Shadow of You by Catherine Cowles

4 Stars

It was supposed to be a fresh start. A small town where I could hide my little girl from the shadows that haunt us. A place where I could keep us safe.

The last thing I expected was him.

A surly, broody mountain of a man who helps me save an injured deer in a snowstorm.

Now, Roan Hartley keeps showing up with his glowers and grimaces. But they only make his rare smiles and the gentle way he talks to my daughter mean that much more.

When forces from my past find us, Roan is determined to keep us safe—even if that means sleeping on my ancient couch every night.

As days turn to weeks, his touch has my walls crashing down. But someone out there doesn’t want me to find happiness. He doesn’t want me left breathing at all…

FMC is on the run from a past that won’t stay in the past. She’s trying to raise her niece the way her sister would want her raised. When the past finally catches up to them will she be able to keep everyone safe?

I loved this book. Roan was this big scary dude but was such a marshmallow towards Aspen and her niece. Aspen had such a backbone and was so loving towards everyone even with everything she survived. Part of a series but it does stand alone, and the other books aren’t necessary, but I still want to go and read them. I figured out who the bad guy was about halfway through the book, but I liked how it was revealed. They were a very interesting choice. I was left with some questions. Like did the one asshole get additional time and did Aspen ever get an apology from two of the people who were the biggest dicks to her? Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it.

Book 4 The Lost and Found

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Mine to Love by Kennedy L Michelle

3 Stars

I barely escaped the serial killer's clutches. Now he's back, determined to get me back forcing me and my 9-year-old son into hiding.
An FBI agent and local detective are put on our protection detail to keep us safe, but who will keep me safe from them? The two men are a blast from the past, a one-night stand 9 years ago that I still dream about and who disappeared the following morning.
Until now.
The attraction pulses between us despite the danger closing in.
Though they are no longer friends, memories from that electric night and us three stuck together might convince them to put aside their differences and share me one more time.
With the killer waiting for the right moment when our guards are down to strike, he just might get the perfect opportunity when the big secret I've been hiding is exposed.
I've never forgotten that night all those years ago..
How could I when my 9-year-old son looks just like one of them?

They had a history between them. It was brief and spicy and then it was gone. Now 10 years later Tallon has been rescued from a serial rapist killer and is need of protection, but she has a secret. Will she let Remington and Jameson keep her safe even if it reveals her secret? Will they forgive her for keeping it a secret and let them get their HEA?

This book was so good until it wasn’t. This is promoted as a MFM which led me to believe the 3 of them would end up together…they don’t. All my issues with the book happened in the last 3 chapters. Jameson is injured and ends up in surgery…that’s the last we hear about him. The author explains he survived and is training and Quantico. Ok but they’re still going to get together is where my brain went just from a distance. You get to the last page of the book and find out he has his own book with different characters. WTF!!!!!!! That is not how it is presented, and I am so disappointed. Will probably check out other books as I enjoyed the writing.

Book apart of the Protection Series

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Tormented Girl by Lexie Winston

3 Stars

Property destruction, aggressive threats and an injured family member is what Harlow and the Summers family are having to deal with.

Who is responsible or why this is happening is anybody’s guess?

But amidst all the drama, Harlow is trying to forget the hurts of the past and establish a new relationship with her adopted siblings, even if what she feels for them isn’t overly familial

A trip to Hawaii with Jaxon and Kai is just what she needs to forget about her worries for a while.

Or is it?

Will trouble follow them to the tropical paradise or will they get to relax and unwind and see where the holiday takes them.

With this one you finally see some relationship movement…FINALLY. There’s also a change of scenery as Harlow heads to Hawaii with Jaxon and Kai. I love the one on one we get and more backstory for the guys. This one is where my interest started to wane. It’s the same stuff from the previous books just repeated. The author seems to add side characters to suit the needs of the story. Still enjoyed it but getting frustrated by the lack of movement in the story.

Book 3 Neighpalm Industries

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Doctor Mistake by J Saman

4 Stars

He's my best friend's older brother. My boss. And now my new roommate...

In the hospital, death always comes in threes. Apparently, so do mistakes.

Mistake number one? My fiancé, who I just learned is cheating on me. So much for being the strong, in control doctor who's always on top of her game...

Mistake number two? Knocking on the wrong door.

The door I thought still belonged to my best friend now belongs to his older brother, my obnoxious, overly cocky, gorgeous-as-sin attending physician, Carter Fritz.

The billionaire playboy gives me a place to stay, and a shoulder to cry on. But when he makes me feel seen for the first time in I don’t even know how long, I tell myself I don’t regret what was easily the hottest, most earth-shattering night of my life.

That is until mistake number three comes along... and I'm staring down at a stick with two pink lines.

Having a baby at this stage of my residency could cost me everything I’ve worked so hard to build.

But Carter? He's undeterred. He doesn't just want more; he wants it ALL.

Including me.

But what happens if following my heart turns out to be my biggest mistake of all?

I loved Carter and Grace. Watching them stumble around to their HEA was amusing. Loved how Carter messed up and then fixed the problem. It nearly cost him Grace and he thinks he knows best until he bites him in the ass. I am not always a fan of friends to lovers but this one worked for me along with the surprise baby. Well worth the read.

Book 2 Boston’s Billionaire Bachelors

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Plays Well with Others by Lauren Blakely

3 Stars

Dating lessons from my football-playing best friend? Sign me up!
So I'm throwing myself a breakup party, a glittery fete where I envision I'll lift a glass and celebrate being free and single again.
What I actually do: Drink too much champagne and blurt out to my best guy friend that I’d really like to get back on the horse.
But what I truly don’t expect is Carter’s answer – he volunteers as tribute.
With his sinful brown eyes and too-good-to-be-true body it’d be no hardship for me to say yes, though I certainly don’t want him to feel obligated to, um, service me, just because my failed, loveless marriage was a s-e-x desert.
But since the charming and confident pro football star owes five public dates to his dating app sponsor, we make a deal to help each other out.
Pretty soon, our public how to date lessons turn into, ahem, very private ones. And I’m a star student, graduating quickly from flirty banter and lingering looks to toe-curling, sheet-grabbing, mind-blowing hours of physical education.
The problem? Turns out learning to date again feels a lot like the real thing. Can our friendship withstand all these late-night bedroom sessions?
Especially since I’m suddenly longing for my best friend and there’s nothing fake about my feelings…

This was a cute friend to lovers book. Carter is super sweet, and Rachel is on the rebound after a cheating ex. He is obligated to go on dates and so to help his BFF get back out there he agrees to date her so she can get used to dating. The problem is they catch feelings for each other. It was a pretty solid read.

Book 2 How to Date

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Broken Girl by Lexie Winston

3 Stars

Never in her life has Harlow felt as low as she does now. Even a beating from her mother was easier to take then the humiliation she just suffered at the hands of the Summer’s siblings.
Unable to return home due to a promise made to her foster father, she has to stay on until her commitments have concluded. With her new friends Alex and Shane trying to convince her to stay and her grandparents and father of the same mind, Harlow’s heart is torn in two.
But a mysterious phone call and a possible job opportunity may just swing the pendulum to one side.

More questions are answered but more are introduced. The adopted siblings are slowing changing but are still too stupid for me. I am pretty sure I know who the stalker is, but we must wait for a future book for the answer. It was another cliffhanger ending.

Book 2 Neighpalm Industries

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Last on the List by Amy Daws

3 Stars

Only a bad nanny knows what it’s like to kiss the boss.

CEO millionaire, Max Fletcher is a single dad in desperate need of a nanny.

Cozy Barlow is in the middle of her self-appointed “gap year” and doing everything she can to detach from her past.

But when her sister begs her to interview for the nanny position of a high maintenance client, she doesn’t have a good enough reason to say no.

And when Max locks eyes on the twenty-something in a tie-dye sweatsuit who pitches the idea of daydreaming all summer—he prepares to give this bad nanny the boot.

One problem: Max’s little girl thinks this plus-sized in body and spirit nanny might be her new bestie, so she hires her on the spot.

Now Max is stuck with this bizarre woman who hates everything he represents—corporate greed, money, status, power.

But one stormy night when the power goes out, he discovers Cozy doesn’t hate him. In fact, he’s the leading role in her fantasies.

Fantasies, he would very much like to make a reality.

This was fine but there was a pacing issue. There were many slowish spots that frustrated me. I also got very tired of Cozy mentioning her weight and size. I get it she’s plus size with curves can we move on. I loved Carter but Cozy wasn’t my favorite. She acts like she’s in high school and she is very much not. So, meh.

Book 5 Wait With Me

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Supernatural Academy: Year One by Jaymin Eve

3 Stars

Maddison James is about to discover some truths about the world.

Firstly … supernaturals exist.

WTF?

Secondly … she is one, even though no one seems to know exactly what kind.

Double WTF.

Thirdly … she’s about to go back to school.

Well, things just got a little more interesting.

The Supernatural Academy is where shifters, vampires, magic users, and fey are educated. Where they are taught about their abilities, and how to function in the human world. Maddison already has the human part down, but this supernatural thing is an entirely new dangerous game.

Example one: mean girls who can actually turn you into a frog.

Example two: Asher Locke, a god at the Academy. Not literally … well, who knows for sure. He certainly acts the part, as do all of his minions who worship him.

Asher drives her crazy, because apparently gorgeous and arrogant is her thing. Sparks fly between them, and the more they’re thrown together, the more Asher is determined to figure out what’s been blocking her abilities.

Until the moment the truth is revealed, and they find out nothing in this supernatural world is what they thought.

Including each other.

Maddi is thrown into a supernatural world she wasn’t aware of. She rolls with the punches so she can discover everything she can. It’s one of the things I liked best about her. I also liked all the guys and secondary characters. Some of my issues with the story is it jumps around on the timeline. It jumps ahead in the time to move the story along and it doesn’t make sense and was very jarring. There also needs to be some character development to like/hate some of the characters. Overall, I liked it enough to continue the series.

Book 1 Supernatural Academy

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Abandoned Girl by Lexie Winston

3 Stars

Her entire life, Harlow has been the cuckoo in another bird’s nest. With an unreliable junkie for a mother and an unknown father, her foster family, the kind, successful, and generous Bostons, are the brightest spot in her life. But even with a foster family like Harlow’s, there are some things money can’t buy- like the ability to fit in with the shallow socialites who act like her lack of pedigree is contagious. Now that she’s finished college and her veterinary degree, Harlow’s life was supposed to take off. She was supposed to get a job and create a life away from the petty drama of the wealthy elite. But when her mother dies and a life-changing secret is revealed, Harlow finds herself flying across the country to face an uncertain future that Kai, Holden, Jaxon, Thomas, Jacinta, Declan, and Oliver are going to make sure she won’t accept.

This one was a slow burn. You will hate a lot of the characters but that’s how they’re supposed to be. It was an interesting concept. Girl finds bio dad is rich and powerful. His adopted kids’ lust for her but think she’s after his money. They never bothered to learn anything about her. I know she’s going to end up with the brothers, but they have a lot to make up for after how this book ends. Still a lot of questions I want answered so I will end up reading the next one.

Book 1 Neighpalm Industries

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Forged Bond by Olivia Lewin

 

2 Stars

I’m finally ready to put my trust in my mates…

But what if trust isn’t enough?

When my heat turns deadly, my mates face an impossible choice: risk my trust, or risk my life. And we don’t have time to recover from its impacts, because Kylan won’t rest in his quest to capture me.

We have to go on the offensive. Against an organization as vast as the vampire mafia, that’s easier said than done.

Will the bonds we forge be enough to vanquish an enemy so paranoid barely anyone has seen his face?

Or will I end up losing something precious to me before the mission is complete?

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where 1 and 2 were so good this one was a crappy one. It ended so badly with so many questions unanswered. I also hated Freya’s memory loss…like why. What does that bring to the table. It all just irritated me.

Book 3 Frayed

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Willing Sacrifice by Latrexa Nova

3 Stars

Willing Sacrifices is a collection of the first four novellas of Sacrificed to Monster Gods, including the prequel, Enthralled by Shadows -- Enthralled by Death, Enflamed by Fire, Ensnared by Dreams & Terrors, and Entrapped by Mythos.

“There is nothing more monstrous than a god.

If you don’t find offerings before the veil between worlds is thinnest… they will eat the world. The planets, the sun, the galaxies beyond, nothing will ever be enough.

Although... there are those who look for what the gods have to offer. Willing sacrifices..."

There was an overall trope of the gods are in need of a good partner to rescue them through smexy time. The first couple of books were good but then the plot became very repetitive by the second and third book and that’s about when my interest fizzled out. Still worth giving it a shot as it was an interesting read.

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Dangerous Heat by Olivia Lewin

4 Stars

Trapped and taunted with a deadly heat barrelling toward me, I’m separated from the only men I’ve ever trusted.

Handing myself over to the enemy didn’t go as planned.

My captor isn’t the cruel man I thought he was. Shan is lost in the past, insistent on dealing with his trauma alone. Caspian is fighting against his nature, putting us all at risk. Ozzy is growing distant and restless, but is silenced by his curse. Emmett is battling to keep everyone together.

As past actions threaten to tear apart our tentative trust, one question hangs over my head…

Am I safer staying put, or trying to escape?

All I know for certain is for this heat, it’ll be far too dangerous alone.

Loved where this book went with Freya. It’s interesting to see the growth and changes that happen with the characters. There are twists and turns in it that made me so happy. This book is more a book about relationship development than the story moving forward but it was still worth the read. It still ends on a cliffhanger.

Book 2 Frayed

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Dragon’s Bride by Alex Lidell

4 Stars

A bargain struck. A pact made. Now the dragon princes must forge me into a bride.

Except dragons’ brides are molded from childhood—while Tavias’s pack has mere weeks to make me into a passable one. To teach me to fight. To behave. To mate.

As our ship slices through the perilous sea toward the Equinox Trials, the danger isn’t confined to evil creatures in the ocean’s depth. Here, aboard a naval ship, I discover more than I bargained for. Friendship. Fear. Lessons in intimacy that awaken desires I never knew existed.

I’m in this for one reason only. To win my freedom. I know better than to lose my heart. Don’t I?

The book started right where 1 ended. We get more of their traveling and a whole lot of steam. You see a deeper connection between Kit and most of the dragons. Without spoilers I saw the way the book ended the way it did and how it all played out, but I loved the way it got there. It does end on another cliff, and I can’t wait for books 3 and 4.

Book 2 Her Royal Dragon Pack

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