Italian Affair by Annie Seaton: Brianna, adopted at birth, has never felt like she truly fit in with her family. She has searched for her birth mother to no avail, much to her disappointment. Italian Affair begins when Brianna has made her way to Australia from her homeland Scotland, to finish writing her sex therapy book. She has just got there when she receives a letter from her birth mother's lawyer...it has bounced around the post following her. When she finally receives it she has just days to get to the island of Lipari in Italy to IAclaim the inheritance left to her. Read More
4/5 stars
Jackson is mayor of small town Bishop...a town that is getting closer and closer to becoming a ghost town. Jackson is determined to save the town though...mostly so he can leave it behind without any guilt. He left once before, but when tragedy struck he had to put his dreams on hold to return and raise his younger sister Gwen. Now that she is graduating and will be heading to university, Jackson is ready to leave once again. To do so with a clear conscious though, he really wants to help Bishop back on it's feet economically. When he finds out about a contest a cookie company is having to move it's production to a struggling small USA town, he is determined that this is the answer he is looking for, this is what can save Bishop.Monica is a former bad girl wild child who briefly lived in Bishop as a child. Now she is back to relive the past for the book she is writing. She is the last person Jackson wants in town when the media comes looking for a small wholesome American town. But Monica isn't going anywhere! With the promise to be discreet, she plans to carry on with her work and Jackson can carry on with his. But in small town Bishop nothing stays secret for long, and it's even harder to avoid anyone! It gets even harder to ignore the sparks that flare between Monica and Jackson either. They are two people struggling with their past, their present, and their future who find themselves attracted to each to one another despite their differences.Are they really so different though? Both of them have a past that has significantly affected who they are today and their inability to have lasting relationships. What starts out as annoyance with each other soon becomes a lust that can't be denied, and Jackson and Monica can really heat the pages of Wild Child up! Neither of them plans to have anything that will last beyond the time they are in Bishop...but their hearts might tell them differently. It's not just the blossoming relationship between Monica and Jackson that are the heart of Wild Child though. There is Monica's relationship, or lack of one, with her mother...and the walls Monica has erected around her heart are going to take a pretty strong person to break through them. Does Jackson have it in him to do that? Can he take the time for himself, to make himself happy, instead of always trying to keep everyone else happy? We also have an indepth look at the relationship between Jackson and his sister Gwen. It's so complicated and heartbreaking at times, I really hoped it was not beyond repair! We meet a lot of the residents and non residents of Bishop, and their stories all tie together nicely in Wild Child. Molly gives us much more than romance in Wild Child. There is a community trying to pull together to save itself and each other...and broken and breaking families trying to heal. We also meet some people who we definitely want to learn more about like Shelby and Cora! But this is Monica and Jackson's story, their struggles, the conflicts, and the growing they are going to have to do separately and hopefully as a couple if they can start healing from the past and make a relationship work. Monica and Jackson are both strong characters that I really liked. Monica has a bit of a tortured past and I felt sorry for the little girl she was and what she went through. I could completely understand her reactions and how her past shaped who she is today. Jackson had tragedy in his past too when his parents died, and he has done the best he can even if at times I wanted to shake him!! Wild Child was very well written. There are a lot of different plot twists, you never knew what was going to happen and Molly manages to weave everyone's stories together perfectly. I admit in the first few pages of Wild Child I wasn't too sure if I'd be able to get into the story, but it didn't take long and I was hooked! At times Wild Child was an emotional roller coaster, one I was happy to ride!
In Wedding Cake and Big Mistake by Nancy Naigle, After escaping Adam's Grove at the first opportunity, Carolanne is back. Just in time to help her best friend Jill celebrate her wedding, to buy her perfect house, become partner's with her friend Connor in his law firm, and perhaps slowly rebuild her relationship with her father.Carolanne has sworn off love and marriage. After seeing how her mother's death affected her father, she is determined she is never going to go through that. Even while helping Jill with her wedding plans, "The thought of a wedding of her own sent her pulse spinning like an ice-skater, and not in a good way. She'd never let her happiness revolve around someone else." Love and marriage is just not a risk Carolanne is willing to take. Read More
First of all I have to say that I love that these connected novella's come out a week apart!!In The Summer Cottage we meet Logan Harrington, the middle Harrington brother. He is very business driven, and focused on his work at the family business. So much so that he does't take care of himself and when he collapses during a business meeting, his assistant Jessica whisks him off to Sanctuary Island for rest, relaxation and recovery.Logan has no desire to be bossed around by the beautiful Jessica who never talks about herself. She is a big mystery to Logan and he finds himself drawn to her more and more during their imposed exile. Jessica feels more than she wants to admit for Logan, having her own past hurts. When things heat up physically and emotionally between Logan and Jessica, can they keep what happens on the island on the island despite their agreement? Sometimes love has it's own plan, and Jessica and Logan will have to decide if that's what they have after all...I loved this second novella about the Harrington brothers! Lily gives us a quick read that will take you to the heart of the story, and make you feel for the characters, their experiences and how those experiences have affected who they are today.I highly recommend this! Can't wait for the next novella and then Lily's novel Sanctuary Island! :)
4/5 stars
In Petrakis’s Power by Maggie Cox, Natalie is on her way to London to see her father, after his anxious request for her to meet with him. She has no idea why he wants to see her so desperately, but her mind is running wild with the possiblities. When she meets Ludo on the train to London after he offers to pay her fare when she lost her ticket (first class no less!), he is easy on the eyes, easy to talk to, and a welcome distraction from her worries.Read More
4/5 stars
In Big Sky Summer by Linda Lael Miller we read Casey and Walker’s story. Casey is a famous singer, and to the world, Walker is a good friend of Casey’s. So good that her children refer to him as their Uncle. When Casey decides to get out of the spotlight and live a more ‘normal’ life with her children, she moves to Parable, Montana, where Walker lives. Unknown to everyone except for Walker, Casey’s children are not ‘test tube babies’. For some reason, Casey decided they would be better off with just her than knowing who their father was. They are Walker’s daughter and son though, children he’s tired of letting Casey call the shots with, children he wants to acknowledge to the world as his. Read More
I LOVED A Hero to Come Home To!!A Hero to Come Home To by Marilyn Pappano, opens up 13 months after Carly lost her military husband in Afghanistan. She is still struggling, still has so much sorrow, and is finding life so difficult. When she talks first with Therese, then bonds with a group of others widows (The Tuesday Night Marguarita Group), by a year later, with the support and understanding only they can provide, she is slowly move forward with her life.Read More
5/5 stars!!
