Category Archives: Romance

Review: Tinkering With Love by Aliyah Burke

Tinkering with Love
(Rock Falls #1)
by Aliyah Burke
Publisher: Entangled
Publication date: June 20, 2022
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Dawson Shay could never be accused of being a bubbly ray of sunshine. Like, not ever. But her outlook on life has only gotten worse since she moved across the country for her dream job rebuilding motorcycles…only to lose the job to someone else. Now her run of bad luck includes a wilderness retreat with the entire company—including the asshat who stole her job. Fortunately, Tully Faulkner’s bearded, tattooed hotness is pretty much the perfect distraction.

Except, Tully isn’t just Mr. Hometown Hero, he’s also said asshat who stole her job. And if he thinks he can win her over with his ability to charm the pants off everybody else, he’s got another thing coming. But Dawson can’t avoid him forever… or the seriously hot sparks between them. Somewhere between the breathtaking northern lights and teaming up to win their company’s scavenger hunt, Dawson starts to think that Tully’s magic touch might be just what she’s been missing.

But even sexy gearheads have their secrets. And Dawson’s about to discover that falling for the too-perfect-to-be-true Tully might just backfire on her completely…

 

 

I loved the sound of this book. A female protagonist who works on motorcycles? Yes, please! The fact that Dawson uproots her life to move across the country to manage a motorcycle shop only to show up and find out that the job promised to her was given to someone else had me rooting for her. However, this were very rocky in this book, and I don’t just mean the relationship between Dawson and the guy who took her job, Tully.

You see, Dawson is obviously upset over the whole job situation. She was promised a job, uprooted her life, only to find out that the job was given to “the hometown hero”. So instead of working on motorcycles, she works with vehicles at a sister company. This book had a lot of “love at first sight” going on and it didn’t really work for me. On day on, Tully was saying some very inappropriate things about taking her to his bed and giving her mouth to mouth because he knows she wants it. Just things that should have resulted in him getting harassment charges. However, Dawson lets it slide because he is “hot”. Which brought up the back and forth that pops up later. She would kiss him, or sleep with him, and then immediately shut him out because she “didn’t like him”. I just wish she’d have put her foot down and not been so googly eyed over some cocky dude who gets his way. This doesn’t even brush up on the fact that Tully makes a bet with his buddies that he can get Dawson to fall in love with him by the end of summer. What’s the wager? $10k. However, it’s totally alright because the losers pay that money to a charity of the winners choice. So it’s morally alright to do that. …. I think not.

While I had a HUGE problem with the romance aspect of this book, the one thing that I LOVED was Mr. Harrellssen. He’s this crotchety old man who takes a liking to Dawson, even though he complains about her presence the whole time. She makes him food, hangs out with him, and he is just this grumpy old grandpa that would quite literally shoot someone for you and bury the body with no questions asked. Plus, it helped that he hated Tully, and refused to let him on his property when Dawson why trying to escape him. He was just the sweetest, most genuine person in the whole story.

I really with that I liked the story more than I had did. I thought I was going to fall in love with this enemies to lovers romance. Especially given that Dawson is this badass chick. However, the back and forth with Tully, the way he conducted himself towards her, and just the fact that there were red flags popping up left and right, really left me feeling creeped out the entire time.

Review: Highland Surrender by Tracy Brogan

Highland Surrender
by Tracy Brogan
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publication date: Dec. 4, 2012
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating:

To seal a fragile truce, Fiona Sinclair’s brothers trade her in marriage to their sworn enemy. Though devastated by their betrayal, she has little choice in the matter, for if she refuses, her innocent young sister must take her place. Although the spirited Fiona is willing to sacrifice her freedom to protect her kin, she vows to never surrender her heart.

As eldest son of a clan chief, Myles Campbell is accustomed to having his own way. But when the Scottish King commands he wed a defiant Highland lass instead of the French mademoiselle who holds his heart, Myles must obey his royal duty. Meeting his bride for the first time on their wedding day, he is pleased to discover the lass is a beauty, but dismayed to learn she’d just as soon kill him as kiss him.

And thus begins an uneasy alliance.

When two such warrior spirits collide, sparks fly, igniting a fiery passion that strains against the bonds of family honor, clan loyalty—and the ultimate surrender – love.

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Review: Assure Her by Thia Finn

Assure Her
(Assured Distraction #1)
by Thia Finn
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: Sept. 1, 2015
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Chandler Chatam, fresh out of Juilliard, finds herself temporarily playing with four hot rockers of Assured Distraction, an up-and-coming band, out on their first big tour. She’s lead a sheltered life of luxury and is determined to make the most of this tour as part of the band until her world is suddenly turned upside down. Then more life-shattering news alters the course she’s set for herself.
Meeting Chandler at her audition for a temporary spot in Assured Distraction, lead singer Keeton MacDonald flashes a panty-dropping smile knowing that a woman is sure to wreak havoc on the bus for this bunch of guys looking to enjoy the perks of life on the road as the rock stars they are.
Assured Distraction’s tour is the beginning of a raucous journey for them all that leads to fun days, exciting concerts, and hot nights.
Not just a life on the bus story, but a story about living messy lives in the real world.

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Review: Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

The Unhoneymooners
by Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: May 14, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.

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Review: Ricochet by Keri Lake

Ricochet
(Vigilantes #1)
by Keri Lake
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: July 9, 2015
Genre: Dark Romance
Rating:

The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.

Three years ago, I had everything.

A beautiful wife.
A son.
A reason for living.

Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.

They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I’m cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.

A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.

I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who’s seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.

Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.

An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.

If she doesn’t destroy me first.

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Review: Locked Hearts by T.L. Smith

Locked Hearts
(Keir & Sailor Duet #2)
by T.L. Smith
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: Nov. 16, 2021
Genre: Dark Romance
Rating:

When the king of the underworld wants you.
You have no place to run.
No matter how hard you try, no matter where you go.
He will find you.
It’s just a matter of, do you want him to find you.
Or do you want to run.

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Review: Chained Hands by T.L. Smith

Chained Hands
(Chained Hearts Duet #1)
by T.L. Smith
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: Oct. 5, 2021
Genre: Dark Romance
Rating:

Sailor

My husband sold me.
Not only did he sell me, but he told me he loved me while doing the deal.
What lies he tells.
Only fools believe him.
Unfortunately, one of those fools was…
.. me.

Keir

Not in the habit of buying women.
I didn’t need to.
I was a king of my realm, the devil you whispered about in your sleep.
So when his debt fell due, he sold me his wife.
And I was happy because I wanted to play with her like any fool would.
And play with her, I did.
Pity, in the end, I would have to kill her.

 

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Review: Wanted by J. Kenner

Wanted
(Most Wanted #1)
by J. Kenner
Publisher: Bantam
Publication date: Jan. 7, 2014
Genre: Romance
Rating:

He is everything I crave, all I desperately want—and he is everything I can’t have.

Evan Black embodies my every fantasy. He is brilliant, fierce, and devastatingly handsome. But he is also headstrong, dangerous, and burdened with secrets.

My family warned me to stay away, that I could never handle Evan’s dark dealings or scarred past. Maybe I should have listened. Maybe I should have run. But our desire is undeniable, and some temptations you just can’t fight.

And from the moment we touch—the passion between us consuming us both—I know that I will never be the same.

 

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Review: The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle

The Royals Next Door
by Karina Halle
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Aug. 31, 2021
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Piper Evans: elementary school teacher by day–avid romance reader and anonymous podcaster by night. She lives a quiet, reclusive life, taking care of her mother, who struggles with mental illness, avoiding her regrettable ex, who bartends in town, and trying to make inroads in the tight-knit island community that still sees her, five years in, as an outsider.

And she’s happy with how things are–really–until British royals rent the property next to hers and their brooding bodyguard decides she’s a security threat. Piper quickly realizes that one person’s fairy tale is an ordinary woman’s nightmare as a media frenzy takes over the island and each run-in with Harrison Cole is hotter and more confusing than the last. But beneath Harrison’s no-nonsense exterior lies a soft heart, one that could tempt a woman who’s sworn off attachments into believing in white knights.

But when Piper finds herself smack in the middle of a royal scandal that rocks the island she’ll need more than Harrison’s strong arms to shield her–she’ll have to do a little rescuing herself. With careers, hearts, and friendships on the line, Piper and Harrison will have to decide what they’re willing to give up for a chance at their own happily ever after.

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Review: My Almost Ex by Piper Rayne

My Almost Ex
(The Greene Family #2)
by Piper Rayne
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: April 6, 2021
Genre: Romance
Rating:

In the middle of a crowded bar in our small Alaskan town, my estranged wife snuggles up to me as if we’re still a happy couple.

Don’t get me wrong, we were a happy couple—before she walked out on me a year ago. We were the high school sweethearts everyone thought were destined to be together forever. We thought so too, which is why we married shortly after graduation.

We had a good marriage. Until she left me without any real explanation.

Now, she’s back—and this is the real kicker—she has amnesia and thinks I’m still her husband. Technically I am, although the divorce papers are sitting at the lawyer’s office.

She’s desperate to remember her life in Sunrise Bay but I only want to find out why she left me. Once we conjure that memory up, it’s sayonara because there’s no second chances here. But as you probably already figured out, things didn’t go quite as I planned.

 

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