Maverick for Hire

Maverick for Hire by Leanne Banks

Publisher: Harlequin

September 2014

ISBN: 978-0-373-65835-0

Pages: 218

Contemporary Romance

Rust Creek Falls, Montana

Nick Pritchett is a blond hunky carpenter from Thunder Canyon and he has been doing his share helping put the town of Rust Creek Falls back together after the Great Flood.  He’s great with a hammer and even more popular with the ladies.  Though if you ask his best bud, Cecelia Clifton maybe a little too popular. 

Cecelia has come to town looking for love but Nick thinks she is going about it all wrong.  He thinks he can help her meet her match if she follows his instructions completely.  The trouble is that Nick is finding that the only man he thinks is good enough for his childhood pal is himself.  Now Nick needs to convince the new Cecelia that he is the best man for her.

This is a great friends to lover story.  The characters are fun and interesting and have the story moving along very well.  Reading as Nick and Cecelia figured out just how they feel about each other and overcome the obstacles that they manage to put in their own paths makes for a book that is hard to put down.  The story also has some interesting secondary characters that show the pratfalls of small town life while being humorous.  This is a great book that will have readers hoping for more stories from this small town. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses  

LRH

Sinful Secrets

Sinful Secrets by Cynthia Eden

Publisher: Cynthia Eden

August 2014

Pages: 120

Contemporary, Romantic Suspense

Las Vegas, Nevada

Catherine Donnelly spent a wild night in a stranger’s arms a year ago.  Jason August was sexy and mysterious and managed to break through Cat’s defenses.  Cat ran from his bed when dawn arrived and never looked back. At least until now…

Now that Catherine is back in Jason’s life he isn’t about to let her escape him again.  Cat is about to discover that in a world that has gone made Jason is the only man that can keep her safe. He is also the man that she married a year ago on a hot Vegas night. 

This is a great suspense that keeps the reader guessing.  While it takes place in the present day with the flash back to the year before the reader is never lost as to what happened then and what is happening now. It is the perfect blend of back story while the suspense of the now is unfolding.  It will also have readers clamoring for more from the world that the story takes place in. It is a relatively fast read but packs so much story in such a short amount of pages that it comes across as a longer novel that it actually is.  This is the perfect story for those times when a reader needs a short story for a break.  This one does not disappoint at all.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH

Sanctifying Grace

Sanctifying Grace by Elizabeth Davies

Publisher: Smashwords

October 2013

Pages: 267

Contemporary and Historical Time Travel

Brecon, Wales

Grace is now at the end of her life and has Roman by her side.  His quest to discover how to resurrect humans who can be enthralled has failed.  Now Grace is facing a certain death.  Grace has been a part of Roman’s life for millennia and Roman doesn’t know how he can live without her.  All he can do is be there for her when she needs him the most.

This is third and final book of the trilogy and readers will be sad to let Grace and Roman go.  This is also the most emotional book of the trilogy and will have readers reaching for the Kleenex.  While the ending is a little abrupt overall it is a wonderful ending to a trilogy that readers will remember long after they are done reading the books.  This story more than the other two will pull the reader in emotionally though as the reader reads each and every one they will find themselves more emotionally invested and will have to read until the very end to see how it ultimately turns out for Roman and Grace.  The worlds both past and present come alive as the reader turns each page and they will find themselves lost in another world and will be reluctant to leave.  It will also have readers wanting to see more from this author.  The trilogy will take the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride that they will find themselves hating to leave.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH

Dreams of Perfection

Dreams of Perfection by Rebecca Heflin

Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing

May 2014

ISBN: 978-1619355088

Pages: 279

Contemporary, Romance

Darcy Butler is a best-selling romance author that is holding out for the perfect man like the heroes that are in her books.  Darcy was once engages but now she is now is dealing with a commitment phobia after the traumatic ending of her engagement.  It is also getting in the way of the one thing she wants most her own happily-ever-after.  Now she is six months away from her thirtieth birthday and doesn’t have a Prince Charming. 

Josh Ryan is a successful lawyer with a soft spot for the less fortunate.  He is also Darcy’s best friend without the benefits.  Darcy goes to Josh lamenting her love-life or lack thereof and Josh is there for her and doling out his sage advice.  The only problem is that Josh is in love with Darcy. 

Now Darcy thinks she has finally found her perfect hero when she meets a man that has the handsome face of the hero in her latest book that is soon-to-be released.  She is convinced her dreams of perfection have come true.  Or have they?

This is a fun friends to lover story with well developed characters.  The humor help the story move along well.  While some readers will wish for things to move a little faster between Josh and Darcy it is still a good story.  The characters are very relatable and down to earth.  There are some slow areas but nothing that truly bogs down the story. It is also the start of series that should prove to be interesting and will hopefully give readers a chance to revisit the characters from the other books. 

I give this one 4 red roses

LRH

Goddess

Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Publisher: Harper Teen

May 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-201203-6

Pages: 421

Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Nantucket

Helen is being plagued with visions of destruction especially with the gods’ thirst for war that already has a body count.  She has to find a way to imprison them again or there will be the risk of unleashing immeasurable chaos. 

Helen’s powers are increasing and it is causing the distance between her and her mortal friends to increase too.  They are uncertain whether to fear her or revere her and now the once-solid group is divided.

Making matters worse the Oracle reveals that a dangerous Tyrant is lucking among them.  All fingers are now pointing to Orion.  Helen is unsure whether she loves Lucas or Orion and she must make a terrifying decision because an all-out war is coming to her shores. 

This is a wonderful conclusion to this trilogy.  Readers will hate to see it end but it is a very satisfying ending to a trilogy of books that prove to be very original.  The characters are interesting as they grow and deal with all the obstacles that are thrown at them. Helen starts the trilogy out as unsure of herself and by the end she finds out just what she is capable of.  She also learns just who she can truly trust and depend on.  This is a trilogy that has proven to be one to put on the keeper shelf because this is one that readers will want to read again and again. This trilogy also shows this is an author to definitely watch.  The trilogy takes the myths of Greek mythology turns them around and makes it very unique.  While the books have a number of pages the trilogy proves to be a fast read as readers will find it very hard to put down and won’t want to leave this world until the very last page of the last book.  The ending does not disappoint in the least.

I give this one 5 red roses

LRH

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace by Elizabeth Davies

Publisher: Elizabeth Davies

January 2014

Pages: 244

Time-Travel present and past England

Grace’s health continues to deteriorate in her own world and as she gets closer to her death she continues to return to the past and to Roman.  Each time she goes back she finds Roman waiting for her and she falls deeper in love with a man whose sole purpose in life is for blood.

This book picks up very nicely where the first one left off.  With every detail that is revealed it makes for a wonderful time travel book that comes to life for the reader.  It will also have readers hoping for a happy ending for Grace.  Seeing how Roman and Grace get through each obstacle that is placed in their path makes for a great story.  This one will also have readers reaching for the third and last book in the trilogy so they can find out the outcome to this trilogy.  While it has some elements of other stories with vampires and time travel the way it is put together and told makes it unique and engrossing to read.  With emotional highs and low and many twists and turns readers are never exactly sure what will happen next or where.  This one keeps readers turning the pages just to see what will happen next.  This is proving to be an interesting trilogy that is worth reading.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses  

LRH

Glimpse of Darkness Volume 1: Chronicles of the Cursed

Glimpse of Darkness Volume 1: Chronicles of the Cursed by Nicole Delacroix

Publisher: Nicole Delacroix

April 2014

ISBN: 978-1497335936

Pages: 365

Contemporary, Paranormal

Hyder, Alaska & Louisiana

Charlene “Charlie” Bennett is a waitress in Hyder and her father has just gone missing.  Her father has disappeared before so this isn’t something new but somehow things are different this time around.  She is also isolated and alone. 

Then there is Daniel who is a handsome stranger that has come to town.  Charlie normally has no interest in the strangers that pass through town but this time Daniel has managed to change that with the intense and immediate attraction Charlie feels for him.  Daniel also isn’t quite what he appears to be and he is throwing Charlie’s world into a major upheaval.

Now Charlie has to decide if she wants to or can believe the story Daniel is telling her and follow him or stay in the only home she has ever known.  Especially when staying means an uncertain future with an absentee father.  As she comes to trust in what Daniel shows her she also realizes that he is the one true thing in her life.  So she leaves everything she knows to follow a handsome stranger.

This is a fun story with some great twists and turns.  As each clue is revealed it leads to more questions that are slowly answered.  This is a book that manages to pull the reader in and will have them not wanting to put it down until the very end.  The characters are interesting and bring the story to life for the reader.  Reading how Charlie and Daniel get to know each other and depend on each other makes for an engaging read.  It will also have readers wanting more to find out exactly what eventually happens between Daniel and Charlie.  This one will definitely have readers who haven’t read this author yet wanting to check out more from her.  This is one is worth trying.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH