August | 2021 | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT by Mary Jayne Baker

August 21, 2021

From the publisher:

Love-cynic Bridie Morgan is holding a last hurrah to the ‘dating’ stage of her life; shes going on twenty dates in twenty days. If this ‘love’ thing really is a numbers game, then surely she’ll find the one. And if not? Well at least the memory of her date with the Spice Girls’ biggest fan will be enough to put her off for life. She’ll never again wonder what she was missing.

But being love’s biggest skeptic is a challenge in the face of best friend Hattie’s upcoming nuptials. And as Maid of Honour, she really has to give it a chance. That is until Bridie’s lifelong nemesis Ben Kemp returns home to join the wedding party.

Ben Kemp who left her waiting outside their Leaver’s prom, in her nicest dress, alone. Ben Kemp who triggered the sorry state of affairs that has been Bridie’s love life. Ben Kemp the Best Man to her Maid of Honor.

A hilarious and uplifting romantic comedy perfect for fans of 10 Things I Hate About You and The Hating Game.

Bridie has had a lot of bad dates. Really bad dates. She decides to give it one more chance; well, 20 more chances as she attempts 20 dates in 20 days. Then if there are no second dates, she is giving it up and resigning herself to a life of singledom.

Bridie’s best friend Hattie is getting married and Bridie is her maid of honor. Unfortunately, the best man is Ben Kemp. Ben and Bridie were childhood friends and did some fooling around in high school, but were never girlfriend/boyfriend. Ben invited Bridie to a school dance and stood her up, and she has never forgotten or forgiven, so needless to say she is not happy she has to work with him on the wedding.

This is an enemies to lovers story, and a really funny one with lots of laugh out loud moments. Eventually, Ben and Bridie work out their problems and get to their happy ending, but it is the journey that is all the fun. A terrific read from this new-to-me author. I will be looking for more of her books!

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT by Mary Jayne Baker. Aria (March 1, 2022). ISBN: 978-1800246164. 352 pages.

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HEARTBREAKER by B. J. Daniels

August 20, 2021

Montana Justice, Book 2

From the publisher:

He’ll risk everything to rescue her…

Ex-military man Thorn Grayson has debts to pay. So when a plane crashes in the mountains near his cabin, he’s hired to find the wreckage—and the kidnapped woman believed to be the sole survivor. But when he locates Geneva, or “JJ” as she insists on being called, she’s not at all what he expected.

JJ isn’t sure she can trust the mysterious man who’s come to her rescue. But she has secrets of her own—secrets she’ll do anything to keep. So she’ll follow his instructions and keep her distance to get off this mountain alive without blowing her cover. As dangerous conditions force them together—and the undeniable chemistry between them ignites—he’ll protect her at any cost. But when the morning light comes, will the truth tear them apart?

This was my first read by this author. If I had seen this cover, I might not have read the book but I’m glad I did. For what it’s worth, the cover cowboy looks nothing like the description in the book and why they keep calling him a cowboy is also suspect. This is not a cowboy romance; it is romantic suspense with a loner, ex-Military protagonist who owns a couple of horses and lives in solitude in the mountains of Montana. Maybe that makes him a cowboy, but there are no ranches or rodeos or any kind of cowboy activities usually found in these kinds of books. I liked this book but it was not at all what I expected, and I hadn’t even seen the cover when I read it, which would have made my expectations even more wrong.

Thorn’s wife was killed and he hasn’t recovered. He’s had a hard life, and thanks to a judge who sent him to a sort of boot camp, he turned his life around. He joined the armed services, and is now retired and living alone on his mountain. When the judge calls to ask a favor, Thorn can’t say no. The judge’s friend Franklin is a very wealthy man. He lost his daughter to drugs, and now his granddaughter Geneva is out of control. He cuts her off except for a modest allowance, but then he is contacted by a man claiming to have kidnapped her. The kidnapper asks for $10 million dollars in ransom.

But grandpa was pretty smart. He put a high tech tracking device on his granddaughter’s phone, so he is able to see her whereabouts. Turns out she was flown out to the mountains, where the plane has apparently crashed about half an hour away from Thorn’s home. The judge asks Thorn to go check out the plane and rescue the granddaughter.

She is still alive, but is not at all what Thorn is expecting from a spoiled party girl. This girl has swiped a gun from one of her kidnappers who died in the plane crash, and she is not sure if she can trust Thorn so she shoots at him and tries to get away. He manages to get hold of her and get her back, but it turns out she may not be who Thorn thinks she is.

This was a fairly complicated kidnapping plot, with the wrong girl being taken and lots of bad guys popping up and making things worse. The girl Thorn rescued is JJ, a homeless travel agent who was squatting because she had made travel arrangements for Geneva so she knew the girl wouldn’t be home. But Geneva was smart enough to leave her phone behind so Grandpa couldn’t find her.

Thorn and JJ try to find Geneva, thinking her in serious trouble. There are lots of twists and turns and the suspense is high in this page-turner. A happy ending is reached pretty much all the way around, and I ended up enjoying this book a lot. In fact I couldn’t put it down.

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

HEARTBREAKER by B. J. Daniels. HQN; Original edition (March 24, 2020). ISBN: 978-1335045195. 304 pages.

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THE SPARK by Vi Keeland

August 19, 2021

A new, sexy standalone from #1 New York Times Bestseller, Vi Keeland.

Before I even met Donovan Decker, I knew his shoe size.

You see, I’d gone away for a few days, and in my haste to get out of the airport, I’d grabbed the wrong suitcase.

After checking out the expensive footwear and tailored clothes, I dialed the number on the luggage tag hoping maybe Mister Big Spender might have my bag.

A deep, velvety voice answered, and as luck would have it, he had my suitcase, too. Donovan and I met at a coffee shop to do the exchange.

Turned out, it wasn’t just his voice that was sexy. The man holding my luggage was absolutely gorgeous, and we had an immediate spark.
He got me to admit that I’d snooped in his bag and then convinced me to make it up to him by letting him buy me coffee.

Coffee led to dinner, dinner led to dessert, and dessert led to spending an entire weekend together. Donovan wasn’t just handsome with a panty-dropping voice. He was also funny, smart, and surprisingly down to earth for a man who wore seven-hundred-dollar shoes.

Did I mention he also did my laundry while I slept? Definitely too good to be true.

So what did I do to repay him for his kindness?

I waited until he was in the shower, then ghosted him. My life was too complicated for such a great guy.

In the months that passed, I thought about Donovan often. But New York City had eight-million people, so what were the chances I’d run into him? Then again, what were the chances I’d run into him a year later…when I’d just started dating his boss?

This author is my Hoopla find. I don’t think I’ve seen her books when I’m requesting egalleys because I believe her books are all self published, but my library offers Hoopla and I found her there. I read The Invitation, and now this one, so I can tell you I will be going back to Hoopla to find more.

This book really surprised me. Based on the cover, I thought it was going to be more erotica than romance, but that was way off. There truly is no judging books by their covers sometimes. This book had a lot of depth to it and great character development.

Autumn is the heroine, and she meets Donovan when she accidentally takes his suitcase home from the airport. At least his has his name and phone number on the luggage tag. When she calls, it turns out he has her suitcase and they arrange to meet at a Starbucks for the swap. There is immediate attraction there, and they have coffee and talk and the next thing you know, they have spent the weekend together. No sex, but he did her laundry! But come Monday morning, Autumn disappears, completely ghosts him. He doesn’t know her last name or where she lives or her phone number. Donovan has always been a bit of a player, but he fell hard and fast for Autumn, so he is not happy when she ghosts him. He thought she felt the same way.

Donovan is a wealthy lawyer but it turns out he came from a very damaged and poor background. Autumn’s father is a lawyer, and she comes from a wealthy, sheltered background. But she is working as a social worker. and that’s where the story really starts.

Donovan is up for partner in his law firm, so when his boss asks him to take on a pro bono case, he can’t say no. And when he meets his client, he is shocked to see Autumn. She is the boy’s social worker and even though they haven’t seen each other for a year, the spark is very much there.

Autumn has some serious baggage in her past, and for six years has only been dating men that she doesn’t form any attachments to – no emotional connection, just dinners and sex. These “relationships” don’t generally last very long because as soon as a man seems to be more interested than she is, she is gone. That’s why she ghosted Donovan. And now she’s dating his boss, and that’s why he got the pro bono case.

They spend a lot of time together with the child she is trying to protect, and Donovan finds himself taking a strong interest in the child as well. The partnership won’t be his if he hits on his boss’s girlfriend, and he really wants that partnership. But the more time he spends with Autumn, the more he falls in love with her. But she is scared, really scared, and it takes a lot for them to get past all her issues. But a happy ending is achieved. I really enjoyed this book, in fact I couldn’t put it down and read it in one night. There is some sex eventually, but with all the romance it worked well in this story. Highly recommend!

Note: If you want to see an enlarged pic on the cover, it’s on the Amazon page!

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE SPARK by Vi Keeland. C. Scott Publishing Corp. (July 12, 2021). ISBN: 978-1951045500. 300 pages.

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HEARTBREAK FOR HIRE by Sonia Hartl

August 18, 2021

From the publisher:

A smart, sexy, and witty romantic comedy—perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne—about a twentysomething who lives out every woman’s fantasy: getting paid to give men who do us wrong a taste of their own medicine. But when a previous target unexpectedly shows up at her office, she’s forced to rethink her life as a professional heartbreaker.

Brinkley Saunders has a secret.

To everyone in the academic world she left behind, she lost it all when she dropped out of grad school. Once a rising star following in her mother’s footsteps, she’s now an administrative assistant at an insurance agency—or so they think.

In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women.

But when her boss announces she’s hiring male heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkley’s no longer so sure she’s doing the right thing—especially when her new coworker turns out to be a target she was paid to take down. Though Mark spends his days struggling up the academic ladder, he seems to be the opposite of a backstabbing adjunct: a nerd at heart in criminally sexy sweater vests who’s attentive both in and out of the bedroom. But as Brinkley finds it increasingly more difficult to focus on anything but Mark, she soon realizes that like herself, people aren’t always who they appear to be.

With Sonia Hartl’s “bitingly funny” (Publishers Weekly) prose, Heartbreak for Hire is a clever romcom you and your girlfriends won’t be able to stop talking about.

This was an interesting premise; women for hire to take down whatever man did you wrong. Not cheap, but possibly therapeutic? The woman who started the company found her employees crying in coffeeshops or bars etc. She offers them a way to work out their demons, and Brinkley certainly has some. She was in a psychologically abusive relationship for several years while she was in college. In fact, the breakup led her to drop out of her masters program at Northwestern, where her mother is a professor.

Brinkley and her mom do not get along. Her mother was determined that Brinkley follow her footsteps into a career in academia. But when Brinkley changes her major to art and then drops out, her mother is just beside herself. They meet up every week for lunch where her they end up fighting. Every week. Her mom thinks she is an administrative assistant in an insurance company because Brinkley never tells anyone what she really does for a living.

Then she meets Mark. The woman who contracted for his takedown is a nightmare, and Brinkley isn’t sure she even believes what she says, but a job is a job so off she goes. Except when she meets him, she likes him. A lot. They end up back at his place but she panics and runs out on him. Then they keep bumping into each other, and soon a relationship is keeping them both busy. But when he is hired by her company in their attempt to add men to the roster, none of the staff are happy, to say the least.

This was a laugh out loud book for me, lots of crazy situations along with the romance and some hot sex. Total fantasy, but what’s wrong with that!

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

HEARTBREAK FOR HIRE by Sonia Hartl. Gallery Books (July 27, 2021). ISBN: 978-1982167783. 320 pages.

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THE VISCOUNT MADE ME DO IT by Diana Quincy

August 17, 2021

Clandestine Affairs, Book 2

From the publisher:

Diana Quincy returns with the second novel in her Clandestine Affairs series featuring a steamy romance between a working class London bonesetter who is dangerously attracted to her mysterious noble client.

A seduction that could ruin everything . . .

Hanna Zaydan has fought to become London’s finest bonesetter, but her appealing new patient threatens to destroy everything she’s worked so hard for. With each appointment, the daughter of foreign merchants is slowly seduced by the mysterious former soldier. She’s smart enough to know Griff is after more than he’ll reveal, but whatever it is, the bonesetter’s growing desire for the man just might tempt her to give it to him.

An attraction that cannot be denied . . .

Rumors that he killed his own parents have followed Thomas Ellis, Viscount Griffin, practically since he was a boy. More than a decade after the tragedy, Griff receives a tip about his parents’ killer . . . one that takes him straight to a beautiful bonesetter. Griff is convinced Hanna is a fraud, but she stirs genuine feelings in him that he thought had perished along with his family.

Hanna has a gift for fixing fractured people, but can she also mend a broken heart? More importantly, will Griff let her?

I read the first book in this series, Her Night with the Duke, and really liked it, so I was happy to get my hands on this one. This is a terrific romance with the most fascinating heroine.

I never heard of a bonesetter before, but based on the work she does in this story, it is sort of a cross between a chiropractor, orthopedist, and maybe physical therapist, all rolled into one. Hanna is not allowed to go to medical school, she is a young woman, but nothing stopped her from learning from her father. He, too, was a bonesetter, and from the time she was a young girl Hanna knew this was her destiny. The only problem is that the medical community thinks of bonesetters as charlatans and quacks.

Griff’s parents were murdered when he was a teenager and he hasn’t heard from his sisters since. His father’s best friend was named his guardian, and he took care of Griff as best he could. Eventually, Griff joins the army until he is severely injured and sent home. His shoulder, elbow and wrist were injured and never healed properly, leaving him in constant pain for years. His guardian, a doctor and head of a local hospital, tells him to just give it more time and offers opium, which Griff is avoiding at all costs.

Griff happens to be nearby when a young man along with a group of his rowdy friends, approaches Hanna, offering his wrist up as being “injured” to see if she’ll fall for it. Not only doesn’t she fall for it, she is so angry and embarrassed at being made a spectacle that she dislocates his wrist. Before she can walk away, Griff notices the unusual sapphire pendant she is wearing. It was his mother’s, and had disappeared after her murder.

Thinking it may lead him to whoever murdered his parents, he goes to visit the bonesetter under the pretext of his war injuries. She examines him, and there is chemistry between them. She says she thinks she can help him, and by manipulating his shoulder, she relieves the pain he has been in for years. He is amazed, but still curious about the necklace. She prescribes a salve to be strongly massaged into his joints and eventually helps his elbow and wrist as well. Griff was on the precipice of suicide; he just didn’t know how much longer he could live with the pain but after her treatment, he was a new man.

His guardian doesn’t believe that she actually helped him. He thinks it is a coincidence because he felt that at some point it would just heal on its own, and he thinks it did. But Griff knows better. He gets closer to Hanna, even bringing her another patient, but his guardian is set on having her thrown out of London.

Griff and Hanna can never be together. He is of the aristocracy, and she is of the working class. Even if he wanted to look past that, Hanna is also Arab and her family would never allow her to marry outside her race. With all these seemingly insurmountable odds against them, the mystery of his murdered parents, and the struggles Hanna is having with the hospital board, it is quite the hurdle to get to their happily ever after.

This was a terrific love story and Hanna was an intelligent, interesting character. I liked the mystery that was entangled in the story, and of course, the happy ending. I think this books stands alone beautifully, but do read the first one as well, it was also a really interesting read.

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

TTHE VISCOUNT MADE ME DO IT by Diana Quincy. Avon (July 27, 2021). ISBN: 978-0062986818. 384 pages.

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SO WE MEET AGAIN by Suzanne Park

August 16, 2021

From the publisher:

From the author of the “genuinely funny” and “delightful” Loathe at First Sight (NPR), a young Korean American woman’s journey to finding a new career and new love means learning to embrace the awkward and unexpected—exploring familial expectations, finding your voice, and unimaginably falling for your childhood rival.

When investment banker Jessie Kim is laid off in a virtual meeting and then overhears why (“she’s already being overpaid anyway for a woman” and “Asians are worker bees, not someone who can drum up new deals”) she delivers an “eff you guys” speech and storms out.

After moving back home to Tennessee to live with her loving but meddling mother and father, she runs into her childhood nemesis—golden child Daniel Choi—at the local Asian grocery store. The smart, charming lawyer appears to have it all…while Jessie has nothing.

Jess begrudgingly accepts Daniel’s help to relaunch her long abandoned Korean cooking YouTube channel: HANGUK HACKS, showcasing easy meal prep for busy professionals. But just as she discovers Daniel’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems and there’s more to him than meets the eye, he shows up for a life-changing business opportunity, and their rivalry is back on . . .

Another fun and funny romance featuring food, always a winner for me. Jessie loses her job in finance and moves back home with her parents. They are Korean and a bit old fashioned. Jessie is surprised to learn that her lifelong nemesis, the boy she was always compared to and always lost to, is also back home and living with his parents. Daniel was the preacher’s kid, and his father is back working in the church where he was raised. Everyone is told Daniel has taken a sabbatical from his high powered, high paying job in Silicon Valley, but no one really knows why or any more than that.

When Jessie runs into him at the grocery store, she cannot believe the scrawny boy with a bowl cut that she remembers is now this super hot guy who evidently works out. But she is embarrassed and her come down in the world and doesn’t want to deal with the competition that always rears up between them. But it’s a small community, and when Jessie joins a local entrepreneur group, she finds Daniel is the hero of the group. He even wants to help her.

Jessie decides to bring back to life her old YouTube channel. This time, she gets the idea of hacking the prepared meal kits that are so popular, but often boring. She is going to add some Korean flair to those, and she starts off cooking in the kitchen. But her mom shows up, throws in her two cents, and a meme is born. People love her mom, and her dad shows up too, also drawing good comments. The video goes viral, and her YouTube is up and on its way.

Business is great but it turns out Daniel is in cahoots with one of her business partners, and things get messy. Jessie has fallen for Daniel, but this is just the breaking point. Eventually, her business grows even more successful, and Daniel helps her take it to the next level, along with their relationship. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments here, and the romance is more sweet than sexy, which is understandable as they both live with their parents. But it really works, and I loved it.

Park tells a good story and I really respect her female lead characters; they are smart women working in male dominated industries. I loved her previous book, Loathe at First Sight, and while this is a very different book, it is also a terrific read. Park moves onto my “must read” list and I can’t wait for her next book!

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SO WE MEET AGAIN by Suzanne Park. Avon (August 3, 2021). ISBN: 978-0062990716. 368 pages.

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HOT UNDER HIS COLLAR by Andie J. Christopher

August 15, 2021

From the publisher:

He’s forbidden fruit and she’s a rule follower, but their connection is something to believe in.

Father Patrick Dooley joined the clergy to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. While it once gave him purpose, he not so sure it’s his calling anymore. But it’s all he’s ever known and he’s not sure what he wants to do with his life if he decides to leave the priesthood. How can he reconcile his faith with his growing desire to live a different life?

Sasha Finerghty was content to admire Patrick from afar while she dated men who were perfect on paper and wrong in real life. But with Patrick’s church in need of funding to keep a community program afloat, she’s just the girl to solve their fundraising problem. Spending more time together only fuels Sasha’s crush on him, who finds a kindred soul in her.

The more Patrick gets to know Sasha, the easier it is for him to see a future unfolding for them. But it will take a leap of faith to turn their friendship into something more, and neither of them are quite ready to make the jump.

This is another book that if I had seen the cover before reading, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. I had some problems with this book, but I liked it enough to keep reading and finish it. One minor quibble is that I don’t have any idea how to pronounce Sasha Finerghty’s last name and it comes up more often that you would think.

The major quibble, and really it is more than a quibble, was that the protagonist, the hero of this love story, is a priest. Now I’m not Catholic and I’ve read (and watched) The Thorn Birds, but this just didn’t sit right with me. I’m sure this sort of thing happens now and again and it is incredibly meaningful that a man would give up his collar, his life, for a woman he loves, but I still had trouble with it.

Patrick became a priest basically to please his mother, and I know that is a thing in some Catholic families. But it was more than that for him, at least until he starts spending time with Sasha. So if you don’t mind the major plot point of the story, then it is a good romance. I just couldn’t get past it.

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

HOT UNDER HIS COLLAR by Andie J. Christopher. Berkley (July 20, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593100851. 384 pages.

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WAIT FOR IT by Jenn McKinlay

August 14, 2021

From the publisher:

A woman looking for a new lease on life moves to Arizona where she rents a guest house on a gorgeous property with a mysterious owner—a man who teaches her about resilience, courage, and ultimately true love, in this funny, bighearted novel about hope and healing from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.

Stuck in a dreary Boston winter, Annabelle Martin would like nothing more than to run away from her current life. She’s not even thirty years old, twice-divorced, and has just dodged a marriage proposal… from her ex-husband. When she’s offered her dream job as creative director at a cutting-edge graphic design studio in Phoenix, she jumps at the opportunity to start over.

When she arrives in the Valley of the Sun, Annabelle is instantly intrigued by her anonymous landlord. Based on the cranky, handwritten notes Nick Daire leaves her, she assumes he is an old, rich curmudgeon. Annabelle is shocked when she finally meets Nick and discovers that he’s her age and uses a wheelchair. Nick suffered from a stroke a year ago, and while there’s no physical reason for him not to recover, he is struggling to overcome the paralyzing fear that has kept him a prisoner in his own home.

Despite her promise to herself not to get involved, Annabelle finds herself irresistibly drawn to Nick. And soon she wonders if she and Nick might help each other find the courage to embrace life, happiness, and true love.

This author was new to me, and I really liked this book. So yay, she has a ton of books for me to find.

Annabelle is a graphic designer who works freelance. She’s pretty successful in her professional life, but her personal life is a mess. She lost her mom when she was in high school, and married the first guy who asked. They were both really young and no big surprise, it didn’t work out. But then she married the next guy who asked, and that marriage was even worse. Her best friend lives in Phoenix with her husband, and they are partners in an up and coming marketing firm. They want Annabelle to come be their creative director, but she’s pretty happy in Boston, despite the cold.

Annabelle and the first husband are still friends. In fact, they “celebrate” the date of their divorce with dinner every year. But this year, Annabelle realizes things are different. Her ex seems like he is going full proposal at dinner, and she panics, downs her champagne and ends up choking then swallowing the ring. Then before he can ask, she announces she is taking the job and moving to Phoenix.

Her friends arrange for her to rent a guest house on an estate that is walking distance to her new job. She is told to avoid going to the big house on the property, and not to bother the landlord who lives there. Annabelle assumes the landlord is some rich old guy who apparently is quite the curmudgeon. She receives a ten page list of rules to live by, and she is not happy because the pool is marked off limits. But there is no mention of the hot tub, so she decides to give it a go. Then she receives another note stating the hot tub is also off limits.

Annabelle is a real people person, and she thinks if she meets the landlord, then she can charm him into giving her pool rights. But he is not interested in meeting her. Until she throws a Friday night happy hour, replete with her work friends using the hot tub, lots of loud laughter and music, and enough rule breaking to get the landlord to meet her.

Turns out Nick is not old, just cranky. He is a 35-year-old man who had a stroke. Luckily, it didn’t affect his speech or his brain really, just his body. It’s been almost a year and he still has issues with the left side of his body suddenly going numb, including his leg which means he tends to topple over unexpectedly. He has become a recluse, with his hired physical therapist, groundskeeper and housekeeper all living with him and taking care of him.

Meanwhile, Annabelle is having some trouble at her new job. Her friend’s husband had hired a college fraternity brother when they first started the business, and he was expecting the promotion that they gave to Annabelle. He is not nice, to say the least, but Annabelle is very friendly with some of the staff and is determined to do a good job, despite him.

When Annabelle finally meets Nick, there is a lot of chemistry but he is still determined to keep away from her. But he can’t. Their worlds are colliding and it is for the best, even if he doesn’t realize it.

This was a really good story with characters I got to know well. There were a lot of serious issues but it is a romance so happily ever after is achieved. Reviews have been good all around, so don’t miss it! I also found her last book, Paris is Always a Good Idea, on my Kindle so I will be reading that next!

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

WAIT FOR IT by Jenn McKinlay. Berkley (August 10, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593101377. 352 pages.

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IF THE SHOE FITS by Julie Murphy

August 13, 2021

A Meant to be Novel, Book 1

From the publisher:

If the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own.

Cindy loves shoes. A well-placed bow or a chic stacked heel is her form of self-expression. As a fashion-obsessed plus-size woman, she can never find designer clothes that work on her body, but a special pair of shoes always fits just right.

With a shiny new design degree but no job in sight, Cindy moves back in with her stepmother, Erica Tremaine, the executive producer of the world’s biggest dating reality show. When a contestant on Before Midnight bows out at the last minute, Cindy is thrust into the spotlight. Showcasing her killer shoe collection on network TV seems like a great way to jump-start her career. And, while she’s at it, why not go on a few lavish dates with an eligible suitor?

But being the first and only fat contestant on Before Midnight turns her into a viral sensation—and a body-positivity icon—overnight. Even harder to believe? She can actually see herself falling for this Prince Charming. To make it to the end, despite the fans, the haters, and a house full of fellow contestants she’s not sure she can trust, Cindy will have to take a leap of faith and hope her heels— and her heart—don’t break in the process.

Best-selling author Julie Murphy’s reimagining of a beloved fairy tale is an enchanting story of self-love and believing in the happy ending each and every one of us deserves.

“If the Shoe Fits encompasses everything I love about rom-coms. I laughed, I swooned, I smiled. Another hit for Julie Murphy!”
—Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Hopeless

Fairy tales are often fodder for romance novels, and the last ones I remember were the books in the Fairy Tales series by Eloisa James. Those were historical romances and I loved them, so i was happy to try out this contemporary version. This book is very loosely based on Cinderella.

Cindy just graduated from Parson School of Design, and her career choice is to design shoes. But how to break into such a competitive industry is a bit disheartening. Cindy lost her mom when she was young, and her father died while she was in high school. Her stepmother and stepsisters are there for her, though, and she offers to be her stepmother’s nanny for the summer. After her father died, her stepmother had his triplets, and she can use the help.

Cindy isn’t entirely comfortable with her stepfamily, but they try their hardest to make her feel like a member of the family, and she just loves the triplets. Her stepmother is the executive producer of a top dating reality show, and when a couple of the girls drop out at the last minute, she asks her daughters to step in, but not Cindy. Cindy is a plus size girl, and her stepmother is afraid that the Twitterverse will be cruel. But Beck, her second in command, thinks Cindy would be great, and talks her into it by telling her that her shoe designs will get a ton of publicity so Cindy talks her stepmother into letting her onto the show.

Living with a house full of skinny women competing for the same man doesn’t really phase Cindy. And when it turns out the bachelor (or in this series, the “suitor”) is the really nice guy she met on her flight home from school, she is in it to win it. As the competition continues, Cindy moves along and makes it to the final three. The public adores her, and her shoes are a big hit as well. Beck has been giving Cindy some intel about the whole process, and when she finds out that the winner was pretty much determined before they even started shooting, she declines to participate in the finale. Then the suitor disappears too.

This was a really fun read, and I have never even watched “The Bachelor.” But reality TV makes for a good plot, and it works here. We don’t get to know the “suitor” quite as well as Cindy, but I still wanted them to get their happily ever after. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

IF THE SHOE FITS by Julie Murphy. Hyperion Avenue (August 3, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593100851. 384 pages.

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INCENSE AND SENSIBILITY by Sonali Dev

August 12, 2021

The Rajes, Book 3

From the publisher:

Yash Raje, California’s first Indian-American gubernatorial candidate, has always known exactly what he wants—and how to use his privileged background to get it. He attributes his success to a simple mantra: control your feelings and you can control the world. But when a hate crime at a rally critically injures his friend, Yash’s easy life suddenly feels like a lie, his control an illusion. When he tries to get back on the campaign trail, he blacks out with panic.

Desperate to keep Yash’s condition from leaking to the media, his family turns to the one person they trust—his sister’s best friend, India Dashwood, California’s foremost stress management coach. Raised by a family of yoga teachers, India has helped San Francisco’s high strung overachievers for a decade without so much as altering her breath. But this man—with his boundless ambition, simmering intensity, and absolute faith in his political beliefs—is like no other.

Yash has spent a lifetime repressing everything to succeed, including their one magical night ten years ago—a too brief, too bright passion that if rekindled threatens to destroy the dream he’s willingly shouldered for his family and community . . . until now.

I read all three books in this series last week, and frankly, that says a lot. I loved spending time with the Rajes, and while each book stands alone, I think they are best read in order. This is Yash’s and India’s story.

Yash is the crown prince of the Raje family, everyone’s favorite son. He is brilliant and kind, and has devoted his life to public service. Now he is running for Governor of California. His sister is his campaign manager, but the whole family is involved. When shots are fired at a rally, Yash’s bodyguard takes the bullet meant for Yash, but it passes through his body into Yash’s. Both are taken to the hospital.

Yash has pretty superficial wounds, but Abdul, the bodyguard, is in critical condition. Abdul’s wife is in the hospital as well, having given birth to their first child, a daughter, just two days earlier. Yash is just beside himself, feeling guilty and out of control, and control is his most important character trait. He recovers quickly, and a couple of weeks later is set to speak at another rally. But as he is supposed to go on, he has what seems like a panic attack. His sister’s best friend Ashna suffered from panic attacks, but their friend India was able to help her so they want Yash to see India.

India, her sister China, and their mom live in a building that also houses their yoga studio and handmade incense factory. India and Yash met at his sister’s wedding ten years earlier, and had an amazing connection. They spent the night together, just talking, and Yash showed her around his family’s estate. But he was leaving the next day, so their plans were put on hold. But Yash’s best friend, Naina, makes him a proposition. She wants to work on her plan to help women around the world, but her family is driving her crazy because they want her to marry. Naima and Yash come to a decision; they will be “spoken for” and that will allow them both to do their work unimpeded by their families’ marriage plans. Both families are thrilled with the idea, and it works well for them. They are rarely in the same place, but for ten years they have avoided having to marry. Of course, Yash has to give up on India for the greater good, his political career.

India is heartbroken when she learns about Yash and Naina. No one but the two of them know it is a relationship of convenience, but Naina returns to California where she will be working for a while. She is in the audience when Yash is shot, and the picture of her crying over his body goes viral. Naina wants to get married because she thinks it will be best for the careers. There is no love there; they tried having sex a few times but it wasn’t good. This will be a marriage of convenience, but Yash has had it. He is tired of living the lie, and he certainly doesn’t want to move forward into a marriage. But Naina lets slip to the media that they are engaged, and he doesn’t now how to get out of it.

Meanwhile, Yash goes to India for help. She is not of a mind to help the man who broke her heart, but India is a kind soul and would never refuse to help someone who needed her. As their relationship deepens, Yash is torn and cannot figure out how to get out of the mess he finds himself in, especially when he is leading the polls so close to the election.

One of the reviews of this book that I read described it as “West Wing meets Jane Austen” and while that is quite a stretch, the politics are an important part of the story. It seems hopeless that Yash and India will ever be able to get together, but have no fear, they get their happy ending. I loved this latest entry into this wonderful series, so now I have to patiently wait for the next Sonali Dev book. Something to look forward to!

8/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

INCENSE AND SENSIBILITY by Sonali Dev. William Morrow Paperbacks (July 6, 2021). ISBN: 978-0063051805. 400 pages.

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