Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

From the author:

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?

https://amzn.to/3JQBf3v

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.

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From the publisher:

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…

https://amzn.to/3h40Dqf

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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Highland Brides, Book 10

From the publisher:

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. 

https://amzn.to/3oNEOzw

My reading history with this series is odd, even for me! I’ve read books 6, 7, & 8 and now this tenth addition. I’ve liked them all a lot, so I don’t know why I haven’t read the entire series, but if my library has them, I will rectify this soonest.

Claray is being forced into a marriage she doesn’t want, and at the last second, the Highland warrior known as The Wolf rescues her and takes her away. No one really knows who he is, but he is well respected and Claray is thrilled to be free of her impending marriage. They head towards her home, several days away, and along the way she gets to know the Wolf, and they are strongly attracted to one another. She also picks up some stray animals that need some help, aggravating the Wolf but also adding to his attraction to the sweet, caring woman.

It turns out this couple was meant to be, but it won’t be easy. Too many people are trying to kill the Wolf and Claray, or at least marry her for her property. But love will prevail, with some nice twists in the storyline to keep things interesting.

This was another good addition to this series. I love anything set in Scotland, and the Highlands in particular. The history and culture is always interesting, as it was here. I used to read Scottish romances as sort of place holders for the Outlander series, but it’s gone beyond that now. I enjoy them for themselves, if that makes sense. I am off to hunt down the earlier books in the series. Men in kilts are just too much fun!

The series in order:

1. An English Bride in Scotland

2. To Marry a Scottish Laird

3. The Highlander Takes a Bride

4. Falling for the Highlander

5. Surrender to the Highlander

6. The Highlander’s Promise

7. The Wrong Highlander

8. Hunting for a Highlander

9. Highland Treasure

10. Highland Wolf

2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

HIGHLAND WOLF by Lynsay Sands. Avon (January 25, 2022). ISBN: 978-0063212428. 288p.

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From the publisher:

Enemies-to-lovers meets HGTV in this frothy, effervescent romantic comedy from Sophie Sullivan, author of Ten Rules for Faking It.

Interior Design School? Check. Cute house to fix up? Check.

Sexy, grumpy neighbor who is going to get in the way of your plans? Check. Unfortunately.

Grace Travis has it all figured out. In between finishing school and working a million odd jobs, she’ll get her degree and her dream job. Most importantly, she’ll have a place to belong, something her harsh mother could never make. When an opportunity to fix up―and live in―a little house on the beach comes along, Grace is all in. Until her biggest roadblock moves in next door.

Noah Jansen knows how to make a deal. As a real estate developer, he knows when he’s found something special. Something he could even call home. Provided he can expand by taking over the house next door–the house with the combative and beautiful woman living in it.

With the rules for being neighborly going out the window, Grace and Noah are in an all-out feud. But sometimes, your nemesis can show you that home is always where the heart is.

https://amzn.to/33pOWHj

When her long estranged grandmother dies and Grace inherits her beach house, she is thrilled. She longs for a connection to family; her mother is wrapped up in herself and whatever money she can squeeze out of Grace, but the house means something. Except her next door neighbor, Noah, assumes he can just buy it out from under her. He wants the land to put in a pool to complete his dream house on the beach, but Grace is not interested in selling. Not that he gives up that easily.

Grace is also steps away from completing her interior design degree so she relishes the chance to fix up the long neglected cottage. On the other hand, Noah is busy hiring people to fix up his home, and there is a national magazine interested in featuring it. Except they want a bit more than a photo spread; they want to do a video series showcasing the house as the work is done, and they want the up-and-coming designer, Grace, to take over the project. The chemistry between Noah and Grace is obvious to everyone, and eventually they find a way to get together.

Grace is all hands on; Noah is all about the money. Until Grace puts a paintbrush in his hand. Opposites do attract here!

If you enjoy all those fixer-upper type TV shows as much as I do, then this is the book for you. It’s a lot of fun and an easy, thoroughly enjoyable read.

2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR by Sophie Sullivan. Griffin (January 18, 2022). ISBN: 978-1250624185. 352p.

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From the publisher:

An absolutely hilarious romantic comedy set in Ireland…

A newly single girl. A tall dark handsome stranger. What could go wrong?

It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday morning and Abby Reynolds isn’t where she wants to be. She wants to be in her beautiful loft apartment in Manhattan, drinking a coffee with her fiancé.

Instead, she’s heading back to the childhood home in rural Ireland she swore she’d never return to, with some big old secrets. Namely that she’s suddenly found herself unemployed, homeless, and absolutely 100% single.

She’s feeling all out of luck. Until the first person she meets after she touches down is an absurdly hot guy called Luke, who offers her a lift home. Gazing deep into his sparkling emerald-green eyes, Abby knows instantly that he’s exactly what she needs to take her mind off everything. The perfect rebound.

It’s a flawless plan. Until the next day, when Abby realizes who he actually is. Not just a stranger. He is, in fact, Luke Bailey, aka the boy next door. Luke Bailey who—so help her God—she’s pretty sure she once shared baths with, back when they were kids. Not that she can allow herself to imagine him in a bath now, not without blushing from head to foot.

And judging by the smirk on his face, the same Luke Bailey who’s known exactly who she was the whole time… And who, like everyone in the village, still thinks she’s a high-flying New Yorker… who’s getting married next year.

Abby is certain getting under Luke will help her get over her ex. But the truth is stopping her. Can she admit to everyone back home that she’s single and has lost everything? Because, if she wants the boy next door, she may just have to…

The perfect feel-good romantic comedy that will make you laugh until you cry and fall completely in love. Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, and Emily Henry won’t be able to put this down!

https://amzn.to/3oNEOzw

Abby has been dumped. Her fiancé has decided that he doesn’t want to get married. Luckily, the mega financial company she works for has some apartments, generally used for new hires, available so at least she has a place to live.

Abby has always been driven, leaving the small town of Clonard, Ireland for college and never looking back. She loves the Manhattan lifestyle afforded her by her years with the company, and has all her funds tied up with them. So when they go under, she and thousands of others find themselves out of work and broke. Plus she’s now homeless as well. The only solution she sees is to go home to Ireland.

Abby’s sister is living in their family home and while they don’t really get along – she is a strong environmentalist/activist while Abby is working for the epitome of corporate greed, she knows her sister will take her in. But she’s embarrassed to admit she is no longer engaged on top of everything else.

Luke gives Abby a ride home when she is stranded at the airport. He remembers her well – he always had a crush on her. Abby flirts the whole way home without realizing that this hot man is actually the neighbor she grew up with. Once she figures it out, and he figures out she is engaged, things get complicated between them in spite of their growing attraction.

There are a lot of laughs and some angst before they reach their happy ending. Abby is a strong woman and Luke is an honorable, honest man, and I really liked them both. The setting and secondary characters were quirky and fun, and altogether this was a terrific, heart warming read.

2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE REBOUND by Catherine Walsh. ‎ Bookouture (February 9, 2022). ISBN: 978-1800195677. 324p.

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From the publisher:

Sadie wasn’t looking for love until it landed on her doorstep.

After getting passed over for an overdue—and much-needed—promotion, Sadie Green is in desperate need of three things: a stiff drink, a new place to live, and a one-night stand. But when an accidental mix-up lands her on the doorstep of Jack Thomas’s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone, it’s too bad Sadie is more attracted to the impressive real estate than she is to the man himself.

Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesn’t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, he’s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadie’s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.

https://amzn.to/3J48y2K

This story really stretches the boundaries of suspension of disbelief, but it was worth it just for the scene where Sadie loses her job – one of my favorite scenes, ever! She says what anyone in that position would think but probably never say and I loved it. The rest of the story was good, too, just a little bit over the top.

Finding a beautiful brownstone in the trendiest section of Brooklyn with a room to rent for some ridiculously cheap rent – no. But it was important to the story so I pretended to believe it. Maybe if there was some sort of explanation about why Jack was willing to rent it so cheap I would have understood it better, but nope. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter except that these decisions set the story in motion.

Jack lost his parents several years earlier and has had a very hard time dealing with it. Sadie loses her job and with the cheap rent she is now paying, she can afford to pursue her dream of starting her own floral business. All that aside, it is the relationship that grows between the mysterious, close mouthed Jack and the outgoing social butterfly, Sadie, that is at the heart of this story. Everything else doesn’t really matter.

This was a very enjoyable read and a sweet romance. I loved these characters and the setting and highly recommend!

2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LEASE ON LOVE by Falon Ballard. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (February 1, 2022). ISBN: 978-0593419915. 352p.

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Captivity, Alaska: Book 2

From the publisher:

Bush pilot Bridget Shanahan runs from responsibility like a child runs from a dentist appointment, but when her brother leaves the family’s airfield in her hands, she knows it’s time to step up and behave like a Responsible Adult™. So of course that’s when Archer Ellison III blows into her tiny town of Captivity, Alaska, every inch the hot-as-hell mistake that most definitely belongs in her past. Been there, done that, and didn’t even get to keep the commemorative sweatshirt.

Archer has only ever had two goals. Now that he’s built his own empire outside his father’s company, he can move on to goal #2—winning back the one who got away by whatever means necessary. He knows it won’t be easy. Bridget Shanahan is older, wiser, more self-assured, and jaw-droppingly stunning…and doing everything she can to pretend the scorching chemistry between them doesn’t exist.

But fate is on his side. After an impulsive bet that would have sent Archer packing goes awry, Bridget is officially stuck with him. Which is really inconvenient, since falling for Archer again is the least responsible thing she could do.

https://amzn.to/3HyVem6

I loved the first book in this series, Wild in Captivity, so I was really looking forward to this one. I am happy to say it did not disappoint! Set in the small town of Captivity, Alaska, this book centers on Bridget, younger sister to Trace, the main character in the first book. All we really know about Bridget is that she is the flighty, irresponsible one working at the airport in the family business. She loves to fly, just doesn’t love to fly on someone else’s schedule. But Trace and Izzy are going on their honeymoon, which means Bridget has to step up.

Best laid plans and all that…the honeymooners leave, and Bridget runs into Archer, her college boyfriend who suddenly dumped her and took off. Bridget was heartbroken and dropped out of Stanford to come home. It’s a few years later but she has more to deal with than the jerk who broke her heart. She also lost her twin brother in a horrible accident, and for some reason, he keeps coming back to talk to her. Or his ghost does. It’s not too out there, but rather comforting, I think.

Archer has moved to Captivity on a permanent basis. Finally out from under his father’s thumb, he is determined to win back Bridget, the only girl he ever loved and lost. She doesn’t want any part of him, and they make a bet: if she wins, he’ll keep away from her, if he wins, he gets a kiss. So sweet! But this is not a sweet romance, it is a very steamy one, so if that is not your jam, read something else.

I would call this enemies-to-lovers adjacent. When Archer left, Bridget was devastated and she hasn’t had a relationship since, other than one night stands here and there. So the fact that Archer is back and pretty up front about wanting her back doesn’t sit well with Bridget. Sex, on the other hand, is fine with her. In this romance, sex leads the way back to love, and that worked.

This was a fun read with a lot of laugh out loud moments, and I really liked these characters. I love the small town Alaska setting, as well. Highly recommend this book, and this series. Oh, and Keyush is back, too, that smart Malamute/Husky mix dog that talks.

Which reminds me…there was an article in the NY Times recently about a small town in Alaska and something they are doing in school that I found most unusual. I have never lived anywhere outside of a city or suburb, so rural life is always interesting to me. I am anti-hunting as a rule, anti-guns to be honest, but I’ve read enough to understand why not everyone feels that way. My husband was shocked when I didn’t rage against this but rather embraced it; seemed like a great class for that Alaskan town.

We Shot a Moose, Class. There Will Be a Quiz.
A small group of Alaskan middle-schoolers gets a hands-on lesson in hunting and processing food from the land.

Books are wonderful things – they open the mind and take you places you never dreamed of. Enjoy!

1/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

PLAYING DIRTY IN ALASKA by Samanthe Beck. Entangled: Amara (January 17, 2022). ASIN : ‎ B09JMWPZG4. 372p.

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From the publisher:

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

Terminated for inappropriate behavior.

I couldn’t believe the letter in my hands.

Nine years. Nine damn years I’d worked my butt off for one of the largest companies in America, and I was fired with a form letter when I returned home from a week in Aruba.

All because of a video taken when I was on vacation with my friends—a private video made on my private time. Or so I thought…

Pissed off, I cracked open a bottle of wine and wrote my own letter to the gazillionaire CEO telling him what I thought of his company and its practices.

I didn’t think he’d actually respond. I certainly never thought I’d suddenly become pen pals with the rich jerk. Eventually, he realized I’d been wronged and made sure I got my job back. Only…it wasn’t the only thing Grant Lexington wanted to do for me.

But there was no way I was getting involved with my boss’s boss’s boss. Even if he was ridiculously gorgeous, confident, and charming.

It would be completely wrong, inappropriate even. Sort of like the video that got me into trouble to begin with. Two wrongs don’t make a right. But sometimes it’s twice as fun.

https://amzn.to/3r5liid

Keeland writes super sexy romances with a lot of humor, and this is a good one. Ireland is a morning TV journalist. She’s worked hard to get where she is but doesn’t get along with her boss and at the first opportunity, he fires her. She is enraged and shoots a drunken email to the owner of the company. She quickly realizes that was a mistake and sends another email, fighting for her job.

Meanwhile, she is hanging out in a coffee shop in the building where she used to work, and meets a very good looking man who asks to share her table. There is definite chemistry there, but he turns out to be the very man she has been emailing, Grant Lexington, the CEO of the company that fired her. He is completely smitten though, and determined to get the girl. So lots of conflict from the get go.

Both of these characters have complex and damaged backgrounds. They will need to work through their own past to find a future together, but while they do, they spend time together until they just can’t fight their attraction anymore.

There are a lot of laughs, some real angst, and some fiery sex scenes as Ireland and Grant find their happy ending. This is a good story that moves fast and was a one night read for me. Highly recommend.

1/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

INNAPROPRIATE by Vi Keeland. C. Scott Publishing Corp. (January 20, 2020). ISBN: 978-1951045043. 364 pages.

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