Pin-Up Fireman ~ Vonnie Davis

Boyd is a fireman that has been living the straight and narrow for a year due to a custody battle between him and his vicious ex-wife, Chantel. Graci-Ella is a lawyer that does freelance photography. She wants to do a calendar of his squad to benefit the local food shelter. Boyd, not interested. He doesn’t want to jeopardize his chances of winning custody of his son, Matt. However, Boyd’s attraction to Graci-Ella is immediate… and mutual. But with all great love stories… there’s always one jackass who turns out to be quite dangerous! As Boyd and Graci-Ella grow serious, it’s time for her to meet Matt. There’s something about a kid with no filter that I just love (and no one does that better than Mrs. Davis!) There’s a scene where the photos are being taken that I just absolutely loved!

This was a great story of what life and love can be if you can learn to open up (your mind and heart) and learn to trust. Ms. Davis has a way with the pen and I look forward to reading WAY more books from her!

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A Hard Ride Home ~ Emory Vargas

Welcome to Silver Creek, the birth place of Emmett Grady! (Think Wild West)… Emmett has come home after an approximate 6 year hiatus, to become the new sheriff. The old sheriff was “mysteriously” drowned… hmmm. His first night as sheriff, he arrests a male prostitute named Jesse. Emmett is absolutely smitten… Jesse is intrigued. Emmett’s dad, Warren only wants Jesse. Jesse wants to be free. Emmett wants to help with that.

The story gives you the feel of reading a western, but you don’t get the whole gun fight, Gun Smoke feel until the book is about 80% over. No one should look to this book for a historical outlook. You can see that Jesse is a complex person and Emmett is confused within himself about who is really is, however towards the end… a few things are cleared up. I’d give it a 3.5 stars…

To Win Her Love ~Mackenzie Crowne

At the reading the will for Pete, you meet Gracie, his sister in law, and Jake, his estranged son. Sparks fly between the two as the identity of each other causes the other quite a stir. She is a football blogger and he is a professional football player. They were in a war of words via her blog, so her identity threw him for a loop. In Pete’s will, there is a clause for custody of his 6 year old twin daughters, Angel and Charlie. The problem… Jake didn’t know he even had siblings. (So much for being the only child!) The stipulation, Gracie and Jake must live on the farm with the  girls and get to know them. If they both manage to stay, the girls pick who will be their guardian. Sounds simple enough… one would think…

Gracie is harboring a secret that could potential destroy Jake’s career. She’s has some daddy issues… for instance, she’s never met him but she knows of him. The issue isn’t her not knowing her dad… it’s who her dad is. If Gracie thought the media was having a field day with her argument with Jake via her website… she knows the dire consequences if her secret is revealed.

The banter between Gracie and Jake is great. His arrogance and her bull-headedness (is that even a word?!) makes them a perfect match. They had some really great moments when they let their guards down and truly got to know each other and Jake getting to know his sisters. It was well written. Add in the supporting characters, such as V, Jake’s publicist… Tuck, Jake’s team mate, Max, Gracie’s best friend, and Murphy, Gracie’s dog… good times to be had.

My reaction to the “The Met Gala” scene… Holy crap!

An Unlikely Alliance ~ Patricia Bray

This is a story of what can go wrong when you take a fake gypsy fortune teller and she correctly makes a prediction. Magda made a prediction about a horse race, not realizing someone planned to make the prediction come true. When Alexander’s horse is slated to win, doesn’t… well, he wants answers.

So it’s understandable that Alexander has questions and the only person who can give him answers is Magda. One problem… she doesn’t know anything. (I know I said “one” problem… there’s actually two problems… One person’s luck has run out and he needs Magda to give him another predictions. Oh, and someone’s trying to kill Magda…) Over time, Alexander and Magda become friends… eventually, their feelings grow stronger. But she has a past that even Magda isn’t fully aware of. (Think long, lost Anastasia… and add Cinderella…)

The story was well written and it was intriguing, but it was predictable. I was able to tell who was doing what and why. There were moments that were sweet and endearing and moments of humor, but overall the story was good… not great. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars as it was enjoyable. I would be interested to read something else from Ms. Bray.

Ruby’s Misadventures with Reality ~ Samantha Bohrman

Ruby starts her day by not knowing how she woke up at Noel’s house, and covered is purple sticky stuff. (This is the making of a good story!) Ruby is a lawyer assigned to her first case, Estelle, a sweet grandmother who is charged with a list of crimes that she looks too innocent to have committed.

While trying to acquit Estelle of these charges, you smell a conspiracy. As Ruby tries to unravel this mystery/conspiracy, she lands herself in some bizarre situations that only Ruby can get out of! She’s so endearing that sometimes you can’t help but laugh at some of the antics and situations, but naive enough that you want to sit her down and have a conversation with her about what it’s like to be an adult.

There are references to “The Wizard of Oz” that makes this story such a fun read. There are some modern references as well… Ruby’s boss’s name is Destinee Childs. (Need I say more?!) While you will love the main character, let’s not forget the supporting cast! Each one was so well written that you have love/hate relationships with them. They’re witty, intelligent, and extremely well written.

This book has everything… murder, mystery, humor, conspiracy, a sex tape… what’s not to love?!

 

My reaction to the sex tape!

Aglow ~ Krissy Daniels

Meet Marcus, a descendant of the fallen angels, making him part angel, part human. Each of them have a soul mate… sometimes, it just takes a look… sometimes you really have to look for them. For Marcus, all it took was a glance at Camilla… who didn’t even look his way. As it happens, Camilla also comes from the fallen angels. She just doesn’t know it. After a series of events, she learns her power… the ups and downs. And boy are those downs something fierce.

Typical me fashion, I didn’t start with book one. However that wasn’t a problem. I was able to follow along just fine. Now, I have the mouth of a sailor… but I felt like the language was a bit much. It felt like there were at six f-bombs dropped per page. I found myself craving the pages that held the interactions of Marcus and Camilla. Not that the writing was bad, but their chemistry was great.

I would give this a solid 4 out of 5. I like it enough to want to read the first book.