All I Ask - Tamara Lush

All I Ask by Tamara Lush
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third book in the Paradise Beach series builds on the great start of the first books. While this is a series, I really don't think it would matter if you hadn't read the previous books in the series. The characters who were in those first two books do make small appearances in this book and I'm guessing that the characters who are yet to get their stories also appear. It works fines as a standalone book.
All I ask focuses on lawyer Tate and European Princess Isabella. When Isabella comes to Paradise Beach to avoid the paparazzi and media circus that surrounds her life, she hopes to remain under the radar for a while. Unfortunately, after a quite amusing encounter with some of the local wildlife, she finds herself in court and in the spotlight. Fortunately, Tate is there to help her out of a sticky situation and she soon finds herself falling for him.
This is quite a sweet story. Tate is lovely and he and Isabella are very well matched. I enjoyed the growth of their romance. The story moves along quite quickly and although there is a bit of a misunderstanding, this isn't really much more than a little blip on their trip to happiness together.
This series is a lovely, quiet lighthearted read. There's romance, a bit of heat and a lovely humourous touch which make this just the kind of read for a bit of light escapism. I'm looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Jack's Heart - Demi Vice

The Jack's Heart by Demi Vice
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I have to admit that when I read the description I was intrigued, but not completely convinced that it would be that great. I was wrong. As with many stories, it's the characters that draw you in. Jack has so much enthusiasm and lust for life, despite his history, that it's hard not to warm to him from the start. There's always a danger that stories about prisoners or ex-prisoners are a little too cliche or that there's a miraculous change in character where they suddenly see the error of their ways and reform. Not so here, Jack may be 'retired' but he's still the dark and troubled soul that went to prison in the first place.
Books, where the characters are flawed always attract me and both Jack and Ahrianna, are certainly flawed. Victims of their upbringing both have known pain and loss. Jack seems to have dealt with it all and finally got what he's always wanted, while Ahrianna is struggling daily just to survive.
I loved the way that these two were together. The chemistry between them was explosive. This isn't a sweet love story. It's one of passion and darkness, but it's all the better for it. This is the start of the series. I think I that at least one of the characters in the next book has made a couple of cameo appearances in this book. I shall just have to read and find out if I'm right.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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After She Fell - Amber Laura

After She Fell
Amber Laura
Publication date: July 30th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

She’s tried for years to convince herself that she isn’t in love with him. If it hasn’t worked, at least she’s managed to convince him of it, anyway.
A tragic love affair from her past had shattered Christina’s illusions of romance—it’d shattered her entire world, left her utterly broken and blamed. She’s fallen once before. She isn’t about to make the same mistake twice!
Jason Gordman is off-limits. Charming, playful, confident—he’s everything dangerous to her defenses. Worse yet, he’s the boss’s son. Hiding behind antagonism and indifference, Christina manages to keep him at a careful distance. That is, until one fateful night when she finds herself snowbound with him in a blizzard and she slips, allows herself one, forbidden kiss…
Struggling to reconcile her feelings, Christina is entirely unprepared for where that one stolen moment will lead her.

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Author Bio:
Amber Laura’s biography, also known as “Five Fun Facts about the Author”:

1. As a writer, Amber Laura does her best daydreaming as a window-gazing passenger on long car rides.
2. If there’s creamer, she’s drinking coffee. When she edits, there’s always creamer.
3. A blogger, she also writes web fiction—(free stories updated chapter-by-chapter, week-by-week). Check it out at www.litliber.com.
4. Psst! Her debut novel, Topaz and Lace, a contemporary romance set in a fictitious Texas town, got its start on that same blog.
5. While she may physically reside in the beautiful country of Northern Minnesota, in her imagination, Amber Laura lives all over the world. She considers it one of the best perks to being a writer: easy, cheap travel. That and the oddball characters she meets along the way….

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My Review

I'm going to start by saying just how much I enjoyed this book. This was possibly, in part at least, because it was a little different to the other things that I've been reading recently. In part, but also just because it is a really good book. 

This book is a love story, but although there is romance in there, it's not really a romance story in the traditional sense. In fact, most of this story is about a number of different love stories. The main character, Christina has been in love with her bosses son, Jason, almost from the moment that she met him. He clearly feels the same, but the antagonistic relationship that they have has stopped anything from happening between them. When she was younger, Christina made a mistake and as a result, her family cut her off completely. This has then defined all of her relationships and friendships since then. 

The book tells the stories of Christina's blossoming relationship with Jason as well as her relationship with surrogate parents Mary and Matthew (her boss and his wife) and the relationship with her parents. All of these elements come together as Christina struggles to come to terms with her past and accept a future.

I loved the characters. Christina was quite prickly and difficult to relate to at the beginning, but as the book developed we see more of why she is how she is and it becomes easier to sympathise with her. The whole story was very well written and I have to admit that I really wasn't sure how it was going to end, it really could have gone a number of ways. In the end, I think that the way that it all worked out was perfect for the book. 

Amber Laura is a new author for me, but I'll certainly be on the lookout for more of her books in the future. 

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Seduced by the Stranger - Alyssa J.Montgomery

Seduced by the Stranger by Alyssa J. Montgomery
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I tried with this one, I really did. But it just wasn't for me. It didn't start well when the beginning of the book didn't make a lot of sense. The female lead has lost her memory and is marrying a man that she can't remember in a Church. I'm fairly confident that if one of the people who was getting married had lost their memory then it wouldn't be allowed to take place. Added to that she's only been out of a coma for five weeks, then there wasn't time for the banns to be read and the whole thing organised. I don't want to give away spoilers, but the whole way that her stepbrother and stepsister in law treat her just seems to over the top and to be honest pointless and it's never really explained. As to why she feels compelled to marry someone just because she's pregnant, no idea what that was about. Much of the book felt as though it should have been set in the 1950s or possibly earlier, but as at one point she uses the internet, that wasn't the case.
I will forgive a lot in a book if I like the characters and buy into their romance. In this case, I didn't take to either of them. In fact, at more than one point I was wondering if Max was going to be revealed as the villain after all. I didn't feel that there was any chemistry between them at all and they seem to go from Jenna not remembering Max at all, to being madly in love with him.
I realise that this is quite a harsh review and to be honest, other people might enjoy the story more. It just didn't do it for me.

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Fallen - Rebecca Zanetti

Fallen by Rebecca Zanetti
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven't read the first book in the Deep Ops series, but I have read a couple of Rebecca Zanetti's books before. I did enjoy this one and would certainly read more in the series, but I wasn't as completely sold on this one as I have been on her other books.
I enjoyed the overall story and the characters are all interesting. For me though, the chemistry between the two lead characters, Brigid and Raider was a little bit off. It wasn't that there wasn't chemistry there, it was more that there was a small element that just didn't seem to click. I don't know what it was and it may only be something that bothered me.
The group that makes up the HDD group are an odd band of damaged people. They work well together and I liked the dynamic between them. I have to admit that I'm not sure about the dog, I'm not entirely sure what the story is there, but for me, it doesn't really work. He was a little bit too 'human' and unless there's something unexpected going on where he really is a person, then I'm not sure what the plan was there.
I don't want to make it sound like I didn't enjoy this one, because I did. it's just that there were some elements of it that just weren't great and detracted from the overall read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Knowing Nichelle - Tinsley Sellers

Knowing Nichelle
Tinsley Sellers
Publication date: August 16th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

She’s just met the man of her dreams…but he’s not who he said he was. Neither is she. Until they get a second chance to make a first impression.
Is he a sophisticated big-city lawyer, or an easygoing small-town woodworker? And if she’s not a career-driven high-powered attorney, then who is she? Hiding behind their masks is second nature until circumstances force them to see beneath the surface and realize just how alike—and in love—they really are.
He’s only got one rule: no lawyers. She’s a lawyer.
Burned by experience, Buck’s got a rule for a reason. After walking away from a lucrative legal position, he found his peace in Beckley. Life on the farm is simple, and his woodworking business is thriving. He’s not interested in trading his work boots for wingtips and rejoining the rat race. So what if she’s the most compelling woman he’s ever met?
She’s only got one requirement: no a**holes. He’s an a**hole.
After a disastrous encounter in a trendy bar, Nichelle’s convinced that he’s an over-muscled a**hole. She’s got a sleek car, luxurious condo, and elegant designer clothes. Family comes first, and her legal career is on the fastest track. She’s never met a problem she couldn’t solve on her own. So what if he can see beneath her carefully constructed façade?
They’re perfect together. They just don’t know it yet.
Welcome back to Beckley, Michigan! Autumn is in the air and as the days get shorter, the air gets cooler and the calm lakes reflect the blue skies and red-gold trees for a double-dose of fall color. The people are just as warm, friendly, smart, funny, and real as you remember. When you need a place to call home, Beckley welcomes you—and sometimes the family you choose is as strong as the bonds you’re born with.
If you like small-town romance, you’ll like Beckley. If you like smart heroines who balance demanding professional careers with a commitment to family, friends, and finding love, then you’ll definitely like it here. If you like strong, sexy, hard-working heroes who have not-so-secret soft spots for kids, dogs, and classic cars, you may find that you never want to leave!
Knowing Nichelle is the third in the Beckley’s Daughters Romance series. It can be read as a stand-alone story, but continuing readers will recognize many of the characters and locations. This series is recommended for adult readers and contains explicit language and intimate situations.

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Author Bio:
Tinsley Sellers grew up in Chicago, spending her summers with her grandparents in a tiny town a lot like Beckley, Michigan. Life took her to Arizona, Washington, and Idaho before she finally found her home in Arkansas. She is married to an amazing, supportive (and handsome!) man, with whom she has rescued three dogs and two cats. When she’s not writing, she teaches physics and engineering at the local university. When she’s not writing or teaching, she’s probably trying new recipes. She enjoys fast cars, loud music, fine whisky, and big books. In no particular order.

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My Review

Knowing Nichelle is the third book from the Beckley's daughters series. I haven't read either of the previous two books, but it soon became apparent that while this is the third story, the timeline loops and crosses with the timeline of the other two books. You might be forgiven for thinking that this means that you really need to read the other two books. As I haven't and I really enjoyed this one, then I think that it's safe to say that that isn't the case. 

Our two main characters, Buck and Nichelle are both definitely not looking for a relationship with the kind of person that the other is. It soon becomes clear though that they are perfect for one another. In order to be together, they need to find a way to fit into each other's life. Not an easy task when they live so far away from one another.

Although this is a traditional romance in many ways, there is so much more to this story than that. There is passion and connection between them, but it almost plays a secondary role to the development of the characters and their battles to work through their problems on an emotional level.

I couldn't help but love Buck. There's something really strong and together, but at the same time very vulnerable about him. Nichelle is very much the strong and successful woman, but her reasons for being like this have far more to do with her past and her family than they do her own plans and desires. 

This was a great read and I'll certainly be back to check out more of the Beckley's Daughters titles. If you're looking for something with a little bit more depth than many romances seem able to offer, then you're looking in the right place. 

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Death at the Library - Betty Rowlands

Death at the Library: A completely gripping cozy mystery by Betty Rowlands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit that when I read the last Sukey Reynolds book Death at the Mariners Hotel I was a little disappointed. One of the things that I'd loved about this series was the characters that appeared time and time again. In book eight, however, Sukey had left her previous job and moved to Bristol, leaving behind the people that she had worked with before. I wasn't sure how the series would progress from here on in. Death in the Library appears in some ways to be a bit of a transition book. Sukey still has a little input from her son, Fergus, although now he is at University, he only has a small role. But, Sukey is beginning to gather a small cast of regular characters that I'm sure will grow in future books. She has a sergeant that she works with regularly and a friend and colleague, Vicky, who she is spending more and more time with. Hopefully, in future books, the cast of characters will build back to something similar to what existed before.
I enjoyed this book much more than the previous one. As I said, I wasn't sure about the sudden change that had taken place. I think if you hadn't read any of the earlier books, then you wouldn't be at all bothered by this, as the mystery and the storyline is a good solid one. I really enjoyed this aspect of it and this time around I have to admit that I didn't guess who was guilty, although I was right about who wasn't. That probably doesn't make much sense, but if you read the book, you'll see what I mean.
The question of Sukey's relationship with Jim is finally resolved, although I have to admit, not quite the way that I would like. Although I do see why.
Overall this was a good read and I'm interested to see where next for Sukey.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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