Author Archives: Kristin

Sneak Peek Wednesday: Tempting Talk by Sara Whitney

25 March, 2020 12:16 am , 2 Comments ,

Tempting Talk
(Tempt Me #3)
by Sara Whitney
Publisher: LoveSpark Press
Publication date: March 18, 2020
Genre: Romance

Vivacious radio goddess + cinnamon roll accountant ÷ work stress x chemistry for days = an unexpected love song

Deejay Mabel Bowen rocks the morning airwaves, but once she signs off, she’s happy going home alone; a long-ago humiliation taught her that women in the public eye should be cautious about dating. Then she meets the Clark Kent-ish accountant overseeing the sale of her radio station and starts wondering if she should break her own “girl, don’t date him” rules.

Since he was teenager, Jake Carey has worked to lift his family out of poverty, and he’s now on the verge of a promotion that’ll secure their financial future. Why, then, is he so quick to set aside his spreadsheets whenever the gorgeous morning show host is around? After years of using work as an excuse to avoid searching for emotional connections, he’s now jumping at every chance to spend time with Mabel and her maple syrup voice.

Despite their initial reservations, Mabel and Jake move from conversations over coffee to flirty office lunches to a night out that obliterates all their previously drawn lines. Then a professional betrayal sends Mabel fleeing back to the safety of her single-girl rules. But Jake isn’t ready to give up on this once-in-a-lifetime love and sets out to balance their work/life books. Can he convince Mabel to turn up the volume on their future, or will she decide that the numbers don’t add up?

 

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Posted in: Excerpt , Tagged:

Review: The Fireman Who Loved Me by Jennifer Bernard

23 March, 2020 12:34 am , 3 Comments ,

 

The Fireman Who Loved Me
(The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel #1)
by Jennifer Bernard
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: May 2012
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Fearless, smoking hot, and single: meet the Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel. These firemen might be heroes, but it’s their bad luck in love that makes them legendary.

News producer Melissa McGuire and Fire Captain Harry Brody couldn’t be more different, though they do have one thing in common: they’re both convinced they’re perfectly wrong for each other. But when Melissa’s matchmaking grandmother wins her a date with Brody at a Bachelor auction . . .

Sparks fly. Passion flares. Heat rises. (You get the picture.)

Add a curse, a conniving nightly news anchor, a stunningly handsome daredevil fireman, a brave little boy, a couple of exes, and one giant fire to the mix, and Melissa and Brody’s love may not be the only thing that burns.

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: After by Anna Todd

20 March, 2020 12:14 am , 3 Comments ,

After
(After #1)
by Anna Todd
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: Oct. 21, 2014
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:

Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way.

But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.

But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.

He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn’t the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?

Unless…could this be love?

Now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!

There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER … Life will never be the same.

 

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Posted in: NA Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: The Valentine’s Arrangement by Kelsie Leverich

16 March, 2020 6:13 pm , 2 Comments ,

The Valentine’s Arrangement
(Hard Feelings #1)
by Kelsie Leverich
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: Jan. 1, 2013
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Tattoo artist Ronnie Clark is counting the days until Valentine’s Day is over. Ronnie doesn’t do romance. She doesn’t do flowers or dates, and she sure as hell doesn’t do love—not anymore. Love leads to heartbreak, and she’s vowed never to let herself get hurt again.

Sergeant First Class Kale Emerson is home on his mid-tour leave from Iraq, but he only has one thing on his mind—returning to his soldiers to finish leading their mission. He’s dedicated to his men and to his country, and he’s not interested in getting wrapped up in a distracting relationship…but casual sex, that’s a different story. From the moment he sees Ronnie, he wants her. And he agrees to her terms—no romance, no fluff—just passion.

But as their sexual chemistry ignites, the lines of their arrangement get blurry, and Ronnie starts to push Kale away. And when Kale realizes he’s found his match in this razor-tongued, gorgeous woman who is hell bent against love, winning her heart could be the toughest battle he has ever fought.

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged:

Review: Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan

13 March, 2020 12:49 am , 3 Comments ,

Warprize
(Chronicles of the Warlands #1)
by Elizabeth Vaughan
Publisher: Tor Paranormal Romance
Publication date: June 13, 2005
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Rating:

Xylara is the Daughter of the Warrior King, Xyron. With her father dead and her incompetent half-brother on the throne, the kingdom is in danger of falling to the warring Firelanders.

Before she was old enough for a marriage-of-alliance, Xylara was trained as a healer. She can’t usurp her brother or negotiate a peace–but she can heal the brave ones injured in battle.

But not only her countrymen are wounded, and Xylara’s conscience won’t let Firelander warriors die when she can do something to save them. She learns their language and their customs and tries to make them as comfortable as possible, despite their prisoner-of-war status.

She never expects that these deeds, done in good faith, would lead to the handsome and mysterious Firelander Warlord demanding her in exchange for a cease-fire. Xylara knows must trade the life she has always known for the well-being of her people, and so she becomes…

The Warprize

 

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Posted in: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romance , Tagged:

Review: Jordan Reclaimed by Scarlett Cole

9 March, 2020 12:37 am , 5 Comments ,

Jordan Reclaimed
(Preload #1)
by Scarlett Cole
Publisher: Swerve
Publication date: Feb. 28, 2017
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Jordan Steele’s life began when he was ten. When he was taken from his parents and a house that was never a home. When he met his brothers, the other lost and abandoned boys in his group home. When he learned what friendship and family and love looked like.

Now he’s made a career out of playing the music he loves, touring the world with the band he and his brothers formed in that crowded group home. No one but his found family really knows the man under the fame and fortune, the scars he hides behind the rockstar lifestyle. Until he sees her through the windows of the National Ballet, dancing, and suddenly the world doesn’t seem so dark.

Aleksandra Artemov ticks all the ballet boxes. Father a legendary Kirov dancer. Check. Prepping since birth for classical ballet. Check. Compulsive control over the food she eats. Check. Principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada. Check. But what she craves is freedom.

She craves Jordan.

Everything about him should terrify her. His size, his tattoos, his hard rock edge. But he doesn’t. He stirs her very soul. Jordan has nothing but himself to offer her, and he’s never been good enough for anyone. Can he figure out how to face his own demons before he loses his light for good?

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

6 March, 2020 12:38 am , 6 Comments ,

Meet Cute
by Helena Hunting
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: April 9, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Talk about an embarrassing introduction. On her first day of law school, Kailyn ran—quite literally—into the actor she crushed on as a teenager, ending with him sprawled on top of her. Mortified to discover the Daxton Hughes was also a student in her class, her embarrassment over their meet-cute quickly turned into a friendship she never expected. Of course, she never saw his betrayal coming either…

Now, eight years later, Dax is in her office asking for legal advice. Despite her anger, Kailyn can’t help feeling sorry for the devastated man who just became sole guardian to his thirteen-year-old sister. But when her boss gets wind of Kailyn’s new celebrity client, there’s even more at stake than Dax’s custody issues: if she gets Dax to work at their firm, she’ll be promoted to partner.

The more time Kailyn spends with Dax and his sister, the more she starts to feel like a family, and the more she realizes the chemistry they had all those years ago is as fresh as ever. But will they be able to forgive the mistakes of the past, or will one betrayal lead to another?

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: Ignite on Contact by Jaci Burton

2 March, 2020 12:11 am , 5 Comments ,

Ignite on Contact
(Brotherhood by Fire #2)
by Jaci Burton
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Feb. 4, 2020
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Relationships. Firefighter Rafe Donovan avoids them whenever possible. He loves dating women, but he makes sure they know up front that he’s in it for fun, great sex and nothing more.

Fun. As an ER nurse and official caretaker of her disabled grandfather, Carmen Lewis doesn’t have time for fun. But Rafe has been there for Carmen–and her grandfather–time and again, and he’s clearly interested in her. She knows he’s a player, but she’s tempted by his charm and incredible body. And maybe a little fun isn’t a bad thing, as long as she keeps her heart away from this fiery game she’s enjoying with a very hot man.

Love. It doesn’t take Rafe long to realize that until now he’s only been playing at romance. With Carmen he feels searing passion and heart-tugging emotion for the first time. Now he has to convince Carmen that what they have together is the real deal.

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

I’m ready for shamrocks!

1 March, 2020 2:37 pm , 9 Comments ,

 


I’m linking this post to Sunday Post, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

This year is just kicking my butt. So, I started the month in the hospital. I started to not feel well at work, and thought nothing of it until I got worse as the night progressed. I spent the night in the ER as they tried to bring down the pain and nausea that I was experiencing. In the end, they still weren’t able to figure out what was wrong with me, and thought maybe I just came in contact with some severe stomach bug or something. When I got back to work I realized that others were out from the same symptoms. The last handful of months have been awful at work with everyone getting sick. We’ve had both strands of flu, stomach bugs, phenomia, and just everything and anything come through our offices. I got my flu shot this year, so I was hoping to dodge the bullet this year, but apparently my body wasn’t prepared for the stomach bug that came my way. Needless to say, I don’t ever want to see the inside of the ER again.

Considering how my reading has been previously, I feel like I killed it this month. I really pushed myself to read this month. I used to have so many reviews saved up for later, but lately it’s been a read and post kind of schedule. I really need to sit down and get more books and reviews in because this year is going to be crazy busy. I already have plans to go to Comic-Con, there’s a family vacation planned in Florida, and a couple other side trips scheduled for various work and family events. Basically, I need to start cracking and get some reviews in my reserve.

 

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Posted in: meme

Review: Beauty and the Beast by Hannah Howell

24 February, 2020 12:51 am , 3 Comments ,

Beauty and the Beast
by Hannah Howell
Publisher: Zebra
Publication date: Dec. 30, 2014
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating:

On the eve of her wedding to the heir of Saiturn Manor, the stunningly beautiful Gytha is shocked to learn that her betrothed, a man she barely knew, is dead. Now she must marry the new heir, Thayer Saiturn, a battle-hardened knight known as the Red Devil. . .

With a face scarred in battle and a heart broken in love, Thayer has no interest in marriage. But not even the Red Devil can break the promise his foster-father made years ago and soon finds himself married to a woman whose exquisite beauty and sweet innocence intrigue him. But can his new bride look beyond his scars to find a hidden passion and undying love locked deep inside him?

 

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Posted in: historical romance , Tagged: