Heart of Curiosities by Karice Bolton

2 Stars

Amelia Evans knew one day she’d come back to help at her family’s Antiques and Baubles on Curiosity Bay. She just didn’t expect it to happen after her fiancé leaves her for her best friend, her apartment burns down, and her trusty ride of over a decade wheezes its last breath.

With her sisters welcoming her into the fold, she realizes the island’s coveted antique store might just be the place to mend her broken heart.

But when an exotic vase arrives with something special inside, she knows she needs to find the rightful owner. There’s no way he would ever have let this go. She just never expects it to be…him.

When James Edwards hears from an antique dealer regarding his family’s belongings, he ignores the call. After all, everyone’s been after him since his mom’s death to get a piece of his family’s rare collectibles.

And that was the least of his worries. Between his own life imploding and his future not what he ever expected for his small son, he doesn’t have time to worry about an expensive vase.

It isn’t until the woman shows up at his doorstep that he realizes there’s more to it than he realizes, but the mystery surrounding the woman holding the vase is as intriguing as the one he wishes he could solve.

This was an interesting story idea, but it had a massive pacing issue. The beginning and ending were good but getting there took way too long. The ending was also a little bit weird. I liked the main characters and wanted to love this book but with the pacing issue it made it hard to read this book. Overall meh.

Book 1 Curiosity Bay

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One Last Shot by Julia Connors

2 Stars

She thought he would always be there for her until he abandoned her. Fourteen years later he’s back and saying we’re married, and he needs her help adopting his niece. When she accidentally screws up the childcare, he has set up she opts to stay and help. Will she want to leave when everything is settled?

I get the idea of this and it’s an interesting concept, but it’s poorly implemented. Things are alluded to but never said. The only character I enjoyed was the niece. Beyond the story issues there were errors in the book that needed to be fixed. Including trimming it down a bit. There is a trigger warning about harm to a child and if this is an issue for you skip this one.

Book 3 Frozen Hearts

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Prickly Romance by Nia Arthurs

3 Stars

Ryotaro is a music legend that is forcing me to help him and his daughter. If I don’t I may not be able to graduate from college if I don’t help. The more time I spend with them the more I want to spend with them. When an allegation is made against me that would hurt his business will he stand up for me?

This was a straight romance book between two musically gifted people. Nothing big or special but a solid read. I was so angry with Ryotaro antics through most of the book. He uses his wealth and influence to get what he wants and when she needs him the most, he abandons Dejonae and leaves her to stress about her future. He eventually figures it all out and makes it up to her. I wish she had held out a little longer before forgiving him because of how he was but I still enjoyed the read.

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Keep by Anna Hackett

4 Stars

Macy knows life is too short and refuses to be down about anything. She’s sunshine and daisies about everything. Colton Fury is the opposite. He knows how hard life can be and that not everything works out the way you plan. He has too much on his plate to be fantasizing about his assistant but when she starts getting weird calls and someone breaks into her home all bets are off. He will do anything to keep her safe.

I absolutely loved Ember and Colton. They are so opposite that they work together. The story was well written and I loved the struggle between Colton and Ember. Neither of them wanted something permanent and they fought it so hard but fail epically. The one big issue I had was how the bad guy is caught. Ember does something that is too stupid to live. It all works out and I am going to overlook it for the rest of the story being so good. Can’t wait for the next brother.

Book 2 Fury Brothers

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Love You More by Julia Kent

 

4 Star

With a cursed love life Colleen Luview is tired of being alone but no one wants to chance ending up in her ER after 3 dates. She thinks she finally is going to get past the curse when she ends up seeing the guy she's dating get hit by a car at the airport. She's their to pick up Moore and wasn't expecting to see her could of been get hit by a car and break up with her. One their way home Moore and Colleen end up stranded during a blizzard. They almost died and this brings a change to their relationship. When they are rescued will they go back to being just friends or will they go for more?

LOVED Colleen and Moore. I loved seeing their relationship grow and change. They had to deal with several issues in their relationship to be together. Collen and Moore's kid were awesome together. The big blow up was interesting and I liked that the forgiveness was almost instantly because everything was put into perspective when Moore was injured. I would have liked more of an ending then we got but overall, an enjoyable story. One of my biggest grumble was how Luke responded to their relationship. He was a major jerk. Luke needs to be given a good swift kick for his actions. Overall, a good addition to the series. Can't wait for Colleen's brother to get his book.

Book 3 Love you, Maine

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Ignite by Melanie Harlow

 

 

3 Star

Winnie has sworn off men. She's got the worst luck in love and she's trying to get everything else in life set. Then she gets anew neighbor. He just so happens to be a firefighter, single father, and the grumpiest man alive. Dex is just trying to give his girls a happy life after the divorce. His ex micromanages everything with the girls. What he doesn't need is a hot next door neighbor who makes him want more but do they want the same things?

I enjoyed this book for the most part. One of the reasons for just an ok rating was the Dex literally loses his everloving mind repeatedly and yelling at everyone around him including his two kids. It’s verbal abuse an apology doesn’t resolve him of the trauma that he does. If it was a one off, it would have been fine, but it wasn’t. The writing was good, and the world building was interesting so I will check out the other books in the series.

Book 6 Cloverleigh Farms

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