Kasey's Books Read 2018

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Mar 31, 2018 3:58 pm

Finished His Muse by Twyla Tunrer

Kari pushed her mother away almost twenty years ago due to jealousy, shame, and later, guilt. Then an email arrived linking to her mother's memoir. Kari started reading, and found what's her mother's side of the story... // Taryn is a 44-year old (black) divorced mother starting over in the South of France. Her ex-husband replaced her with a younger and white woman. Taryn did not expect to fall in love, but Etienne is an artist and a singer, and swept her off her feet. But he's only 29 (and a white boy). And she can no longer bear children. How much would Taryn give up to make Etienne happy out of love, even though Taryn is Etienne's muse?

The book reads a lot longer than it seems. It says only 300 pages, but it felt much longer, which is actually good. I won't spoil the plot, but this is one of those "fated mates" sagas that took some interesting twists. The book-end writing was somewhat unusual, but it worked in this case. 7/8

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Finished Sophie by Cyndi Raye mail order bride, historical

Sophie was rescued from the gang after citizens of Wichita Falls took up arms and broke up the gang that took over a nearby township, and lured several women out under false pretenses of mail order brides. She knew Salen Nightingale, the saloon guy, liked her, but he's hot and cold, and she promised to be a mail order bride to the matchmaker in town, Ms. Addie. After a kiss that promised to ruin her for all men, will she be able to go when the time comes, even when Salem became the new sheriff?

The push-pull feelsl wrong, as if it's amateur. He's deeply ashamed "I'm just a barkeep, no woman would want me", while she's "but I promised and I intended to see it through". She doesnt' seem to know guns, yet she's willing to run, in the dark, to help Salem, then got lost and fell in the river and barely survived. Obviously he found her having a fever and they kinda got not quite nekkid. It just feels like very amateurish plotting, complete with multiple too stupid to live moments. 3/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Apr 01, 2018 2:28 pm

Finished Sex Symbol by Laurelin Paige

Maddie Bauer vowed to get into film school. Micah Preston vowed to become a great actor. They met one night at a party. She didn't even plan to go, but she got an orgasm from Micah out in the corner. And they lost touch. She was too busy, he was told he needed to concentrate. Seven years later, they meet again on a movie set. Their chemistry is thermonuclear, but she cannot give in to his charm, not when she's the replacement assistant cameraman and he's now the hottest star in Hollywood. But does she stand a chance in the sights of a... sex symbol?

There's some additional complications, like evil boss (bitch-y director), Maddie wanted to be her own director, Micah wanted to invest in her project, but not come across as pushy, but still want her in his bed... and so on. Not too bad. 6/8

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Abandoning Cocky Captain by Kelly Moore

Kenna is flying to Germany to meet her boyfriend in the US military. Her seatmate turned out to be also military... Declan, and even more handsome than her BF, and even accidental touch sends tingles up her arm. When she found out Captain Declan was her BF's superior, and her BF had been cheating on her, she hooked up with Declan instead...

This fantasy military base apparently has no security. Not only her BF was able to hook up with another military girl, Kenna was able to "sneak" into Declan's office and hide under his desk to surprise him with a naughty nurse uniform cosplay... while he's ON DUTY. WTF. The insta-lust to love thing didn't quite work either. Kenna's mind is just full of sex. I can't even call this "military fiction". It could be set in a UPS warehouse for all I care. 2/8

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Finished No Place Like Home by Christina Burtrum

Janelle wanted to bake, but she was railroaded into a journalism career by her mother. She had to get away from her home of a cafe run by her parents in Seattle, and she went all the way to Cincinnati. When her parents agreed to go on vacation, first time in decades, Janelle came back to help out. She also ran into Colin Davis, an old rival from high school, now a reporter for a Seattle paper. She found the cafe understaffed and one of the employees is worthless. She attempted to make personnel changes, but she was resisted in every way by her mother via remote. In the meanwhile, Colin was slowly working his way into her heart, being sweet and sincere. But Janelle has a career to go back to... unless Colin can convince her to stay...

The flip from "OMG my worst enemy ever" to "OMG he's so sweet" was not handled that well. Neither was the transition of her mother "You can do nothing right" to "okay". There really wasn't even a darkest moment, per se. There was an anticipated problem, except it twisted into a deus ex machina instead. Sorry, this just didn't work for me. 3/8

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Finished A Drifter's Fortune by Kay P Dawson

Harrison needed a bride fast... The ranch's owner died, but instead of picking an heir, he declared a contest instead: whoever among the ranchhands and foremen marry and keep a bride married for 6 months win the deed to the whole ranch. Harrison sent off for a mail order bride... no questions asked. He hoped to convince her to stay six months... // Patience and her brother had been brought up by a family that hated them and exploited them since they were small. Their only way out was for her to answer a mail order bride and go west to marry a stranger... // Patience arrived in town, at the Last Chance Ranch, and Harrison is handsome and kind. But Harrison has a surname that attracted golddiggers (even when he has no money) and there are evil folks in town who wanted Harrison to fail... badly. Patience also kept some secrets from Harrison...

The deux ex machina at the end came out of nowhere. if there was foreshadowing / hint-dropping, I must have missed it.

Spoiler:

Still, a nice tale. Call it 6/8

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Finished Lost, Abandoned, and Secured by her One-Arm Hero by Faye Sonja FREE

In 1871, Isabella, a trained doctor in her thirties, had to leave the south after her parents perished in the fire that also gutted the town. She travel to the town of White Elk as a mail order bride to marry Kit. Other towns say bad things about White Elk, about beasts around the land, haunt lake... and ignorant people. Perfect for a doctor, right? What will Isabella say when she find out her groom, Kit, only has one arm? Or he did not believe in doctors or medicine?

Her stories just have things happening. The emotions seems to be very... raw instead of layered. And the theme basically hammers you on the head rather than people gradually come around. The stories are short (just over 100 pages each) but somehow they just don't flow right. There's no real push-pull, darkest hour, grand gesture, or such. (Well, there's is a gesture at the end, but that's conclusion, not the thing that fixed the darkest hour, so it didn't count) it' sjust a bunch of things happening to people. 4/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:58 am

Finished Tempted by Molly O'Keefe Historical Western

Annie Denoe is a doctor's assistant in and a landlady in Denver, Colorado. The probelm is, the doctor is a chroloform addict, so half the time she's the only one treating the problems, despite the apparent impropriety doing so. Steven Baywood is building a railroad in the area. Their siblings already knew each other, and neither are aware of each other's feelings. When Annie admit she wanted a family and may be willing to marry the doctor just to see what sex is about, Steven had to admit the feelings he had for Annie. The problem is, Steven is a survivor of the Andersonville prison camp, and he did some unspeakable things there to escape. He cannot tolerate being touched... or touching anyone. But to give Annie what she wanted, he had to overcome that, or risk losing Annie to someone else.

While the background is plausible, the relationship doesn't quite fit together. Also, the book doesn't quite call back to the first book where we're first introduced to these characters, almost as if they had forgotten about each other and had to learn anew. 5/8

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Finished Long Lost Neighbors by Frances Hoelsema

Greg and Alison are best friends and neighbors, but Alison's family looked down on Greg and his family. When Greg's family had to move to a different down (only 30 minutes away), they vowed to keep write each other, but Alison's mother confiscated all correspondence and forcibly kept them apart. Eventually, they lost touch. Fifteen years later, Alison is engaged to Sean, who is sweet, but has no sense of work-life balance... Even while on a date he answers the phone, and brings work on a lake vacation with Alison. Then Alison ran into Greg in town, and they rekindled their friendship. Alison started to have doubts about Sean being the one... but wedding was all planned, even as Greg revealed the depth of his feelings for her... just when tragedy struck Alison's family.... What will Alison choose?

The ending is pretty much pre-ordained, but how it got there was... slow. It seems to be just so... petty. 5/8

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Finished Taming the Beast by Lucy King

Mercedes "Mercy" Hernandez had a crush on her best friend Zelda's older brother, Sebastian "Seb" Madison, but one disastrous fling, and it's all over for them. Decade later, Mercy and Zel are still best friends, having made it through thick and thin, with Seb being the now a billionaire managing a charitable foundation. Mercy still finds Seb gorgeous... but strangely cold and aloof, and Seb still felt guilty about death of his parents and can't deal with his sister... or Mercy. Somehow, the two agreed on a sex only relationship, which morphed into relationship, if they will just admit to each other... but can they REALLY have a relationship without resolving the guilt from their past?

Something didn't quite add up, as some of the stuff were glossed over. A) He ran off to become a member of FFL, that means hes' a French citizen. So where is this foundation again, and when did he become a billionaire if he spent 5 years in the FFL? B) She got recalled home and suddenly decided her family vineyard is her life, but then, she can spend months in the US, I presume to get her MBA and bonking Seb on the side AND stay besties with Zel? I may have missed some details there, but somehow, this scenario just doesn't grab me as believable. 5/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:51 am

Finished Everything to Me by A C Taylor

Haze needed to escape from her life, having lost her mother. She packed up everything and left her stuff behind... Then she ran into Dominic... Dom is a music artist but suffers from a congenital heart condition. After suffering a collapse backstage, he was told to take things easy, and took a vacation. They met, and developed a platonic friendship due to shared loss. And continued family pressure and drama kept them in touch, for they are each other's lifeline in the storm. But can they ever be lovers? Do they see each other that way?

For once, the story does NOT involve douchebags with no redeeming quality! On the other hand, the story took place over several YEARS as there are some MAJOR gaps between some chapters. So the story feels a bit slow, despite being less than 200 pages. Characters are nicely nuanced without too many flaws. The supporting characters are somewhat flat though. All in all 6/8

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Finished Adeline: The Strong-willed Bride for Her Lonely Farmer by Faye Sonja

Adeline had to leave New York when her father died in debt and the debtor Lex Baxter, intended to take one of the sisters as payment. Adeline managed to stall the evil man for six months of mourning and answered a mail order bride ad... All the way out in Goldrush, California... // James Blair suffered some poor heartbreak, and is about to be forced off his land if he cannot get a good crop going. Finding a wife was supposed to help him free up more time in the fields, not about love... but Adeline may have some solutions to James' problem, however unconventional they are, if James will just stop being stubborn... Or was it Adeline being unreasonable by insist on hiring the Chinamen to help work the fields?

There are some historical questions, as it's almost exclusively Chinese men that came over, very few women and children. How did they end up camping near Goldrush to help James is was something that was never explained properly. Still, this is not too bad esp. compared to her other works. 5.5/8

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Finished Echo Canyon Brides Books 1 - 3 by Linda Bridey

Montana Rescue -- Evan, the sheriff, needed women, esp. wives, to save the town of Echo Canyon, as the gold veins ran out. Josie needed to leave Pullman, Washington, to find a suitable husband. Josie's train derailed on the way to and was saved by an Irishman named Lucky, while Josie also meets the bunch of unusual characters in town, like Evan's aunt Edna, or the potentially evil rich guy with a sinister reputation... But is there a chance at love, when earthquake struck the area?

Nice complex characters, including some interesting mysteries that will be revealed later in the book, and this series goes on for 11 books. Billy is a native American raised by white folks. He doesn't know his history and it plays into the plot quite a bit. This is at least 6/8

Montana Bargain -- Dr. Winslow Wu, yes, he's Chinese, is a trained veterinarian not that any white guy would hire him to treat their animals except his close friends in Echo Canyon. As the town needed a doctor, It was Winslow who put in an ad for mail order bride, and bot Dr. Erin Avery, a female doctor trained, but can't practice in the East. Having her own practice out west where there isn't a doctor around is perfect for her, but what is with the rich guy in town who seems to be both friendly and sinister at the same time?

Dr. Wu seems to be both skilled... AND a caricature. I only sorta-accept the story how he got trained as a vet (his godfather is the head of the vet school after his family saved his godfather in China) Wu went into business with the folks making $$$ with Lucky's animal husbandry biz, but Wu also seems to know kungfu AND dim-mak (strike at nerve points to help or disable) OTOH, this is still 6/8

Montana Adventure --- Billy and Lucky went to find Lucky's long-lost Cheyenne family, and Lucky was devastated to find he can only reclaim his son, but not his wife, who had remarried and will be relocated soon. When they left, they found two other Indians willing to leave with them... a brave and Nina, a white girl brought up by Cheyenne. When they were captured by family as trespassers and forced to marry, Billy was torn as he had summoned a mail order bride who's already in town... In the meanwhile, the rich enigmatic man's secret is about to be revealed by the sheriff...

Fun read, 6.5/8 or so. I'm not sure I want to read every volume, but they are sure fun adventure stories to read. Don't know about authenticity, but it beats depression sermons about faith and perseverance for love and honor and blah blah blah.

Overall 6/8

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Finished Beach Rental by Grace Greene Prime Reading

Juli Cooke is working multiple jobs, and going nowhere in the town of Emerald Isle, North Carolina. One night at a catering job lead her to encounter two extraordinary men, Ben Bradshaw who's dying of cancer, and his cousin, Luke Winters, a local arts dealer. Ben offered Juli a deal of a lifetime: become his wife, and be left with a good amount of money to do what she wanted after he died, which won't be very long. Ben did not want his life to be prolonged too much, but he still wanted companionship. But Luke was much wearier of Juli's true intentions. // Then Ben died, but not from cancer... and everything changed, for what he left behind... was not just money, but a chance to start over, if Juli will just take it... if her past didn't catch up with her first.

7/8 The angsts and how Ben and Juli fall for each other was very good, and that twist at the 67% mark was brilliant. The twist at the end too was beautifully done.

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Finished Almost Jamie by Gina Robinson (book 1 of 4) FREE

Blair Edwards is Seattle's latest cancer doc, after leaving her BF behind in London, as he's not going to commit, and she needed to be in Seattle for her career to move forward. Only her love of romance novels of the fictional highlander Jamie keep her companion... Until she run into the next best thing... a cosplay Jamie that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing... at Jet City Comicon, when she attended in cosplay as Jamie's lady in red! // Austin MacDougall (yes, he's a Scot) is a Seattle Tech Millionaire that cosplay for fun and bragging rights, and being a Scot, he's practically a dead-ringer for the actor playing Jamie, esp. when they are both in costume. But his love life is so bad, he enlisted a dating coach / matchmaker to up his game... just when Blair came to his rescue after a cosplay swordfight at Comicon dislocated one of his fingers. And they can't possibly be better matched... but there's a huge difference between PLAYING lovers... and BEING lovers... but they can adapt, can't they, esp. when a TV producer wanted to push the local romance angle?

Awww, this is so cute, and Comicon references and tech references seem to be right on. It does end on a somewhat HFA with a teaser for next volume. 7/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Apr 06, 2018 3:56 pm

Finished Sucked Into Love by Rochelle Piage

Jocelyn "Josie" had to help out her friend Cee-cee when Cee-cee needed to see what a bachelorette party was like at a downtown club... Josie is the fake bachelorette. Andrew, the club owner, knew he wanted Josie the moment he laid eyes on her. But he never goes after a committed woman. Imagine his surprise when he encountered her later... sans wedding ring. She never even gotten engaged. Now Andrew will go after Josie with all his heart...

Not much to this story except he goes growling all alpha possessive, and she likes it. Meh. 4.5/8

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Finished More than Forever by Mona Ingram FREE

Bonnie, divorced, is finally learning to be herself. She's lost weight, she's better, but her inability to bear children left doubts on her mind on whether she's worthy of love? // Marty ran the family vineyard all his life, but when his brother sold the vineyard out from under him, he's despondent. // Then both of their lives changed when they became co-winners of 88 million lottery jackpot. And when they met, they saw in each other what they missed... companion, friendship, and maybe even... love. But will they be let go of their past to welcome the future?

Nice twists even though they don't quite tie back to the main topic itself. This is more of a character study, on how Bonnie found herself again, and how Marty needed a certain thing in him to keep living, and how they can share that with each other. 6.5/8 even though it's only 150 pages short, and it contains previews so it's even shorter than that.

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Finished Mountain Man Candy by Frankie Love

Clive was the man candy in town... Until a tragedy turned him into a recluse, turning down women who offered themselves. He can never put himself into leaving anyone broken-hearted. He saw it happen to his sister. // Hazel is the new candy-maker in town, and have no one left in the world. Catering to Clive's nieces and nephews is good, and getting to know Clive... is better. But Clive isn't not ready... or so he told himself...

Didn't feel that much with only 85 pages of a story. Children seem to be a too mature. 5.5/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:22 pm

Finished Men Out of Uniform 6-book bundle by Rhonda Russell

Six book combo of the first 6 books in the series. 1300 pages (but that includes blurbs and previews and whatnot, so actual content is closer to 1100 pages. These books are all ex rangers now out doing security company, bodyguard, investigations, that sort of stuff. Most are quite decent, with at least decent twists upon the standard "undercover" tropes. And yes, I did went through all of them.

6/8, nothing like REALLY moving, but they are all good without any major fact abuse.

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Finished So Unlike Me by Nikki Lynn Barrett FREE

Lizette Monroe and her twin Nola had been devastated after their parents' death. Mother was killed by a stray bullet, and father died two weeks later from a heart attack. Being practically heiresses, they have plenty of money... but no love. Nola, normally vibrant, became agoraphobic. And Lizette just had her ex-fiancee jump on a reality TV show and making more drama for her. When Nola won a sweepstakes to Paris, it seems like a perfect chance for Lizette to get away from all the drama, except Lizette had to impersonate Nola. Then Nola and Lizette discover the winner is going to Paris Tennessee, not Paris France. And there, Lizette (pretending to be Nola), actually encountered a blast from the past... Dirk Ramsey, Nola's best friend since middle school. When Dirk fell for the girl, did he fell for Nola... or Lizette?

Twin-switcharoo stories are plentiful, and hard to do well. This one is pretty good as Dirk did figure out it was Lizette, nor Nola. There were also some parallel plots where Nola, stuck at home, may or may not be imagining threats to them. Call it 6/8

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Finished Lost Ex-Amish Bride by Faye Sonja FREE

1884. Agnes was exiled from her Amish community when she brought back English medicine to save her mother. She thought of becoming a mail order bride, but when the groom was rude, she broke it off. Temporarily taking care of orphans in the library, she almost died in the library fire, leading her to believe she's cursed. But she was rescued by Charlie, a rich man with a ranch nearby. Charlie invited her and the orphan to stay on the ranch, as they had nowhere else to go, but his brother is suspicious of any woman nearby. But will Charlie love the woman and child that brought joy back into his life?

The darkest hour barely made sense, and resolution is boring as heck (change of heart). Boring. 3/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 2:29 am

Finished You Make Me by Erin McCarthy FREE

Caitlyn grew up in a broken home. Her father was a ex-lobsterman, and her mother was mentally unstable with bad short-term memory. They make ends meet by fostering, and Caitlyn has an endless stream of foster brothers and sisters, only two she grew close to... Tiffany, and Heath. She got so close to Heath, she gave him her v-card. Then he disappeared when he turned eighteen. She was broken, went off to college, and four years later, she has a frat president boyfriend in college who wanted to marry her upon graduation. Then Heath suddenly reappeared. He's out of the marines, and he's seeking revenge on those who kept them apart, as well as winning her back. But when the two goals conflict, both Caitlyn and Heath will have to make choices...

Pretty intense, darkest hour seems to be both of them just being stubbornly prideful about refusing to apologize for doing what they chose. 6/8

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Finished Hired Bride by Noelle Adams

Deanna and her sisters were raised by their eccentric grandma in the old mansion, but their Historic Savannah Georgia mansion is falling down around their ears. Their grandma's solution is to try to pair them off to prospective single men, and Deanna, the oldest, is first in line. Mitchell Graves is in town to do business, but he needed a fake wife to gain time to conclude a business deal, esp. when his partner's wife has her eyes on him, and Deanna happens to be the most expedient solution... he'll pay her well for a six month sham marriage. She's quiet and meek and easy to manage. Oh boy... did he make a huge mistake...

The setup sorta makes sense and sorta doesn't. The part that leads to HEA however, is pretty good, and at 200 pages, just about right. 6/8

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Finished Mad Love by Colet Abedi FREE

Sophie Walker is tired of her controlling parents. She wanted to be an artist, not a lawyer, even though she can make the grades. She doesn't even want her passionless boyfriend. WIth her two best friends they went to a resort vacation in the Maldives... and ran into Clayton Sinclair... much richer, and much more seductive than she had ever experienced. But can she stay when all she wanted was to get away from controlling people, even when his touch sets her ablaze in passion?

Another ingenue vs. billionaire story, I don't really see what's to good about this one. 5/8

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Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:52 pm

Finished The Montana Bride by Jeannie Watt FREE

Jacie Rose ran away from her home town of Cherry Lake years ago. A drunken party got her pregnant, and her stepfather laid hands on her for besmirching his name and his reputation. She was about to ask her best male friend Brett to marry her just to save her, when she realized she'd be saddling him with her for life, so she ran. Ten years later, she has a degree, a job as building engineer, and is happily raising her daughter... And just took a job back in Cherry Lake to rebuild the historical hotel. She never imagined she'd be next door neighbors to Brett. // Brett was sad that Jacie had jilted him that day ten years ago, but he can understand why. Now that she's back, he's not letting her go... But Jacie refuses to take a lover, as she refuse to choose between her daughter and her love, as her daughter always comes first. But as pressure mounts on the project and her step-father slimy as ever, will Jacie want to lean on Brett for support?

The knee in the balls was okay, but somehow, the guy was built up to be some boogeyman, and if that's all that's needed it didn't quite come across as satisfying. The guy's a bit too passive, IMHO. But overall, 6/8

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Finished Jake by Cynthia Woolf Historical Western

Jake Anderson killed the man who killed his fiancee, but the one who got away decided to cover up his crime by abusing his authority, forcing Jake and his brother Zach on the run, and together, the brothers, now joined by brother Liam and his two children, set off for Deadwood, hoping to stay incognito and forgotten. Upon arrival, Jake encountered Becky Finnegan, and her drunken father Billy. Billy blamed her daughter for his dead wife, and beat her daily. The claim barely produce enough gold for him to buy liquor in the local saloon, not that he ever work, when he can beat Becky into working the claim instead. Jake immediately attempted to product Becky, but Billy spotted an opportunity... He can sell the locations of the Anderson's to bounty hunters... when that failed, he sold Becky off to a miner instead, but Jake and Becky escaped to get married first. But is it just to save her... or is there real love involved?

Good twists, 6/8

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Finished Saved by Angel Payne FREE

Garrett, an operator with his Special Forces unit, no longer cared he lived or died. Love of his life, Sage Weston, was pronounced MIA, presumed dead when her medical unit was ambushed in Africa. But one mission in Thailand, rescue of Americans women kidnapped by human traffickers lead him to shock of his life: Sage is still alive, and rescued. But Garrett is no longer the same. In the dark hours of his soul, he had taken to a BDSM lifestyle that he cannot possibly spoil Sage with, not after her ordeal. But when the human trafficking boss came after Sage and her fellow rescuees again, intending to get revenge, Garrett will discover a new side of Sage that he must take to full advantage to eliminate the threat once and for all.

For BDSM sex, this is actually quite good, and all the military details seems okay, nothing glaringly obvious. ONE thing however, just made no sense. How did she get from Africa to Thailand? I mean smuggling is easy enough. But these were MILITARY women. No DNA testing of whatever remains? They just wrote them off? And why would traffickers want MILITARY women who are at least trained in something? 6/8

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Finished Father Found by Judith Arnold FREE

Jamie McCoy is a columnist with a nationally syndicated column called "Guy Stuff". He is thirty, and enjoy a carefree bachelor existence... Until he woke up with a baby girl named Samantha on his back porch, left by a woman he had a one-night stand with at a vacation resort, who did not even leave a real name or number. Overwhelmed by his sudden fatherhood, he called the local hospital, where neonatal nurse Allison Winslow told him the most basics and invited him to a class she holds called "Daddy School". Allison, expecting a barely working teenage father, was surprised at the rich well-to-do bachelor, and Jamie expecting a matronly but grouchy woman, was surprised at the amazingly beautiful and confident nurse. And Jamie realized perhaps he needed Allison for more than just baby advice. Allison was touched by Jamie's efforts to be all the dad he can be, but how can she trust a man who got a woman pregnat out of wedlock? When Samantha's mother wanted her back, will Jamie fight for her? And will Allison help him?

Surprisingly funny AND poignant, 7/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:46 pm

Finished No Such Thing by Mona Ingram Historical Western

Lily's life in Shanghai became a nightmare when her father died and she was sold to a sea captain to be taken to San Francisco with a life in a brothel. Being born in the year of the tiger, she was determined to survive, and she seized her chance when her wagon overturned, and she escaped into the night... and was taken in by a kind family of brothers and sisters. Devon, the young Bostonian, vowed to protect her from any harm, but the captain was not keen in losing his investment. When Lily was recaptured, Devon and his gang had to mount a rescue mission, but will that be enough to win Lily's heart?

The problem with this book is I couldn't tell whether the story was supposed to continue or not, as the book went on to SEVERAL more adventures AFTER her rescue (Lily starting a business, Lily moving to Sacramento to start a vegetable farm, Lily saving Devon's business, etc.) The stakes didn't... escalate quite right. But it's still a fun story to read if a bit ahistorical (Lily finding gold near Sacramento). 6/8

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Finished Sunflowers and Second Chances by Holly Tierney-Bedord

Mandalyn Laramie is numb after losing her fiancee Jack. She went off to work over the summer on McCauley's Sunflower Farm store, trying to numb herself with work. She wasn't ready for male attention, esp. from the store owner's carefree nephew Braydon, now technically her boss as the owners left on vacation. Braydon is laidback and quirky, exact opposite of Mandalyn, who's serious and orderly. But his kindness and good humor started to unwind her plans to work herself to recovery... But when Braydon had to go back to California, will she agree to go with him?

The shift toward "annoying" to "lovely" feels a bit abrupt. 5/8

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Finished Remedial Rocket Science by Susannah Nix

Melody Gage is a geek girl looking for a NSA one-night stand when her date stood her up... she was hit on by a creepy guy when she was rescued by out-of-towner Jeremy. Jeremy was great, and indeed NSA. When Melody graduated and moved to LA three years later, she was horrified to discover not only Jeremy works in her company, he's actually CEO's son. Furthermore, Jeremy has a girlfriend and a reputation as a playboy. Melody struggles to keep her distance, but series of circumstances, such as Jeremy's GF turned out to be sapphic, Melody needing a fake BF to satisfy her mother, and a latte vs laptop emergency brought them closer and closer together. Melody admitted to herself she has feelings for the son of billionaire, but is the reverse true as well?

Nice, a rom-com, geekette, proper tech references (nothing too deep here), AND a nice slow-burn romance all in one. 7/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:31 am

Finished Filthy Rich by Raine Miller

Billionaire Caleb Blackstone knew the moment he saw Brooke Casterley that she's the one for him, even though he just got his Brioni suit ruined by cocktail sauce, spilled when a guest got too hands-y on her and she retaliated with an elbow to the nose. He had just broken up with his regular squeeze, who's gotten way too cling-y, but he knew Brooke is not the casual sex kind of girl, But he was surprised to find that Brooke not only doesn't want ANY male companionship, she actually has a history with the island AND his family... Her grandma used to be a part of the staff for the Blackstone Estate that was suddenly let go. Caleb had to unlearn all his wooing habits and just be a regular nice guy // Brooke knew what a bad man can do to her. She was pregnant by a abusive husband. She woke up from a car accident, having lost her husband and her baby... and coma for three weeks. She left it all behind to come home to start over... working multiple jobs to make ends meet to care for her grandma. Falling for Caleb was never in the plan, but fall she did. But when his mother did not approve of Brooke, and his cling-y ex is out there, can there really be happily ever after for this couple?

While the developements are interesting, and the push-pull between the couple is good, somehow the darkest hour just wasn't that dark. 6/8

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Finished Far from Falling by K D Garcia FREE

Paige's best (male) friend Luke is leaving soon for a job in Lake Placid. Paige can never leave her grandma and her youth camp at the lake, even as the camp is in dire financial straits with more and more things that needed fixing, doing, cleaning. She thought she was taking a summer to help out. It's been five years, and her dream of going to nursing school is a distant memory. But Luke's departure may be the final straw... // Luke and Paige share a secret connection... Luke is deaf and he often communicate with Paige via ASL only. Luke learned to be a great physical trainer and the opportunity at Lake Placid was too good to pass up, but leaving Paige is also unbearable. Can they admit to each other they love each other as far more than friends? Can Paige be a bit more selfish for herself?

The endign just feels like a deus ex machina... Basically grandma told her to go, she already lined up someone else to help out after Paige's departure (which leads into 2nd book in the series). It's a bit of meh. 5/8

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Finished Stay With Me by JH Croix FREE

Jessa just had her apartment burned down around her. She barely saved a few meager pieces of her belongings. With nowhere else to go, she went to
Alaska to joined her family, and a minor fender bender lead her to meet Eli, the manliest of man that made her heart go peeter-patter. Eli is way too busy to consider romance, yet he definitely noticed Jessa. But Eli is busy running from the bad influence of his abusive father, and making money as a charter fishing boat captain taking tourists out for a great time. Things got complicated when Eli's younger brother somehow found his way to Alaska and Eli had to file for permanent custody of him, keeping him away from their father for good, even as Eli found Jessa to be extremely intriguing. But did Eli just overwhelm himself with all these responsibilities, even as Jessa is contemplating whether to stay in Alaska permanently, or move back to Seattle?

The insta-lust is there, but they resisted themselves for a while. The ending was okay, not one of author's best, as there doesn't seem to be much of a darkest hour. Call it... 5/8

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Finished Finding Mr. Right Now by DD Sparxx

Gemma has a boyfriend, but she didn't feel that spark between them. So she was contemplating letting him go. She commiserated with her childhood best (male) friend, Baz to Happy Hour. It was in that drunken state that she realized who she felt that spark for... Baz. And that is... really really awkward. Gemma asked Baz for advice, and he said maybe Gem should look for a Mr. "Right Now" rather than a Mr. Right. Baz had always looked for Ms. Right Now as his own family experience (his dad remarried someone half his age) taught him that. Yet he'd love to be Gemma's Mr. Right Now... nope, that'd ruin their friendship. But then he can't stand any one else be her Mr. Right Now either...

Kinda rom-com, kinda friends to lovers, it's pretty good, but not THAT spectacular either. Maybe 5.5/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:00 pm

Finished Violet's Mail Order Husband by Kate Whitsby

Violet, Iris, and Rose Kilburn are the heiresses to the Kilburn family holding, the Rocking Horse Ranch. But with the guardian and executor of their estate, Cornell, unwilling to hire any help and almost intentionally running it into the ground, the three sisters settled for the most expedient solution: 3 mail order husbands, who had to be cowboys to help run the ranch. But Cornell did not approve of that either. Violet cannot believe Cornell is that pig-headed even though he had brought them up when their parents were killed. Yet Cornell threatened to withhold their inheritance unless they recant their plan to marry their mail order husbands. The three sisters even disagree on how to deal with Cornell. The three grooms are quite different as well. Will their plan to marry work after all, when something sinister happened at the ranch?

3/8. The book ended up a bit of a cliffhanger. (Cornell was shot in the head, and no one knew who did it, or why). the attraction between the MMC and MFC are unexplained other than he's kind. The Cornell guy's objections really made no sense. (He didn't threaten to withhold the inheritance until the husbands were brought back to live on the property). It just didn't quite make sense over all.

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Finished The Southern Bride by Lenora Worth FREE

Melissa is not over Judson, a man she had a tempestuous relationship with since they were children. They had been together, apart, together, apart... Melissa is in a mixed mood attending her sister's wedding, when Judson showed up... wanting one last chance... After she told him they were off... for good this time a while back.... Can she give him one more chance to hurt her, or is he really a changed man? // Judson lost his purpose in life... rodeo, when he fell off a bull and shattered his leg and had to hang up his spurs. He will do anything to win back Melissa's love, not that he had that much more to lose. But is he too late?

Eh... it's okay. Nothing TOO interesting here. Judson basically had to make do as horse trainer and such. and prove he's staying, as their previous fights had always been about his carreer (and danger). 5/8

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Finished The Longest Night by Kara Braden

Ian was a hotshot lawyer who was injured when someone he helped put away came after him. He got addicted to pain pills and his firm forced him to take six months off, and his brother called in a favor from long ago... Ian is spending 6 MONTHS in a remote part of Alaska, no chance to score anything stronger than OTC stuff with a former medic Cecily. And Cecily was definitely an enigma... why is she in this self-imposed isolation, out in the middle of nowhere, with nearest neighbor an hour away on ATV, and nearest groceries only possible via a plane ride? // Cecily was tormented by her experience as a POW hostage, and she fled to the wilderness 7 years ago, as she can't bear to be with ANYONE, often waking up with nightmares and sleeps with a gun on the nightstand. But when her rescuer asks for a favor for his brother, she can't say no. She was not prepared for the hot blue-eyed city boy who is determined to learn all her secrets... to draw her out of her shell... and love her... But can she go back to the city with him?

tortured souls finding each other. it's nice, but the guy is just a little TOO understanding, and the ending seems a bit rushed. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 3:10 am

Finished Hero by Julia Sykes

Chloe is a reporter working on the story about the Latin Kings gang infiltrating New York and has special permission interview some FBI agents on the case. She fled from an abusive husband a while back, and is also secretly a romance author writing about BDSM, even though she doesn't partake in the lifestyle herself. Her last sexual experience was her husband raping her, and she left that night, and started over, but she can't allow any one close enough to hurt her... Until Dex, the FBI agent assigned to her. Dex lost his heart to a sub a while back. He was her best friend, her lover, but he didn't collar her and someone else "stole" her from him. He moved away from Chicago, hoping to escape. Getting on Chloe was not possible; he has no heart to give. But his instinct to protect even as Chloe fights her attraction to Dex and was repelled by his Dom personality. When Chloe's ex husband made an appearance, will Chloe to pushed into Dex's arms... or made her run for her life again?

The ending twist was way too... convenient, and yet, not quite satisfying. I like the way the SM relationship developed, so I'll give this a 6/8. But it lacks that extra something to push it to must-read.

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Finished Alma's Mail Order Husband by Kate Whitsby FREE

Alma and her two sisters practically runs the Goodkind Ranch by themselves. Their papa broke his back when a horse bucked him and while he recovered, he barely moves. Alma wanted a family of her own, and the only way seems to be getting a mail order husband... Jude McCann was chosen, and he traveled to the McCann ranch, and got married in Eagle Pass, Texas. But arriving home was not easy. Jude can't butts heads with the sisters on how to manage the ranch, then upon arriving home papa accused Jude of being a Yankee that massacred his Confederate unit after their surrender even though he wasn't even born then. The sisters believe their papa is just getting senile, but is he? Is Jude hiding something? Will they stay married?

The twist wasn't really worth it and feels utterly wasted. The conflict seems to be some very stubborn people doing stubborn things. Why would Jude presume to know how a ranch is run despite having just arrived? 3/8

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Finished Westrward Bound by Linda Bridey Historical Western

Claire travelled to Montana to attend her sister maddie's wedding to Seth Samuels, and came to know the youngest Manuels brother, Marcus. They fell for each other, but Marcus was keeping a secret he had kept for over a dozen years... and that secret was forced into the open when he suddenly found himself the father of a baby girl... Can he explain the circumstances to his family? Will Claire accept him as he is? When the family suffered a medical emergency, will Marcus's extra knowledge be enough to save the day?

That twist was okay, but the medicinal potions seems to be a bit too... conveniently powerful? Still, it's a good story. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 12:44 pm

Finished Marshall in Petticoats by Paty Jager

Darcy and her brother Jeremy is living day by day in the west, after escaping from the sadistic uncle who sold them after promising their dying parents he'll take care of them. Darcy is extremely accident prone, in that she accidentally shot a bank robber after arriving in the town Gelana. She was surprised to be suddenly appointed sheriff by the sleazy mayor... who did not recognize she is a woman. It's clearly the mayor is setting her up for something, but what? And why is the handsome drifter Gil be interested in her? // Gil arrived in Galena looking to take bank a rich rancher's son so he can earn the post of foreman on the ranch, but the son will not go back quietly, as he had taken up life with a gang of thieves and robbers. Gil accidentally discovered Darcy's real identity, but he vowed to protect her... but can he still accomplish his mission? What is the mayor up to cozying up to the gang in secret? How long will Darcy's stint as sheriff last? Will she even survive?

There are quite a few twists, and the book managed to drag in Gil's estranged brothers who basically mounted an almost deus ex machina rescue near the end. But as adventure romance it's pretty good.

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Finished To Love and Protect by Lori Ryan

Laura Kensington married a rich and powerful man, but he abused her behind closed doors and raped her repeatedly. She became pregnant, even as she planned her escape despite her husband's tightly controlled finances. She even bought a new identity by liquidating the jewelry that her husband wouldn't miss. When news came that her husband died of a sudden heart attack, she was relieved, then her husband's power family tried to force her back into their control... Until the kind ER doctor saved her again... and send her to the Bishop Ranch at Evers TX. a small town where the Bishop family controls through kindness and generosity. // Cade dedicated his life to save animals, giving them a second chance, from racehorses to dogs and cats. His heart was forever broken by a woman. and he thought he can never love again, but Laura is in desperate need of a second chance too, and they fell for each other. But Laura is in mortal danger: her husband's business partner Alex is desperately searching for the material that will ruin Alex, and he thought killing the guy would stop it, but it was the wife had it... why else would she disappear like that? Alex will run down every lead with two charming private investigators and perhaps, do the dirty work himself, if Laura can be found. And he will take no chances...

Now that's how a romantic suspense *should* be written. The way Cade and Laura bonded over animals was cute, and the enemies are scary enough yet nobody made too-stupid-to-live errors. The plot intercepted properly and wrapped around all to a resolution at the end. Everybody, even the villain, took logical steps based on what they knew. Excellent work. 7.5/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 3:11 pm

Finished Rebel Cowboy by Nicole Helm

Dan's entire life was caught up in hockey, and he was in the pros... and gave them decades of service. But at 35, his contract was not renewed, and there were rumors that he was throwing games. His father, the famous coach, and his agent, are trying to get him back on the ice. He just wants to get away, so he went off to his grandpa's abandoned farm/ranch and decided to get it working again... But he needed help. He got Mel instead.

Mel Shaw's family is falling apart, and has been so for years. Her mother ran off a long time ago, her father was crippled in an accident, and her brother Caleb was a total f***-up in life, leaving Mel to run the ranch by herself. But Caleb supposedly turned over a new leaf. Mel needed $$$ to keep the family ranch going, and when some city slicker wants to drop 20 grand for a "consultant" to get a neighboring abandoned ranch back running again, she can't refuse.

Dan and Mel are total opposites. Both have maintained a facade for so long, they don't know how to let themselves be real. Does Dan really want to get back on the ice... or enjoy the majestic Montana mountains (maybe with Mel?) Does Mel want Dan as a lover, when there are so many others things she needed to do, like ride on her brother? Is she being selfish? Did she deserve it? Can she enjoy it?

Nice emotional bonds, once both crack open the gruffy exteriors. Dan's "default" facade is charming alpha male, and Mel's default facade is "head of household / professional". But once they reveal themselves, is when the story really gets going. 6/8

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Finished One Hour to Midnight by Shirley Wine

Veronica gave up her infant son to her dead lover's family. She was way too young (17 at the time) and she really thought it was the right thing to do. Ten years later, the man she gave up her child to, Leon, reappeared with shocking news... Her son (and his son) Jordan is dying of Leukemia and they need her to test for a bone marrow transplant. Veronica is torn between love of her child and fear of being hurt again by the family that only brought her pain... first, the betrayal of her lover, Leon's brother only to find out he is married with two kids. Then being convinced to give up her flesh and blood. But Leon rescued Veronica that night from betrayal worse than death, for the dead brother crossed a lot of bad people, so perhaps she owe him a little... But the shocks kept coming: Leon's wife had died two years ago, and Leon wanted Veronica to marry him, and produce a "savior baby" just in case the bone marrow transplant did not work. But Leon's other family, the widow and two children (remember, Veronica was the "other woman") seem to hate Veronica, even as Leon realized his dead wife, who was barren, may have conspired to trick Veronica out of her child...

I really do enjoy the plot twists, as each revelation was shocking... and forces you to see the characters in a different light. But I somehow did not find the main characters that likable. Veronica at times still talks and thinks like a 17 year old girl instead of a 27 year old woman. And Leon... Being one of the ultra-rich (even though he had to liquidate a lot of **** ten years ago to fix his brother's mess) just feel like a robot alpha at times (alpha guy that just takes care of you, only for you to realize he'd taken over your life nicely, with very few smiles). For character complexity and plot, this is way up there, but overall, I'd give this just 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:10 pm

Finished A Cat Called Cupid by Mazy Morris

Cupid (the cat) is tired of seeing his human, Ann, sacking up with a loser, who hates Cupid, but never in front of her. What's worse, he steals from her every chance he gets. When a handsome neighbor Craig moved in downstairs along with a beautiful Siamese cat Bella, Cupid knew he had to pull out all the stops to get rid of the existing loser BF and bring Craig and Ann together so he has a chance with Bella. Alas, humans are absolutely non-sensical when they're in heat, but Cupid has his ways... and he's much more devious than the humans ever imagined...

Hilarious at times, as this cat over the course of under 100 pages faked a car accident (i.e. pretend to be run over by Craig's car) stole loser BF's phone then texted his other GF to meet him at Ann's place. (OUCH!) and a few other shenanigans. 6.5/8

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Finished Raining Men and Corpses by Anne R Tan

Graduate student Raina Sun should have never gotten involved with the college adviser over the summer... or lent him any money. Now seriously low on cash, Raina resorted to an extraordinary lie... she claimed she's pregnant. But before he can return the money, he was found dead, and she's among the top suspects! Then what's even more confusing, her once-lover is back, now lead detective on the case... for it appears the poor adviser was indeed poisoned. Is he back for her, to protect her, or to investigate her? Then her grandma showed up at her doorstep and basically moved in... Is puo-puo here to mess with her life, or to help? Why did she come anyway? Just how many people wanted the poor guy dead? How many lovers did he have? Raina vows to get to the bottom of it before the situation painted her in a bad light, but in a murder investigation, amateurs often got hurt... Esp. when they get a little too close...

Nice a fun, and as the joke goes, curiosity may have killed the cat. The motivation on why she'd keep digging, even involving some shady characters, is a bit on the vague side. But it's a fun tale. 6/8

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Finished Kiss me Quick by Ally Blake FREE

Juliana Jones needed to get away. Indeed, she'd done this all her life. She's out of a job, single, and crashing on a friend's futon. So she spent her savings on a bargain cruise in the Pacific when her friend, a newly minted travel agent, found this great bargain. Unfortunately for JJ, the cruise is actually a "couples over forty" romance cruise, and as the single woman in her twenties, she's VERY VERY out of place... Until she literraly ran into Kane Phillips. Kane had a career as a star player of Aussie football, until multiple tragedies ended that career, and he pivoted into ship's Fitness Director. He recognized another runner in JJ, and he vowed to help her in every way. And the couples onboard, some septuagenarians, want to push the couple together. JJ and Kane have nowhere to run to... But should they?

Awwww, cute, and funny. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Apr 20, 2018 4:37 am

Finished Wilhelmina A winter Bride by Hildie McQueen

Wilhelmina was falsely accused of inappropriate behavior at a society ball leading to her being blackballed and would be sent to live with a horrible aunt. With nowhere else to turn, she accepted a mail order bride proposal and went out West... Except her groom seems to be a brute who not only left her at the station fending for herself, but also brawling in the saloon // Marcus did not ask for a bride, but his mother and sister has other ideas. And Wilhelmina was obviously used to the finer things on the east coast... and very beautiful. Can she, who obviously hadn't worked a day in her life, learn how to be a housewife in the harsh winter? Or will she be running from her brutish groom first chance? Will Marcus have a chance to prove himself to her?

The setup of the circumstances is good, but the rest of life in town was boring as heck. Truly a letdown. 4/8

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Finished Love DIsrupted by Shyla Starr FREE / partial book

Deidre is working multiple jobs to support her family. Her only indulgence, which is barely that, is to sing one night a week at a jazz club. Her life changed when one night, a white guy named Parker approached her. He's friendly, but seems to be hiding something. After a drink lead to a date, she found out he's heir to a software empire, and he wanted her. But when one of Deidre's extra jobs came back to haunt her, Parker called it quits...

And we end on a cliff hanger, and we're barely 60 pages. This is one of those "cut a book into 3" things. Meh. 4/8

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Finished Lucky Star by Rebecca Norinne

Cameron and Sarah were best friends... the platonic kind. Both went into film... He went into acting, but never scored anything big. She went into production and landed as assistant to one of the power couple director/producer in Hollywood. Cameron is Hollywood gorgeous, while Sarah... is a plus sized beauty, though she didn't think so. Now that Cameron has finally caught his big break, being named as the breakout star in the next blockbuster, Cameron is ready to take his relationship with Sarah to the next step. Unfortunately, the studio wanted him to do a fauxmance with the co-star to drum up more buzz, and Sarah, being assistant to the director, would NEVER put herself above his career... but is it really her decision?

Frankly I just don't feel the conflcit much here. If there are conflict, it's more of a forced misunderstanding. I.e. "Why are you mad?" "I don't like the way you decided things for me." "But it's for your own good." "What gave you the right to decide for me? It's my life!" That sort of "butt-hurt" conflict. And in the end, it didn't even matter that much. They basically say F*** the studio, gotten engaged, went "kinda" public, and Studio didn't say ****. Sarah decided to get out of Hollywood and be a housewife. THE END. Booo-hooo. 5.5/8 for the push-pull, but the plot, meh.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Apr 23, 2018 5:32 am

Finished See You Then by Susan Coventry

Samanthan "Sam" Sullivan, a 40-year old widow, is resigned to her single status. Last thing she'd ever expect is to be wooed by her next door neighbor, the hot 23-year old college student Jason. She was reluctant to get involved as she doesn't want to do the cougar thing, but she missed having a man in her life, and Jason isn't taking no for an answer. But when friends, family, and even an ex GF got involved, and he's going to school soon, will this relationship ever work?

Warm and cozy, but not much heat. There wasn't any big fight or much of a darkest hour. On the other hand, the push pull is nice. 4/5 (or 6/8)

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Finished Eye of the Beholder by Ruth Ann Nordin Historical Western

Mary is nineteen, but she's plain compared to her prettier sisters and no one would marry her locally in Main. So she cast her fate to the winds and became a mail order bride to Omaha Nebraska. Except her intended groom took one look at her and called it off. But fate has other plans for her, as Dave, nearby, offered to marry her instead. Dave is handsome and relatively well-off, and it was "obvious" to Mary that Dave didn't marry her for her beauty. But Mary has many other skills, sewing, cooking, and more. Dave really does love Mary, but will he able to convince her of that with more complications in town?

Mary's self-deprecating to the point of the readers screaming "get a backbone, woman!" But the story took a couple interesting twists. 4/5 (6/8 on OO scale)

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Finished Forget Me Not by J M Madden

Chad and Lora are engaged and they are happy. However, Lora is overextended. She needed to care for her 7 year old daughter Mercy, go to school, and self-study to understand the corporation her daughter inherited, as well as care for her fiancee. She barely knew what day of the week it is... Chad is willing to give Lora the room, even as he gently chastised her about doing too much. When Chad's father was injured back on their family ranch in Texas, all three decided to take a break and head for Texas... Will Lora finally find herself there?

More of a prequel, this doesn't really have that much risk to love there, more like "complications to love". Didn't feel much. 3/5 (4.5/8 on OO scale)

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Finished Hide Your Heart by Tracey Alvarez FREE

Lauren Taylor fled the limelight of London all the way to New Zealand and her hometown with her young son. She wanted absolutely NO attention from anything... until she was rescued by their neighbor Nate Fraser. But Nate is just there to fix up the old property and flip it for a profit, hopefully turning it into a celebrity hideout. That horrified Lauren as she shuns all attention, having been traumatized once already. But she can't derail Nate's plan, even as Nate seems to be the only one who understands her... Can they fall for each other?

I thought I read this story before. Turns out I read either a short version for an anthology or in a collection before. It's actually pretty good, but more of a warm buzzy than thermonuclear hot. 4/8 (6/8 on OO Scale)

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Finished Mountain Man Secret by Melissa Devenport

Jason and Amanda are happy in their mountain cabin raising the son Ross, until Jason's past, in the form of Andy, came back to haunt him, forcing him to expose all his secrets. Andy, like Jason, were fighters in an illegal bloodspot ring. Until Andy, Jason was the only one who ever got away from the Kingpin. And Kingpin will never tolerate being made a fool of. Andy is here to warn Jason... Kingpin knew where Jason is. Jason must get his family to safety... and stand to fight for what is his...

The twists are okay, but somehow, the fight was only referred to (i.e. told, instead of shown) and the final ending was still kinda lame. There really wasn't much of a plot, since suspense was kinda lame too. All in all, a bit of meh. 3/5 (5/8 on OO scale)

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Finished Bad Company by Carol Caron FREE

Trixianna Lawless was startled by the big man that crashed open her door that she took a blind shot at him, and he collapsed... Only then did she notice the tin star... She shot the sheriff. After treating his wound, he informed her she's under arrest for bank robbery. She told him it's obviously a case of mistaken identity, as she's definitely not "Mad Maggie West", the notorious bank robber, though even she admits there's a certain resemblance on the wanted poster. // Sheriff Chance Magrane can't believe he got shot by a woman, but his attempt to put her in jail backfired when the townfolks decided the jail was inadequate and decided to put Trixie in Chance's home instead (!) But even that seems to backfire when Chance ended up being poisoned, stabbed, and had his house almost burned down (all by accident, Trixie swore, since Chance is allergic to a certain berry!) but even then there is no denying there's a certain something between them... But it will take a whole town, including a visit from a couple surprise guests, to get these two together...

Quite funny AND still managed to be sweet, quite rare in a historical Western romance. 5/5 (7/8 OO scale)

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Finished Accidentally Flirting with the CEO 1 by Shadonna Richards FREE

Jess is a handsome and rich and drool-worthy boss, even the play-it-safe PA Alexa admits that. But Alexa is on a man-fast after a heartbreak. She was taking a writing class and wrote a fictional story featuring her and boss Jess. But when she sent it to her friend for critique... she accidentally sent it to Jess. And Jess is now intrigued and wanted to find out more... even as Alexa is mortified...

Cliffhanger as this is the free 1/3rd preview of the whole thing. Just didn't feel much more than the standard "hot for boss" and "oops boss saw my secret" 2/5 (3/8 on OO scale)

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:18 am

Finished Storming Meg by Pamela Burford

Meg is stranded on her uncle's private island with her three kids and her new fiancee Winston. It was supposed to be a family retreat with her uncle Pete, his trophy wife Tanya, and his son Neal. She didn't count on her ex, Jack, also got invited. Not that she can refuse him seeing his children. Things got very complicated when Uncle Pete was found dead at the bottom of the stairs, and EVERYBODY (except the kids) got a motive. Neal was fooling around with Tanya, but Tanya wants Jack (just to prove she can). Jack however, wants Meg back, and Meg... had to stay away from Jack because he wasn't a responsible person... or did he change? Meg wants to marry Winston... but if she knocked off Pete she inherits a fortune. And Jack's got motive because Pete enjoys breaking Jack and Meg apart... Apparently Jack was never good enough for Meg... But Jack will do right by Meg... if she'll ever take him back...

It's basically Clue! mixed with a second chance love story, with a couple good twists. 6/8

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Finished Billionaire's Holiday by Claire Adams

Kylie and Josh were best (platonic) friends since college, but now he's a billionaire business mogul, and she's a wild artist. They seems to have nothing in common any more... except they are both unattached. Kylie broke up with her BF Andrew when he turned obsessive and smothering... and she refused her proposal. However, he's not taking no for an answer. It's almost Christmas, and her parents are NOT flying to her like they usually do. When Kylie's best friend proposed a roadtrip... drive across the country with Josh, it sounded like a splendid idea... not only she can get away from crazy Andrew, it'll take her home. Josh has plenty of money (and a Lambo) was determined to treat the two young women to some luxuries along the way. And along the way, Kylie and Josh rekindled their friendship... into FWB. But when Josh had to cut the trip short to seal a business deal, will their new FWB relationship take the strain?

The twist was obvious, and complications really meh. 3/5 (5/8 on OO scale)

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Apr 25, 2018 5:31 am

Finished Texas Desire by Holly Castillo FREE / Historical Western

Olivia Torres, living in Texas right around when Alamo fell, hates the Mexican army after they killed her parents, and she vowed to help the Texian army any way she could while protecting her family. When a stranger found her in the night seeking shelter from the Mexican army, she cannot refuse, and they managed to hide in the hidden cellar. He is Cade Barret and he just killed several soldiers to get away, for he is on a mission, but he is severely wounded. As Olivia nursed him back to health, and they fell for each other... and she joined him on his mission...

Somewhat historical but the characters seems a bit flat. Cade's consumed with vengeance but tender toward Olivia, while Olivia's attracted to Cade, but self-deprecating to not believe he's want her. It's also a bit too... simplistic? Fortunate? Serendipitous? All in all, 3/5 (5/8 on OO scale)

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Finished A Bride for Tom by Ruth Ann Nordin FREE

Tom Larson gets super-clumsy and tongue-tied around women, but he's desperate to move out and create his own household. When Tom managed to be refused by most of town's single women at the barn dance, Jessica Reynolds decided to help him overcome his awkwardness. But Jessica is already engaged... At first the efforts are not successful, then Jessica realized something... Her fiancee has no backbone (everything's controlled by his mother) and Jessica found herself attracted to the kind Tom instead...

Not bad for a short, as it's sweet and all that. A bit too overly dramatic, perhaps, but okay for novella. 4/5 (6/8 on OO scale)

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Finished Secret Blend by Jennifer Bramseth Contemporary

Rachel and Brady were fellow law students and law clerks, and now, both are judges. However, sharing the same chambers and same law clerk created problems... However, when Brady's grandaunt wiped out Rachel's mailbox, Brady's attempt to fix it up lead them to admit their true feelings toward each other. But Rachel's best friend, with a lot of old money that came from the Old Garnet Bourbon Distillery, wants to be elected judge, a position held by Brady. And Rachel can't admit her relationship with Brady yet. But when their secret were exposed, will the small town of Bourbon Springs ever be the same again?

Started off really, really slow, transition was pretty good, and the darkest hour was pretty tense though it kinda came out of nowhere. Still, nice. 6/8 (4/5 on Amazon scale)

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Apr 26, 2018 8:05 pm

Finished Jazzy Girl by C L Well

Sherice is in hiding after witnessing a crime and getting away clean. Her only companion was a big labrador called Jazz. That is, until her next door neighbor started peeping through her privacy fence. He's a capenter house-sitting for his brother, and he's too nosy for her. But her loneliness lead her to accept him. When hostiles came for her, will they be thrown together and admit their affection for each other?

The shift into romantic suspense was done nicely, as this started as a "annoying neighbor" story. Nicely done novella. 6/8

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Finished Wild Irish Ride by Jennifer Saints

Alexi Jordan had lived a controlled life except for a brief fling at seventeen when she was rescued by then young Jesse Weldon, 19. But they never did the deed even when she offered. She never saw him again. Twelve years later, Alexi received damning photos of her fiancee's infidelity merely 30 minutes before their wedding. Alexi stormed off, vowing to follow her heart rather than family pressure. When she happened to run into Jesse again, she kissed him and asked him to get her away... // Jesse knew he did the right thing... he wasn't going anywhere and he can't take Alexi's gift. Except he walked out, and was knocked out, and woke up having been framed for larceny, and was shipped off to the marines the next day. Only the Jordan family could have done that. He was sadder but wiser. Twelve years later, he is a security specialist only visiting his brother back in town helping delivering some equipment when he ran into Alexi... and he's rescuing her... again. And this time, Jesse and Alexi will resume what they started twelve years ago... but someone is in the shadows pulling strings... as it was clear a deranged stalker is after Alexi, and it is someone close... VERY close...

VERY nice shift from serendipity to romantic suspense. I wish the ending could have been handled better. 4/5 (or 6/8 on OO scale)

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Finished Rocky Mountain Oasis by Lynnette Bonner Historical Western

Brooke was sold as a mail order bride. Having been abused by uncle after death of her parents, as well as having been left by her supposed fiancee after learning she's pregnant (and miscarried) she dare not hope for any mercy. // Sky Jordan did not expect to get married. But when he found that his infamous drunkard cousin had sent for a mail order bride, he spent his life savings to buy the bride, and gotten married to Brooke. // Brooke's husband was very kind, and Brooke gradually relaxed, but when when a killing occured in town, and people are blamed, Brooke found herself caught between saving her husband, or watch innocent men be hung because she saw something... for there is a mad criminal in town...

Nice pivot onto romantic suspense, but the religious message was a bit too blunt. And this criminal, let's just say, doesn't seem to understand ropes or knives. 6/8 (4/5 on Amazon scale)

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 9:23 pm

Finished The Last One by Tawdra Kandle

Meghan is at a turning point in her life. Her little brother just married his pregnant girlfriend. Her widowed mother had remarried. As Meghan is about to start her senior year in college, she wants to loosen up a little... Just some fun, nothing that would derail her studies... What she got was Sam. // Sam rescued Meghan and friend from side of the road late at night, but Sam's dripping with disdain for the "party girls", even though he's the perfect southern gentleman and will not say anything in front of them. Meghan falls hard for the guy, but Sam's a by the book kinda guy, and clashes hard with the free-thinking artist Meghan... Can such a romance work?

Didn't feel too much for this one. 4/8

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Finished Drake's Promise by Kat Wells

Drake is an LAPD bomb squad leader that was sure his incompetence killed his brother and best friend. The case of self-pity is serious enough that his boss ORDERED him to take admin leave in the middle of nowhere... All the way out in the middle of nowhere, Arizona. // Luisa Montoya is a recluse on her Arizona ranch with a guesthouse that stayed mostly empty. After death of her father she vowed to keep the ranch going, and train her menagerie of animals, both wild and tame. Her scar suffered when she was a teen made her a pariah, and only a local nurse who brings her groceries relieved her boredom... Until Drake showed up. Drake found Luisa extremely intriguing, and saw past the scar to the beautiful woman inside. But Luisa can't believe someone as handsome as Drake would want her, esp. when Drake had promised to take care of the wife and family of his dead friend. And even as Luisa struggled with her feelings toward Drake, Luisa's estranged mother called, then arrived on the ranch, and she has a secret to reveal... she's dying, and she wanted to make peace with Luisa before she goes...

Nice and angst-y, lots of little touches. Drake have to re-evaluate how they each handle their responsibilities... Are they taking on roles they didn't have to? 6/8

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Finished Cold Hard Cash by Frankie Love

Cassius went to jail for protecting a female friend. He turned to rap and he found he has a talent for it, esp. when his brother became his manager, and the girl he protected became his girlfriend. And he became the rapper "Cashflow". But his life changed one night. Before a local show, he found his girl necking his brother... and the same night, he was discovered by Kendricks Music Group who will make him famous. But at what cost? // Evangeline Kendricks is a princess of the music industry, but she hated the control her father has on her life. She no longer wanted to play music despite a Julliard education, but her father just dismissed her will. Leaving her father's office, she ran into Cassius, and with shared grief of betrayal, they got together... but when forced to choose, she chose his career over her desires, and was forced to break his heart. But they are not done with each other... As they reconnected later... only to run into Cassius' old crew from the hood...

This book is good, but left me wanting in several places. The darkest hour was somewhat forced, and resolved with a simple change of heart (her father giving in and accepted her relationship with Cash) But it's pretty good. 6/8

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Finished No Direction Home by Jude Willhoff

Grace lost everything and is starting over. Her health was saved by a new pain management device, but she is weak and often needs assistance. Her husband left her for another woman. When she heard her rich grandma took on an ex-con as her ranch foreman she saw red and moved home to save her... but Seth was nothing like she imagined... // Seth was convicted of a crime he did not commit, and robbed of his wife and daughter. he took on the job of foreman on the Cactus Rose Ranch in Cedar Falls Colorado as a way to find himself, and Grace's arrival threw that into chaos. But Grandma is determined to pair them together... for both needs a second chance at life... and love.

Nice and sweet, even as the trope starts with both misunderstanding the other, but soon realized both are dealing with merely facades. 6/8

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Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Apr 28, 2018 12:58 pm

Finished Permission by Sylvia Fox

Lia is a small-town girl with a big dream of becoming a music star. And she's always had a crush on her father's friend from the trenches, a fellow ex-marine. When Lia finally made it big, her father sent his best friend to guard her and guide her... but not even he can resist the temptation of a young woman who knows what she wants... but this alpha male doesn't just comply... he conquers...

Way too many quick cuts between past and present for no apparent purpose other than to add some sex scenes. It's basically the story of how a girl got her big break, add the alpha doing his bodyguarding thing, then the seduction, interspersed with sex scenes in the present day, about how superstars deal with the stress of being famous: sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. It just feels... sucky.

2/5 (3/8 on OO scale)

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Finished Bet Me by Lila Monroe

Lizzie ran into a series of bad dates that she created a video for her sister and BFF stating that until men step up their game, she's off the market. Except her "man-fast manifesto" got uploaded to Youtube instead, and it went viral. Suddenly, every man wants to bed her, and a magazine allegedly offered a prize to the man who can break her man-fast. But the one guy she had on her mind was the guy that she works with now, and they had an embarrassing encounter years ago... when he fell asleep tasting her, leaving her just shy of the big O...

Creating novel out of that one scene as a starter is pretty good, but somehow the rest of the novel just didn't quite capture the brilliance of that single high concept scene. Still, it was a fun rom-com. Call it 6/8 (4/5 on Amazon scale)

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Apr 29, 2018 3:13 pm

Finished Accidental Detective 2 by Kate Benitez

Anneliese, detective trainee, and her boss, the hunky Leo McKenzie, are back to solve another crime, when an heir is accused of murdering his brother, and is suspected of murdering his father earlier which was originally ruled an accident. The most obvious suspect is also the least-likely but who else would have motive?

Nice mystery, though it was pretty obvious to me who the perp was. 6/8

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Finished Body by Andrey Carlan

Gillian is a fundraiser for the Safe Haven foundation, and she dedicated her life to the cause because she was an abuse survivor herself, having finally put her abuser in jail and fled to the opposite coast. She found 3 great female friends in San Francisco, but she craves a man in her life that can give her some hot sex, and her current BF is so vanilla, he cringed at her request for doggy style. She came to know Chase Davis, the alpha billionaire with his own dark past and the biggest donor to the foundation at a gala, and he swept her off her feet. Their chemistry is undeniable, but he also hit her trigger points about her prior abuse with his alpha personality. When her evil ex started stalking her, can Chase keep her safe?

Dialog is above average, IMHO, and the triggers plausible. The darkest hour was kinda "meh" (Foundation HR manager was jealous, told her to quit or stop seeing Chase because it looks bad for the foundation employee to be dating the chairman. Chase found it and went to the foundation CEO and got the HR manager fired and Gigi promoted. Gigi found out and accused him of being a controlling SOB and made her feel she earned her promotion by sleeping with him. WHAT?! Okay, so he was a bit blunt, but it's nothing to break up over! Sheesh! Still, it's a fun tale. 6/8

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Finished Mountain Hearts by Jill Haymaker

Suzy Quinlan, single parent (her husband died in Iraq) lost her son to congenital heart disease at 5. Numb with grief, she drove in the winter storm and ended up stranded in Peakview Colorado. Jerry Decker, an Iraq vet, returned with body intact, but soul broken. He lived alone on the outskirts of town, with only his dog "Bear" as companion. When the two met, but found each other as kindred souls, but she has a career is paralegal in Denver,
while he cannot live in a large town... with his PTSD nightmares. But love changes people for the better... but will it be enough to allow the two come together?

Nice slow simmer type of love, but also a bit of serendipity. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:56 am

Finished Meant for Love by Marie Force

Jenny is the lighthouse keeper of Gansett Island and has been for years. She needed to get away after losing her soulmate in 9/11 and the current job/residence gives her peace and new friends. But she's feeling a bit lonely, except her blind dates turned out to be disasters. Until one morning, when she was awakened at 5:45 AM by a huge lawnmower... and the delectable and oh-so-frustrating Alex Martinez, who's cutting the grass since it had been neglected for a while. She's so mad, she threw tomatoes at him. // Alex Martinez gave up his horticulture job in the US Botanic Gardens in DC to move back to the island to care for his mother with dementia, and mow lawns as his family company did for a generation. But just as his life and family seem overwhelming, Jenny showed him perhaps there is more to life than just caring for others...

Alex IMHO is a little shallow, but is basically a good guy. It's the little details, and how the large cast of Gansett Island characters interact, that shows Marie Force's ability to weave stories together. 6/8

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Finished Get Wilde by Shelly Alexander

Ethan Wilde almost had it made... he was in college heading destined for the big league ball... until an injury sidelined him forever. His fiancee also dumped him when his career was definitely over. He reinvented himself and is now owner of a fitness chain, and this next sponsorship, where he and another trainer will help a reality TV show whip some weekend warriors into shape for an American-Ninja style competition on live TV. Hopefully he'll win the big money and attract some investors to go nation-wide. That plan got derailed when the other team's coach had to bow out due to injury... and the replacement was a a red-headed green-eyed yoga instructor nymph... Who seemed somehow familiar... And that's not because Ethan tried to pick her up at a bar. Turns out she's a former US Olympic gymnast who also bowed out due to injury, and her douchebag ex just cleaned out her account, and she seriously needed the money too. Ethan found her incredibly attractive, and can commiserate together, but someone had to win this competition... Or does it?

Nice complications, as this woman doesn't take things lying down (except while making love). As for what I'm talking about, read the book. 6.5/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 4:09 pm

Finished Strong Silent Type by Lorelei James

Libby and Quinn McKay have had a good marriage... until the issue of children tore them apart (with some help from his mother). Now she's living in the house, and he's living in the horse trailer... and nothing has changed in three months. Libby is tired of the detente... why isn't Quinn, the stubborn ass that he is, fight for her? When Quinn realized this is not a "phase" he can wait out, he switched back to "woo mode" and offered Libby a whole weekend of decadence, sexual and otherwise. to rekindle their love and hash out their differences. But just sex is not enough for a relationship... Will there be enough to hold onto after come Monday?

At 150 pages, this is actually quite good. There's enough sex to satisfy, yet not erotica. It's clear the two aren't over each other, but he's the kind of "strong silent type" that broods rather than talk things out, and it's frustrating for the wife. All in all, 5.5/8

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Finished Love in a Small Town by Zoe York

Rafe and Olivia were married... emphasis on WERE. It's been two years since their divorce. He's a cop and national guard. Being a husband is third on his priorities, and she can't stand it anymore. But being a waitress in the cafe in town means she has to serve him every morning, and that just hurts... every day. // Rafe knew Olivia was the one for him, but they may have married too young... he thought he did the right thing: letting her go when he wasn't what she needed. But he wanted her back... But does she want him back?

Awww, nice push-pull between the couple. The only problem was the it took a crisis to change their minds, like a disaster or major injury. As he's a cop, it's standard plot that he gets shot and had an epiphany, and so did she. Still, the polish is quite nice. 5.5/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed May 02, 2018 11:42 pm

Finished Treasured Bride by Ginny Sterling FREE Historical Western Romance

Clementine married an older man and went west, but the man was abusive and despite repeated attempts, she can't seem to get pregnant. When mining in Virginia City, Nevada failed to turn any profit, Clementine her husband planned to move out to San Francisco, then to Alaska. Her only solace was the occasional foray into the wild to indulge in her sole hobby, rock collecting. However, her final foray into the wild dropped her into a mine's vent shaft, leaving her stuck and injurred with no way home. And her husband simply left her behind... // Micah, the sheriff knew that the young woman was way too fearful of her husband who's twice her age. When the husband left town without her, and the miners claimed there's a ghost in the hills, crying and sobbing and screaming... Micah explored the hills, and found Clementine in the shaft... he rescued her, and took her back to town, but she's a married woman... and she's way too fearful of men in general to accept Micha's love at least for now...

Okay, the story's nice, but it's not really much of a conflict. Still, having the evil husband get his comeuppance was a nice tough. But it's still average. 5/8.

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FInished Protecting Lily by Nicole FLockton novella

Lily is a "go by the list" kind of girl. It's the only thing that kept her sane after some bad experiences in life. She doesn't tolerate disruptions of that. But her latest job requires her to keep an eye on a lot of diamonds, and those diamonds come with an overbearing bodyguard by the name of Grayson "Storm" Warren... // Grayson is a bit down and out and he's taking any job, but putting up with this infuriating lingerie designer named Lily is testing his patience... or his control. when Lily turned into a sexy tease, Grayson will end up protecting a lot more than just the diamonds...

Eh, it's okay. 5/8, more rom-com with a sexy edge than romantic suspense.

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Finished Because of You by Emilia Finn FREE

Alex, the town police chief, lives a simple and single life. The town is small and charming, and most crimes are simple, if the perps just get their punishment, but the darn lawyers help them get off with just a slap on their wrists... Things started to go askew when Juliette came to town. She's also hiding a big secret... She's choosing to hang her lawyer shingles in his town, helping the existing lawyer (who's already past 70) retire. They should have been enemies, except Alex rescued Juliette from a car wreck moments before she pulled into town. And there's a connection between them. But they can't indulge, when the town found its first murder victim in years... then a second... a serial killer is stalking this town, and why are they all blue-eyed blonde that look like Julette?!

Nice romantic suspense with a good twist or two, plus additional complications as they learn about each other's secrets in life and love. 7/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat May 05, 2018 1:23 am

Finished Whiskey and Gumdrops by Jean oram FREE

Mandy was stuck in her life and job as waitress, and having to watch her ex-fiancee marry someone else finally spurred her into action: she investigates how to open her own restaurant in her town of Blueberry Springs. But her meager savings is not enough. She had to ask for help from her sexy, but platonic male friend Frankie. She knew Frankie's a dare-devil that she can never live with long-term, but Frankie has the ideal building for the proposed restaurant... and she may be able to get enough to get a wrap franchise up and running. And Seth, the franchiser, seems to promise a lot of support, and Frankie even pledged his family building as part of her collateral to ensure she succeeds. But when Seth was accused of running a ponzi scheme, and Frankie may be about to lose his building along with Mandy's dreams, can Frankie and Mandy save the day with their love?

The ending was a bit too deus ex machina for me. (Basically, the town started a Kickstarter campaign to raise enough money for all the franchisees to raise enough money to exercise the buyout option: go independent, so at least the building was saved, and Seth turned out to be an okay guy after all that he managed to send Mandy a ton of furnishings and equipment even though he's supposed to be in liquidation). But the tension was good. 4/5 (or 6/8 on OO Scale)

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Finished The Fortune Hunter by Jasmine Hayens and Jennifer Skully

Faith Castle wanted a family, but can't find a matching guy for her family's prestige or fortune. Connor Kingston wanted to be CEO, but he came off a poor background. The two made a deal: they'll get married for convenience only. He'll have lots of sex with her and make a family with her. She in turn will convince her father to eventually promote Connor to CEO (Connor's already VP, so he's got the chops). When Faith demanded fidelity, Connor proposed that Faith be a bit more adventurous in their bedroom activities, but Faith has no... faith in her ability to perform in the bedroom. But Connor will gladly teach her to let go of her inhibitions... but is there love?

"Erotic" marriage of convenience romance, kinda weird mix. On the other hand, Connor seems to be a straight-shooter, who is shockingly honest about his ambitions, and how good Faith and him can be together. As for whether that is love... well, that's a different question, or is it really? I like it overall. 6/8 ( 4/5 on Amazon scale)

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Finished Shades of Chocolate by Cecelia Dowdy

Toni had a dark past and she gets through the pain by baking in the bakery inherited from her grandma, now named "Shades of Chocolate". With just her and one other employee, and sleeping upstairs, she managed to eek out a living, and lost connection with her faith in God. Having witnessed her supposedly almost-fiancee doing his secretary on his desk didn't help. Her world was turned upside down with the arrival of a stranger named Jason... // Jason prefers baking to sports or the corporate office, and he's not over his mother's death. After completing an assignment from his father, he's taking a long three month vacation... mainly to avoid his family. When he encountered the Shades of Chocolate bakery, a place that reminded him of his home, he decided to stay a while. When Toni's only assistant had to leave town due to a family emergency, Toni's short-handed... and Jason offered to help. Toni's surprised at Jason's adeptness in the kitchen, and his apparent wealth. When Toni's life was threatened by an apparent stalker, Jason was determined to protect Toni... but can they trust each other after their past full of pain?

I like the baking details, and the plot did contain a good twist or two, but somehow it's didn't quite tie it back together. In the end, this gets a 5/8, not 6. (3/5 on Amazon scale)

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Finished Our Song by Savannah Kade FREE

Kelsey is a single mom raising two kids. She's 31, and her two kids are all she can handle. When a hot guy JD moved in next door with his daughter, Kelsey took notice. When he came for her help, she can't refuse. JD was suddenly given custody of a daughter he never knew until only weeks ago, a daughter that he was quite certain was NOT his biological child, but the mom's dead of cancer, and the child was brought up fearful of men and refused to cooperate at all. But JD cannot give the girl back to the faceless CPS... not when the dead mother trusted him with the responsibility... by giving girl his surname. But JD's up river without a paddle, and Kelsey is his only hope. JD and his brothers have a band, but a daughter is seriously crimping their style and practice time. Kelsey just wanted to help, as she sensed greatness in JD. But when JD and his brothers actually made it to the bigtime, will this spell doom to their relationship?

Nice polish, with more than a few secrets shared along the way. 7/8 (5/5 on Amazon scale)

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun May 06, 2018 1:43 am

Finished So Good by Darcy Burke FREE

Cameron runs a winery with his brother, and he put everything into it, and after 2 full years it's bearing fruit. He also did so after a heartbreak. He didn't mind being called a player, but it's time to find someone. When he spotted a new wine distributor Brooke, he's interesting in something a bit longer term... Except she isn't! // Brooke had a bitter divorce and moved to Ribbon Ridge for a do-over. While she's tempted by Cameron, she can't fall for a playboy, even though he does make her feel... oh so good. But how do they get past each other's walls?

Reluctant lovers, each with heart-ache, but I honestly didn't feel something REALLy special with this novel. The two stories are similar enough to be clones of each other. Kinda meh for me. 5/8

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Finished Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Molly was traumatized by a family scandal when she was young, that she always stayed on the straight and narrow, avoiding spotlight of the media. However, attending an event held by her sister, brought her into the orbit of bad boy rock star Zachary Fox, and Molly gave in for one night of passion... which she had no regrets, for Zach was a consummate and considerate lover. But Zach was not done. Zach quickly convinced Molly to extend it to a full month of pleasure... and indulgence. But Molly has a career and Zach, and his band has a tour. There's no way she'll go, and he can't stick around. Nothing wrong with a fling since neither will meet again... But will one month be enough for them? For Zach can be something Molly really get addicted to...

In a way, the plot is basically peasant girl meets royalty and was rescued from her humble existence and all that. But the author knows how to put the right spin on the story, about how they sneak out and avoid the paparazzi, and the darkest hour was they were betrayed by one of the hotel security staff who planted a camera in their room... In between, the author manage to weave in threads about insecurity, other friends, drama involving other band members, throw in references about other couples, and their shifting attitude toward each other. 6.5/8 at least. It's a good spin on the formula.

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Finished Law of Attraction by N M Silber

WARNING: Cliffhanger

Gabrielle is a public defender, and Branden is an assistant DA. Their jobs may collide, but they are well acquainted with each other... in and out of court (and bed). They want to take their relationship to the next level, but that couldn't work when they are technically on opposite sides of the court system... so they keep putting it off, until their love/lust started to affect their performance. Add to the various criminals and judges they had to deal with, and the journey toward love is never a straight line... and often, uproariously funny line.

It's ROM COM, and if you did the style, it's good. On the other hand, the characters feel like cliches (or archetypes) and thus you end up feeling as if you're in a sitcom episode. Still, not bad. It left a lot hanging for the sequel. All in all, I didn't like that that much. 4/8 (includes -1 due to cliffhanger)

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Finished Taking Charge by Serenity Woods

Sebastian, CEO of a tech giant working on a new generation of hearing aid, needs PA help when his existing PA went on family leave. The temp agency sent over Collette, but so far she's a walking disaster. Almost everything she touched blew up or konked out. She got stuck in the elevator (she swore she pressed a button and the entire board popped open with sparks). Her PC went up in smoke when she turned it on. Even the coffee machine exploded (!?!) But there's just something about her that made Sebastian take notice... // Collette is there under false pretenses. His brother has ASD, and this special hearing aid will really help him, but the trial is supposedly full. If Collette can just slip in her brother's name onto the list... But it won't be easy, as watching Sebastian is giving her some VERY wicked thoughts... When a late night encounter lead to some scorching NSA sex, neither can stop. But when Seb wanted to keep her long-term, will Collette stay, or run once her mission was accomplished?

Ah, a "hot for boss" story with a PROPER motivation, plus some hot sex and sitcom. Definitely above average. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun May 06, 2018 4:55 pm

Finished A Teaspoon of Trouble by Shirley Jump

Carolyn is a sous chef with a chance to be head chef in a trendy NYC restaurant. She left her hometown of Marietta MT years ago, after realizing her then Matthew will never leave. But when she suddenly found that her sister and her husband were killed in a tragic car accident, and Carolyn was left in care of the 4 year old niece Emma, she had to take a sabbatical to take care of the family emergency. Which also brought her back to Matt, now the town veterinarian, now even more handsome... // Matt is a very eligible bachelor, but he's always had a thing for Carolyn, his high school sweetheart. Its was a dream that she came through the door with a pooch in distress from unfamiliar food and travel... And it just happens that he needs some serious help to participate in the town's Bachelor Bake-off to raise money for the paramedic that was killed recently. So they made a deal... Carolyn will teach Matthew about baking, and Matthew will help Carolyn teach the dog some obedience lessons. In between, they have to help poor little Emma to grief and accept the circumstances... And there's the problem of Carolyn's job in New York... and why she left in the first place...

Angst-y without TOO much so. Carolyn had a sudden family and it was totally overwhelming, both Emma and the dog. Matt was like the PERFECT partner, and it was pretty obvious how she'd choose at the end after examining her reasons. I personally think her reasoning can be explained a little better though. 6.5/8

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Finished A Secret One by Aleatha Romig Novella

Shana's the maid of honor... so why did she wake up in a strange bed... with the groom's brother Trevor? It was those darn Fireball shots... OMG what happened last night? They didn't... right?

At only 42 pages, there sure were a lot of plot, even though it did have to do a bit of backward jump in time, yet it did make perfect sense. It's like a mystery unfolding, in a teasingly sexy yet NOT raunchy way (no sex in this short novella). It serves as a prequel too. All in all, very enjoyable story. Rare for short, I have to give this 7/8

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Finished Westward Justice by Linda Bridey

Deputy Mitch became sheriff when the old sheriff dropped dead of a heart attack. He wanted a wife for himself, and he even took out an ad for a mail order bride. What he got was Sammi... the toughest woman around, wears pants and gun, and carries a collection of guns and knives, and fights better than most men. But Sammi carried a dark past that she never talks about... Can Mitch and Sammi get past their wounds and admit their love, even as band of thieves stole Sammi's belongings, and Sammi vowing revenge?

The evil mayor really made no sense. His motivation was never explained. The ending was also a bit loose. All in all, great but flawed. 6/8

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Finished Between Then and Now by Zoe York Novella

Ian and Carrie have kids, a house, and all that. Ian is working two jobs, and juggling home and work and all that. But recently, it seems he can't get close to his wife... // Carrie married Ian eight years ago because they got a bit careless and she got pregnant. Carrie knew she's missing something, but it obviously wasn't being a wife or having kids... She's done that. So what was it? And how does she figure it out with Ian, if they are no longer speaking?

On the Rocks romance are hard to pull off, but the caring attitudes of the characters do come through the fighting. Being only a 50 page short, it still packs a lot fo emtiion into it all. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon May 07, 2018 4:56 pm

Finished Shotgun Groom by Ruth Ann Nordin Historial Western

April is content to farm with her 14-year old brother and 1 year old daughter after her no-good husband died in a saloon shootout. Then her brother in law came and tried to rape her and marry her. April's little brother chased him off with a rifle, but that's because that evil guy was drunk. April's brother has a plan though. When the local doctor's assistant Joel visit to check up on the little daughter, they kidnap him at gunpoint and forced him to marry April... // Joel didn't want to get married... yet, and being forced at gunpoint was just as ridiculous. But what would drive these two to do so? It is clearly out of desperation... but from what? And what does his large family have to say about it?

Basically, Joel is a "nice guy" that decided to stay even though he could have left the brother/sister deal with their own mess. Very nice escalation. This is one of those novels that started with the ridiculous and manage to pivot onto a properly plot, as there's a reason why the evil brother in law came back... 7/8

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Finished Montana Christmas by Linda Bridey

Sal Terranova had fun after negotiating deals for his family. But when his liaisons ended up with him and a married woman (who lied about being single) and it was spotted by one of the family's business partners, his parents put down an edict: reform, or get written out of the will. Sal was ready to move out until his brother came up with a plan... why not a mail order bride? And there came Lulu Johansson... who's beautiful and exciting, and Sal forgot all about other women, but then his reputation came back to haunt him. in the meanwhile, the other characters in Echo Canyon, assisting a covert government agent, ran into even more trouble...

This is a part of the author's Echo Canyon historical western series, where existing characters find love, old characters get into even more trouble, and so on. I'm skipping a couple books (those ain't free) so I missed some of the plot. And the language seems to be REALLY MODERN instead of historical, but it's fun. Call it, 6/8

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Finished Yours Royally by Krista Lakes

Prince Marco needs some time off, going to spend some quiet time in America just as "Marco". Normally his assistant handles all that, but that assistant needs some time off too. So they hired an American girl... Sabrina, to be a short-stint personal assistant, just for a couple weeks. But secrecy is paramount... Not even Sabrina must know about Marco's real identity... but Sabrina, with her naivete and guileless demeanor, made Prince Marco wonder if they can be good together... but his father is sick and scheduled for surgery, and his step-mother is fooling around and everybody pretends to not notice... // Sabrina and her family are barely making do after her father had been laid off and medical bills stacked up. She can't afford to turn down or mess up this job in any way, even if she has no experience. She never expected to taste the high life, like private jet and 5-star restaurants, or even Hawaii private island. And Marco is charming and handsome... but Marco's mood is fouled by developments at home... ones he can't talk about... And once they shared that secret... things will never be the same...

The evil step-mom was so arch-type it's a caricature. There was no EXPLANATION on why she acts that way other than she was spoiled rotten or some other psychopathy. And Marco was a bit TOO charming and Sabrina was bit too Cinderella. Yes, these are modern fairy-tales, but please, show a little more creativity? 5/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue May 08, 2018 4:02 pm

Finished Cowboy Charming by Lacy Williams

(NOTE: Technically I finished Cowboy Fairytales Books 1 + 2 bundle but I reviewed book 1 last year)

Ethan gave up his college scholarship to raise his two stepbrothers after his father then his stepmother both passed. He had to stay on the family dairy farm and pick up odd jobs to support the family, but that left him little time to parent his two step-brothers, who's forever getting into worse trouble. While he's handsome, he always tired and haggard. When a real princess came to town, he could only admire from afar. She is way out of his league. So he's as surprised as any one when she approached him... // Princess Mia is viisting the US to help with her sister's upcoming engagement ball, after escaping assassins and rescued by a Texas Cowboy. She thought she knew what love was... but despite having five boyfriends (one for each year after 18) she had definitely not found the one, and her last breakout, in a very public fashion, left her wanting the one cowboy who didn't kowtow to her. But Ethan can't go when he's tied to the place supporting his stepbrothers... and she can't stay...

The ending left me just sad. 5/8

Spoiler:

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Finished Rough Hard Fierce by Skye Warren

Allie hides her secret shame by going to a bar and do a random pickup every once in a while. But one night, when the guy got too far, she was rescued by a rough but good guy Colin, who actually pleasured her instead of roughing her up. And he was interested in having a relationship with her. And for the first time in many years, she actually had hope about the direction of her life... because her daughter was the result of an attack, and her best friend sells her body to make a living... But the more she got to know Colin, the more she wondered how many secrets were he hiding... Complications soon arrived in the form of her daughter's father, dirty cops who wanted to hurt Colin and his brother and they don't care who they have to destroy to do it, even if Allie ended up being collateral damage...

I am not quite sure what to make of this novel. The plot was deft, but the emotional turmoil was not quite there. This unlike most romances, did not alternate views. It was ALL from Allie. We are left to wonder about Colin's mindset, and I'm more confused than I'm amused. 5.5/8

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Finished No Pit So Deep by James Nathaniel Miller II Prime Reading

Cody Musket is a decorated retired Marine, haunted by a dark military past. Now a professional baseball player playing for the Houston Astros, he was just going for a movie when he witnessed three goons attempt to kidnap a woman from theater lobby. He quickly jumped into action and took down the three opponents, saving the woman, who turned out to be Brandi, a local reporter who exposed a human trafficking ring and earned a price on her head. They agreed to not expose each other, after realizing they had much in common. But in the modern age, where everyone has a phone cam, their exploits soon went viral, and the syndicate vowed revenge. Cody swore to protect Brandi and her daughter from harm, but the experience caused him a relapse and his PTSD came out... what really happened in Afghanistan that pinned a medal on Cody? Can Brandi afford to learn the truth?

Wow, the story was a bit heavy on the religion (pray for a miracle and one was delivered), but it was intense. The author had excellent dialog, and the plot was gripping. Cody had many problems, from survivor's guilt to PTSD, that he's a mess. But with a bit of framing, it's "God left you here so you have a job to do." Very rare for me, 7.5/8

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Tue May 08, 2018 5:18 pm

I don't think I could read the same genre as much as you do. I will fall into the same type of novel for a month or two (psychological thrillers, sci-fi, dystopian/apocalyptic near-future being the most common) but then I get sick of the genre and have to switch it up a bit before I can go back to that type.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue May 08, 2018 11:07 pm

Well, to be honest, there are many subgenres, and I don't just mean the setting. And I do read other stuff every once in a while. OHFB (one hundred free books) gets me a LOT of free reading material, not just this particular genre.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu May 10, 2018 12:56 am

Finished Dear Jane by Marissa Clarke

Jane Dixon cannot get a boyfriend. NONE of her prospects got beyond a second date. Usually, some sort of disaster happens, from accidental coffee in the guy's crotch to tablecloth going up in flames, it seems there is nothing Jane can do to get a break. She's also burned out at work. She never really wanted to get into lawyer, but her family had always been lawyers... esp. when her father was also her boss. Her only solace was in her rescue cat Gandie (Gandalf) and her platonic co-worker Eric. // Eric wanted to be junior partner, and he'd worked at the firm for years, rose from nothing. He had a crush on Jane, but there's a very strict non-fraternization policy at work, not to mention she's the boss's daughter. He just needs to make it six more weeks to the review... In a moment of insanity, he promised to set her up with his friends... but when disasters keep happening, he had to offer her solace. Soon they realize they are really into each other... but they have their respective careers to think about...

Ah, this is good rom-com, with just sufficient angst. The darkest hour was a "I don't care about your explanations!" "But it's not what it seems..." but the resolution to that is brilliant. 7/8

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Finished Her Rebel to Kiss by Debra Salonen

Justin lives his life on the edge, until a climbing disaster (which he was found not at fault, but still raked over the coals by the media) lead to sponsors pulling his contract. When an offer came from Marietta Montana, he went there, hoping for a fresh start, and to meet his two best friends who found love there in town. And when a mysterious lady in red walked in for the New Year's Eve masquerade party, it seems he may experience love after all, but the lady is hiding secrets... // Nikki had loved Justin since they were kids. Her obsession lead her to insert herself into one of his climbing events way beyond her expertise... and fell, and it would have paralyzed her for life, but she learned how to walk again. Now her fairy godfather (and boss) decided to help the star-crossed lovers along, so she can have a kiss at midnight with her prince charming. But what happens past midnight when he found out who she really is? What if one kiss is not enough?

This novel is a lot deeper than first suspected. You can do the hidden identity/reveal trope for so long, but the angst about the obsession, the OMG I'm responsible (no you're not) guilt, and more were quite well done. The pivot onto further complications (Justin was sued, but what he really did was refuse to go on when nobody would listen to his recommendations, and those idiots then got buried by an avalanche) and having him being the producer to invent a product for disabled people to climb (some sort of pulley system) was a bit clunky. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu May 10, 2018 4:16 pm

For the record, I didn't all read them today or yesterday. Some of these were read days before, but not recorded till now.

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Finished Where I found you by Brooke O'Brien

Ellie had a very tough life. Her father died early, and her mother turned to alcohol for solace. She ended up with a string of loser BFs many of whom abused her. She built a wall around her heart that nothing can get through... Until she encountered the one kid that was kind to her... now all grown up... // Callum has had a hard life. His father is a drunk who takes out frustration on wife and child... and he got self-destructive as well. Until things got better... his step-father set him straight. When he found Ellie again, she's his perfect complement... but breaching her walls may prove to be an impossible task...

While I like the interactions overall, the two characters are too much alike. 6/8

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NOT ROMANCE // Finished Ambush In Dust Creek by Scott Connor Historical Western

Marshall Lincoln Hawk and his crew cleaned out the town of Dust Creek years ago. Now, he's back in town, carrying some documents about prior misdeeds that just came to light. Unfortunately for him, the town was occupied by a large gang of outlaws, many of whom were promised gold loot if they can get it away from the marshall. It didn't help that one of Marshall's own men is a turncoat, but it did help when the leader of the gang was caught in the saloon with the lawmen, and his second promptly went rogue, wanting the payoff for himself. But in the world of double and triple-cross, where lines of allies and enemies blur, and allegiance turns as fast as a rattlesnake strike, the only one Marshall Lincoln Hawk can count on is himself.

For a western, this has a LOT of twists and turns. 7/8

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Finished Change of Heart by Kris Jett

Becca moved back home to Snowy Ridge Wisconsin after her bitter divorce and hoping for a fresh start. In her hometown she found childhood friend Luci and two jobs, so things are looking up... Until douche male acquaintance reminded her that her ex has a new girlfriend. Her day only got worse when she backed her old VW bug into a pickup in the supermarket parking lot... one that belonged to Cooper Stone... // Coop is 30 and the head of the family, after death of their parents. He managed to drag his two brothers to the town where they grew up, and started the snowmobile repair shop, now expanding to all sort of power equipment repair. He had his own failed marriage to sulk, so why was Becca on his mind? She's clearly hurt, and his heart warmed at the sight of her, but is either of them ready to love again?

Good meet-cute, but Coop is a typical strong-silent type, the kind that went to a junkyard and picked up a new bumper for Becca without asking, and installed it for free. Because he's a nice guy. Becca... got nicer as she got to know Cooper. Is there really a darkest hour? Well... 5/8

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Finished Dating the Doctor by Piper Sullivan

Danielle, who prefers "Dani" is a pediatrician who enjoys kids, but has none of her own... too busy to date. Unfortunately, Aunt Amelia is always setting her up with one or another. Most of them are douchebags or assholes. She went to online dating, and found 7 matches, 6 of whom are duds. The only one that seem to match was Ty... // Ty is an ex-air force now rich guy whose wife died delivering his son Bobby. Seven years later, he's still looking for a wife, but very wary of golddiggers. When he was matched with Dani, they seem to fit both intellectually (compatible sense of humor and hobbies) and physically (good sexual chemistry)... But he held himself back emotionally, unwilling to commit when "there is a chance it wouldn't work out and his son could get hurt". But how can there be love without trust? Will this be the issue that broke them apart?

The push-pull is quite good, but the end resorted to "run away to sort my feelings". At least this occured before the grand gesture to a proper resolution. The book is also filled with about 700 pages of fluff "bonus content", which are not rated. 6/8

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Finished Lies and Solace by Jana Richards

The Linquist sisters were raised by their grandparents after their parents died on Solace Lake in what's ruled a murder-suicide. As they grew up, the three sisters grew apart. Two of them left pursuing their own careers (marketing, and chef), only the oldest, Harper, stayed behind, having inherited the family Solace Lake Lodge in Northern Minnesota. But with only her around, the lodge itself is falling apart. The only chance keep it running is for an infusion of capital, and the representative Ethan James. // Ethan James arrived just ahead of Minnesotan blizzard and Harper is determined to show the handsome moneyman the lodge deserves to be saved and can be made profitable. Harper finds her attraction to the man irritating, but he's not aware that Ethan has secrets of his own... For Ethan James is actually a millionaire, pretending to be an employee in his own company. He's not sure an investment into this crumbling inn is worth it... But Harper managed to convince him of her dreams... Neither can fully trust the other, but they must do so to achieve their goals toward life... and love.

It's better than I expected. both come with plenty of baggage. Harper was basically weighed down by their parents' death, and Ethan was basically a down and out guy, whose GF ran away, THEN he won the lotto. And he starting doing investments with help with his siblings. The end was a bit protracted as Ethan managed to corral the other two sisters into joining the venture. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat May 12, 2018 6:16 pm

Finished Man Hunting in Memphis by Rhonda Russell

Wedding Planner Georgia hadn't found real love herself, despite helping many others achieve their own dreams. When her latest loser BF stole her mother's ring and skip bail, Georgia is forced to hire bounty hunter Linc to chase down the no-good SOB. It sure helps that Linc is oh so scrumptious bad boy, but Georgia had too many losers to commit to a guy, no matter how gorgeous he is... // Linc may look like a frat-boy, but he's got a heart of gold, and good ear for a sob story, and oh boy does Georgia have one. It also helps that Georgia was the most calm and confident woman... and Linc enjoyed her company... esp. when he wanted to muss her up a bit... preferably with his kisses...

Opposites attract story w/ forced proximity, different worlds, good setup to push the two together. 6/8

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Finished One Night With Her Roommate by Noelle Adams

Meg and hot guy East are roommates. Well, East is technically her landlord. East flirts, but Meg knew East wasn't for her... She can't deal with immature playboys or wannabes, even though he's definitely sexy and available. It didn't help that he's a slob. But deep down, she knew she wanted him, even if just for one night. // East knew fliting with Meg is fun, but he has his reasons to be flirty... He has secrets he'd rather keep to himself. Until big news from friends forced him to reveal a piece about himself to Meg... and everything changed.

One fo the better novelettes I've read, with a lot of hidden angst, lust, unrequired love, and stuff. 6/8

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Finished A Husband for Margaret by Ruth Ann Nordin FREE novella

Margaret Williams advertised for a mail-order groom, and one answered. However, when the train arrived, it was not Paul, but his older brother Joseph. Paul had died previously, and Joseph brought four children with him... They need a mother, he needed a wife. Is Margaret still available? Then someone else showed up... Someone with designs on Joseph...

While the kid's antics are good, the storyline didn't really make that much sense. Not the part about older brother showing up, but some OTHER woman who wanted Joseph. How they finally got rid of her was... just hilarious. But overall... it just feels... forced. 5/8

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Finished Where I Belong by Claudia Connor novella

Charlotte was just vacationing alone (her father could make it back) when her vacation was interrupted by a cute boy with Down's syndrome. Charlotte was glad for the interruption when she came upon "uncle Owen", a man visiting his family between construction jobs. Charlotte and Owen were smitten with each other, but Charlotte lost her mother to violence when young, and she didn't want to be hurt again. Owen has merely five days to convince her perhaps it is time to take a chance with her heart... As that's when her vacation ends... And what then? How far is each of them willing to go for love?

For novella this packs some good emotional punch. 6/8

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Abandoning Cole by Giulia Lagomarsino

Alex survived a nightmare when her parents were murdered by a psychopath serial killer, and she was almost a victim as well. She lived off the grid, jumping from job to job city to city, with no set schedule, even though a man was convicted and sentenced to prison. But an encounter in a highway rest stop brought her back into the nightmare. Held prisoner for months and tortured, she managed to escape one day and ran into Cole, ex-marine scout-sniper discharged with PTSD and was rescued. Cole and his police friend knew they have a survivor and need her for clues to catch this depraved beast, while Cole need to protect her... But the beast has some tricks he's yet to shown, for the game had barely begun...

Amateur horror movie jump-scare with impossible situations. Somehow, the serial killer knew her movement well enough so he'd be hiding in the specific rest stop just as her bladder is about to burst. Yeah, right. After she got away, and rescued by Cole, psycho then managed to sneak into Cole's house, despite security system, and dropped spiders, snakes, and bugs in her room so it crawled all over her. What's this, Poltergeist?

This guy's f***ing supernatural. What a joke. 1/8

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Finished Crane's Bride by Linda Ford

Byler Crane is ready to start anew in the West. His wagon is all ready to go... but he needed a wife. His ad in the local mercantile brought forth Maggie... who's single and barely eighteen, but also eager to start over. But he had no idea what sort of woman she was. Before they left town, they added a boy and a girl to their impromptu family barely after they signed the marriage certificate... Because she cannot stand aside and watch injustice be done, much like it had been done to her. Maggie did not expect love, but perhaps, with Crane at her side, love will follow...

While interesting, Crane just seems to be a bit easy push-over. Sure, there's definitely some injustice and the situation's justified but Crane's really a big softie. 5/8

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Finished Long Way Home by Neve Cottrell FREE

Alexis left Mangrove Island 17 years ago and never came back... Until now. She's back for a reason, but she's not sharing. Tyler had a high school crush on Alexis, but that was a long time ago. Now that she's back, he's not going to let her get away again... but the more he got to know her, the more he knew he's got to give her room to heal. But can he convince her to risk her heart again?

Pretty generic plot and didn't really have anything memorable. Call it average. 5/8

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Finished Caged in Winter by Brighton Walsh

Winter is working waitress at the best job she can afford to do. She's too proud to work at the strip-joint, and she had to put up with the hand-sy frat boys. She just have seventy some days to graduate college, and then she can find better jobs. When Cade walked into her bar, and thought he was protecting her from hands-y folks, he actually blocked her from tips she should have earned that night. THEN he had the audacity to drop money to compensate her... She EARNS her living, darn it! But Cade's just so friendly, she can't hold her anger... // Cade's an aspiring chef with potential of going big time soon... as soon as he finished culinary school. He can't afford a distraction... but he'll make an exception for Winter. But as they get together, will they be able to make the compromises they need or will their goals get in the way of their love?

Good polish. 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun May 13, 2018 5:17 pm

Finished Decidedly Off Limits by Stina Lindenblatt

Trent is one of the most eligible bachelors in San Francisco. He's mutual funds manager, a workaholic, and definitely a ladies' man, if he wants companionship, but there is one woman he wants, and he can't have her, because she's his best friend's little sister. // Kelsey is a physical therapist who had enough of her fiancee putting her second. She dumped him six months ago and never looked back. She wanted her brother's best friend Trent for a long time, but she knew Trent is a workaholic she's not that desperate to be second fiddle again. When Kelsey's big brother goes off on a mission again (he's a navy SEAL) he tasked Trent to keep her from dating assholes, but Trent's sister set Kelsey up with dates, and Trent had to run interference, which lead to them spending time together. Trent's self-control is eroding fast, but the potential consequences of having a fling of Kelsey and getting eviscerated by a navy SEAL was vivid in his mind. But then, Kelsey had to decide if Trent can reform his ways of being a workaholic... or when would the big brother come back and discover them had gotten together...

Now that's a way to write "best friend's little sister" romance. Fun, flirty, with a good dose of rom-com and it even got a little kinky near the end. 6/8

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Finished Adler James by Christa Wick

Adler James Turk had just buried his sister and his father not long ago. Arriving in her house (that she shared with her husband) and found a different woman there in the kitchen wearing her clothing was a total shock... And she's a curvy beauty that that quickly grabbed a knife and threatened her instead of running away screaming definitely piqued his interest, and he can't stop thinking about her... // Sage arrived in town of Willow Gap, Montana after a desperate call from her estranged brother. It took her several days to track down enough information to ascertain the town's location, but airline had lost all her luggage in transit after three transfers. Now with Adler looking at her like a stranger, she realized that her brother had not mentioned her AT ALL... She's his "dirty little secret". But there is a reason why both of them are mum about their origins... and as Adler came to know Sage better, he wonders about a future with her...

While the secrets are pretty cool, like a mystery to unwrap, the attraction didn't quite work for me. 5/8

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Finished Perfect Husband by Leslie Johnson

Tiffany just got dump by her fiancee... via text. Since he's also her boss at the cafe, that means she's out of a job too. On a night out to commiserate, somehow she had too many shots and ended up in the bed of a gorgeous blonde god by the name of Denton... But she's still clothed despite a heavy make-out sessions. Denton is clearly rich as heck, to afford a penthouse in the city, and he made Tiff an offer she can't refuse... he needs a fake wife to make his grandpa happy, and she can choose for her. But choosing the possible candidates made one thing clear... Tiff herself is the best candidate... and they got married... but it's just fake, right?

Somehow Denton came off as a bit empty to me. He acts like a cocky alpha but he's secretly gooey and sweet. Argh. Tiff was a bit more rounded, but still, financial desperation to marriage is not a bad trade, albeit a bit... "sunk really really low"? In fact, one of the scenes that helped her commit was she finding bugs scurrying along her horrible apartment. Eh. 5/8

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Finished Broke Billionaire by Ann Omasta Novella (only 70 pages)

Ellie was driving before dawn to her bakery when she smacked into a jogger. With much difficulty, she moved the injured man, who was handsome, and still possessed a sense of humor while in pain, to the hospital, only to learn that was Trey Donovan, most eligible bachelor in the city, but buried under a load of responsibilities. Trey found the one woman in life that doesn't want his money. In fact, Ellie is turned OFF by all that money. So how can a billionaire woo a woman without using money?

Fun fast read, a bit of rom-com, quite a bit of sassy language (there's a joke about him being her hood ornament, hahaha). 6/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon May 14, 2018 1:34 am

Finished Loving Again by Michele Barlow

Evie had everything going for her. Great job, beautiful daughter, loving husband, but when her husband died it took her months to recover to the point of being able to go out to the public. Only her support group called the "Broken Hearts Club" kept her going. Now she's determined to keep her bookstore running in the small town of Friday Harbor. When a water pipe break threatened her livelihood, she called everywhere for help, until her neighbor sent Leo to her door. Leo is a big handyman who is looking for someone special, and this single mother may be the one, if she accepts him. But is in a small town, where gossip travels at the speed of light, can Evie grab happiness despite expectations of others?

Not bad, but not good either. It's a short novel (120 pages) and while the meetcute is good, it's nothing extraordinary. 5.5/8

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Finished The Proposition by Katie Ashley

Emma Harrison came from a big family, and she wanted one of her own, but she's approaching 30, and seems to only attract losers. When even her gay best friend backed out of donating sperm for her IVF, and she's refusing to pick from the sperm bank, she's out of options... Until Aidan intervened. Aidan is the resident womanizer, and no one ever refused him... except Emma at company Christmas party. When Aidan heard about Emma's request, he offered up himself... with a requirement... He'll be the sperm donor, but the conception must occur naturally. Yes, he will make love with Emma. Emma was initially horrified at the idea... this is basically unmarried sex, but soon she decided why not, Aidan is that charming. And Aidan proved to be a consummate lover. But as they spent month and more together, they've basically fallen for each other... if they can admit it to themselves...

The story actually ended up a cliffhanger and continues in Volume 2: The Proposal when Aidan, basically messed up. There's a reason he's the way he was... a womanizer, and he's yet to reveal why. He thought he can never commit to any woman, and Emma almost changed him, but not quite. When he had a reaction and tried to backpedal from Emma by picking up someone (who knew of his reputation), then tried to back out of that too, which is of course, Emma walked in on their petting. THe best part: the woman he picked up slapped him. "I thought you were single!" 7/8

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon May 14, 2018 2:52 pm

Finished All's Fair in Love and Karma by P S. Witte

Samantha runs a new age shop where she plays the psychic "Madam Izadora". When a hunky model Shad came into the shop, she sends him to Ashley (her best friend and a museum guide) with some mumbo-jumbo about destiny. Unfortunately, the two are like oil and water... They don't mix. Instead, every time they meet Shad had some sort of a disaster. But Shad, believing in the destiny, kept coming back... Which lead Ashley to meet the ER doc, who's having problems at work due to a somewhat unhinged hospital administrator. What Sam and Ashley don't tell people is they also have an "after-hours" job dealing out aggressive karmic retributions where huge practical jokes are played on bullies who are in need of some karmic justice... like waking up to find your car with a pink flamingo glued to your roof and glitter glued to your car all over... When the hospital administrator becomes intolerable, the crew embarked on a gaslighting campaign to push the crazy admin over the edge, but then the spyshop guy from across the street decided to join the fun...

Not really a romance per se, but it's sure heck funny to see karma dished out on people with (physically) harmless pranks. I'd imagine it may take thousands to undo the damage on the cars if it's a high-end car. In between, Sam found the spy shop guy irresistable, and Ashley like the ER doc. So it's mainly a revenge tale with some romantic elements, albeit, with humor. 6/8

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Finished This Piece of My Heart by Robin M Ryan

Caryn was raised to join her father's firm, but she is failing statistics badly. She joined the summer program, hoping to get the credits so she can graduate on time. Then she met single professional hockey player Andrew... Andrew could have almost any woman, as one of the most eligible bachelors in town, but he wanted Caryn. However, Caryn's parents do not approve... then his team traded him to a new city... It's going to take a lot of fancy footwork to keep the flames alive for this couple.

Kinda starcrossed lovers tale with good polish. 6/8

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Abandoning Finding Mr. Happily Ever After: Nathan FREE

Melissa Storm and Melissa McClone collaborate on a series... And I'm bored as heck.

Jasmine "Jazz" grew up in love with her neighbor boy Nathan. They've been through good and bad. Jazz's father left one day after being violent, while Nathan never was close to his parents. Nathan decided convention is not for him and he plans to party his way through college with barely passing grade, while Jazz is determined to get a nice degree next to Nathan, even if she had to turn down a scholarship.... But as their paths diverge, will they ever find their way back to each other?

Frankly, I got tired of reading about their childhood exploits. We got when they were eight, thirteen, then eighteen, and off to college. So far, I honestly dont' see why Jazz is hung up on this nice neighbor boy who was sweet but turned into a party animal at college. And I'm merely at half-way point.

NO RATING.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue May 15, 2018 11:26 pm

Finsihed Welcome to Last Chance by Cathleen Armstrong

Lainie was planning to drive to Santa Fe, New Mexico, but the car she bought with her last savings just died upon reaching Last Chance. She's on the run from her boyfriend and the gang he was involved in. And it seems when she escaped, she accidentally took his stash with her (it was sewn into the backpack). The town took her in, with a free room (though the lady talks about the Bible every chance she got, and requires Lainie to attend church on Sunday), the bar's owner Ray is nice but distant, and even the sheriff is guarded but otherwise friendly. With the car dead beyond resurrection, and her friend has news that her BF had been looking for her, it seems Lainie had nowhere to go... except stay in town. She got a job to help out the cafe in town which gives the owner time to deal with her son, and get to know all of the characters, and even come to love Ray, the bar owner. But Ray's leaving when his brother got back, and when Lainie heard that her boyfriend is out of the hospital, it's time to leave town before he can find her...

Nice complex characters with complex lives. You know the evil ex is going to show up, and and Ray is going to save the day. 7/8 mainly for the characters.

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Finished The Baronet's Wedding Engagement by Jessica Hart

Max just found that his sister Hope was not only going to marry a prince, but the wedding will be at their family home, which used to be grand, but it's a bit delapidated nowadays. Now he had to arrange to have the whole thing fixed up, spruced up, and secured ahead of all the security, as well as find a date for himself... Else the Crown Princess will make his life hell. // Chef Flora, Hope's friend, is going to be a bridesmaid, and will be doing all the cooking prep for the event. And she's single... and available. Why not pair up with Max, at least for now? Not that Flora is staying around... She needs the publicity to restart her career. When the entire party was continued in San Michele, Flora and Max can no longer tell what's just pretend, and what's real in their relationship...

Didn't feel too much about this one. Meh. 4/8

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Finished The Teacher's Bride by Natalie Dean

Greta grew up in Kansas during the Civil War. She's grown up by war's end, and there's nothing for her here. Her brother's way out in Oregon, and she needed a way out, and when she saw an ad for mail order bride by a teacher, she took it. // Greta was not Marston was looking for in a bride. He , at 32, hoped for an older woman, not a 20-year old slip of a girl. He hired her as teacher's aide instead, refusing to sully her. But Greta knew what she wanted, and she sets about to her tasks, be basically a wife to Marston without the intimacy, and hoped to win his heart. But with winter approaching, and a wagon train due soon to leave for Oregon, time is running out.

I guess this is kinda inspirational, but I didn't feel much from this story. 5/8

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Finished Who Is She? By Patricia Kay

Hope was raised by nuns at a convent, with only a locket as the clue to her identity... and she never got until a few weeks ago, when the sister who raised her finally had her effects traced and handed over to her. And ever since, touching that locket gave her visions... of what may have been... that she is determined to find her family... and to her shock, she found she may be the missing Hollister heiress Elizabeth, missing since she was 1. Now she's on her way to visit the family... // Paul Hollister was adopted and the loss of his adoptive parents (Elizabeth's biological parents) hit him hard too. Now he helps the family matron Virginia manage the estate, and run his business. Paul knew there were many frauds over the years that claimed to be the missing heiress, and he was sure this "Hope" will just be another fraud. But Hope proved to be more truthful that he expected, and even he felt an attraction toward her that he can't deny. But what secrets could Hope be keeping?

The mystery surrounding the identity of Hope was pretty good as you weren't quite sure who's who till the end, though you suspected. But the investigation were done by third-party, not involving Hope and Paul directly, and somehow it just didn't quite feel that immediately. The darkest hour IMHO was really lame though. The grand-gesture was really meh too. I liked the mystery well enough. 6/8

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