She's The One

In She's The One (Island Bliss Book 2) by Kim Boykin, Melissa really is multi-talented.  She runs her Isle of Palms realty office as her paid job, but what she love to do most is play matchmaker.  She is successful in both roles, particularly the matchmaking - a gift handed down through generations.  With a total of 49 couples matched so far, Melissa really doesn't mind always being the bridesmaid.  She's not looking for true love for herself.  In fact, her aunt told her is she would lose her matchmaking gift if she ever found it for herself.

Shane, a contractor, has been attracted to Melissa since he met her a few months ago.  He is very clear about his feelings towards her, and Melissa feels that spark when they are together, but she is determined that someone else is his perfect match.  Shane knows what and who he wants though, and he is just as determined to show Melissa that She's The One for him.  At the same time, Bo, Melissa's musician friend and whose band she sometimes plays guitar with, is just as attracted to Melissa.  Melissa likes Bo, he is the safe choice, but there are no sparks.  Will Melissa play it safe and never know what could become of her and Shane?  Or will she finally follow her heart for herself?

She's The One is a little magical and a lot of fun to read.  Melissa was a little frustrating at times, but at the same time she was open and honest which I love in a character.  Shane is patient...he knows Melissa has feelings for him too, even if she keeps trying to deny it.  I felt for Shane, pursuing a woman who is determined he's not meant for her.  Bo is a great secondary character, but in no way is this a love triangle!  There are a lot of secondary characters who give great feeling to She's The One.  I particularly liked Pearl!  Kim's descriptions of the island, people, and homes made me want to be there, lying pool side with all these fun people!

She's The One has great flow and is an entertaining read that I'd recommend to romance readers looking for a sweet romance.

4/5 stars

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Home To Stay

In In Home To Stay (Anchor Island #3) by Terri Osburn, Willow has been on Anchor Island for a few years now.  Managing and bartending at the local pub, she quietly goes about her life.  She has friends, but no one really know her, and at times she is still very alone.  She guards her heart, her past, and her secrets fiercely.  

Randy is a big man with a heart of gold.  He sees the fear in Willow's eyes when he's around, but he senses it's not a specific fear of him.  He sees a lot of Willow on the small island, and with their friends and his sister getting married, he is seeing even more of her.  Randy is more and more attracted to her, patiently trying to prove he is no threat.  As Willow warms up to him and the idea of them together, she is still not looking for forever.  Just when Willow starts to feel safe and follow those good feelings she has with Randy, her past is threatening her future.  Will Willow have the courage to stay and finally have her home in the place she's grown to love?

In Home To Stay Terri once again gives us great characters in a small town island setting I can very easily picture in my  mind.  I love Terri's descriptions of Anchor Island...especially when Willow is watching Randy on the jet ski!  

Terri draws out Willow's secrets enough to keep me intrigued but not enough to frustrate me...and there's much more to Willow's past than I first suspected.  Willow puts on a good show, and on the outside she's so strong.  On the inside she's scared and insecure.  Reading from Willow's POV really took me into her life and her feelings.  Randy is big and strong, and what you see really is what you get.  He is patient and protective, and the perfect match for Willow if she can take the chance.  I enjoyed reading from Randy's POV also.  The dual POV really added dimension and strength to the story line, and I liked seeing things through both of their eyes.

There are a lot of characters from previous Anchor Island books, but Home To Stay stands well on it's own (although I do recommend the other books because they are so good!).  With just the right mix of humor with the seriousness, Home To Stay is well paced and easy to fall into.

I'd recommend Home To Stay (and all of the Anchor Island books) to all romance readers, especially if you want that small town feel.

4/5 stars

Her Summer Cowboy

In Her Summer Cowboy by Katherine Garbera, Emma wants no part of the music world that brings nothing but bad memories and pain to her.  When her famous grandfather asks her to go on his final tour with him though, she can't say no to him.  

Hudson has been on the run from Marietta, Montana ever since he was 18.  When his mother died and he had a falling out with his father, the easiest thing for him was to leave it all behind.  

Emma's grandfather's tour brings them together since they are both part of it.  They are attracted, but both are a little lost and unsure of the future.  The feelings and connection they feel are powerful, and Emma thinks Hudson can be her summer cowboy.  Early on though, Hudson realizes "He wanted Emma Jean Wells.  And his mind, body and soul said that he wasn't going to be satisfied with only this summer."  As they spend more time together and go back to Marietta, can each of them finally find peace with their pasts and risk a future together?

Her Summer Cowboy is a quick read, fast paced novella with a lot of feelings and emotions packed into the pages.  Katherine managed to pull me along with Emma and Hudson as she slowly revealed more about each of their pasts.  A little anti-climatic at times, Her Summer Cowboy was overall an enjoyable novella.  Emma and Hudson are easy to like.  They are easy to get to know in present time, but I would have liked a bit more background.  Her Summer Cowboy is a novella though, and Katherine keeps the focus on the present relationship between Emma and Hudson.  I liked how she used music to bring them together, and how the characters developed throughout Her Summer Cowboy.  

Marietta and the fair do not factor into Her Summer Cowboy as much as the other Marietta Fair books, and Her Summer Cowboy can easily be read on it's own.

I'd recommend Her Summer Cowboy to romance readers looking for a quick summer read.

4/5 stars

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The Trouble With Lucy

In The Trouble With Lucy, Carol Marinelli takes us on a journey of personal growth after tragedy, hurt and betrayal.  

Gloria is the wife and mother whose husband left her for his much younger, pregnant girlfriend 12 years ago.  Gloria spent a lot of time angry and hurt, but has pulled herself up out of misery and is living again.

Lucy is the woman he left Gloria for, the woman who is now falling apart after her husband's death.  She is struggling to cope even for her daughter.  Fluctuating between anger over her husband's actions and grief for him and what was, the last person Lucy expects sympathy or help from is Gloria.  She certainly doesn't deserve it, does she?

Reluctantly Gloria is drawn into Lucy's life.  As Gloria struggle to keep moving on with her life and finally let go of the past, it means trying to find forgiveness in her heart.  As Lucy forges ahead as best as she can, also finding forgiveness, she might find a lot more.

Carol has written about a sensitive subject in a matter of fact way that will pull you into The Trouble With Lucy.  I like how she doesn't try to force the reader to like the characters, or convince us of anything.  She writes it like it is, leaving it all up to the reader.  I really found it interesting how Carol writes The Trouble With Lucy from dual POV's, both in the first person.  She does this smoothly, transitioning from each character and their life easily.  I felt like this really made both of their stories more real, and it was easy to fall into their lives.

I could not really like much about Lucy to be honest.  Even before her husband's death I found her to be very self centered and materialistic.  I did see a lot of growth in her character through The Trouble With Lucy, and even though I didn't really like her, Carol kept me interested enough in her to want to know more about her.  Gloria was easier to relate to.  I think her maturity and life experience really went a long way to giving her character such strength.  I really saw a lot of growth in Gloria too, as she struggled with emotions she thought she was over a long time ago, and struggled with the present day situation with Lucy.

The Trouble With Lucy has a lot of family dynamics in it, and I liked how Carol made the characters work as they struggled not only with death, but with life circumstances that were realistic.

I would recommend The Trouble With Lucy to women's fiction readers who want to jump into a realistic world as Gloria and Lucy both try to move forward in their own ways.  It's not a rosy world, but one that evoke strong emotions and hope in a believable situation.

4/5 stars

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Don't Let Go

In Don't Let Go by Sharla Lovelace, Jules has never truly been able to let go or forget Noah.  He was her "first everything".  At the age of 17, one mistake changed their lives irrevocably...leaving Jules feeling very much alone.  She has tried to move on - she's been married, had a daughter, and is now divorced.  Now, 26 years later she is still living the life her mother chose for her, and she's never truly happy.

After that mistake, Noah left, finished high school else where, eventually becoming a Navy SEAL.  Suddenly Noah is home though, it seems like he's planning to stay, and he's brought someone with him.  

Seeing Noah again stirs up not only more turmoil in Jules' life, but it brings to the surface all the feelings she's tried so hard to bury and move on from over the years.  It's not just her heart and body Noah is stirring up again, it's the past.  The regrets of the past and the secrets could change everything for Jules.  

Jules is not the only one with feelings.  Noah still has them too, as much as he's tried to be in control and push them away, as soon as he and Jules see each other again everything surges to the surface again.  But with everything between them, the years gone by, and current happenings, is there any second chance for them?  Jules' heart has always belonged to Noah...can she risk it all again and follow her dreams this time?

Don't Let Go is a powerful, riveting second chance romance.  With very realistic characters and life events, Sharla makes the plot and the people believable.  Full of emotional highs and lows, Jules and Noah's story is one I could not put down.  Both of the characters are mature with a lot of  life experience and I love this in Don't Let Go, because there is so much more at stake than just Jules and Noah's relationship.  Jules is very real.  She's struggling with a lot and getting through the best she can.  Don't Let Go is written from Jules' POV, and very quickly I was sucked into her life.  I love the way her interactions play out with various secondary characters, from her daughter ("This was why wild animals sometimes eat their young.") to Noah's father, who makes her life miserable.  I loved seeing Jules grow in so many ways...and Noah's arrival seemed to be the spark that ignited this.  Noah likes to be in control, and his love for Jules has never died.  A powerful combination for someone dealing with so much history...especially when neither of them had much control over it.

I loved the flashbacks to their teenage years that Sharla inserts in just the right places in Don't Let Go.  They really show how much these two loved each other, and at the same time some of them will rip your heart out. 

There are a lot of necessary secondary characters in Don't Let Go that help bring the story to life and add even more realism with life like situations.  The family dynamics explored in Don't Let Go are full of emotions also.

Don't Let Go is fast paced, easy to read and hard to put down!  Sharla expertly weaves humor into the serious, making it an entertaining, heart string pulling read.  I'd highly recommend this to all romance readers.

5/5 stars

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Shelter Me

In Shelter Me (Second Chance Ranch #1) by Catherine Mann, Trooper is on his way home to his human family, and he has a mission.  Help this family heal after the tragic loss of his human, The Commander (Allen) in Afghanistan.  Rescued in Afghanistan and on his way to a different life, it is staff sergeant Mike's responsibility to deliver him to Allen's family, including his daughter Sierra...the woman Mike can't forget.

Having once been together, Sierra is not ready for the feelings still Mike brings out in her.  She's not so sure she's ready for another reminder that her Dad is forever gone either, reminders both Mike and Trooper bring.  Sierra has so much going on in her life right now from her father's death and grad school to helping out on her mother's animal rescue ranch, that she doesn't know if she can fit anything else in.  Sometimes she feels like she just can't keep everything up.  When Mike sees Allen's family is struggling so much, he ends up staying on the ranch for his leave to help out where he can.  Sierra and Mike can't deny themselves for long, but Sierra has no desire to be another military family again.  She'll take what she can now ...but will it be enough?  Can she let go again?

The whole family is struggling to move on without a man who was gone more often than he was at home.  There is so much going on in Shelter Me and it all interlinks and leads back to their huge loss.  Shelter Me is so much more than Mike and Sierra's story.  It is a story about a family who is coping, but not moving on.  This is just as much the story of Lacey - Allen's wife, their son Nathan, and Allen's ailing father The General, who they struggle to keep well and safe.  It is also Trooper's story, and through Trooper's eyes, Allen's story.

Catherine manages to effortlessly tell Shelter Me from numerous POV's that transition very easily from person to person.  I loved how she did this, making me feel close to everyone.  There is great character development and a strong sense of realism in Shelter Me.  Catherine writes with great insight.  At times heart wrenching, at times humorous, Shelter Me is believable with characters that will stick with you.   With her talented writing, Catherine drew me in fast and deep into the lives of Allen's family.  Dealing with real life issues and a family left behind from the loss of war, Catherine takes it pretty deep at times, with unexpected plot twists, all of which are very true to life.

Trooper is the real catch and the way we see the world from his POV pulled me and my heart strings in even tighter, if that was possible.

Shelter Me is very well written, with smooth progression from scene to scene that is easy to follow.  Catherine took me on a very emotional journey from both ends of the spectrum in the best possible way in Shelter Me.

I'd highly recommend Shelter Me to all romance readers.

5/5 stars

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You Own Me

In You Own Me by Shiloh Walker, protective and in love with his best friend Lizzie, Decker goes to prison for a crime he committed to keep her safe. While in prison, the letter's from Lizzie are what get him through his darkest days. Decker has never felt good enough for Lizzie though, and has never told her how he feels.

Lizzie has moved on with her life after Decker went to prison. She owns a coffee shop, and has been seeing her boyfriend Noel for 3 years. When Noel proposes a whole new kind of relationship, Lizzie is devastated. She doesn't want to lose him or the sense of belonging she has with him though, so she agrees. It's Decker she really loves though and she would never do anything to compromise their friendship.

Decker is finally out of prison. He still loves Lizzie and wants her to be happy. With the turmoil in her current relationship with a man Decker can't stand, he finally finds a way to have what he wants with her...if she wants it too.

The sexual chemistry between Decker and Lizzie is noticeable from the start, even if they do their best to ignore it. I really like these two. Lizzie is insecure, she's not perfect, and she's very easy to relate to. Decker is living with his choices and doing his best to move on. His love for Lizzie is undeniable and I can't believe these two could be best friends for so long and not acknowledge their strong feelings towards each other. For best friends, I felt they needed to work a lot on their communication. I did like the connection they have and that they've known each other for so long. This makes this best friends to lovers novella flow smoothly and not feel rushed. I would have liked a bit more follow up on Lizzie and Decker.

Shiloh manages to give just enough background on Decker and Lizzie to satisfy, while at the same time creating just enough inner and romantic conflict to make the journey Lizzie and Decker are on very heated! I really enjoyed Lizzie's best girl friend in You Own Me, she says what she thinks, and adds that realistic feel to the story.

Overall You Own Me has great flow and the plot is well paced for the length of the novella with lots of steam. I'd recommend You Own Me to romance readers who are looking for a hot novella with realistic characters.

4/5 stars

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