5 Smooches!

Synopsis

He’s the guy no one likes…

Despite winning two national championships, JR “Ace” Anderson was sent packing from his old school after losing the trust of his coach. At Southern U, he has a second chance to prove that his college legacy isn’t endless debauchery and selfishness. But his reputation precedes him, and his teammates offer a chilly welcome in the locker room. The one person who is willing to accept him is the very woman he should stay away from—his new coach’s daughter.

She’s the girl everyone loves…

Bryant Johnson’s only goal in life is to make others happy, even at her own expense. One look at her father’s new star quarterback, and she knows that Ace is her next project. With a reputation for being a “jerk whisperer”, Bryant has spent her last three years at college reforming sorry behavior and turning bad boys into the best boyfriends ever. In Ace, though, she’s met with surly resistance and a sizzling attraction she doesn’t expect. Fixing this wounded warrior will be her biggest challenge yet. Not falling for him will be even harder.

Between her big heart and his damaged one, a battle is ensuing. In this game of love, every defense will crumble.

REVIEW

THIS BOOK STARTED OUT WITH A BANG!  Literally.  And normally I’m a slow burn kind of girl.  I like for the sexual tension to build and build and finally the couple will kiss at about 75% into the book.  That’s normally my MO.  So I’ll be honest and say that when I first started Downed I was thinking where do we go from here?  Everything just happened so quickly, but this one was still a slow burn in a lot of ways that count and I ended up just adoring it!

One of the main reasons I loved it was because of these amazingly well developed characters.  Bryant is a sweet southern belle with a troubled past and I loved how she wanted to fix everything and everyone.  I think as a woman I sympathized with her and understood her all too well.  And Ace.  Well. He’s a special kind of sports hero.  Because he isn’t loved.  Or really even liked.  He’s not a nice a guy.  He’s done some bad things and for most of the book he doesn’t really try to improve upon who he is.  He’s just him but slowly but surely these two change each other for the good and THAT was the slow burn.

Really liked this one.  Might be my favorite from Jen Frederick yet.  I cannot wait to see what else she has in store for us.  Her love and knowledge of sports is evident in every page of this sports romance!

~Amie

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5 Smooches!

Synopsis

He knows that pain makes you stronger…

Wolf isn’t always a good person, and he doesn’t hesitate to say what’s on his mind.

He is who he is, and he doesn’t offer apologies.

He isn’t out to impress anyone, and he doesn’t make excuses for his actions.

She knows that fear makes you braver…

Raven has made some bad decisions, and she’d give anything to go back in time and choose a different path.

The reality is that she can’t go back, and the day Wolf walks into her life, she finally realizes that maybe she doesn’t want to.

Wolf is everything she’s ever wanted, and the exact opposite of what she needs.

They both know heartbreak makes you wiser…

Wolf knows that this is not a good idea. There are a million reasons—all of them bad—telling him exactly why he should stay away.

But when Raven’s nightmares burst out of her dreams and into her reality, he doesn’t have a choice anymore.

He has to protect her, while somehow protecting his battered heart.

REVIEW

Rusty Nail is the sixth and final installment of Lani Lynn Vale’s Uncertain Saints MC series. I’ve read the entire series and I’ve absolutely loved it. Without question, it was a definite departure from Vale’s usual writing style, and I think the risk she took in putting out something so different paid off. This series is undeniably a bit darker and edgier than what we’ve seen from her previously. She’s tackled some tough topics in these books, and I think she’s done it well. I was excited to see an author whose work I love spread her wings so she can grow as an author, and as I watched the series evolve and unfold, I absolutely think Vale accomplished that. I enjoyed this series tremendously, and Rusty Nail was definitely my favorite of the series.

Readers of this series have been clamoring for Wolf’s story, and I think capping off the series with it was definitely the way to go out with a bang. Like everyone else, I too, have wanted Wolf’s story since he was introduced as a side character in the KPD SWAT series. My interest this character only grew with his supporting role in Controlled Burn, book 4 in her Kilgore Fire series. Portraying these broken, somewhat dark alpha male heroes and helping them find redemption or healing through love is somewhat of a Vale trademark and something she does exceptionally well. And for me, no character has needed that as much as Wolf did.

There were some interesting twists and turns in this story, which is no surprise since Lani really knows how to ratchet up the suspenseful elements in her books. The story was fast-paced and action-packed, and the romance between Raven and Wolf was sexy, sweet and hard fought and won. I absolutely loved them together. What sets Lani apart, though, is her ability to deliver a suspenseful story, touching on a difficult subject, while still weaving in those threads of that humor that is so uniquely hers. No other author has quite the same slightly twisted sense of humor that Vale does. It’s the kind of humor you’d have privately with your best friend or your significant other, and Vale manages to capture that on the page in a such a way as the reader actually experiences it. It’s a special writing ability, and it’s one of the reasons why I love her books so much, I know that I can always count on that from her. Her writing style, her story lines, her characters and that Vale humor is just so different from anything else out there. All of this is on full display in Rusty Nail, and as usual, Vale pulled it all off, pulled it all together and put it all out there, and she did it with spectacular results.

This story ties up the series and puts a period at the end of it. While I’m very sad to see this series come to an end, I’m thrilled with how it did. I just loved Wolf’s story, and it made my heart so happy to see this man get his happily ever after. Lani Lynn Vale’s Rusty Nail gets five smooches from me.

~ Danielle Palumbo

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4 Smooches

Synopsis

The end of the Billionaire Bad Boy era, the series comes to a close.

From Kline and Benny to Wes and Winnie with Thatch and Cassie in between, spend time with the characters that have stolen the hearts of both each other and readers alike, and meet the men of the upcoming spinoff series Mavericks Tackle Love.

Review

Max Monroe has yet again given us a book with heart, humor and so much steam my house windows were fogged after reading it. If you have been falling along in the series than you have already met all the characters in this story and I am confident you have fallen in love with them all. Scoring her is the official end to the series and brings all the story lines together on a fun vacation in the Caribbean.

“It’s okay not to be strong. It’s okay to be sad. But, baby, I want you to remember that no matter what, we will always get through it. No matter what, it will always be me and you, hand in hand, standing side be side and facing every difficulty and challenge together.”

Scoring Her is a fast and fun read that melted my heart. Plus, the dynamic as a group cracked me up and had me laughing out loud. Lexi is probably still the best character ever and if you haven’t met her yet you need to go back and read Scoring The Billionaire ASAP. Lovers of the series don’t want to miss this sweet conclusion to see how each couples ends up. Loved it and I can’t wait to see what Max Monroe brings us next.

~miranda

4 Smooches

Synopsis

The rules of (fake) engagement . . .
Leah Martin has spent her life trying to avoid temptation. But she’s sick of low-fat snacks, counting calories, and her hyper-critical mom. Fortunately, her popular new bakery keeps her good and distracted. But there aren’t enough éclairs in the world to distract Leah from the hotness that is Sam Cooper – or the fact that he just told her mother that they’re engaged . . . which is a big, fat lie.

Sam sometime speaks before he thinks. So what started out as defending Leah’s date-ability to her judgmental mother soon turned into having a fiancee! Now the plan is to keep up the fake engagement, stay “just friends,” and make Leah’s family loathe him enough to just call the whole thing off . But Sam has an insatiable sweet tooth, not only for Leah’s decadent desserts but her decadent curves. Her full lips. Her bright green eyes. Yep, things aren’t going quite according to plan. Now Sam has to convince Leah that he’s for real . . . before their little lie turns into one big, sweet disaster.

Review

‘God, I need to be inside this woman. And with that revelation, his entire existence shattered.’

Size Matters is a delightfully fun story that had me giggling and smiling the entire time I read it. Sam and Leah were just a complete breath of fresh air and while a little communication might have solved many a problem (but really what romance book is this not true for) watching them struggle to get it all right was fun and exciting. Sam was swoony and sexy and curvy baker Leah was a heroine we can all see ourselves in. Plus she had me hooked at FAKE ENGAGEMENT! Anyone else a sucker for that?

Alison Bliss has such smooth and natural comedic timing that the banter and one liners seem to only add to the love story and not distract from it. While stories written in third person are not typically my favorite, I have never had a problem with Alison’s books. Her writing is so fluid and clean that I just get lost in the book.

“Maybe you should tell me what it is you expect me to do.” “I expect you to not tell people we’re engaged when we aren’t.” “Too late.”

Size Matters was a great way to spend a lazy afternoon on the couch and I am beyond excited to get my hands on a copy of On The Plus Side. If the bits of Val that we got in this book are any indication to how great her book will be I am counting the days till I can read it.

~miranda