Katy McKenna had a career as a graphics designer, but she suspended that to chase her husband's dreams to open a bookstore / cafe... Until he came back with a pregnant girlfriend. So she divorced him and tried to revive her career... when she came upon a newspaper story about the upcoming parole hearing for a man who raped, kidnapped, and murdered her high school friend sixteen years ago. Katy started a petition to keep the guy in jail, while her grandma Ruby was busy finding her a rebound man, and her BFF was nagging her about writing a blog to deal with her anger issues. However, there is someone in town who cannot bear to see those petitions... and that person is out to eliminate all who dare to bring up the past...
Nice dramedy-mystery. Katy is quirky but not weak, and death of the girl was as shocking as expected. And the perp... well, it was not a total shock, but then a competent twist should not be. 7.5/8
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Finished Invasion by D. C Alden FREE
The new Caliphate has prepared for a long time, using the flow of oil to put a chokehold on Europe and the US. Its agents have infiltrated governments all across Europe, and operatives are ready to receive their final orders for suicide missions and sabotage missions. Comm nodes, transport nodes, military barracks, police headquarters, are all targeted. Paratroopers are loaded in transports. Tanks are fueled and ready. Their primary target is London, and the attack will commence at 6PM... The new war for Europe is about to begin.
It is basically like Red Storm Rising for the near future, and it was indeed quite bleak. Like it. 6.5/8 Mainly for its bleakness.
Finished To Save a Mate by Krystal Shannan FREE contemporary paranormal romance
Kara McClure lost everything in a single night. Her parents had just died in a car crash, and just as she's seeking solace, she found her boyfriend muff diving on her sorority sister. Stumbling in the dark, she stumbled into the path of a truck... Luke VonBrandt had watched Kara from afar since high school, but he's not the kind to butt into her life uninvited. But when he ran her over... He used his once-in-a-lifetime bonding spell to pour his essence into her... to save her life. You see, he's a werewolf. But the spell was reserved for bond mates... and Luke is risking EVERYTHING to give life to a girl... who may not love him...
Angst-y, but an interesting spin on werewolf love stories. 6/8
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Finished Kissing Jessie by Laurie Kellogg contemporary romance
Mike Danvers is a building contractor in limbo. He grew up with a crack mom who refused to give him up but cannot provide for him. He's also extremely mature, as he can pass for adult at 15, which led to some... "adult situations". He's almost thirty-eight now, successful, and wanting a family. His current girlfriend Tracy didn't really want kids, but Mike felt his time was running out... and proposed marriage any way, hoping to change Tracy's mind. He didn't count on meeting Tracy's younger sister, Jessie... Jessie's 24, and culinary school graduate. She wanted to turn her inherited Victorian into a B&B, but she was forever getting snide comments from her older sister Tracy, who's thinner and prettier... and always jealous of her. Jessie knew that she can't be coveting the hunky guy who's her sister's fiancee, but she needed his help to get the Victorian converted. Then Tracy broke off the engagement upon the children issue, Mike wondered if he proposed to the wrong sister, even as Jessie dropped pounds and became sexually active... But Mike sees the 13 year age gap between them as insurmountable issue, and refuse to commit his heart... when Tracy decided she's not over Mike, this sister love triangle can get REALLY messy...
This author has a penchant of writing interesting love triangles, but I feel this one had a few too many issues thrown together, as Mike also found his "secret babies" (twins he fathered while he's a teenager, without knowing!) as well as his reputation as a "ladies man", so to speak. Still 6/8
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Finished One Look by Christie Ridgway FREE contemporary romance
Poppy Walker, dreamer of the family, wanted to turn the few mountain cabins into a resort, even though she is a single mom with no money. When a super-hunky stranger with a wad of cash wanted to rent the first cabin she finished, and offering to pay FIVE TIMES to the going rate and paid for a MONTH without batting an eye, she can't say no, even though she technically ain't open yet. And Poppy can dream about the hunk... Ryan Hamilton needed a place to hide from everybody else... and himself. March is a bad time for him... bad memories, that he doesn't want to be near any one, because he invariably hurt them. When Poppy didn't recognize him, it's absolutely perfect... But Poppy keep trying to draw him out of his shell, and her sunny disposition made her... irresistible. But when Ryan found out that Poppy has her own wounds and secrets that may rival his own, and visitors came to town, will their connection be shattered forever?
Angst-y, and a lot of secrets that needed to be shared. However, I think there are too many characters, with Ryan's brother Linus and Linus' girl plus others showing up with their own romance. It's messy. Add Poppy's ex popping up and it's quite messy. 5/8
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Finished Love Sprung From Hate by Sienna Blake contemporary mafia romance
Roman just wanted to attend his brother's funeral, then go back to his exile in Europe. He wanted nothing to do with his family business... The mob is Tyrell's legacy, esp. when it killed his brother. Juliana just wanted to be treated seriously as a detective in the Verona police department, even though the chief was her father, and death of her mother made her abandon her law degree to turn to criminal justice. The two should have never met, but his escape (from his father's goons) brought him into her orbit, and the attraction is instant. They spent a full night together, reveling in their discovery of each other, neither wanted to talk about family or responsibilities. But before he can leave, he was forced to join his father in the business... and a street war is about to erupt between the factions. When a mid-level goon in a rival organization was found beaten and shot... Roman and Juliana found they were on opposite sides... and somehow, nobody knew their secret liaison... yet...
Basically Romeo and Juliet written as a contemporary mafia romance, the twists are not bad, but I don't feel this novel ended at a good place, so the ending was "forced", as there are two more volumes. 5/8