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Smokejumper, Book 1

From the publisher:

Willa Frank has one simple rule: never go on a date with anyone more than twice. Now that her business is providing the stability she’s always needed, she can’t afford distractions. Her two-date rule will protect her just fine…until she meets smokejumper Grady Billman.

After one date―one amazing, unforgettable date―Grady isn’t ready to call it quits, despite his own no-attachments policy, and he’s found a sneaky way around both their rules.

Throwing gutter balls with pitchers of beer? Not a real date. Everyone knows bowling doesn’t count.

Watching a band play at a local show? They just happen to have the same great taste in music. Definitely not a date.

Hiking? Nope. How can exercise be considered a date?

With every “non-date” Grady suggests, his reasoning gets more ridiculous, and Willa must admit she’s having fun playing along. But when their time together costs Willa two critical clients, it’s clear she needs to focus on the only thing that matters―her future. And really, he should do the same.

But what is she supposed to do with a future that looks gray without Grady in it?

This book felt a little like it switched things up a bit; our hero, Grady, is smart and capable, even though his plans for the future are non-existent. Our heroine, Willa, on the other hand, has some serious baggage. Willa doesn’t do relationships, hence, the two-date rule. She’ll go out with a guy twice at most. After that, she cuts them loose so she doesn’t form any attachments. She is laser-focused on her career and she’s not going to let a man get in her way. Until she meets Grady.

Grady is definitely on board with the two-date rule, after all, with his work schedule, he can’t really get involved. But their first date goes so well that he is bound and determined to keep seeing her and somehow get around her rule and his scheduling issues. Willa is pretty smitten as well and finds herself bending her own rule quite a bit. She won’t break it, exactly, and that leads to a lot of comedy. But as her life story unfurls, Grady learns why she is the way she is, and the best way to deal with her issues. Willa is a workaholic and completely obsessed with money. She lost her mom as a young child, and her childhood was heartbreaking at best.

This wouldn’t be a romance if it broke all the rules, so boy meets girl, they fall pretty quickly, then boy loses girl. Only to get her back again. But I was so emotionally involved that it felt pretty devastating when they reached their breaking point. I only kept going because I knew they had to get their happily ever after.

I had a couple of very minor quibbles with this book; the cover wasn’t great, and I felt like I missed something regarding Willa’s relationship with Grady’s mom, but all in all, this was a very good romance. I liked learning about smokejumpers, I was not familiar with that specialized field of work, and I really like how it was integrated into the story. This was my favorite book so far from Entangled Publishing. It had all the elements I love in a romance; great characters that I cared about, lots of laughs, some heat when needed, lots of drama without ever going over the top, and of course, a happy ending. Best of all, this is the first book of a new series and I am all in!

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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Farraday Country, Book 1

From the publisher:

Welcome to Farraday Country, a twist on the popular 7 brides for 7 brothers set in cattle-ranching west Texas, with all the friends, family and fun that fans have come to expect from USA TODAY Bestselling author Chris Keniston.

On a barren road in the pre-dawn hours, Adam Farraday, the oldest of seven siblings, happens upon a disabled sports car and an angel in white searching for a disappearing dog. What is it about this secretive redheaded beauty that intrigues him as no woman has before?

After learning her fiancé’s true nature minutes before her wedding, Meg O’Brien drives as fast and as far away from her world as she can. Stranded with no money, and nowhere to go, the city girl must learn to fit in to small town life and all its quirky trappings. Too bad falling in love with her handsome rescuer is not an option.

This was a free ebook I got through BookBub. I know I’ve mentioned this before, so feel free to skip ahead to the review. If you are not familiar or if you haven’t heard about this site, check it out. If you like inexpensive or free ebooks, it is definitely worth a visit. I think the most expensive book I’ve seen on there is about $3.99, many are $1.99 or free. You can specify the genres you like and that’s what they will send you. It’s one of the best emails I get every day.

I have noticed many of the free books are self-published, which as long as they are edited, is fine with me. I always check the reviews, and this book had over 1700 reviews with a 4.5-star rating. It is well deserved! Have you ever looked at some of the 1-star reviews? They are often rants about late arrivals, authors’ notes they don’t like, or other silly things that have literally nothing to do with the book they are reviewing. But I am digressing again, mea culpa.

This is a very short book, probably a novella, so it lacked some of the depth of character that I like. That said, it is the first book of a series, and it is well written and a good story, so I am not going to complain too much. I really liked the premise of the book, and admired Meg for taking off the way she did. That could not have been easy, from a physical standpoint (no money) or an emotional one. The Farraday family is a good one, and I am looking forward to reading more of their stories.

It looks like the Kindle book is still free, so if you like sweet love stories and fast reads with some humor, grab it. I’m very glad I did.

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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From the publisher:

All I’ve ever tried to do is keep the people in my life safe. That’s gotten me into hot water more times than I can count. Hell, the last time got me four years behind bars.

So when my favorite barista tells her mom that I’m her boyfriend to stop the woman’s endless criticism, I can’t stop myself from helping her out. But she’s too innocent and I’m too damaged for this to ever be the real deal.

I can’t allow myself to touch her, not when making her mine will drag her into my world and drown her in my messed up life. What I really need to do is stay away.

Except every touch and every accidental kiss breaks my control. I want her.

Then I find out her dad is the detective who put me away…and he’s trying to take down my family.

I don’t blame him. The secrets I’m keeping are big enough to destroy everything.

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From the publisher:

Mason Christian has twelve weeks to flip something old into something new, and then he’s getting the hell out of Footsteps Bay – a tiny New Zealand coastal town. Not even his temporary secretary and personal assistant–the feisty, luscious Billie McLeod–will deter him, but there’s no denying she makes him feel alive. More alive than he’s felt in three years…

Billie has one dream: save enough money to finish her degree. That’s why she’s agreed to work for hard ass, all-business-no-pleasure Mason Christian–a man who has every intention of destroying through modernization the town’s most cherished historical home. Before she can say ‘see ya’ she’s signed on the dotted line and is contractually bound to be Mason’s forty-second assistant. But working with male perfection every day is awesome with a capital A–as long as they can stick to a hands-off policy that gets harder every day…

Entangled Publishing is on to something. I’m not exactly sure how this all works, but it seems like most of the books I’ve read from them have been written by authors on the other side of the world. They specialize in ebooks that are set in Australia or New Zealand or I’m not even sure where (I am somewhat geographically challenged) but the stories, the characters work just as well over here. I know that American authors often have their books sold to other countries, translated to other languages, but I never really thought about the reverse so much. Every now and then I read a translated book that was originally published in some other country, and I invariably enjoy them. I like learning about other cultures and reading translated books really gives an insider’s perspective that I really like, rather than an American who took a vacation somewhere and decided to set their book there. That works, too, but in a different way.

From what I can tell from my reading, and from my husband’s working in Australia back in the early 80’s, it is very much like America. Liane Moriarity (and her writing sisters) spring to mind – I love her books, and it was always sort of secondary that they were set in Australia. For TV, they moved Big Little Lies to Malibu and it worked perfectly.

So this book was sent to me by the publisher as a “second look,” which means it came out a while back. I didn’t care, if I haven’t read a book then it is new to me. This is a contemporary romance of the rich boss & his assistant variety and that worked for me.

Mason has some secrets he just doesn’t share. He has kept himself closed off, is basically punishing himself, and avoiding relationships. He is a tough taskmaster and expects his assistant to live, work and breathe whatever project is currently underway. In this case, it is a house flip in the small oceanside town. He goes through assistants so frequently that he doesn’t bother to learn their names; in this case, he calls Bilie “42”. Yep, there have been 41 assistants before her. He has her sign a tough contract, and off to work they go. But Billie, even though she really needs the money, is no pushover. And her pushing back causes sparks to fly.

This was a very quick read, I would have like to know more about what they were doing in the renovation – rooms just were magically done. But that’s me and my HGTV mentality, I guess. It probably wasn’t such a big thing back in 2013 when this book was first published. It was an entertaining read, and that works for me.

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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From the publisher:

All Haley Bowman has ever wanted was her One True Love. But now, with her cousin getting married and Haley back in her small town, the pressure is on. Good thing she’s got a foolproof Kiss List, full of potential OTLs. Her parents knew they were soul mates at their first kiss, so surely Haley will know the same. All she needs to do is…well, kiss each of these guys…

Enter Max Gallagher: bane of Haley’s existence, her nemesis since childhood, and, unfortunately, as a local, her way in with all the guys on the Kiss List. Max wants nothing to do with love and certainly nothing to do with Haley, but he can clear the way for her to get to know the guys on the list. Of course, he wants something in return: to be made a partner in Haley’s family’s business. One kiss for relinquishing her hold-out vote on Max.

But the more time Max and Haley spend together, the clearer it is that there’s a paper-thin line between love and hate. Max will have to decide between the job he’s always dreamed of or the girl of his dreams before his fate is sealed with someone else’s kiss.

This book sounded so cute but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I found the characters incredibly immature and silly, especially Haley. Max was better, and how often do you get to say a man is more mature than a woman? (Please don’t send me hate mail, stereotypes become stereotypes because they are often based in truth.) But I pushed past that because I liked the rest of the characters. The storyline was broadcast from the first page so there is not even a hint of suspense about what the ending will be, and that didn’t bother me either. It was a silly, escapist read and sometimes that is enough.

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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Hot and Hammered, Book 2

From the publisher:

One of Oprah Magazine’s 21 Romance Novels That Are Set to Be the Best of 2020 + Marie Claire’s Best New Books of 2020

New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey returns with a unique, sexy romantic comedy about a young married couple whose rocky relationship needs a serious renovation…

Rosie and Dominic Vega are the perfect couple: high school sweethearts, best friends, madly in love. Well, they used to be anyway. Now Rosie’s lucky to get a caveman grunt from the ex-soldier every time she walks in the door. Dom is faithful and a great provider, but the man she fell in love with ten years ago is nowhere to be found. When her girlfriends encourage Rosie to demand more out of life and pursue her dream of opening a restaurant, she decides to demand more out of love, too. Three words: marriage boot camp.

Never in a million years did Rosie believe her stoic, too-manly-to-emote husband would actually agree to relationship rehab with a weed-smoking hippie. Dom talking about feelings? Sitting on pillows? Communing with nature? Learning love languages? Nope. But to her surprise, he’s all in, and it forces her to admit her own role in their cracked foundation. As they complete one ridiculous—yet surprisingly helpful—assignment after another, their remodeled relationship gets stronger than ever. Except just as they’re getting back on track, Rosie discovers Dom has a secret… and it could demolish everything.

It’s not often that you find a fresh approach to romance, but that is the case here and I loved it. Or maybe I just haven’t stumbled on any other marriage romances? The story centers around a couple that were high school sweethearts, got married, and were happy. But Dom changed while he served his country, like so many men do. I loved that he was still madly in love with his wife, but the problems in their marriage are like so many marriages, no communication. He for sure isn’t talking, and she’s afraid to so she keeps everything in. That is never good, and it basically implodes the marriage.

Rosie & Dom still have a passionate, albeit scheduled, love life and it just isn’t working so much for Rosie on an emotional level. But it takes Rosie moving out to wake up Dom to all the problems in their marriage, and it actually takes Rosie a little longer to see that she also contributed to their problems. Marriage counseling doesn’t always help, but it does here, and it also adds a lot of humor to the story.

Bailey is a terrific storyteller and writer – it’s not easy to put passion on the page without making it feel banal or hackneyed. The sex is definitely steamy, it works in the story and even has some funny moments thrown in, just like real life. Putting a marriage on display is always interesting, and this story and these characters really drew me in. I couldn’t help but root for them and their happy ending. Another excellent addition to what is becoming one of my favorite series. I can’t wait for the next book!

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

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From the publisher:

A young widow must face the grief she’s always set aside when an unexpected delivery throws her life into disarray

Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, Charlotte has worked hard to move forward. Great job at a hot social media analytics company? Check. Roommate with no knowledge of her past? Check. Adorable dog? Check. All the while, she’s faithfully data-crunched her way through life, calculating the probability of risk—so she can avoid it.

Yet Charlotte’s algorithms could never have predicted that her late husband’s ashes would land squarely on her doorstep five years later. Stunned but determined, Charlotte sets out to find meaning in this sudden twist of fate, even if that includes facing her perfectly coiffed, and perfectly difficult, ex-mother-in-law—and her husband’s best friend, who seems to become a fixture at her side whether she likes it or not.

But when her quest reveals a shocking secret, Charlotte is forced to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness. And when a chance at a new life arises, she’ll have to decide once and for all whether to follow the numbers or trust her heart.

A young widow is not your typical romantic heroine. Charlotte loved her husband and when he died, she lost herself as well as her husband. She is a computer coder, and she loses herself in the numbers. So when she is forced to deal with her life, she panics. Sometimes it’s adorable and funny, and sometimes it is heartwrenching and sad. We get to watch Charlotte grow and finally come out from under such devastating circumstances at such a young age.

This book falls somewhere between women’s fiction and romance, and it does so gracefully and makes the case for each. Ultimately, it is a romance so you can rest assured that Charlotte finds her happily ever after, even if it takes her a long time to get there. Not everyone grieves the same way or on the same timetable, and let’s face it, no one expects to be a widow while in their 20’s or 30’s. I don’t mean to make this book sound maudlin, because it is not. It has some tender moments for sure, but most of it is laugh-out-loud funny and sweet. All in all, it was an entertaining read, and ultimately an uplifting one as well.

1/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™