Category: NetGalley

Separate Lives by Kathryn Flett

Separate Lives by [Flett, Kathryn]

4 Stars

Publisher: Quercus (US), Quercus

Date of publication: December 6th, 2016

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Where you can find Separate Lives: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Your partner of ten years, and the father of your children, receives a text. You happen to see it.

‘Start living a different kind of life … P 🙂 xxx’. You don’t know anyone with the initial P, so what’s with the smiley face and the kisses?

Narrated by Susie, her partner Alex and the mysterious ‘P’, Separate Lives is an achingly funny, moving and honest portrayal of marriage and adultery. These characters are never less than totally human. You’ll have met people like them. They might even be you.

My review:

This book is a tear-jerker and it is painful to read such a raw rendition of a relationship that is on its way out. Told from Susie’s point of view, from letters that P writes to her mother and through text messages/emails sent by Alex, it is heartbreaking.

I loved that it was so raw and that nothing was faked. There were a few super funny scenes (the ones where Susie walks in on Phil and Harriette is hilarious) and some that are heartbreaking (the chapter when Susie realizes that it is over and is trying to co-exist with Alex really pulled at my heartstrings).

The ending was a HUGE surprise, even though I did somewhat call it in the middle of the book.

I would give Separate Lives an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Separate Lives. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Throne of Novoxos (Van Laven Chronicles: Book 1) by Tyler Chase

THRONE OF NOVOXOS: VAN LAVEN CHRONICLES (Book 1) by [Chase, Tyler]

4 Stars

Publisher: Tyler Chase

Date of publication: July 15th, 2014

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Series: Van Laven Chronicles

Throne of Novoxos – Book 1

Shadow Reign – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

All she wanted was to save a life, even if he was her sworn enemy. She didn’t mean to make him fall in love. She didn’t mean to make him break his vow to his people. And sparking a war was the absolute last thing she ever wanted. But all this and more confronts Vaush as she embarks on an epic journey to restore order to the Empire and to take her rightful place with him by her side.

My review:

Another example of me judging a book by its cover/blurb. I really need to stop doing that because I always end up making a fool out of myself when writing the review.

This is a Romeo and Juliet type love story coupled with some good old-fashioned science fiction and fantasy elements mixed in. The only way that it differs from Romeo and Juliet is that Comron and Vaush do not die a star crossed lovers’ death. They come close a few times but they don’t die.

Comron and his father, Crausin, have one of the most complex and disgusting relationships that I have read. They are telepathic, which was fascinating. Especially something major was revealed to Vaush from Comron towards the end of the story. They didn’t use their telepathy to always talk to each other. Crausin used it to take over while Comron is having sex. So, a telepathic threesome. They also shared their women in the physical sense too.

Vaush is the youngest daughter of Larrs Bastionli, the Duke of Tir-Laros. She is also Comron and Crausin’s mortal enemy. Vaush is a woman who loves nothing more than to stay out of her father’s path and do what she loves, which is helping others less fortunate than her.

Vaush and Comron’s paths cross when the transport that she is on is attacked by a terrorist. A bomb explodes, causing the transport to crash. Vaush is largely uninjured but Comron is gravely injured. Vaush finds him in the wreckage, discovers who he is and decides to save him. Comron returns the favor after a panther attacks Vaush in the jungle.

While they are trekking towards the east coast, and hopefully rescue, Vaush and Comron fall in love and do the dirty. They vow to keep seeing each other, on the down-low, after they are rescued.

Once they are rescued, a huge secret about Vaush comes to light. She is the legal heir of the Emperor’s throne. The Emperor took her mother as his first wife, much to the dismay of his ex-wife and their children. When her mother got pregnant, she disappeared and was assumed to have died and her child along with her. Which wasn’t the case. Her transport was waylaid by Larrs Bastionli, her mother severely injured but kept alive to deliver Vaush and then were either killed or died after her birth. Larrs kept Vaush and raised her as his own child. But with the plan that when she old enough, that she will become the Empress and Tir-Laros will have the backing of the Empress.

Only, it didn’t quite turn out that way. There is murder and mayhem once her secret is leaked. The only true ally that Vaush has is Comron but even that is questioned when huge secrets from his past are revealed to her.

I never thought that I would ever say this in a science fiction/fantasy but the sex scenes are insanely good. Each sex scene was better than the next. I loved it!!

The ending of the book threw me for a loop and made me question Comron and his loyalty to Vaush. There were other instances that made me go “Eh” but when I read what I read at the end, I went “Ooooooo….no he didn’t!!” I am actually going to buy the 2nd book because I want to know what happens next.

I would give Throne of Novoxos an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Throne of Novoxos. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Hers to Heal (Black Eagles Ops: Book 2) by Vonnie Davis

Hers to Heal: A Black Eagle Ops Novel by [Davis, Vonnie]

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of Publication: November 22, 2016

Genre: Romance

Series: Black Eagle Ops

Her Survivor – Book 1 (Review Here)

Hers to Heal – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

In this powerful, sensual romance from the author of Her Survivor, a broken woman meets a shattered warrior—and discovers a passion strong enough to heal each other’s deepest wounds.
 
Navy SEAL Reece Browning sacrificed body and soul in the line of duty. He survived torture at the hands of America’s enemies, but lost his career and his voice in the process. Traumatized and desperate to get his PTSD under control, Reece escapes to Eagle Ridge Ranch. Under the big Texas sky, he finds peace, a renewed sense of purpose—and a woman who makes him feel like a man again. Her smile lights up his dark days, and her caress helps him forget the night terrors.
 
Ex-Marine Gina Wilson also bears painful scars: emotional wounds inflicted by men she once trusted with her life. She has fought hard to overcome her demons and build a good life for her daughter, and Reece is too intense, too damaged, too raw to let into her heart. Yet she’s drawn irresistibly to his steely gaze and heated embrace. No one else understands what it’s like to suffer in silence. And when Gina’s daughter is threatened, it’s Reece who risks everything to save the day.

My review:

I am a big fan of Vonnie Davis. This series that I have been reviewing (Black Eagle Ops) has struck a chord with me. Call me a sap, but I do not like seeing people (even fictional people) in pain and Reese, Ashley and JJ were in a ton of it. My heart broke reading why Reece suffered from PTSD. It broke, even more, when it was revealed what happened to Ashley.

I liked Gina. She took no crap from Reese, at all. Which is fine because a man like Reese needs a strong female who he can’t push around. And he couldn’t definitely push her around.

Piper is my favorite character in the whole book, along with Junebug. She was a 6-year-old wise guy. Her immediate latch on to Reece to be her Daddy was hilarious as was his reaction when she told him. She flat-out told him that he was going to be her Daddy. I did find that she would morph from sounding 6 to sounding 18 and then back in the same sentence. The first time it happened, it threw me off. Didn’t take away from Piper’s cuteness, though.

Once the secondary plot got going, it didn’t lack for anything. The action was great and I did end up in tears when Reese did what he did.

The end was pretty typical and I loved it. I do hope that there is going to be a story on Ashley and JJ or any of the other members of the group.

I would give Hers to Heal an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Hers to Heal. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

The Argent Star (The Monarchy: Book 1) by Emerson Fray

The Argent Star (The Monarchy Book 1) by [Fray, Emerson]

2 Stars

Publisher: D L Miles

Date of Publication: June 7th, 2015

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

The Argent Star – Book 1

The Howling Jade – Book 2

Where you can find this book: Amazon |Barnes & Noble

Book synopsis:

What happens when your decisions affect an entire universe?

Ren Argent wanted to be an archeologist and spend her life exploring the lost cities of Earth. But when a new planet is discovered and her father is appointed King, she has to leave behind everything she knows to rule over a place she’s only heard of in legends.

Not long after her arrival, she discovers there are insurgents hiding in the darkened forests and the planet is on the brink of civil war. It won’t be long until the Monarchy steps in to “neutralize” the threat.

Will she be able to stop the hostile takeover? Or will her actions ignite a rebellion across the universe?

My review:

I wanted to like this book. I mean, the storyline is great:

Girl goes to another plant and saves its inhabitants from an evil reign set on wiping them out.

Unfortunately, even a great storyline can’t help awful characters.

I could not stand Ren. She came across as whiny in some parts of the story and childish in other parts. Her relationship with her father was nonexistent because she was still carrying a grudge over something that happened over seven years earlier. The only person that actually likes her is her brother Elian, and she treated him like a child half the time. Two people call her out on her BS: Sheridan, her Sotarian bodyguard, and Abetha, her Guide (a servant). Those scenes I liked.

She did because almost bearable during the last half of the book but, she acted like a child and it drove me nuts. Definitely not my favorite character of all times.

The substory of the rebels was good and I enjoyed the twist that happened midway through the book. It changed my view of one character.

The ending was really good (and this is where Ren almost redeemed herself) and the substory lines were tied up in a very satisfactory way. But it ended in a cliffhanger, which again, drove me nuts. I can’t stand them.

There is a 2nd book in the series but I am not sure if I want to read it or not. Like I said above, Ren grated on my nerves and I couldn’t read another book with her in it.

I would give The Argent Star an Older Teen rating. There are no sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 10 read this book.

I would not reread The Argent Star. I would not recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin

To Capture What We Cannot Keep: A Novel by [Colin, Beatrice]

3 Stars

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Date of publication: November 29th, 2016

Where to find this book: Amazon

Genre: General Fiction

Book Synopsis:

Set against the construction of the Eiffel Tower, this novel charts the relationship between a young Scottish widow and a French engineer who, despite constraints of class and wealth, fall in love.

In February 1887, Caitriona Wallace and Émile Nouguier meet in a hot air balloon, floating high above Paris, France–a moment of pure possibility. But back on firm ground, their vastly different social strata become clear. Cait is a widow who because of her precarious financial situation is forced to chaperone two wealthy Scottish charges. Émile is expected to take on the bourgeois stability of his family’s business and choose a suitable wife. As the Eiffel Tower rises, a marvel of steel and air and light, the subject of extreme controversy and a symbol of the future, Cait and Émile must decide what their love is worth.

Seamlessly weaving historical detail and vivid invention, Beatrice Colin evokes the revolutionary time in which Cait and Émile live–one of corsets and secret trysts, duels and Bohemian independence, strict tradition and Impressionist experimentation. To Capture What We Cannot Keep, stylish, provocative, and shimmering, raises probing questions about a woman’s place in that world, the overarching reach of class distinctions, and the sacrifices love requires of us all.

My Review:

When I started reading this book, I didn’t know what to think about it. The plot crept and I felt that it was weighted down by one-dimensional characters. I felt that there was no life for anyone but Cait and Emile. Jamie, Alice, and Gabrielle, their portrayals were stereotypical of that time.

I changed my mind by the 2nd half of the book. We learn more about Cait’s marriage, Alice and Jamie flushed out as characters and in surprising ways and Gabrielle, well she ended up being a woman scorned.

The love story of Cait and Emile was present, as was the construction of the Eiffel Tower and Emile’s social/status obligations. Which made the 2nd half of the book so interesting to read.

The ending of the book was perfect. Just saying, I couldn’t have written it any better myself.

I would give To Capture What We Cannot Keep an Adult rating. There are sexual situations. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread To Capture What We Cannot Keep. I am on the fence if I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

My Addiction (Club Desire: Book 2) by Cassie Ryan

My Addiction (Club Desire Book 2) by [Ryan, Cassie]

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of publication: October 25th, 2016

Genre: Romance

Series: Club Desire

My Obsession – Book 1

My Addiction – Book 2

Where I can find this book: Amazon |Barnes & Noble

Book synopsis:

In a novel of sensual passion and deep commitment from the author of My Obsession, an undercover cop finds a soulmate who surrenders to his healing touch.

Fiercely independent and determined to free herself from her father’s manipulation, tech expert Kate Fretwell finds a refuge in L.A.’s elite BDSM dungeon scene as the hot new thing to political and Hollywood A-listers. Still, all that glitters gets old, and Kate soon tires of the stream of well-heeled masters who expect her to be at their beck and call. Then she meets a very different kind of Dom—one whose quiet confidence, strength, and command bring her most willingly to her knees.

Undercover FBI agent Dex Alexander fits right into his assignment to expose terrorist links to one of L.A.’s most popular clubs. The case has reawakened a desire to find the perfect companion, and he knows that beautiful, vulnerable Kate is a woman he could love. But when her father’s corruption unwittingly makes Kate the target of a bigger enemy, Dex brings her to his Phoenix home—and his dungeon, Club Desire. Here she shows him just how eager she is to give him everything . . . and more.

My review:

I am going to come right out and warn everyone that this book defiantly isn’t for anyone who is A) easily offended by BDSM lifestyle and B) people who are easily offended by graphic details about the BDSM lifestyle. If you are offended, hit the back button and head to my next review. If you are easily offended and keep on reading this review well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I loved how this book balanced BDSM and regular life. Unlike other books that I have read in this genre, the sex takes 2nd place to the storyline, and I loved that. I have read books in this genre that once the sex was introduced, the storyline went out the window. So it was very refreshing to see that the storyline was kept up once the BDSM scenes started (which was fairly early in the book).

I liked Kate. She was one of those heroines who didn’t take jack from anyone. I think the scenes where she stood up to Stanton (ie, punched him in the junk) and when she finally told her father off was excellent, and I thought it showed off how spunky she was.

The attraction that she had to Dex was instantaneous, and I loved the flogging scene. Now, usually, I am not into that stuff, but the way it was written and the way Dex and Kate discussed her soft and hard limits piqued my interest. And how he took care of her afterward was tremendous and did show what kind of guy he was.

Dex is my new book boyfriend. He is hot and cares about his woman/Sub (and his past Sub’s). The only thing that I didn’t like was that he couldn’t tell her that he was investigating her and that he was FBI. It killed him, and when she found out, it hurt her.

The subplot with the money laundering, the terrorists, the Dungeon, and its clients was OK, and it was resolved satisfactorily. Well, except that poor Kate got hurt.

The sex scenes between Kate and Dex were hot, hot, hot. They lit the pages on fire!!

The ending was excellent, and the epilogue was great. I can’t wait to see if Dex and Kate are going to be mentioned in book 3 (if there is a book 3).

I would give My Addiction an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread My Addiction. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

The Lost Ones by Ben Cheetham

The Lost Ones: A psychological thriller full of twists and turns by [Cheetham, Ben]

4 Stars

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Date of Publication: October 25th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Where you can find this book: Amazon |Barnes & Noble

Book synopsis:

Some secrets are better left undiscovered.

When a nine-year-old girl goes missing in Harwood Forest, the search for her brings back memories of an unsolved double murder some forty years earlier. Could the key to Erin Jackson’s disappearance lie in the bloody fate of Elijah and Joanna Ingham, bludgeoned to death while their young daughters slept? Were the Inghams really the victims of opportunistic burglars—or a more sinister fate?

The woods are combed for signs of the child, but Erin’s brother, Jake, mounts his own investigation, uncovering evidence that puts the Inghams’ daughters—vanished Rachel and ‘crazy’ Mary—in the frame. Meanwhile, Erin’s father suspects that the ragtag army of eco-warriors besieging his quarry development may have something to hide.

As devastating secrets and betrayals are revealed, the Jackson family is brought to a breaking point. But time is running out. Erin is still missing and Jake’s unorthodox inquiries have left him dangerously exposed. They must find Erin and lay the past to rest—before they become its latest victims.

My review:

Tom Jackson started off having a good day. He had won the approval of his village’s council to reopen an abandoned quarry near a historical site, over the objections of a group of eco-warriors and Druids that are objecting to them even opening the quarry. Then he gets a phone call that is the beginning of the end. His 9-year-old daughter, Erin, has gone missing while on a walk in the woods with her mother, Amanda.

While the whole town starts a search party and the local police launch an investigation, Jake, Erin’s older brother, decides to go into an abandoned house where two people were murdered over 40 years ago. After being attacked by a rook, killing it, and rescuing its babies, Jake is drawn into an awful confrontation with his mother and father. That sends him running back to the house, and what he finds there is something that can unravel the world as he knows it.

Tom and Amanda, in the meanwhile, are having struggles of their own. Secrets come to light during the investigation. Those secrets threaten to destroy their marriage and commitment to each other.

Seth is a young man who happens to be in town at the same time that Erin disappears. He has his agenda and wants to right a wrong that occurred over 40 years ago. He is caught up in the search, and his plan is taking a back seat to the search and rescue.

Mary is the surviving daughter of the people who were murdered over 40 years ago. Called “Crazy” Mary, she never talks, lives in a secluded bungalow with her cats, and acts weird. She knows who killed her parents but is rendered mute due to that trauma.

Everything is tied together in an explosive ending!!!

This book is very fast-paced right from the get-go. I mean, I scorched through 1/2 of the book within a day and the other half the next day. The book had me that sucked into it.

I did figure out who killed the Ingham’s about halfway through the book, but even though I figured it out, I was surprised at why that person did it and how this person would go to cover their tracks.

The multiple storylines in the book were wonderfully brought together at the end of the book. The ending was a bit of a shock, actually a huge shock. I wasn’t expecting what happened to happen.

I would give The Lost Ones an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Lost Ones. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Pull Me Close (The Panic Series: Book 1) by Sidney Halston

Pull Me Close: The Panic Series by [Halston, Sidney]

5 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of publication: October 25th, 2016

Genre: Romance

Series: The Panic Series

Pull Me Close – Book 1

Where you can find this book: Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis:

Welcome to Panic, a sultry Miami nightclub where bodies and hearts move to a beat that doesn’t stop at sunrise—the setting for “a magnificent story full of deep emotion” (Sawyer Bennett).

Katherine: I thought I could enjoy a night out like a normal person. I thought I could handle the flashing lights, the pulsing music, the crowded dance floor. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After having an anxiety attack and passing out during my sister’s engagement party at Panic, I wake up in the arms of the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. Nick Moreno’s no gentleman. But he might just be the man I need to help me take control of my life.

Nick: When I hear there’s some random girl passed out in the back room of my family’s South Beach nightclub, I’m pissed. My dad’s already behind bars and we can’t afford any more bad press. But after giving her a lift—literally—back to her apartment, I stop seeing Katherine Wilson as some random girl. She’s gorgeous, vulnerable, and braver than she knows. And when we kiss, all I want to do is pull her close and promise that she’ll always be safe in my arms.

No cheating. No cliffhangers. And no dress code.

My review:

Katherine thought she could attend her sister’s bachelorette without having a major panic attack. See, Katherine hadn’t been outside of her apartment in well over a year but forced herself to go because her sister wanted her to. Saying that her attempt to go out of her apartment ended badly was an understatement. She passed out in front of Mat, Nick’s twin brother and co-owner of Panic….the nightclub she was at.

Nick was an idiot (to keep it PC) and was beyond stressed out when Katherine was brought to him. He had taken over his father’s nightclub after his father was arrested and put in jail. He is stressed because he is trying to keep the club on the straight and narrow (which was the opposite his father had done). He is also a bit jaded when it comes to women. His ex-girlfriend (who thankfully didn’t make an appearance at all) was caught naked in the VIP section by Nick with his former best friend. She was also doing lines of meth off of his man bits. Oh, the mental image that went with that….lol. So, it was safe to say that when Katherine was brought to him, unconscious, he wasn’t happy and assumed that she was a junkie.

He does make the effort to believe her and even started to get to know her. But, one day he showed up at her apartment and she was acting like she was high. He ripped her a new one and took off. Meanwhile, as he is telling her off, she is trying to tell Nick that she’s having a reaction to the new medications she is on. Nick acting the way he acted was a catalyst of sorts for Katherine. She started to get the help she needed and she was able to go to Nick’s club to explain that she has PTSD, agoraphobic and has an anxiety disorder and that she had a reaction to her medications the last time she saw him.

From then on, Nick didn’t leave Katherine’s side. He read up on PTSD and worked with her on getting better. Those scenes were so sweet because you could tell that he wasn’t a bad guy. The more he hung around Katherine, the sweeter he got. It got me right in the feels.

Even better, the author held off on them having sex. But when they did…omg good was it good. Better than good, it was fantastic. They even had protected sex (gasp) which doesn’t happen in many of the books I have read lately (and if you have read my blog, you know how I feel about that….lmao).

The end of the book was beyond fantastic. I hope to read the 2nd book because I have a feeling that Mat’s story will be next and I would love to see what will happen with him.

I also want to add that the author’s note at the end of the book brought me to tears.

I would give Pull Me Close an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Pull Me Close. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Welcome Home for Christmas (Hero’s Welcome: Book 4) by Annie Rains

Welcome Home for Christmas: A Hero's Welcome Novel by [Rains, Annie]

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of Publication: November 8th, 2016

Genre: Romance

Series: Hero’s Welcome

Welcome to Forever – Book 1

Welcome to Forever-Starting Today – Book 1.5

Welcome Home, Cowboy – Book 2

Welcoming the Bad Boy – Book 3 (review here)

Welcome Home for Christmas – Book 4

Where you can find this book: Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis:

Three-hundred-and-sixty-four days a year, Allison Carmichael doesn’t mind being single. It sure beats dating another loser, and it keeps her heart safe. Then there’s that three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth day: Christmas Eve, the traditional time her entire family gathers together—and gangs up on her, demanding to know when she’s going to get married. This year, she swears, is going be different. And that’s why, at a charity auction she’s throwing on-base, she buys herself a man.
 
Sergeant Troy Matthews insists that he’s not for sale. His time is, though, and he’s happy to donate it. Happier still when he learns the identity of the winning bidder: the redhead with the killer good looks and smart mouth who runs the veteran’s center. Allison needs Troy’s help to fool her family into believing they’re an item, and he’s all too happy to indulge her. But by the time Christmas Eve rolls around, their little charade is working a little too well . . . because Troy’s falling head over heels.

My review:

Allison was perfectly happy being single until it hits Christmas time. Then she gets all sorts of stressed out. Why does she get stressed out? Because normally, she doesn’t have a date for her family’s Christmas party. And if she does have a date, her mother, a psychiatrist, analyzes him and then tells Allison what she thinks of him. Which normally isn’t a lot and she has predicted Allison’s breakups. So, yeah, that would stress anyone out.

Troy is an MP on base who is a love them and leave them type of guy and Christmas is not his favorite holiday. This year, instead of celebrating Christmas, he was planning on spending it alone. The reason why he was planning on spending it alone? He was still smarting over a fight that he got into with his brother over 2 years ago over Troy being in the Marines instead of running a business. Which to be honest, it struck me as a stupid reason to be mad at someone. But I have seen relationships with families ruined over less so this did strike me as totally believable.

Allison and Troy meet, unknown to both of them when Allison is picking up wine for a charity event at the Veterans Center that she runs. Troy, who happened to be behind her, warned her about partying too hard and Allison gave him this funny, flip answer before leaving. The next time they meet was when Allison buys Troy at the charity auction she was running. Her reason for buying him? She needs him to pretend to be her boyfriend at her family’s Christmas party and she was willing to spend extra money for the extra hours (ie dates) for them to get to know each other.

The book gets pretty standard from that point on with Allison and Troy. They both fall into having sex with each other. That kinda annoyed me because Allison made a huge deal about not jumping into bed with him and then bam, two chapters later, she did. Not that I minded the sex scenes, they were pretty hot and there was one with pretty inventive use of a 6″ purple, sparkly vibrator. Speaking of that, I was cracking up laughing when she realized that she left it out when she thought she was getting robbed and Troy noticed. I literally couldn’t breathe, I was laughing so hard.

The three subplots (one being Allison’s issues with her mother, the other being the robber and the 3rd being Troy’s issues with his brother) that was wrapped up pretty quickly. But the storyline with the children’s home wasn’t wrapped up until the epilogue and I LOVED how it was wrapped up. I had a huge permagrin on my face.

Speaking of the ending, I loved it and it totally fits with the book!!!

I would give Welcome Home for Christmas an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Welcome Home for Christmas. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Wind River Wrangler (Wind River Valley: Book 1) by Lindsay McKenna

Wind River Wrangler (Wind River Series Book 1) by [McKenna, Lindsay]

4 Stars

Publisher: Kensington Books, Zebra

Date of publication: October 25th, 2016

Genre: Romance

Series: Wind River Valley

Wind River Wrangler – Book 1

Wind River Rancher – Book 2

Wind River Cowboy – Book 3

Where you can find this book: Amazon |Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis:

Still waters run deep . . .

From the moment Roan Taggart picked up the pretty redhead at the Jackson Hole airport, his training and experience told him she was spooked. She’s left New York City to visit the Wind River Ranch, where Roan is a wrangler, and just as he can pick up a horse’s mood, he can feel the tension coming off her body. And that vulnerability is triggering all his protective instincts. . .

Shiloh Gallagher likes the gray-eyed cowboy’s dry humor—and the Special Forces background that lends him a stoic, powerful presence. But she’s been scarred by trauma and her mother’s murder . . . and knows a strong man can be dangerous. She came to wide-open Wyoming to flee a threat that’s left her unable to write her novels. Now, as she rides horses with Roan and helps him build an isolated cabin, she’s slowly letting down her guard. But danger has followed her west, and they won’t have a future together unless they defeat a killer from her past. . .

My review:

I am guilty of yet again judging a book by its cover. I went into reading this book thinking that it would be one of those slam, bam, thank you ma’am romance novel. Instead, what I read was something that kept me glued to this book.

Shiloh Gallagher is a successful romance author who is stressed beyond her limits. She is being stalked and her breaking point came when her stalker started to turn her doorknob on her apartment….even though it was locked. At the end of her rope, and with no help from the police or the FBI, she called her mother’s best friend Maud Whitcomb and asked if she could seek shelter at her ranch. Of course, Maud says yes and Shiloh heads out to Wyoming and the Wind River Ranch.

Roan is an ex-Army Special Forces operator who had come to work at the Wind River Ranch 2 years previously….after leaving the Army. He is told about Shiloh from Maud. See, Shiloh has undergone a lot of trauma in her life. Her father died when she was 7 and 3  years later, her mother was murdered, in front of Shiloh, by her stepfather. The reason why Maud was telling him this….well Shiloh would be bunking with him in the Employee’s only house for the duration of her stay.

When Roan meets Shiloh at the airport, sparks flew and of course, Shiloh tries to ignore them. As they get to know each other, Shiloh’s trust in Roan grows and she tells him the one horrible thing that she had only told the police about her mother’s murderer and her stepfather, Anton Leath. Not going to tell you what but oh my, did my heart-break for her. Because after she told her mother what she told Roan, her mother was murdered in front of her.

Now, I did figure out who the stalker on was pretty early on in the book. There were enough hints that it was pretty easy to figure out. Not that it took away from the book because when the stalker does show up in Wyoming and the events that unfolded, it was pretty surprising.

The sex scenes between Roan and Shiloh were hot, hot, hot. But, unfortunately, the author had to go down the “Hey, no protection…so are you clean because I am and let’s have unprotected sex route”. Which, if you have been following my blog for any length of time, I don’t like….lol. As I have said before and will say now, I am going to start a movement: Bloggers for Safe Sex of Fictional Characters (or BSSFC for short and OMG, I am killing myself here….lol)

The ending was pretty typical and all the storylines were wrapped up in satisfactory ways. I do wish that there was an epilogue (never thought I would say that) so we could peek in on Shiloh and Roan but seeing that there are two other books in the series, I am going to pray that they make an appearance.

I would give Wind River Wrangler an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Wind River Wrangler. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**