THE EARL NOT TAKEN by A.S. Fenichel

April 5, 2020

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The Wallflowers of West Lane, Book 1

From the publisher:

Left standing on the side while their contemporaries marry into society, four young ladies forge a bond to guard each other from a similar fate . . .

Finishing school failed to make a proper lady of Penelope Arrington. But as a Wallflower of West Lane, Poppy has a far more vital role—she and her three best friends have made a pact to protect each other from the clutches of dangerous, disreputable men. So when one of them is about to be married off to a duke sight unseen, Poppy makes it her mission to divine the prospective husband’s true character. If only she didn’t require the aid of London’s most unsuitable rake.

Rhys Draper, Earl of Marsden, has known the headstrong Poppy since she was a young girl, naïve to the ways of men. To her eternal chagrin—and to his vague amusement—they have been at odds over the memory of their embarrassing first encounter all these years. Now, with his services in need, Rhys sees a chance to finally clear the air between them. Instead, he is surprised by the heat of their feelings. If the two do not tread carefully, they may end up in a most agreeably compromising position

Are there certain months that historical romances are published? It feels like I haven’t read one in a while. I wasn’t sure what this book was, either. The title definitely sounds like a historical romance. The cover, less so. And the fact that it is not a mass-market paperback, you know, the little paperbacks you can slip in your bag, was also a surprise. There are some authors who go from those little paperbacks to hardcover books,  sometimes simultaneously. A lot of contemporary romances get the trade paperback treatment, but I don’t recall another historical romance being introduced as a trade paperback – the paperbacks that are roughly the same size as a hardcover book. It is a conundrum. And it is traditionally published, from Kensington. I guess in the end it doesn’t really matter – I read almost exclusively on my iPad or Kindle these days.

So back to the book! It is a very good introduction to a new series. Right away we know the series will be revolving around these four friends, and this first book belongs to Poppy. She is a thoroughly modern character living in another century, as seems to be the trend lately. It works very well here.

The trick of this book is that ostensibly, it is about Poppy’s friend, who is being forced into an arranged marriage. Poppy decides that they need to check out this Duke and find out what sort of man he is. One of these friends is a widow who was horribly mistreated by her Duke of a husband, so they are all concerned. So one would think the romance would be about the arranged marriage. But no! A very clever twist, and I liked it.

The Earl is not as complex as I might have expected, but all the characters are developed well enough to make me care about them. The meet-cute occurs when Poppy is a young girl, and she witnesses the Earl in the throes of passion, shall we say, with someone. How does that happen, you may wonder? They are outside. Up against a tree. ‘Nuff said.

I liked this book a lot. There is a good, believable story, well-deveoped characters, lots of witty banter, and a bit of heat. This is the first book of a series, and I am looking forward to the next.

4/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE EARL NOT TAKEN by A.S. Fenichel. Lyrical Press (March 17, 2020). ISBN 978-1516110544. 219p.

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A ROOM FULL OF NIGHT by TR Kenneth

April 3, 2020

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From the publisher:

Stag Maguire, a burnt-out journalist hardly able to prop himself up in the wake of tragedy, agrees to help a friend move. They find an urgent message—HELP ME—written on a piece of silk tacked behind a long-forgotten portrait.

The message from an address in Berlin is urgent; though it had to have been written pre-World War II. Curious, Stag and his friend begin to research the address and whomever might have written the message. They trace the address to an apartment, a sealed time capsule that has not been lived in since 1942. And from one phone call to that apartment, the men unleash a nefarious plot and brutal security forces long thought vanquished.

Events begin to cascade without mercy, and Stag—a broken man from the Midwest—finds himself pitted against a vestige of the Third Reich with powerful forces ensuring the propagation of Heydrich’s infamous SD—Nazi’s intelligence agency—in today’s world. Will ordinary-man Stag Maguire prevail in his lone stand against evil?

Indicated as the author’s first published book, it certainly represents the completion of a monumental, well researched and written novel, and a definite introduction of Kenneth to the top of the literary world.

Stag Maguire, the principal protagonist is first met as he approaches rock bottom in a less than successful career as a journalist. He is filled with inertia and not motivated to publish any articles that can enhance his reputation. A friend asks Stag’s help in moving out from the bar he had run and our reluctant hero agrees to do so.

The task opens up an enormous can of worms and provides the basis for a story that is quite distinct from most novels. A portrait taken down from a wall in the bar reveals a piece of paper from long ago saying “help me”. The two are galvanized into action in attempting to find the origin of the paper and determine that it was written by the long-dead mistress of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi official that was infamous as the architect of the Holocaust which guided the Third Reich into the systematized slaughter of millions of Jews.

Following clues from a variety of sources, the two find that the paper was probably written while the woman that was Heydrich’s mistress was living with him in an apartment in Berlin during WWII. Stag obtains the phone number for the building which is still up and places a call to it, gets no information other than someone offering to deliver a message. The next thing that happens is that someone comes looking for those that made the call, finds Stag’s friend and kills him.

Instead of backing off in the light of his friend’s death, Stag plunges headlong into a situation that includes a worldwide company buying and selling information and the existence of cells of Nazis still active and scattered around the world. From an opening that appears to prelude a story about World War II the novel ramps up to a head rush of events that run through the midpoint of the second world war to today’s world and move from New York to Germany, England, and Bali. A very welcome entree for the author who has already set up the ending in this book to become the basis for more Stag Maguire novels.

4/2020 Paul Lane

A ROOM FULL OF NIGHT by TR Kenneth. Oceanview Publishing; None edition (March 17, 2020). ISBN: 978-1538748145. 352p.

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BAD BACHELOR by Stefanie London

April 2, 2020

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Bad Bachelors Series, Book 1

From the publisher:

Everybody’s talking about the hot new app reviewing New York’s most eligible bachelors. But why focus on prince charming when you can read the latest dirt on the lowest-ranked “Bad Bachelors”―NYC’s most notorious bad boys.

If one more person mentions Bad Bachelors to Reed McMahon, someone’s gonna get hurt. A PR whiz, Reed is known as an ‘image fixer’ but his womanizing ways have caught up with him. What he needs is a PR miracle of his own.

When Reed strolls into Darcy Greer’s workplace offering to help save the struggling library, she isn’t buying it. The prickly Brooklynite knows Reed is exactly the kind of guy she should avoid. But the library does need his help. But as she reluctantly works with Reed, she realizes there’s more to a man than his reputation. Maybe, just maybe Bad Bachelor #1 is THE one for her.

This story had an interesting premise, a new app that gives women the chance to post reviews of men they have dated, sort of like Yelp for dating. The setting is Manhattan, which was the part I had to overlook for this. In a city that populated, the app works like it is in a small town in upstate NY. Sort of odd, but maybe that’s just me. Suspend your disbelief and go with it.

Darcy is a librarian, but not really stereotypical. Okay, she is an introvert and she loves books, but she’s also young and tatted up, much like several librarians I know. So maybe hipster stereotypical? Oh, and she lives in Park Slope. So a well-paid librarian? But I digress, these details are not really important. What is important is that she is a well-developed character, and her enemy to lover hunk is as well.

Reed is the number one Bad Bachelor on the app. There are so many horrible reviews about him that it starts to affect his job. He loses his biggest client and his boss is breathing down his neck. He goes online and reads the reviews, recognizes some of the women but also realizes some of them are completely fictitious, he never went where they say he went and so forth. He decides to try and find out who is running this app and why they are targeting him.

Meanwhile, he has been voluntold to help the library with its fundraising. He has to work with Darcy, and they are coming from two different worlds. He is used to fancy parties and raising thousands of dollars; she is used to asking for donations from library patrons and raising hundreds, if that. They clash but there is also an attraction there, and soon Darcy has wormed her way into Reed’s life, and he finds himself enjoying it. Until everything goes sideways.

No worries, this is a romance so they reach their happily ever after but not until there have some hot sex, fights and eventually makeup. This was a one night read for me and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

4/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

BAD BACHELOR by Stefanie London. Sourcebooks Casablanca (March 3, 2020). ISBN 978-1728213774. 368p.

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April Fools’ Day, 2020

April 1, 2020

I know I am not the only one who feels like we are living in some farcical, dystopian novel! May I suggest you escape into a good book?

Hello, my lovely readers! As regular readers are aware, I post a new giveaway on the first of every month in conjunction with the International Thriller Writers. Due to the pandemic, we discussed and decided to skip April for now. No one wants to be handling anything that has been touched by anyone, anywhere, nor do we want to ask anyone to go to the post office or anywhere else. Did you know the coronavirus can live on cardboard for up to 24 hours? And 2-3 days on hard surfaces?

For now, I am extending the deadline for the March bookshelf of thrillers, including all those terrific thrillers pictured here. It is a fantastic list so go for it! I am also suspending the one entry per email – go nuts! Enter as often as you wish, but just for April, okay?

A peek behind the scenes on how these contests work. The authors send their signed books to a central location in California, but they trickle in sporadically. Sometimes authors need a gentle reminder to send them, they get busy or are on tour or whatever. ITW generally waits until all the books for the month are in hand to send them out in one box. Sometimes they have to wait a month or two or three for all the books to show up. So there are piles of books waiting to be shipped out for previous months’ contests. At this point, we are going to wait to send those until it is safe to do so.

I wish I could say April Fools’, but I cannot. I can say I hope you are taking this pandemic seriously. I know it is hard to stay home or shelter in place, but for your safety and the safety of your community, that is the best thing you can do right now.

If you are going to listen to anyone you see on TV, I strongly suggest it be smart people who know what they are talking about, because they have advanced degrees or medical degrees, or know enough to ask smart people what to do and actually listen to the answers. Listen to people like Dr. Fauci, Donald G. McNeil (NYT,) Governor Cuomo, (even if you don’t live in NY,) or Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over someone who just has an “opinion,” or “a feeling,” or wants to give us all “hope,” about how this is going or what we should be doing.

Just because someone is in a position of power does not mean they should spout whatever nonsense they “feel.” That is not helpful. In fact, it is the opposite of helpful, it is dangerous. Social distancing is not a joke, it is apparently the only way to stop the insidious spread of this disease at this time. And handwashing. And don’t touch your face. (I need a doggie cone for that!) Please, please be careful and stay safe. Thank you; rant over.

For up to date, accurate information and statistics on Covid-19, check out any of these sites:

Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

nCoV2019.live

This one is just for Florida:

Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard
Florida Department of Health, Division of Disease Control and Health Protection

Finally, if you are an author who is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, and your book is being published in April or May, and you would like to participate in the next contest I run, please let me know. You can email me at bookbitch @ yahoo dot com, or put your email in the comments here and I will contact you.

Thanks for reading, and stay safe!

 

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COWBOY FOR HIRE by Victoria James

March 31, 2020

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Wishing River Series, Book 2

From the publisher:

When a shy woman inherits a ranch, she’ll have to find an inner strength to succeed―and open herself up to love―in this heartwarming novel from New York Times bestselling author Victoria James.

Sarah Turner has led a very sheltered life. So when her parents pass away tragically, suddenly she’s left in charge of the family ranch with little know-how but plenty of will to keep it afloat. Determined not to lose her parents’ legacy or her newfound independence, she needs a hero fast―not to save her, but to show her how to save herself. But she’s unprepared for the ruggedly handsome cowboy who answers her ad.

“Cowboy for Hire,” the ad said, and Cade Walker is quick to respond. Betrayed as ranch manager by his former boss, he’s looking for a new place to put down roots―without the pressure to prove himself again. Except when he meets his new boss, it’s clear he’s not only there to run a ranch but to also teach Miss Independent how to run it. But as they struggle to make the ranch flourish, they’ll both need courage if they hope to find a family…together.

Each book in the Wishing River series is STANDALONE:
* The Trouble with Cowboys
* Cowboy for Hire

This is the second book in the series, and even though the publisher proclaims each book to be a standalone, I was a little lost in the beginning. I didn’t fully understand why Cade was leaving his job for this new one, and there was definitely a story behind his best friend’s marriage. But that’s just the first few pages and in the long haul, it didn’t matter and some of that became clear. I wouldn’t even have thought about it or mentioned it here except for that publisher proclamation.

Sarah is a young woman who has been extremely sheltered for most of her life. When she was a child, her brother died, and that caused the family to just implode. The only stability came in the form of their housekeeper, who is still watching out for Sarah now that her parents are gone. Sarah inherited the ranch where she grew up, except she was never allowed to have anything to do with it. When her foreman takes off, she is desperate to hire someone immediately, and hopes to learn from them. She gets real lucky when Cade enters her life.

Cade also has a lot of baggage, and like so many men, chooses to keep it all a secret. But some of his friends have pieced together the gist of it all, and luckily, they step in when he needs it most. Sarah and Cade grow very close, but Cade knows his place and it’s not in his boss’s bed, no matter how much they both want that.

I really liked how the story played out, I thought it was very well done. There were some laughs, and some tears as well. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

3/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

COWBOY FOR HIRE by Victoria James. Entangled: Amara (March 31, 2020). ISBN 978-1640638211.  359p.

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THE K TEAM by David Rosenfelt

March 30, 2020

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K Team, Book 1

From the publisher:

From bestselling mystery author David Rosenfelt comes a new series – a spinoff of the much beloved Andy Carpenter mysteries – about a dynamic new investigative team featuring a determined former cop and his loyal German Shepherd.

Corey Douglas and his K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel, have recently retired from the police force. Not ready to give up the life yet, they come up with a proposal for fellow former cop, Laurie Carpenter, and her investigating partner, Marcus. Laurie and Marcus – who help out Laurie’s lawyer husband Andy on cases – have been chafing to jump back into investigating on their own, so they are in.

They call themselves the K Team, in honor of Simon. Their first job as private investigators comes to them from Judge Henry Henderson, who’s known as a very tough but fair judge, and they’ve all come up against him in court at one time or another. Though it’s hard to believe, Judge Henderson is being blackmailed and extorted, and he doesn’t want to involve the police–he needs the K Team to figure out why.

The novel is advertised as a spinoff of the very popular Andy Carpenter stories. It is, but not much changes. Andy’s wife Laurie, a former policewoman, the very vocal Marcus and Corey Douglas, a retired policeman, form an investigatory company and decide to take on cases in order to make money.

Corey was introduced in one of the latest Andy Carpenter books when he filed suit against the department he worked for demanding that they retire into his care the K9 that he had worked with. The lawsuit prevailed and the dog named Simon Garfunkel also becomes a member of the team. The group takes the name the K team thanks to Simon and their first job is to investigate a blackmail campaign against a judge with a reputation of being tough but fair. They must find out why he is being blackmailed, put a stop to it and get evidence against the blackmailers.

Corey is the only character that is not a regular in the Andy Carpenter series but takes Andy’s place as the source of wisecracks for the group. Using some personnel from the regular Carpenter family as well as an appearance by Andy himself, the writing is reminiscent of the storylines of the Carpenter series. For fans of those books, the reward is that additional plots not necessarily revolving around court trials can be utilized and still maintain the delightful styling that the reader looks for in a David Rosenfelt book.

A welcome addition to the author’s long list of entertaining fiction and also keeping in the practice of featuring beloved dogs that move in and out of the stories. And yes, the ending is the satisfying one we are accustomed to.

3/2020 Paul Lane

THE K TEAM by David Rosenfelt. Minotaur Books (March 24, 2020). ISBN: 978-1250257192. 304p.

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TRUE PATRIOTS by Russell Fralich

March 29, 2020

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From the publisher:

A country to kill for …

The career of Claire Marcoux, a young naval officer, threatens to come crashing down after she orders the ship under her command to return fire on a boat that she was supposed to rescue. The quiet life of Daniel Ritter, a new professor in a new town, is turned upside down when the celebrity entrepreneur he was unexpectedly invited to meet is found murdered. Thrown together by chance, Claire and Daniel discover that they are involved in the same fight against an unknown enemy — a foe with a plot that endangers the lives of many … and the very existence of the country they both cherish.

An entertaining adventure story taking place in Canada comprises Fralich’s first published novel. He does an entertaining job of putting two quite diverse people together working to solve a mystery that could affect the future direction of the country.

The province of Alberta is getting ready to vote on staying or withdrawing from the Canadian union and there are a great many diverse opinions on both sides of the aisle. The direction taken could make fortunes for people betting on the right side. All of the country is involved in examining the situation, remembering all too well the conditions surrounding the preceding occurrence when Quebec underwent the same path and remained in the union.

Claire Marcoux is a career naval officer and has just taken over her first command of a ship on active duty. She is tested when her ship encounters a probable smuggler who attacks her instead of surrendering as should be. With no choice in the matter, she orders her gunnery mate to fire back with the subsequent sinking of the smugglers’ boat. As commander of the vessel, Claire faces a board of inquiry and enters into a period of uncertainty when she finds herself facing the dislike of an officer over her.

Daniel Ritter is a new professor and falls into a strange problem when a self-made and celebrated entrepreneur invites him to meet and discuss the man’s actions but is suddenly found murdered. Both Claire and Daniel apparently have completely different problems, but strangely find that they have mutual interests in solving what is before them. Claire is not at all backward in handling different and often violent situations, and it appears that Daniel has a background that involved at some point the use of weapons and the fighting arts.

Where this goes is well done and sets the stage quite neatly for future novels involving the two principal characters or if not, other novels that would very well prove entertaining to read.

3/2020 Paul Lane

TRUE PATRIOTS by Russell Fralich. Grand Central Publishing (March 17, 2020). ISBN: 978-1538748145. 384p.

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THE REAL THING by Melissa Foster

March 28, 2020

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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™

THE REAL THING by Melissa Foster. Montlake Romance (September 5, 2017). ISBN 978-1542045810. 286p.

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THE HONEY-DON’T LIST by Christina Lauren

March 27, 2020

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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™

THE HONEY-DON’T LIST by Christina Lauren. Gallery Books (March 24, 2020). ISBN 978-1982123918. 320p.

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UNDERCOVER BROMANCE by Lyssa Kay Adams

March 26, 2020

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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™

UNDERCOVER BROMANCE by Lyssa Kay Adams. Berkley (March 10, 2020). ISBN 978-1984806116. 352p.

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