Category Archives: Contemp. Romance

Contemp. Romance, Cops/Detectives, Insta-Love, Instant Love, Part of a Series, Review

#REVIEW – A Reason To Breathe (Reason Series #1) by CP Smith

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WARNING: Author believes in soul mates and insta-love. Proceed with caution if you’re not a romantic at heart.

Love at first sight was never so dangerous.

Jack Gunnison has a problem, well, two, actually. One stands 5’5″ and the other? . . . A killer.

Jennifer Stewart needs a change after losing her husband and sending her daughter off to College. Jenn moves to the high country of Colorado to start her life over and follow her dreams. Unfortunately, she gets more than she bargained for when she attracts the eye of a killer.

Together, Jack and Jenn must figure out his identity before he strikes again.

Mature content 18+

Twinsie Jo’s Review:

So before I picked up this book, I wasn’t reading as much as I would have liked. My editor gave me “homework” and told me to pick up a book. She recommended CP and I’m SO glad she did. I’ve known CP for quite a few years but haven’t actually read her. Well, now I’m on a mission to read every book by her. It’ll take a while but I will get there.

This book is the start of the Reason To Breathe Series. It has Alpha men and strong females. I already know that just from reading the first book.

Jack…oh Jack. Yeah…his Alpha grumpy broodiness totally did it for me. He was protective…maybe over protective at times but it worked for him. And also annoyed the heroine, Jenny at the same time. Their banter was hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book.

Jenny moves to a small town. Since her daughter is away at school and Jenny’s husband died, she needed a change. Well insert new town, new job and new man? And I think she got more than what she bargained for.

This book had some suspense in it too! And if you can figure out who the bad guy is, good job because I know I sure couldn’t!
Contemp. Romance, New Release, Part of a Series, Review

#NewRelease, #Review, #MontgomeryInk, Wrapped in Ink(Montgomery Ink: Boulder #1) by Carrie Ann Ryan

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The Montgomery Ink saga continues with a new series set in Boulder, where a family secret might just change everything.

One mistake at a friend’s wedding rocks Liam Montgomery’s entire world, and everything he thought was true turns out to be a lie. But when an accident lands him in the ER, Liam meets someone that might just be the distraction he needs.

Arden Brady has spent her life in and out of hospitals. But according to the world, she doesn’t look sick. She’s lost jobs and friends because they don’t see beneath the surface, but she’s learned to rely on her family and herself to keep going. And then she meets Liam.

With two sets of overprotective siblings and a puppy that can’t help but get into everything, Liam and Arden might just fall harder than either one ever expected. 



 I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book


Can we say HELLO Liam Montgomery!!!!  Ah Liam, the name brings to mind Liam Neeson, Liam Hemsworth, and now Liam Montgomery.  I love Liams hee, hee, hee!!
Now with Wrapped in Ink we are onto another branch of the Montgomery tree.  I have to say whoever planned that tree must have been a angel because everyone of them, male and female, are as hot as they are talented.
Liam is a former model turned writer and he’s the Boulder branch’s pretty boy because of it.
Arden Brady has been through hell and sometimes she revisits that most awesome of places when she doesn’t want to, lets face it she never wants to.
Liam and Arden meet in the most unlikely of places…….. a hospital.
What happens next is a story of a man trying to deal with a identity crisis and a woman who doesn’t know how to deal with a man who might not go away like has always happened to her in the past.
Liam thinks that he can use Arden as a distraction but soon discovers he needs her as much as she needs him.
Once again Ryan writes of a couple that could be your next door neighbors. While her characters are talented and beautiful, they are also very down to earth and go through things that we here in the real world deal with.  With Liam it’s a secret from his parents past that he has to deal with and with Arden it’s her health.  Along with the Boulder Montgomerys we meet Arden’s four over protective, over bearing brothers. They are all alpha males, but they make your heart stop every time they are in a scene.
Like with every Montgomery Book you don’t have to have read the series but it helps if  you like to get a whole world view of these characters and their family.
I’m excited to see more of the Montgomery’s and to maybe get another glimpse of the Brady Brothers.
Before I head out i forgot to mention one tiny little thing……………….
THE COVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holy cover models Batman, this cover has become one of my favorite covers that Carrie Ann Ryan has.
He captured Liam perfectly!!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41750611-wrapped-in-ink
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking.
https://www.facebook.com/CarrieAnnRyanAuthor
https://twitter.com/CarrieAnnRyan
https://instagram.com/carrieannryanauthor/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5360266.Carrie_Ann_Ryan
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carrie-ann-ryan
Contemp. Romance, Standalone

#TwinsieDee #Review #Standalone Homewrecker for Hire by Krystle Able

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Villanelle has spent the last ten years on Broadway struggling to catch her big break. When she runs into her college roommate, Audrey–One of New York’s most talked about socialites, Villanelle is offered a unique way to put her acting skills to the test and make more money than she could dream of on stage.

The friends devise a scheme for Villanelle to seduce Audrey’s no-good husband in order to nullify their prenup. When the plan goes off without a hitch, Villanelle finds herself caught up in a jet-setting lifestyle helping rich women all over the country divorce their cheating husbands.

When her newest assignment takes Villanelle back to her hometown, she discovers the man she’s been hired to seduce is her high school sweetheart, Sawyer. Will Villanelle be able to complete her mission without exposing herself, and the women who’ve hired her, as a homewrecker for hire?

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45028019-homewrecker-for-hire

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Homewrecker-Hire-Krystle-Able-ebook/dp/B07VQMX7SJ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Krystle+able&qid=1565655997&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Villanelle had a pretty good life going for her she was on broadway with her best friend and her hookup. One thing Villanelle didnt do was relationships she didnt want a boyfriend, husband or kids just a good lay was that too much to ask? The night before the opening night of show she went out with her friends and ran into her former Juilliard roommate Audrey that she has bad blood with because she slept with her boyfriend. Well Audrey had a deal to cut with Villanelle which was sleep her her husband and get proof that he cheated so she can get out of their prenup and get 300,000 well in this case money walks. After 2 years of conducting a business of seducing other woman’s husbands, Audrey got V a job that was a major score that was offering V 5 million dollars. Little did V know it would take her back to her hometown and back into her past that she tried to forget. Is for better or worse and sickness and health really til death do you part when you have the money to hire someone to cheat with your spouse for you and get the proof you need to screw them over?This book was so good there are a few twist and turns that keep you on your toes and feeling for the characters.

Review by Twinsie Dee

Krystle Able grew up and still lives in Central Illinois with her husband, three children and dog. Krystle knew she wanted to be a writer when she won a book making contest in summer daycare when she was 9 years old. After 10+ years in retail management, Krystle took the plunge into writing full time in 2015 and also works as a freelance web content writer.

Krystle enjoys being a multi-genre author with releases planned in the romance, thriller, contemporary fiction, and paranormal genres.

Always a reader first, Krystle’s favorite hobbies include supporting and cultivating relationships in the indie publishing and small press publishing world, and talking about literature. She is currently finishing her BA in English Literature at University of Illinois Springfield.

Contemp. Romance, Dark, Dark Romance, Erotica, Review, Standalone, Suspense, Thriller, Writers on the River Attending Author

#WOTR #Review – Broken Scars by JM Walker

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Broken Scars

Ruined. Tortured. Broken.

What could have been the perfect childhood, turned into a hell that the devil himself would shy away from. I was forced to deal with an evil that would make the darkest of souls cringe.

Lily Noel was scarred but beautiful. She was perfectly flawed and everything that I needed.

Attraction bordered on obsession.
Passion bordered on ecstasy.
Addiction bordered on insanity.

Nothing could get in the way of our love.
Nothing…

*This book contains dark themes including sexual assault and past child abuse*


Goodreads


Amazon

BookBub

You have to read this! I am having a hard time formulating feelings into words for this review. There are soooo many feelings with this story. There is a haunting past that Lucas lived through, and survived. He copes with this day to day, with some days being better than others. One rainy night, Lily just drops in his shop out of nowhere. And these two have a connection that is incredibly intense. The kind of connection that is felt deep down in the soul. These two both have scars. Scars on the outside and scars on the inside. Some of these scars hide the physical wounds and there are scars hiding emotional wounds. These two are the epitome of love. Even when it’s the scary intense love that you can’t live without, these two fight and continue with their love story. There were times while reading this that I didn’t think I could go on as Lucas’s past unraveled, but he is a mysteriously sweet alpha and I had to continue to find out what made this man the way he is. And bless Lily for being the strong woman she is. These two have a love that will never end. This story is one that will stick with me for a looooong time. 

J.M. Walker

Contemp. Romance, COVER REVEAL, Part of a Series

#CoverReveal #Contemporary #HoP House of Payne: Styx (HoP Book 9) by Stacy Gail

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Plans? Sydney used to make them. She’d trained to be a ballerina, but her “plan” had turned out to be a pipe dream. Reality now consisted of hunting down thieves and refusing to make any more pie-in-the-sky plans. That’s why she never approached the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on. Never again would she be crushed by pointless dreams.
Fate, however, had plans for her.
Styx Hardwick isn’t big on plans. As a tattooist at House Of Payne, he’s the black sheep in a family full of pragmatic cops. Now that his twin brother’s getting hitched, all eyes turn to him, the last of the single Hardwick siblings. Getting through his twin’s wedding is gonna be hell.
Or so he thinks. 
When a pocket-sized goddess crashes into him with terror in her eyes, Styx’s world changes forever. He needs to make plans to keep Sydney in his life, but first he has to make sure she stays alive. The deal he offers her is simple—pretend to be his girlfriend until the wedding, while he does his damnedest to keep her breathing.
As a plan, it’s almost foolproof.
Almost. 
 
92,000 words

***This standalone contemporary romance contains mild violence, as well as multiple sex scenes in lots of fun and possibly gravity-defying positions. No cheating, no love triangles, no cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed. Due to adult language and sexual content, this book is not intended for people under the age of eighteen***

House of Payne:Styx releases September 19TH!!!  If you are new to the House and wanna check out the rest of the crew check out the links below.

A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail wrote stories between events to pass the time. By fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a skating coach who was also a romance writer, or a romance writer who was also a skating pro. Now with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from PNR and cyberpunk to contemporary romance at night, both dreams have come true.
Contemp. Romance, Writers on the River Attending Author

#WOTR18 #Review #FriendsToLovers – Until You Fall In Love by Lyssa Layne

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Until You Fall In Love

Single mom Jordan Glastetter doesn’t know how she’d survive without her best friend, Abram Tomko. He’s the father her son never knew and he’s the rock she’s always leaned on. When Abram’s father suffers a heart attack, it’s Abram’s turn to depend on Jordan, finally seeing her as the woman she’s become and not the little girl he grew up with. Will they risk their friendship for a chance at love?

Goodreads

I received this book from the author for an honest review.

Oh man where do I begin!!??  Lyssa, sister!!  Abram was such a hot mess in Robbie and Jordan’s book I was really wondering how you could fix him but fix him you sure did!

Jordan and Abram have known each other all their lives.  Jordan falls in love and married Robbie who is Abram’s bestie/wing man.  As soon as their life picks up and moves forward, Robbie is killed in the military.  This story picks p 5 years after his death.  Their story is the prequal to this story.

Jordan is a dedicated mom, rancher, friend and is slowly freaking out that the feelings she has for her best friend, Abram, are slipping into the “more than friends” category.

Abram has watched Jordan every day her entire life but when situations change, and he comes back after helping his sister, his eyes open to the woman she has become. He soon realizes he can’t live with out her in his life. PERIOD.

The couple are essentially raising her son as THEIR son. They are starting to realize there is a lot more going on then just best friends…which everyone else sees but they are both to dumb to see until their world is shook when Pop, Abram’s Father, has a heart attack.  The thought of losing his pushes them both into re-evaluating things.

Now of course love can’t come easy with the two for them.  They are dealing with her fears of finally moving on past her dead husband of 5 years.  They are dealing with other people being interested in the pair plus the fear of what if this doesn’t work.  There were times I wanted to smack Jordan upside the head and shake her senseless for thinking less of Abram’s feelings for her.  Then toward the end of the story I was gonna nut check Abram for being such a jackass over something that happened with Jordan…sigh…but mainly I loved the journey these two take!!

Lyssa Layne is first, and foremost, the proud momma to her precious daughter, AR. In addition to working full-time and being a mommy to AR, she is also an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, a runner, blogger, and an infertility survivor.

Having watched one too many medical dramas and being inspired by author Rachelle Ayala, who introduced her to the world of indie writing, Lyssa decided to try her hand at writing a romance story. Her attempt turned into the Burning Lovesick series. You can find Lyssa’s own interests throughout her stories although all stories are fictional.

You can visit Lyssa’s writing blog at http://www.authorlyssalayne.blogspot.com You can also follow her on Twitter @layne_lyssa or check out her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/lyssalayne

Feel free to contact her regarding blog reviews, giveaways, or blog book tours authorlyssalayne@gmail.com Happy reading!

Contemp. Romance, Part of a Series, Part of a Spin off series, Review, Rockers

#Review – Fatal Desires (Fatal Cross Live! #1) by Theresa Hissong

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Fatal Desires (Fatal Cross Live! #1)

Fatal Desires
Fatal Cross Live!
Book 1
For years, I have worked behind the scenes for my cousin’s band, living my life as simply as possible. Running the inner workings of a rock band is the only thing I know to do. My only saving grace is a long vacation soaking up the sun in some exotic locations around the world between tours.
One steamy night on an island with Taylor Vaughn, the guitarist for the rock band Fatal Cross, and my world is turned upside down. When he doesn’t return my calls, I end up going through hell alone. Little do I know, he’s fighting his own personal demons.
When he fills in on my cousin’s tour for a few weeks, I am forced to work with the man who stole my heart months before on a private island. It isn’t easy being around him, but I am determined to keep my head low and pray this tour ends soon, but does anything ever go as planned?


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Who doesn’t like a hot rocker story? This is a spin off of the Glory Days series. I didn’t realize that until I was about half way through the book. However, it didn’t stop me from continuing Cora’s and Taylor’s story. Cora works for her cousin’s band and she has a tryst with Taylor, a guitarist from another band, Fatal Cross. They have an incredible time and then go their separate ways. After their brief, but very hawt time together they both end up dealing with some very intense situations. They both could have leaned on each other but couldn’t connect (you must read this because I can’t explain and give it away!). All of a sudden they are slammed back into a situation where they are forced to work together. The tension is so thick between the two that you can literally feel it as you are reading. They both are incredibly stubborn and have an intense back and forth throughout the entire book that when they finally fall together you really feel it deep down. 

“Rule number one…don’t sleep with rockstars who’ve dipped their pen in so much ink that their cocks are stained from all the attention.”

This is one of my favorite lines. Again, both of the characters are super strong willed and stubborn so when they bump heads it gets crazy! 

As the story progresses you get to see how these two eventually get back to each other, even if it involves tragic situations. This is one of those stories that is quick and easy to read but will have your emotions all over the place. As I said at the beginning, this is the first book I have read by this author, and I didn’t realize this was a spin off series, but I am looking forward to continuing this series as well as going back to read Glory Days.

Theresa Hissong

Theresa is a mother of two and the wife of a retired Air Force Master Sergeant. After seventeen years traveling the country, moving from base to base, the family has settled their roots back in Theresa’s home town of Olive Branch, MS., where she enjoys her time with old friends and family.

Theresa daydreams of the perfect love affair and takes those ideas to paper.

Find Theresa’s Fan Page on Facebook @ facebook.com/authortheresahissong

Contemp. Romance, New Release, Part of a Series, Review, Uncategorized

#NewRelease #Review #Contemporary Falling With You (Fractured Connections #3) by Carrie Ann Ryan

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NYT bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan concludes a brand new series where second chances don’t come often, and overcoming an unexpected loss means breaking everything you knew.

The day I lost my best friend was the day I realized that I’d been living in the past. I’ve tried to find a way to heal, to mend that break. Somehow, I came through it partially whole. But I know I couldn’t have done that without Aiden Connolly.

The problem is, he once loved my best friend. And now she’s gone, and I refuse to be in that shadow, or worse, a replacement for someone we both loved.
 I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book.


This has really been one of the most heart wrenching series that I think that I have ever read, that being said I do so think that Carrie Ann Ryan has once again written a story that finds itself ripped from someone’s life.  As we know, and if you don’t I’ll tell you, that the couples in this series are dealing with the death of a friend and finding love after.  As they are doing this they are doing this with people that they have known since forever and the death of the friend brought them back together.
Sienna and Aiden have a very special relationship.  Sienna had a crush on Aiden as a teen, but nothing could come of it because he was her best friend Allison’s boyfriend.  Years later even after Allison and Aiden had been broken up nothing could come of it because she couldn’t talk to her about it because she was dead. 
However, the heart wants what it wants and to people coming together in love is a beautiful thing.  
Aiden and Sienna might just be my new favorite couple…….
Until the next Carrie Ann Ryan book that is.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40849624-falling-with-you?ac=1&from_search=true
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking

Contemp. Romance, New Release, Standalone, Writers on the River Attending Author

#WOTRAttending, #ComingSoon, #Review, #StandAlone, Broken Scars by JM Walker

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Ruined. Tortured. Broken. 

What could have been the perfect childhood, turned into a hell that the devil himself would shy away from. I was forced to deal with an evil that would make the darkest of souls cringe. 

Lily Noel was scarred but beautiful. She was perfectly flawed and everything that I needed. 

Attraction bordered on obsession. 
Passion bordered on ecstasy. 
Addiction bordered on insanity. 

Nothing could get in the way of our love. 
Nothing…
 I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book.


Ok, so I am so sorry to report that I only sorta remembered Lucas.  I mean yes when we first met him as a side character I was curious, but unfortunately he slipped my mind with the other alpha’s of JM Walker’s mind grapes filling it.  That being said let me beg Walker’s forgiveness for forgetting him because man oh man i am so very happy that he got his own book.
Lucas and Lily’s story is sooo awesome, it’s like Reńee Zellweger says in Jerry Maguire “You complete me” and they so totally do!
Walker spills the tea on all that is Lucas and Lily.  Lucas had a horrible childhood and a not so hot early adulthood, the childhood nit of his own doing but the adulthood was all him learning to deal with his childhood.  Lily is the same, bad childhood and bad choices as a teen/early adult.
Their story is one of pulling yourself out of the muck and making yourself the person you and those that love you can be proud of.
Lucas’s story also shows us how people can have the same exact things happen to them and how they can turn out to be totally different people. 
I think Lucas and Lily are a story of Walker that I didn’t even know I was waiting for.  It also is a story of not letting the horrible things that happen, if they happen to you, define you.  You make your own path and God or whoever is in charge of the universe makes or perfect other half and brings them to us when we didn’t even know we were looking for them.
   

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43203916-broken-scars?ac=1&from_search=true
J.M. Walker is an Amazon bestselling author who recently hit USA Today with Wanted: An Outlaw Anthology. She loves all things books, pigs and lip gloss. She is happily married to the man who inspires all of her Heroes and continues to make her weak in the knees every single day.
Contemp. Romance, Review, Writers on the River Attending Author

#WOTR19 – #Review – The Devil In Me by K.I. Lynn

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The Devil in Me

In search of strength and guidance at a nearby church, Jared happens upon a temptation. One he cannot Hope to resist. Each time he sees her, the overwhelming urge to have her consumes him. The lust is overpowering, dragging him deeper and deeper with each encounter, exposing the devil within.


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Amazon


A whole lot of hotness in such a short story…HAWT! 

Jared has a lot on his plate. His mom has cancer and his business partner/ex girlfriend is trying to push him out of their business with the gym. Jared decides to go to church in search of strength and guidance. He doesn’t expect to see a beautiful woman there that completely consumes his every thought… in both heads *wags eyebrows*. What he doesn’t expect is to run into her and find that she is just as attracted to him as he is to her. The banter between the two starts off mostly innocent and turns rather naughty pretty quick. You must read it and find out for yourself!!

“Until then, I would continue down my maddening spiral into hell, lust consuming me until there was nothing left but a devil bent on taking her.”

“I knew what I wanted to do, what I needed. The devil was winning again, because I was going to get it.”

This is told from Jared’s point of view, which I thought was great because this is rarely done. What I absolutely love about this short story is that even though it is short, there was still a great storyline. The ending wraps up nicely but I am jonesing for more of Jared!



K.I. Lynn