Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Only Ever Us by JH Croix {a review}

Only Ever Us is a smokin’ hot second chance holiday romance from USA Today Bestselling Author J.H. Croix! Rowan & Mae’s story is perfect for readers who love small town holiday romance, hotshot firefighters, sassy heroines, second chances, friends to lovers, slow burn, emotional romance with a dash of angst, plenty of steam and swoon, and a broody, protective hero who has to fight to win back the only girl he ever loved.

Only Ever Us is the third book in the Light My Fire series that is set in the small town of Willow Brook, Alaska. In this book we have Mae and Rowan. Mae has recently returned to her hometown of Willow Brook due to the death of her Grandma. While preparing to make the burial plans, a fire breaks out which traps Mae in the office. Rowan is on scene, and he is able to rescue Mae before anything major happens to her. This is the first time Mae has seen Rowan in about 7 years, and she is immediately transported back to their time together in North Carolina. Of course Rowan being close by also brings back memories* of that night she'd rather forget. After all it's why she pushed Rowan away, but she can't tell him that. Can these two overcome the pain of the past, and find their way back to each other? Rowan knows Mae is the one for him, now he just needs to convince her of it. *please check for content/trigger warnings warnings.

The Light My Fire series has grabbed ahold of my attention, and it isn't letting go. I am absolutely loving this small town and it's people who live there. The fact that Only Ever Us is a second chance romance had me enjoying it all the more. Second chance romances almost always make me happy. Mae pulled at my heartstrings. What she experienced in North Carolina was horrible, and the fact that it affected her friendship (and relationship) with Rowan just made it all the worse. I love that Rowan remembered the small town that Mae lived in, and that he took the job opportunity when it was presented. It was the perfect setup for a bit of forced proximity. Their relationship definitely took time, communication, and trust to get it back to a place where they could even look toward the future. Then the big dramatic moment happened, and you could feel the pain, frustration, and heartache just pouring off the pages. Our characters were in for a fight to get their happily ever after. I can understand why Mae was feeling the way she was regarding Rowan's interference in the situation. Yet at the same time I can understand why Rowan wanted to do what he wanted to do. He was trying to protect Mae, and make sure that he could take this issue/threat away. It all comes down to a lack of communication between our characters. Yet the reunion was that much sweeter because of that dramatic moment. They learned a bit more about each other because of that experience.

I gave Only Ever Us 4 stars. This book was pretty darn good, and there was so much I enjoyed about it. Definitely looking forward to returning to Willow Brook when Fall for Me releases in February.

If you like second chance romances, firefighters, small town settings, and friends who become lovers, then go read this book. Or at least add it to your TBR!

Thank you for reading my thoughts on Only Ever Us.

Laura


That guy. You know the one? He just walked back into my world. 

It all started when the curtains caught on fire at a funeral. Actually, it all started seven years ago in college. Rowan Cole was that guy—the one I couldn’t forget. We’d once been best friends. Maybe more. We almost had it all.

I’ve spent years trying to forget him and the tragic night that tore us apart. As bad luck would have it, he’s the firefighter who shows up to rescue me from the church I almost set on fire.

Speaking of flames and melting, Rowan still has the ability to set me on fire. Just by existing. He’s downright delectable, all rugged man wrapped in a body of pure muscle. I do not want to want him again.

This small town is making it awful hard to avoid him. Especially when he’s determined to prove he’s worth it.


Grab Your Copy Here:

Add Only Ever Us to your Goodreads TBR!


Meet J.H. Croix


USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. 


Croix writes steamy contemporary romance with sassy women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. 


Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!


Connect with J.H. Croix

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Thank you to JH Croix, and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, for providing me with an advanced copy of Only Ever Us.

Wildcat by Rebecca Jenshak {a review}


Wildcat is a full-length sports romance with a hot-as-puck hero, the coach’s daughter, and an unfortunate case of mistaken identity. The Wildcats are the youngest team in the NHL. On the ice, they’re cocky, determined, and ready to take the league by storm. Off the ice? They’re always up for a wild time.

Wildcat is the first book in the Wildcats hockey series by Rebecca Jenshak, and it is set in Minnesota. Wildcat tells the story of how Leo Lohan and Scarlett Miller met, fell for each other, and ultimately found their happily ever after. Of course their journey towards their HEA was not without issue. This took work, trust, honesty, and communication.

Okay quick recap: Leo is a professional hockey player who is also attending college on a part time basis. One night he is attending a trivia night at a local bar, and it is there that he meets Scarlett. Scarlett has recently returned from London, and is trying to find her footing. Of course she also needs to tell her parents that she's dropped out of college, and is pursuing photography full time. But before she can do that, she's helping out at the bar her friend works at. The only problem is that she's a mess. Making drinks was a failure. Serving tables was an absolute wreck. She's pretty certain the owner will not be asking her back. Then though she meets Leo, and she's captivated. This man intrigues her, and even though she's still mending her broken heart, she can't help but be drawn to him. Next thing we know, Leo and Scarlett are having an amazing night together. Leo promises to call, but fails to do so as his schedule is jam packed. It isn't until he arrives at the team party his coach is hosting that he sees Scarlett again. It is also at this party that he realizes she's coach's daughter. It is here that Scarlett finds out Leo isn't just a college student, but also a professional hockey player. She's sworn off athletes after everything that happened with Rhyse, so this cannot happen again.

I LOVE books that are set in my state! LOVE THEM! Add in the fact that this is a hockey romance, and that just made it even better. I'm a sucker for hockey romance. Everything about this story had me smiling. From the meet-cute, to the steamy night spent together, to the moments until they saw each other again, and to the realization of who they both are. LOVED IT. Together Leo and Scarlett flourished. Their love, and attraction, just radiated off the pages. I am just completely taken by these characters, and their story! When Rhyse showed up? OOOH, that was a lot, and had me immediately disliking the man. It wasn't until that whole scenario was wrapped up that I was even able to think positively of him. During all that my heart went out to Scarlett. She had to once again deal with the repercussions of Rhyse. Fixing her relationship with Leo wasn't going to be easy, but she knows he is worth it. Leo knows Scarlett is his forever, and this time apart has been rough. Leo met his dream girl all those months ago, and after quite the journey, he now has her by his side.

Obviously I loved the setting of this book. You can't go wrong with a book set where you live! I was drawn to the characters when we met a few of them in Wild Love, and Wildcat just had me falling even harder. As for the storyline, well I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did rate this as a 4 star read on Goodreads, as it was just missing that little something extra to push it to 5 stars. 

If you enjoy hockey romances between a player and the coach's daughter, then you need to read this one. I think you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on Wildcat. I am looking forward to reading Wild About You when it releases in May.

Laura

cover design: Lori Jackson Designs
cover photo: Michelle Lancaster


I met my dream girl.

That’s right. She’s stunning and the worst bartender I’ve ever seen.

I should have gone home and gone to sleep—dream girl or not. I had an early morning and the season was starting soon. But when she threatened me with boy band karaoke I couldn't help myself. I went. The stars aligned.

I have never felt more alive or wanted anyone more than I want her.

When it’s time for me to head on my annual pre-season boys trip, I barely let her go.

It’s been a week and I can’t stop thinking about her.

Except there she is. Right here at the Wildcat’s kickoff party.

And as luck would have it, my dream girl is the coach’s youngest daughter.

But everyone knows the coach’s daughter is off limits. Right?

Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!

Add Wildcat to your Goodreads TBR!


Meet

Rebecca Jenshak is a USA Today bestselling author of new adult and sports romance. She writes sexy, feel-good stories with lots of swoon-worthy moments.

Rebecca lives in Arizona. When she isn’t writing, you can find her cheering on local sports teams, hanging out with friends and family, or curled up with a good book.

Sign up for her newsletter to be notified of new releases!

Connect with Rebecca

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter | BookBub



Thank you to Rebecca Jenshak, and Valentine PR, for providing me with an advanced copy of Wildcat.

Joy of Christmas {book tag}


Today I am participating in the Joy of Christmas book tag that was created by Samantha at Novels and Nonsense. I stumbled across the tag when a google search led me to Erin's post at The Book Nut.

Let's jump into these 8 questions!

My Unexpected Surprise by Piper Rayne {a review}

My Unexpected Surprise is now available! This is the 5th, full length, book in the Greene Family series by Piper Rayne, and I was so ready to catch up with the family.

We return to Sunrise Bay where we find Fisher rushing to the hospital after Jed's daughter was injured. Once there he sees Allie for the first time in 5 months. She's back in town, and is now a nurse at the local hospital. While Fisher is happy to see her, he's also shocked. You see, Allie is pregnant. Five months pregnant. Fisher is about to find out that he's going to be a father. To say he's shocked is an understatement. One thing Fisher knows is that he's not meant to be a father, or have a family. Yet on the other hand, he's drawn to Allie, and can feel the draw towards her. What started off as one night together is changing their lives. Two babies are coming soon, and due to an incident at Allie's apartment, she is now living with Fisher. Can these two find a way to reconnect or will are they destined to co-parent? 

I absolutely loved Fisher and Allie's story! It was such a wonderful addition to the Greene Family series. Of course the fact that it's the surprise pregnancy trope also had me loving it. Add in Fisher trying to go all alpha, and Allie shutting that down, just had me smiling like a fool. It was so good! Then there was the appearance of all those Bailey family members! Ahh it's so good to catch up with them. Oh, but then there is Ethel, Dori, and Midge. These ladies are hilarious, and up to their usual shenanigans. I am curious how Dori managed to pull off the apartment situation. It's awfully convenient how long it took for repairs to happen. Also, Ethel and Dori showing up at the doctors office when Fisher and Allie were there for their appointment? GOLD! These ladies are BOLD! That whole exchange had me laughing. (and shaking my head in disbelief.) 

Towards the latter half of chapter 24 things happened, and they happened fast. The ending of that chapter, and a good portion of chapter 25 had me a gigantic mess. Now part of that is because I am an emotional reader, but the other part is because of personal experience. So everything that Allie was dealing with brought back memories of 9 years ago, and well tears happened. Everything that Allie and Fisher went through demonstrated their love for their children. Of course what Allie told Fisher before hand also had him flashing back to memories of his mom, and that just added to all the emotions.

This book showed how the grand plans you have drawn up in your head can be tossed out the window at any time. Allie was looking for her traditional fairy tale, and she had a fairy tale just not in the way she envisioned. Or as the authors wrote:

"Sometimes things aren't as perfect as you want them to be, but in the end, it doesn't mean they aren't your fairy tale."


My Unexpected Surprise hit me in the feels, and I loved every moment of it. I loved catching up with the family, seeing the Dori, Ethel, and Midge up to their antics, reconnecting with the Baileys, and of course getting the setup for a FUTURE book. Not the next in the series, but this book has to happen soon. Plus there was that bit about Rylan and Calista. So I'm looking forward to the upcoming Greene Family books!

If you like small town romances, and forced proximity, along with unexpected pregnancy stories, then please go check out My Unexpected Surprise. If you're new to the Greene Family series, no worries, you don't need to start at the beginning. They are all standalone stories, so you can jump in at any point.

Thank you for stopping by to read my thoughts on this latest Piper Rayne book.

Laura 




I never thought of myself as dad material.
Until my one-night stand showed up in my small Alaskan town five months pregnant.

But I don’t shy away from responsibility. First, because I’m a Greene and not to boast but we’re kind of a big deal in Sunrise Bay. Second, I’m the Sheriff.

I couldn’t have predicted how protective I’d become for the safety of her and my unborn baby to the point of asking her to move in with me and be my roommate.

Just when I think I have the situation under control, another surprise knocks me over, but it only spurs me to double down.

I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t think it through. Somewhere between the dinners, the TV show binging, the doctor appointments, and me walking in on her naked, lines blurred.

In what feels like warp speed, my bachelor for life status is in jeopardy and I’m fighting for the most important thing of all—my family.


Grab Your Copy Here!
Add to your Goodreads TBR!



Meet Piper Rayne: 

Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we're not one author, we're two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle" (okay...you caught us, that's our tagline). 


 A little about us.... We both have kindle's full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too. 


Connect with Piper Rayne:


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Thank you to Piper Rayne, and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, for providing me with an advanced copy of My Unexpected Surprise.

Monday, December 13, 2021

Decker by Kayley Loring and Connor Crais {cover reveal}

🏈❤️ 𝗛𝗢𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗥𝗕 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗔𝗟 ❤️🏈

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆, 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟭 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀! 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀!

Cover Design: Kari March Designs
Photographer: Byron L. Keulemans
Model: Marc Buckner 


#12 Johnny Decker. Star quarterback for the Boston Tomcats. Two-time Super Bowl MVP...a decade ago. Nickname: Decker the Panty Wrecker.

I get tackled for a living by men who are built like rhinos. I could take the wings off a fly with a football from 30 yards away. (I wouldn’t, but I could.) Being a veteran quarterback means I’m a mentally alert, fine-tuned athletic machine who can make split-second decisions.

It’s my job to anticipate what’s going to happen next and adapt. But I couldn’t have anticipated the death of our beloved team owner.

His estranged daughter Hannah Strong is a finance nerd from New York. She knows less than nothing about football. Know what she didn’t anticipate? Inheriting the Boston Tomcats.

She’s stubborn, uptight, infuriating, and wrong about absolutely everything—from pizza to how to run my team. And I don’t want to talk about how good she looks in a skirt. Or daydream about how good she’d look out of it.

Really, I don’t.

I’m not Decker the Panty Wrecker anymore—I’ve changed.

I can’t stop arguing with her.

Or thinking about her.

I thought I had a winning play.

But Hannah Strong changed everything.


𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗧𝗕𝗥!

🎧 Audio Info 🎧
The audiobook will release about a month after the ebook.

This will be duet-style narration by Connor Crais and Mackenzie Cartwright, featuring Ava Lucas and Ron Butler.

ABOUT KAYLEY LORING
Before writing steamy romantic comedy novels, Kayley Loring got a BFA in creative writing and had a fifteen-year career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles (under a different name). She mostly wrote PG-13 family comedies that studios would pay her lots of money for and then never make into movies. In 2017 she decided to move to the Pacific Northwest and write about all the fun stuff that she wasn't allowed to write about in those PG-13 scripts. Now she’s an Amazon Top 25 bestselling author who is breathing cleaner air and writing dirtier words. It’s an adjustment she’s happily getting used to.

Rest assured that her funny sexy sweet romances have no cheating or cliffhangers, and always have HEAs!

Connect with Kayley


ABOUT CONNOR CRAIS
Connor Crais is a classically trained actor living in the Midwest with his wife, two kids, and rescue greyhound. He has been both a stage and television actor, and before plunging into the romance genre, he had been narrating commercials, audiobooks, and explainers for well over a decade from his home studio. From alphas to bosses to cocky sports stars (a particular favorite), he loves sparring with beautiful, sassy heroines (and their talented narrators) but also loves winning them over and reaching that happily ever after. He is excited to now create those stories as an author.

Connect with Connor
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