5 SMOOCHES!

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SYNOPSIS:

His Wranglers fit him like a glove. A really tight, leaving nothing to the imagination, glove. Codie wants nothing more than to shove that Wrangler-covered butt straight into the mud.

Ace Valentine has a smart mouth, a devil-may-care attitude, and those wicked eyes aimed directly at her.

She doesn’t know what to do with that kind of attention. Especially not from the sweet-talking man that has no problem charming every woman that enters his orbit—everyone but her, at least.

Ace isn’t sure why Codie Spears had her panties in a twist when it comes to him, but every snub and insult she hurls his way brings him closer and closer to falling for her.

He’s not sure what it is about the town’s bad girl that draws his attention, but every encounter they have leaves him wanting her until there’s nothing else left to do but have her.

The only thing is, she’s been convinced by everyone around her that she’s not good enough. Tell a person that she’s a piece of trash enough times, and eventually she’ll start to believe it. It’s going to take a lot of smooth-talking and gentling on his part to get her to see that she’s worth it. And once he has her where he wants her? Well, she’ll make a mighty fine rancher’s wife.

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REVIEW:

One of my top favorite books by Lani Lynn Vale is Double Tap from her KPD SWAT series. There readers meet the Valentine children, and I’ve been waiting for their stories since. Vale takes readers back into Kilgore, Texas with a fresh spin focusing on a family of cowboys returning to their hometown following an unthinkable tragedy in their childhood. Herd That is the oldest Valentine, Ace’s, story.

Vale painted a story of two town outsiders finding acceptance and love in each other. They made such a great pair, always having each other’s backs and standing strong in the face of small-town gossip. I loved Ace. He was strong, resolute, and even dealing with his own demons, he was so sure that Codie was the girl for him even when she wasn’t. He was swoony and sexy, a little bit growly and a perfectly alpha-sweet Texas cowboy. Codie is a changed person since her wayward teen days, and she just wants a quiet life in her hometown so she can be close to her aging grandfather.

Herd That was full of all the playful banter, sizzling chemistry and hilarious humor I love from Lani. She brings readers back to a favorite fictional world with an inspiring story that blends the old with the new. I loved everything about Ace and Codie’s story, and I can’t wait for the rest of the Valentine boys! Five smooches from me for Herd That by Lani Lynn Vale!

~Danielle Palumbo

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5 SMOOCHES!

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SYNOPSIS:

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REVIEW:

I am a huge fan of Devney Perry’s writing style. Richly developed and interesting plots, vividly described details, intriguing characters and a heartfelt romance—what’s not to love? Perry definitely excels at bringing the whole picture to life for her readers on the page, and one of the ways she does that is by giving them the opportunity to really get to know her characters through careful and deliberate introductions to them. Perry’s storytelling generally includes a suspenseful element, but this series thus far has been structured around an exciting suspense plot that has encompassed the first two books. Readers looking to dive into Riven Knight need to know that they must read Gypsy King first.

Riven Knight picks up Isiah and Genevieve’s story where it began in Gypsy King, as Isaiah and Genevieve, for the lack of a better description considering this situation is anything but convenient, enter into a marriage of convenience. I’m sorry, but I just cannot bring myself to give out any more details about the plot than that. Anything I say will be a spoiler, and this is one story that needs to be read and experienced as the author intends – without any advance warning of where the story is going to go. I’ll tell you that there were parts of the story where I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what would happen next. There were turns and twists and bumps in the road that had me up and out of my seat, pacing the floor as I read. There were shades of gray that eventually fleshed out an image that couldn’t be misconstrued as anything but black and white.

Perry stitched this enthralling, unputdownable plot together with the fragile strings of love. Isaiah and Genevieve came to each other with their own sets of heavy baggage. The thing that held them together, though, was the nightmare they experienced together. There was no one to lean on but each other, and while awkward at times, they were forced to find a way because there wasn’t any other option. Slowly, oh so deliciously slowly, the chemistry between them began to smoke and build until it burned hotter than either had ever imagined. They grew closer, and what was once for show began to feel very real. These feelings between them were unexpected, slightly uncomfortable, sometimes unwanted, but wholly unavoidable. Perry did a fantastic job of allowing this moving and beautifully portrayed love story to unfurl organically by never rushing this couple down the road to romance, and just allowing them to take their time getting there.

Riven Knight picks up the gauntlet laid down in Gypsy King, and it was an extraordinary addition to this captivating, sexy new series from Devney Perry. A riveting, engrossing suspense plot coupled perfectly with a heart-racing romance into a gripping, all-consuming story that I positively inhaled. Five smooches from me for Riven Knight by Devney Perry!

~Danielle Palumbo

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5 SMOOCHES!

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SYNOPSIS:

Hello, rock?
Meet hard place.

Recuperating from a pulled groin muscle isn’t exactly how I planned to spend my much-needed summer vacation.

But I’ll admit, being nursed back to health by my gorgeous friend Bailey, who’s just graduated from medical school, doesn’t exactly sound like a hardship.

We spend a week together at my family’s beach house, a week of swimming and barbecues, a week of entertaining my little cousins and sleeping right across the hall from each other. A week of watching Bailey grow closer with my mom and sisters, and my wacky but lovable grandma. A week of enjoying Bailey tending to me—which is saying something, because it involves a lot of shoving ice packs into my underwear and taping up sore muscles.

She’s funny and kind, and after just being myself for the first time in a long time, my walls come tumbling down. But when Bailey says she’s not looking for a relationship, I’m bound and determined to be more than just the fun hookup who sprained his groin a second time—this time with her.

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REVIEW:

I am loving Kendall Ryan’s Hot Jocks series so much! Each book has been fresh, fun, original and sexy, and I can’t get enough of these hockey players and their feisty women! The friends-to-lovers trope is a favorite of mine, and Ryan has been combining that theme in these hockey romances with tremendous success.

Asher is sidelined with a few injuries while the rest of the team heads into the playoffs. He wants to head home for a family reunion, but the team requires that a nurse travel with him to oversee his care. In steps recent medical school graduate and his friend, Bailey, who after four years of medical school and on the cusp of starting her residency, could really use a vacation. Heading to southern California to hole up at Asher’s family’s beach house sounds good to her.

I loved Asher and Bailey – their chemistry, their banter – but it was the way that their flirty friendship caught fire that kept me tapping my Kindle. Asher and Bailey’s romance was sweet, swoony and seriously steamy, and I devoured it in a single sitting. Five smooches from me for Crossing the Lines by Kendall Ryan!

~Danielle Palumbo

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5 SMOOCHES!

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SYNOPSIS:

Terminated for inappropriate behavior.

I couldn’t believe the letter in my hands.

Nine years.  Nine damn years I’d worked my butt off for one of the largest companies in America, and I was fired with a form letter when I returned home from a week in Aruba. 

All because of a video taken when I was on vacation with my friends—a private video made on my private time. Or so I thought…

Pissed off, I cracked open a bottle of wine and wrote my own letter to the gazillionaire CEO telling him what I thought of his company and its practices.

I didn’t think he’d actually respond.

I certainly never thought I’d suddenly become pen pals with the rich jerk.

Eventually, he realized I’d been wronged and made sure I got my job back.

Only…it wasn’t the only thing Grant Lexington wanted to do for me. 

But there was no way I was getting involved with my boss’s boss’s boss. Even if he was ridiculously gorgeous, confident, and charming.

It would be completely wrong, inappropriate even.

Sort of like the video that got me into trouble to begin with.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

But sometimes it’s twice as fun.

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REVIEW:

From the first page, I was totally swept up in Ireland and Grant’s romance. I loved how their relationship began with playful, witty banter laced with sexual tension. She always gives her readers a well-written, well-developed witty and sexy story, so it was no surprise that Inappropriate was all of that—and then some.  What began as a flirty, teasingly antagonistic relationship grows into so much more.

Wrongfully terminated from her position as an on-air news anchor, I loved Ireland. She was smart, sharp and she was not afraid to give as good as she got. Grant was the CEO of the company Ireland worked for, and while they tried at first to keep things professional, chemistry like theirs was hard to deny. I loved how their relationship began with playful, witty banter laced with sexual tension. Grant was used to women who basically fell at his feet, who knew going in that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. Then he met Ireland, and it was impossible for him not to let her in, and in doing so, for the first time in years, he finds himself wanting more than the casual flings he’s been having.

But Grant has some seriously devastating, absolutely heartbreaking baggage, and Ireland is coming into this relationship guarding the tattered pieces of her own heart. The fact that they were both so deliberate was what I loved most about this couple – while they absolutely were proceeding with caution, the key here was that they were proceeding. Baby steps lead to purposeful strides, a few stumbles and then finally some leaps of faith, and I felt all the feels and sobbed all the tears as I cheered for this couple the whole way through.

Grant and Ireland’s love story was heartwarming, heart-healing and full of all the hope, passion and emotion I hope for from a highly anticipated contemporary romance. I love Vi’s work, I’ve read the overwhelming majority of her books, but this book is a new top favorite of mine from her. Five smooches from me for Inappropriate by Vi Keeland!

~Danielle Palumbo

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