ARC review: Looking for a Cowboy (Heart of Texas #5)

Looking for a Cowboy (Heart of Texas #5)

By Donna Grant 

Blurb:

A beautiful stranger has come to Clearview, asking questions that are nobody’s business. Cooper

Owens also wasn’t born yesterday. He knows that this out-of-towner is hiding a dark secret of her own. Much as he knows he should head in the other direction, he can’t make himself turn away. . .

P.I. Marlee Frampton always wanted to lead a nice quiet life, working as a cop in her local police department. But that dream came to an end when her sister was murdered―and her baby kidnapped. Now Marlee’s come to Texas to investigate the Harpers, who may be linked to shady adoption agencies. Cooper can’t believe that his friends could be involved in anything so sinister...and soon he makes it his mission to help Marlee discover the truth―and keep her safe in his arms.

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating: 
Review:

The amazing stories of the Harper clan and their extended family of dear friends continues with the tale of a slightly misguided private investigator coming to town and stealing Cooper’s heart. The Heart of Texas series has become one of my favorites by Donna Grant and I am thrilled to see that she didn’t stop with the direct family, instead picking up with the best friends so we can continue to visit with these wonderful characters.  The series is one that began over a decade ago in these characters lives and we have watched the boys grow into honorable and sexy men and find their mates, living through some harrowing experiences and dangerous dramas to find their HEAs. This story is one that reminds us that sometimes there is much more to the truth that either side can see and it requires a bit of digging to get the full story. I really enjoyed Marlee and Cooper’s story, even though there were some moments when I was afraid they wouldn’t find their way through the all the troubles to reach one another. I am dying to read the next story where Jace will hopefully get his own love story and HEA, then the series will continue with more and more of the sexy men in their little town.

Private Investigator Marlee Frampton has traveled to Clearview on a mission, she knows that she won’t be making any friends in town, but she is determined to find the kidnapped little boy that she is looking for, despite the chance of becoming the most hated person in town.  Cooper Owens is in a bit of a rut in his life, finding himself at loose ends, when he runs across the most beautiful and enchanting female he has ever seen in the little town of Clearview.  Immediately interested in more than being just friends, Cooper tries to befriend Marlee, but it becomes complicated when she admits that she has been following him and his friends in order to prove that the baby that the Harper’s have just adopted is really a kidnapped little boy she is there to find. Despite knowing that Marlee is there to try to tear apart his friends’ family, Cooper feels an instant connection to Marlee and to her mission.  As Marlee and Cooper spend more time together investigating the kidnapping ring and trying to find the little boy, their connection only deepens and soon they are both so far in that there is no way to deny that they are in love.  But there is a dangerous criminal that is stalking Marlee and if they are not careful they will never have a chance at happiness and a life together.

Marlee was an unexpected character and one that it took a little while to get to know and like;  In the beginning you just aren’t sure if you are going to like her, mainly because she is there to destroy the new little family that you just don’t want to see have any more bad news. Once you truly understand that she is determined in her mission because of the past that ripped her life apart, you decide to cut her a little slack and can begin to like her and like her for Cooper.  Marlee is a woman that has devoted her life for over a decade to her mission, to the detriment of all else in her life, and she won’t let anything stop her from staying true to her mission, even finding the love of her life. It was fascinating seeing her brain in action as she puzzled through all of the clues in order to break down the decades long, twisted, and twining mystery that cost her the life of her sister and the future they could have shared. Her strength and heart were undeniable and one of the best parts of her character, but I loved it when she finally let down her walls and found a way to let Cooper into her heart and life.  Cooper is the best kind of guy, one that is always there for his friends, no matter what they might need, and that is always willing to lend a hand when needed, but he truly is at a loss in his life at the moment. He is missing the purpose he needs to make him truly happy.  Once he gets drawn into the mystery of Marlee’s job, we begin to see him finding that calling and it becomes apparent quickly Marlee is the perfect completion to Cooper’s life.  He is a strong, brave, and trustworthy man, without being annoyingly alpha about it.  I loved seeing him find his balance as he fell in love with Marlee and it showed him that finding the perfect woman was the balance he always needed in his life.

Marlee came to town looking for kidnappers, definitely not for a cowboy to steal her heart, but what she found was the future that she never knew she wanted and needed. I loved this story every minute and the characters stole my attention every moment of the time I was in their world.  Marlee is the type of woman that I imagine would make a perfect best friend, strong and driven, intelligent and incredible  at her job, but willing to admit when she makes a mistake. Cooper is the perfect foil for Marlee’s driven and focused personality, being so laid-back in life, but dependable and willing to do whatever is needed to keep his friends and family happy.  I loved seeing these two very different characters find their HEA together, even when you were skeptical in the beginning that they would get past their first introductions to one another.  The passion between them runs high at all times and when they finally let their walls down and embrace one another as lovers, the fire burns hot enough to start a prairie fire.  I was elated to get the chance to see Cooper, Marlee and their investigative team crack the case and bring down the kidnapping ring, even if there were several heartbreaking moments when we thought it might not end well at all. I am jonesing for the next story already and cannot wait for the chance to read it, even if it turns out not to be Jace’s story—though I REALLY hope it is.  Another Grant masterpiece, undeniably.

*eARC provided by Author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Review: Summoned in Time (The MacCarthy Sisters #3)

Summoned in Time (The MacCarthy Sisters #3)

by Barbara Longley

Blurb:

Meredith MacCarthy has plans for her future, and they don’t include volunteering as a tour guide at a

haunted ghost town in Montana. But when the matriarch of her fae-gifted family tells her ignoring the summons of the spirit world will haunt her forever, Meredith packs a bag and heads West. There she meets a ghost whose story and presence are so compelling, she cannot resist his magnetic pull. The more time she spends with him, the more she longs for the chance to know him in life.

Before leaving Ireland for America, Daniel Cavanaugh vowed to his mother he’d return with a fortune. Having lost his father, sister, and their family farm during The Great Famine of 1845, he is determined to help his family begin anew. Just when he’s on the cusp of fulfilling his promise, his life is brutally taken, and he’s haunted the mining town of Garretsville ever since. Until the beautiful ghost whisperer arrived, all he wanted was to be free of his earthly bonds. Now he yearns for a second chance at life—a life with Meredith beside him. She stirs long-forgotten desires … and bitter regret for what can never be.

When one of the fae offers Meredith the means to travel through time to prevent his murder, Daniel persuades her to take the risk. Will his plan to cheat death succeed, or will he put the life of the woman he loves in peril?

Themes:  Paranormal, Fae (Magick), historical

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating: 
Review:

The long planned ending to the MacCarthy Sisters trilogy has come and Meredith has earned her HEA with her man and having lived her adventure in time and Magick. I am a huge fan of Barbara Longley and have read several of her series, and can tell you I originally had doubts about this series, but as time went on I found myself biting at the bit more and more for each release in the series.   The MacCarthy sisters all share the dubious family honor of a few drops of Fae blood that allows them to see and interact with the spirit world in some way, which has led them on some crazy adventures to find love.  Meredith’s story takes her on an even more crazy and almost unbelievable story through time in order to save the man who has earned her admiration and love in his ghostly form.  The story is one that not only stretches the imagination but makes us rethinks are understanding of the linear nature of time again and again.  I loved every second of this series, but this final story was wonderful all on its own merit and I was thrilled to have gotten the chance to read it, despite the bittersweet sadness of the series being over. 

Meredith is not dealing well with all the changes in her life in recent years as both her sisters have found love and a new home across the ocean in Ireland and begun their families, while she is stuck in a rut.  When she comes across an ad asking for volunteers to operate a ghost town in the "old west" , while she feels a unique magical pull to it, she is determined to resist, despite her family and seemingly fate pushing her to it.  Ultimately unable to fight her destiny, Meredith arrives in the town only to find herself facing the most human and magnetic ghost she has ever met.  Daniel has been stuck in the town of Garrettsville since his murder almost 200 years earlier, but when Meredith arrives his landscape is instantly changed.  Seeing and interacting with her everyday makes him truly feel alive again, and when he begins to get to know her his emotions and that connection only deepens.  With only a minor hope, Meredith travels back in time to try to prevent Daniel’s murder and discover if they have a chance at being together in a more physical way.  However, everything doesn’t always go according to plan and Daniel and Meredith will have to decide if their lives can be happy and fulfilled with just one another or if they will have to separate in order for them both to reach their goals and destinies.

Wow, Meredith is a woman that never gives up on her goals no matter if it has the possibility to rip out her heart, and I love that amount of determination. She is intelligent, quick on her feet, and at the same time sweet to everyone around her.  There were moments of vulnerability as she worked through the pain and bitterness she was feeling over her sisters moving on and leaving her behind, but they just made her a more rounded and loveable woman.  When push came to shove she truly was willing to give up everything she knew and loved in her life in order to save the man she’d fallen in love with and build a life with him against all odds. Daniel is the type of guy we all wish we could find in this day and age, truly a gentleman in every sense of the word, and sweet as honey to boot.  Even as a ghost you could see that he was coming to care deeply for Meredith and was willing to sacrifice for her safety and happiness, and of course he could see how important and special she was as more than just a tool for him to return to the world or move on to the afterlife.  I loved seeing him dealing with the craziness of learning the truth of his and Meredith’s life and watching him work through the puzzles he faced again and again.  Thankfully he only had one of two moments of being a typical jerky male, and he was very quick to offer an apology to make up for it.  He is the perfect mate for Meredith and balances her deep pragmatism and earthiness with his optimism and tendency to dream his way through every situation.

Summoned in Time is the kind of story that will leave readers wondering how many laws of physics, history, and magic were broken all in the name of love and loving every moment of it.  I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this story as a I devoured it and I was dying right up to the end to learn how Ms. Longley would give Meredith her full HEA, because I knew she would have to find a way to give her the best of both worlds.  Meredith is the perfect mix of vulnerability and strength, smarts and common sense, and sweetness and sass; she shows the man she loves that she will go to any length and take on any task in order to get her HEA, even going up against the laws of time to do so.  Daniel is the type of man/ghost that shows us that you can have a deep and emotional connection develop between two people despite lacking physical touch, but once that touch is achieved the connection is truly unbreakable.   He is smart enough to know that he is just what Meredith needs to be happy in life, but that he will have to give her the choice and chance to come to the conclusion herself.  The passion between Daniel and Meredith, especially once she travels back and they allow themselves to admit to that heat, is incalculable and I love watching them come to terms with and share in that passion. Despite the sadness of watching another great series end, Longley managed to wrap the MacCarthy sisters series up nice and tight with her last chapter, bringing everything into a beautiful and full circle and rearranging the reader’s entire understanding of the flow and structure of time.  I especially loved that aspect and hope we see something similar in any future series that Ms. Longley ventures into.  Thanks for another amazing experience and for the chance to get to know these amazing sisters!

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Mini-Review: Along Came An Aussie (De Luca Sisters)

Along Came An Aussie (De Luca Sisters) 

by Lexxie Couper

Blurb:

Bria De Luca lives life without a safety-net. As a professional skydiver, she’s always ready to take a leap of faith. Even a bad landing that breaks a few bones, and a breakup that shakes her confidence a bit, isn’t enough to stop her from living her life full throttle. When she meets a hot Aussie at a Halloween party, she’s ready to ditch the costumes and play a little trick and treat.

Owen Blackthorne is in the States to visit his sister and to try and keep his mind off a life-changing phone call he’s waiting for. When the most amazing woman he's ever met grabs his attention at a rooftop party, he decides she's the distraction he was looking for.

Neither of them are looking for anything serious, and love at first sight only happens in the movies, so why does whatever's sparking between them start to feel so...significant?

Themes:  Erotica

Rating: 4  stars

Heat Rating: 
Review:

 I have always loved to read a wonderful story of a man out of his comfort zone finding love with a woman living life to the fullest and Lexxie's newest short but sexy story is a wonderful example. Couper is one of those authors that can take even the shortest story and keep it interesting, sensual, sweet and romantic despite its length.  This story is about a man that has traveled half-way around the world to take his mind off his problems and find a way to cope with the possibility of a life altering truth.  When he meets a woman that blows him away, dressed in the most outlandish Halloween costume at a party he didn’t even want to attend no less, he doesn’t know if he should trust his heart or believe the doubts in love at first sight.  But this isn’t the kind of woman that will allow anyone to make a decision for her and when she meets the man of her dreams, even if it seems insane she isn’t letting him go.  I really enjoyed getting to know Owen Blackthorne (and oh-My-Gods, I can’t believe there are more of those men running around in Lexxie’s mind she hasn't already shared with us) and his intelligence and sweetness.  He is on the cusp of a serious life changing bit of news, and keeping his mind off of the call by embracing the crazy heat and sensuality he feels with Bria shows he is smart enough to know a good thing when he sees it.  He definitely has a lot of fears to deal with, and there were a few moments you wanted to smack him for being an ass, but overall he is a good guy, funny and cute AF too.  Bria has lived through some things recently that make her wary of men, but on the same coin she knows that when she meets Owen she had met her perfect match.  When things get deep and complicated extremely quickly, she shows the strength of both her backbone of steel and her heart as she refuses to let him walk into his future alone no matter what it might hold.  I love Bria and she is definitely the type of woman I could see being the friend we all need to remind us that sometimes you just need to jump in with both feet and embrace life without a plan. The heat between Owen and Bria was off the charts and only got more so as their story went on, but though their story was short, it’s obvious from the depth of their connection that they will find a way to make a future together no matter what comes their way.  I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy as Bria’s triplet sisters find their matches as well and I can imagine they will be just as sexy, though in their own unique ways I am sure.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Review: A Princess by Christmas (A Royal Wedding #3)

A Princess by Christmas (A Royal Wedding #3)

by Julia London 

Blurb:

She's discovered his secret.

Now the trouble really begins...

After three years of mourning—and turning her dear deceased husband's gazette into the ton's sauciest source of fashion and gossip—Hollis Honeycutt feels her life has been strangely bereft of late... Her sister is living abroad, and her best friend moved to the country. What must a young widow of rank and reputation do? Why, transform her society gossip sheets into serious investigative news, starting with a rumored coup...and the rather dashing, mysterious gentleman whom Hollis suspects might be the villain of her first real story, and she is the only one who can write it.

Marek Brendan is investigating terrible rumors of treachery and treason that threaten his home country of Wesloria, but he must proceed with caution. No one can discover the truth. After all, who would ever believe he is Wesloria's lost crown prince? Only Hollis Honeycutt's cerulean-blue eyes seem to know more than she's letting on—and worse, Marek can't seem to resist her curious charms. But even as betrayal threatens a nation and a throne, nothing is quite so dangerous as the lovely young widow who's determined to find the truth...and a prince of her own.

Themes:  Historical

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating: 
Review:

Another fabulous historical romance series by one of my favorite authors of all time has come to an end, and while it was bittersweet, the story itself was fun to read and sweet and romantic enough that I didn’t shed too many tears.  The Royal Wedding Series is one that took me a little bit to get into, not going to lie, but once I became invested in the characters and their lives I began to really enjoy the story.  Beginning with a fictional country in Europe and their royalty was a bit of a stretch but the descriptions of the country and its peoples were so rich and interesting that it was almost as if the country came to life for me.  London has that unique ability to bring her readers into just about any world she wants them to accompany her to and this was no exception. The great thing about any new series is getting to see it blossom from beginning to end, the characters, the overall arcs, and the connections that form between each individual story line. I have loved every moment of this series, but this final story about Marek and Hollis was wonderful on its own as well as the way it fed into the other stories in the series. The end of the series was beautiful and heartfelt, and I am dying to see what is coming next for this author because I think I might have gotten a little hint of a spin-off at the tale-end of the story.

Hollis Honeycutt has been feeling a little bit despondent lately ever since her sister and best friend moved so far away with their new husbands, Princes of Alucia, and men that have captured their hearts.  Hollis is determined to find her way in the world independently, but the more she experiences in the world, the more lonely she finds herself and the more she wants something more.  When her sister returns for peace talks with Alucia’s neighboring country, all the girls are back in the city together and she has never been happier, but when she goes to the palace to visit her sister she encounters the stranger, a most intriguing man. Soon every time she is around the royal groups, the man is there again and again and Hollis is too intrigued not to learn more about him.  Marek Brendan has traveled to England with the Weslorians in order to serve his king and country as advisor on the peace talks, but he never imagined he’d find himself in the sights of a seemingly-crazy English woman or the middle of royal intrigue.  The more Marek and Hollis spend time together trying to solve the mystery around the peace talks, the closer they become and the more she learns about his long held secrets.  Marek finds himself drawn to the sweet and loving, if slightly odd woman, but he knows that she isn’t for him and there can be no future the way things currently stand.  Can they find a way to give each other what they have always wanted, perhaps the greatest Christmas gift of all, or will they end up having to go their separate ways in the end?

I have loved Hollis from the very beginning of the series, seeing her as a woman well before her time, living her life as a widow in a time when most women jumped straight to the protection of the next man.  She is brave, independent, smart, and curious—sometimes to a fault—but she is also loyal to her friends and family, giving of herself even to her own detriment. I loved getting to know more about her and seeing her find more of her own confidence as she learned more about herself as a woman and an investigator.  She began the hunt for Marek’s secret determined to unmask whatever his secret was, but she was smart and sweet enough to know that sometimes keeping a secret is the right thing to do for all. She was also so sweet with her family and you could see that she is a little bit lonely until she begins to open her heart again to Marek and allow herself to slowly offer her love, even knowing nothing may come of it.  Marek has lived with one foot in two worlds most of his life, even before he realized it, and he is determined to keep his life solitary in order to keep anyone he cares about safe from danger.  I loved seeing him finding his feet with Hollis and coming into his own as both a man and as a leader among his peers because of his skills and his knowledge.  He refuses to give up when he is faced with a challenge, even when it could put him in physical and mortal danger. I loved his very dry wit, his intelligence, bravery, and his sweetness as well.  Watching him come out of his shell with Hollis, opening himself to her and her friends and family, shows him that he really just needs to make a decision and chose a side once and for all, and in my opinion he definitely chose correctly.  It was great to see them working together and their friendship growing as they learned more about one another and themselves, they truly were a perfectly matched pair.

While Hollis truly did become a Princess by Christmas, it isn’t the ending most of us expected and I loved seeing Marek and Hollis find what truly made them happy together and find their place in the world.  In order to get a believable HEA for these characters, London truly had to make sure that both Marek and Hollis truly understand what would make them happy individually before they could find a way to be together forever.  Hollis had to do a lot of soul searching in her short time with Marek, but she manages to learn enough that she knows she can’t be happy without this man by her side, in whatever form of life that takes.  Marek similarly learns that if he doesn’t put himself out there in order to show Hollis how much he loves her, there is no way he will ever be able to have the true love and happiness for life that he needs.  Both Hollis and Marek have a kind of quiet and subtle passion that drives them in their lives and when they clashed that heat was sweet and warm enough to burn for the rest of their years. I was thrilled to see all of our favorite characters from previous stories, including the main couples, and the way they are moving forward in their new lives.  It was also interesting to meet a few new friends and see some unconventional perspectives that I suspect will come forward in maybe a future series, though of course I can only hope.  As always the series ends with a lovely epilogue that lets us see how the couples from all three stories have continued their happiness and give us glimpses of their lives years down the road, which is my favorite part.  London continues to be a magical touch with her historical series and I can promise that as soon as I learn whatever might be coming next I will be the first in line requesting my copy to read! MORE, MORE, MORE please.

*eARC provided by author (via NetGalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.