The Black Sheep - Patricia Ryan

A few weeks ago, I read and reviewed The Marriage Arrangement by Patricia Ryan. This was actually the second in North Moon Bay series. Although the books are linked by a similar location, they are actually completely stand alone novels. I decided to go back and read the first book, The Black Sheep.

The Black Sheep

While house-sitting at a waterfront estate, sweet, straight-laced Harley is stunned by the arrival of her employer’s supposedly dead son, an Alaskan bush pilot with a bad boy rep who’s been wounded in an airplane crash. Coming home after years of estrangement—and a stint in prison—to make amends with the old man is difficult for Tucker, but not half as difficult as keeping his distance from the super-sexy but virginal Harley while they share the house, awaiting his father’s return.

Having given up on the idea that he’ll ever fully heal from his ravaged leg, Tucker balks when Harley urges him to swim as physical therapy—until she adds a unique incentive: “Catch me and you can have me.” Her certainty that he’ll never be able to swim that fast evaporates when he embarks on a rigorous training regimen, determined to claim her as his prize. But when she unearths the dark secret in his past, will she still be willing to pay up when the time comes?

My Review

It will probably come as no surprise to hear that I really enjoyed The Black Sheep. I like a good bad boy story and this is certainly that. Although Tucker seems to be the stereo typical bad boy, it soon becomes clear that there is much more to him than that. I did find Harley a little annoying, because she was so uptight, but she soon relaxes with Tucker.

The relationship between Tucker and Harley is lovely and I loved the way that he had to work to get to know her and work to get better in order to win her. The relationship is believable and I like both of the characters. There is, of course an 'issue' for them to get over, before they can have their happily ever after. In some ways, I would have liked Harley to have handled things slightly differently, but as she had the experiences of her childhood to deal with, I can understand why she immediately assumed the worst.

If I had to find fault with the book, I would just have to say that it is over too soon. It was a great quick read, but of course I wanted more.

Deceiving Bella - Cate Beauman

Deceiving Bella

Isabella Colby has always yearned for normalcy. Now that she’s settled in LA, she finally has it. Good friends, a pretty home, and her thriving career as the Palisades’ top skincare specialist are a dream come true. Bella is content until she meets her hunky new neighbor, but her attraction to the blue-eyed cutie is the least of her worries when contacting her long-lost father threatens to destroy her happy life.

Reed McKinley is more than ready to forget the past. His seven-year stint as an NYPD detective nearly got him killed. His wounds have healed and he’s starting over as Ethan Cooke Security’s latest recruit. With sixty-hour workweeks and little time to himself, the last thing on his mind is a relationship. Then he bumps into the gorgeous woman next door.

Reed and Bella become fast friends. Before long, Reed discovers that Bella is keeping dangerous secrets. Bella may have the answers to decades-old questions he’s been searching for. Reed will risk it all to uncover the truth, but he soon realizes that the deeper he digs, the direr the consequences.

Ethan Cooke Security and their bodyguard team return to action in Deceiving Bella – book eleven in Cate Beauman’s Bodyguards of L.A. County series.

With over 7700 reviews and a 4.4 rating for the entire series, see why the Bodyguards of L.A. County is a multi-award winning series.

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New to the series? No problem! Each book in the “Bodyguards” series is a stand-alone title. Although reading the books in order is preferred, it is not necessary.  Each title features brand new primary characters and limited overlapping secondary characters.  Don’t hesitate to jump right in!

My Review

This is the third book in the Bodyguards of LA county series that I've read. (You can find my other reviews here.) The great thing about this series is that although the books are all linked, with previous characters popping up and making minor appearances, you can read them as stand alone books. I am planning, at some point in the near future, to go back and read some of the others.

I really enjoyed this latest installment. I like the way that Reed and Bella start out as friends. The book really takes time to build up the friendship and growing relationship between them, before they take the step into a romantic relationship.

Although I can understand why Reed and Bella's father might want to keep the truth about the past from her, it's clear that everything is going to come out and be devastating when it does. In many ways, this book had more mystery and intrigue as the novel progressed. The fast paced danger didn't kick in until the very end, but I thought that actually made it work much better. 

This was a great read and I really enjoyed it. This was a little bit longer than many other books in the romance genre, but that really helped to build the story and allow you to get to know the characters.

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All signs lead back to you - Cover Reveal

~~~ Cover Reveal ~~~

All Signs Lead Back to You by Aniesha Brahma

2013.

As the final bell for the day rang on their last day in school, Diya Rai, had a chill run down her spine. The chill of not knowing what the future holds for her and her high school sweetheart, Ashwin Chowdhury.

So she does a preemptive strike.

She dumps him before he can hurt her.

2015.

Two years later, Ashwin and Diya, cross paths. Each holds grudges, feelings and only one half of the story that completes them.

Told from alternating points of view, through a non-linear timeline, this is the story about 

first love, second chances and ALL the SIGNS THAT LEAD BACK TO YOU.

About the Author

Aniesha Brahma is an author who realized her passion for writing at the tender age of six. She also happens to be the social media manager for BEE Books. Her debut novel, The Secret Proposal (2012) was published by General Press and was followed by When Our Worlds Collide (2015) by the same. She blogs at: www.anieshabrahma.com and runs an online magazine, BUZZ Magazine (www.buzzmagazine.in). She can be contacted at: aniesha.brahma@gmail.com. She lives in Kolkata with her family and her five super adorable cats! 

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On Top of the World - David Lamb

I've always loved A Christmas Carol, so the idea of a modern take on the story, but as a contemporary romance, meant I had to give it a read.

On top of the World

2016 BEST FICTION-Pacific Book Awards. FROM THE FUNNY AND NATURALLY BRILLIANT DAVID LAMB, award-winning playwright of the New York Times celebrated play, Platanos Y Collard Greens, comes a modern spin on Dickens’ classic tale that perfectly combines humor and romance in a story re-imagined for our digital, consumerist age.  This version of Scrooge and Belle is familiar, yet unlike any you’ve come across before. Scrooge, or rather Scrooje, is music’s biggest superstar, with one hundred million albums sold, fifteen million devoted YouTube subscribers, two and a half million Facebook likes, and twenty-five million fanatical Twitter followers known as Scroojites. Belle, is a legal shark who gulps down her opposition voraciously and whose beauty and stunning figure causes traffic accidents as she zips through the sidewalks of Manhattan stylishly adorned and taking no prisoners.   They never imagined being music’s most powerful couple, but that’s exactly what happened when Belle fell head over heels and gave the Coke-bottle glasses wearing, plaid and stripe attired, scrawny, biggest nerd on her college campus the ultimate makeover, turning him into a fashion impresario whose style sets trends from Milan to NY Fashion Week and who can be seen courtside at the NBA Finals sporting a perfectly-fitted cashmere suit.   Then it happens. Belle realizes too late that she’s created a chart-topping monster as Scrooje’s ego explodes and he starts acting a fool.   Now, it’s been three years since they ve spoken. But tonight at Hollywood s biggest red carpet event, with the whole world watching, they’ll be given a second chance.

My Review

I loved this modern take on an old favourite. Not only was it a fun and updated version of the story, it still faithfully recreated Charles Dicken's original. Scrooje was thoroughly unlikeable when we first meet him. We see glimpses of his past, as he travels through his past with the ghosts that come to show him the error of his ways. We soon discover that he wasn't always the heartless, money mad, super star that he has become. 

I have to admit, that although Scrooje has become completely obsessed with money and greedy. I didn't think that Belle was much better. She was only really upset when he didn't do some acts of charity to appease her conscience, but was more than happy for him to shower her with gifts and throw parties with a huge, ostentatious display of wealth. Nice.

The idea of Scrooge (or in this case Scrooje) as a multi-million dollar music star, worked really well. It's not something that might spring immediately to mind, but it was really well done.

It was a fun and amusing story and although I knew what was going to happen, this being a retelling of an old favourite, it was still a really good read.

Links

davidlamb.club
@authordavidlamb

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Perforating Pierre - Pamela Burford

I've been looking forward to the release of the third Jane Delaney mystery since I read Uprooting Ernie last year, (see my review here). I really enjoy this series and I really wanted to see what was going to happen next to Jane. 

Over the past month, I've ready quite a few humorous, light, murder mysteries (also known as cozy mysteries apparently). They have, for the most part, been rubbish. Fortunately, Perforating Pierre, while being light-hearted and fun, is far from being rubbish.

Perforating Pierre

Celebrity chef Pierre Dewatre has everything going for him: swoon-worthy looks, a successful restaurant, and a budding TV career, not to mention that drop-dead-sexy French accent. Unfortunately for Pierre, the drop-dead part becomes all too real when Death Diva Jane and her furry little sidekick Sexy Beast discover him marinating in his own juices. So to speak. And okay, so the famous chef has been accused of cooking and serving endangered species, but that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with his death. Could it?

The inept detective in charge of the case has homed in on a single suspect: Jane’s ex, who’s only the Nicest Guy in the World. She’s never gotten over him, even with a certain bad-boy bartender invading her personal space at every opportunity. Throw the victim’s hot Parisian brother into the mix and it’s little wonder Jane is having trouble concentrating on whodunit.

You’d think having a high-strung, seven-pound poodle on your team would be the key to quickly solving a complicated murder. Turns out that’s not necessarily the case. Who knew?

My Review

This was another great instalment in the Jane Delaney series. This time she has yet another male who seems to be interested in her. The brother of her recently murdered friend, Pierre Dewatre. Her ex-husband is still in the thick of things, not only is he hanging around and confusing Jane, but he is also the chief suspect in Pierre's murder. 

The Padre, the lovely Martin is still around too. Sadly, not quite as much as I'd like. (He'd be my choice if I were Jane.) The sooner that Jane realises that her ex-husband, Dom, is not for her, or French men (no matter how sexy the accent) the better.

This time I did manage to work out who done it, before Jane realised, but I don't think that it was obvious, and it certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. (Actually I like to be able to solve the mystery from time to time, it helps me to feel intelligent.) 

I really really enjoyed Perforating Pierre. I can't wait to for the next installment and to find out what happens to Jane next. If you haven't read the first too books, then check them out too. Perforating Pierre is out on the 31st October, but open for pre-orders now.

The Empty Room - Sarah J. Clemens

The small town of Eastbrook, Maine seemed like the close-knit community where newlyweds Dean and Elizabeth Montgomery could begin their lives together, and the 1901 Victorian seemed like the house they’d always dreamed of owning. The only condition for purchasing the property was that it was sold in “as-is” condition.

When the couple arrives in Eastbrook, they receive anything but a warm welcome from the local residents. And when they realize that as-is condition meant that the previous owner of the house had left every worldly possession behind, the dream of the small town life starts to take a mysterious turn.

Day after day, Dean and Elizabeth uncover more truths than they could have ever imagined, or ever wanted to know about the secrets that were hidden in the small town of Eastbrook. And as neighbors become growingly hostile with every encounter, this young couple searches furiously to uncover what the residents are trying to hide.

As their journey unfolds, Elizabeth goes missing and Dean must turn to the very neighbors he fears may have known what would happen to her from the moment the couple arrived for help. Because in this town, some secrets are better off hidden.

My Review

I have to admit that I struggled a bit with this book to begin with. It started with a prologue that explained the back story. I don't think that it really needed it to and it nearly put me off reading the rest of the book. Once into the chapters themselves though, things picked up. I still didn't warm to the story straight away, I'm not sure exactly why that was. Some of the dialogue was a little strange and stilted, although it did turn out there was a reason for at least some of that. 

Despite my initial misgivings about the book, there was something about this story that kept me turning the pages and wanting to know where it was going. I was intrigued about the plot and what was really going on and wanted to find out. 

I did actually guess at least some of the ending (although not all) but it was this ending that made the book worth reading and keeping going with. I'd been in two minds before that, but once I reached the last couple of chapters, things sped up and I couldn't help but keep going. Those last couple of chapters helped lift my whole impression of the book. I thought that the mystery was very well done and carefully woven into the story. There were a few things that I was left confused about, but over all it worked really well. It also kept me thinking about it, long after I'd finished reading. This is certainly not a forgettable tale.

Although I wasn't completely happy about this story, for a number of reasons, over all I enjoyed it. It was unusual and in parts gripping. I can't help but wonder though, if a little editing and re-writing wouldn't have just helped lift it from an average read to a really good one.

Wicked Rivals - Lauren Smith

I've been waiting for the new League of Rogues book since Her Wicked Proposal came out in January. Lucky me, managed to get my hands on an advanced copy, just in time for my birthday last weekend. I managed to resist the temptation to start it for a few days, then dived in while having a birthday lie-in.

The danger with a series that you love, is that you're looking forward so much to the next installment, that when it arrives, it just doesn't measure up. Fortunately, this was far from the case this time, Wicked Rivals is fantastic.

This time we get to hear Ashton's story. He's the business man of the group, the one most in control, or at least until it comes to Lady Rosalind Melbourne. She is his rival in business at every turn, but there's something about her that he just can't resist. He attempts to take control of her business and put himself back on top. But this just throws them together in ways that he didn't expect. 

I loved reading about Rosalind and Ashton learning about one another, they discover that they actually work better together than against one another. Rosalind also discovers that she has been used as a pawn in the ongoing hatred between the league and Waverly. She fears that Ashton's interest in her is more do do with this dispute and believes that Ashton is just using her. Of course, love wins through and we find out more about Waverly in the process.

I really enjoy the little insights that we get into the other league members in these books, although you could read each one as a standalone novel, they do work really well as a series and the other league members always have sizeable roles in the stories. The next one due out is Jonathan's story, which I am looking forward to, although as I have an ongoing Charles theory, I really want to know what's going to happen there. (I'm not going to go into details of my Charles theory, in case I'm wrong, or perhaps even more importantly in case I'm not. But, I will say that there were parts of this book that reinforced my ideas.)

I loved this series before reading Wicked Rivals and I finished the book, wishing that I hadn't finished it quite so quickly and still loving the series. As with the other League of Rogues book, Wicked Rivals is highly recommended.