That Feeling by Alexis Winter

3 Stars

I've broken wild horses that were easier to tame than Brooklyn Dyer.
The moment she conquered my mechanical bull in those tight jeans and that ridiculous tourist cowboy hat, I knew she was trouble.

The kind of trouble you spend all night praying never ends and a decade trying to forget.

But Monday morning brings a punch to the gut I never saw coming—she's sitting across from me at our family brewery's board meeting. Not just as some new hire, but as our social media director with plans to make me the damn poster boy for Slade Brewing.

I've spent 37 years mastering this ranch and my emotions—I don't need some city girl with marketing schemes and dangerous curves dismantling both.

Yet here I am, shirtless on my horse while she snaps photos, thinking about how badly I want to bend her over my saddle.

I told myself not to give in, but those full hips and that attitude of hers make me want to misbehave.
She's a defiant little thing that needs to learn a lesson about teasing a man like me.

She’s one of those girls alright—Mysterious, driven, all kinds of sexy.

Just when I let my guard down, her ex appears with a ring, I discover she's carrying my child, and a bullet meant for someone else nearly ends it all.

They say a cowboy's greatest strength is knowing when to hold on tight and when to let go. But with Brooklyn, I'm beginning to think some feelings are worth fighting for—even if it might destroy us both.

This is a generous 3 stars because it was an interesting take on age gap. I skimmed some as there is a huge pacing issue. They were all in within the first half of the book and Brooklyn does end up pregnant almost immediately after they hook up. I also was not a huge fan of Brooklyn. She was too … brass is the best word I can come up with. She was almost bratty in her attitude but not in a good way. She goes in planning on manipulating Tyler to get what she wants, and it rubs me the wrong way. The rest of the book is about other dramas in the community. I did like the writing style so I will probably pick up something else and see if they are better.

Book 1 Slade Brothers

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Stone by Anna Hackett

4 Stars

He’s the new silver fox recruit at Sentinel Security.

The hot, tough former Marine Raider.

And he won’t touch her because he works with her brother.

Real estate agent Magnolia “Nola” Newhouse has it all. Okay, not quite all. She loves her work, has a growing collection of designer heels, and is about to become an aunt…she’s just missing the love of her life. She’s watched her brother and her best friend fall in love, and Nola wants that too.

When she first sees the big, rugged silver fox across the bar, she feels an instant connection, and knows he does too. They share a passionate kiss, then he discovers who her brother is…

A short and sweet short story. I loved seeing Nola and Stone get their HEA. Plus seeing all the original characters was amazing to read up on what they are up to. The only downside was it was too short. I wanted more of the story and the characters.

Book 6.5     Sentinel Security

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Echo by Seven Rue

1 Star

No one would be looking for me.

Or so I thought.

I ran away from the vile man my mother left me with, hoping to start over again in a different town.

But deep in the Alaskan wilderness, where I chose to run off to, there wasn’t a place I could settle down.

After days of walking and getting lost, I found shelter in a cabin, far away from civilization.

Until one day, they arrived.

Three brothers, one stronger and more complex than the other. They let me stay, and the more time that past, the closer I got to each of them. I soon realized that all three had an effect on me, and I couldn’t deny the feelings I felt when I was around them.

Our bond grew strong, and before leaving the cabin to go home with them, they promised me to keep me safe forever. But when the two people I wanted to leave behind came looking for me, promising me to be a family again, I had to decide if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with them, or the three men who took care of me.

I struggled with this book. Between her and the guys ages plus how sheltered she was it was a whole lot of ick. Add in how FMC was tracked it all made 0 sense. It is a skip for me.

Book 1 Echo

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Never Fall for the Bride’s Father by Julia Kent

3 Stars

Power outages. Runaway brides. Collapsed wedding cakes. Tainted caviar. Handsy grooms. And the always classic: jealous MILs who wear white. No wedding catastrophe can faze Katie Gallagher, because when you plan for the worst, you deliver the best.

The best wedding ever.

Her company, Wedding Protectors, Inc., promises happily ever afters. Guaranteed. Whatever it takes. But always-prepared Katie? She’s steering clear of her own HEA. Years of dating older, wealthy, alpha businessmen who treat her like an ornament has left a bad taste in her mouth.

And some bruises on her ego. Love is her job. Not her destiny. So when she falls for silver fox and self-made millionaire Patrick Cooper, she breaks a rule so taboo, it doesn’t technically exist: Never fall for the bride’s father.

Enter Patrick, a widowed art dealer with salt-and-pepper charm. He can't resist trying to share an Uber with the captivating, enticingly stubborn blonde. Their encounter? Classic enemies-to-lovers. Sparks fly, but not the good kind... at first.

Starting off on the wrong foot left a terrible impression, but when a series of coincidences pushes them together, the more time they spend with each other, the more the lines blur.

Chance favors the risk-takers, so when he takes a leap of faith and gets a passionate kiss that rocks his world, Katie opens closed doors in his heart.

Can he really have a new soulmate — Or is this just a May-December fling?

 

I loved how the books started with the conflict between Katie and Patrick. Patrick was a major dick and stole her uber. He tries to make it up to her but it’s too little to late for Katie. They eventually find out who the other is which leads to Patrick really trying to make it up to her. It was a fine book after this conflict, but I felt it missed the mark for a really good book. I never felt like there was a big connection between them as there is such a jump in the timeline. You don’t see them spending a ton of time together and that led me to feel like it was mostly lust and not love. The first book could get away with this style as they were a second chance at love with a past. Katie and Patrick don’t have that and needed more screen time to get that connection. Still love Julia Kent and will look forward to her next one.

Book 2 Whatever It Takes

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Knotty New Year by Merri Bright

4 Stars

Candy just wants to live her life to the best, but her designation means other people get to tell her what to do and when to do it. When she and her friends start a business to be betasitters she feels like she’s finally taking her life into her own hands. Her first job is for a billionaire who happens to be her fated mate and they end up snowed in. He’s grumpy and wants nothing to do with her until her heat hits. When it’s done Nicholas walks away thinking he’s giving her the choices she wants but instead hurts her. When he finally realizes his error can he fix things with her without more problems?

Spicy Snowed in, age, gap, omegaverse book that’s worth reading. Nicholas is an ass through most of the book but he pulls out a super sweet move to win her over just to royally fuck it all up. He sort of makes up for the later mess but not really for the issues he caused. I loved Candy and all her friends. I also loved Nicholas’ siblings. The siblings are all so welcoming to her and want to take care of her all while bashing their brother. I kind of want more books with all of them. Can’t wait for the next book.

Book 2 Billionaire’s Betasitter

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Nothing Feels Better by Brit Benson

3 Stars

Joss is just trying to survive her abusive ex. He wants to ruin her for daring to leave. She has to worry about her kids and doesn’t have time for romance. When she meets Jesse he’s younger than her and definitely not going to be forever as he’s going to med school out of state. When things get serious between them can they find away to get their HEA?

This was a cute age gap single mom story. Joss was in a lose/lose situation and was trying to do the best she could while divorcing her abusive ex. She was not expecting to find and fall for Jesse. There was a lot of drama with this one was fun to read. Jesse and Joss had to decide what was most important to them and that would change everything for both of them. The ending was just perfect.

Part of Better Love

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Heliacle Rising by C.C. Davie

2.5 Stars

Amylia has been raised to be the wife of Lord Drakon’s son. She and her brother have been his ward since their family was slaughtered. She knows she once had magic but doesn’t now. When some magical people show up to make a deal with the lord her life is thrown for a loop. Secrets are revealed and Amylia will never be the same again.

This was an interesting read. There were parts of the book that I enjoyed but more that were just no for me. One of my biggest issues was how the sexual assault was handled. There was no warning that it was going to happen and then it was just brushed aside after her rescue. They acted like it never happened. That was the biggest issue but there were others. FMC was weak and also very stupid. I didn’t like her love interested either as it was an older established couple. It came across as grooming. It would be a skip for future books for me.

Book 1 The Wytchling Chronicles

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Sunshine’s Grump by Merri Bright

4 Stars

Giovanni is very wealthy and grumpy man. He’s tired of people taking advantage of those he love. His sister is marrying a man he hates and wants to stop her but can’t and they need a betasitter for his niece. He hires a new company that is supposed to be all betas. One he wasn’t expecting was Soleil. She’s not a beta but an omega who loves children and is the light of the room. He wants her but is too old for her and far too grumpy. Will he bend for her?

I loved this story. Soleil is just trying to be different than what the world expects of her. She wants her business and to take care of herself. I loved the give and take she has with Giovanni and how she wins over those in his life. One of the best parts of the book was Giovanni willingly letting her walk away to live her best life even though they were fated and it will harm him. I also loved the smack down Soleil’s mom did with the dad when he was being a dick about Soleil having a business. It was one of the best parts of the book. Can’t wait for the sequel with her BFF as I need to know what happened to her while Soleil had her adventure.

Book 1 The Billionaire's Betasitter

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Jinxed by Yve Vale

 

4 Stars

After the magical attack that nearly took Shay’s life they are trying to discover what and who was behind the attack. The guys are determined to keep her safe and get her trained to protect herself. She also wants all her men but can she be mated to more than just the dragon?

This book starts right where book 1 ended. It does end in a cliffhanger again but not a bad one perse. I loved the development the characters made in this book. I loved the arc with Rourke and Brandon. They do better in this one and it’s interesting to get their in thoughts as to why they were doing what they were doing. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out in book 3. Definitely worth picking up and reading.

Book 2 Shadowcraft Academy

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King’s Spinster Bride by Ruby Dixon

3 Star

Princess Halla of Yshrem watched her kingdom fall but saved the barbarian boy’s life. Her life was spared, and she was forgotten for 16 years. Now 16 years later she lives her life in solitude. The barbarian boy is now 24 and King of the Cyclopae. Mathior is told to kill the last remaining member of the royal family to calm the citizens of Yshrem instead he decides to follow his heart and marry her.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. There is a lot of spice and the characters are easy to like but I wanted more world building. I really liked that she was older than Mathior. I liked they were so enthralled with each other. It was worth the read.

Book 1 Royal Wedding

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Saving the Omega; Claiming the Omega; Finding the Omega by Mina Carter

 

3 Star

Doing all 3 of these books as one review as you literally cannot read 1 without reading all 3. Together they make a full length book individually they do not. It was like the author took a book and found two spots in the book that made sense to cut and started the next book there which is frustrating for me with how expensive the books were without being complete. The author does say it is a serialized story.

Representine ruined Neve’s life. She went from being married to a beta and being a beta for years to being divorced and left with nothing. Forced to get a job after being a stay-at-home mom for years, she ends up at Alpha Security working for Alphas Mason and Dante who were childhood friends of her son. They are too young and hot for their own good and Neve craves them when she shouldn’t. What she doesn’t know is Mason and Dante have wanted her for years and feel now is the time to get what they want. They don’t care that she’s a beta they just want her. When her ex starts sniffing around her again, they will do whatever they can to keep her safe. What they don’t plan on is her being snatched off the street. Will they get her back in time?

Overall, I enjoyed this dark omega book. I like Neve, Mason, and Dante. Neve comes into her own by the end of the book, but she does start out quite wimpy and lets herself be walked over. I loved that Mason and Dante didn’t care about her age or that she was a beta. They just wanted her for her. Which is why HUGE SPOILER FOR THE BOOKS DO NOT READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW

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You’ve been warned

She flips to omega and the author explains how that is possible but it irritated me. I like the books where the odd designation ends up getting the love of their life and this was working out that way until Neve became an omega. I still enjoyed the story and will eventually pick up book four and read it.

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Books 1-3

Guardian Queen by Dana Marton

 

3.5 Star

Tera and Batumar are back on their island. They are need to liberate their people and take out their enemies. This is their final fight and they need to do whatever they need to do. Will they be able to take back their island without losing everything?

For me this part was a little bit on the slow side just like book 2 was. It does conclude the story nicely and I like how it ends and I did like the writing of the author. I just wish it'd been more concise and more compact between book 2 and book 3. Overall really good series to read loved this series would read it again in a heartbeat makes me wish that the author had more books out that are paranormal fantasy type versus suspense romance.

Book 3 Hardstrom Saga

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Bentley by Melanie Moreland

 

3 Star

Three young men meet in college. Each have been shaped by their past. Bentley has always followed the same routine until he meets Emmy. She allows him to be spontaneous and free. When Aiden and Mattox meet her for the first time they see the draw and want her just as much as Bentley. When trouble arises in the men’s' business and that leads to concerns for Emmy's safety will they be able to keep her safe?

Quick and easy read. The bad guy was obvious from the beginning for me. My biggest issues with the book was it relied to much on the tropes to squeak by. Rich guys meet free spirit fall madly in Love. Business deal problems cause danger to FMC. SPOILER

 

 

The bad guy is someone the guys trust and have known for years who feels screwed over. That's the extent of the book, Not a lot of world or character building. Worth a read if you're looking for a straight romance.

Book 1 Vested Interested

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Blue Love by Leona Page

 

2 Star

Heather knows she’s not good enough for Reid. She was raised by the town whore, and he was wealthy golden boy of the town. It was barely tolerated for her to be friends with Reid’s younger brother. She spends her time taking care of her little brother Will. She tries to do whatever she can to give him a good life even if it means walking away from him. When she finds out he was being abused she takes him and runs. Reid has tried to stay away from her for years thinking she had something going on with his brother until he finds that to be a lie. Then she runs. He will chase after her until he can have her. Will they find a way to have a happy ending?

Holy crap this book was all over the place. It had so many issues with the timeline and not being clear on when it was. It made it hard to follow the story. Not to mention it jumps ahead several times and it led to a major disconnect in feeling the relationship made sense. On the relationship Reid literally spends most of the time “dating” someone else which leads to Heather staying away thinking he was happy. It was incredibly frustrating. Definitely not worth the time it took to read.

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