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WIND RIVER VALLEY SERIES by Lindsay McKenna

December 13, 2021

I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed an entire series like this before, but there is always a first time, so here it is. I found this series when another librarian was trying to help her patron find this and she asked on a readers’ advisory listserv I frequent. The patron didn’t remember the author or any of the titles, only the barest facts about it: a small town setting in Wyoming, military veterans, romance. Another librarian suggested this series, and I was intrigued. I recently read another series set in a similar area, Wranglers of Wyoming by R.C. Ryan, which I loved, so I thought I’d check out this one.

I read them all in about two weeks. Sometimes that is not a good thing – I think I would have enjoyed them more with some time between each book. As it was, these books were addicting for me, even though I have some real criticism about them.

The setting is a small town in western Wyoming in the Wind River Valley (a real place.) In the books, this is a small, impoverished town with a few families that are well off; one is quite wealthy. They are about 50 miles from the very wealthy Jackson Hole area, which is referenced regularly.

There are some characters that are in pretty much all the books. Maud and Steve own the largest ranch in the area, over 100,000 acres. Maud runs the ranch, and Steve is a world renowned architect. They mostly hire veterans to work for them. Shay owns another ranch, but a much smaller one that is in bad shape. She inherited the ranch from her mother, who died when she was young. Her father is an alcoholic and quite abusive, and he has run the ranch into the ground. When he has a stroke, Shay gets a hardship discharge from the armed services to go home and take over the ranch. She decides to only hire veterans like herself who are suffering from PTSD.

Most of the books take place on one of these two ranches. There are occasional pointed jabs at the VA and the lack of help they provide for our veterans, but these books are not political in nature, and the author has lived a lot of what she puts her characters through. She’s a veteran, among other things, and you can read all about her here: https://lindsaymckenna.com/about/

While I have a lot of respect for the author, I have some issues with this series. All the characters are the same. Pretty much everyone is a veteran, which I really liked. Almost all have been Black Ops in Afghanistan, which makes them super vigilant and extremely observant. All the men are kind, have old school manners, calloused hands, and are afraid of relationships mostly because of their PTSD. They often display “sour smiles,” whatever that is. They are all tall and well built (these are romances!) and pretty much everyone in these books (and frankly, in most romance novels) have blue, green, or gray eyes with just a couple of exceptions. That’s been bugging me for a while, so I did some research.

Can you guess the rarest eye color in the United States?
The [American Academy of Ophthalmology] surveyed more than 2,000 Americans to determine what color eyes they have. Below are the results of that 2014 Harris Poll survey, weighted to reflect the United States population at that time.
Of the 2014 U.S. population:
45% have brown eyes
27% have blue eyes
18% have hazel eyes
9% have green eyes
1% have eyes a color not listed above (i.e. gray or amber)
American Academy of Ophthalmology

The women are mostly tall and thin, usually underweight due to their PTSD. They are also afraid of relationships, same PTSD issues. They appreciate the gentleman-like manners. I loved that all the men treat the women as equals. There is so much respect for the military that it carries through to relationships these veterans have in civilian life. Every man and woman is a team player, works hard, never asks for help, hated and stopped taking the drugs prescribed by the VA, and are open to the physician’s assistant in town who is studying PTSD and offers them help via more natural methods.

Most of them have experienced homelessness, even if they come from good families. Some of the men are divorced due to PTSD, a couple are young widowers. All these veterans experience flashbacks and nightmares, making them feel like they can’t live at home with civilians who don’t understand their symptoms, not to mention they feel like they disturb the household too much to live there. They are all incredibly anxious and find salvation working with animals on these ranches. And they all acknowledge their sexual attraction to one another by feeling “warmth” or “tightness” in their “lower body,” which I found weird.

While some of the female vets did mention how badly a lot of the men in the armed services treated them, it was mostly glossed over. No mention whatsoever of the prevalence of sexual assaults, either, and of course all the men in these books totally respect women, especially those in combat, which I found quite aspirational rather than believable.

After the first book, both ranches offer their employees their own homes to live in on the ranch. At Shay’s ranch, all the wranglers are men. The homes are two bedrooms and when she hires a new wrangler, all women, she assigns them to one of the houses to live with the man who already lives there. How convenient it is that every one of these women and men fall in love with their house partner.

All the relationships take most of the book to come to fruition due to their fears and lack of communication. They all realize they have feelings, usually very strong feelings, for the person they are living with, but are hesitant to express those feelings because they are afraid they are not reciprocated. They are also afraid the other person is dealing with too much stress/psychological issues/PTSD to want to have a relationship.

A couple of these books have strong elements of suspense as well. There is a family in town who are the bad guys. The father abused his entire family. There are four sons and a mother, and all are drug users and violent criminals. Some or all of them feature prominently in a few of the books, are briefly mentioned in others.

A couple of the books center on women who aren’t working on one of the ranches. Kassie’s Cowboy is a novella, hence the addition of “6.5” in the series, and is only available as an ebook. Kassie owns the diner in this small town, and hires veterans for her staff. She is one of the few characters that doesn’t have PTSD, but all her staff do so she understands and knows how to deal with it. Wind River Lawman centers around the sheriff of the county, an odd title considering that Sarah is the sheriff, elected after her father retired. She is a veteran with issues and her love interest is a wrangler hired to work on her family’s ranch.

Finally, sex. Most romances have sex, and while these books definitely lean towards the sweet side of romance, all have one sex scene towards the end of the book. It is not very explicit, and in every book it is as close to being the exact same scene as in every other book in this series. It is the type of sex that I thought indicated a man actually wrote this series. Then, as I learned about the author, I thought ah ha! I’m right, he’s writing under a pseudonym. But her website indicates she is a woman, and the one photo I found is of a woman. Maybe it is an age thing? But that really isn’t an excuse to write bad sex scenes. All the men in these books are assumed to be great lovers by all the women in these books because, from what I can tell, of their good manners?

Worst of all, these are the type of sex scenes that make me want to stop reading; kissing leads to simultaneous orgasms from intercourse over a page or two, and that’s all she wrote. Literally.

Besides the instantaneous & simultaneous orgasms, my other big issue with the sex is that every single character hates & refuses to use condoms. One of the women is on the pill, but everyone else is “clean” and the women are all in a “safe” time of the month. I really wanted to suggest they drive by the nearest parochial school and ask the moms picking up those kids how many of those kids are there despite the “safe” time of the month.

There are so many coincidences sprinkled throughout these books that it makes the mind reel. So many of the veterans in this town were people who served together in Afghanistan. According to the Washington Post, 775,000 men and women served there. Not sure what the odds are that so many of these soldiers would end up in this little town many years later, with some of them having served together, too. It all seems pretty far fetched to me. But what do I know.

There is also a bit of confusion about the wealthy family in town. Early in the series, we are told that over the years they fostered some children who are now grown, and are still helping them out. Later in the series, it turns out these children were adopted. There are four of them, and we really don’t learn anything about them until book 8 when the oldest daughter comes home. Then we learn that three of them are in the military, and the fourth is in drug enforcement (DEA.) He shows up in the last book.

That’s a whole of complaining about a series of books that I still managed to read. I believe these books are best read in order. They are formulaic as hell; change the names, swap out the ranch or occupation, and everything else pretty much stays the same. I never thought I would like a series that is so formulaic with such bad sex scenes, but I overlooked all that because I did like these stories. I liked the respect for the military. I liked how strong these women were, even if they occasionally lapse into helpless female on rare occasion. I always like small town romances, and I really liked this small town that revolves around helping veterans. I liked the men; how strong they were, the work they do, the way they treat one another and their women. There was enough good there to keep me picking up book after book, even if I can’t quantify it exactly.

That said, I doubt I’d read anything else by this author (or any of her pseudonyms.) There is one storyline that hangs over all these books, concerning Shay’s abusive father. As he starts recovering from his stroke, he is determined to take back the ranch from his daughter. He files a lawsuit but it is not resolved; it’s just hanging over all these characters and books. I’m hoping there will be another book that finally resolves that. But it’s looking doubtful – the last book in this series was published in 2020.

Finally, I wanted to add that I read all of these books on Hoopla, an app that is available through libraries. If your library doesn’t offer it, ask for it! I don’t love reading in the app, it’s not nearly as seamless as my Kindle but it works and I read these all on my iPad. They offer ebooks, audiobooks, comics (graphic novels,) movies, TV series, and music; pretty much any kind of streaming material. My library allows patrons to borrow 18 items per month, but your mileage may vary. Oh, and the content changes at the whim of Hoopla, libraries have no say in it beyond suggestions. So just because I found all these books there now, they may not be there next month or next year. What I like best about Hoopla is that whatever they have is always available. If you are used to borrowing ebooks through Cloud Library or Overdrive, you know you have to reserve popular items and wait. That doesn’t happen on Hoopla – what you see is what you get.

The series in order:

1. Wind River Wrangler (Wind River Series Book 1) by Lindsay McKenna

First in the series from the bestselling author. “The ever-present sensuality is a magnetic force that propels the novel forward amid simmering suspense.”—Publishers Weekly

From the moment Roan Taggart picks up the pretty redhead at the Jackson Hole airport, his training and experience tells him she is spooked. She’s left New York City to visit the Wind River Ranch, where Roan is a wrangler, and just as he can pick up a horse’s mood, he can feel the tension coming off her body. And that vulnerability is triggering all his protective instincts . . .

2. Wind River Rancher (Wind River Series Book 2) by Lindsay McKenna

A Marine veteran finds a chance for redemption and romance in this novel from the New York Times–bestselling author of Wind River Undercover.

Not so long ago, Reese Lockhart was commanding a company of Marines. Now his life is spiraling out of control. The Bar C ranch outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming may be his last chance to save himself . . .

Shaylene Crawford, an Afghanistan veteran herself, knows all too well the demons of PTSD—that’s why she’s determined to turn her family’s cattle ranch into a place where wounded warriors can work, find a home, and rebuild their souls. Her embittered father nearly drank and gambled the place away, but with help from a small crew of vets—including the newest arrival, the quietly compelling Reese Lockhart—she intends to hold on to her dream. And when someone tries to destroy that dream, Reese will do whatever it takes to defend her . . .

3. Wind River Cowboy (Wind River Series Book 3) by Lindsay McKenna

Two veterans reunited at a Wyoming ranch reignite their passion for each other—from the New York Times–bestselling author of Wind River Undercover.

Kira Duval was part of a Special Forces team that got caught in an ambush—leaving only two wounded survivors: herself and Weapons Sergeant Garret Fleming. Losing her team was traumatic, and in the chaotic aftermath, as the Army moved them from hospital to hospital, she lost Garret too. But she never lost her secret yearning for him.

Finally, she gave up trying to track him down back in the States. But as she settles in at the Bar C cattle ranch in Wyoming, a place where veterans can find a home and a place to heal, she’s introduced to her sandy-haired, hazel-eyed housemate: none other than Garret Fleming.

They’re a long way from Afghanistan—and a long way from the people they used to be before tragedy changed their lives. But as Kira earns her keep by caregiving for the ranch owner’s bedridden, alcoholic father—a task that sometimes feels more challenging than any black ops mission—she finds that even in peacetime Garret still has her back, and that in this warm, welcoming place, the passion she resisted in the heat of battle may finally have a chance to flourish…

4. Wrangler’s Challenge (Wind River Series Book 4) by Lindsay McKenna

Two military veterans find solace, and each other, on a horse ranch in this romance from the New York Times–bestselling author of Wind River Undercover.

For Noah Mabry, it’s easier sometimes to relate to the dogs and horses he trains than to other people. Ever since his marriage became a casualty of the war in Afghanistan—torn apart by the PTSD he brought back with him—he prefers to be on his own. At the Bar C Ranch in Wyoming, where he works with a crew of fellow military vets, his gentle patience helps tame even the rowdiest mustang—but he’s about to meet a woman who needs a healing touch he’s not sure he can give.

Dair Wilson, a half-Comanche ex-Marine who lost a foot to an IED, has been hired on to assist Noah, but her deepest wounds aren’t visible. Growing up in an abusive home, she learned not to trust men, even ones who seem nothing but kind. After a wild horse sends her sprawling, the attentive care she receives from the Bar C family—and especially from Noah—is enough to convince her she’s found a place she can finally breathe easy. But one angry, damaged man poses a threat not only to Dair and Noah, but to everyone who’s built a new home at the Bar C…

5. Lone Rider (Wind River Valley Book 5) by Lindsay McKenna

A Wyoming ranch holds the future for a combat medic and a photographer in this romance from the New York Times–bestselling author of Wind River Undercover.

As a combat photographer in Afghanistan, Tara Dalton saw things she won’t ever forget, as much as she would like to. And after returning Stateside, she can’t fight her way past the PTSD that’s haunted her ever since. Desperate to make a change, she joins her old friend Shay at the Bar C Ranch, where a group of ex-military vets are putting their lives back together one step at a time—including one strong, gentle bear of a man who makes her feel safer than she has in years.

Harper Sutton fell farther than he ever imagined after his tour of duty as a medic was up, and he’s not proud of it. But at the Bar C, he’s doing work that means something, and he’s training to be a professional paramedic. That’s enough to concentrate on, until Tara comes to share his place at the ranch. The shadows in her eyes are darker than simply memories of war, and every moment he spends with her opens up parts of himself he’d thought long dead. But as Tara’s troubled past threatens the present, it will take trust in each other to fight for a future together…

6. Wind River Lawman (Wind River Series Book 6) by Lindsay McKenna

A small-town sheriff gets some backup in more ways than one from a Navy veteran turned rancher in this romance from a New York Times–bestselling author.

After serving as a Navy medic, Dawson Callahan is back in the States and ready to start over. Leaving his native Texas, he heads for the wide-open spaces of Wyoming, where he finds work as a wrangler. True, he’ll mainly be wrangling chickens—and wrangling Sarah Carter’s granny, who’s still spry, but in need of a little caregiving. But ranch work is ranch work, and it’s hard to turn down a job offer from the beautiful Sheriff Carter—especially when she deputizes him as one of her lawmen.

Sarah loves her grandmother, but with her law enforcement career keeping her busy, they could both use some help from a strong, steady man. And policing Lincoln County has only gotten tougher since a merciless drug lord arrived in the area. When Sarah takes a bullet on the job, it’s Dawson who comes to her rescue—and though they both thought they left war behind in Afghanistan, they’ll do whatever it takes to protect what’s theirs, even if it means facing down traumas they’ve buried for years. Because love isn’t for the faint of heart…

6.5 Kassie’s Cowboy (Wind River)Novella by Lindsay McKenna – Kindle Edition

A Christmas blizzard reunites a Marine veteran with his high school sweetheart in this romance novella from a New York Times–bestselling author.

A brutal blue norther is battering Wind River Valley in Wyoming just in time for Christmas when retired Marine Travis Grant spies a driver spinning out of control on black ice. It’s probably a tourist who doesn’t understand the deadly conditions, and Travis knows he has to help. The last person he expects to find behind the wheel is his childhood love, Kassie Murphy. She’s injured, but alive. And now, for Travis and Kassie, this snowy silent night will be one last chance to put the painful past behind them—and treat the wounds only love can heal.

7. Home to Wind River (Wind River Series Book 7) by Lindsay McKenna

An ex-Marine and an Army nurse discover the strength to love again on a Wyoming ranch—from the New York Times–bestselling author of Wind River Undercover.

After a harrowing tour of duty in Afghanistan, Army nurse Lily Thompson escapes to Wind River Ranch to find herself once more. Working as a caregiver to foreman Jake Murdoch’s elderly mother, Lily almost feels at peace—except for the unsettling presence of Jake, a tight-lipped, intimidating man everyone calls Bear. But one look in the powerful ex-Marine’s eyes and Lily glimpses a vulnerability that shakes her soul: a hurt she understands all too well—and longs to heal . . .

Jake is ready to rail at the fates when Lily moves into his home. Everything about this captivating woman calls to him, demanding that he abandon his solitary stance and start to live again. But Jake is a man who knows that no one can save him from the past that stalks his heart and mind. Not even sweet, achingly beautiful Lily. Still, that doesn’t stop his longing to pull her into his arms—and keep her there forever. Will time, and patience, bring them the courage to make their connection real?…

8. Wind River Protector (Wind River Series Book 8) by Lindsay McKenna

The new novel from the bestselling author of Home to Wind River.

Real love is worth every risk . . .

Ex-Air Force pilot Andy Whitcomb loves nothing more than the wide blue skies, but when a helicopter crash fighting forest fires in California leaves her injured and shaken, she’s ready to return home to the peace of Wind River Ranch. The good news is, there’s a chance for her to fly helos for the county sheriff’s department. The bad news? The person in charge is none other than Dev Mitchell, an ex-Army Black Hawk pilot—and the rugged, sharp-eyed man Andy has never forgotten after five days together running from the Taliban after a nerve-wracking near-miss in Afghanistan.

Dev can’t believe his eyes when Andy walks into the interview. She’s as strong and sexy as he remembers, and every bit qualified for the job, which she clearly wants. Unfortunately, if he’s going to be her boss, their relationship has to remain strictly professional—a regret Dev fights to keep hidden as they begin to work together. But when a chance encounter with violent drug traffickers forces them into survival mode, both of them will fight to hold on to the connection they can’t ignore—and the chance of a future together.

9. Wind River Undercover (Wind River Valley Book 9) by Lindsay McKenna

)The new novel from the bestselling author of Wind River Protector.

Hide in plain sight.

For native Guatemalan Anna Navaro, nothing is more satisfying than capturing drug traffickers for the U.S. DEA. Her career has always been her focus, but just as she’s beginning to yearn for something more, she’s given a brand-new assignment with DEA agent Gabe Whitcomb. In his well-worn Stetson and boots, he’s part cowboy and part law enforcement, a combination Anna finds irresistibly sexy. But desire has no place on a job as dangerous as this one, because the drug lord they’re after is the violent fugitive who killed her father . . .

Gabe’s worked some treacherous assignments in the past, but this one raises every alarm—and not just because his partner is a gorgeous woman with the grace of a cat and a sniper’s deadly aim. He and Anna are being sent to the Wind River Valley where he grew up—and where his adoptive parents still own a ranch just eighty miles from the Elson family, who have been recruited into the ruthless Gonzalez cartel. Posing as new ranch-owners and ingratiating themselves with the Elsons to uncover evidence, Anna and Gabe can only fight the heat flaring between them until they realize that building a life together, here in Wind River, is worth risking everything for . . .

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THE SINGLES TABLE by Sara Desai

December 9, 2021

Marriage Game, Book 3

From the publisher:

Opposites attract in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about a free-spirited lawyer who is determined to find the perfect match for the grumpy bachelor at her cousin’s wedding.
After a devastating break-up, celebrity-obsessed lawyer Zara Patel is determined never to open her heart again. She puts her energy into building her career and helping her friends find their happily-ever-afters. She’s never faced a guest at the singles table she couldn’t match, until she crosses paths with the sinfully sexy Jay Dayal.
Former military security specialist Jay has no time for love. His life is about working hard, staying focused, and winning at all costs. When charismatic Zara crashes into his life, he’s thrown into close contact with exactly the kind of chaos he wants to avoid. Worse, they’re stuck together for the entire wedding season.
So they make a deal. She’ll find his special someone if he introduces her to his celebrity clients. But when their arrangement brings them together in ways they never expected, they realize that the perfect match might just be their own.
https://amzn.to/3poEDd u

This is one of my favorite series, and I’m happy to say this latest entry is another terrific read, both funny and heartwarming. Zara and Jay meet at the pre-wedding paintball party of a couple that Zara had matched up. She may suck at dating, but she’s great at matchmaking, giving the old aunties some competition. For Jay and Zara, it’s pretty much hate at first sight though. He’s so competitive he takes paintball seriously, and while Zara is equally competitive, she thinks outside the box and manages to win while simultaneously pissing off Jay. So of course they are seated together at the singles table at the wedding.

Zara is trying to become an entertainment lawyer, but isn’t having a lot of luck. She likes her job, and she likes the people she works with, but they are a small firm so if she can get some big name celebrity clients, she would be happy and so would her bosses. Turns out Jay owns a high profile security firm, and has contacts with a lot of celebrities. A deal is struck: he will introduce her to some big names, and she will find him a girlfriend.

Every girl she introduces him to doesn’t quite measure up. Much to his surprise, it turns out he’s using Zara as his yardstick, which he cannot understand. She is everything that he doesn’t want; loud, wild, pretty much out of control, but she also conveys happiness upon everyone she meets, and for some reason, that is appealing to Jay.

Zara thinks he has a stick so far up his butt it will never see daylight, but as they spend time together at weddings and other events, she starts to warm up to him. Especially when he introduces her to Lin Manuel Miranda. His protectiveness appeals to her as well, and they both slowly realize they are meant to be.

I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions, and the secondary characters, especially the matchmaking aunties, add to the fun. These books do not need to be read in order, I think they each stand alone. Read my reviews of the first two books in the series.

12/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE SINGLES TABLE by Sara Desai. Berkley (November 16, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593100608. 336 pages.

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BOMBSHELL by Sarah MacLean

December 8, 2021

Hell’s Belles, Book 1

From the publisher:

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with a blazingly sexy, unapologetically feminist new series, Hell’s Belles, beginning with a bold, bombshell of a heroine, able to dispose of a scoundrel—or seduce one—in a single night.
After years of living as London’s brightest scandal, Lady Sesily Talbot has embraced the reputation and the freedom that comes with the title. No one looks twice when she lures a gentleman into the dark gardens beyond a Mayfair ballroom…and no one realizes those trysts are not what they seem.
No one, that is, but Caleb Calhoun, who has spent years trying not to notice his best friend’s beautiful, brash, brilliant sister. If you ask him, he’s been a saint about it, considering the way she looks at him…and the way she talks to him…and the way she’d felt in his arms during their one ill-advised kiss.
Except someone has to keep Sesily from tumbling into trouble during her dangerous late-night escapades, and maybe close proximity is exactly what Caleb needs to get this infuriating, outrageous woman out of his system. But now Caleb is the one in trouble, because he’s fast realizing that Sesily isn’t for forgetting…she’s forever. And forever isn’t something he can risk.
https://amzn.to/31qAe1R

If you have been dying to read an historical romance with a strong heroine who is also vulnerable, intelligent, and sassy, then this is your book! On the other hand, if modern slang put in the mouth of said heroine rubs you the wrong way, then maybe not. I am not a fan of modernism rearing its head in historical anything, be it TV (I’m looking at you, “Dickinson”) or a book like this. MacLean doesn’t typically do this, but it is definitely trendy so I’m guessing that’s what is going on here.

Forgetting all that, Sesily is an interesting character for sure. Caleb, on the other hand, is not as well developed. The attraction between them is strong, but Sesily isn’t interested in being part of someone’s forever. Until the very end of the book.

I liked how these women are trying to help other women, and how Caleb is happy with a woman who doesn’t need to be rescued, yet he keeps rescuing her. It’s all a bit of a mishmash, with Sesily’s interior monologue leading the way through the mess. Despite all my misgivings, I did end up liking this book. I just wish it could have been written differently. While that is my problem, it may not be yours. MacLean is a good writer as a rule, so I would say give this a try. The reviews have mostly been positive and I understand that. I did like it, and I will read the next book in the series for sure.

12/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BOMBSHELL by Sarah MacLean. Avon (August 24, 2021). ISBN: 978-0063056152. 400 pages.

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3 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
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ALL THE FEELS by Olivia Dade

December 7, 2021

From the publisher:

Following Spoiler Alert, Olivia Dade returns with another utterly charming romantic comedy about a devil-may-care actor—who actually cares more than anyone knows—and the no-nonsense woman hired to keep him in line.
Alexander Woodroe has it all. Charm. Sex appeal. Wealth. Fame. A starring role as Cupid on TV’s biggest show, Gods of the Gates. But the showrunners have wrecked his character, he’s dogged by old demons, and his post-show future remains uncertain. When all that reckless emotion explodes into a bar fight, the tabloids and public agree: his star is falling.
Enter Lauren Clegg, the former ER therapist hired to keep him in line. Compared to her previous work, watching over handsome but impulsive Alex shouldn’t be especially difficult. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to keep her professional remove and her heart intact, especially when she discovers the reasons behind his recklessness…not to mention his Cupid fanfiction habit.
When another scandal lands Alex in major hot water and costs Lauren her job, she’ll have to choose between protecting him and offering him what he really wants—her. But he’s determined to keep his improbably short, impossibly stubborn, and extremely endearing minder in his life any way he can. And on a road trip up the California coast together, he intends to show her exactly what a falling star will do to catch the woman he loves: anything at all.
https://amzn.to/3pxyRpP

Alex is a TV star who ends up in a bar fight, giving the paparazzi plenty of ammunition to keep him in the tabloids. But the powers that be in charge of his TV show are really angry, and the showrunner hires his cousin Lauren to basically babysit Alex until the new season premiers. The series is based on books, but they have run out of the original author’s materials and a team of TV writers has written the final season. Alex hates what they’ve done to the storyline and to his character, and he starts writing fanfiction under a pseudonym.

Lauren works in an emergency room determining whether patients need to be held for psychiatric evaluation. It’s a tough job, both physically and emotionally, and she needs some time off. While on vacation, her cousin asks her to take on babysitting their TV star. Sounds like an easy gig, the money is terrific, and she agrees.

What we learn about Lauren is that she is not Hollywood beautiful. In fact, she is overweight, round in shape, and not especially attractive. In fact, when Alex meets her, he pretty much calls her ugly to her face. But Lauren is used to people being unkind about her looks, and she brushes it off as best as she can, chalking it up to an actor’s giant ego and spoiled personna.

But as Lauren and Alex are spending all day, every day, together, they learn to get along. Lauren is fiercely guarding her heart from the very good looking man, and surprisingly, Alex is realizing he needs Lauren as more than just a babysitter. They have some real hurdles to overcome, and the sensitivity portrayed goes a long way towards “all the feels.” This was very different from most romances where everyone is beautiful, and I really liked that realism. Dade did something similar in Spoiler Alert, but I liked this one better.

12/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ALL THE FEELS by Olivia Dade. Avon (November 16, 2021). ISBN: 978-0063005587. 416 pages.

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A HOLLY JOLLY DIWALI by Sonya Lalli

December 6, 2021

From the publisher:

One type-A data analyst discovers her free-spirited side on an impulsive journey from bustling Mumbai to the gorgeous beaches of Goa and finds love waiting for her on Christmas morning.
Twenty-nine-year-old Niki Randhawa has always made practical decisions. Despite her love for music and art, she became an analyst for the stability. She’s always stuck close to home, in case her family needed her. And she’s always dated guys that seem good on paper, rather than the ones who give her butterflies. When she’s laid off, Niki realizes that practical hasn’t exactly paid off for her. So for the first time ever, she throws caution to the wind and books a last-minute flight for her friend Diya’s wedding.
Niki arrives in India just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets London musician Sameer Mukherji. Maybe it’s the splendor of Mumbai or the magic of the holiday season, but Niki is immediately drawn to Sam. At the wedding, the champagne flows and their flirtatious banter makes it clear that the attraction is mutual.
When Niki and Sam join Diya, her husband and their friends on a group honeymoon, their connection grows deeper. Free-spirited Sam helps Niki get in touch with her passionate and creative side, and with her Indian roots. When she gets a new job offer back home, Niki must decide what she wants out of the next chapter of her life—to cling to the straight and narrow like always, or to take a leap of faith and live the kind of bold life the old Niki never would have dreamed of.
https://amzn.to/3poEDdu

Nikki has always been the good daughter. Her older sister, Jasmine, is a bit of a rebel, and Nikki has never wanted to upset her parents like her sister does. So when her parents offer to do a little matchmaking for her, she agrees. The young Indian doctor is a nephew of a friend, is good looking and successful, so they decide to meet for lunch.

But a few minutes before they are to meet, Nikki gets laid off from her tech job. They go out for lunch and get very drunk, and the good doctor invites her back to his apartment. Thinking he’s kidding, she declines and goes home. Then she decides to attend her college roommate’s wedding in India – two days before she has to leave. Nikki is not the impulsive, spontaneous type, so this is completely out of character for her. But she decides the time is now. Her parents were born in Punjab, and while the wedding is in Mumbai, she can stay in India for a few weeks and meet her relatives for the first time.

The wedding is more than just a one day affair; there are a week’s worth of events leading up to it, and the bride has invited all her wedding party to join her and her new husband on their honeymoon in Goa, a beach resort area. At her first event, Nikki encounters a racist old auntie who upsets her. leading her to meet another auntie, a kind and good person. She wants to set up Nikki with her son, but she declines. Then at the event, she can’t help but notice the gorgeous bass player in the band, and he appears to notice her as well. Turns out Sam is the kind auntie’s son.

Sam and Nikki start spending time together at the wedding events, and she is invited to Goa to stay in his family’s apartment there. His mother will be there as well, so she decides to put off visiting her relatives in Punjab for a few days.

As Sam and Nikki grow closer, they both start to realize that this is way more than a holiday fling. But Sam lives in London, and she lives in Seattle. There are other hurdles as well; besides Nikki’s job loss, Sam is struggling with his career as well. When she offers to move to London to be with him, he tells her he isn’t sure he is going back but doesn’t offer any alternative. Convinced that whatever they were building towards is now over, Nikki goes on to Punjab and meets her family for the first time. When she returns home, she is determined to get over Sam.

Set during the Diwali holiday around Christmas, the holiday cheer is a part of the story. I knew as little about Diwali as Nikki does, so it was fun learning about this important holiday. Sam and Nikki seem to be over, but this is a romance so a holiday miracle is expected and occurs. This was an interesting and fast moving story, and a good read. This holiday romance is filled with charm, pathos, love, and laughter. Enjoy!

12/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

A HOLLY JOLLY DIWALI by Sonya Lalli. Berkley (October 5, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593100950. 336 pages.

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THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING GUEST by Susan Mallery

December 4, 2021

Wishing Tree, Book 1

From the publisher:

Susan Mallery, author of the Fool’s Gold romances, cheerfully invites you to Wishing Tree, where Christmas comes to life…
The Somerville sisters believe in love, but they’ve lost faith it will happen for them. Reggie hasn’t been home since the end of the world’s shortest engagement. When her parents decide to renew their vows, she buffs up her twinkle to help with the Christmas wedding. Unexpectedly, Toby, her first love, is back too, and the spark between them shines as brightly as ever. In the spirit of the season, will they let go of past hurts and greet the New Year together?
Done waiting for the one, Dena is pregnant and on her own—on purpose. But then a gorgeous, sad-eyed songwriter checks in to a room at her inn. Micah, unable to write since he lost his wife, finds inspiration in Dena’s determination to be a mom. One snowflake-speckled kiss and he’s a goner. But Dena is afraid to believe that a rock star could fall for a cookie-cutter small-town girl like her.
As the Christmas wedding draws closer, these two sisters just might unwrap the most treasured gift of all—love.
Don’t miss The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery where one woman discovers the beauty in chaos in a poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold family together.
https://amzn.to/3daap8o

Susan Mallery has a new series and I am thrilled! This one is all Christmas, all the time, and that’s pretty wonderful, too. Set in the small town of Wishing Tree, a town that should exist if it doesn’t.

Dena and Reggie are sisters, and they are close even though Reggie moved an hour away. Dena has given up on love and decided she wants a family anyway. She gets pregnant through in vitro, and of course then she meets Micah Ruiz, a famous singer who’s best friend lives in town. He’s staying at Dena’s B&B, trying to get inspiration to write music again. There is a strong attraction there, but they don’t rush into anything. When Micah has to return to LaLaLand, Dena is sure she’s lost him.

Reggie is in town to help their parents prepare for a big wedding – their own. They never had a wedding, and her mom decided it was time to have the wedding she always wanted. She hasn’t been back in town since her infamous engagement; engaged one day, dumped the next. Literally. But she is surprised to see her old high school boyfriend is also back in town with his little boy. They start seeing each other everywhere (small town!) and decide to try again.

This is an emotional read, and a really good one. There are two romances going on, and everyone gets their happy ending. These are sweet romances, just perfect for the holidays and I highly recommend!

12/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING GUEST by Susan Mallery. HQN; Original edition (September 28, 2021). ISBN: 978-1335522450. 432 pages.

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SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS by Lori Wilde

December 3, 2021

A Twilight, Texas Novel: Book 15*

From the publisher:

New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde returns to Twilight, Texas, with a love story filled with the magic of the season, about a couple who discover an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve-Eve.
It’s Christmastime in Twilight, TX. The lights are twinkling, carols are being sung, and the cookies are baking. And this year, best friends Joel and Jana discover a shocking surprise: as they are organizing the living Nativity, they find a sweet little baby in the manger with a note saying the mother will return…soon.
Jana tucks the infant into her arms, and she and Joel make the impulsive decision to take the baby home. Jana is spontaneous, Joel is a planner, but they agree that it’s better to care for this precious bundle for the holidays, in hopes that the mother really will come back by New Year’s.
As the days pass, the pair begins to fall in love with the child and they’re also forced to face facts: their relationship goes far deeper than friendship. As the spirit of Christmas—and the magic of Twilight, TX—takes over, this unlikely couple must open up to the feelings they’ve been hiding from each other all along.
https://amzn.to/3G2fcFh

Anytime I can return to Twilight, Texas, I do, and this was a wonderful Christmas story! The nativity scene at the church that featured live animals, suddenly becomes a living nativity when a teen mom puts her newborn baby in the manger. She sees this couple nearby, and is hopeful they will take the baby. She leaves a note saying she will return soon, and just as she hopes, they find the baby. A baby in a manger at Christmas – you gotta love it!

Jana has been working for Joel for a while, and really likes him. He’s a great boss so as much as she would like to pursue something more, she’s afraid to mess up her job. Little does she know that Joel is having the same thoughts and doubts. But they’ve both volunteered to put the animals away at night, so they do find the baby. They get the pastor involved, and as Twilight is a very small town, soon everyone is weighing in.

Jana wants to keep the baby until the mom comes back. Growing up in foster homes, she doesn’t want that life for this sweet child. She also has other secrets about her past, but she’s not sharing. Joel understands how she feels and offers to help. They decide the best way is for Jana to move into Joel’s guest room so they both can care for the baby. Of course, half the people in town want to help, too.

Eventually, Jana and Joel realize they can no longer fight their attraction and their relationship progresses to a new level of intimacy. This is a beautiful story with all the Christmas feels. This series is mostly Christmas books, and Wilde really excels at them. I loved it.

*NOTE: Amazon says this is book 13; Goodreads says this is book 12; Lori Wilde says this is book 15!

12/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS by Lori Wilde. Avon (October 26, 2021). ISBN: 978-0062953230. 400 pages.

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DONUTS!

December 2, 2021

I couldn’t resist putting these books together for a review. If only there were ten more, an even dozen donut books! Wouldn’t that be fun?! And FYI, Amazon is having a sale – buy one of these books, get the other for half off! Happy Holidays!

So, The Donut Trap. A brief synopsis from the publisher:

Julie Tieu sparkles in this debut romantic comedy, which is charmingly reminiscent of the TV show Kim’s Convenience and Frankly in Love by David Yoon, about a young woman who feels caught in the life her parents have made for her until she falls in love and finds a way out of the donut trap.
Jasmine Tran has landed herself behind bars—maple bars that is. With no boyfriend or job prospects, Jasmine returns home to work at her parents’ donut shop. Jasmine quickly loses herself in a cyclical routine of donuts, Netflix, and sleep. She wants to break free from her daily grind, but when a hike in rent threatens the survival of their shop, her parents rely on her more than ever.
Help comes in the form of an old college crush, Alex Lai. Not only is he successful and easy on the eyes, to her parents’ delight, he’s also Chinese. He’s everything she should wish for, until a disastrous dinner reveals Alex isn’t as perfect as she thinks. Worse, he doesn’t think she’s perfect either.
With both sets of parents against their relationship, a family legacy about to shut down, and the reappearance of an old high school flame, Jasmine must scheme to find a solution that satisfies her family’s expectations and can get her out of the donut trap once and for all.
https://amzn.to/32DbRxV

I loved “Kim’s Convenience” (it is streaming on Netflix) so I had high hopes for this book. I can definitely see the similarities. Oh, and just FYI, one of the stars of that TV series is Simu Liu, now the star of the new Marvel movie, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” and recent host of SNL. But I digress.

This book read a little young for me, it is more “New Adult” or even Young Adult, but no matter. It is completely adorable! I liked these characters and loved the family dynamic. This donut-sweet romance is fast paced with a lot of laughs. A wonderful debut, and I can’t wait to see what Julie Tieu does next.

NOTE: Circling Back to You comes out next summer!

Onto Donut Fall in Love – a brief synopsis from the publisher:

A baker provides the sweetest escape for an actor in this charming romantic comedy.
Actor Ryan Kwok is back in Toronto after the promotional tour for his latest film, a rom-com that is getting less-than-stellar reviews. After years of constant work and the sudden death of his mother, Ryan is taking some much-needed time off. But as he tries to be supportive to his family, he struggles with his loss and doesn’t know how to talk to his dad—who now trolls him on Twitter instead of meeting him for dim sum.
Innovative baker Lindsay McLeod meets Ryan when he knocks over two dozen specialty donuts at her bakery. Their relationship is off to a messy start, but there’s no denying their immediate attraction. When Ryan signs up for a celebrity episode of Baking Fail, he asks Lindsay to teach him how to bake and she agrees.
As Lindsay and Ryan spend time together, bonding over grief and bubble tea, it starts to feel like they’re cooking up something sweeter than cupcakes in the kitchen.
https://amzn.to/3xF4CBb

I’ll be honest; I cannot resist a punny title! Of the two donut books, I preferred this one as it delves into reality food TV, a personal favorite. This is also a more adult read, and I don’t mean sex – the characters are a bit older and more mature, that’s all.

Lindsay really wants a new job, but is sort of stuck career-wise, and is back home helping out her parents in their donut shop. This is a small, family business and a traditional donut/coffee shop. In Florida, like elsewhere in America, we have these types of donut shops that are barely hanging on as Dunkin’ spreads like, well, a virus. We have The Dandee Donut Factory, a small, family owned chain (soon opening in Massachusetts!) But we also have trendy donut shops, like Duck Donuts and Voodoo Donuts (at Universal Studios in Orlando.) And famously, we used to have not one, but two topless donut shops!

Moving on. Lindsay’s trying to help her parents take their donut shop toward the trendy side, so they can raise their prices and make more money. They are resistant, of course, but when they go off and leave her in charge one day, she cooks up some interesting new flavors, like matcha tea donuts. But as she’s bringing them out, a man literally runs into her.

That man turns out to be a movie star, but Lindsey doesn’t recognize him. Instead, she tears into him for the damage. Ryan recently lost his mother, but one of his favorite memories is of the time they baked cupcakes. They were pretty much inedible, but it is a fond memory. When Ryan is invited to participate in a celebrity baking competition, he realizes he needs some help. He doesn’t want to make a complete fool of himself on national TV.

Ryan hires Lindsey to teach him to bake, and they spend several afternoons together. Lindsay knows who he is, finally, and is a bit smitten. To her surprise, so is Ryan. There are some definite bumps on their road to happily ever after, but the ride is so much fun! This is a delicious romance, sure to please fans of the Food Network and romcoms. More mashups like this, please!

12/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE DONUT TRAP by Julie Tieu. Avon (November 9, 2021). ISBN: 978-0063069800. 368 pages.

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DONUT FALL IN LOVE by Jackie Lau. Berkley (October 26, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593334300. 368 pages.

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BETTER OFF DEAD by Lee Child & Andrew Child

November 21, 2021

Jack Reacher, Book 26

From the publisher:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Jack Reacher is back in a brand-new page-turning thriller from acclaimed #1 bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.

Digging graves had not been part of my plans when I woke up that morning.

Reacher goes where he wants, when he wants. That morning he was heading west, walking under the merciless desert sun—until he comes upon a curious scene. A Jeep has crashed into the only tree for miles around. A woman is slumped over the wheel.

Dead? No, nothing is what it seems.

The woman is Michaela Fenton, an army veteran turned FBI agent trying to find her twin brother, who might be mixed up with some dangerous people. Most of them would rather die than betray their terrifying leader, who has burrowed his influence deep into the nearby border town, a backwater that has seen better days. The mysterious Dendoncker rules from the shadows, out of sight and under the radar, keeping his dealings in the dark.

He would know the fate of Fenton’s brother.

Reacher is good at finding people who don’t want to be found, so he offers to help, despite feeling that Fenton is keeping secrets of her own. But a life hangs in the balance. Maybe more than one. But to bring Dendoncker down will be the riskiest job of Reacher’s life. Failure is not an option, because in this kind of game, the loser is always better off dead.

Twenty six books in a series is remarkable, but as Lee Child has handed off the writing of these books to his brother, Andrew Child, the series has taken a sharp turn for the worse. This was one of my favorite series. When I would get the review copy, I would literally put down whatever else I was reading and give the latest Reacher my undivided attention. I always read these books in one night, no matter how late I had to stay up to do it. Lee had threatened to kill off Reacher on numerous occasions over the past few years. I guess he grew tired of writing them. But the hysteria around the possibility of killing Reacher made him reconsider, I guess. Next thing I know his brother Andrew is writing the books.

Andrew started with the previous book, The Sentinel, and it was pretty good. Not as good as Lee’s books, but they weren’t all perfect either. I figured he was getting his sea legs and the next book would be great. I was wrong.

It took me about two weeks to finish this book. I was often tempted to just put it down and forget about it. I read on a Kindle, and every time I looked to see how far along I was, it was never nearly as far as I thought I should be. I thought I was halfway through at the 20% mark, so not good, and it continued like that. I thought surely it must be ending soon, and I was at 55%, and so on. I kept putting it down to read something else, something better, anything else – also not good. But I persevered and eventually finished.

This book has a sort of shocking beginning, except you know there would be no book at all if it were true. It was downhill from there. Reacher is here in all his fighting glory, chasing bad guys and beating the hell out of them in much the same way he has in every previous book. Even the guy that is way bigger than he is.

The woman this time is a former FBI agent looking for her twin brother. Reacher offers to help, of course, and there are the usual underground tunnels and deserted buildings for all the bad guys to hide out in. Reacher doesn’t have any sex in this book, and very few laughs can be found. And apparently, he has finally learned how cell phones work.

The writing again seems like a Lee Child imitation, with every sentence in the book short and choppy. It is written in the first person so that was new (I think? I don’t remember if all of them skipped that.) Weirdly, Reacher’s connections are eager to help and he, of course, saves the day. The book just seemed very repetitive and redundant. Knowing me, I will read the next Reacher book in hopes of it being better, but I’ll tell you this: if I dislike it as much as this one, I will not finish it (if I remember – it is a year off!)

So if you are a Reacher fan, go for it. Publisher’s Weekly gave it a starred review, but I’m more in line with the Library Journal review, other than the last line:

The writing is more seamless than in the Child brothers’ previous collaboration, but the action is often perfunctorily described, and the supporting cast is thinly written. There’s less humor than in previous entries, though Reacher’s notorious Luddism is played for a few laughs. Fans of the series will enjoy.
Reviewed by Liz French, Library Journal , Oct 02, 2021

11/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BETTER OFF DEAD by Lee Child & Andrew Child. Delacorte Press (October 26, 2021). ISBN: 978-1984818508. 336 pages.

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MAMA’S BOY by Avery Flynn

November 20, 2021

Last Man Standing, Book 1

From the author:

MUST HATE DOGS
Do you hate dogs? Only want to talk about yourself? Is having a sense of humor something you’ve never been accused of? Think eating for pleasure is a complete waste of time? Agree that tipping is for suckers? Then you’re the date for me.

Dixon Beckett is the kind of guy who loves his mama, treats women right, and never ever wants to fall in love again. That’s why he’ll do anything to win a bet to be the last single man standing by Christmas.

He’s got a plan, too. Create the most no-good, horrible, very bad dating profile in existence. Only someone actually responds to his ad…

The rules say he has to go on six dates with the first (or in his case, only) person who answers—even if that person is Fiona Hartigan: Hater of dogs, non-lover of any delicious food, and zero sense of humor.

But something feels off about this pariah. In fact, Dixon is almost positive Fiona is just pretending to be awful. Pretending to be the most horrible date in existence. And she’s most definitely pretending to not be as interested in him as he is in her.

The more Dixon Beckett starts to unravel the mystery of why Fiona answered his ad in the first place, the more he starts considering the most vile, awful, terrible idea ever…falling in love.

Each book in the Last Man Standing series is STANDALONE:
* Mama’s Boy
* Neanderthal
* Mansplainer

Once again I started a series with the second book, but I liked it so much I immediately went looking for the first book, which I found on Hoopla (yay public library!) The third book comes out in December, a birthday treat for me, and I can’t wait. I have a funny feeling no one is winning this bet.

This series centers around a bet between three cousins. Their beloved grandmother has passed away, leaving behind a wrapped Christmas gift but no name on the gift. They decide that the last man who hasn’t fallen in love will get the gift. But there are rules – they have to post a profile on a specific dating app, and they have to go out on six dates, selected by the other cousins, with the first woman who responds.

Dixon has no desire for a relationship and he wants that last remembrance of his grandmother. Since he gets to write his own profile, he comes up with the most obnoxious, unappealing one that he can. So he is shocked when Fiona responds.

Their first date is a bit of a puzzle for Dixon; almost immediately he starts to suspect something is off about Fiona. He thinks she is only pretending to hate dogs and food and so forth, but he can’t understand why she would do that.

Dixon runs a large and very successful cosmetics company. Fiona’s grandmother has created a line of homeopathic skin care products for women of a certain age, shall we say. She has tried on several occasions to get in to see Dixon, but has been rebuffed at every effort. She decides this is the best way to get to him. Especially when he puts it out there that he knows she is full of it, and admits to why he posted that profile and the bet. They decide to help one another; she will complete the six dates with him but after that, he will owe her a favor of her choosing. He has no idea what she is up to but doesn’t care as long as he wins the bet.

Fake dating invariably leads to true love in romance novels, and this one is no exception. But Fiona is fighting it because of her grandmother, as is Dixon. Lots of drama but even more laughs and some very steamy sex make this a terrific read that I really loved. I can’t wait for the next book!

MAMA’S BOY by Avery Flynn. Entangled: Amara (September 27, 2021). ASIN: B091NQHSK8. 312 pages.