Maybe pulling back on all the sexual scenes that could have been a little less detailed.  While it could be viewed as well written, I found myself skimming over them after awhile.  Probably not everyone agrees with me on that though.
Looking for a H.E.A. ?  They get one doing it their way! 


 

BOOK REVIEW- HOT SEAL (HOT SEAL Team - Book 1) by Lynn Raye Harris *

 Fake a relationship with his ex-wife? Not on your life!

When a terrorist steals a drug submarine, Navy SEAL Dane "Viking" Erikson finds himself thrust into his first HOT mission with an unexpected partner: his ex-wife, DEA agent Ivy McGill. Dane doesn't want to work with the one woman who still twists him up inside, but he can't refuse a direct order from his commanding officer.

Ivy's on a mission of her own--to put the ruthless drug dealer she blames for her mother's death out of business for good. If she has to work with Dane to get it done, she will. And she absolutely will not fall for his hard muscles and killer smile ever again. Once burned, twice shy.

But Dane and Ivy have never been able to keep their hands off each other. While they may believe that sex and love don't intertwine, they'll find out what's real and what isn't when a dangerous player takes matters into his own hands. They'll need to be more than a team to survive what's coming their way--and it's not going to be easy!   AMAZON LINK
                   3 STARS

While I liked the story it also didn't really pull me as much as I would have liked.  Maybe I'm getting a bit jaded from reading a lot of similar stories. 
When I first saw the book, I thought the title meant it was about a Hot Seal.  While that was true, I did like that it also meant more.  That being an elite, special division of many different parts of the military working together.  It was so secret that many just thought it was a rumor. That it didn't even exist.
Both Dane and Ivy were pretty good main characters.   With a whole lot of yet to be unloaded baggage.   So, you know there is a lot of emotions to deal with right along with the dangers of their jobs. 
There is a good cast of fellow comrades like Ace Martin who partners in the DEA with Ivy.  We also get introduced to the team members of HOT.  
All teams find themselves with two main enemies, the Freedom Force and the crime family of the Ruizes.  
There is a twist towards the end that I didn't expect.