Thursday, April 26, 2018

One for the Rogue by Manda Collins

One for the Rogue by Manda Collins

⭐️⭐️⭐️

An overall enjoyable read, even if the middle dragged.

I had been looking forward to this title since Cam and Gemma’s meeting in the last title. It wasn’t necessarily a disappointment, but I was still somehow expecting more.

I expected more fireworks given how much Gemma seemed to dislike Cam when they first met but they barely argued after that first meeting and I felt a little robbed.

I also don’t feel like I know either character any more now than I did at the beginning. Cam is supposedly a rogue but I don’t know what was supposed to be so roguish about him. And Gemma was stubborn. Those are their defining characteristics.

I did enjoy the mystery surrounding the fossil and didn’t know who did it (though I had my guesses) until the very end.

I will be reading more from Manda Collins.

*I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

                                                 -Reader

Monday, April 16, 2018

The Bride Takes a Groom by Lisa Berne

The Bride Takes a Groom by Lisa Berne

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The first half of this book was excellent which is why I gave it three stars. It went off the rails for the second half, however, and made it a much more tedious read in the end.

The plot in the blurb was resolved around the 40% mark. Part of what kept me reading up to that point was my curiosity as to whether Katherine became a better person or not. I was looking forward to watching Katherine and Hugo get to know each other again and fall in love. Somehow I felt robbed of that.

Katherine is beyond awful at the beginning. She’s a complete snob to everyone. But you know what? By the end I found myself liking her much more and realized she didn’t truly know who she was either. And I even kind of felt bad for judging her.

Hugo was crazy laid back throughout the entire book and very few things rattled him. And that’s about all I really learned about him. That, and the fact he loves his family.

A TON of stuff happened in this book. Unfortunately, this made it seem as if the author just threw a bunch of scenarios into a bowl and then randomly picked one as she went along. I praise her for trying a different formula than H and h meet, conflict happens, conflict resolves but I kind of prefer it. Especially when there are lots of small conflicts that only last a chapter or two before their resolution.

If you love letters written between characters, this book is for you. I happen to love this but there were just too many letters. I got to the point that I was skipping them completely.

Though this wasn’t really my cup of tea, I will still read Lisa Berne again.

                                                    -Reader

*I received an eARC from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

How to Forget a Duke by Vivienne Lorret

Vivienne Lorret-How to Forget a Duke

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely adored this title and can not wait for the next in the series!!

I am not the biggest fan of memory loss books but somehow Ms. Lorret made this one work.

Crispin was my favorite type of hero; grumbly, hiding his emotions, but unable to allow anyone he cares about to be hurt. His attempts to not care made the moments he let his emotions show even sweeter.

I really liked Jacinda, too, even if I felt she was being a bit of an idiot by refusing to rest. Her extreme nosiness kind of blew my mind but she won me over in the end.

Sometimes I really enjoy a story that isn’t all balls and parties, and this one didn’t have any of that. There was lots of action, however, and I loved it. It was very hard to stop reading because I just had to know what was going to happen next.

I will definitely be checking out the next in this series!!

                                                        -Reader

*I received an eARC from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Monday, April 2, 2018

What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell

What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lenora Bell is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

This book was a delight from beginning to end.  I found it to be an easy and fun read without a lot of angst.

I liked Mari (although her pronunciation of her name drove me insane) and Edgar. I did feel like she had a bit more personality than he did but since this is a spin on Mary Poppins that’s to be expected. I did enjoy that Edgar was very growly. I often find children in romances to be either obnoxious or too precocious to be believable but I liked both of Edgar’s children in this book.

I felt like the problems they both faced throughout the story were real problems but they did seem to be a little too easily solved by the end. It was as if everything just fell into place a little too quickly without either the hero or heroine doing anything to bring the HEA about.

I am beyond excited to read India’s story in the next book and will definitely be doing so!

                                                       -Reader

*I received an eARC from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.