COMING HOME TO MUSTANG RIDGE by Jesse Hayworth

 

Publisher:    Signet

Published:   August 4, 2015

ISBN:        978-0451470829

Genre:       Contemporary Romance

Format:     Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE HEARTS

Ashley Webb hasn’t had the most steady of lives, mainly because of her own actions.

Tyler – Ty – Reed has spent a lifetime running. Running from commitment, running from people, running from anything there is to run from.

Artistically talented and creative, Ashley has decided it’s time to settle down, pick a goal and follow it through.  She’s put everything on the line to buy Another Fyne Thing—a vintage clothing store in Mustang Ridge.

Ty has returned to Mustang Ridge to help out an old friend, Foster, by leading trial rides and doing what needs to be done at the Mustang Ridge ranch. 

When Ty and Ashley meet it’s not a pretty sight—at least the second time, which no one else really knows about. The first time they met was actually pretty steamy hot…but with Ashley trying to start on a new path, the last thing she wants is for anyone to know about one very hot kiss she shared with Ty at her brother’s wedding. And Ty certainly doesn’t want any ties to the town—once his summer helping out Foster is over, he’s on his way to a new adventure. 

But the residents of Mustang Ridge see the potential for true love when others may not see it and despite Ty and Ashley’s best efforts they see what these two people who have spent lifetimes running don’t. Can Ty and Ashley stop running long enough to see what is in front of them?

I’ve been reading Jesse Hayworth’s Mustang Ridge series since book 1 and have enjoyed each and every read.  Her characters have so much emotion, so much passion for their lives and each story has warmth that reaches into the reader’s heart. 

RETURN TO MUSTANG RIDGE was a good story—but something was missing.  I didn’t connect to Ty or Ashley. While I understood why they took the paths they did—especially when their own histories were revealed, I still felt they were self-absorbed and just no someone I really wanted to know. Something was missing.  It’s not a bad story—just not the best.  I will definitely continue with the series if more books come out—Hayworth is a favorite author after all.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

LOVING A LAWMAN by Amy Lillard

Publisher:      Signet  

Published:     June 5, 2016  

ISBN:        978-1101990933

Genre:       Contemporary Romance

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE HEARTS

 

Jessie McAllen has been in love with Chase Langston her whole life. From the day he rescued from the wild coyote and took care of her scrapped knees he’s held her heart.  Well okay, the coyote was actually a dog and not a dangerous one at that, but at 7 what can you say?  From that moment on she was Chase’s girl…even though Chase didn’t always see her as his one and only.  In fact, more often than not he treated her pretty bad.

Sheriff Seth Langston is at the point in his life where it’s getting on time to settle down.  There’s Darly Jo who has made herself more than available to him what with her casseroles and not so subtle suggestions they become a couple.  And then there’s high school girlfriend, Millie, who has returned to town.  And a host of others…but the one he wants, the one he knows is the only woman for him is out of reach.  He will not, under any circumstances, step between his brother Chase and his girl.

But when Chase turns his back on Jessie, Seth begins to find that no matter how much your head tells you “no”, your heart may not always listen…and sometimes we just have to listen to our hearts.

My first love in romance has always been westerns.  Primarily historical westerns, but I do enjoy a good contemporary western romance so how could I resist picking up Amy Lillard’s LOVING A LAWMAN.  The beginning was a lot of how hard Jessie McAllen’s life has been.  It became a bit too much.  For a twenty-something woman she seemed awful young to me.  But when her story started to unfold I began to admire her determination to do the right thing. 

Seth’s dilemma of falling for his brother’s girl was interestingly presented. Except for his interactions with her through their lives I didn’t see why he was so in love with her.  They just never connected with me.  I did enjoy the scenes with Darly Jo – haven’t we all had one of her in our lives?  And I liked Millie a lot.  Hopefully they will have more of a presence in future books. There were some solid hints about what was coming with Chase and Seth’s brother Jake – I’m looking forward to his story as well as just what happened with Chase and his most recent hook up.

LOVING A LAWMAN is not your action packed kind of western.  There are a couple of love scenes that would be appropriate for introducing a teen to romance. 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

A COVERT AFFAIR by Katie Reus

Deadly Ops Series #5
Signet Books, March 2016
Paperback
Obtained via:  publisher
ISBN:  0451475461
ISBN13: 9780451475466
Romantic Suspense
****




Katie Reus is back with another Deadly Ops romantic suspense, A COVERT AFFAIR, a book about second chances, looking beneath the surface and never giving up.

Undercover NSA agent Nathan Ortiz has come home to Miami after being wounded in action; healed and ready to get back in the game.  He is shocked when his new mission finds him working with his one love who got away and he has yet to get over.  A successful restaurateur, Amelia Rios, has never forgotten her roots and makes sure she does what she can to help struggling women.  When yet another woman in a string of women she hired fails to show up for work, Amelia is forced to realize Nathan might be on to something.  Together they must confront old feelings as they battle a ruthless enemy preying on the weak and defenseless.

Katie Reus is a wonderful storyteller and her Deadly Ops series is fast paced, romantic and exciting.  In A COVERT AFFAIR, we have two storylines running parallel to each other.  Firstly, there is the main story why the NSA has been called in; the missing women.  While it appears that a gentleman with questionable ethics is dating Amelia, the NSA’s “in” with him, everything about him points to his innocence.  Still, the thread must be followed and she is willing to go along with their plan, especially since she recognizes their operative from years ago.  The other story is of course is the story of how they know each other and if there is any chance of kindling that romance again as the sparks are definitely still there.  As these two stories run simultaneously, the tension runs high for both characters and questions just keep popping up everywhere.  As facts are uncovered, the picture becomes more and more disturbing.  Reus really did a magnificent job of keeping readers on the edge of their seats throughout the story.

The only disappointing part of this story for this reader was that I really sort of liked the NSA’s target bad guy and he was sort of just left dangling at the end of the book.  He deserved better from everyone involved.  Perhaps he was a criminal, perhaps not.  Still, he treated Amelia very well and really deserved better treatment in return.  If nothing else, he deserved some closure that never came.  Enough said.

That aside, Katie Reus A COVERT AFFAIR was a fast paced and very suspenseful romance that had this reader guessing right up until the big reveal.  This a series worth every penny spent.


Reviewed by T. Barringer
tammyLRM@gmail.com

"This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book."

 

CITY OF LIGHT by Keri Arthur

An Outcast Novel Book One

Signet Select

January 5^th, 2016

978-0-451-47350-9

Fantasy/Paranormal/Urban Fantasy/Dystopian

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained by Library

4 Hearts



When the species war ended, life as we knew it was over and a new reality became the norm. The species war tore holes in the veil between this world and the next, allowing others to come through, others that were what we called wraiths, demons and death spirits. We were their new hunting grounds. A hundred years flew by and now shifters and humans live together amid artificially lit cities that keep the darkness at bay.

As a breed of humanoid super soldiers called dechet, Tiger has spent her life hiding in the shadows of Central city. She is determined to keep her head down, protect her home and the ghosts who live there until she is drawn into a mystery after saving a little girl on the outskirt of town one night. Now Tiger has to figure out why the wraiths are taking children into the rifts because as far as Tiger and the world knew, wraiths do not like daylight and if they are abducting children in the light of day then the world is in mortal danger. Because if the light they have come to rely on is not protecting them any longer, then being safe is just about to become memory.

Holy moly what a rush CITY OF LIGHT was to read. Ms. Arthur is one of my favorite authors yet I had found her past few books to be off her game a little. Not so with her introduction to her Outcast series. CITY OF LIGHT is a blend of paranormal and fantasy that melds together like toast and jam. She weaves her magic around the reader with an intriguing story line that hooks you right from the start and the characters just fly off the pages. She captivated me until the very end of the book and I couldn’t put the book down, even to go make dinner. What I love about this book was the mixture of characters. You got Tiger, who is a dechet or super soldier that has long thought she is one of the last few surviving dechets out there, Jonas who is as mysterious as they come and his allies who have their own agenda for Tiger. But it was Tiger I really fell in love with. Strong, tough yet melts when she is with her little ones in her bunker. She was a contrast of hard and soft that I just loved. She was quite a contrast that just intrigued me and I really wanted to know more about her. Her interactions with Jonas and his allies just kept me hooked even as the danger went up several notches and the sparks flew between Jonas and Tiger. The world building was phenomenal. This author didn’t dump a bunch of information on you all at once but gradually worked into the story line so that it came out in moments you least expected. It was a welcome change to say the least in my opinion.

CITY OF LIGHT is a wonderful introduction to Ms. Arthur’s new series and as you proceed through the book, you gradually learn what happened to the world and the ramifications on the world today. Ms. Arthur delivers a well written, wild ride in CITY OF LIGHT that completely left me breathless as I flipped pages to see what would happen next for Tiger and the rest of the characters. After reading a few books of this author and felt like I was not as invested as I was in her Riley Jensen series, I was thrilled to find that I just loved this new book and can not wait to see where she takes these characters next because the ending alone will leave you gasping in shock as you race to the computer to see when book two comes out.

If you enjoy a fantasy based dystopian book filled with characters that take your breath away then you need to run and grab this book. I promise you won’t want to sleep much less do anything else until you are done with CITY OF LIGHT.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement