Reading Fanatic Reviews
Contemporary RomanceJaxon by Sarah Gai
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Jaxon*
Good Friends and Family Round Out this Short Romantic Tale
Jaxon and his family are due to open their newly revamped ranch, part of which will now be a retreat Center. His sister Haley brings a friend to help prepare for opening day, and both Jaxon and Callista have an immediate attraction. Jaxon hasn’t been too successful with the ladies, as his last girlfriend left him for someone else, and he’s a little shy. Callista is the opposite and complementary to him; she’s a woman who’s not afraid to go after what she wants.
Will Jaxon get over his shyness and wariness with women? Will Callista fall for the cowboy?
Coming from a large family myself, I always enjoy stories that have a family twist to them. We have the Nelson brothers, four of them, plus one sister. There’s a lot of gentle humor in this book—the kind that actually exists in large families—and in particular, I love the relationships and humor between the brothers. Girl power was not left behind, though, with Callista and Haley and their friend Jess. I love seeing these groups interact in both humorous and supportive ways, and I look forward to more books about this group of characters.
Oh, and I have to mention… the book appears well-edited. Worth mentioning, as it seems too rare these days!
MacBean by Diane Darcy
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MacBean**
Kind-Hearted Highlander and His Fierce Lady
The headline sounds like it could be the title of a novel itself!
Alan MacBean does not want to leave the moor when Soni offers him his chance. He has found a family in his ghostly brothers and only consents to go when Sonny agrees to bring him back to Culloden after his task is complete. Alan is transported to contemporary Salem, Massachusetts, where he immediately rescues a little girl who, thinking she is a superhero, makes a jump off a roof. Needless to say, the mother and grandmother are most thankful to him for saving the little girl’s life. They offered him food and shelter, and he helps a bit around the rambling mansion. Turns out that this a beautiful old family home is in danger of imminent foreclosure. Grandma swears that her several-times great-grandfather hid treasure on the property, and she believes it will all turn out in the end.
Will they be able to save the old family home? Will Alan and Lilith continue to develop an attraction for each other even though Alan knows he can only stay two days? Will Soni grant them a happily ever after?
I have read all of the Ghosts of Culloden Moor series up to this point, and I absolutely adore it. I’m of Scottish descent myself and have visited Culloden Moor several times. I loved Alan, the hero. He is just the type to sucker me in because he is noble and kind but doesn’t realize his goodness. He treats Lilith and the little girl, Olivia, as they deserve to be treated but which they have not been. He wants so much to be able to save and protect them. And I love that Lilith gave him his first kiss! Lilith is a worthy heroine, too; she has taken on much responsibility in her relatively young life. I love how she wanted to fight for him and what she did to attempt to keep him there. She is perhaps the strongest heroine in this series that I’ve read so far. You go, girl!
I have two quibbles with this book. One, I don’t quite understand how a house that has been in the family for generations can be foreclosed upon. Shouldn’t the mortgage have been paid off decades ago? If there was some mention of a reason for a current mortgage, I must have missed it. Second, unfortunately, the plotline is so similar to many others in the series. At this point, I am tempted to go back and count how many of this series’ novellas have to do with the heroine losing a piece of property. Again, as I said above, I adore this series; I just wish the authors would play around with more concepts that would put the heroine in peril that requires the help of her Highlander. That said, of all those in this series that have a similar plotline, I love the added fun of having the ghost great-grandfather come back during the seance and only be able to communicate with Alan. Let’s add more ghosts to the ghost story!
If you’re not familiar with the Ghosts of Culloden Moor series, I highly recommend that you read the first book that sets up the premise for the 80 books to follow, The Gathering. If you like Scottish time travel romance, you may very well enjoy this multi-author series and this particular installment.
Someone Else’s Fairytale by Cassandra Moore
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Someone Else's Fairytale*
Fantastic Tale of Intrigue, Romance, and the Paranormal
We meet Hanna just as she is having her #MeToo moment in her position as a nanny. Now out of a job, she crashes with a friend in her haunted house. Soon, they see a strange want ad that could be the solution to Hanna’s problems. Someone is looking for a governess at an English manor. (And, yes, this is a contemporary story!) Though it is strange, the money is good, so she goes to the interview. The elderly grandmother of the owner of the manor house has dementia, and according to the grandson, she believes her dead child is alive but suffering for want of a governess. So to help ease the old lady, the grandson wants to hire a governess for the ghost!
Are there ghosts at this English manor house? What other secrets will be exposed within its walls?
Oh, my! This book had some fantastic twists and turns that I’ll let you discover for yourself. There are subplots galore, and the way they interweave with each other and the main plot is satisfying and surprising at times. The author is a very skilled writer, creating this complex world in such a seamless way that it pulls you in and makes you want to keep reading… no matter what else you need to do in your real life. 🙂 With the opening scene, she made Hanna such a sympathetic character, and she was able to maintain that through the entire text. Greg, the grandson, is a complex but exceedingly kind man, the type to indulge a sweet old lady as her mind slips away. He’s a great hero! And he and Hanna have good chemistry, and I love the way that they look out for each other. The paranormal aspect of the ghosts added a fascinating otherworldly layer to the book.
If you enjoy stories with intrigue, romance, the bad guys getting their due, and the paranormal, you will most likely find this to be a compelling read.
The Cowboy’s Surprise Nanny by Leslie North
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Cowboy's Surprise Nanny*
Hero Too Unlikable for Me
After his wife’s death, Ian can use a little help with his 6-year-old son. In an exchange of favors, the mayor helps Ian get a spot for his son in the strawberry festival while Ian agrees to take in the mayor’s niece as the new nanny. Katie made some inappropriate career choices and is needing a little time to get her head straight and figure out her next plan.
The little boy in the story, Andy, is just adorable. He’s a sweet little boy who’s recently lost his mother. He has multiple food allergies that are severe enough to threaten his health. He and Katie bond the very first night, as he is a little boy who’s much in need of loving attention.
I can’t say that I like the hero, Ian. He was just too cynical, unforgiving, and unkind for most of the book. Yes, he’s got issues because of the loss of his wife and having to raise his son alone but give him a few redeeming qualities than his looks. I just found him to be really unpleasant and couldn’t quite get beyond that. Probably because I didn’t like him, I didn’t feel any chemistry between him and Katie. In fact, I was almost hoping she would find another guy in town who would treat her better.
Too, I’m not wild about the cover. Cowboys should be muscular, not emaciated. It’s one thing to see the six pack of the rectus abdominus but quite another to see the serratus anterior muscles. Ick.
I found it interesting that the concept of recipe plagiarism was strong in this book. This is Katie’s supposed bad career move. Having worked with recipes in a couple of different capacities in my life, I’ve seen firsthand that several well-known celebrity chefs take recipes from sources like community cookbooks and tweak them just a little, name them something different, and call it their recipe. I also understand that a recipe in itself cannot be copyrighted unless there’s significant original prose; a list of ingredients and method is not considered such. So it seems a little odd to me that this was the big career-ender for Katie.
Four Last First Dates by Kate O’Keefe
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Four Last First Dates*
Healing Past Pain and Letting Go
The book starts with a hilarious scene where Bailey is trying to play the numbers to get to her last first date. She’s attempting speed dating at a bar. She only managed to make it through the first four of the ten that she should have participated in after the last guy wanted to measure her so he could make a female robot! Marissa’s brother is at the bar as well; clearly, Bailey and Ryan have a little flirty, bantering relationship. Marissa warns her off though, as she sees Ryan as still broken and cynical about relationships after a bad breakup. Cassie announces her engagement, which triggers a flood of memories for Bailey. She recalls her engagement to Dan some years ago. She had thought he was the love of her life, but then he died in an accident. Ryan and Bailey deepen their flirtation, but their past wounds and hangups with relationships get in the way.
I have so enjoyed this series of books. In the space of a few hours, the author made me laugh at the speed dating (some of those were really bad!) and in tears as I watched Bailey’s struggle with her inability to let her former fiance go and allow herself to move on. Just as in Paige’s book, the heroine’s past tugs at the heartstrings, and you will root for her to be able to embrace the future wholeheartedly. I like how in this book the hero has his own backstory to get beyond as well. I always enjoy the romances where two suffering people—hurting through no fault of their own—help each other heal. In the hands of the right author, it’s beautiful to watch as characters work through their difficulties, going back and forth, trying to do what is best. Bailey’s thoughts and emotions seemed realistic for her kind and compassionate character. Ryan was still a good guy even though he was hurting.
If you enjoy romances that can make you both laugh and cry—like I do—you may very well find this book to be an incredible read.
Cooking with Kandy by Pegg Jaeger
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, W. H. Smith, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Cooking with Kandy*
Cooking Show Celeb in Danger
Kandy is a popular food show host and cookbook author to whom strange things have been happening lately. Family and co-workers think she needs a bodyguard to protect her against somebody who clearly is wishing to harm her. Kandy doesn’t want her life restricted. She eventually does agree to a bodyguard, and Josh–a private investigator who does a little protection sometimes–becomes a fixture in her life. As they spend time together and get to know each other, an attraction develops between them (though he was attracted to her from the beginning).
Will they be able to figure out who is threatening Kandy’s life? Will Kandy and Josh give into their feelings for each other?
The book pulls you in right away as you see Josh on Kandy’s set while he’s waiting to talk with someone about the job. The author does a good job of describing the food show set and Kandy’s presentation. I wondered how much food TV she watched! I’ve never been on one of those sets but what she describes seems very realistic. Kandy seemed like a real person, with vulnerabilities, despite her fame. The author has created a fascinating set of secondary characters who are a delight to watch in themselves, especially Kandy’s mother and sisters. Josh and Kandy had good chemistry.
If you enjoy bodyguard romance or romantic suspense, you might like this delicious (recipes included!) book.
Home to Me by LaVerne Clark
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Home to Me*
Learning to Trust after Trauma
Lucy’s back home and is out with a friend drinking because the last man she dated made unkind remarks about her. Sam, her late brother’s best friend, happens to be there and overhears their discussion. After a come-on from someone else that she didn’t appreciate yet not wanting to go home to her mother’s, she asks Sam to take her back to his place so they can catch up. It ends up to be a far more emotional discussion than she would have imagined as she decides to tell him about a sexual assault that she suffered while she was living away. She and her best friend had concocted a crazy scheme to help her get over the trauma of the attack, and she asks Sam to help her find a kind and patient man who will help her learn to enjoy sex again.
What will Sam think of this question? Will he help Lucy and her plan to move beyond her pain?
While this book should probably have a trigger warning about sexual assault, I thought the author did a good job of handling this difficult subject sensitively. It’s quite clear that Lucy is suffering emotional aftereffects of her assault still two years later, but she is not willing to live the rest of her life in fear, and so she makes a bold plan. She and Sam have an extensive history, including that both have had a secret attraction to the other though neither thought it was appropriate to act on it. Sam also promised Lucy’s brother that he would protect her.
At times, this is a difficult book to read because of subject matter, yet the relationship between Sam and Lucy is so beautifully rendered that it’s worth getting past that to see Lucy learn to trust again and Sam’s gentle treatment of her.
Sam is such a sensitive hero, and you can tell that he really cares for Lucy. While his first impulse is to avenge her, he also knows the importance of being there for her and helping her get past her trauma. He demands that he be the man, if she is determined to go along with her plan, because he can trust no one else with her. The way he allows her to set the pace within limits he provides showed his respect and caring for her.
Maid for Him by Sienna Carr
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Maid for Him*
Poor Young Woman Returns to Scene of Teenage Humiliation
Jenna is back in her hometown after an absence of over ten years. As poor and broke as she was back then, she takes a position as a maid for Reed Knight at his mansion. Sparks fly immediately between them during the interview as she can’t let go of her resentment about his treatment of her when they were teens. Despite her attitude, he hires her. Reed is engaged to former beauty queen Olivia, who hasn’t been the same since they agreed to marry; he’s regretting his hasty decision.
How will Jenna and Reid get along? Will she be able to hold her tongue for the time each day she will need to be in his home to perform her job? Will Reed and Olivia marry?
I just couldn’t get into this book as I couldn’t get past the way Jenna acted about Reed in the early part of the novel. First, it was clear when she talked to her friend Shay about Reed (as they were discussing the possible assignment) that she couldn’t stop sniping about him; why would her friend risk her agency’s reputation when Jenna just kept making snarky comments about Reed and other wealthy people? Then the interview was so much worse. She is so unprofessional that I couldn’t understand why Reed would hire her after the way she acted. Oh, yes, I know—the plot needed it to happen that way! Ugh. I just couldn’t get beyond this, which made the rest of the story seem pointless and uncomfortable.
The book did have issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage as well. For these reasons, I did not find this book a good read.
Beyond the Shadows by Dixie Carlton
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Beyond the Shadows*
A Unique Long-Distance Relationship
We meet Penny and Erik as they are about to embark on a unique long-distance relationship. Reminiscent of Same Time, Next Year, they plan to meet at a different location on the globe every six months while they maintain their relationship electronically in between. Penny is an Australian single mom of adult children while Erik is a forty-something-year-old who lives in Amsterdam. They initially met at a Las Vegas convention and shared an attraction, making them both want to keep in contact long distance. After 18 months of just digital communication and an occasional phone call, they decide to meet physically twice a year. During their first time together in Italy, Erik questions whether he wants to take the relationship further physically, as he has some fear of losing her as a friend.
All of this is complicated by Helena, a past former lover of Erik’s. She is the jealous sort and doesn’t appreciate him getting involved with another woman, and she is able to cause problems.
The book goes back and forth between their visits as well as the times they are at their homes. I would have liked to have seen a bit more balance in the amount of time the author spent at each of their worldwide destinations. A great deal of time was spent in Italy and England, but Fiji was only touched on briefly. Fiction is such a fun way to experience the world, and it would have been more fun to spend a longer time globe-hopping with this couple.
As in other books I’ve read by this author, there are significant issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage, though some of that may stem from her being Australian and me being an American copyeditor; I am not too sure of Australian rules for such. It was, however, a little distracting at times, though it didn’t diminish my overall enjoyment of the novel.
The book is definitely a steamy read, as they do decide to become lovers. The book has a paranormal twist that I didn’t see coming in a work that is otherwise fully grounded in this world. It is nice to be surprised when reading, though, as it doesn’t happen often, especially in romance.
This book is a very unique take on one way to approach long-distance relationships. If you enjoy steamy reads about more mature characters and don’t mind a little bit of the paranormal, you might find this to be a page-turner.
Rattle His Cage by Jane Charles
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Rattle His Cage*
Mary and Dylan’s Story
Dylan, one of the Baxter boys–a group of young men who went to a special school for troubled teens–is in hopes of reuniting with his younger siblings now that one of them has turned 18. They’ve gotten lost and separated in the foster care system. Their parents had a meth lab, and Dylan took care of his siblings until they got taken away and split up. He is attracted to Mary, who is Kelsey’s former roommate, but he doesn’t feel that he is worthy of her. Mary moves in with the Baxter boys and some of their female friends because her other roommate brought in one of her friends to take Kelsey’s spot; they have made her life miserable. She works night shift at the hospital, and they won’t let her get any rest. Mary has some secrets of her own in her family some of which what she does not understand the full extent of.
Will Dylan overcome his feelings of inadequacy and pursue a relationship with Mary? Will he find his siblings? What are the ghosts in Mary’s closet?
There are things that I liked and didn’t like in this story. Profanity just for the sake of profanity is one of my pet peeves, and this book has it in spades in Dylan’s sections unfortunately. I am an RN, and I couldn’t quite figure out how Mary was working at the hospital between semesters yet still pursuing her nursing degree. Maybe I just missed a detail somewhere, but you can’t work as a nurse until you have your nursing license; student nurses don’t work in the hospital; we pay to learn in them during regular school semesters. And IV opioids? Highly frowned upon these days.
Both Dylan and Mary had vulnerabilities, so they took time to get to know and trust each other. While their attraction instant (and before the start of the present book), the romance aspect is a very slow burn, but it gets where it needs to be. This group of friends–the Baxter boys, girlfriends, and girls who are friends–grow and evolve as a unit, becoming more supportive of each other than many blood families.
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