Like You Love Me by Adriana Locke

 Happy New Release to Adriana Locke!

This was my first read of hers in a while. 

I have several of her stories - I love small town & she has quite a few of these gems. But the first and only story I'd read of hers previously hadn't been my cup of tea. I LOVE her personality & style, tho, and the description for this story looked like it would be right up my alley. 

It absolutely was, I'm happy to report! 

My Review:

Sophie & Holden's story is super cute & was a quick read. They're childhood friends who reconnect when Holden comes to town to help out his grandpa. Their banter is full of swoony goodness!! 

I love the relationship Sophie has with her brother & sister. You can feel the love & support each has for the other, and that added a really well-rounded feeling to the story. Plus, they all have these little quirks that made me laugh! And Holden w/ his grandpa! Again, I felt the love & support he needed that he didn't get (at ALL) from his father. 

And Sophie & Holden together... Just ... AWWW! Right away, their friendship & comfort level with each other is apparent. They have an attraction that helps in their marriage of convenience. Everyone can see they're perfect for each other - they just need to figure out what that means considering their seemingly different life goals... 

Thumbs up! : )

Links: 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3oWWqXM

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/LikeYouLoveMe

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3qw68Rd

After reading this one, I feel good about going into some of her other stories. 

Have you read this author?

Do you follow her social media? I follow her on IG & everywhere else, and aside from her writing, I really enjoy getting to know her on these platforms. I was also fortunate to meet her at a signing in Chicago just before all the pandemic stuff happened, and she truly is as sweet in person as she appears online. 

I love!!

TTFN!

: ) 

Still Standing by Kristen Ashley

I started on the Kristen Ashley party a little later than others, but from my first book (Law Man), I was hooked. I saw the paperback at Target one day & recognized her name from all my book peeps & thought "I'll give this a shot." 

That was it.

I was hooked! And while I haven't loved everything, she is an auto-pre-order author for me 95% of the time! I had the opportunity to read her latest early & I'm so grateful!!

And today, it's live for everyone to check out!! : ) 

My Review:

Forgiveness. It's a theme throughout this story, not just with Clara & Buck, but various situations & characters. There are some major communication issues that I had issues with - Clara is very "innocent" despite the pitfalls she's had to endure in life. That's part of what I liked about her, but also part of what I didn't. And Buck KNOWS she's new to his world, yet he still doesn't really explain things, which caused some issues that I felt could have otherwise been avoided. Especially a major miscommunication brought about by well-meaning old ladies w/in the MC who become Clara's posse! 

So, those were my frustrations. Sometimes, things like that would hinder my enjoyment of the story, but thankfully that wasn't the case here. Overall, I LOVE Clara & Buck, their hearts are so strong, and the title is very appropriate! I love the way Buck is with his family. And once he figures out that he's been a bad communicator, how he opens up even more. (Side note: He's really very straight forward in his communication to Clara about how their relationship is going & how far "in" he is - but she's clueless & I felt like he should have picked up on that sooner so he could make sure she was fully clued in! LOL) 

There are some truly beautiful scenes in their story. Her relationships w/ Gear & Tatiana give us some amazing scenes. And there are some scenes going along with that forgiveness theme that are out of this world & there were tears. 

And this is definitely on the steamy side, as well. Clara & Buck both have quite the adventurous drive!

: ) 

Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3eXeWeh 

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/StillStanding

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/39u2Fgx

Apple Books: http://apple.co/3m1hhrA

Google Play: http://bit.ly/3abobFY

Kobo: http://bit.ly/3kSbnHP

Nook: http://bit.ly/3nPNmmn

Paperbook: http://bit.ly/3cm6XZg

Add Still Standing to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/39t30zU 

Are you a KA fan?

Let me know what you think & if you read this one, I'd love your thoughts!

A big thank you to Kristen & Social Butterfly PR for the read & the graphics!!

TTFN!

: )  

Doin' A Dime by Lani Lynn Vale - Cover Reveal

 I am SO EXCITED about this story! 

I just did a small Lani Lynn Vale reread binge of the Roberts family & Hunt shows up in the last one to help someone out & I just swooned. AND THEN HE GETS HIS OWN BOOK!! 

Mercy!

You can preorder, too! 

This releases May 18th! 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2YhELyn 

Apple: http://apple.co/3chz4sw 

Nook: http://bit.ly/3chiV68 

Kobo: http://bit.ly/39pv476 

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2YjB4rT

Cover Designer: Cover Me Darling

Photographer: FuriousFotog

And if you'd like to read a little more about him before his book comes out, he shows up in Any Day Now & Repeat Offender. 

Let me know if you do & what you think!!

TTFN!

: ) 

Until Now by Leslie Pike

 The Until World, or the HEA (Happily Ever Alpha) world, inspired by Aurora Rose Reynolds is such an awesome world to be in! The authors chosen to take a stroll with her characters create some really great reads!!

I had a hard time connecting w/ this one, as you'll see from my review, but the writing & story line are solid, so I recommend giving it a try for yourself! There weren't any of my "hard no" scenarios or anything like that. 

My Review: 

Dominique & Maxen, Bing & Hunter are all great characters. And the dogs... LOLOLOL!! I just didn't connect with the writing style for some reason & didn't really FEEL the BOOM.

I enjoyed the characters individually, and I liked the way Maxen & Dominique communicated & the way they bonded over being single caregivers. And the boys' band was a good story line, I felt. Also, the use of the connection to Wes & July & their families felt genuine. 

: ) 

If you grab it, I'd love to know your thoughts!!

Links: 

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54899551-until-now 
 
 
PURCHASE LINKS 
 
US: https://amzn.to/38QhE48  
UK: https://amzn.to/2N5WaHL  
CA: https://amzn.to/3ijQyoR 
AU: https://amzn.to/38N7KjE 
 

TTFN!!

: ) 

Wrecked Palace by Catherine Cowles

 This book is AMAZING!!!

Already a top read for 2021 - that's right, I'm calling it!

I love the emotions Catherine Cowles gives us in every single story she writes. 

There's drama & usually the path to our HEA isn't easy, but it's WORTH it, and I trust her story telling that it WILL be worth it no matter what. There are a few authors I steadfastly feel this way about, and I'm happy to count her as one. 

Caelyn & Griffin's story is absolutely amazing!! I was hooked from page 1. We get to see what happened to cause Caelyn to have custody of her siblings, and it's intense! 

I love the pacing of their love story. Griffin slowly coming out of his shell, Caelyn slowly letting their friendship blossom. The kids stealing EVERYONE'S hearts...! There is some serious swoon here, and it's not all because of our fabulous couple. 

There's friendship, family, trust, suspense, romance - everything about this story is spot on & immensely enjoyable. Is it too soon to pick top reads for 2021? Because this is already on my list! 

: ) 

Have you given this series a chance? 

I highly recommend it! 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/30ZUZy3

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/WreckedPalace

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3445J0j

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3kS6kbq

Nook: https://bit.ly/2PXeLEf

Add Wrecked Palace to your Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3appCAa

TTFN!

: ) 

Repeat Offender by Lani Lynn Vale

 

I don't know about y'all, but I've been wanting Lynn's story for what feels like forever. 

And it's finally here!!! 

So, I'm super excited! 

: ) 

Links:

Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/2FDl5ix 

Apple ➜ https://apple.co/32E6Z9l 

Nook ➜ https://bit.ly/2H9wjfh 

Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/35IoxDa 

Audio ➜ http://adbl.co/3q0YT3C 

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2ZDOTm7 

 

TTFN!

: ) 

Guilty Pleasure by Jessica Prince

I know this is a "currently reading" graphic, and I finished this over the weekend, but I just loved the graphic & had to share it!! (Thanks to Love Affair With Fiction!!) 

This story - guys, this story required tissues. Lark is battered. Not physically, but emotionally. And returning to Redemption for her feels like being stuck in a washing machine on the spin cycle. It's tough! But WOW is it a great story!! 

My Review:

Grab you tissues! Clay & Lark's story is heartbreaking and healing. Sweet and steamy. Moving, really. I spent most of the story wanting to give Lark hugs - her heart is SO BIG & it's been so bruised by the town of Redemption. There were times I wished for the power to jump into the story & smack some ppl around, too. I'm not normally violent... LOL 

I wasn't a fan of Clay's for a bit - he's just so MEAN. Even tho he doesn't really mean to be mean - he's just so frustrated (with himself, his feelings, really) that's how it comes out. Every time he makes an unintentional direct hit to Lark's heart, he immediately realizes & apologizes, but I still wasn't happy with him. He does, thankfully redeem himself, and when they're together, the sparks & chemistry is beautiful! 

I also enjoyed the supporting characters of Aurora, Callum, & Pope. (OMH, I really hope there are going to be stories somewhere for these ppl!) And of course Lumpy... *grin* It was also great to see Cannon, Farah, & Poppy pop in. ; ) 

All in all, another enjoyable, fabulous read for this series! 

: )

It's available in KU, so check it out!! 

And, as you know, I'm a HUGE fan of Jessica Prince's series, since I gush about them all the time... LOL So, I highly recommend diving in to the whole series & more! 

TTFN!

; )