Side Effects LJ Greene Publication date: December 13th 2021 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Who can you trust?
Ally Michels is fresh out of her MBA program at Cal and has landed her dream job at hot, up-and-coming video game developer, Jet Stream Studios, all thanks to her uncle, Jet’s largest venture capital investor. She’s feeling pretty good about her future until an inadvertent blurt in a company meeting brings down upon her the dangerous attention of Jet’s co-founder and chief developer, Marcus Abby.
Beautiful, brilliant, and vicious, Marcus is every bit the arrogant, deceitful founder her uncle warned her about. But in the power-fueled world of venture capital investing, things aren’t always what they seem. When Ally finds herself caught up in a play for corporate control, she must work with Marcus to save the company and an ideal she believes in, while navigating perilous family loyalties and fighting to hold onto her own integrity.
For Ally, there’s just one rule: never, ever trust Marcus Abby. Because the one man she needs to stop a high-stakes plot is the one man who has every reason to want her gone.
SIDE EFFECTS is an adult contemporary, twisty, underhanded, certainly unscrupulous . . . romance.
I went into this, not realising that I have actually read an earlier book in the series. In all honesty, it didn't matter if you have or haven't read the other books. There are characters that are mentioned and our hero, Marcus, has appeared in a previous book, but you don't lose any understanding or enjoyment by not having read them.
Side Effects is an enemies to lovers romance, something that I'm a bit of a fan of. Ally is trying to prove herself in her new job, she has got the job through her Uncle, who is a big investor in the firm, but she knows that she has the skills in her own right. Unfortunately, one of the owners, Marcus, can't stand her. He's not the easiest man to get along with, but he really doesn't seem to like Ally. As they work together though, he begins to appreciate her skills. The more time that they spend together, the more that they like one another and understand where they are coming from.
In many ways, the romance in this book is almost secondary. I say almost because this is certainly a romance and the story of Ally and Marcus's romance. For much of the book though, we are learning about the company that they work for and how they are handling what is happening. The romance evolves out of this and I think that it is this that makes it such a good read.
This was a great romance and one that I really enjoyed.
Author Bio:
Romance author, obsessive multi-tasker, California native, music lover with no apparent musical talent, travel enthusiast, and cheese connoisseur.
Connie stared out at the quiet Cornish sea as the hazy early morning light bathed the horizon in a beautiful golden glow. She inhaled the salty, cleansing ocean air, looked down at the handwritten note and wiped away the lone tear that had started to fall…
When Connie Christie’s mother summons her home from the city to Magpie Cove to take over the family business – a quaint, charming museum – Connie is reluctant. The cove holds nothing more than bad memories for Connie, memories she’d rather leave buried…
The tiny coastal museum is a hub for the local community but it is struggling to survive, and despite herself, Connie is determined to save the business that has been in her family for generations. Discovering her great-grandmother’s diary tucked away in a dusty box in the attic – which reveals her struggles as a young woman – gives Connie a surprising clue to unlocking the secrets in her own past. Maybe what happened to her all those years ago wasn’t her fault after all?
Connie starts to relish her work at the museum and the beautiful, calm surroundings of Magpie Cove. A chance encounter with handsome local entrepreneur, Alex Gordon, leaves her with more than just butterflies. Perhaps embracing a new start in her old home maybe isn’t the worst idea she’s ever had.
But just as Connie starts to feel like she finally belongs somewhere, the peace she has found crumbles when the one person she has tried for years to forget resurfaces… Can Connie finally find her home, and herself, in Magpie Cove, or will her painful past force her to run away again, this time for good?
From USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Kerr comes a heartfelt, emotional read, set on the beautiful coast of Cornwall. Fans of Sheila O’Flanagan, Mary Alice Monroe and Pamela Kelleywill adore it.
Author Bio:
Kennedy Kerr has written and published poetry, children's and adult books. She lives in London and is originally from the West Country, which gave her accent a subtle (yet noticeable) pirate twang as well as a love of cream teas and all things mystical.
Kennedy loves mythology, magic, tarot, pretty much most music, fantasy and sci-fi novels, luxury skincare products, spas, candlelight and stormy beaches. She is the proud owner of a cuddly black cat called Twinkle, who evidently believes she is a princess. Kennedy also loves cooking and baking all types of food, which is almost as much fun as eating it.
Find out more about on her Facebook Author page: facebook.com/kennedykerrauthor; she is also on Twitter as @KennedyKerr5.
My Review
It's a long time since I last visited Cornwall, but this book conjures up the place exactly as I remembered it. Beautiful coastal scenery, small fishing villages, and the hint of smugglers around every corner. This book is the story of Connie and Alex, but in many ways, that takes second place to Connie and the other women who grew up in Magpie Cove. Connie has returned home to work in her family's museum after losing her job in the theater due to cutbacks. It isn't what she wants to do, but the more time she spends there the more she enjoys it. Much of this book focuses on the person who is leaving threatening notes for Connie. It's something that she experienced in her teenage years and one of the reasons that she was so keen to getaway. There are a number of people who could be responsible for it and Connie does suspect a few people for while. I had worked out by the end who it was and sort of why, but that doesn't really matter. This book does have a romance element, but really that's a secondary storyline. I like the way that this played out. Connie doesn't instantly fall for Alex and when she eventually recognizes her feelings, everything doesn't play out as you might expect in a 'classic' romance, which I really enjoyed. This was a great read that kept you turning the pages. There were elements of suspense, romance, and returning home after an interval and working out your place in life. All in all a good read. I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.
Zeno De Rossi is arrogant and callous. Nothing like the boy I grew up with.
He’s poised to take over the most powerful mafia family in New York.
To him, I’m nothing but the daughter of a soldier—a member of the staff at his grand estate…
Until his estranged brother comes home and shows an interest in me.
Now, I’m trapped in a dangerous dance between two men who hate one another.
Both have secrets.
Neither is safe.
They won’t quit until they destroy one another, and I have become their weapon of choice.
This is the familiar story of a second daughter, her struggling family, and the wealthy men who can change their fortunes forever; however, you will find no gentlemen on these pages, nor tittering debutants. In this dark retelling of a Jane Austen classic, our elusive hero is a mafia king, ruthless and calculating; and our heroine is a headstrong modern woman born and raised in the servant’s quarters of his estate. Complete with romance, heartbreak, violence, manipulation, and mind-blowing twists, this edgy retelling is perfect for Austen fans who like the darker side of Darcy.
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“This is where you tell me it’s fine. No need to worry,” I tease with an uneasy smile, giving into the pressure to fill the silence.
“And what if it’s not fine?” he finally asks, his voice coarse as volcanic stone. Affected and raw. “What if none of it’s fine—your anger at me or your prolonged stay at Hardwick?”
I’m so stunned by his words that I nearly spill my glass of wine as I lower it to the table next to me. “I’d ask for an explanation.” I can’t fathom why my presence would be so damn upsetting to him.
“And if I refuse?” He steps closer so that I have to crane my neck to keep my eyes on his.
I don’t understand this game he’s playing, but I won’t let him win either. “Then I’d say you’re the one with a problem.”
His hands are so fast, he’s spun me around to face the wall behind me before I know what’s happened. He keeps his strong fingers firm around my waist, holding me in place when his mouth lowers to my ear. “What if I make it your problem as well? I see the way you look at me, Luisa. I’m not the only one who’s torn.”
I place my hands on the wall to ground myself. His grip assures he won’t let me fall, but the world suddenly tilts on its axis. “I wouldn’t be torn if you wouldn’t be such an ass.” My words are breathy, more so than I’d like, but his nearness has made my entire system unsteady.
I have no idea where any of this is coming from.
Why, after so many years of stilted encounters, is he changing the rules?
“I wouldn’t have to be an ass if you weren’t so fucking beautiful.” He spits the words with savage hostility. An admission ripped from deep within him against his will. “This … this is what you do to me.” His right hand snakes farther around toward my belly, his palm pressing flat against me and tugging me flush against his rigid frame.
The length of his impossibly hard cock molds itself into the soft flesh of my backside. Words escape me. My lungs no longer expand and contract in a proper rhythm. Every ounce of blood in my body rushes to my core for a mindless moment.
Jill is a Texan, born and raised. She manages the hectic social calendars for her three active children and occasionally spends an evening with her dashing husband. Aside from being an author and a mom, she's a travel junkie and loves to read when she is not lost in her own stories.
With Jill’s books, you can count on confident heroines, plenty of steamy tension, and deliciously assertive leading men. There are no guarantees in life, but with her books, you know everything will work out in the end. However, a perfect ending would not be nearly as satisfying without a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Jill loves to add plenty of adversity in her stories, creating unforgettably dynamic characters and sneaky plot twists you will never see coming.
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My Review
There is always a danger when attempting a retelling of a well-loved book, that it just won't measure up. Pride and Prejudice is one of those books that most romance fans will have read and probably know incredibly well. Fortunately, Savage Pride works well as a retelling and I really enjoyed this mafia based version of the story.
Luisa and Zeno make a great modern Elizabeth and Darcy and I loved reading their story with the push and pull as they fight their feelings for one another. While this is a retelling, it's not exactly the same, so no matter how well you know the original, there is plenty here to keep you guessing. I think part of the joy of this kind of book is spotting both the things that have been faithfully reproduced from the original and those that have been subtly changed.
There is one aspect of this book that isn't brilliant and that is because it's a duet, I've got to wait to find out how it's all going to pan out. Of course, I know how the original book went, but there's nothing to say that it will be exactly the same here. I can't wait to get my hands on Silent Prejudice and see where things are going to go.
You can never truly know what goes on behind closed doors…
My darling son, Sam, is marrying his childhood sweetheart and I couldn’t be prouder of the man he’s grown into. Walking out on his abusive father all those years ago was the best thing I ever did. And today he stands, tall and handsome, saying ‘I do’ to my dream daughter-in-law. If I hadn’t pushed them together all those years ago, he might never have found a girl as perfect as Lauren. It’s true what they say, mother always knows best.
But weeks later, Lauren is dead and police cars fill the driveway of their idyllic countryside home. As they question Sam, I sense he’s hiding something. Why won’t he look me in the eye? And who does he rush off to meet as soon as the police are gone?
Desperate, I do what every good mother would do: I let myself into Sam and Lauren’s bedroom. What I see, I will never be able to forget. My son’s beautiful new wife was hiding a dangerous secret. Can I clear my son’s name? And could my life be in danger now too?
A completely gripping, utterly twisted thriller that will leave your jaw on the floor. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Wife Between Us and The Woman in the Window.
Author Bio:
Sue Watson was a TV Producer at the BBC until she wrote her first book and was hooked.
Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue explores the darker side of life, writing psychological thrillers with big twists. Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programmes from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.
The New Wife tells the story of Georgie who's son is a newlywed, a few months after his marriage his wife is found dead seemingly after falling down the stairs. In the aftermath of the death, Georgie starts to learn things about the people she thought that she knew. The perfect couple that were her best friends and Lauren's parents aren't everything that they seemed to be and everyone seems to have secrets. I enjoyed this thrilling read that had plenty of twists and turns. It's told from the point of view of Georgie as she finds out the truth behind her son's marriage and the friendship that she has had for the last twenty or so years. I enjoyed the read, but I did find Georgie to be incredibly naive. She really doesn't seem to question anything, even after it becomes clear that Lauren's death was not an accident. I know that it might be hard for someone to accept that nothing is what they thought it was, but she does just accept everything she is told without question. Her relationship with Lauren's parents is also very weird, but each to their own I suppose. This was a really good read that kept me turning the pages to see if I'd figured it all right or not. There was plenty going on. I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.
An unputdownable, feel-good Christmas romance about fresh starts, the importance of family and learning how to follow your heart. Perfect for fans of Mary Alice Monroe, Rachel Hanna and Carolyn Brown.
As twinkling lights go up and snowflakes begin to fall, Laurel Hanover and her eight-year-old son are going home to the Cranberry Inn in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Laurel can’t wait to leave New York behind to help her father run the family business, and make snow angels with her son, even if it’s just for Christmas. But when she walks through the door, she’s shocked to find the inn in disrepair, and a letter saying her father will be gone until Christmas Eve…
No one in town knows where Laurel’s father is, and she doesn’t know whether to be worried or angry – but she won’t let the inn go under, and nothing will get in the way of the perfect Christmas for her son. Seeing the worn-out wooden bannisters, bare of festive lights, she immediately recruits her childhood friend, brooding local carpenter Joel Hutcherson. They might disagree on whether any walls actually need to come down, but each rip in the carpet makes Laurel more concerned for her father, and Joel is a welcome distraction. And when he admits that Laurel was his first crush, she realises she’s falling for him.
But then Laurel uncovers a card with beautiful, ornate writing amongst her father’s things and learns the real reason he disappeared. And it changes everything. Worse still, she thinks Joel knew the truth all along.
Laurel thought this was going to be the perfect Christmas – that maybe she had found her happy. But now there’s nothing to stop her from running back to New York the moment the baubles come down… is there?
Author Bio:
Barbara Josselsohn is an award-winning journalist and novelist who loves crafting stories about strong protagonists facing a fork in the road. Her novels center around second chances, family relationships and, of course, romance. She is the author of the Lake Summers series set in the fictional town of Lake Summers, nestled in the Adirondacks Mountains, which includes the books The Lilac House and The Bluebell Girls. Before joining with Bookouture, she published The Last Dreamer, a women’s-fiction novel from Lake Union Publishing, along with hundreds of articles and essays in major and regional publications about family, home and relationships. She lives just north of New York City and enjoys escaping to the beach or the mountains whenever she can. Other than writing, her biggest passion is her family: husband, her three kids, and her indefatigable shih-poo!
When it comes to a Christmas read, what you want is something that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy at the end. Of course, the best books like this take you on a journey to get there, which is exactly what The Cranberry Inn does. Laurel and her son Simon travel to the family Inn in order to help her father out for Christmas. While she is living there and running the place for him, she learns how he really sees her and what she wants out of life, along with connecting with her teenage crush Joel. This was a fun read and I enjoyed following Laurel as she made her mark on the family business and sorted out what it was she really wanted out of life. Having a son added an extra dimension to the story and I thought that it worked quite well. I did get a bit confused about his age as he seemed to be around four or five with his behaviour and the way that she treated him and then at other times seemed a bit older. This was a great Christmas read with a lovely and satisfying conclusion. I for one really enjoyed it. I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.
Wild For Me Tam DeRudder Jackson (Balefire Series, #3) Publication date: November 18th 2021 Genres: Adult, New Adult, Romance
Dakota
Annabelle Stewart, all tight leather skirt and hot lace panties, thundered into my life for one night after a rock show and calmly drove away the next day. She should have been like any other one-night stand I’ve had over the last ten years touring with Balefire. But she wasn’t. At odd moments, I catch myself thinking about her, wondering if I made as big an impression on her as she did on me.
Then I walk into the rehearsal for our drummer’s wedding, and who’s standing with the bride? The hottie who keeps me awake with thoughts of our one night together. Beautiful, smart, and sassy as hell, Annabelle sets me on fire with her kisses and leaves me hanging. But I’ve got plans for her.
Annabelle
I never expected to see him again. Two years after hooking up with Dakota Perri after a Balefire concert, I’d convinced myself that night was a fantasy. But the way he looks at me during Jack and Clio’s wedding, like he remembers every second of our one-night stand, lights me up. Too bad I blew it.
Then I score a management internship with the band, an opportunity guaranteed to land me a scholarship with a top graduate program—if I don’t earn a reputation for sleeping my way to success. Which is a problem. I see Dakota every day. Every time we’re together, the sparks fly faster and hotter. If I want to achieve my goals, I have to resist him. But how can I resist a man as panty-meltingly hot as Dakota Perri when he says he’s wild for me?
Tam DeRudder Jackson is the author of the paranormal romance Talisman Series and the contemporary romance Balefire Series. Her favorite “room” in her house is her back patio where she dreams up stories of romance and risk. When she’s not writing her latest paranormal or contemporary romance, you can usually find her driving around with the top down in her convertible or carving turns on the slopes of the local ski hill. The mom of two grown sons, Tam likes to travel, attend rock concerts, watch football and soccer, and visit old car shows with her husband. She lives in the mountains of northwest Wyoming where she spends most of her free time trying to read all the books. Her TBR piles are threatening to take over her office, and she’s fine with that.
This is the second book in the Balefire series that I've read, but the third book in that series. You don't need to have read the previous books as each one works well as a standalone. (Having said that, there has been a character in both books I have read that causes problems and I don't really understand why they keep him around, perhaps some reason for that was given in the first book or will be in the next.) Annabelle and Dakota hooked up a couple of years ago after a concert and although they never saw one another again, neither could get the other out of their mind. Now, Annabelle is working as an intern for the management of the band and as much as she wants to keep things on a professional footing between them, she just can't resist him. They both think that what's happening between them is just a temporary thing, even if no one else does. I did like the development of the relationship between Dakota and Annabelle. She matches his wild side, but also gives him the security and stability he's always wanted, even if he didn't realise that. This was a fun read and if you enjoy rock romances, then I think that you will like this one too.
My husband was not a monster. No matter what they say…
The day my husband, Michael, stepped in front of a lorry after being questioned by the police, my world fell apart. He was devoted to me and our six-year-old daughter. But they’d connected him to the disappearance of a young mother from our tiny village.
Now I stand at Michael’s funeral, clutching my little girl’s hand, with tears in my eyes as I insist to all our friends that he died an innocent man. Yet the questions have started, and nothing I say will stop them digging for the truth.
But none of them can read the secrets in my heart, or know about the phone I found hidden in his toolbox…
I’m determined that my daughter will not remember her father as a monster. I will erase any hint of wrongdoing in this house whatever the cost.
Because to keep my daughter safe, the last thing I need is for people to start looking at me…
A completely gripping psychological thriller from the author of the number one bestseller The Marriage. If you like Gone Girl, The Girl on The Train and The Wife Between Us then you will love The Widow.
Author Bio:
For many years, Kim sent her work out to literary agents but never made it off the slush pile. At the age of 40 she went back to Nottingham Trent University and now has an MA in Creative Writing.
Before graduating, she received five offers of representation from London literary agents which was, as Kim says, ‘a fairytale … at the end of a very long road!’
Kim is a full-time writer and lives in Nottingham with her husband, Mac.
When you've been married to someone for a long time and had a happy marriage with them, you can feel that you know all of the secrets and everything about them. But what if they suddenly started acting strangely and rumours were appearing about something that they might have done. Before you get a chance to get to the bottom of what's going on, they die. Can you still trust that the person you thought you knew was the same? That everything you believed about them is true? That's what Kate faces. The widow is full of twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the end. The disappearance of a young polish woman is just the start of the story with plenty more to come out as old secrets start to be uncovered. The whole book is told from multiple points of view, which helps to layer the story as we learn more. There are heaps of twists in this book. I will admit I had guessed some, but certainly not all by the time I got to the end. This is a gripping read that will have you thinking you've got it solved one minute and then change your mind a second later. Good stuff! I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.
