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Sugar Lake Series, Book 1

From the publisher:

Bakery owner Willow Dalton’s friendship with Zane Walker has always been a bit complicated. Now a scrumptiously hot A-list actor, Zane’s always had a reputation as a player. He’s arrogant, and he’s definitely not boyfriend material. Sure, he did Willow a favor by agreeing to take her virginity before college, but is that reason enough for her to go along with a fake engagement a decade later—even if it comes with a real diamond ring?

Zane should have known better. Nothing involving Willow has ever been easy. Still, he knows her better than anyone, and becoming America’s hottest new leading man means cleaning up his reputation. An “engagement” to curvy, sass-mouthed Willow is the perfect PR move…provided no one gets hurt.

Now Zane and Willow’s little white lie has turned into an irresistible recipe for sweet temptation. And soon no one will be able to tell the difference between their fake engagement and the real thing—including them.

Let’s face it, a rich, hot man and a bakery are always going to be a winning combination. Willow and Zane have been friends since childhood and maintained a texting (not sexting) relationship even after he became a huge action movie star. But now he wants to change his bad boy image, and figures Willow is the perfect antidote. He convinces her to pretend to be his fiance and even gives her a rock to wear.

Willow’s family is shocked, they didn’t even know they were dating (because they weren’t) but they love Zane. He practically grew up in their house and Willow’s brother is his best friend. Eventually, the truth is going to have come out, but to Willow’s surprise, the truth is not at all what she thought it should be.

There are a lot of laughs in this romantic comedy, and some heat, too. If you want a fast, sexy read, you’ve found your next book.

NOTE: The Kindle version of this book was free for AmazonPrime members, which is how I actually started this series with the first book!

3/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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From the publisher:

From the New York Times bestselling author behind the “joyful, warm, touching” (Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author) The Unhoneymooners comes a delightfully charming love story about what happens when two assistants tasked with keeping a rocky relationship from explosion start to feel sparks of their own.

Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.

James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.

Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…

From the “hilariously zany and heartfelt” (Booklist) Christina Lauren comes a romantic comedy that proves if it’s broke, you might as well fix it.

I don’t think anyone reading this wouldn’t immediately think of Chip and Joanna Gaines, unless you don’t watch their reality show, shop for their home goods at Target, read their books, or you haven’t dreamt of a vacation to Austin to stay in their bed & breakfast, shop at the Silos, and eat at their restaurant. Obviously, I am a fan. Hopefully, this book is not based on their relationship! But it is about an über-successful husband and wife who renovate homes and have a hugely popular TV show and home renovation empire. So you can see why the comparison springs to mind.

These two fight like cats and dogs, but their new book, all about how to have a successful marriage, depends heavily on their assistants keeping the public from finding out what is really going on there. This leads to a lot of really funny incidents, and some heart-wrenching ones as well. Meanwhile, his-and-her assistants start relying on one another. One thing leads to another, and, well, this is a romance so there has to be a happy ending!

This was a super fun read and the perfect antidote to what is going on in the world around us. Escape with Christina Lauren, and you’ll be very glad you did. I loved it.

3/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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Bromance Book Club, Book 2

From the publisher:

Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction. 

Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef-owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she’ll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.

Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv’s blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He’ll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.

Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assists Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart. . .even though she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.

The first book in this series, The Bromance Book Club, was one of my favorite books last year, mostly because the premise was so original and clever. That ship has sailed, so I wondered how this book would fare. I shouldn’t have worried, it was really good.

Liv is one tough cookie. She has so much baggage she is a shrink’s dream. But instead of therapy, she has good friends and they help lead her down the right path. Okay, they drag her, kicking and screaming.

There is a strong #metoo message, but I really like that there is balance as well. The men in the book club are all strong and successful, but would never dream of treating women like the Chef, who really needs to be dropped into his deep fryer.

A lot of humor here as well, and I was laughing out loud on several occasions. If you like a strong message along with your laughs and romance, this is your book. It definitely worked for me.

3/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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Love in the Heartland, Book 2

From the publisher:

From bestselling author Stacey Lynn comes This Time Around, an emotional and sexy standalone contemporary romance!

Five years ago I married the man of my dreams. He was supposed to be my last first kiss–my happily ever after. He promised to hand me the world, but in one night, all of those promises were shattered.

Now, I was barely surviving the tragic loss of my husband, struggling daily to manage what was left of the life we’d promised to build together, when Cooper Hawke unexpectedly walked into my life.

The Hollywood heartthrob had plenty secrets of his own and his eyes held the same darkness as mine. I couldn’t stop myself from needing to know why. And as much as I tried to keep him out of my heart, he slipped past all my defenses.

We both had pasts that destroyed our trust and had broken our hearts, but nothing will stop Cooper from trying to convince me we could have it all this time around.

3/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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From the publisher:

A soldier has six weeks to convince the only woman he has ever longed for to take a chance on life with him in Alaska….

Sara’s letters were the only bright spot during Gabe’s devastating tour in Iraq. With each new correspondence he fell harder, needed her more, wanted to be with her. Now, after initially rejecting his offer to meet, she’s shown up at the door of his isolated cabin in Alaska looking for…what? Gabe’s not sure what made Sara change her mind, but he knows he never wants to let her go.

Major Gabe Randall is everything Sara Ryan wants but nothing she feels she deserves. A modern-day spinster, Sara hides behind family obligations and the safe, quiet life she’s resigned herself to living. But secretly, even though she may have stretched the truth about who she is in her letters to him, she wants Gabe. Will he still want her when he discovers the real woman behind the pen?

Once they meet, Gabe asks her for six weeks in Alaska. Six weeks to spend getting to know each other, and then she’ll have to decide whether they are better together or apart.

I have long been intrigued with Alaska. I’ve never been, and I am one of those people who is always cold so whenever I mention a possible vacation to Alaska, my family just laughs at me. Whenever a book comes along that references Alaska, I’m in. Apparently, it’s as close as I’m going to get.

The story starts out with Sara, a nanny for her brother and sister-in-law’s daughter, responding to a call from a local radio station to send Easter cards to soldiers stationed overseas. Sara includes a long, rambling letter, talking about her latest embarrassment when a family member called her a spinster in front of everyone. At 35, Sara is definitely single but her life doesn’t leave her a whole lot of time for dating. Her brother and his wife take terrible advantage of her. Her mother, a recent widow, refuses to do anything for herself and relies on Sarah for way too much. Sara just adores her niece, but she is in kindergarten now, and Sara realizes she won’t be needed much longer.

Much to her surprise, she gets an email from Gabe, the soldier who received her card. That starts a correspondence that eventually moves to texting, then video chats. Sara realizes she is developing strong feelings for Gabe, and he feels the same way. Seven months in, he is getting to go home to Alaska for 6 weeks. He sends Sara a plane ticket so she can come meet him.

Sara panics, not sure how she will explain this to her family and she is really torn. Gabe realizes her family may be worried about her just up and going to Alaska to meet someone they don’t know, so on impulse, he stops in North Carolina to surprise her. Let’s just say it does not go well. Gabe gives Sara an ultimatum to come to Alaska or that will be the end but he is not really sure she will show up. Sara is quite the doormat, and her family just loves walking all over her.

I really liked these characters and wanted them to find their happily ever after. Meeting online is not new anymore, but I liked the soldier angle here. We all have some idea about the difficulties soldiers face when they are stationed in a war zone, but this brings a bit of what happens back at home, and how that affects soldiers as well. It was interesting and I always like learning something new. What I didn’t like was the beginning of the book – the letters they wrote to each other were repeated. So you read the letter as Sara wrote it, then a few pages later you read the same letter as Gabe read it. It didn’t make sense to repeat it like that, I found it annoying, and I have no idea what the editor was thinking. But once I got past that, I loved the rest of the book.

Sadly, there wasn’t a whole lot about Alaska as they don’t even get there until almost the end of the book, but I was so caught up with these characters and their story that it didn’t even matter. There was a little sex, but this read was much more about the sweet than the heat, and I highly recommend it.

3/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™