I have a reputation for being tight-lipped. You learn quick when you become a professional hockey player to be guarded with the media, so I’ve worked hard to cover up the mistakes of my youth.
But when I’m traded to the Florida Fury, where my ex–best friend is the starting right wing, I’m forced to confront my past. Ford and I have a lot of history, especially when it comes to his little sister, Imogen.
My heart still lurches in my chest when I see her.
My hands want to reach out and touch her.
My mouth wants to keep apologizing.
She’s the only woman who ever made me want more. But she’s also the one who fell victim to my most regrettable decision.
I’m not a believer in fate, but I must be back in her world for a reason. I’ve fought for everything I’ve gotten and I’m not backing down from what I know will be the best thing in my life.
I just read two hockey romances back to back, so that inevitably led to comparisons. I thought the Stacey Lynn book, Dream Maker, was a tiny bit better, but honestly I probably would have enjoyed this book even more had I read something else in between – if that makes sense?
This book has a former-lover-to-enemy trope at its center. Warner and Imogen were inseparable in high school, until something happens that causes him to react badly and breaks them up. Imogen’s brother Ford plays professional hockey in Florida, and when his former best friend and Imogen’s ex shows up to join the team, he is pissed, to say the least. Imogen has recently been hired by the team to handle their social media as the team’s “hype girl,” and guess who they want her to hype.
Warner is thrilled and he tries very hard to talk to her, but she’s pushing him away as hard as she can, especially considering she still has feelings for him. Eventually, he wears her down and she finally listens to him, and she forgives him and they start seeing one another again. But Ford doesn’t know and if he finds out, heads will roll. As it is, his attitude towards Warner is hurting the team.
Eventually, Warner and Imogen reach their happily ever after, and Warner and Ford find their way towards friendship again. This is a steamy romance set in the hockey world, and is a fun read for sure. This was my first book by this author, and now I want to go back and read the earlier books in this series. Luckily, I found them on Hoopla!
3/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
SNEAKING AROUND WITH #34 by Piper Rayne. Independently published (March 8, 2022). ASIN: B09D2CKW3D. 249p.
We stand there on the brink of something we both feel but neither of us is ready to identify, and the little half grin he shoots me is nearly as devastating as his full-blown smile….
One of the few bright lights in Rachel Beck’s life is her job at a Miami Beach luxury hotel – until she’s fired for something she didn’t do. As a single mom, Rachel knows she needs stability, and fast. On impulse, Rachel inquires about a position at a brewery hotel on a tiny island in Lake Erie called Kelleys Island. When she’s offered the job, not even the grumpy voice on the line can dissuade her from packing up her whole life and making the move.
What she finds on Kelleys Island is Mason, a handsome, reclusive man who knows everything about brewing beer and nothing about running a hotel. Especially one that’s barely more than foundation and studs. It’s not the job Rachel was looking for, but Mason offers her a chance to help build a hotel – and rebuild her life – from the ground up.
Trish Doller’s The Suite Spot is about taking a chance on a new life and a new love.
Rachel Beck is a single mom to a three year old daughter. She lives with her mom, works the overnight shift as concierge at an exclusive Miami Beach hotel, and wishes things would be different with the baby daddy – he’s irresponsible, pays no child support, and tends to dump his daughter when he has a date.
When Rachel gets fired from her job after a “Me Too” moment goes badly, she is desperate. She really loved that job and now she has to settle for the night clerk position at a nearby seedy motel. Then she finds her dream job as a manager at a new hotel in Ohio. She decides to take the job, packs up her life and her daughter and moves to Ohio. Except when she gets there, the hotel isn’t built yet and the owner, Mason, is a bit of a grump and more interested in brewing beer than hotel building.
Mason had this idea for a specialty hotel on this remote island near Sandusky. His family owned an old, abandoned winery and house there, and he buys it with the idea of building a brewery and hotel on the property. But in the process, he loses his family, which devastates him. Unsure how to progress, he is hoping that Rachel will be the impetus he needs to get things moving.
For Rachel, this is the dream job. It wasn’t what she was expecting, but the opportunity to help build a new hotel from the ground up is too tempting to walk away from. Plus Mason is very good looking and kind, despite the occasional grumpiness.
As Rachel and Mason get to know one another, they eventually fall in love. But then disaster strikes in the form of the baby daddy suing for joint custody. Heartbroken, Rachel knows she has to move back to Florida to give her daughter a chance at spending time with her father. As a child, her father abandoned the family and Rachel never wants to be the cause of that for her daughter.
But Mason isn’t giving up that easily. It’s a struggle but Rachel and Mason find a way to be together by the end of this charming, sweet story. Set on Kellys Island, this is a lovely small town romance and an unputdownable read for me. I loved it!
3/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE SUITE SPOT by Trish Doller. St. Martin’s Griffin (March 8, 2022). ISBN: 978-1250809476. 288p.
In USA TODAY bestselling author Eva Leigh’s new novel a notorious rake and an innocent debutante strike a scandalous bargain…
When Kieran Ransome’s latest antics result in a massive scandal, his father issues an ultimatum: find a respectable wife or inherit nothing. But as one of London’s most inveterate scoundrels, Kieran doesn’t know any ladies who fit the bill. Or does he?
Celeste Kilburn is a society darling, beloved by influential members of the ton. But keeping a spotless reputation leaves little room for adventure and she longs to escape her gilded cage, especially with her impending engagement to a stuffy earl. When Kieran—her older brother’s best friend and an irresistibly attractive rogue—begs for her help, Celeste makes a deal: she’ll introduce him to the right social circles if he’ll show her the scandalous side of London.
In between proper teas and garden parties, Kieran escorts Celeste—disguised as “Salome”—to rowdy gaming hells, wild fêtes, and sensual art salons. As they spend more time together, their initial attraction builds to a desperate desire that neither can ignore. But when someone discovers their midnight exploits, Celeste’s freedom and reputation are endangered, and Kieran must save the woman he loves… respectable or not.
Leigh writes compelling, page turning, sexy historicals and does it again here. I didn’t quite understand the beginning premise of Kieran and Finn helping their sister’s fiance escape the alter, but with their sister sent abroad to recover from being jilted, her ex and the brothers are in big trouble with their families. They’ve been playing fast and loose for years, and their parents threaten to cut them off if they are all not married to respectable women within a year. First up, Kieran.
Kieran has been avoiding respectable society for so long he doesn’t know how to find his way back. Unless their third’s completely-respectable-beyond-reproach sister, Celeste, will help him. She agrees but with terms; she wants to experience some of London’s seedier side as her brother has done for years. Desperate, he agrees and she agrees to introduce him to polite society once again.
Kieran’s obsession with Celeste’s neck only increases as they start spending time together. Her father was a longshoreman who made his fortune and is determined to see his daughter married into a fine family. She is engaged-to-be-engaged to a Lord, and her father is deliriously happy. Celeste, on the other hand, is miserable. But women have no rights to speak of in 1818, so marry him she will. But she falls in love with Kiernan and things become dicey. Especially when they have sex.
There doesn’t seem to be a way out of this mess and Celeste resigns herself to being unhappy for the rest of her life, but Kieran refuses to allow it – if only there was a way out. It is tense until the happy ending is reached, and it looks like Finn or Dom will be getting hitched next.
This was a fast, fun read with a lot of heat. Don’t miss it!
3/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO RAKES by Eva Leigh. Avon (February 22, 2022). ISBN: 978-0063086272. 384p.
In the follow-up to It Happened One Summer, Tessa Bailey delivers another deliciously fun rom-com about a former player who accidentally falls for his best friend while trying to help her land a different man…
King crab fisherman Fox Thornton has a reputation as a sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows he’s a guaranteed good time—in bed and out—and that’s exactly how he prefers it. Until he meets Hannah Bellinger. She’s immune to his charm and looks, but she seems to enjoy his… personality? And wants to be friends? Bizarre. But he likes her too much to risk a fling, so platonic pals it is.
Now, Hannah’s in town for work, crashing in Fox’s spare bedroom. She knows he’s a notorious ladies’ man, but they’re definitely just friends. In fact, she’s nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a few tips from Westport’s resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworker’s eye… yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wants him instead. As the line between friendship and flirtation begins to blur, Hannah can’t deny she loves everything about Fox, but she refuses to be another notch on his bedpost.
Living with his best friend should have been easy. Except now she’s walking around in a towel, sleeping right across the hall, and Fox is fantasizing about waking up next to her for the rest of his life and… and… man overboard! He’s fallen for her, hook, line, and sinker. Helping her flirt with another guy is pure torture, but maybe if Fox can tackle his inner demons and show Hannah he’s all in, she’ll choose him instead?
I always enjoy a romance when it’s the man who’s all insecure, probably because it is somewhat unconventional. That is the case here, and Fox is a terrific male lead. Strong, good looking, and has a reputation for never getting serious with anyone but always leaving the ladies happy. Until he meets Hannah.
Ever since last summer when they met, Fox doesn’t seem to get any pleasure from anything except their daily texts. Hannah is in California, Fox is in this small fishing village in Washington state. They are friends now, and Fox has never been friends with a woman. Never even thought it was possible. But they had fun hanging out together, and the texting has brought them even closer. So when Hannah convinces the director of the film she’s assisting on to move the production to Washington, he loves the idea and she is secretly thrilled. Her sister Piper is engaged and living in that small town and she misses her terribly.
But Piper’s future in-laws have come for a visit, taking the guest room. They arrange for Hannah to stay in Fox’s guest room. That brings them closer than ever, and Fox is in a real quandary. He knows he can’t be in any kind of relationship. His one long term relationship in college turned out to be a lie; he was her “hall pass”, a guy to have sex with and he never really recovered from that.
Hannah is trying to move ahead in her career but lacks some self-esteem; she wants to be the “leading lady” of her life and Fox tries to help convince her that she is. He is offered a promotion to captain the fishing boat he works on but is against it. Hannah tries to convince him he is deserving and to go for it. I love how these characters both learn and grow and help one another to reach their goals.
Falling in love is an unfamiliar feeling for the both of them, but they manage to work through all their issues to reach that happy ending, but there are a lot of laughs and a lot of angst before they get there. This was a terrific, sexy follow up to It Happened One Summer, and hopefully there will be more!
3/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER by Tessa Bailey. Avon (March 1, 2022). ISBN: 978-0063045699. 400p.
Workaholic Lillian Mahoney has given everything to her job. The hugely popular lifestyle show she helped create monopolizes her time, energy, creativity, and anything remotely resembling a life. But all it takes is the show’s womanizing, egomaniac star throwing a massive hissy on live TV to utterly implode Lillian’s career in a New York minute.
Now Lillian’s hiding out in the gorgeous and completely unknown seaside village of Blink, Maine. Out of gas. A stolen wallet. A broken heel. And worse, she’s somehow managed to completely piss off the town’s resident hunk, Caleb Wright. She’ll show that hot, grumpy single father exactly what she’s made of.
But Blink isn’t quite what Lillian expects―and neither is Caleb…or his feisty teen daughter she can’t help but love. And while her entire life and career are in shreds, Lillian might just discover what happens when she gives her bad first impression a second chance…
This is a lovely, small town romance with interesting characters and setting. Blink is a small town on the coast of Maine, population just over 200 and falling fast. There is not much here anymore; the mill closed, most of the businesses, too. Lillian’s sister bought a cottage out of foreclosure here, sight unseen, so when everything in NY blows up, Lillian decides to hide out in Blink.
Lillian had this idea of a lifestyle business but needed the perfect face for the company. She found Niles in a college bar and recruited him. Unfortunately, he isn’t very interested in what he’s actually doing, like cooking or decorating. He’s more interested in meeting women and enjoying his new found wealth and celebrity. Lillian and her sister keep him in check, for the most part, but he has to do a live cooking segment. They rehearse of course, but he still manages to screw it up and loses his temper with Lillian. This is live on the streets of Manhattan, and several of his fans are filming the blow up which goes viral. Everyone assumes Lillian work for Niles, and she is quick to point out that they work together, when in reality she is his boss. But he is the face of the company, she is behind the scenes.
On her way to Blink, her wallet gets stolen and she runs out of gas just at the edges of town. A good looking young man, Caleb, stops to help her, but she is a New Yorker and isn’t getting into a strange man’s car. She walks the rest of the way to town, the high heel on her shoe breaks, and she has $20 to her name. At the diner, she buys a cup of coffee and an old guy starts chatting to her. He fills up her car for her and she meets his friend, another old guy who is miserable and failing at life since he lost his wife the year before. Since she really doesn’t have much to do, she offers to help him get organized. Caleb is immediately suspicious; the old guy is the richest man in town. In fact, he owns most of the town.
Enemies to lovers is always a good storyline and Caleb and Lillian eventually stop fighting and find their way to each other. But Lillian has a life and a business back in NY. Before she leaves, she is determined to fix this dying town. She works hard at it, and eventually gets her way in that, and in love.
This is a sweet romance from an author who is new to me. I loved these characters and the fairy tale ending. The next book doesn’t come out until next year, and I can hardly wait!
The news from Ukraine is just heartbreaking. My grandmother was from Kyiv, although I grew up being told she was from Russia. Turns out she was born in the “Russian Empire” in the city of Kyiv in the Ukraine. Her parents were killed and she was sent to America as an infant to live with an aunt and uncle in upstate New York. That was around the turn of the last century. And here we are again, the Jewish president with a target on his back and the country invaded by another madman.
With all the wars the US has been involved with in my lifetime, somehow what is happening in Ukraine feels different, even though American lives are not on the front lines. In 1990, I purchased a book called The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. The review is buried deep on my blog, so I’m adding it here. It is one of the seminal works of the Vietnam War. Interestingly, O’Brien won the National Book Award for Going After Cacciato (another excellent book) but not this one which has become a classic. Why am I bringing this up? Yesterday, I saw that title in the New York Times in reference to this article about Ukrainians fleeing their country: The One Item They Had to Take When These 6 Afghans Fled*
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O’Brien: I bought this book in 1990, read the first few chapters/stories and then came to “On the Rainy River.” It upset me so much that I put the book down and didn’t pick it back up again for sixteen years.
I don’t think most people would pick that particular story as the most upsetting, or the hardest to read, because it’s not about the horrors of Vietnam. Instead, it’s about the horrors of a young man getting his draft notice, and as that was a much more personal recollection for me, it packed an enormous emotional wallop. For me.
“I was a coward. I went to the war.”
I’m sure others had a much harder time with “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, about a soldier who smuggles his girlfriend in from the states and what happens to her during her stay there, or with “The Man I Killed” with a grenade or with “The Ghost Soldiers.”
This book is a novel, a memoir, a collection of stories, a series of vignettes, the seminal work of fiction on the Vietnam War – take your pick, it’s all of these and more. The title page emphatically states that it is fiction, and indeed, there is even a chapter/story entitled “How to Tell a True War Story”, yet it is also dedicated to men with the same names as the characters in the book, and there is even a character named “Tim O’Brien”. But as O’Brien points out, the truth is a slippery thing, and if calling it fiction works best for the author, especially in light of the recent brouhaha over creative nonfiction writing, I certainly won’t argue the point.
Several of the chapters were previously published as short stories, including the title piece, “The Things they Carried”, an amazing piece of writing either on its own or as the opening to a novel. O’Brien lists the physical items that men carried with them in Vietnam, from the mundane like canteens and a toothbrush, to the war necessities of “…the three standard weapons – the M-60, M-16, and M-79 – they carried whatever presented itself, or whatever seemed appropriate as a means of killing or staying alive.” They carried good luck charms, a rabbit’s foot, a pebble sent from a girl back home. They carried diseases, and “…all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing.”
The stories are often tellings and retellings of the same event from different perspectives, again proving how difficult it is to nail down the truth. They flow, never moving linearly but rather back and forth through time, before the war, during the war, and homecoming. All in all, a very emotional read for me and I’m very glad I finally finished it. The first half or so of the title story is available on Google Books if you want to take a look.
“But this too is true: stories can save us.”
04/06; updated 03/22 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
It is starting to feel like life is getting back to somewhat normal, or a new normal, at least. As of Feb. 25, the CDC has updated its Covid-19 guidelines. If you are lucky enough to live in an area where the COVID-19 Community Level is low, all restrictions have pretty much been lifted. You can check your Community Level by entering your state and county on the online form here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html. As of yesterday, where I live the level is “Medium” which means masks are not really needed unless you are high risk. That said, I’m not quite ready to stop wearing a mask in busy public indoor spaces, but I am definitely in the minority.
I think most people are just sick of it all – sick of wearing a mask, of isolating, of this whole damn pandemic. And I get that. But I still have some fears, especially concerning my husband and his health issues, and my too-young-to-be-vaccinated grandson, so wearing a mask makes me feel a tiny bit safer so that’s what I’m doing. For now. If my community level drops to “low,” I will probably retire my masks. As far as flying goes, that is up in the air (sorry!) The federal mask mandate is set to end soon, but whether it will be extended is unknown at this time.
Despite updated COVID-19 mask guidance announced Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the lifting of mask mandates across the country, the federal mask mandate covering planes, airports, trains and other public transportation is in effect until at least March 18.
I know that when I make baked pasta, like baked ziti or lasagna, my favorite bites are of the crispy pasta on the top, so this sounded interesting to me. I made some soup the other night and had some leftover “pasta ribbons” so I decided to give it a try. I accidentally bought these instead of egg noodles – they look like egg noodles but they don’t have eggs in them, so Publix calls them “pasta ribbons.” I tossed them with a bit of olive oil. I decided to go with a “cacio e pepe” flavoring, so I grated some Romano cheese, coarsely ground some black pepper, and tossed it all together. I threw it in a single layer in the air fryer, and voila! Pasta chips.
It took about 10 minutes or so in the air fryer, and since I already had the cooked pasta, only another minute to grate everything and mix it up, so it was pretty easy to make. Most people serve these with some kind of dipping sauce like marinara sauce, and a feta dip is pretty popular, too. I didn’t bother since I only had a cup or so of the noodles, so we just ate them as is. They were tasty – not the best thing I’ve ever made by any means, and nothing I would set out to make. I mean, I wouldn’t cook up a pound of pasta to make this. But if I end up with some leftover pasta again, I would make it again. As far as snack foods go, it’s probably on the healthier side of things if you don’t mind the carbs. And by that I mean healthier than Doritos or potato chips!
The Washington Post wasn’t thrilled; this was their headline: TikTok’s viral pasta chips are a mediocre mess that I’ll never make again*. That said, they did their excellent reporting anyway and dug deep into the history of this dish. That led me to Toasted Ravioli*, which I’ve been meaning to make. I even bought a small bag of frozen smoked mozzarella ravioli from Aldi to try it with, but haven’t gone there yet. But now that Voraciously, the food arm of the Washington Post, led me to their recipe, I will give it a try soon.
Chile Peppers
I stumbled across this article in the Washington Post from a few years ago: A guide to dried chile peppers — your secret flavor weapon in the kitchen. I took a cooking class several years ago and they gave us some dried arbol chilies. I didn’t know what to do with them besides the recipe we made and I wasn’t sure how long they would keep, so I ended up throwing them away. Foolish me. Recently, I was at Aldi’s, the first time since the pandemic began (!) and they had a few different kinds of dried chilies from the Badia spice company. I purchased the ancho and guajillo, and have almost used them up already. It’s been cold here in the Sunshine State and I’ve been making chili.
Unfortunately, my experience with Aldi is to not bother making a list, I just wander through and see what they have. Most of the time I never see the same things there again. Even basics can be frustrating to find. I’ve looked for celery or cucumbers or Greek yogurt and they haven’t had them at one time or another. And this was pre-pandemic/supply chain issues! But I do enjoy the serendipity of shopping there occasionally, like finding smoked mozzarella ravioli and dried chilies.
Book News
How a Book Is Made*: Ink, paper, and a 200,000 pound printer! Have you ever wondered how a book becomes a book? Join the New York Times as they follow Marlon James’s “Moon Witch, Spider King” through the printing process.
2022 ITW Thriller Awards Nominees have been announced!
BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
Megan Abbott – THE TURNOUT (Penguin/Putnam) S. A. Cosby – RAZORBLADE TEARS (Flatiron Books) Alice Feeney – ROCK PAPER SCISSORS (Flatiron Books) Rachel Howzell Hall – THESE TOXIC THINGS (Thomas & Mercer) Alma Katsu – RED WIDOW (Penguin/Putnam) Eric Rickstad – I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM (Blackstone Publishing)
BEST AUDIOBOOK
S. A. Cosby – RAZORBLADE TEARS (Macmillan) Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White Samantha Downing – SLEEPING DOG LIE (Audible Originals) Narrated by Melanie Nicholls-King and Lindsey Dorcus Rachel Howzell Hall – HOW IT ENDS (Audible Originals) Narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt Gregg Hurwitz – PRODIGAL SON (Macmillan) Narrated by Scott Brick Nadine Matheson – THE JIGSAW MAN (HarperCollins) Narrated by Davine Henry
BEST FIRST NOVEL
Abigail Dean – GIRL A (HarperCollins) Eloísa Díaz – REPENTANCE (Agora Books) Amanda Jayatissa – MY SWEET GIRL (Berkley) David McCloskey – DAMASCUS STATION (W.W. Norton & Company) Eric Redman – BONES OF HILO (Crooked Lane Books)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Joy Castro – FLIGHT RISK (Lake Union) Aaron Philip Clark – UNDER COLOR OF LAW (Thomas & Mercer) C. J. Cooke – THE LIGHTHOUSE WITCHES (Berkley) Jess Lourey – BLOODLINE (Thomas & Mercer) Terry Roberts – MY MISTRESS’ EYES ARE RAVEN BLACK (Turner Publishing Company)
BEST SHORT STORY
S.A. Cosby – “Not My Cross to Bear” (Down & Out Books) William Burton McCormick – “Demon in the Depths” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine) Scott Loring Sanders – “The Lemonade Stand” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine) Jeff Soloway – “The Interpreter and the Killer” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine) John Wimer – “Bad Chemistry” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Maureen Johnson – THE BOX IN THE WOODS (HarperCollins) Nova McBee – CALCULATED (Wolfpack Publishing LLC) Ginny Myers Sain – DARK AND SHALLOW LIES (Penguin Young Readers) Courtney Summers – THE PROJECT (Wednesday Books) Krystal Sutherland – HOUSE OF HOLLOW (Penguin Young Readers)
BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Greig Beck – THE DARK SIDE: ALEX HUNTER 9 (Pan Macmillan) John Connell – WHERE THE WICKED TREAD (John Connell) Wendy Dranfield – LITTLE GIRL TAKEN (Bookouture) E.J. Findorff – BLOOD PARISH (E.J. Findorff) S. E. Green – MOTHER MAY I (S. E. Green) Andrew Kaplan – BLUE MADAGASCAR (Andrew Kaplan) Karin Nordin – LAST ONE ALIVE (HarperCollins)
ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest XVII on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, New York City. Congratulations to all the finalists!
As always, thanks for reading and stay safe.
*Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
Comments Off on Coronavirus Diary: March 1, 2022 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
At 47, newly divorced makeup artist Lela Bennett is dreading her next steps. Dating. Meeting people. Not letting herself go. But then she runs into Donovan James and tries something different-sleeping with her sexy crush from college. Unfortunately, in a post-orgasm stupor, Lela confesses she was in love with Donovan all those years ago. He responds by leaving while she sleeps. The next morning, her gray hairs are practically taunting her. She knows she has to get it together. Forget men. Embrace her age. Own her gray.
Donovan James is a marketing genius, but his ex-wives will tell you-nothing freaks him out like feelings. Three years after his one-night stand with Lela, he’s focused on his daughter’s lifestyle company, but unprepared to meet the face of their new beauty brand. It’s Lela. With stunning silver locks and new confidence, she’s no longer swayed by his charms. When business starts booming, the universe seems intent on throwing them together time and again. And suddenly, two people convinced that romance was behind them are wondering if love could be what’s next.
This was such a cute premise, and as someone who has been covering the gray for more years than I care to think about, I was ready to love this. But I didn’t.
I liked that Lela embraced her silver hair, which sounds much prettier than gray. I must admit I have one friend who embraced her gray and I thought it aged her terribly. Some women look fantastic, but not all do.
Lela has been in love with Donovan since their college days. They were great friends, but once he got engaged, his fiancée felt threatened by Lela, and it turns out she had good reason. Donovan has been married a few times and they lost touch over the years, but follow one another on social media. Until they bump into each other in NYC. They end up reminiscing and sleeping together, but during the night Lela admits she was in love with him. Once she falls asleep, he panics and leaves.
That night gives Lela the impetus to change her life. She embraces her gray hair and decides to take her makeup artistry into a new direction – her own line of cosmetics. Business is doing well and then she is bought out by a conglomerate. She still is running her company but within the behemoth.
Donovan has one daughter, a brilliant young woman who is running her own beauty company. She, too, is bought out and then the conglomerate folds Lela’s company under hers. Oh, and Donovan is a semi-retired successful entrepreneur who is working for his daughter now. So Lela and Donovan have to work together as well.
You can guess what happens as the book is entirely predictable. The characters are likeable but there just isn’t enough tension or drama here to make it a real page turner. As a matter of fact, since I read on my Kindle I had no idea how many pages this book was and I was shocked that it was under 300 pages, it felt much longer. I think this book would have been helped by a good editor. I liked seeing a 40something woman as protagonist in a love story and wish there were more books like that. Romance isn’t only for the young!
2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
GRAY HAIR DON’T CARE by Karen Booth. Karen Booth (February 2, 2021). ISBN: 978-0578826288. 276p.
It’s not just the motion of the ocean, ladies. It’s definitely the SIZE of the boat too. And I’ve got both firing on all cylinders. In fact, I have ALL the right assets. Looks, brains, my own money, and a big c&$k.
You might think I’m an as%*$le. I sound like one, don’t I? I’m hot as sin, rich as heaven, smart as hell and hung like a horse. Guess what? You haven’t heard my story before.
Sure, I might be a playboy, like the NY gossip rags call me. But I’m the playboy who’s actually a great guy. Which makes me one of a kind. The only trouble is, my dad needs me to cool it for a bit. With conservative investors in town wanting to buy his flagship Fifth Avenue jewelry store, he needs me not only to zip it up, but to look the part of the committed guy. Fine. I can do this for Dad. After all, I’ve got him to thank for the family jewels.
So I ask my best friend and business partner to be my fiancée for the next week. Charlotte’s up for it. She has her own reasons for saying yes to wearing this big rock. And pretty soon all this playing pretend in public leads to no pretending whatsoever in the bedroom, because she just can’t fake the kind of toe-curling, window-shattering orgasmic cries she makes as I take her to new heights between the sheets. But I can’t seem to fake that I might be feeling something real for her.
What the hell have I gotten myself into with this…big rock?
This is a super sexy, super fun fake engagement romance. Blakely always delivers and truly rises to the top of the self published pack. This book has an arrogant protagonist that grows and changes and enough drama and laughs to keep the pages turning.
This book came out a few years ago, and I actually read book 7 in this series first (what else is new!) If my library has the rest of the series, I’m all in. If you want something fun, fast, and steamy, this is your book. Pure entertainment!
2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
BIG ROCK by Lauren Blakely. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (January 6, 2016). ISBN: 978-1984354075. 254p.
Book 2Book 3Book 4Book 5Book 6Book 7Book 8Book 9Book 10
I started reading this series in the middle, as I often do, back in 2018. The first book I read was SURRENDER TO THE HIGHLANDER, and I wasn’t thrilled with it. I picked it up during a Droughtlander (the years between the books in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and/or the eponymous TV series.) But when the next book, THE HIGHLANDER’S PROMISE, came out, I read it and liked it a lot. I read the next couple, then somehow forgot about this series.
The most recent book is HIGHLAND WOLF, which I read a few weeks ago and really enjoyed. So I started looking around at the series and realized what I had done, reading those four books in the middle. I found the rest of the series through my library. I received egalleys, advanced review copies, from the publisher for the other books in the series that I read.
These books are historical romance but also romantic suspense. There is some element of danger in all of them, and there is graphic sex in all of them as well. Mostly the same sex scenes, in fact. Only the names are changed, or at least that’s how it appeared to me. I probably wouldn’t have noticed except I read five books over the past week, one after another, so it was quite obvious. There are some gruesome descriptions of torture and murder in some of the books as well, but not overly long and usually just once in each book, if that.
These do not have to be read in order. Like many romance series, each book centers on two characters, at least one of whom we have met or heard about in a previous book. So if you haven’t read the books in order, you may not get the reference but it makes no difference to the plot or understanding the characters, who are all well developed. The later books have a few more references to previous ones, but again, not that you’d notice if you haven’t read them. All that said, they are probably best read in order.
There aren’t a whole lot of historical references other than the fact that Edward III is on the British throne, which puts these books in the 1300’s, and the English and Scots hate each other. Oh, if you didn’t get it from the titles or the book covers, these are all Scottish romances set in the Highlands of Scotland, with occasional forays into England. Amazon calls them “Medieval romances” and I guess that’s true. I did learn a lot about how people lived in that time period: what they ate, how they dressed, how they shopped, their morals and beliefs, all of which I found fascinating.
I really enjoyed this series and I’m sorry I didn’t read them in order. But I am very glad I read them all. And I hope there are more books coming!
Finally, I wanted to add that I read the first four books on Hoopla, and book 9 on Cloud Library, apps that are available through libraries. If your library doesn’t offer these options, ask for them! I don’t love reading in these apps, it’s not nearly as seamless as my Kindle but it works and I read these all on my iPad. Hoopla offers ebooks, audiobooks, comics (graphic novels,) movies, TV series, and music; pretty much any kind of streaming material. Cloud Library has ebooks and streaming audiobooks. My library allows patrons to borrow twenty items per month from Hoopla and seven items from Cloud Library, but your mileage may vary. Oh, just FYI, Hoopla changes their content at their whim; libraries have no say in it beyond making 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. All of these books are also available as audiobooks.
From New York Times bestselling author of The Husband Hunt, The Heiress, and other beloved historical romances, comes Lynsay Sands’s An English Bride in Scotland, the first book in a new series set in the wilds of the Highlands.
Annabel had planned to become a nun. But when her mother arrives at the Abbey to bring her home to marry a Scottish laird—her runaway sister’s intended husband—her life takes a decidedly different turn.
And though Annabel isn’t the wife he’d planned for, strong, sexy Ross McKay is taken with his shy, sweet bride.
Annabel knows nothing about being a wife, running a castle—or the marriage bed. But her handsome new husband makes her want to learn. When Annabel’s life is threatened, Ross vows to move the highlands itself to save her and preserve the passion that’s only beginning to bloom.
New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands returns to the Highlands of Scotland in her hottest new historical romance yet!
Highlander Campbell Sinclair is no stranger to battle, so when he sees a lad attacked by bandits, he jumps into the fray. He didn’t count on being stabbed. Grateful to the boy for nursing him back to health, Cam offers to accompany Jo safely to his destination. But when he accidentally comes across the lad bathing in the river, Cam discovers that Jo is actually Joan . . . with the most sinful of curves.
Joan promised her mother that she would deliver a scroll to the clan MacKay. But traveling alone is dangerous, even disguised as a boy. When a Scottish warrior lends his aid, she is more than relieved . . . until he surprises her with lingering kisses and caresses that prove her disguise hasn’t fooled him. As their passion ignites, will the secrets of the scroll force a wedding . . . and lead to a love she’s never known?
A bold, seductive laird meets his passionate match in a scintillating Highland romance from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands
Sword fighting, swearing, and riding astride come naturally to Saidh Buchanan. Simpering and holding her tongue— definitely not. Raised alongside seven boisterous brothers, Saidh has little interest in saddling herself with a husband . . . until she glimpses the new Laird MacDonnell bathing naked in the loch. Though she’s far from a proper lady, the brawny Highlander makes Saidh feel every inch a woman.
She has an angel’s looks, a warrior’s temper, and seeks out his kisses with wanton eagerness. Little wonder that Greer is intrigued by his comely guest. When reckless desire overtakes them, he’s more than willing to make an honest woman of her. But Saidh is the target of a hidden enemy, and Greer faces the battle of his life to safeguard the woman he wants above all others.
New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands welcomes readers back to the Scottish Highlands, where a gallant warrior vows to protect a beautiful runaway . . .
Lady Murine Carmichael has known her share of bad luck. But when her debt-ridden half brother tries to sell her off in exchange for a few Scottish horses, it’s the final straw. If keeping her freedom means escaping through harsh countryside alone, so be it. She has barely begun her journey when she lands an unlikely escort—the brawny Highlander who just refused to buy her virtue.
Dougall Buchanan was disgusted by Lord Danvries’ shameful offer, but Murine tempts him beyond measure. Even bedraggled and dusty, the lass glows with beauty and bravery. Dougall wants to do more than just help her flee. He wants to protect her—with his life and his heart—if she’ll only let him. For Murine may be pursued by a powerful foe, but nothing compares to the fiery courage of a Highlander in love.
In New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands’ captivating romance, a lass targeted by an unknown foe is saved—and seduced—by a bold Highlander
Edith Drummond owes her life to Niels Buchanan and his brothers. Waking after an illness to a castle overrun by rugged Highlanders is disconcerting, but so is learning that she’s slowly being poisoned. Niels insists on staying by her side, and Edith soon discovers that even more dangerous is her wild attraction to the fierce warrior.
Niels has never met a more courageous—or enticing—woman than Lady Edith. The idea of such a bonny lass being forced to enter a nunnery is more than any red-blooded Scotsman could bear. He’ll gladly marry her himself. But while sweeping her off her feet is easy, it’ll take all his skill to defeat her family’s relentless enemies, and convince her to surrender to his sweet embrace. . . .
In a spellbinding new Highlands story from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands, the laird of the Buchanans finds the one woman who is his equal in passion and courage
Aulay Buchanan has retreated to his clan’s hunting lodge for a few days of relaxation. But the raven-haired beauty he pulls from the ocean puts an end to any chance of rest. Though he christens her Jetta, she knows nothing of her real identity, save that someone is trying to kill her. As she recovers, it will not be easy for Aulay to protect her and keep her honor intact when she mistakenly believes they are man and wife…
Jetta sees beyond Aulay’s scars to the brave, loyal warrior she’s proud to call her own. But as the attempts on her life grow more brazen, Jetta realizes that not all is as she believes. And if Aulay is not her husband, can she trust the desire flaring in his eyes, or his promise to defend her with his life?
A laird’s daughter kidnaps a Highlander—and loses her heart… in New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands’ new historical romance
Lady Evina Maclean has heard much about Rory Buchanan’s skill as a healer. What she hasn’t heard is how good the brawny Highlander looks bathing in a waterfall. But Evina can’t afford the distraction, for her ailing father urgently needs care. Only when she’s rendered Buchanan unconscious and dragged him back to her family’s castle does the truth emerge—it’s not Rory she’s kidnapped but his brother Conran.
Other ladies try to ensnare Conran with flattery. Evina hits him over the head with the hilt of her sword to save her kin—and Conran likes the spirited redhead all the more for it. He’s learned enough from his brother to heal Evina’s father, but there are other dangers swirling around the Maclean clan. And while the beautiful, independent lady has sworn not to marry, this wrong Highlander may be just the right man for her.
Four Buchanan brothers have found their brides…only three more to go in this scintillating romance from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands…
Lady Dwyn Innes feels utterly out of place among the eligible women who’ve descended on Buchanan Keep, vying for the attention of the last unmarried brothers. She isn’t long-legged and slender like her sisters, or flirtatious and wily like other lasses. Since her betrothed died, Dwyn has resigned herself to becoming an old maid. Yet a chance encounter with a stranger in the orchard awakens her to a new world of sensation and possibility…
After weeks away, Geordie Buchanan returns to find his home swarming with potential brides, thanks to his loving but interfering family. But one lass in particular draws his attention from the moment he spies her climbing a tree. Lady Dwyn is not nearly as plain as she thinks. Her lush figure and eager kisses delight him, as does her honesty. But the real test lies ahead: eliminating a hidden enemy, so that he and Dwyn can seal their Highland passion with a vow.
A Buchanan brother finds a love to treasure in this scintillating historical romance from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands…
After escaping from the English soldiers who attacked her home and imprisoned her in a dungeon, Lady Elysande de Valance is grateful for the rugged Scots who are escorting her to safety in the Highlands. Even with danger dogging their every step, she hadn’t expected to welcome the strong comforting embrace of their leader, Rory Buchanan. They say he’s a healer, but she finds the heat of his touch does so much more…
Let his brothers get married—Rory is too busy tending to the sick to be bothered with wooing a bride. But when he is tasked with accompanying a family friend’s “treasure” to the Highlands, he is surprised to learn the treasure is a beautiful woman on the run—and even more surprised to discover bruises hidden by her veil. Rory makes it his mission to tend to her injuries and protect her, but the thought of losing her makes him realize that perhaps it is his heart that is most in need of healing…
New York Times Bestselling Author Lynsay Sands delivers another sexy historical romance set in the wilds of the Highlands
In all her daydreams about her wedding day, Lady Claray MacFarlane never once imagined being dragged to the altar by her greedy uncle and forced to marry a man she didn’t know. But that’s what happened, or would have, had a Highland warrior not snatched her up at the last minute and ridden off with her in his arms.
They call him the Wolf. The mercenary’s courage and prowess in battle are known throughout the Highlands, and with his handsome face and black-as-sin hair, he is as intelligent and deadly as the wolf he was named for…
But the Wolf is also Claray’s betrothed. Thought to have been killed as a child, he’s been in hiding all these years. Now he’s determined to earn enough coin to rebuild his home, reclaim his birthright, and honor his marriage contract to Claray. For he’s fallen for the tender-hearted lass…and he will do anything to protect her and their future together.
Falling in love is the ultimate payback in this delightful, breezy romcom about an interior designer who teams up with an enigmatic architect at her firm to get revenge on her ex the only way she knows how: by building a spite house next door
They say living well is the best revenge. But sometimes, spreading the misery seems a whole lot more satisfying. That’s interior designer Dani Porter’s justification for buying the vacant lot next to her ex-fiancé’s house…the house they were supposed to live in together, before he cheated on her with their Realtor. Dani plans to build a vacation rental that will a) mess with his view and his peace of mind and b) prove that Dani is not someone to be stepped on. Welcome to project Spite House.
They say living well is the best revenge. But sometimes, spreading the misery seems a whole lot more satisfying. That’s interior designer Dani Porter’s justification for buying the vacant lot next to her ex-fiancé’s house…the house they were supposed to live in together, before he cheated on her with their Realtor. Dani plans to build a vacation rental that will a) mess with his view and his peace of mind and b) prove that Dani is not someone to be stepped on. Welcome to project Spite House.
That plan quickly becomes complicated when Dani is forced to team up with Wyatt Montego, the handsome, haughty architect at her firm, and the only person available to draw up blueprints. Wyatt is terse and stern, the kind of man who eats his sandwich with a knife and fork. But as they spend time together on- and off-site, Dani glimpses something deeper beneath that hard veneer, something surprising, vulnerable, and real. And the closer she gets to her goal, the more she wonders if winning revenge could mean losing something infinitely sweeter…
I just read another HGTV-style romance – HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR by Sophie Sullivan – I guess it’s a popular plotline. I poked around my website for other HGTV romances and wasn’t surprised to find several more pop up. And those are only the ones I’ve read and reviewed. It is a fun idea, and it works here for sure.
Dani and her ex-fiancé were supposed to buy a house together, but somehow he bought it on his own. She also wanted to purchase the small lot next door for a studio for her work, and that was ignored completely. When she catches him banging the realtor, she ends things but is still really pissed. She figures out that since her money never went into the house, she can afford the lot next door and determines to build a tiny “spite” house that will block his view. And be annoying in general what with all the construction.
Money is tight but she works for an architecture firm so figures someone will help her, but Wyatt is the last person she would expect to help her out. Known as the office grumpy know-it-all, he is supremely talented and she is reluctant to look a gift horse in the mouth. He tells her he needs her help with his grandmother’s window treatments, so it’s a fair deal.
Dani never mentions that her ex lives next door to their project, but Wyatt isn’t stupid and starts suspecting something is up. Meanwhile, working together is going way better than Dani ever expected. Turns out Wyatt is a genuinely nice guy and they start falling in love. Until he realizes that she’s been lying to him about the house the whole time.
This is a romance so they find their happily ever after, but not before a lot of crazy stuff goes down; the garden gnomes and crazy mailbox are funny but the fire is not. Spite is never a good motivator; seems like there are always repercussions, as is the case here.
This was a fun and light-hearted read, sure to please HGTV-romance fans like me. If the Hallmark Channel and HGTV had a baby, it would be this book!
2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
LOVE AT FIRST SPITE by Anna E. Collins. Graydon House; Original edition (January 4, 2022). ISBN: 978-1525899799. 320p.
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