WHEN A COWBOY LOVES A WOMAN by Jennie Marts

June 19, 2021

A Single Dad, a Woman Grieving, and a Beautiful Contemporary Western Romance

Creedence Horse Rescue, Book 2

From the publisher:

“I don’t think I could stay away from you if I tried.”
He shook his head.
“And I have been trying. I told myself not to go to your house tonight.
I ordered my hand not to hold yours.
But apparently I can’t control myself when it comes to you, Elle Brooks.”

When a kitchen fire forces young widow Elle Brooks to move in with her friend Bryn and her motley collection of rescue animals, she doesn’t foresee ending up in the muscled arms of handsome cowboy and veterinarian Brody Tate. Spending time with the hunky cowboy and his adorable young daughter as they rehabilitate rescued horses reminds Elle of all she lost in a car crash years ago.

Brody is devoted to being a good dad for his spirited daughter. He hasn’t let romance even enter his head. But now he’s met Elle. Spending time with her is shaking up the calm he’s worked so hard to achieve, and he can’t seem to get this woman off his mind.

This author was new to me and as usual, I missed the first book in this series. But this book stood alone beautifully; I wouldn’t have known I missed anything.

Brody is a vet and a volunteer fireman, not to mention a widower for several years and the dad of a sweet young daughter. He’s visiting a friend when he spots a fire across the street. He saves Bryn from her kitchen fire, and their attraction is palpable. Bryn is a young widow, and neither of them are looking for a relationship, but the attraction is too big to deny.

In addition to being a vet, Brody also runs an animal rehab. (I think he may walk on water in his spare time.) I couldn’t help rooting for this couple to get past all their hurdles and get together. This is a sweet romance, not as sad as it may sound being they both lost their spouses. There is some humor as well. All in all, this book was a good read, good enough for me to go find the first book in the series, A Cowboy State of Mind. I found the ebook on Hoopla, courtesy of my library.

If you like cowboys and animals as much as I do, you will enjoy this romance!

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

WHEN A COWBOY LOVES A WOMAN by Jennie Marts. Sourcebooks Casablanca (March 30, 2021) Amara (March 9, 2021). ISBN: 978-1492689140. 336 pages.

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A SUMMER OF SECOND CHANCES by Suzanne Snow

June 16, 2021

BLOG TOUR!

Welcome to Thorndale, Book 3

From the publisher:

An uplifting and feel-good romance to fall in love with

Sparks and tempers fly when Ben comes to stay in Daisy’s holiday cottage

Daisy likes routine. She goes to work, makes dinner for her son, then loses herself for an hour or two in her sewing. She’s not looking for change, until Ben crashes – literally – into her life.

Ben is training for a triathlon, working himself to the limit in an attempt to forget a recent trauma. Daisy wants to help, but even as they draw closer with every week that passes, he pushes her away whenever things threaten to get serious.

Can Ben open himself up to love again? And with Daisy’s life in the Yorkshire Dales and Ben’s in New York, can they have a future together even if he does?

I haven’t read this author before so I didn’t read the first two books in the series. I never felt like I was missing anything, and in fact, didn’t even realize it was part of a series until I starting working on this review. To me, that says a lot about the author’s skill of creating a book that is part of a series, but can be read as a standalone.

That said, this book was slow going. Ben has some serious issues, and try as she will, Daisy can’t seem to break through his walls. For every step forward it felt like there were at least two steps back. Most romances follow a basic formula; boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back again. Or vice versa. But this boy did not get the girl until the end. I did love the ending of the book, and I liked how Ben and Daisy both helped one another to overcome their own personal obstacles. FYI, there is no sex, only a few kisses if that matters to you.

I liked the characters, I loved the small English village setting, and the ending was perfect. If you like slower paced narratives with a happy ending, then this is your book.

NOTE: Library users, I found this ebook on Hoopla!

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

A SUMMER OF SECOND CHANCES by Suzanne Snow. Canelo Escape (June 10, 2020). ISBN: 978-1800324992. 221 pages.

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MAYBE ONE DAY by Debbie Johnson

June 12, 2021

From the publisher:

In the spirit of Ruth Hogan and Adriana Trigiani, bestselling British author Debbie Johnson brings us the ultimate in “happy tears”: a heartfelt story about a woman seizing the chance to reconnect with her lost love.

The truth changes everything.

For years Jess believed that Joe—the father of her child and the only man she ever loved—had abandoned her during her greatest time of need. That belief nearly destroyed her. Seventeen years later, when cleaning out her mother’s house, Jess unpacks a box of cards and letters hidden in the attic and makes a discovery that changes everything about life as she knows it.

Shaken but empowered, Jess—and her two stalwart best friends—set out on a remarkable journey to follow a set of faded postmarks around the world. Is Joe still alive? Does he know that Jess never forgot him? Maybe their love story isn’t over.

Maybe one day they’ll find each other again…

A comparison to Adriana Trigiani always grabs my attention (Note to Ade: babe, you are way overdue for your next book!)

This was such an emotional read. There is so much heart to this story and sorrow and even some laughs that it just feels completely captivating. I couldn’t help but get involved with these characters.

Having parents do something despicable is very much in my world view having lived that, so it was not at all far fetched for me to believe the basic premise of the story. The road trip to romance was appropriate and really well done. The characters come to life on the page and their story was terrific. This isn’t a light read, but a well thought out plot with believability, always a good combination, and a lot of heart. I loved it.

I didn’t recall reading this author before, so I dug around on my Kindle and found one of the books from an earlier series, The Comfort Food Cafe, but I need the earlier books. I think I’d like to read them in order. I love finding new authors, even if they are only new to me!

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

MAYBE ONE DAY by Debbie Johnson. William Morrow Paperbacks (March 2, 2021). ISBN: 978-0063003651. 384 pages.

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THE INVITATION by Vi Keeland

June 11, 2021

From the publisher:

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

The first time I met Hudson Rothschild was at a wedding. I’d received an unexpected invitation to one of the swankiest venues in the city.

Hudson was a groomsman and quite possibly the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on. He asked me to dance, and our chemistry was off the charts.

I knew it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with him, considering the wedding I was at. But our connection was intense, and I was having a great time.

Though the fun came to a screeching halt when Hudson figured out I wasn’t who I’d said I was. You see, that unexpected invitation I received? Well, it hadn’t actually been addressed to me—it was sent to my ex-roommate who’d bounced a check for two months’ rent and moved out in the middle of the night. I figured she owed me an expensive night out, but I guess, technically, I was crashing the wedding.

Once caught, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. As I bolted for the door, I might’ve plucked a few bottles of expensive champagne off the tables I passed, all while the gorgeous, angry groomsman was hot on my tail.

Outside, I jumped into a taxi. My heart ricocheted against my ribs as we drove down the block—but at least I’d escaped unscathed.

Or so I thought.

Until I realized I’d left my cell phone behind at the table.

Take one guess who found it?

This is the crazy story of how Hudson Rothschild and I met. But trust me, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

This author was new to me but I am so glad I found her! I loved this story. It was completely captivating; I couldn’t put the book down until I (sadly) turned the last page. Not your usual romance trope either, but closest to the enemies-to-lovers plotline. Usually that involves a lot of history between the characters, but not here. Stella meets Hudson when she crashes a fancy wedding. He’s one of the groomsmen, she’s stolen her ex-roommate’s invitation after she ghosted her. Their relationship has a ton of potential if Stella can worm her way out of what she did.

This is a charming, terrific romcom, with a lot of heat. The story was believable and romantic, and these characters were interesting and fun. I will be looking for more of Keeland’s books. I got this one through my public library after I read a glowing review, and I’m so glad I did. I love finding new authors and Keeland is now on my radar.

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE INVITATION by Vi Keeland. C. Scott Publishing Corp. (January 18, 2021). ISBN: 978-1951045401. 300 pages.

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LIFE’S TOO SHORT by Abby Jimenez

June 10, 2021

The Friend Zone, Book 3

From the publisher:

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“A hilarious, tender, and altogether life-affirming gem of a book.” –Emily Henry, bestselling author of Beach Read

A brilliant and touching romantic comedy about two polar opposites, one adorable dog, and living every day to its fullest.

When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn’t expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn’t just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn’t want to take anything for granted.

But after her half sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her baby daughter, life goes from “daily adventure” to “next-level bad” (now with bonus baby vomit in hair).

The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she’d be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua.

Now she’s feeling things she’s vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.

Letting your hot neighbor help you out with a crying baby in the middle of the night doesn’t seem like the best idea Vanessa has, but she is desperate and out of options. She got to take a much needed shower, plus he got the baby to stop crying. And he is hot, so there’s that.

Vanessa has some serious baggage. She lost her mom and her sister to a horrible, debilitating disease, and she is too scared to even get tested for it. Instead, she lives her life as if each day may be her last, traveling the world and entertaining her millions of followers. But her drug addicted half-sister is in no shape to take care of her baby, and Vanessa can’t say no so her life has taken a drastic turn here.

Adrian is amazing, and Vanessa is no fool so it is no surprise that they fall in love. But Adrian doesn’t understand her family medical history, mostly because she hasn’t told him. Vanessa has lived with it all her life, so she knows the difficult decisions that most likely lay ahead of her but she’s not sharing that with Adrian either. In a way, it reminded me of Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You, but a slightly more upbeat version.

While this novel does have a more serious undertone, there are still a lot of laughs in this emotionally charged romance. The characters are well defined, and their relationship believable. Bottom line is that Jimenez writes excellent stories that really draw you in and this is no exception.

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LIFE’S TOO SHORT by Abby Jimenez. Forever (April 6, 2021). ISBN: 978-1538715666. 384 pages.

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WISHING FOR A COWBOY by Victoria James

June 7, 2021

Wishing River, Book 3

From the publisher:

From New York Times bestselling author Victoria James comes a heartwarming love story about family, forgiveness, and the true meaning of “home.”

Janie Adams has been a single parent to her nephew since he was a baby. Fifteen years later, she’s finally found out who his father might be, so the two of them travel across the country to find him. She’d do anything for this kid. But when they arrive in the small town of Wishing River, Montana, and Janie finally meets the ruggedly handsome cowboy she’d been told had abandoned his son, his shocked response changes everything.

Aiden Rivers can’t dispute this is his kid when he sees his own features staring back at him, but he had no idea Janie’s sister was pregnant when she left him. He didn’t even know she had a sister―clearly they’d all been lied to. Now he has fifteen years of fatherhood to make up for and no idea how to be a dad. This was never in his plans.

Janie sticks around to help him ease into parenting, everything from showing him how to lure a sulky kid out of his bedroom to keeping up with the latest teen-speak. Together, they surprisingly make a good team, this city girl and country boy. But when the past catches up with them, Aiden and Janie must decide what’s best for the boy who’s connecting them, not only for each other…which could mean splitting them apart.

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

I love a good cowboy romance, and James’s latest entry into her series is a really good one. Janie has raised her sister’s son as if he was her own. Her sister is bad news, and has only appeared sporadically since his birth. But Janie gives up everything to take care of him, so when she runs out of money, she knows she has to do something. She tracks down the father and shows up on his ranch.

Aiden remembers Janie’s sister, and also remembers what a flake she was. But he is still shocked to find out he has a teenage son. Determined to do right by him, and his guardian, Aiden takes them in and starts getting to know them both. Janie is beyond happy that he is willing to acknowledge his son.

While they get to know one another, Janie and Aiden fall in love. There are a bunch of obstacles to get around, including her sister showing up and deciding to “take back” her ex. It’s a mess but everyone gets what they deserve in the end. Another excellent addition to the series.

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

WISHING FOR A COWBOY by Victoria James. Entangled: Amara (March 9, 2021). ISBN: 978-1682815670. 364 pages.

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FIRST COMES LIKE by Alisha Rai

June 6, 2021

Modern Love, Book 3

From the publisher:

The author of The Right Swipe and Girl Gone Viral returns with a story about finding love in all the wrong inboxes…

Beauty expert and influencer Jia Ahmed has her eye on the prize: conquering the internet today, the entire makeup industry tomorrow, and finally, finally proving herself to her big opinionated family. She has little time for love, and even less time for the men in her private messages—until the day a certain international superstar slides into her DMs, and she falls hard and fast.

There’s just one wrinkle: he has no idea who she is.

The son of a powerful Bollywood family, soap opera star Dev Dixit is used to drama, but a strange woman who accuses him of wooing her online, well, that’s a new one. As much as he’d like to focus on his Hollywood fresh start, he can’t get Jia out of his head. Especially once he starts to suspect who might have used his famous name to catfish her…

When paparazzi blast their private business into the public eye, Dev is happy to engage in some friendly fake dating to calm the gossips and to dazzle her family. But as the whole world swoons over their relationship, Jia can’t help but wonder: Can an online romance-turned-offline-fauxmance ever become love in real life?

I really liked The Right Swipe, so I’m not sure how but I missed Girl Gone Viral. I will be looking for that soonest! Because I liked this book a lot as well.

Rai writes charming, sweet romances set in her Muslim culture, which I find very interesting. In this story, our heroine, Jia, is a wannabe beauty influencer. She’s getting to where she wants to go and isn’t in the market for love. Except her family is driving her crazy, and she may have met someone.

Dev is Bollywood royalty, and when he DMs Jia, she falls fast and thinks he has, as well. She pushes for a meeting but he’s holding her off. Then she ends up at an event where she finally meets him – except he has no idea who she is. Apparently she’s been catfished. But there is an attraction there, so when Jia asks Dev to be her fake boyfriend to keep her family off her back, he agrees.

Fake relationships always turn into the real thing – it is a classic trope of the romance genre and one that I enjoy. On the other hand, I’ve never known anyone who was in a fake relationship or fake engagement, but I’m not one to rule it out. I choose to believe.

I like the strong, feminist characters here and the sweet romance that is culturally appropriate. An excellent addition to the Modern Love series.

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FIRST COMES LIKE by Alisha Rai. Avon (February 16, 2021). ISBN: 978-0062878151. 432 pages.

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SANDCASTLE BEACH by Jenny Holiday

June 5, 2021

From the publisher:

From the USA Today bestselling “master of witty banter” (Entertainment Weekly) comes a hilarious and heartwarming romance about two enemies whose feud turns red-hot.

Maya Mehta will do anything to save her tiny, beloved community theater. Put on musicals she hates? Check. Hire an arrogant former-pop-star-turned-actor? Done. But what Maya really needs to save her theater is Matchmaker Bay’s new business grant. She’s got some serious competition, though: Benjamin “Law” Lawson, local bar owner, Jerk Extraordinaire, and Maya’s annoyingly hot arch nemesis. Let the games begin.

Law loves nothing more than getting under Maya’s skin, and making those gorgeous eyes dance with irritation. But when he discovers the ex-pop star has a thing for Maya, too, Law decides he’s done waiting in the wings-starting with a scorching-hot kiss. Turns out there’s a thin line between hate and irresistible desire, and Maya and Law are really good at crossing it. But when things heat up, will they allow their long-standing feud to get in the way of their growing feelings?

I feel like I’ve read this story before (because I have) but I don’t care, Holiday does her usual good job of building believable characters that I actually cared about, a warm, wonderful setting, and enough angst to keep those pages turning.

Maya has a big heart. She loves the theater but understands that the tiny beach town is not really enough to keep it going. So to bring in outsiders, she snares a former boy band member to star in her new production. She has barely enough money to keep going, so she gives him her apartment to stay in and gets down to work.

The town meeting reveals a pleasant surprise; they are offering a grant to a local business, Maya desperately needs that money, but she has some competition. A local bar owner is also vying for the grant. Law is well liked in town, but he is not as desperate as Maya, and she’s sure she has it in the bag. But the road to success is paved with many speedbumps, least of which is the hot boy band member trying to date her and her increasing attraction to Law.

This was a fun read and a good escape for a few hours. I ask for nothing more than that!

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SANDCASTLE BEACH by Jenny Holiday. Forever (March 9, 2021). ISBN: 978-1538716571. 432 pages.

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LEGACY by Nora Roberts

June 3, 2021

From the publisher:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents Legacy, a new novel of a mother and a daughter, of ambition and romance, and of a traumatic past reawakened by a terrifying threat…

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her―before her mother, Lina, stepped in.

Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend―and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.

A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial―as long as neither crosses the other.

But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving―the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins…

This book is a fine example of why Nora Roberts is still at the top of the bestseller lists. She writes a great story with interesting characters and really knows how to keep the reader turning pages. Between the family dynamics, the growing business, friendships, romance, and of course the crazy, threatening poems that show up annually, it was impossible to put this book down.

Lina, the mom, is the least developed character here but she is very much on the periphery. A career driven, super successful yoga megastar, she is not close with her daughter. In fact, the nanny and the grandparents are the ones who raise Adrian to be the mature, smart, sensible yet driven young woman she becomes. When she is forced to start a new high school, she decides to create her own exercise videos. She recruits a group of nerds, committing social suicide in the process, but she doesn’t care. She likes her new friends and they get her where she wants to be. Happily, she takes them along on her ride to success.

But success always has its downside. In Adrian’s case, it’s the threatening poems that follow her for years, until they finally start escalating. Her mother, always one to throw money at a problem, hires a private investigator since the FBI hasn’t really done anything over the years. Meanwhile, Adrian moves out of NY and in with her grandfather after her grandmother passes. They adopt a mountain of a dog from the pound, and Adrian finds she is very happy living in the small town where she spent her best times growing up. Her best friend still lives there, and her brother, Raylan of the beautiful green eyes, ends up moving back home. Adrian and Raylan are friendly, but that friendship turns to something deeper as they reconnect.

If you like a bit of suspense with your romance, this is your book. I have to say I pretty much figured out who the threat was early on, and it didn’t really matter. I still loved this story and these characters. They almost(!) tempted me into trying yoga again.

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LEGACY by Nora Roberts. St. Martin’s Press (May 25, 2021). ISBN: 978-1250272935. 448 pages.

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TALK BOOKISH TO ME by Kate Bromley

June 2, 2021

From the publisher:

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely—and inconvenient—sources.

Kara Sullivan’s life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential bookstagrammer, she’s fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book.

But right now? Not only is Kara’s best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn’t written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party. But Ryan’s unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver.

With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there’s only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve. But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?

There are a bunch of books coming out with book, bookish, bookstore, library, or librarian in the title and of course, I want to read them all. I started with this one by mistake; I thought I was going to be reading a book about a woman who goes to work in a bookshop in Scotland, but that’s a different book! (The Bookshop of Second Chances.) I figured it out pretty quickly, but I got sucked into this story so happy accident. Turns out I ended up liking this book way more than the one I originally set out to read (review of that one will be up soon.)

This was a charming story with many laugh out loud moments, I loved the humor here. And it’s a debut! I love finding new authors.

Kara and Ryan had a really bad breakup, the kind that left them hating one another. But turns out Ryan is a childhood friend of Kara’s best friend’s fiance, so as the wedding approaches, they end up having to deal with one another. And the funny thing is, after Kara’s first run in with Ryan, it seems her writer’s block has ended. Ryan is giving her the impetus to write again, and as her deadline looms, Kara is desperate enough to take advantage of that. And did I mention Ryan has an adorable dog?

Ryan ends up sleeping on Kara’s couch, but not for long. The chemistry they once had has grown even hotter, but Kara lives in NYC, and Ryan is in North Carolina. Plus Kara is moving to Italy for 6 months after the wedding. Between their history, their geography, Kara’s looming deadline, and the stress of the wedding, things are really crazy. For Kara and Ryan to reach their happily ever after is not going to be easy, and we, the readers, get to enjoy every moment of it. A happy beach read sure to leave a smile on your face – don’t miss it!

6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

TALK BOOKISH TO ME by Kate Bromley. Graydon House; Original edition (May 25, 2021). ISBN: 978-1525806438. 320 pages.