Book Review- The Second You're Single by Cara Tanamachi

   

Romance

Cheerfully irreverent, bitingly funny, and filled with romantic charm, Cara Tanamachi's The Second You're Single is all about navigating the most romantic month of the year, and how love always seems to arrive when you least expect it.

Freelance writer Sora Reid believes in inertia. She’s the odd one out in a close-knit family of go-getters, including her Japanese-American mom, who hints about her need to lose weight, and her soon-to-be married, overachieving younger sister, who needs her to have a date for the wedding, since a wedding party couples' dance with their Scottish great uncle Bob simply won't do. For Sora, minimal input, minimal expectations is the way to go. She’d rather stay at home with her insufferable neighbor and her adorable pitbull.

The one thing that disrupts her inertia: an intense dislike for Valentine’s Day. What is it with the commercial love machine? Why do we pin our hopes on one romantic day, when staying home with a package of bacon and a bottle of tequila would be way better? Sora’s been betrayed and disappointed more than once and her heart is starting to feel like her Grandma Mitsuye’s antique Japanese ceramic bowl, with its many gold-filled cracks.

When her pledge to stay single in February inspires readers to #gosolo, Sora has a responsibility to empower her readers. But relationships aren’t built to last, so it shouldn’t be that hard. Right?

 Enter Jack Mann. A muscle-bound baker who looks like he lifts logs on the weekends, Sora hasn’t thought of Jack since they were in elementary school together. When they see each other at the local grocery store and the attraction hits hard, Sora knows she has to shut it down, quick. She can’t #gosolo AND get the guy. She can’t let down her readers. And relationships always end, so why should Jack be any different–even though he’s confounding all her long-held expectations of love?

AMAZON LINK 

 3.5 STARS

I have to admit that I had mixed feelings on this one. Which always makes it hard for me to rate.  

I did like that it had both Sora and Jack's individual P.O.V.'s.  Turns out sassy Sora was a problem with confrontation avoidance and to tell a few people to buzz off. It becomes clear how much of that comes from her childhood.  She also needed to ask for what she wanted too.  She just needed to figure out what that was.  I did like her anyway. 

Jack was such a lumberjack sized sweetie.  It was easy to feel what he was feeling about his past and his feelings for Sora both past and current. I didn't realize until almost towards the end of the book that Jack had a problem when it came to something HE needed to confront.  I still liked him anyway.  

With all of that said, even with an unusual story idea, it just didn't grab me as much as I would have liked.  There I said it. 

 Would I ever try this author again? Yes, because of some of the humor and fun conversations between the main characters.  

 

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

(Netgalley)

 

BOOK REVIEW- Commanding Sia (NCIS Series # 1) by Zoe Dawson

   

Separated by loss. . .reunited by duty…

When Lieutenant Ambrosia “Sia” Soto returns from an investigation into a “pilot error” case aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. James McCloud, she comes face to face with NCIS Special Agent and former lover, Christophe Vargas, the man who was involved in an F-18 Fighter Jet accident that took her brother’s life six years ago. But when another incident aboard the carrier involves the death of a senator’s son whose plane crashed into the deck on a routine training mission, she’s now required to return to the carrier with Chris in tow to face a cunning and dangerous foe. Bombarded both personally and professionally, Sia must trust her instincts and suppress the feelings that surface for her enigmatic and sexy partner.

AMAZON LINK 

 3 STARS

Good emotional people were the center of this story.  It had good world building.
There is action that amps up after the slow start which helps.  It has a good ending with a few surprises as well.  One of them is not who the person who was behind everything though.  I figured that out before it was revealed.  It was also revealed the how and why, which I didn't know until then.
I just wish I had liked it more,  it just didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped.   

 

This is a book that I bought just for the record.

BOOK REVIEW- He Said Forever (The Lost Corisis # 4) by [Ruth Cardello]

   

Jared’s childhood was so ugly he changed his name to free himself from it. He fought his way out of poverty and earned his success, but all that isn’t enough when his past catches up to him.

Michawn isn’t looking for love when she meets Jared. She’s confident she already has the perfect man and the perfect life. All she wants is to make enough money to pay for the wedding she’s been dreaming of.
There shouldn’t have been a spark of attraction, but there was . . .then a phone call changes everything for Michawn and her life shatters around her.
She loses everything.

Can a man who sees himself as the last person who should help her, be the only one who can?
With a little guidance from Dominic Corisi, he just might find a way to heal himself as well.

 AMAZON LINK

 4 STARS

 This story has really good main characters that had a lot of depth.  Jared had so bad an abusive childhood that he changed his name and how he went about his life.  It helped that he had some people that helped him along the way.  Calvin was a long time friend with awful memories of his own that he's escaped and now was trying to help Jared more. Jared has a lot of healing to get done and his anger was something major that he has under control until he needs to fight in order to release that anger valve.   Jared now has a family of his heart instead of birth, who have also helped especially in business.  Hamilton has almost become like a father and pulled him into his family.  He's still trying to learn what being in a loving family is like. 

Michawn's family life was the direct opposite of what Jared experienced, but that didn't keep grief away from her door.  It was amazing to see what Michawn was like before grief and guilt knocked her on her butt.  The emotional rut that she withdrew into was totally believable, to me. How is she going to get out of it?  She's going to need some major help.  

The whole story kept me interested.  I appreciated that it didn't have instant sexual encounters right away. Although when it happens, it's hot and happens a lot of course.  They worked to develop a friendship (with attraction) and trust first. 

A good ending with a good Epilogue follows.   

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

BOOK REVIEW- Crossing The Line (Wilde Ways #7) by Cynthia Eden

  

 Author’s Note: These partners have been on a slow-burn path, but their desire is about to ignite into an inferno they can’t control. You ready to steam up the pages? We’ve got action, thrills, romance…and a hero who is funny, sexy, and willing to do anything to claim his lady. CROSSING THE LINE is a complete, stand-alone novel. Guaranteed happily-ever-after (though reaching that ending will sure be fun…and a wee bit dangerous). Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Partners…with benefits.

Your partner knows your secrets. Your partner watches your back. Your partner…is the star of your fantasies?

Linc Dalton knows that he is supposed to keep his hands off his partner…well, unless he is protecting Blair Kincaid’s gorgeous body. She’s his partner at the elite protection firm of Wilde Securities. Their job is to guard the wealthy, to take out the bad guys, and to generally kick butt. He trusts Blair completely. He admires her strength and courage. And he wants her desperately. Not that he ever intends to let her know that fun fact. Instead, he keeps up a fake persona where he offers her jokes and flippant comments.

Blair is straight-laced. By-the-book. Always by-the-book. Linc likes things a bit wilder. Control isn’t his strong suit, but, with a massive effort, he’s kept his control in place around Blair. With Blair, he’s on his best behavior…

Until he isn’t. Until they get a new case. Until they have to go undercover as lovers.

And, suddenly, Linc has to put his hands on Blair’s delectable form. He has to stay very close to her. Has to whisper sweet promises to her. Has to share the same bed with Blair. It’s just a cover story. He’s not really in love with her…except, one night, they cross the line. Stop being pretend lovers and become the real thing. Once Linc has Blair, there is no turning back. Giving her up isn’t an option.

She broke the rules, and for once, Blair doesn’t care.

She shouldn’t have done it. Blair knows she shouldn’t have let the desire she feels for Linc sweep her away. Yet she did, and now, everything has changed. She wants him more than ever before, and, surely, they can do this, right? They can be lovers and partners and still get the job done. As long as emotions don’t get involved, everything is fine.

Until it isn’t. Until Blair and Linc are targeted as prey. Until all of their emotions are out of control.

When their cover is blown, Blair and Linc find themselves being hunted. It’s a race for survival, and Blair knows that Linc has her back. Just as she has his. Prepare yourself…things are about to get wild.

The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, and Linc and Blair are about to turn things red-hot. Molten level. Watch out…you just might get burned.

AMAZON LINK 

3 STARS

I had a hard time getting into this story and that surprised me.  It took me way longer to finish it probably because of all of the stuff at the beginning.  It was the obsession of Linc towards Blair and her denials of her attraction to him.  I was seriously afraid I wouldn't be able to finish the book. It just rolled too slow for me in the beginning.
However, it started to get better for me just less of 50% because of all the action, twists and surprises.
It also did have humor in it especially with Linc's quirky personality even confronted with enemies.
I will give it points for it having a good wrap up of the all the enemies and Linc and Blair do get their H.E.A. as promised.

Book Review- Protective Custody by Lynette Eason

   

A classic story of intrigue and danger from bestselling author Lynette Eason

Guarding witnesses? All in a day's work for deputy U.S. marshal Carly Masterson. Protecting the judge who was indirectly responsible for her mentor's death? That's another story. Still, she won't let harm come to Judge Nicholas Floyd, or the niece and nephew in his care. She's determined to do the job right, and not let her emotions take over-no matter how wonderful it feels to be accepted by the little family. Can she let go of the past and learn to trust again before danger finds them once more?

 AMAZON LINK

4 STARS

This was a really good story with excellent main characters and Nick's niece and nephew had depth and kept the interest going as well. Along with some smiles and some emotions too because of the scary things that they have and are going through.

The dangerous action was intense. And the fact that the villains didn't seem like they were ahead of every attempt for Carly, Nick and his family to not hide safely?  It wasn't just that they seemed to ahead, they actually were and were waiting with heavy duty strategy and weaponry.

I liked the faith challenge that Carly was suffering and watching how she was trying to work her way through it.

Something that really stood out to me was Nick sharing that you had to trust God even when you didn't understand what was going on.  This was the really good part- "Trying to understand the mind of God is exhausting."  Great point, which I found surprisingly true. I hadn't looked at it quite that way before.

 It all comes to a great ending with some good beginnings too!

I read this book through the HOOPLA Library App

Book Review- Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert

 

 Cash Evans knows exactly what he wants for Christmas. Too bad he can't have her.

The infamous tattoo artist's been watching geeky Bailey Cooper for months, but that's all he'll ever do: watch. Bailey's too sweet, too smart, too good for the likes of him, and he knows it. So Cash keeps his distance… until a Christmas miracle makes him Bailey's boss.

Socially awkward Bailey learned long ago that men just aren't worth the hassle. Take her new boss, Cash: he's a brooding beast who avoids her like the plague, but he also fixes her plumbing, helps the homeless, and offers Bailey a place to stay for Christmas.

She's never met anyone so confusing-or so impossible to resist. And the more Bailey learns about Cash and his demons, the more she thinks it's time to stop fighting.

AMAZON LINK 

4 STARS

 This story was emotional and colorful.  Colorful beginning with both Cash and Bailey, even their personalities.  They each had big personalities and even bigger hearts. They both had every reason to NOT believe in love and  that love was a very dangerous, destructive illusion.  You find out early in the story why Bailey feels that way and the experiences that she has lived through.  But that doesn't stop her from being VERY attracted to Cash.
  We don't find out until much later why Cash keeps blowing hot and cold when it comes to HIS attraction to Bailey.  She doesn't see herself as a hot babe with her quirkiness and her glasses but he thinks she is cute and she makes him laugh.  By the way, it's good to see the story have a woman in glasses as a main character.  
Some of the color in the story is added by the people in Cash's friends and employees.  But some other interesting people are also added as the story goes along and that includes Cash's mother.
I liked how the story ended and appreciated the good Epilogue.

 

I read this book through the HOOPLA Library App

 

BOOK REVIEW- Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

 

 Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon.

They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire — it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman-and a killer-of a certain age.

AMAZON LINK 

5 STARS

Loved the author's note, funny and it made me smile.  That was unexpected before the story began,  in part it said..I'm not trying to protect the innocent, I'm trying to protect the guilty. 

I agree with another reviewer that they didn't think that the book cover did it justice. BUT it did get my attention. So I think that was an  important choice to get people to stop and take a look. It was different, that's for sure.

At first, it took me a while to get the four women sorted out.  Who was who and what their personalities and skill sets were.  Even how they got drawn into  the Museum.    But once settled, the wild ride really took off. 

I will say that I am not a fan of books that jump back and forth from past to present.  BUT once again it did set a really good foundation and it didn't make me too dizzy. 

Talk about the big heads men in charge underestimated this team of women!  Yikes.  They should have known better but they counted them out to their peril.  And final resting place.  And it was interesting to see how the women found out their retirement was going to be death.

This not just a cut and dry clinical assassin's piece.  There is plenty of emotions, some disagreements and even unexpected humor.   And through the whole intense story I kept wondering if any of them were going to make it out alive.  

You'll just have to read it to find out. And I have to say that I've never read anything quite like this.

I just have to add this: The acknowledgements at the back of the book were funny. My favorite has to be "when my go-to person for all things physical and the pal who never flinches when my text messages start" So I need to kill a guy..."

I read this book through the HOOPLA Library App