#Review: Back to Buckhorn by Lori Foster

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back to buckhorn lori foster

 

For odd-girl-out Zoey Hodge, the best thing about Buckhorn, Kentucky, was leaving it behind. And now she’s back—at least until she can nurse her mother back to health and hightail it out of there anew. But there’s one person she doesn’t mind seeing again. Garrett Hudson was one of the few who was always kind to her. Now he’s a firefighter—still one of the good guys, but with a sexy alpha charm that’s tempting her inner bad girl.

In school, Zoey was smart, witty and unafraid to be herself. Garrett fell hard back then, and he’s falling even faster now. As far as he’s concerned, there are all kinds of reasons Zoey should stick around. Her pet grooming business. Her mom. And the chance for him to prove that he can be her real-life hero in every way that matters…

This series is the one that made me fall in love with author Lori Foster’s writing. I love her Buckhorn boys! Be forewarned though that you will want to start at the beginning of this series.  Not only will starting at the beginning give you all the back story, but you will understand how each person is connected in this story.  Also, this is novella length –Amazon has it listed at 90 pages– so don’t expect a huge read either.

As a person who doesn’t usually enjoy quick novellas, I found that Back to Buckhorn was actually pretty good lengthwise.  It flowed better than other novellas and didn’t feel rushed to me.  I loved thecharacter of Garrett and I even came to like Zoey by the end of the story.  While the plot line was pretty good, I did have some issues with it -namely that quick ending, it wasn’t enough to turn me off from reading more in this series.

Again, if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading any books in this series, I urge you to please start with one of the earlier books, if not at the beginning.  It can be read as stand alone, but you might find yourself a little confused at some of the character references.

[sc:rate4 ]

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#Review: Stubborn Love by Wendy Owens

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Stubborn Love

 

Life for Emmie Hayes hasn’t been easy. After her reality is rocked by tragedy, she heads to New York City in hopes of finding herself again.

With a new school and a new outlook on life, Emmie is determined to not let anything distract her. Everything begins to fall into place around her until her roommate, Paige, shows up with the very distraction she tried so desperately to avoid, and he has no intention of being ignored.

His name is Colin Bennett and he isn’t part of her new plan. But with his smoldering eyes and perfect body, it would be difficult for any girl to ignore him. Only thing is, Emmie isn’t any girl. After her tragic past, there might not be any way into her stubborn heart.

A person can only be beaten down for so long before they begin to yearn for their spirit to be set free.

Clementine “Emmie” Hayes has a terrible secret. She used to be married and had told her husband she was going to leave him. Her husband commits suicide as she walks out the door and she leaves town after the funeral to live her life and bury the past.  She rents an apartment with a young woman she meets in a taxi who happens to be dating the landlords brother. The landlord is Colin Bennett. Emmie tries to resist him romantically and they build a friendship.  While the friendship slowly grows into something more, her past comes back to haunt her.

This story ended up being just an okay read for me.  I liked the character of Colin. He was a great guy who was financially well off, worked with his hands, sexy good looks, and all around good guy.  Emmie is led to believe that he is player, but he didn’t really come off as one to me.  Emmie wasn’t a character that I really enjoyed.  Yes, she had a tragic past, but it felt like it was forced on the reader to feel sorry for her.  The so called bad guys weren’t too much of surprise and in all honesty, I can’t even remember much about this book hours after finishing it.  It just didn’t stand out to me.

I would have to say that the only real thing I liked about this book was the characters of Colin and his brother Christian. I will more than likely end up reading the next book in the series, but it isn’t something I would rush out to buy.

[sc:rate3 ]

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#Review: Ivan (Her Russian Protector #1) by Roxie Rivera

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ivan

 

Desperate to find her sister, Erin goes to the only man in Houston who can help her–Ivan Markovic. The intimidating, tattooed Russian operates one of the most elite mixed-martial arts training centers in the world but it’s his shadowy past and reputed connections with Houston’s underworld that interest her most.

To find her sister, she’ll need the help of her big, scary Russian protector—but asking for help from a man like Ivan carries a steep price, one that might just include her heart.

What was the reason I started this one? Oh yes — it was a free read.  I am not a huge lover of novella length.  Short stories never can cut it in the romance department for me because it is always instant love. I want build up. I want to learn about the history of the characters. I am not a fan of being complete strangers in chapter one and falling madly in love by chapter two. Yet I found myself clicking on the download button and reading it.

Ivan held great potential.  The first few lines of the book even lured me in and hooked me right away. It could have been great. Then we have the instant love and weak story unfold. The ending didn’t even end on the right foot for this reader.  It was over, but it wasn’t. There was more to the story that was needing to be told, but part of the story was somewhat settled.  It left me on the so-so fence of my feelings for this short book.  The secondary characters seem interesting enough for me to possibly read another in the series, but probably only if they are free reads again.

“Be careful what you ask for, Erin,” Ivan warned. “I’m not the kind of man to walk away from something I want.” His thumb caressed the side of my neck. “One taste of you and I won’t be able to let you go.” –Ivan

[sc:rate2 ]

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#Review: Dirty Rowdy Thing by Christina Lauren

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21411902

 

Despite their rowdy hookups, Harlow and Finn don’t even like each other…which would explain why their marriage lasted only twelve hours. He needs to be in charge and takes whatever he wants. She lives by the Want-something-done? Do-it-yourself mantra. Maybe she’s too similar to the rugged fisherman—or just what he needs.

After finishing the first book in this series called Sweet Filthy Boy, I was desperately in need of the next book in the Wild Seasons series by author(s) Christina Lauren. The icing on the top of the cake was that we were going to get to read about Finn. And Harlow. Finn and Harlow together!

“Shh, Poodle. I’m having a Johnny Castle, Dirty Dancing moment right now.”
“Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” he asks, bending to lick up my neck.
“I carried a watermelon.” — Finn and Harlow

Finn has come to town to work out some details for his family involving a TV show to save his family business. Harlow of course is annoyed by this and dreads having to run into him again after their quickie marriage and divorce.

“And, my impression of you is ever evolving, now that you aren’t just a pretty face in my lap.”
“You’re one classy motherfucker, Finn.” — Finn and Harlow

Harlow is a fixer. She fixes her friends and family when they need help, and she puts her own life on the back burner. When Harlow finds out some devastating news from her parents, she wants to fix things. She wants to make life easier for them. While in the process of overdoing it for her family, she turns to Finn for a distraction from the problems.  What we get is to see how Finn and Harlow grow into a friendly relationship and eventually fall in love. Again. They share things together that they haven’t shared with others and still keep a sense of humor during the tough times of life.

The plots climatic twist wasn’t as great or what I would thought should have caused the main problem for the couple to fix near the end.  Yes, it was something that pushed the book to conclude, but it just seemed a bit tame.  Even with that being said, I truly loved this book!  I am so in love with fisherman Finn and he has met his match perfectly with Harlow.  The next book in the series is suppose to be about Oliver and Lola who are also a cute couple needing a push.

[sc:rate4 ]

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#Review: Spot the Differences by Peter Donahue

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Kids can play detective with 25 pairs of similar-looking color photos. They’ll compare the unaltered originals on the left to the ones on the right, which include several subtle changes. Suitable for ages 6 to 10, the kid-friendly illustrations depict slumber parties, birthday get-togethers, and other lively situations. Complete solutions appear at the end.

 

Before I begin, I want to point out that this book was an e-book format.  This is a very important detail that influenced my rating.  Usually I love puzzles.  I remember competing with my brother when we were younger with Where’s Waldo?. I love hidden object games that I play online as well.  So when this title came up for review, I was excited to try it out!  When I downloaded it to my Kindle though, it was a big mess of chopped up pictures and blank pages galore.  There was no way to actually enjoy the search for hidden differences.

Then that brings up the question of if it did work on my Kindle, how would someone go about keeping track of the differences? It is not like we can draw on our Kindle screens for a book?

With that being said, as a print book this might be a great one to keep your eyes and brain sharp.  If you could physically mark the pages with a pencil or pen, then a child would possibly enjoy this as a gift, or even a road trip activity. As an e-book though, pass on the disappointment.

[sc:rate1 ]

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