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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Tales of the Celestial Kingdom is a compilation of short stories set before, during, and after the first two books in the Celestial Kingdom series. Separated into three parts, Dusk – prequel, Twilight – expands relationships in first book, and Dawn – set after second book, the short stories re-imagine myths and are from different character point-of-views. As I've not read the series yet, I only read the Dusk prequel section to begin my journey into this world. I plan on coming back and updating this review as I read each section as I make my way through the series.

Dusk

He was a hero of the people, a legend of our realm...but for today, I just wanted him to be my husband.

If you have already read the first book in the series, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, you'll soon realize that this is the re-imaging of the Chinese myth the ten Sunbirds and is about the parents of Xingyin, the female lead character of DOTMG. Switching from both Chang'e and Houyi's povs, readers learn that the land is on fire and dying because all ten of the Sunbirds have decided to stay risen in the sky. Houyi is the Emperor's General and thus, taxed with getting the Sunbirds to set. Chang'e is pregnant and not wanting Houyi to leave her and possibly die.

Houyi was visited in a dream and given an amulet to protect himself but he still is leery of taking on the gods. We travel with him as he confronts the Sunbirds, who at first come off as unruly adolescents. Things don't quite go as Houyi wanted but the land is given reprieve and returns to one Sunbird that rises and falls. He returns home a hero and is gifted an elixir of immortality.

Months later we return to a Chang'e who's about to give birth a month early and all alone at the moment. Panicking she ends up taking the elixir, giving herself and her daughter immortality while leaving behind a betrayed look on his face Houyi, as she ascends to the heavens to be with the other immortals.

There were three illustrations that complimented the story and helped readers to visualize the world. For a story only around forty pages, the emotions, the love between Chang'e and Houyi, was intensely felt. I was drawn into this mythological world and after reading about Xingyin's origins, I can't wait to start her book.

2.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

His eyes held mine in a silent conversation, filled with unsaid words and hushed confessions that had yet to cross our lips. It was as if his stare was whispering secrets his voice couldn't articulate.

The Prism Society tells the story of childhood friends, Emma and Liam, as they separate after Emma leaves town to go to design school in NYC and Liam continues his college in UCLA. The story opens with Emma leaving and while it's clear that two years older Liam has missed Emma at college and there are some feelings there, Emma only sees the diving head first into freedom and women Liam has partaken in after escaping his extremely restrictive parents. While they try to keep in touch through texts and social media, a surprise visit, where Emma sees in real time Liam about to hook-up with a woman, has her running away and slowly distancing herself, they eventually lose touch for three years. But when Liam shows up out of the blue as Emma's about to graduate in NYC, they find that time and growing up has only ignited their chemistry.

It was as if we were picking up right where we left off, but this time, we weren't just teenagers dreaming about what our lives could be. This time, we were adults living our own separate lives, hoping they somehow intersected.

The first half of this started off slower, with a New Adult vibe (Emma is 22yrs old and Liam 24yrs old) and Emma trying to work towards her dream of interior design. Told all from Emma's point-of-view, we get a lot about her worrying about her career. Her college career is skipped through, with her roommate Jessie getting added in as a secondary character and their shared dream of working for the “it” company Spectra. Since Emma talked about how it was her and her mother's shared dream and how close they were, I wish we would have gotten to see more of this relationship, instead of a very quick ending scene between the two. However, Liam comes back into the picture and the two realize they still have those feelings for each other that they were trying to hide before. Since we don't get Liam's pov, his character didn't feel as flushed out to me. You can tell that he has feelings for Emma, but his relationship with his friend and business partner Dominic and why they're working to set-up a club where people can be free to safely and consensually indulge in their chosen physical activities, isn't really delved into; it felt like a wobbly constructed table to get Liam to be able to say “good girl” a couple times.

“I see the beauty in The Prism Society. I see the beauty in what you're trying to create. And I'm sorry that it took me this long to admit that to myself...and to you.”

The conflict comes about because when Emma gets a job at Spectra, she has to sign a non-compete but she just can't help herself with helping Liam design his new club, even coming up with the name. It makes it hard to feel bad for her when it all comes back to bite her, because, she clearly knew she was in the wrong but just kept forging ahead anyway. There's some misplaced blame put on Liam and then Emma deciding a new path for herself that eventually, in the very last few pages, has her getting back with Liam. As far as the “spicy romance” tag, your mileage may vary. I don't consider any and all open door scenes in romance to be “smut”, I actually never use the term, but I know some younger and newer readers to romance have different thoughts on this. Liam is into voyeurism, which is where you could say the steamier scenes come from, there's a handful of them but they're fairly short and, yeah, “good girl” gets thrown around but there wasn't a lot of intimacy to them, more of the by rote “this sounds hot” that gets shared around; closer to a Tessa Bailey and far from a Cherise Sinclair. I did like how Emma and Liam started off open and addressing issues and this did have readability, but I thought the first half showed more care in setting up the story, while the latter half wobbled around and wasn't sturdy enough to deliver a hot engrossing read.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

“See, I knew this would be a mistake. I could tell you’d be all insufferable with me, saying all your cute things until I’m completely turned around. Well, I’m not having it,” he said all in a big, angry, frustrated rush.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine was a story about a retired footballer, Alfie, and a writer, Mabel, who is hired to ghostwrite his memoirs. Alfie has built a reputation as a gruff and grumpy guy and has went through seventeen ghostwriters already. At the meeting to see if Mabel should be hired on, the two banter, leaving Alfie drawn to Mabel and Mabel thinking Alfie insulted her weight. After a little stalking on Alfie's part, Mabel realizes that Alfie's comment wasn't saying what she thought it was and she agrees to help write his book. They then are caught by media and social media hanging out a lot and the speculation becomes that they're dating and to shut down some not so nice comments, Alfie blurts out they are dating and the trope fake-dating starts. As Mabel and Alfie pretend to be in love, the attraction between them builds and eventually Mabel is scared that she might have actually foregone the fake part.

she was enjoying unravelling him.

This story was written in all first person point-of-view from Mabel and in a stream of conscious narrative with short choppy sentences, this, personally, is a very hard writing voice for me to get into and I struggled mightily with being able to lose myself into the story and follow along with what was being said. A lot of this story is talking back and forth between Mabel and Alfie, the sense of setting is them talking in the car, in a house, and a random quick moment at a Beyonce concert. There were also end of chapter additives from various social media sites, Twitter/X, Reddit, etc., to try and help bring the outer world in but they also didn't work for me, I'm not a big social media person, so I think I missed some of that connection and the funny and/or cuteness it was supposed to bring. With only getting Mabel's voice, Alfie came off very unclear to me as a character, and for being late thirties, pretty immature. Mabel, I had a better understanding of but her constant misinterpreting Alfie's comments and actions began to feel a little forced as, you can take into account her insecurities lying to her, but his words and actions really gave no reason for her to think he thought negatively about her weight.

But there was something underneath it, she suspected. Something else they were saying without really saying it. About alcoholic fathers, and the effect they could have on you. Sometimes they turned you to the drink. And sometimes you went the other way.

The above quote gives some of that lovely connection between characters, they shared a painful childhood trait of having alcoholic fathers but the way it's laid out, short and choppy, imagine the whole story written that way, it just kills the flow for me. (another example: His hair seemed newly trimmed. She suspected he’d brushed his beard. Or that someone had brushed his beard. Most likely a barber who cost more than she spent on rent per month.) I also am not sure I fully understood or went along with why they had to start fake-dating at just before the midpoint of the story, it just didn't make sense and felt like a forced popular trope thrown in.

Because yeah, you weren’t supposed to want violence. But god, sometimes it was good to know someone thought it should happen on your behalf. That you weren’t just weak or nuts or exaggerating. Something didn’t just deserve pity, or whatever else she usually feared she would get, if she dropped some of her Bubbly Girl armor. It was bad, and they would do things about it, if they could. Things that made her want to do good by him, in return.

The second half was more talking with adding in dirty talk and some open door scenes but since I had issues with the style, and therefore couldn't connect with the characters, I wasn't feeling the chemistry between them and it all just ending up feeling like more words on the page I was struggling to read. There was a moment of sweetness I liked between these two, Alfie brushing Mabel's hair, but the writing style didn't allow the characters or me the reader to slow down and sink into it, I wanted Mabel to simply breath for a second so we could feel the moment. The last twenty percent had Mabel admitting to herself that she loved Alfie but then getting scared he didn't feel the same way, so after she's done writing the memoir, the story has them parting for a year. The very next chapter is the book launch, which brings them together and misunderstandings are talked through when Mabel reads a passage in the memoir that Alfie wrote himself and she sees his actions and feelings in a different light to deliver the HEA.

“I am happy, hanging around with a grumpy arse like you. Because you’re not that. You’re sweet, and kind, and most of all, I trust you. So you know what? If we have to kiss, we have to kiss. I know it’ll be all right. I always know everything will be all right when I’m with you,” she said.

I've read in some other reviews that Alfie seemed based off a tv show Ted Lasso character, I've never watched the show, so I could be missing some connection there and like I said, the narrative style of a character speaking in written word how people talk/think (stream of conscious) is a personal hard style for me to get into, I had to go back and reread so many passages to try and understand what was going on. A personal dislike and some writing that I think needed to be cleaned up, along with talking seemingly ninety percent of the three hundred and twenty-nine pages, made this a story that I could never get into.

1.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Simeon Jones— debonair, polished, and suave— was softhearted.

I jumped into the School for Scoundrels series with this third installment, Her Adventures in Temptation. The beginning felt a little jarring thrust into the story with Simeon at a Viscount's house to paint a portrait for the lord's wife and that said wife, tipsily trying to visit Simeon's rooms one night. The Viscount catches his wife and angrily tells Simeon to bugger off but before Simeon can, the viscount's sister, Lady Myrtle asks to travel with Simeon to London. Simeon knows it will be a recipe for disaster and reputations but with Myrtle offering to pay triple the just lost commission on the viscount's wife's portrait, he can't turn it down. What followed was an occasional story with sweet moments but mostly felt like bullet points with no surrounding story.

She would go to London and use her mathematical skills to assist ladies with their monies, hopefully helping them become more financially secure.

Myrtle wants to go to London because she wants to prove to her brother that she doesn't need to get married and can successfully make a go at running a business to help women invest and take care of their money. Myrtle is a mathematical genius, readers know this because she says it a lot and spouts some mathematical lingo and apparently that translates to also being a money management guru. There really wasn't anything flushed out and integrated with Myrtle's character regarding her mathematical skills, it felt like a bullet point for the heroine and that was the extent of it. Myrtle also lacks serious tact and is oblivious when she says comments that conventionally come off rude. I don't know if her character was introduced in the previous series books and more understanding about her would come from having read those but, starting here, she doesn't really get developed. I know she only has two friends, her niece and past governess, so I don't know if it's just lack of social integration or if she is supposed to represent on the spectrum. For me, it came off “I'm not like all those other girls”, because of thinking and saying lines like this “I have misjudged you, Mr. Jones,” Myrtle replied in a bright voice. “You are quite clever, something that is rare to find in very attractive people. Usually they are able to sail through life just being attractive.”

“Pretend to be . . . married?” she squeaked, then frowned, annoyed at her own reaction.

The previous book might have also delivered some foundation on Simeon that I ended up missing starting here. He grew up destitute in a home for boys and developed friendships with five other boys, strong enough that they got the moniker, The Bastard Five. I was disappointed that those friendships were hardly ever shown, I think it wasn't until the very later second half that the other four guys showed up to have scenes with him. Simeon is poor, why he accepts Myrtle's deal to travel with him and an artist but again, like Myrtle's mathematical mind, his painting came off more of a bullet point. There was also a random thread of him having to take in his adoptive mother's daughter but there was absolutely nothing done with it and had me head scratching what the point was.

“I’ve never found it easy to be around others, even around members of my own family. I do find it easy to be around you. And not just because you’re so easy on the eyes. If only I could marry someone like you,” she said with a sigh. And then she clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

The romance starts to develop between these two on their journey to London and when Simeon insists they must pretend to be married to save her reputation. There's a bullet point one bed scene and some “I think I'm starting to like this person.” The first half has a first kiss between these two and then they're in London and thinking they'll never see each other again. However, Myrtle's brother is in London, angry with her but now wanting her to chaperon his daughter for her coming out because tipsy wife broke her leg. Myrtle recognizes she doesn't have the social graces to navigate the ton, so naturally, she turns to the poor, bastard artist Simeon to help her. Their fake betrothal is back on, so society doesn't question why they're spending so much time together and Simeon claims he must paint Myrtle.

Dear God. Did she know what she was getting into? Did he know what he was getting into?

For some reason, Myrtle gets it in her head that Simeon could be a successful painter if only he didn't get distracted by sex (readers don't really see evidence of him being such a ladies man) and since she really enjoyed their kiss, gets a little something for herself as she's helping out with a new plan, for one week they'll indulge in bedroom play and then one week absolutely no touching, then see which week was more productive for Simeon. I can't say this all made sense and not just randomly thrown in. Anyway, Myrtle suddenly gets porn mouth (one ex. “I want you to— to fuck me,” she said at last, the words dropping like individual bits of flame into his soul. I'm saying this did not fit the character and/with time and specific situation, not that women don't ever talk like this) and after a handie and some head from Simeon, Myrtle thinks to herself that she is in love. The bedroom scenes had definite word spice but it all felt so forced to deliver “hot” but since the characterization and relationship development wasn't there for me, I didn't feel any chemistry.

“What do you want from me, Myrtle?” he asked again, this time in a softer tone. She lifted her face to his, swallowing hard against the emotion. “I want you.”

It took a little longer for Simeon to think he was in love with Myrtle but when he does, he had a sweet moment where he tries to show Myrtle but her obliviousness ruins the moment and they have a quick breakup in the last 10% before they both realize their mistakes and deliver the HEA. Their characterization, along with the feeling of setting because their wasn't much effort to deliver it, was missing from this for me and as a consequence, I couldn't feel their romance. This was full of bullet points but not much crafting and filling out of those points.

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

The tairen were dying.

Lord of the Fading Lands was a high fantasy romance story that introduces readers to a world full of humans, Fey, and Mages. Centered around Ellie, the daughter of common folk, her world suddenly gets turned upside down when the King of the Fey declares that she is his truemate. Rain is the last of the tairen fey, a fey who has the power inside of them to shift into a tairen, a cat, dragon like creature. Rain hasn't been in the mortal world for over a thousand years, leaving after the bloody war with the mages where his heartmate was killed and he scorched the earth. When he suddenly feels someone calling out to him, he discovers the connection with Ellie and what she is to him. With the fey dying out, there have been no fey births for the last couple centuries, he thinks Ellie has not only the power to save him but the fey. Ellie has suffered from seizures and nightmares her whole life but even though she knew she was adopted by her parents, she has always thought she was human, but Rain senses magic and power in her.

She had dreamed of Rain Tairen Soul all her life, and here he was. She felt herself moving towards him, her hand reaching out. He had asked, and she had to touch him. If only to be sure he was real.

This first book in the series is an introduction to the world and characters, this ends on a cliffhanger. At 400 pages, you're going to have to want to sink into this world and accept this is the start of threads with just the beginning of weaving happening. There were a couple times I thought the pace dragged but for the most part, I was captured by this world. The fey warriors that guard Ellie, were given enough life to make them distinctive in my mind, Ellie's bestfriend stayed mostly to the shadows but was given an aspect that will have her playing a bigger role in the series, the King and Queen of the mortal land played excellent secondary characters adding a lot to the story and making me interested in them without taking time away from the main characters, Ellie's family of mother, father, and younger sisters helped fill out some aspects of Ellie's character, the two mage villains that pop in and out to bring on the looming danger, and other smaller roles provided great meaty secondary characters.

She felt his lips press against her hair, felt his need for her down to her soul, and for this moment in time she did not feel alone.

Most of this was dedicated to placing the reader in the world, introducing the fantasy setting, familiarizing the reader with the political atmosphere, and starting the romance between Ellie and Rain. Since they are truemates, there is some of that instalove between them but you still get Ellie having to learn to trust Rain and Rain trying to let Ellie get to know him, while trying to keep his tairen tamed so as not to frighten her. They have some quiet talking moments and some physical moments but the quick open door scene doesn't come from these two, they're in the slightly push and pull beginning part of a relationship. I felt like I didn't get to fully know Rain, as this was more about Ellie discovering things about herself, but I think future books will probably bring him into focus more as he'll have a stronger roll to play, he's more waiting around for Ellie to accept things in this one.

The Mages had regained their power, and the world was in danger once more.

While Rain is courting Ellie, he senses the Eld, who he battled a thousand years ago, growing stronger again, even though the King and Queen don't realize it. Readers get povs from the High Mage, leader of the Eld and one of his minions, so the looming feeling is definitely felt. When Rain feels the magic in Ellie, he sends two fey to investigate the origins of her birth and while readers get to see what they find out, Rain, Ellie, or no one else on their side learn what is discovered and will be going into the second book not knowing that looming thread. This had fey, magic, evil looming, and romance, an introduction to a high fantasy world that you'll want to sink into as the characters you're starting to care about look to be on the brink of a war.

2.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

He's out there somewhere in the city.

As an artist that keeps her identity anonymous because she doesn't want her famous mother to garner her any advantages, Rooney is still searching for her defining artistic moment. Known as the Red String Girl because of her incorporating her love of the story of the Red String of Fate, a red string connects you to your soulmate, Rooney has just been contacted by NASA to work with them on a project melding her art with introducing a new mission to the public. It will hopefully bring the exposure she's been wanting for her art career but also money that she desperately wants, to buy back a video of her birth that her mother filmed as an interactive art piece. The new job would also come with working close with the mission liaison, who just so happens to be the man she thought could be her red string soulmate when they had a serendipitous night six months ago in New York City. Jack has been wondering why Rooney never called and when his subconscious thoughts that she could maybe be Red String Girl turn out to be true, he's both relieved to have found her again and scared that his career could be damaged if they don't keep things professional.

“We do have each other's phone numbers. Let's see where that takes us,” I say, feeling hopeful.

Red String Theory was a story that constantly discussed if fate, destiny, and chance are in play in our lives and had me searching for the “A Novel” on the cover. (It wasn't there but romance genre readers will know what I'm saying here and there were discussion questions in the back) Told in alternating first person present point-of-view chapters (I did struggle with the povs sounding in the same voice), Rooney and Jack meet early in the story and have a first night together that lasts about the first 30%. They read sweet and compatible together but differ on their thoughts of fate, Rooney the artist believes in fate and Jack the NASA systems engineer thinks it more chance and self-determination. They spend the night only giving their first names and not talking about their jobs but instead come up with “tests” to see if fate can be measured and therefore exist.

And then I have to ask. “Why did you kiss me?” I whisper.

It was a beginning that did draw me into their story as a couple but then when Rooney accidentally gets Jack's number wrong, they lose their way to keep their connection after they separate the next morning. The story then jumps six months and we get them meeting up again with the NASA job connection. The rest of the story, 350ish pages, is then a lot of hashing and rehashing if fate exists with both Rooney and Jack both thinking they should back away because they don't want to damage their careers. I mentioned looking for the A Novel on the cover because, while I don't think the language completely drifted to lit fic, the tone and conversations between the characters had some of that vibe and in the second half it did start to have moments that felt overwritten; if you like to wallow in it, this has the page count for you. For me, this felt very drawn out and lit fic airy, but newer published romance genre has seemed to be moving in this direction, so, closed door, a few kisses, newer romance readers may enjoy this more.

One of us is going to have to make a decision. We can't risk leaving this up to fate.

The ending did deliver a little bit of the characters choosing each other, which I want to feel even in a fated mates story. The personal issues with Rooney wanting to feel like she made a career on own also get worked through, although the whole thread with her birthing video never felt quite fitted in right to me, but I loved the character of her mother and actually would love to read her story. Jack had a little bit of his own family issues but, like in real life, there wasn't a definite resolve to them but more of a kind of made it to an understanding. These two did have sweet moments but I started to get a little sapped wading through the rehashing fate conversations.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Suddenly we really saw each other, and it surprised us both.

Meg has lived hidden away for the last fifteen years at her grandmother's home, showing up at twenty-three when a panic attack finally chased her away from a professorship. In the beginning, genius Dr. Meg Brightwood worked to solve a centuries old mathematical proof, nicknamed “The Impossible Theorem” but the last few years have been caregiver to her grandmother. When her grandmother dies, Meg finds her safe, secure world starting to come apart. Her father, who never stopped pressuring her growing up, and uncle want her out of the house, but a will gives her two years in the home. It all becomes moot though, when Meg actually solves the proof and the boy she loved comes back into her life.

I wasn't a scared little girl anymore. I was a scared grown woman---which is different.

This was a contemporary fiction, lit fic, and romance story that I hope gets put on a lot of people's radar. Told all from Meg's point-of-view, I could feel her choking and helplessness during her panic attacks, they don't get magically solved at the end and still suffers from them but her character growth from the first page to the last allows her to become better equipped to handle them. Even though this was mainly Meg's story, Isaac, the troubled youth boy that used to do handy work around the grandmother's house, got a full character story. His troubled childhood of having a bi-polar mother, take her anger out on him grandmother, and older sister that tried to raise him but ran into her own problems with drugs, not so oddly gave him common ground and understanding with Meg, the come from money mathematical genius with a father who didn't let her have a childhood and jealous of the attention older sister. There were a couple flashbacks to when she was twenty-three and he nineteen, learning each other and talking to give the reader some foundation for why they're drawn to each other when they meet back up again fifteen years later but most of the meat of their togetherness is in the present, with open-door scenes.

One thing I knew---we both needed contact, each the anchor to the other's faltering ship.

This had a little bit of a slower start but if you're a frequent lit fic reader, it wouldn't faze you, there were a few times where the writing went to lit prose and therefore felt a bit overwritten to me but the emotions are there, making this a story that hits you. The second half didn't have the pacing issue of the first and Meg must deal with her father trying to steal her work and helping Isaac deal with a huge issue hanging over his head, all while they both try to navigate their love for each other; I'm not good enough for you, I'll ruin/be a pain in your life, etc. A cousin of Meg's and Isaac's older sister were fantastic secondary character additions, each bringing out a part of Meg and Isaac's character. There's not a lot of “math” talk, think a watered down movie Queen's Gambit but sexism, misogyny in the mathematical world, academia, is discussed and how Meg was affected by it for some of that world setting. This wasn't light or fluffy but will have your mired in the emotions, wanting Meg to stand up for herself and Isaac to allow her to fight for him.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

The warnings were in front of us, but we didn't pay attention.

Starting in 1929 Berlin, The Novelist from Berlin is told all from Niki, a woman coming of age in Germany after WWI, and inspired by the real life novelist Irmgard Keun. Divided into two sections, the first half delivers on the sense of dread as Hitler and his cohorts begin to creep closer to power. Niki starts off young, early twenties and sees how, while Germany seems to be a place experimenting with being open to progressive ideals, their downfall from WWI has embittered the people. The economy isn't in a great place after losing the war and with money tight, Niki working as a typist, seems to see some escapism when she meets an older man, Rickard, an owner of a movie studio. While she seems genial to him, it's more of a sense of security bonding her to him as the SA (Sturmabteilung – Brownshirts) start to begin terrorizing citizens. When the movie Niki was given a small part in gets shut down for “indecency” she turns to her first love, writing. With Rickard, now her husband, kowtowing to the Nazis party and allowing his studio to be used for propaganda, Niki starts to plan a way to escape, hiding her proceeds from her first book published, one that she must hide her identity when it too gets banned for being indecent.

For us, dread, loathing, and fear were fast becoming a way of life.

While this first half moved along at a good pace to get from 1929 to 1939, I still felt the story did a good job staying and bringing in humanity through the characters. Niki, is of course, the one readers get to know the most and follow along on her struggle to want to stay safe but also push back against the SA. Real life historical figures and events, Goring, Goebbels, Night of the Long Knives, etc. are integrated and make appearances. The sense of dread is done well here, as readers know what is on the horizon. Niki ends up having to escape Germany, leaving her daughter and Rickard, who she no longer has feelings for, and goes to Amsterdam with her new lover Emil.

Every action the Nazis took was designed to break, to destroy, to make freedom impossible for anyone other than their own kind.

With a little under four hundred pages, taking a story from 1929 to the 1960s is a huge undertaking and I think the second half showed this difficulty. Book two has to abandon some of the personal character touches in favor of time jumping, only hitting on more huge moments. The Nazis make their way to Amsterdam, where they set-up the Ghetto and commit more atrocities. There's a little bit of Niki joining the Dutch resistance but it felt more like a blip and then her love Emil, a Jewish man, is taken by the Nazis. This has Niki going back to Berlin, the character claims it's because she might have some connections to find out where Emil is and search for her daughter but it feels more forced as a way to have the character in Berlin for the Airlift and Russians coming.

I've lived through the Great Depression, Hitler, World War II, the Berlin Airlift, and the Berlin Wall. Many mornings I wonder how I survived these catastrophic events. There's no easy answer to that question.

There's some with Niki connecting with friends and working to do a little resistance but the latter second half time jumps so quickly, it really was a whiplash of historical events; if you didn't know the true historical history with that built in context, you'd be whiplashed into confusion. The arrival of the Russians brings the end to WWII and Niki sort of befriends a Russian captain who gives her access to Rickard, jailed for his help in creating Nazis propaganda, and he tells her he sent their daughter off with a housekeeper to try and save her from Russian soldiers. This leads to years of time jumps and some explanation of how Berlin was divided up between the Allied Forces and the eventual building of the Berlin Wall. In these time jumps, Niki does find her daughter and some of her trying to build trust there and more trying to rescue and find a place to settle in peace.

The first half delivered on some emotional angst of what the character of Niki would go through in the rise of Hitler in Berlin but the second half was such a speed through of historical events that the personal touches got left out, Emil's fate is eventually learned but hardly spent any time with. If you were looking for less of an emotional fictional accounting and more of a bare bones quickly hit on the important dates, with a touch of inspired by a real woman, this could do the trick.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

She’d been Carter’s girlfriend, Carter’s wife, Carter’s ex-wife. Who was she when he didn’t define her? Maybe she deserved to find out.

The Holiday Heartbreaker is book five in the Four Corners Ranch series but you could start here, like I did. There's obvious characters from past books, the Ranch is shared between four families and the series looks to, mainly, follow a group of brothers that own a portion. They've started a new venture with equine therapy and our heroine, Elizabeth, comes into the picture as the newly hired therapist.

He had been the favorite child of the devil. He was thirty-four years old and he still hadn’t figured out what the hell to do with that.

Elizabeth has been divorced for six years because her childhood sweetheart ended up cheating on her, but the story doesn't exactly vilify him as Elizabeth works through the pain of the divorce and acknowledges that they married too young, grew apart, and the ex, kind of, still wants to be a part of their eight year son, Benny's life. It's mostly believable, I'm not sure I'd go as far as Elizabeth delivering a smiling hello to the ex's new wife, the one he cheated on Elizabeth with, to keep the peace but I don't have to be a “perfect” heroine in a romance. There's some friction with the ex as Elizabeth finally decides to do something for herself and take the equine therapist job that requires her to move three hours away, taking Benny with her. Seventy percent of this (not a scientific number) is Elizabeth working through her issues of growing up in the foster care system and how her divorce went down.

He shifted slightly, and rested his hand on the wall just above her head, leaning in.

The other thirty percent is divided up between our hero Brody's issues and the insta-lust/love relationship with Elizabeth. Brody's dad was awful and was physically abusive to his brothers, except he treated Brody like he actually loved him. This has caused it's own trauma to Brody as he craved his father's love but doesn't know how to gel that with how abusive (we're talking setting one brother on fire to murder him) the dad was to his brothers. Brody has tried to deal with the trauma by not getting close to anyone and hitting the bars for one night stands for companionship. The first half dealt more with Elizabeth but the second half brings in Brody's issues more.

She wanted to do something wild. She wanted to do something that made her happy now. She wanted to do something that felt good now.

Since our two leads are spending so much time with their personal issues, the story spends a lot of time in their heads, not my favorite. If you personally have or had these issues the characters did, I can see this story hitting you harder than me. These two do start hitting the sheets a little bit before the midway point and get more than one open door scene, I can't say I felt the emotional depth between them. So much time is spent in their heads trying to work out their issues, the romance development got mostly left out and it read more like lust attraction.

Because he had never seen anything more beautiful in all of his life, and he had never wanted anything like he wanted Elizabeth Colfax right now.

There was a tiny little bit showing Elizabeth's job as an equine therapist but even less of Brody's ranch life and while Christmas happens in the book, there really wasn't much for seasonal vibes. The first half dealt a lot with Elizabeth's issues and I thought I would end up calling this women's fiction but Brody's issues do get showcased enough that I backed off that. However, the romance, relationship development, was pretty lacking, enough that I want to shy away from even recommending this as romance genre. I want to invent a new genre called, therapy fiction because that was what this was mostly focused on, the characters' personal issues. Like I said though, if you share anything with the characters, their emotional working through would probably hit you different and if you have been a reader of the series, you'd probably enjoy seeing one of the last brothers to fall in love. The epilogue was a condensed HEA giving the reader a look at the main couple's future.

1.7 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

If a man makes you feel like you might want to throw up, it means you're in love.

Growing up with a mother who capital L loved Elvis Presley and thinks he's still alive, Bailey can't help but have an affinity for his tribute stars. So much so, that when an Elvis tribute star kisses her during one of his performances, Bailey takes her bestfriend Liza to Las Vegas during a huge Elvis impersonator competition in a desperate search for the one who made her believe they're soulmates with just one kiss. Bailey does find a dream Elvis but Carter's also head of hotel casino security and after an embarrassing meet-cute, Bailey may get love me tendered or shot when a missing diamond enters the picture.

He was Vegas and Elvis and danger, and she was Coupeville and Labrador retrievers and marionberry pie.

Kisses Don't Lie was a little throwback to the '90s mad cap chik-lit, but didn't hit those Jennifer Crusie notes for me. Bailey has off-kilter relatives, an Elvis crazed mother and hypochondriac aunt, with twin brother mechanics that like to bring up that she dated and slept with one of them back in highschool, to bring in some eccentric smalltown flavor. Elvis is a very big additive, the tribute performances happen more than once and it's brought up over and over how wild and crazy the women go for them. I can't count myself as one of those hordes, so maybe this is a your mileage will vary because the numerous times it was written that a sweaty scarf was thrown into the audience and fought over, I only wanted to scream “It's not even Elvis!” instead of octagon style someone for the scarf and/or faint, like the women in the story.

It'd be an adventure, that much was sure.

We do get both povs from Bailey and Carter and while Bailey thinks Carter is the sexiest man this side of Graceland and Carter finds Bailey innocently adorable, I can't say I ever felt real emotional depth from these two; they're hot for each other but really lacking emotional depth between them. This was a fade-to-black but numerous kisses happening that sometimes read as awkward scenes because I didn't feel the heat between them. The suspense plot also lacked depth for me. It involved Carter trying to get back at a enemy he's hated since childhood but made no sense as to why he'd steal a diamond (to stop funding of a casino??) only to meekly turn around and just want to give it back. Where was the plan?? The second half just had these two feeling broken plot going back and forth from Bailey's hometown in Washington to Las Vegas. I think you need to also read this as if it was published before smart phones, because there were times (GPS, calling/text messaging) that technology would have solved some problems. I also had some problems with some TSTL moves by Bailey, I know this is supposed to be more along lines of goofy fun but Bailey having the diamond when she knew Carter needed it to potentially save his and someone else life, and instead of calling/texting or going to Las Vegas, she goes shopping with her friends? Girl.

She may have already been smitten with Carter before she and Carter arrived in Coupeville, but this is where she realized he was the man she was meant to be with.

There was some plot and threads that didn't quite add up, the Elvis stuff was a bit much for me, the romance lacked connecting emotional depth between the two, and the tone and vibe didn't reach that sweetspot of '90s Crusie chik-lit. The story ended with a happily for now and Bailey and Carter's story does continue. If you're a big Elvis fan, I can see this being more enjoyable or if you just miss a little bit of those hijinks, goofy, '90s chik-lit, you would maybe want to give this a try.

2.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

“Becca. Pack a bag and stay with me, at least until the power comes back on.”

Snowed in for Christmas was a low angst story that had Becca and Harrison getting their second chance at romance due to a blizzard. It's holiday break and sorority house mom Becca finds herself not prepared for the blizzard that just hit. When her neighbor, the school's football coach and the man she had an amazing first date with two years ago but then ghosted her, Harrison, offers her to stay at his place when the power goes out, Becca doesn't want to accept but also doesn't want to freeze to death. With this forced proximity, Becca and Harrison find their chemistry reigniting and miscommunications finally getting revealed.

Neighbors for four years, one date, one insane kiss, and maybe ten conversations since that kiss.

This was written in alternating pov chapters from Becca and Harrison, we spend a good amount of time in the characters' heads. Becca has trouble dating because she's so goofy (likes to wear mismatched socks!) and people don't understand her commitment to her role/job as house mom in a sorority. Harrison is worried that he'll be fired after his football team doesn't make a bowl game and can't seem to get his team to bond, he also deals with his parents always making their youngest son, Hank, the golden boy and blaming anything and everything on Harrison and his sister Blair, who he does have a good relationship with. These two have separate issues of their own, and we are told about them a lot throughout the story but I still couldn't help feeling their characterizations were bland.

She was so unpredictable while my life was built around discipline. I had no idea what would come out of her mouth, and I liked it.

Leaning into the bland, I'm going to describe these two as nice together. They're a pretty good opposites attract, Harrison with his quiet stoic personality and Becca with her colorful clothes, bubbly, and spouts random facts when she's nervous, did gel pleasantly together. Becca tries to stay standoffish with Harrison because of how he hurt her when he ghosted her after their date. A little before the midway point, readers learn why Harrison never called Becca back, along the lines of not feeling like he could give her the commitment she deserved, and when the second half starts, the two have succumbed to their attraction and decide to engage in some bedroom antics, but only during the holiday break. I'm sure it's no surprise that feelings get caught and after Becca spends time with Harrison and his sister's family, she wants a relationship for real but overhears what she thinks is Harrison saying it's only a fling to him. Harrison of course does want to make this a real, long lasting relationship but a third act breakup has an emergency happening with one of his football players and miscommunication has these two at odds again.

It’s just a fling. A blizzard-buddy fling.

This had the snowy cold atmosphere for a seasonal read, a little bit of Christmas celebration with some presents, and a good amount of open-door scenes. I feel this would have worked better as a novella, as there didn't seem to be enough story to support the longer page count; my mind started to want to drift off from the story as Becca and Harrison bemoaned their issues in their own heads one too many times, and their conversations, while cute and sweet in some places, tended to rinse and repeat. If you're looking for something that won't heat up your emotions too hard one way or the other and has snow and open door scenes, this could be your seasonal pick.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Sir Edward Chenowyth was laid out in the middle of the orchard beneath a verdant canopy, with lace-like bits of sunlight breaking through the leaves casting a pattern on the ground below. At first blush one might assume the fellow had fallen asleep watching the wind play in the leaves above, were not his body contorted in a peculiar serpentine position. Or were his face not ripped beyond recognition.

As with any good Gothic, a dark and broody manor Penryth Hall resides in the Cornish countryside where the village citizens believe in curses and our intrepid heroine, Ruby, gets mixed up in a murder mystery told all from her point-of-view. Ruby's been to this Hall before and had made a promise to never return, her former bestfriend and intimate partner Tamsyn lives there, with her husband. After feeling betrayed by Tamsyn and turning her back on the life Ruby thought she'd live with her, Tamsyn married a baron. However, the fatherly figure, Mr. Owen, who has taken Ruby under his wing, has a trunk of books for Ruby to deliver to that area. After ignoring a letter from Tamsyn, begging Ruby to help her, Ruby decides this is fate telling her to check in on Tamsyn.

“Ruan, I need to know something.” “What?” “Are you or aren’t you a witch?”

After “meeting” Ruby, learning her trauma that she still holds from being a nurse in WWI (it's 1922), the murder mystery gets going fairly quickly. When Ruby agrees to deliver the books to a Mr. Kivell, she's in the Cornish countryside within a few chapters. There, fate seems to have her meeting Mr. Kivell, first name Ruan, in a fated way and within the first night of her checking in on her former friend Tamsyn, the baron is found murdered. Again, as with any good Gothic, the question of whether it is human or paranormal forces at work is swirled around. Ruan is the countryside's Pellar (a good witch), and with Ruby being an American, she instantly has friction with Ruan and everyone's thinking that it's the “Curse”. The family Tamsyn married into is said to be cursed by a witch because of the baron's ancestor falling in love with the wrong girl, and the baron's uncle and aunt were previously murdered, actually allowing him to inherit. Ruby doesn't have the best reputation, she was sent over from America by her family because of a scandal (she was caught with a married man) and this embittered her in ways. Then when the war started, she volunteered and was put on the Western Front and the death and destruction had her viewing life and priorities differently, along with falling in love with Tamsyn and to only feel betrayed by the decisions Tamsyn then made. So, when the townspeople think the curse has returned, they see Ruby as the possible witch who brought it back.

The woman pointed a finger at me. “She will destroy you. Take everything from you until you have returned to the earth from which you were born. Leave the morvoren-born behind, Pellar. She can bring you nothing but death.”

This has Ruby put in many almost death situations, Ruan has to save her from a stoning, enough dangerous situations that my American butt would have noped out very quickly but Ruby still has emotional ties to Tamsyn and she promised she'd stay to figure out the murder mystery to protect Tamsyn and Tamsyn's son. With Ruan being the Pellar and the most trusted in the area, this has them then working together to figure out who killed the baron. There's credible red-herrings all over the place and the middle did start to drag for me a little bit as one too many avenues started to appear on the way to solving the murder. There's also a little romance with the pushing tension turning into pull between Ruby and Ruan.

“I have a feeling about you. And I can’t say whether I hope or fear that I’m right.”

I read this with the mindset that it was a standalone and I think that wound up affecting my rating, this clearly is setting up to be a series, at least I hope so because the ending leaves numerous threads dangling. The focused on murder mystery here is solved but Ruby and Ruan's connection is obviously not done being explored and the epilogue seems to set-up Ruby to go on another adventure. The mystery was a bit too dragged out with one too many redherrings and their side stories, the edging in of paranormal was just about right with Ruan being a pellar and his Sookie Stackhouse ability, the underneath light romance was dashed enough in to call it a thread, and the main heroine Ruby had enough facets in her personality to draw me in and make me interested in her as a reader. I liked this, but with thinking the story was going to be contained in one book, wanted things to be more snappy. If you're willing to settle in for some meandering and can handle not all being explained, the setting and atmosphere in this was Gothic fun.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

The ranch had been in their family for four generations.

The Cowboy Whisperer is second in the Rancho Lindo series, it's about a family run ranch with five brothers who are trying to keep it going in the face of financial troubles. You could start here, the first book introduces everybody, but this does a good job of not overwhelming but relaying the foundation for the family dynamics and setting. There is a continued storyline dealing with the father and his cancer diagnosis and treatment. This book spotlights Tomás, the ranch's stable master and the one everyone is worried about since his fiancee broke off their engagement eight years ago and he hasn't dated since. When his brother Cruz, who's the main one in charge, tells him they're going to have a guest on the ranch for three months, an equestrian jumper training for the Olympics, Tomás is less than thrilled.

Maybe Rancho Lindo wasn’t up to her standards. But Veronica del Valle was going to find out soon that not everything in this world was about her.

Veronica's mother was an equestrian jumper and when she died from cancer when Veronica was sixteen, she made a promise that she would compete in the Olympics in her mother's memory someday. Three years ago, Veronica fell during a jump, the physical and mental recovery had her isolating at her family's home in Guadalajara and had rumors spreading about her as the video of her fall went viral. Now, with some pressure from her father, she is ready to try again. Rancho Lindo isn't up to her standards but the stable master is giving her better advice than her trainer. She's also starting to see that she may not always know better and the initial dislike she had with Tomás is turning into something much different.

In that moment, Tomás wasn’t sure exactly what it was. But his gut told him that he was starting to see the real Veronica. And he liked her.

I thought the beginning of this started off with great possibility but the first half's pace, kept the story slow enough that I started to itch for something to happen. Around thirty percent Veronica and Tomás start to thaw to each other, as they talk and learn about one another. Veronica's not just the rich princess Tomás thought she was and he's not just the rude and grumpy stable master she thought him to be. There's some strain with Veronica and her new trainer, she has over the phone conversations with her sister that she seems to be close too and Tomás has the family drama to deal with, the stress of the ranch needing more money and then his ex-fiancée coming to town to celebrate her parents' anniversary. Tomás says, and it feels like, he's over his ex but when she calls him and tells him she's engaged and bringing the fiancé to the party, he finds himself lying that he has a girlfriend to stop any pity she might have towards him.

They might be on a pretend date tonight, but Veronica was starting to have real feelings.

A little over midway, the fake dating kind of happens, I say kind of because while the trope appears in the story, it didn't really feel a big part of it. Veronica sort of steam rolls in and introduces herself as Tomás' girlfriend, even when they had a previous conversation where Tomás said he didn't really feel comfortable lying to his ex and subsequently his parents and abuelita. Tomás then feels he's obligated to help Veronica with her training, even when he turned it down before because he didn't like that she wanted to keep it a secret that he was helping her. They spend a little more time together, go on a date with his ex, her fiancé, and his brother with his girlfriend (book one) and dance, which was just about the only time I felt these two had a romance connection. There's a picnic scene where we get a kiss (this was very closed door) and around eighty percent, Tomás is saying he wants this fake dating relationship to be for real because he loves her.

Then she remembered that she was Veronica del Valle and she never gave up without a fight.

I can't really say I bought into or felt the romance between these two and the slower first half and then the latter second half that had a rush of things happening with dealing with issues, Veronica's equestrian career and Tomás' fear of how it could ruin anything between them as it echoes how his ex left and he needs to stay on the ranch, made the story feel so uneven. Tomás' character also felt a little uneven to me, he seemed more stoic grumpy in the first half and then really disappeared in the second half with more of a paper doll getting moved from here to there. The romance wasn't as developed as I like and overall, the story fell off to feeling uninspired. I do really enjoy the setting of a family ranch, so I'm hoping the next brother's romance delivers on some sparks.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

She disliked the holidays anyway and she especially disliked being here, filled with memories and ghosts and regret.

After she receives a text that just says “Help” from her younger sister, Natalie knows she needs to go back home. McKenna has been put on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy and with an aunt that is recovering from a leg injury, Natalie is needed to help McKenna with her two little girls and the family's business, the Shelter Inn. Ever since Natalie's mom and older brother died and their father abandoned them, Natalie has been a nomad traveling the world, finding it too painful to be at home with all the memories. Now, this Christmas season, she's going to have to confront those painful feelings and the growing ones for her brother's bestfriend who keeps finding ways to rescue her.

If she wasn’t careful, she might find herself falling head over heels for Griffin.

Christmas at Shelter Inn was a story that definitely delivered the festive atmosphere but it also definitely dropped trauma after trauma; I'm talking the old tv show Party of Five trauma levels. Any and all content and trigger warnings for what felt more like book club fiction (if your book club is full of holiday masochists) than romance. Natalie left home because of a painful childhood of having her mother die of breast cancer when she was sixteen, having her father take off to Alaska because of his grief and basically abandoning his three kids to their mother's aunt, and an older brother that became an alcoholic because of his grief and ultimately died in an avalanche. If you're not satisfied with that barrel of laughs, the love interest for Natalie, Griffin, is semi-shunned in town because his alcoholic father killed not only himself but four teens in a drunk driver incident and is divorced after he and his ex-wife went through the death of their baby being stillborn.

She laughed and he thought how lovely she was, there in the wintry moonlight.

So, yes, these two have a lot of baggage and emotional trauma to work through but Natalie gets the load of page time with Griffin's side not really coming in until the latter half of the story. Weaved around all these trauma issues are elements of that festive atmosphere I mentioned, shopping at a Christmas Market, watching a choir sing carols, snowy walks, the joy of putting up inflatable decorations, and hot chocolate and cookies. It was cozy atmosphere with holy god that's traumatic, especially when you add in the fear of miscarriage because her sister experienced two prior ones, Natalie thinking her sister's husband is wanting to abandon his family, Natalie's friendship issues with Griffin's younger sister who also dated her deceased older brother, and then Natalie's father showing back up to spend Christmas with them.

He looked down at her, his blue eyes suddenly warm. For one glittery, breathless moment, he looked as if he wanted to kiss her. He might have even leaned down slightly before he seemed to check the movement and step away.

I found the romance to be fairly weak without much depth, as the focus was more on Natalie's issues. Around the midway point, they kiss (only a few kisses for steam here) but Natalie doesn't see a reason to invest in the relationship because she can't wait to leave home and the pain it causes her to be here. Griffin does have povs but they're mostly him thinking about how to put a stop to his grandma trying to set him up with Natalie but also thinking he's attracted to Natalie. The second half becomes Natalie coming to terms with the past (catching her father kiss someone that threw her and me into a tailspin) and accepting that she has feelings for Griffin. The last fifteen percent has both saying they love each other but I can't say I bought into it, there was no real building blocks for their relationship.

People did change, she thought as they returned to the party. Maybe she had changed. Maybe the perfect life she had created for herself no longer met her needs as it once had. Maybe, just maybe, she was ready for something else—if she could find the courage to reach for it.

Along with the ending I love you, there's a snowstorm that creates some havoc, a situation that leads to our doctor Griffin being able to finally work through his pain of losing his child, and an epilogue that shows a future happily ever after. The romance felt a distance second place to the issues Natalie had to work through and there wasn't enough depth to the main couple's relationship for me. However, if you're looking for the combo of festive atmosphere and trauma (they could be out there!) consider this the snow globe of trauma you'd want to be in.