Review: Along Came a Rogue by Anna Harrington

THE WICKEDEST SECRET . . .

Major Nathaniel Grey is free to bed whomever he wants, whenever he chooses, and that's exactly how he likes it. His only loyalties are to country and the two friends he served with-brothers he'd do anything for. So when one of them is gravely injured and asking for his little sister, Grey will move heaven and earth to bring her home. He's greeted not by the gangly girl he remembers, but a stunningly beautiful woman holding a loaded musket. And he's utterly captivated by her . . .

IS A SECRET SEDUCTION

Once upon a time, Emily would have loved nothing more than a stolen hour with her brother's best friend, the dashing officer who captured her heart and soul. But things are different now-and so is she. Gone is the eager young woman who believed in love. In her place is a widow weighed down with secrets who desperately needs to disappear before they're revealed. But Grey's sinfully sexy smile offers protection unlike anything she's ever known, tempting her to risk everything . . . even her heart.

Best friend's little sister is one of my favorite contemporary romance tropes, so I was surprised to see it in an historical romance.  But I loved it!

When one of his best friends, Thomas, is injured and near death, Grey agrees to bring Thomas's sister, Emily, home.  Grey doesn't find the girl he remembers, however; he finds a young widow with secrets.

I enjoyed everything about Along Came a Rogue:  the sexual tension between Emily and Grey, the mystery surrounding Thomas's injury, even the secrets Emily is keeping from her family.  Once I started, I could not put the book down!

(A very special thank you to Forever Romance, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Along Came a Rogue.)

Review: Win Me Over by Nicole Michaels

WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING
Callie Daniels is a singular sensation. She owns and operates her own bakery, contributes to a popular lifestyle blog, and is the dance team coach at a local high school. She lives by her own design and is much too busy to consider dating. Mr. Right will have to fit into her life when the time is right...

UNLESS YOU'RE PLAYING FOR KEEPS
Football coach Bennett Clark always plays by the rules. He knows that his new colleague Callie is off limits but she's so beautiful-and irritating!-that Bennett can't get her off his mind. She wants him to participate in a charity dance contest, and won't take no for an answer. Soon, what begins as a festive athletic endeavor turns into a heated flirtation on and off the dance floor. Could it be that the free-spirited Callie has finally found a way through Coach Clark's line of defense?

Win Me Over picks up almost directly where Start Me Up ends, except through the point of view of Callie Daniels.  Callie is a driven, competitive person.  She is a bakery owner, helps her friends Anne and Lindsey with their lifestyle blog, and has recently been hired as the new dance team coach for the high school.   She is approached by the principal to enter a local dance competition with the head coach as her partner.  She reluctantly agrees when she believes the coach will be an older good ol' boy.  She wasn't expecting Bennett Clark.

Bennett Clark is a former professional quarterback whose career ended due to a car accident.  He's content being a science teacher and coach and kind of keeps the life he once had a secret.  Callie certainly has no idea who he used to be.  She just thinks Coach Clark is cute -- and stubborn -- but she likes trading jabs with him on the dance floor as they prepare for the competition.  

Their back-and-forth teasing (and sexual tension) can only lead to them falling in love, although it took a little bit of coaxing on both their parts.  Win Me Over also introduces Lindsey and Derek, who we meet in the final book of the series, Draw Me Close. 

Review: Kiss Me That Way by Laura Trentham

A river divides Cottonbloom in two: the upscale enclave on the Mississippi side and the rundown, rough and tumble side in Louisiana. They’re worlds apart—but nothing can build a bridge like love…

Cade Fournette never had it easy Cottonbloom. He stuck around long enough to raise his orphaned siblings and then hightailed it out West—and never looked back. Even though he’s made a success of himself in Seattle, Cade never lost the toughness and the angry edge that helped him survive down South. His only weak spot: the girl he left behind…

Monroe Kirby came from the wealthy side of town, but that didn’t protect her from her mother’s drinking—or her mother’s boyfriend. It was Cade who did that, on a long-ago hot September night, before he disappeared…along with a piece of her heart. Now Monroe is a physical therapist who can fight for herself, and it’s Cade who could use some conditioning when he makes an unexpected return back home. Will he and Monroe pick up where they left off and finally explore their mutual passion—or will the scars and secrets of the past divide them once more?

Small-town Southern romances may be my favorite.  I grew up in a small town -- at least it felt small -- so these kinds of stories really speak to me. 

Both Monroe and Cade have scars and problems in their past, yet their joined past, something that remained private, keeps them connected.  The main difference between them really is that Cade left his side of Cottonbloom while Monroe stayed on hers. 


Monroe and Cade may have connected when they were younger, but theirs is a mature romance, one that grows from mutual respect and love in the here and now.  Cade certainly doesn't expect to stay in Cottonbloom, although Monroe -- and his family, possibly in equal parts -- keeps pulling him back.  I am glad he decided to go with his heart. 

(A very special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Kiss Me That Way.)

Review: Draw Me Close by Nicole Michaels

SOMETIMES LOVE IS STRONGER

Lindsey Morales is a beautiful, talented decorator with a popular lifestyle blog. She always knows just how to make things look perfect. But when it comes to her love life, there’s no design trick she can use to cover up the obvious: Her broken heart.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

Eight years ago, Derek Walsh just wasn’t ready to choose a long-term relationship over his career. But now that the handsome, hot-shot architect has the chance to see Lindsey again—working with her to renovate an old farmhouse—he will do everything he can to repair the damage of the past. But is he finally ready to build a real future…if Lindsey is willing to take him back?



Lindsey and Derek actually meet up in book 2, Win Me Over.  The impact of this meet, however, is the entire plot of book 3. 

I was surprised by how quickly I "fell" for Lindsey and Derek as a couple.  Maybe because we the reader see how broken Lindsey is when Derek leaves her.  And while Derek tried to make the best of a bad situation by marrying his former girlfriend when he really wanted to be with Lindsey, it really wasn't the smartest decision he could have made (hindsight, and all). 

There is some angst between the two of them, naturally, but I thought the pacing of Draw Me Close was on target to give Derek time to explain his decision to Lindsey and for Lindsey to come to grips with Derek's life since they broke up.  It allowed them time to fall in love with each other again, and that was a very nice thing to see. 


(A very special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Draw Me Close.)

Review: The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne

A scandalous proposal.

As one of London's most elite hunters, Christopher Argent never misses his mark and always gets his man. But when his latest target turns out to be a woman—the popular, and stunningly beautiful, actress Millie LeCour—it turns his whole world upside-down. Overwhelmed by the heat that simmers between them, Christopher can't complete his mission. On the contrary, he'll do anything to save Millie's life—even if it means risking his own...

A dangerous passion...

When she learns what Christopher was hired to do, Millie is torn between the fear in her heart and the fire in her soul. Putting herself in this dangerous man's arms may be her only path to safety—but giving in to her desire may be the deadliest mistake she's ever made. With both of their lives in jeopardy, Millie and Christopher must learn to trust the real feelings they're hiding—to find the true love they're looking for...

Christopher Argent is a dark, powerful man.  He's also a trained hunter/assassin, who is paid well for his jobs.  He's tasked with killing Millie LeCour, but once he sees the actress, he duty changes.  

The beginning of The Hunter details Argent's beginnings.  He's a little bit haunted by those experiences, naturally, but they also helped shape him into the gritty man he is now.  He is instantly attracted to Millie, despite the fact that he's supposed to kill her, and he begins to sense there is more to Millie's story than he's being told.  

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed The Hunter.  Dark and brooding heroes aren't my favorite, but something about Argent really drew me to him.  I'm very much looking forward to The Highlander in August. 

(A very special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Hunter.)

Review: Dukes are Forever by Anna Harrington

ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE
Battlefields and barrooms hold much more interest for Edward Westover, Duke of Strathmore, than a little girl's fondness for dolls and lace. When he takes possession of his enemy's estate, everything that villain held dear-including his daughter-belongs to Edward. Hire a governess, arrange a dowry, give a few reassurances, and be off on his way-that's Edward's plan. But he's in for the shock of his life. For his new ward is a beautiful, impetuous, and utterly irresistible woman . . .

. . . AND WAR
Kate Benton is stunned. Who is this arrogant, infuriating man who's invited himself into her home and taken over her life? Her vow: to do everything in her power to convince him to leave her-and Brambly House-alone. Yet as chilly days melt into sultry nights, Kate sees glimpses of kindness underneath Edward's cool façade . . . and a passionate nature that takes her breath away. There's so much she doesn't know about this man. But does she dare trust this devilish duke with her heart?

Revenge is high in the mind of Edward Westover, Duke of Strathmore.  He has decided he will punish Phillip Benton by taking everything from him, just as Benton did to Edward.  First on the list:  make Benton's daughter Katherine hate her father.

The unfortunately thing for Edward is that Kate, whom Edward believes to be a child, is a young women who has been on her own for quite some time.  She cares for those who helped raise her -- incidentally, not her father -- and she has planned her life in accordance with one day inheriting what had belonged to her mother.   

Kate and Edward are two very stubborn people who are pushed together by circumstances.  I liked that Kate was able to break through some of Edward's gruff exterior while losing none of her own gumption.   And of course they fall in love.  

(A very special thank you to Forever Romance, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Dukes Are Forever.)

Review: Start Me Up by Nicole Michaels

WHY DO DO-IT-YOURSELF…

Single mom Anne Edmond can handle—and hand-make—just about anything. From table settings to party favors, floral arrangements to nursery décor, there is no project her creativity and a glue gun can't tackle. But dating? That's a whole 'nother story. Case in point: Mike Everett. He's a gorgeous mechanic and known car-whisperer, a man who can work with auto parts like nobody's business. And he has thrown a monkey wrench into Anne's carefully-crafted life…

WHEN YOU CAN DO IT TOGETHER?
 
One look at Anne is enough for Mike to know that she's no fixer-upper. She's perfect just the way she is—and the chemistry between them works like a charm. Mike's always been a no-strings kind of guy, but Anne's impressive self-reliance—and gorgeous exterior—gives him pause. This time, a fast joyride just doesn't seem like enough. But first he has to convince Anne that he means to take her all the way…

 I actually read Book 3 of this series, Draw Me Close, first, but when I finished it, I knew I had to start this series from the beginning.  I am so glad I did! 

Just as with Draw Me Close, Start Me Up hit all the right buttons for this romance reader.  Anne and Mike have chemistry from their initial meet until the very end of the novel.  Mike's relationship with Anne's daughter, Claire, is realistic and cute.  Anne's interaction with her friends-slash-blogging partners, Callie and Lindsay, and Mike's friendship with Derek moved the story forward but maintained the focus on Anne and Mike's relationship. 

I kept waiting for the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING between them to pull them apart, and while there was a slight problem, it came from someone other than Anne or Mike.  Hallelujah! 

I cannot wait to jump into Book 2, Win Me Over.