Advance Review- Would Like To Meet by Rachel Winters

Title: Would Like To Meet

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Author: Rachel Winters

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Dec. 3, 2019

Pages: 368

Rating: 4.5

Sexy Rating: 3

Violence Rating: 4

Description from Amazon:

Can you fall in love like they do in the movies?

It’s Evie Summers’s job to find out. Because if she can’t convince her film agency’s biggest client, Ezra Chester, to write the romantic-comedy screenplay he owes producers, her career will be over. The catch? He thinks rom-coms are unrealistic–and he’ll only put pen to paper if Evie shows him that it’s possible to meet a man in real life the way it happens on the big screen.

Cynical Evie might not believe in happily ever after, but she’ll do what it takes to save the job that’s been her lifeline . . . even if it means reenacting iconic rom-com scenes in public. Spilling orange juice on a cute stranger? No problem. Leaving her number in books all over London to see who calls? Done. With a little help from her well-meaning friends–and Ben and Anette, the adorable father-daughter duo who keep witnessing her humiliations–Evie is determined to prove she can meet a man the way Sally met Harry. But can a workaholic who’s given up on love find a meet-cute of her very own?

**
This book is a breath of fresh Contemporary Romance air. An original plot that we all crave in the genre. If Evie seems to be a bit dense about what is going on with Ezra then we forgive her because her Rom-Con , meet cute, antics are so funny and adorable. She has the obligatory two girlfriends and one gay guy BFF’s (Bridget Jones Diary, anyone?) but they sort of fit with the theme. Ezra and Monty(her boss) are real creeps but Annette and her Dad save the day for all Evie’s mess-ups. If you love Rom-Con movies you will love this book. I bet yiou will love it even if you don’t like those movies.

News for Historical Romance Fans

As has been stated on here before today, Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton Series is coming to Netflix in 2020. If you want to know more, IndieWire has an insightful look at the cast.

https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/bridgerton-shonda-rhimes-netflix/quarteto-smythe-smith-df/

Release Day Review- This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman

Title: This earl of Mine (Bow street Bachelors, book #1)

Genre: Historical romance

Author: Kate Bateman

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: St Martins, Oct. 29, 2019

Pages: 336

Rating: 4

Sexy Rating: 5

Violence Rating: 5

Description from Amazon:

Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors—men who work undercover for London’s first official police force—and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed?
WILL A FALSE MARRIAGE

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong?
LEAD TO TRUE AND LASTING LOVE?
Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him—and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?

**

What an enjoyable romp with Benedict and Georgie. He was recently returned from the war on the continent and she is trying to hold her family and fortune out of the hands of a conniving cousin. They join forces to solve an investigation into a sinister, treasonous plot. There is action and adventure as well as sizzling romance. This one is not too long so it is a welcome, easy read.

Review- Take It Off The Menu by Christina Hovland

Title: Take It Off The Menu: A Sizzling, Accidentally Married Rom Con!
(Mile High Matched, book#3)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Author: Christina Hovland

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: Amazon Digital, August, 2019

Pages: 296

Rating: 5

Sexy Rating: 5

Violence Rating: 0

Description from Amazon:

Saying “I Do” has never been such a mess.

Marlee Medford just got dumped. Yes, things have become ho-hum in her longtime relationship, but she was two days away from walking down the aisle with the man she thought was her forever when he called it off. Convincing herself that they’d be able to reignite their spark once the wedding craziness settled? That was easy. Suddenly finding herself without a fiancé? Not so much. Marlee needs to regain control of her life, and a weekend away with her friends is a solid first step.

One of Denver’s best up-and-coming chefs, perpetual bachelor Eli Howard, isn’t into serious relationships—especially the kind that ends in marriage. As if to prove his point that they aren’t worth the trouble, the wedding he was supposed to be catering just fell apart. Feeling oddly protective of the jilted bride—his little sister’s best friend—his weekend plans now involve a trip to Sin City with her group of friends. But it looks like he had a bit too much fun in Vegas when he wakes up married…wedding night included.

Marlee’s attempts at getting her life back together are failing miserably. Her ex-fiancé is taking the house, her chihuahua is intent on a love affair with Eli’s sneakers, and she’s now accidentally hitched to the guy who can’t even say the word marriage. With their quickie annulment denied, Eli and Marlee just have to hang tight until the divorce goes through. It’s just a little divorce amongst friends, what’s the worst that could happen?

Take It Off the Menu is book three of the Mile High Matched series, but stands alone and can be read in any order.

**
This is book three of the Mile High Matched Series. I haven’t read the first two but They are going on my TBR pile. Christina Hovland is a welcome find in the ever expanding Contemporary Romance genre. This was a rollicking ride from page one and when I got to the part with Babushka, it was even better. Yes, there is a stretch where Marlee is TSTL but she over comes and grows up. Eli is a commitment phobe but with good reasons. He also grows up. You won’t be able to put this book down. Fun Read!!

Release Day Review- Twice In A Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

Title: Twice In A Blue Moon

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Author: Christina Lauren

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: Gallery books, Oct. 22, 2019

Pages: 368

Rating: 3.5

Sexy Rating: 5

Violence Rating: 0

Description from Amazon:

Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.
**
This book has the romance that I expect from this writing duo but it just missed the mark somehow. I missed the usual humor of the authors’ other books. It centers around a Hollywood father, Ian, and his estranged daughter, Tate. To keep Tate out of the spotlight her mother has kept her in a small town under an assumed name. This anonymity is shattered when her secret life is leaked by her boyfriend, Sam, while in London. Tate is devastated but goes on to become an actress. Not hearing from Sam until they meet on the set of her “big break” film ,that she is sharing with her father fourteen years later.

Why is he there? Will this affect her performance? Will her father finally be close to her? Should she even think about reconciling with Sam?

Those questions kept me turning pages. Christina Lauren can write fascinating characters set in interesting scenarios. But I still wasn’t satisfied with this book like I had been with previous books by these authors. Still not a bad book so I can recommend it to those who like Hollywood stories.

Recent Release Review- Betrothed By Christmas by Jess Michaels and Elizabeth Essex

Title: Betrothed By Christmas

Genre: Historical Romance/Holiday/Anthology

Author: Elizabeth Essex and Jess Michaels

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: The Passionate Pen, Oct. 15, 2019

Pages: 355

Rating: 5

Sexy Rating: 5

Violence Rating:4

Description from Amazon:

A madcap plan to avoid marriages they do not desire, leads two women to romance and passion they don’t expect in a duet of novellas by bestselling authors Jess Michaels and Elizabeth Essex.

A Lady’s Gift for Seduction by Jess Michaels
Lady Evangeline is a Diamond of the First Water, but she fears her father will match her to his own advantage, not hers. She decides marrying a biddable groom is the only way to salvage her future and chooses her old friend, astronomer Henry Killam. But she soon realizes Henry isn’t quite as manageable as she first believed and her feelings for him are stronger than she ever imagined.

A Lady’s Gift for Scandal by Elizabeth Essex
Miss Tamsin Lesley desires above all else to be a bluestocking and lead an intellectual life. The only thing standing in her way is her father’s heir, who wants her along with her father’s estate. To foil him, Tamsin enlists the services of masculine wallflower Simon Cathcart to ruin her. But the road to ruination leads to far more pleasurable places than Tamsin could ever imagine, and her charming wallflower proves to have secrets of his own.

**
A breath of fresh winter air, two delightful novellas that are truly worth reading and totally enjoyable. They are stories that are related to each other, with heroines who are friends. Tamsin wants Evangeline to help her find a man to ruin her so she won’t have to get married. But she only wants to be “a little ruined” . Simon is the man Evangeline picks out for her and that’s when the delight of Jess Michael’s novella starts. While Evangeline is picking out Tamsin’s object of ruination she is steering her away from Henry Killam because Evangeline has her own feelings for him. Elizabeth Essex brings these characters to life in her novella. I can highly recommend this book. Two 5 star gems.

Advance Review- A convenient Fiction by Mimi Matthews

Title: A Convenient Fiction (Parrish Orphans of Devon, book #3)

Genre: Historical romance/Victorian

Author: Mimi Matthews

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press, Oct. 22, 2019 (pre-order available)

Pages: 352

Rating: 5

Sexy Rating: 5

Violence Rating:4

Description from Amazon:

She Needed A Husband…

It’s been three years since Laura Hayes’s father died, leaving her and her invalid brother to subsist on the income from the family’s failing perfume business. But time is swiftly running out. What she needs is a husband, and fast. A noble gentleman who can rescue them all from penury. When a mysterious stranger arrives in the village, he seems a perfect candidate. But Alex Archer is no hero. In fact, he just might be the opposite.

He Wanted a Fortune…

Alex has no tolerance for sentiment. He’s returned to England for one reason only: to find a wealthy wife. A country-bred heiress in Surrey seems the perfect target. But somewhere between the village railway station and the manor house his mercenary plan begins to unravel. And it’s all the fault of Laura Hayes–a lady as unsuitable as she is enchanting.

From the beaches of Margate to the lavender fields of Provence, a grudging friendship slowly blossoms into something more. But when scandal threatens, can a man who has spent his entire life playing the villain, finally become a hero? Or will the lure of easy riches once again outweigh the demands of his heart?

**

This is a terrific book. The characters are so well written I started to believe they were real people. Alex is not a “bad” man, just a man trying to make his way in a world that doesn’t always seem to want him to make good. Laura is desperate to save the family from financial ruin by guardians of her father’s estate. These two have a slow build romance that has the reader hang on every word and turn every page quickly. Mimi Matthews is a terrific author and I can’t wait for her next romantic offering.

Review- Stealing Roses by Heather Cooper

Title: Stealing Roses

Genre: Historical Romance

Author: Heather Cooper

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: Allison & Busby, May 2019

Pages: 320

Rating: 5

Sexy Rating: 5

Violence Rating: 5

Description from Amazon:

1862. Growing up in the small seaside town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight, free-spirited Eveline Stanhope feels trapped by the weight of expectation from her well-to-do family. Her mother and two elder sisters would rather she focus her attention on marrying well, preferably to the wealthy Charles Sandham, but Eveline wants more for herself, and the arrival of the railway provides just the cause she’s been searching for.
Driven by the cherished memories of her late father, Eveline is keen to preserve the landscape he loved so much and becomes closely involved with the project. She forms a growing attachment to engineer Thomas Armitage. But when the railway is complete and Thomas moves on, will Eveline wish to return to the way things were?

**
I was totally pulled into this book; loving every minute of reading about Eveline’s life in Victorian England. Heather Cooper’s debut is beautifully written with characters who are so well developed that we know their thoughts and even sometimes anticipate their next move (I’m thinking of the gentleman, Charles, here). Tom is a bit of a reluctant suitor but then he does have several misconceptions about Eveline. Victorian England is another character in the book for that is what sets the tone, successes and historical triumphs. I strongly recommend this book to Historical Romance fans and Historical Fiction fans. This is a winner!

I received this book free for review from the publisher.

Release Day Review- Christmas In Vermont by Anita Hughes

Title: Christmas In Vermont

Genre: Contemporary Holiday Romance

Author: Anita Hughes

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: St. Martins Griffin, Oct. 15, 2019

Pages: 304

Rating: 2

Sexy Rating: 2

Violence Rating: 0

Christmasy Feeling: 0

Description from Amazon:

Emma can’t believe her luck when she finds an open pawn shop on Christmas Eve in Manhattan. She’s there to sell the beautiful bracelet her ex-boyfriend gave her when a familiar looking watch catches her eye. It’s the same engraved watch she gave her college boyfriend, Fletcher, years ago. On a whim, she trades the bracelet for the watch and wonders at the timing.
Practical Emma thinks it’s just a coincidence, but her best friend Bronwyn believes it’s the magic of synchronicity that caused Emma to find the watch. Fletcher was the one that got away, and somehow Emma never quite moved on.
When Bronwyn finds out that Fletcher is in snowy Vermont at a romantic inn for the week, she can’t help but give synchronicity a push. She signs Emma up to help the inn keeper as the children’s activity coordinator. Emma agrees that a week filled with quaint shops and maple syrup would do her good… and maybe Fate really does have a Christmas gift in store for her. That is until she sees Fletcher with his daughter and fiancée.
Suddenly, the fairytale trip seems doomed to fail… much like the innkeeper’s dwindling cashflow. It will take a miracle to save her heart and the inn. And that just might be what Fate has in mind.
**
Sometimes I choose to read a book and I wonder what possessed me to pick this one. Well, I liked the simplicity of the cover, I thought maybe Vermont would be ideal at holiday time. I got both of those hopes fulfilled but I just couldn’t wrap my head around a heroine and her bestie, both alone on Christmas, not spending the holiday together and what was Bronwyn doing with those kids. It just seemed like ineffective parenting, holiday avoidance, and why is Emma taking Ubers in the city if she has a car to drive to Vermont. (Okay I’ll give in on that one since city parking is horrendous.) but I was so annoyed with Emma from the get-go that I couldn’t warm up to her later on. Even though Fletcher’s kid was cute.

This one is not highly recommended by me. There are other holiday books much better than this.

Advance Review- Child’s Play by Danielle Steel

Title: Child’s Play

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Author: Danielle Steel

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Publisher: Dell, Oct. 8,2019

Pages: 288

Rating: 4

Sexy Rating: 5

Violence Rating: 0

Description from Amazon:

The lessons our children teach us are the hardest ones. What do we do when our children don’t pursue our hopes for them? In this riveting new novel, Danielle Steel explores how families can evolve and grow in unexpected ways.

A senior partner at a prestigious New York law firm, Kate Morgan couldn’t be prouder of her three grown children. Tamara, Anthony, and Claire all went to great schools, chose wonderful career paths, and would have made their father proud. A single mother for years after the death of her husband, Kate keeps a tight rein on her family, her career, and even her own emotions, never once asking herself if she truly knows her children . . . or if her hopes for them are the right ones, and what they want. She is about to find out.

During one hectic summer in Manhattan, Kate’s world turns upside down. One child has been keeping an astonishing secret while another confesses to an equally shocking truth. A wonderful match and picture-book wedding are traded for a relationship that shakes Kate to her core. A totally inappropriate love affair and an out-of-wedlock baby complete the chaos. Challenged as a mother and as a successful independent woman herself, Kate struggles to keep up with a dizzying and escalating chain of events, and begins to realize that she has a part to play in the chaos. Because Kate too has kept secrets from her children.

Sometimes the surprising choices our children make are the right ones . . . better than what we wanted for them. More often than not, parenting is about letting go of our dreams and embracing theirs.

**
The book description gives you a good idea of what this book is about and I will not pretend I can do a better synopsis. I enjoyed this book and fell into the author’s trap of needing to find out how everything would turn out. I really liked the several surprises and I really admired the protagonist, Kate. Tamara, Anthony and Claire are all successful adults to make any mother proud. That they each have a crisis in their lives only makes them more relatable and Kate more relatable. There is also romance around every corner as well as the problems that arise with romantic involvements.

I have not read this author in a number of years but I’m delighted that I picked up this book. A good read!

P.S.- I really dislike it when a book cover has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the book.  Like this one.