2018 Book #61 – The Duke of Lies by Darcy Burke

Posted in Book reviews, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

Title: The Duke of Lies
Author: Darcy Burke
Date finished: 7/21/18
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: May 29, 2018
Pages in book: 276
Stand alone or series: The Untouchables series Book #9
Where I got the book from: Social Butterfly PR
NOTE: I received this book for free from Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Verity Beaumont has suffered domineering men most of her life, first with her father and then with her husband. Free from both men, she has finally found peace. Even meeting a kind and hard-working gentleman who just might be the perfect father her young son so desperately needs. But as she dares look to the future, her carefully ordered world is shattered when her dead husband returns.

After six years away, Rufus Beaumont, Duke of Blackburn, returns to claim his place and protect his family. Only, the life he finds is not the life he left, and he must convince his wife that their marriage is worth fighting for, that he’s not the man he was. When the truth about what happened to him leaks out, he must prove that not everything about him, especially his love for her, is a lie.

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I was looking forward to reading Verity’s story after being introduced to her character in the last book in the series, The Duke of Ruin (Verity is Diana’s cousin). Verity has a sad back story as, similar to Diana, she has a jerk for a father and she unfortunately also had a jerk for a husband. Luckily her husband disappeared almost seven years ago. Unluckily, he’s back (maybe)! Rufus (Kit) was an interesting character but I felt almost like he wasn’t as developed as he could have been. He was very romantic though – his conversations with Verity and his expressions of love were poetic and heartfelt. And I thought Verity’s son Beau was just adorable, their little family was wonderful. This was a good book and it had an interesting plot. The ending was sweet and romantic while also just (the villain actually got what was coming to them in this scenario). I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, I’ve enjoyed this series overall so far and I’d recommend it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

16Jul2018

2018 Book #60 – The Obsession by Nora Roberts

Posted in Book reviews, Romantic suspense by rebeccabook17

Title: The Obsession
Author: Nora Roberts
Date finished: 7/16/18
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: April 12, 2016
Pages in book: 469
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: My Grandma gave me this book to read when we were visiting her last weekend!

Blurb from the cover:

“She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.”

Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review:

I am historically a fan of Nora Roberts, which is something that my Grandma and I have in common. When my parents and I were visiting her last weekend she said she had read this one so I could have it if I was interested in reading it. The synopsis of the book sounded really interesting so I worked it into my reading schedule so I could start reading it sooner rather than later. This was a great book, I really liked the plot and it was very interesting. It really grabs you right from the first chapter, and I didn’t want to put it down once I started it. The tension between the main characters was great. And while I loved how strong and brave Naomi was, Xander was the character that really captured me. He was just so rock-steady and completed devoted to Naomi and I loved that. Tag (the dog) was also really great, and a loving character for the story. Naomi was really lucky with her family base that resulted from all the tragedy. Her brother and two uncles and her formed a cohesive and loving family unit that was great to see. I think that was one of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was that while there was creepy and the killings and yes those parts were sad, there was also a lot of hope and love and friendship in the book and that was especially wonderful. Great book and I would recommend it.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

12Jul2018

COVER REVEAL – The Duke of Seduction by Darcy Burke

Posted in Blog tour, For the love of books by rebeccabook17

SPBR_COVER REVEAL

The Duke of Seduction, an all-new historical romance from USA Today bestselling author Darcy Burke is coming August 21nd!

Burke, Darcy- The Duke of Seduction (final) (1)

The Duke of Seduction by Darcy Burke
Publishing Date: August 21nd
Genre: Historical Romance
Cover Designer: Seductive Musings
Photographer: Passion Pages Photography

Lady Lavinia Gillingham prefers rocks and dirt to marriage. Her passion is science, and she’s determined to marry if—and only if—she finds a man who supports her interests and intellect. So far, she’s managed to avoid attention on the Marriage Mart, but when the Duke of Seduction pens anonymous letters singing her praises, she suddenly become the toast of the ton and matrimony seems imminent.

William Beckett, Marquess of Northam possesses the reputation of a rake but is secretly a romantic. Spurned at sixteen, he doesn’t expect to feel the sting of Cupid’s bow a second time, and yet he’s able to woo the coldest of hearts with the anonymous words he publishes. As the Duke of Seduction, he uses his skill to help Lavinia, never anticipating she has no desire for assistance. While Lavinia is pursued by several suitors, Beck is the one who is seduced when he learns that love can strike twice…

DUKE OF SEDUCTION_PRE-ORDER

Pre-order your copy today!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2ypnYPL
iBooks: https://apple.co/2tptdJo
Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/TheDukeofSeduction
Nook: https://bit.ly/2tntIDJ
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2tlGsLf

Add to GoodReads: https://bit.ly/2I8mUzh

About Darcy:

Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, emotional historical and contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. Join her reader club at http://www.darcyburke.com/readerclub. A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, two Bengal cats and a third cat named after a fruit.

740B2310 Darcy

Connect with Darcy:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarcyBurkeFans
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darcyburke
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/darcy-burke
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5823441.Darcy_Burke
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/darcyburkewrite/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darcyburkeauthor/

Stay up to date with Darcy by joining her Reader Club today:
http://www.darcyburke.com/join-my-reader-club/

Website: http://www.darcyburke.com

3Jul2018

2018 Book #56 – Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Love and Other Words
Author: Christina Lauren
Date finished: 7/3/18
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction, romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
Pages in book: 433
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

My rating: 5.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I haven’t read anything by Lauren in the past, but I’ve heard a lot of good things from various other readers so I was excited to give this one a try. This is going to be a hard one for me to write down though, not because I didn’t like it but because there honestly just aren’t enough words to describe how this book made me feel. The emotions and reactions this book invoked from me were powerful and raw. The plot was perfectly captivating, it has been a long time since I’ve read a book that so perfectly captures what that first love feels like. There is joy, but hand in hand with the joy there is also pain, and the situation in this book in particular led to intense heartbreak. Reading the development and intensity of Elliot and Macy’s relationship though was like a testament to true romance. I just couldn’t put it down, I stayed up until one in the morning last night reading it. This book was a roller coaster of emotion that I didn’t want to end. I just can’t say enough, I loved this book and everyone should read it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

24Jun2018

2018 Book #53 – The Christmas Cowboy Hero by Donna Grant

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bookish 2018 Reading Challenge, Contemporary romance, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: The Christmas Cowboy Hero
Author: Donna Grant
Date finished: 6/23/18
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: October 31, 2017
Pages in book: 316
Stand alone or series: #1 in the Heart of Texas series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

’Tis the season for ex-Navy SEAL Clayton East to come home for the holidays—even if the mood at home is anything but festive. His father is ill. The East Ranch is in financial trouble. And now it’s on Clayton, the prodigal son, to make sure his family doesn’t lose everything.

Headstrong Abby Harper is like a mother to her younger brothers, who she’s helped raise since she was a teenager. Keeping them in line is no small task while she’s also working toward her college degree. And now that one of her brothers has been arrested for stealing cattle at the East Ranch, Abby is at her wits’ end. But there is a silver lining: Clayton East. He believes in second chances, and is willing to give one to her brother this Christmas. Letting beautiful Abby—and the inescapable longing in his heart—off the hook, however, is a whole ’nother story. Could it be that the woman of this local hero’s dreams has been back at home all along?

My rating: 2.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This is from my 2017 Backlog list, I read this for the 2018 Bookish Reading Challenge for the “a book you picked up based on the title” category, as I had picked this book originally around the holidays since I thought it would make a good Christmas read.

This book sounded like it would be a cute read for around the holidays, which is when I had originally planned to read it but unfortunately work got in the way last year. So I read it this year while I was on vacation! The premise behind this book was a romance trope cliche, millionaire cowboy rescues poor nice woman in a Texas town. And while it was completely unrealistic, it was still romantic. Clayton as a character was everything you’d want from a romance novel hero: dark, brooding, completely devoted, utterly sexy. Abby was nice enough, and honestly I loved that she was an accountant studying to be a CPA, but she was a little too shy for my tastes in a romance heroine. Their whole relationship moved pretty quickly too, I mean within a week of Brice getting arrested Abby’s whole family was staying to weekend with Clayton’s family, and within 6 weeks they were engaged. This was a sweet romance though with an ok Christmas theme and some serious sparks between the hero and heroine. I enjoyed it and would recommend it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

24Jun2018

2018 Book #52 – The Highlander’s Promise by Lynsay Sands

Posted in Book reviews, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

Title: The Highlander’s Promise
Author: Lynsay Sands
Date finished: 6/22/18
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Pages in book: 384
Stand alone or series: #6 in the Highland Brides series
Where I got the book from: Edelweiss
NOTE: I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

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?

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Over the years I’ve always enjoyed Lynsay Sand’s novels, be they about vampires or Highlanders, and this book was no exception! Parts of this book were laugh out loud funny, there was definitely a lot of humor in this novel. There were also some pretty steamy scenes between the hero and heroine, the gradual build up of their relationship and their chemistry just leaped off the page. This was a really sweet love story, and while there was a little bit too much flowery, mushy speeches for me, I still really enjoyed the journey of their romance. The plot line was also pretty good, there were some good plot twists and the main characters and also supporting characters were all interesting. I thought this was a really enjoyable read and I would recommend it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

24Jun2018

2018 Book #49 – One for the Rogue by Manda Collins

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Studies in Scandal by rebeccabook17

Title: One for the Rogue
Author: Manda Collins
Date finished: 6/20/18
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: #4 in the Studies in Scandal series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

LOVE IS THE GREATEST DISCOVERY OF ALL

Geologist Gemma Hastings has no interest in pursuing romance—and no patience for Lord Cameron Lisle, an esteemed fossil hunter who has a way of always honing in on her territory. . .annoyingly handsome though he may be. But when a shocking attack puts Gemma in very real danger, she may have to accept Lisle’s offers of protection. Even if that means entering into a dangerous flirtation. . .

Lisle was once amused by Gemma’s dedication to her work. But now that he understands how much he’s underestimated her—a woman whose beauty is matched only by her genius—Lisle is desperate to prove his respect…and prove himself worthy of her. But is he too late? A bitter rival, desperate to steal Gemma’s scientific findings, is still at-large. Can Lisle help uncover the culprit and keep her safe—forever, in his loving arms?

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I’ve been following this series from the beginning and I’ve really enjoyed the series overall. The premise behind the four connected stories was great, and I love that each story involved such a strong minded woman. And in each story, the heroine ended up trying to solve a mystery and the female-driven sleuthing made it feel almost like a historical romance Nancy Drew. With this fourth book in the series, there was great tension developed between the two main characters, Gemma and Cam. I thought their relationship was very dynamic and the development from adversaries to husband and wife was well done. The plot line in this book was alright, I don’t think it was my favorite of the series but I still enjoyed it. I would love to see the series continue with whatever happens to Lady Serena and also possibly with romances of future students in the school. I have enjoyed this series and don’t want to see it end!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

24Jun2018

2018 Book #48 – The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go
Author: Amy E. Reichert
Date finished: 6/19/18
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: May 15, 2018
Pages in book: 352
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Three generations. Seven days. One big secret. The author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cakeunfolds a mother-daughter story told by three women whose time to reckon with a life-altering secret is running out.

Gina Zoberski wants to make it through one day without her fastidious mother, Lorraine, cataloguing all her faults, and her sullen teenage daughter, May, snubbing her. Too bad there’s no chance of that. Her relentlessly sunny disposition annoys them both, no matter how hard she tries. Instead, Gina finds order and comfort in obsessive list-making and her work at Grilled G’s, the gourmet grilled cheese food truck built by her late husband.

But when Lorraine suffers a sudden stroke, Gina stumbles upon a family secret Lorraine’s kept hidden for forty years. In the face of her mother’s failing health and her daughter’s rebellion, this optimist might find that piecing together the truth is the push she needs to let go…

My rating: 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I had read Simplicity of Cider by this author last year and I just loved it. And while this book wasn’t quite as much of a home run as that book was, I did still really enjoy it. This author has a way of really reaching in and grasping around your heart and squeezing. And while this book did have somewhat of a happy ending, I would classify it more as bittersweet than anything. There was such sadness in this novel and such struggle in each of the characters’ lives. I especially didn’t like the conflict between Gina and her daughter, May. While it was probably pretty accurate for human emotions that result from the situation they were going through, it was still so unbearably sad to see how May was continually lashing out at her already grief-stricken mother. I especially liked the descriptions of the different grilled cheese and brownie variations that Gina and May would come up with, they all sounded so good! This book, while sad, was still really good and I would recommend it.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

24Jun2018

2018 Book #47 – Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bookish 2018 Reading Challenge, Contemporary romance, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Sweet Tea and Sympathy
Author: Molly Harper
Date finished: 6/18/18
Genre: Contemporary romance, women’s fiction
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: November 21, 2017
Pages in book: 321
Stand alone or series: #1 in the Southern Eclectic series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Beloved author Molly Harper launches a brand-new contemporary romance series, Southern Eclectic, with this story of a big-city party planner who finds true love in a small Georgia town.

Nestled on the shore of Lake Sackett, Georgia is the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. (What, you have a problem with one-stop shopping?) Two McCready brothers started two separate businesses in the same building back in 1928, and now it’s become one big family affair. And true to form in small Southern towns, family business becomes everybody’s business.

Margot Cary has spent her life immersed in everything Lake Sackett is not. As an elite event planner, Margot’s rubbed elbows with the cream of Chicago society, and made elegance and glamour her business. She’s riding high until one event goes tragically, spectacularly wrong. Now she’s blackballed by the gala set and in dire need of a fresh start—and apparently the McCreadys are in need of an event planner with a tarnished reputation.

As Margot finds her footing in a town where everybody knows not only your name, but what you had for dinner last Saturday night and what you’ll wear to church on Sunday morning, she grudgingly has to admit that there are some things Lake Sackett does better than Chicago—including the dating prospects. Elementary school principal Kyle Archer is a fellow fish-out-of-water who volunteers to show Margot the picture-postcard side of Southern living. The two of them hit it off, but not everybody is happy to see an outsider snapping up one of the town’s most eligible gentleman. Will Margot reel in her handsome fish, or will she have to release her latest catch?

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This is from my 2017 Backlog list, I read this for the 2018 Bookish Reading Challenge for the “the first book in a series” category, as its the first book in the Southern Eclectic book series.

This book sounded pretty interesting to me and the cover looked so cute. I’m glad that I read it, I really liked Margot’s character a lot. The supporting characters were all charming and hilarious as well but Margot specifically I identified with a lot. This book was funny and heart-warming, I laughed out loud and I teared up at a couple points too. It was a sweet love story and I really ended up enjoying it quite a bit. Kyle is a widower and I thought that the author handled the emotional complication of that, as well as the emotions of his two young daughters, very well. This was the perfect book for my vacation reading and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

24Jun2018

2018 Book #46 – This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: This Could Change Everything
Author: Jill Mansell
Date finished: 6/18/18
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Pages in book: 352
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

All it takes is one email to end her relationship, get her kicked out of her apartment, and just about ruin her life. Essie Phillips never meant for her private rant about her boss to be sent to everyone in her address book, but as soon as it goes viral, her life as she knows it is over. Solution: move to a new town, find a new job, make new friends. If only it were as simple as that…

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

The plot for this book was kind of all over the place, there were a lot of characters and there was a lot going on in the story. This definitely helped hold my interest since there was something new going on all the time but there was also a good amount to keep track of. Luckily the characters were all pretty good. I especially liked the development of Scarlett’s story, she is such a caring and generous person and it took awhile for all her layers to peel back in the story. This book had a lot of serendipitous moments for many of the characters, gave it kind of a magical feel to it. There were also a lot of sub stories about people that Zillah was helping and they were all so heart-wrenching and sad. Everything turned out the way that I wanted it to though and pretty much everyone had a happy ending which is always nice. I liked this book a good amount and I thought it was a good summer read, I would recommend it.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page