Andrea Jenelle's Blog, page 6

Luck and Last Resorts

My ReviewNina likes her life exactly as it is. She and her best friend Jo spend most of the year on a ship surrounded by sea and sunshine. She can’t wait for charter season to start again, to be back in the middle of the hum and zing of her job. And then Jo informs her that she will be on her own this time, That Jo is staying on dry land. Jo has been Nina’s anchor in more ways than one, and the news both disappoints and devastates her. She doesn’t think the world could possibly throw more curveballs ion her direction. And then she finds out that her ex, Ollie, will be the chef for the season. Ollie is handsome and glib, the very essence of easy, winking Irish charm. And he is the closest thing to a soul mate she’ll ever have. But Nina doesn’t want to be tied down. And he’s also a player with a breezy attitude and at least a dozen women on his booty call list. Somehow, they always drift back to each other during the off season. So when things change between them, Nina doesn’t know what to do. There’s a lot she doesn’t know about Ollie’s life. Secrets he hasn’t told her, memories he hasn’t shared. Ollie is at a crossroads in his life. He’s always loved Nina, but knew she wouldn’t welcome that devotion. Now he has to convince her to be his, or go back to Ireland and settle into the yoke of the family duty and responsibility he left behind.I loved watching Nina and Ollie spar, and revolve around each other like two comets hurtling toward the atmosphere, reckless and desperate and full of yearning. In order to finally admit how they feel, they have to move past the casual comfort that’s fallen between them. In order to move forward and embrace the inherent rightness of their relationship, they have to let go of their fear and allow themselves to finally fall into each other’s eternal gravity. This is the perfect summer escape rom com read! It’s full of snark , laughter, banter, insight and tenderness.A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Storm Echo

MY REVIEWNalini Singh’s latest novel in the psy-changeling series is about learning to accept yourself and soothing your inner demons. Ivan can never forget that he is not like the rest of the Mercant family. He has a spider in his soul he keeps tightly leashed, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever find someone who makes him feel whole. And then he meets Lei. An elusive healer that saves him from a grave wound. They share a single picnic before they are ripped apart.The entire world is in danger, spiraling out of control because a vindictive, power-hungry monster has wrapped the threads of the Psy-Net in her destructive grip. Ivan makes it his mission to discover the truth and do everything he can to save others from sliding into madness. He will even sacrifice himself, break the bonds that tie him to his family and his duty. When Ivan meets Lei again, it is in the middle of chaos. She doesn’t remember meeting him. She’s broken and bruised, nothing but skin pulled tight over bones. And she believes she is the last of her kind. She is motivated by the need for revenge.I loved watching Ivan and Lei convince each other to trust in what was between them. I loved their realization that they were not alone, that friends and family would support and surround them. Another outstanding installment on one of my favorite paranormal series. Some of my favorite quotes: Be careful with him, little sister. He might look tough, but when strong men fall, they fall all the way. You’re his weakness.“You’re my mate. Losing you would destroy me. I would rather have a single perfect day with you than a lifetime without you.” Emotion turned her voice rough, but she kept going. “Only ask me to break the bond if you don’t want me.”“Behave.” No smile, but his eyes warmed, and she felt it again, that ripple in the mating bond that told her Ivan Mercant would one day laugh. He had wickedness in him, her mate, just didn’t know how to show it on the outside yet.

The Fixer Upper

Aly firmly believes she is on the right career path. But her personal life is another mater altogether. She has a knack for picking men "with potential" who can never seem to get it together. A chance meeting in a bar with one of her exes demonstrates that Aly is the thing that pushes her exes to be better, she is the catalyst for their personal epiphanies. One of her former projects is now successful and checks all of the boxes she deems necessary to demonstrate he is a fully matured adult: he has a legitimate career; he has a beautiful, accomplished fiancee; he has a house in the suburbs. When Aly lets her friends Tola and Eric know about the meeting and her discovery, they decide to take an objective look at the data and examine Aly's effect on the twelve men she has dated. All twelve of them had 360 degree reinventions when the relationship ended. Tola and Eric are convinced this means that Aly is a genuine "fixer-upper" - someone who knows exactly how to motivate men who aren't quite ready to pop the question, or go after their dreams, to finally do it. For months they take on side projects as a team, helping women who seem caught in limbo. And then a big potential client reaches out with an opportunity that seems too good to be true. Groom her boyfriend's social media image, help him nail the campaign to launch his start-up and convince him to propose. Aly agrees and all is well until she meets her new fixer=upper.He is none other than her first love and she hasn't seen him in fifteen years. This second-chance romance is all about standing up for what you want - especially learning to say know to time vampires who will suck energy from you and people in your life who want to step on your back to give themselves a boost to the top. It's about claiming your voice as a woman in the workplace and realizing you don't have to be nice to people who continuously take advantage of you.

The Second First Chance

My Review:They were inseparable for most of their lives. And then a disaster forever changed the fabric of their families and their lives, and they didn't know how to make it okay again.

It's been over ten years since the world ripped them apart. It's been more than ten years waiting for the memories to fade and the wounds to heal. Dhillon is trying to make his vet clinic a success and be a mentor to his effervescent sister. Riya has finally decided to pursue a career as a firefighter.

Dhillon can't understand her decision, and Riya has her own demons to work through. She's the first woman ever in her company, and she has to do everything she can to be the best and the brightest. She doesn't have time in her life for people who can't support her decisions, especially when she's not sharing them with her family. There are already pressures from her Indian family to find a guy and settle down, and she doesn't want to give them more fodder to talk about. She wants to put her nose to the grindstone and be a success in her own right.

Circumstances and matchmaking relatives keep throwing them together and it becomes harder and harder to ignore the past and all of the things between them that remain unsettled.

It takes the possibility of loss to force their bittersweet reconciliation. It takes confronting the legacy of the tragedy that shaped them to finally bring them together.

I loved this second chance romance! It focuses on the cultural expectations that shape the main characters, and shows the extraordinary strength and resilience that can arise from tragedy.

After Hours on Milagro Street

This opposites attract romance delves into a period of American history and a cultural legacy that deserves more attention. Lopez’s narrative weaves a colorful story of a community that thrived and prospered under oppressive circumstances, and is struggling to survive in an era of Rust Belt gentrification. Alex is coming home because she feels like she’s out of options. Revitalizing her grandmother’s bar seems like the perfect way to get her mojo back. Professor Jeremiah Post is her grandmother’s tenant. He wants to protect and preserve the traquero culture and use the bar as a focal point to promote cultural awareness. He thinks Alex is there to exploit the opportunity and transform the space into a tourist attraction. They first meet in the dark bar over whiskey and have a hot and heavy bang that will have you reaching for a fan and a bucket of ice water. But the bang between virtual strangers becomes even more significant when Alex learns that her grandmother calls the lanky, self-contained professor “guapo pobrecito” and has basically adopted him. Alex feels threatened by her grandmother’s affection for this stranger who doesn’t share their history, and she’s not about to let him usurp her place in the family. The more they indulge in a contest of wills, the higher they fan the flames of their mutual attraction. When they find out that they could lose the family bar to greedy developers because of delinquent property taxes, they have to band together. The Torres family history is full of secrets that could change the future of their community, and it’s up to Alex and Jeremiah to uncover them. This is an insightful contemporary romance that tackles the serious social issues of gentrification, classism and institutional racism. It’s full of heart and feeling and features a strong heroine and a man who doesn’t let her strength intimidate him. Instead he is drawn to it and celebrates it. Some of my favorite quotes:The sense memory of this soft, rosebud scent trailing off the unfettered woman was like holding one of her heavy rings to feel her residual warmth. Reading a deleted line of wistfulness from her social media. Or bracing for the kick of her black boots and instead feeling the stroke of silk and dragons.When a hole in the black-out shade woke her too early with a shaft of light—goddamned guero—and she’d sleepily put her hand between her thighs imagining it was the professor’s cleft chin, she’d been annoyed, shocked and orgasmically thrilled to hear the repetitive squeak of the bedframe in the next room.Freedom, the county seat of ten thousand souls, was dying for the same reason many small towns throughout the Midwest were dying: the collapse of manufacturing, the dearth of new opportunities, public educators forced to do more with fewer resources, and a conservative state leadership more focused on maintaining their moral agenda than doing the hard work of bringing jobs to their communities. The last remaining manufacturing employer, Liberty Manufacturing, had down-sized drastically since its hey-day and was struggling to stay alive.She smiled and she was the winningest wicked witch, the black cat with a whole dairy of cream, his crack-whipping Cruella soulmate. “Okay,” she said.The avenging angel had back up. Now she had to decide. Go or stay. Flee or fight. Survive like she had for the last thirteen years, in fear but without the throb of pain. Or risk it all and possibly experience pain like she’d never imagined. It was up to her.He stepped close to her, let her feel the weight of his determination. “I’m far from perfect, angel. I’m desperate for love and needy for affection and exuberant in my demand. But I value myself enough to tell you that I am the perfect man for you.” The woman who shoved him into a chair to fuck him touched his chest like he was the last lightbulb in the bar.

The Lost and Found Girl

Book Summary:The small Oregon town of Pear Blossom welcomes the return of its prodigal daughter Ruby McKee. Found abandoned as a baby by the McKee family, Ruby is the unofficial town mascot, but when she and her adoptive sisters start investigating the true circumstances around her discovery, it soon becomes clear that this small town is hiding the biggest, and darkest, of secrets. A raw, powerful exploration of the lengths people go to protect their loved ones, for fans of Lori Wilde and Carolyn Brown.My ReviewI loved this story of three sisters finding love against all odds.Ruby carries the hope and expectation of an entire town on her shoulders. She was the miracle baby—rescued from the elements at Christmas. Her fame brought tourists to her hometown. It rejuvenated a dying economy. When she returns, she tells herself it’s because she was just offered her dream job. As an archivist in the town museum she used to spend every spare moment in. But her new job also gives Ruby the chance to finally discover her origins. She’s convinced they’re tied to the enigmatic man that was railroaded out of town shortly before she was born. A man who just happens to own the property adjacent to that of her adoptive parents. But he’s not what she expected. He’s broken and mended, beautiful and resilient. And she can’t stay away.Ruby’s return is like a catalyst for her sisters. Dahlia finally succumbs to her desire for the handsome sheriff. Lydia realizes that her guilt is misplaced, and that as a widow she’s entitled to find happiness again with her husband’s foster brother. This isn’t just a story about finding love. It’s also about healing rifts, forgiving yourself and sowing hope. The twist at the end will surprise you, but it just reinforces these themes.Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. Excerpt from Chapter OneoneRubyOnly two truly remarkable things had ever happened in the small town of Pear Blossom, Oregon. The first occurred in 1999, when Caitlin Groves disappeared one fall evening on her way home from her boyfriend’s family orchard.The second was in 2000, when newborn Ruby McKee was discovered on Sentinel Bridge, the day before Christmas Eve.It wasn’t as if Pear Blossom hadn’t had excitement before then. There was the introduction of pear orchards—an event which ultimately determined the town’s name—in the late 1800s. Outlaws who lay in wait to rob the mail coaches, and wolves and mountain lions who made meals of the farmers’ animals. The introduction of the railroad, electricity and a particularly active society of suffragettes, when women were lobbying for the right to vote.But all of that blended into the broader context of history, not entirely dissimilar to the goings-on of every town in every part of the world, as men fought to tame a wild land and the land rose up and fought back.Caitlin’s disappearance and Ruby’s appearance felt both specific and personal, and had scarred and healed—if Ruby took the proclamations of various citizens too literally, which she really tried not to do—the community.Mostly, as Ruby got out of the car she’d hired at the airport and stood in front of Sentinel Bridge with a suitcase in one hand, she marveled at how idyllic and the same it all seemed.The bridge itself was battered from the years. The wood dark and marred, but sturdy as ever. A white circle with a white 1917, denoting the year of its construction, was stenciled in the top center of the bridge, just above the tunnel that led to the other side, a pinhole of light visible in the darkness across the way.It was only open to foot traffic now, with a road curving wide around it and carrying cars to the other side a different way. For years, Sentinel Bridge was closed, and it wasn’t until a community outreach and education effort in the mid nineties that it was reopened for people to walk on.Ruby could have had the driver take her a different route.But she wanted to cross the bridge.“Are you sure you want me to leave you here?” her driver asked.She’d told him when she’d gotten into his car that she was from here originally, and he’d still spent the drive explaining local landmarks to her, so she wasn’t all that surprised he didn’t trust her directive to leave her in the middle of nowhere.He was the kind of man who just knew best.Buy Links: BookShop.orgHarlequin Barnes & NobleAmazonBooks-A-MillionPowell’s  Social Links:Author Website: http://www.maiseyyates.com/Facebook: Maisey YatesTwitter: @maiseyyatesInstagram: @MaiseyYates Author Bio: Maisey Yates is a New York Times bestselling author of over one hundred romance novels. Whether she's writing strong, hard working cowboys, dissolute princes or multigenerational family stories, she loves getting lost in fictional worlds. An avid knitter with a dangerous yarn addiction and an aversion to housework, Maisey lives with her husband and three kids in rural Oregon. Check out her website, maiseyyates.com or find her on Facebook.

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Nobody’s Princess

In the third Wynchester book, Erica Ridley continues to demonstrate that history is full of a richness and diversity that hasn’t been fully explored in traditional historical romance. She continues to open new frontiers of research and possibility and create characters that more fully represent the men and women who lived in the Regency era. In Erica’s book, everyone has a story to tell and an integral role to play, no matter the complexion of their skin or their origins. Kunigunde is a heroine you won’t forget.Kunigunde has had one goal her entire life. To become a member of the Balcovian Royal Guard. In fact, she wants to become the first woman to join those ranks, both to fulfill a promise to her father and carry on her family’s legacy. She knows that showing her worthiness to hold one of those coveted positions will set a precedence for other girls who want to be recognized as capable of more than domesticity and childbearing. The royal party’s trip to London provides the perfect opportunity for Kunigunde to gather the evidence she needs to make her case. There is a plot afoot, and she knows she can gather the intelligence to thwart it and outsmart her overbearing brothers. But Kuni doesn’t factor in Graham Wynchester. He’s debonair and polished, and his vast network of information is mind-boggling. He and his siblings seem perfectly suited to accomplishing any task, no matter how insurmountable it seems. Kuni gets drawn into their world and finds it impossible to keep her distance from Graham.He appreciates and admires her strength and determination. He adores her intrepid spirit and he wants to see her bloom as she was meant to do. Even if he can’t imagine his life without her in it, he wants her to follow her dreams. Some of the reasons I loved this book:1.       A fierce, unconventional heroine who knows what she wants, even if it’s something she’s been discouraged from pursuing, and persists in chasing her dreams.2.       A hero who has spent his life seeking a place for himself, convinced that his destiny is tied to royalty, who has an epiphany when he meets the princess of his heart.3.       A fully equal partnership in which the hero and the heroine exchange confidences and teach each other new skills. (The tree-climbing, branch-leaping scene was one of my favorites!)4.       A wonderful, supportive caste of family that is diverse and fully developed. The camaraderie and teasing amongst the Wynchester siblings comes across as realistic and believable. I cannot wait to read Marjorie’s book releasing in Fall 2023. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the author and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Booked on a Feeling

I loved this friends to lovers romance!!! It was both believable and perfectly paced. Jack has been pining for Lizzy for years, and is getting ready to uproot his comfortable life in their hometown so he can be closer to her. Lizzy thinks she’s happy in her job as an up and coming associate at her law firm, and she’s on the path to make partner in record time. She thinks she’s happy but her nerves are always on edge, she has no time for a social life because she’s always burning the midnight oil for her clients, and she can’t remember the last time she was able to unwind. Pushing away her panic attacks has become a way of life. Lizzy’s brain decides enough is enough and lands her in the hospital. She takes a much needed vacation and decides to return to her home town. She starts tackling the trauma of her past and her relationship with her overbearing mother. She starts realizing that the choices she made were because of pressure from her mother, not because she wanted them.She rents a room over a struggling bookstore and starts regularly hanging out with her childhood best friend. The more time they spend together, the more she notices how he’s always listened to her, always supported her and always been there for her. She notices how beautiful his eyes are, wonders about his kiss and wants to ogle his muscles. Moving out of the friend zone is scary for both of them. Jack has his own feelings of insecurity and inadequacy to deal with because he feels like his skills are underutilized at the family brewery. Lizzy has nightmares about the stress of her old life, but doesn’t know where to turn if she doesn’t gp back to it. When the two of them start meeting for morning runs and upscaling the book shop to give it more curb appeal, they realize maybe they need each other to move on. That maybe they are meant to brave the world together.Pick up this lovely romance if you are looking for a slow-burn that delivers all of the feels and steam!A couple of my favorite quotes:The deep human connection inherent in all romance novels was the antithesis to the life she was living. How was this the first time she’d made this connection? “And who doesn’t love happily ever afters?” “The cold, bitter people with shriveled raisins for hearts who disparage romance for being formulaic. That’s who.” “Yeah. They suck.” Lizzy’s response was immediate and heartfelt.“I’m glad.” A husky note crept into his voice. “I’ve loved you for twenty years, but I truly fell in love with you when you belted out ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ like a warrior that one night.” “I think I knew then, too.” She laughed as happy tears streamed down her cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumbs. “When you sang ‘All of Me,’ I so wished you were saying those words to me.”

A Duchess By Midnight

MY REVIEWEveryone deserves a happy ending… even the ugly stepsister who thinks she doesn’t deserve it.Drew has always been awkward and out of place. A starling trying to find acceptance and ensure its survival with underhanded tactics. How could she possibly feel anything but less than when the stepsister she tormented has become a princess and forgiven her for her past cruelty? And now her former stepsister is giving her a chance to reclaim her value, a chance to give back to the world and carve out her own destiny. Now Drew has to transform the two nieces of a reclusive duke into society belles. It doesn’t help her situation that the very man being compelled to hire her is the same one she castigated during the melee in the palace waiting room. It doesn’t help that she noticed him even before the melee, that she noticed his broad shoulders and nearly became lost in the blue of his eyes. It doesn’t help that he isn’t the rabble-rousing, disreputable client she expected. Ian doesn’t know how to get through to his sister and his nieces. They won’t speak of the calamity that brought them to his doorstep seeking refuge. His sister seems as oblivious as always, and he knows he has to make some sort of provision for Ivy and Imogene. As much as he wants to bury himself in the problems of his estate, he’s stuck in London. And now he’s stuck with a willowy governess/miracle worker who is determined to segue the transformation of his nieces into swans as her cachet for a successful business. He is skeptical to say the least.Drew takes on the challenge of Ivy and Imogene with aplomb. Her kind heart even brings their mother out of seclusion. Ian finds himself captivated. When her efforts result in a breakthrough he would have thought impossible six months ago, he can’t help but kiss her. That kiss is like a lighted match, and they both lose awareness of anything but each other. And then they are interrupted in the midst of their passionate embrace.Of course a marriage of convenience is the only answer. Drew is a lady after all, and sister to a princess. The situation suits Ian just fine, though, because he can’t stop thinking about how she would look tumbled across his bed. Their alliance may be one of convenience, but stolen moments in unlikely places, even cluttered storage rooms, reveal that there is much more between them. I absolutely adored this Ugly Duckling retelling, and am ever grateful to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.MY FAVORITE QUOTESShe put him in the mind of a tall, thin book that poked above the others on a shelf. The book that said, Pick me. The one with colorful illustrations and maps. She was like a very rare book that was best enjoyed when laid open on a desk and poured over. A book for which you wet the pad of your thumb to turn the page, where you glided your fingertips down the foolscap to fully appreciate the engravings.

Finally she said, “There is a difference between having someone worry on your behalf and having someone restrict you for the sake of control.”

“That’s one of the many wonderful things about love, isn’t it?” Timothea sighed. “It’s instinctual. It is waiting, latent, inside all of us, like a seed. You needn’t be shown. It helps, perhaps, but love can erupt inside you, a wellspring, even if you’ve never heard of it before in your life.”

“Being broken, in contrast, has made me able to see others—to see myself, first and foremost, and sort out all the bits I didn’t like. That heartbreak also made me able to see girls like the two of you. And I’m ever so grateful. Can you see? You may be uncomfortable and uncertain now, but eventually you’ll be grateful for the times you were not on the tip-top of the world.”

He pulled her against him and she went, tucking her face into his chest. He opened the sides of his overcoat and wrapped the two of them together inside it. The feel of her body curled against him, the rain pouring down, the sheer, breathtaking relief of finding her, felt like—nay, it was—the pinnacle moment of his life, when the earth spun and the sky raged, and billions of people went on about their lives, but his heart cracked open and love poured out.

The Return of the Duke

MY REVIEWIn the third installment of her Once Upon a Dukedom series, Heath brings us a romance that will break your heart wide open. Marcus wants nothing to do with the woman who was his father’s mistress. But he thinks she has valuable information that can prove his father wasn’t a traitor and clear his family name so he can reclaim his birthright and the dukedom that was taken from them. Esme is nothing like he expected. Yes, she is a vision of loveliness, and he immediately understands his father’s fascination. Yes, she seems to be engineered to bring a man pleasure. She is also resourceful, clear-headed, and extremely self-contained. Marcus is drawn to her and disgusted by it. Esme’s attachment to Marcus’s father was not what the gossip made of it. She isn’t about to let this arrogant, irresistibly handsome man who carries darkness in his soul know that. She’s convinced he doesn’t want to hear the truth. She doesn’t need his meddling to disrupt her own mission.Marcus has been in the streets since his fall from grace, with nowhere to lay his head. They strike a bargain and agree to help each other ferret out the truth. So Marcus accepts Esme’s offer of room and board. They tend each other’s wounds, both seen and unseen ones. They meet in the practice ring as equals, each trying to gain the upper hand, and relishing the close contact. The closer they become, the harder it is to deny the want and need simmering between them. But Esme has secrets. She will not allow him to throw away his future on a woman who cannot be what he needs to carry on his title. I loved so many things about this book. The strong, fierce heroine and the hero that shares her affinity for danger and intrigue. The mystery woven into the fabric of the plot. But one of the things I loved most was the reiteration that a woman is neither defined nor confined by her womb. That a woman’s sole purpose is not wrapped up in her body’s capacity to give birth. That infertility is nothing to be ashamed of and should never be a barrier to finding love. MY FAVORITE QUOTESDanger was her stock-in-trade. However, it wouldn’t limit itself to her but would reach out with deadly tentacles to destroy anyone for whom she had a care. Therefore, it had been years since she’d known the warmth of a gentle touch, since she’d enclosed her heart in ice and her soul had evolved into little more than a shell that allowed her to do what was demanded of her without remorse or regret.

Ruffians. Blood. Gore. She took it all in stride. When most ladies would be in tears, swooning, or have already run off. Ice Princess. But even that moniker he’d bestowed upon her no longer seemed appropriate. With a groan, he shoved himself up to a sitting position and studied her. “Who the devil are you?”

Mostly what she needed to gather was her indifference. She didn’t like the manner in which her stomach had clutched when she’d realized he’d been injured. Didn’t like the worry that had almost made her throw caution aside and bring him straight here. Didn’t much like the way she wanted to offer him her bosom as a cushion for his head so she could stroke his hair and whisper, “You’ll be all right.”

The thing is, your safety is better secured when you suspect everyone of being against you.” He’d learned that lesson the hard way, but it bothered him that she’d attended the same harsh school of reality. Once the darkness had inhabited your soul, you could never rid yourself of it completely. He often wondered what sort of man he’d find himself to be at the end of this journey.

Exhibiting grace, strength, power, and determination, she stole his breath, and he feared she’d pocket it and never give it back. He wanted to take hold of that tail of her hair, wrap it around his knuckles to secure her in place—against his chest so he could tip her head back and claim that mouth presently set in concentration. He’d never wanted anything more in his life, not even the dukedom. “Imagining that’s my nose?”

Dropping his head back, he laughed, the sound big, bold, and beautiful, one that could capture hearts, was threatening to thaw hers. He was far more dangerous than the men in the alleyway—he could make her yearn again for things she could never hold.

Strange how sitting there holding hands almost seemed more intimate than being naked together between the sheets.

She came to an abrupt halt. “Until you, I didn’t know what love was—to love, to be loved.” “Until you, neither did I. If I have to choose between the dukedom and you, I choose you. If your only objection to marrying me is that I need an heir, I have a brother. Perhaps he will provide one. If he does not, I have cousins aplenty. I don’t expect you to give up your position with the Home Office. Being married to a duke could give you access to information or people you might not have had otherwise. And who would suspect a duchess of being a spy?”