Merry Christmas!

 

Beg, Borrow or Steal by Susie Tate

 

  Beg, Borrow or Steal by Susie Tate

Jamie is proud of everything he’s achieved. A consultant anaesthetist and the Medical Education Director – he’s a pretty big deal. So when one of his medical students falls asleep, right in the middle of a tutorial, he is furious. He’s a bloody good teacher, damn it!

Maybe he could have been a little more understanding. Maybe he didn’t have to try and humiliate her. But the shock of how beautiful this particular student was when she finally opened her eyes, and his inappropriate reaction, only fuelled his anger. He’s tired of lame excuses from wild party animals burning the candle at both ends, and he’s going to make an example of this one.

For Libby, pride is a luxury and beauty is currency. Pregnant at seventeen and an aspiring doctor, she couldn’t afford to be proud, so she cashed in on her looks instead. She will beg, borrow or steal to achieve her dreams and give her daughter the life she deserves, even if she has to forgo sleep – even if she has to leave her dignity behind. Only now that she’s not just sitting in lecture theatres like her first two years of medical school, now that she’s working in a real hospital, Libby is realizing that the thread she’s been hanging onto for so long may be about to snap. The last thing she needs is to have riled the gorgeous, judgmental Head of Medical Education. But there’s only so far you can push yourself, only so much pressure you can be under until you break. Libby’s been on that cliff edge for a while; her health may just tip her over.

A kick in the shin from a four-year-old girl and a confrontation with her tearful, exhausted mother soon forces Jamie to see what a bastard he’s been. Libby may not accept his help, but he’s relentless when he wants something, and it’s not long before he realizes that this mother and daughter belong with him. So when a stag night he’s on ends up in the best strip club in England and he sees who the main attraction is, his reaction is explosive.

Despite everything, Libby finds she still has some pride left. This man has made her feel small twice now. He won’t be getting a third shot. No matter how gorgeous he is, no matter how persistent …

This book is a full-length contemporary romance of approximately 90,000 words with no cliffhanger and its own HEA. 

 

 Review

My first book by Susie Tate and I fell in love with Jamie, Libby, and Rosie right from the start. Libby's stubbornness made me roll my eyes once or twice but I loved to see how they figured out their life together, how they learned to understand each other's choices, and, of course, the way they included everyone around them. Millie especially holds a very special place in my heart and Rosie made me snort and laugh out loud numerous times.

I really enjoyed reading this sweet and funny book and can't wait to learn more abouther best friend Kira in "Limits". 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hard Love by Sara Nwy

 

 Hard Love by Sara Ney

 

Blurb

  “HARD TO LOVE.”  

 

Hard head. Bad attitude. Terrible boyfriend. That’s what my exes have said about me—but I wasn’t serious about any of them, so what do I care what rumors they spread? What I need is to be left alone; by the press, by the paparazzi, and by women.  Too bad I’m about to be surrounded by them for the weekend. My obnoxious, matchmaking brother is getting married, and he’s doing his damndest to find me a wedding date… 

 

 “HARD TO FIND.”  

 

That’s what they say about good men—they’re hard to find. Not that when I find one, I’ll be the type he’s looking for; too nice, too ordinary, too boring.  My cousin is getting married, and her fiancé insists on throwing me at his brother. Cold, uncaring professional football player Tripp Wallace would never look twice at a woman like me. Too bad for both of us, I was wrong…

 

 

Review

I must admit that I had a hard time with this book. It got much better towards the end which saved it but for almost half of the book I really didn't like Tripp.

Sure, some of his antics made me smile but on the whole, he simply behaved like an a... Chandler was nice. And boring. And it took her some time to find her backbone and stand up for herself. So... Well.
She didn't impress me that much either.

All in all the book was fine but I Iike the first books in the series much better.

 🌟🌟🌟

 

Revved to the Maxx by Melanie Moreland

Revved to the Maxx

A new standalone from bestselling author 

Melanie Moreland 

Maxx Reynolds needs help.

His shop, house, and life are all in a state of disarray.

In desperation, he turns to the internet to hire a new employee, 

thinking it will make his life easier

What he expects is a fellow named Charly.

What he gets is a quirky, sassy, red-head named

Charlynn who runs circles around him.

And she’s all woman.

He can’t stand her.

He can’t keep his hands off her either.

Review

 Oh my gosh, this book was just what I needed! It's the "keep me up till early morning, grab again the moment you wake up" kind of book that leaves you with a feeling of complete and utter rightness.

"Grumpy" meets "sweet and capable" in this amazing story and I just couldn't stop reading because I absolutely had to know what happened next. I enjoyed the banter, the flirtations, the grumpiness and - oh, these sparks!

Reading on while Charly conquered Maxx and all those around her one wrench and list at a time while slowly worming her way into Maxx's heart no matter how much he fights it, I feel deeply in love with these characters and those around them. This is definitely a keeper that I'll love to read again and again. 

★★★★★

Audiobook / The Winter King (A Faeted Mates Omnibus) by Ariel Hunter

The Winter King (A Faeted Mates Omnibus) by Ariel Hunter

narrated by Amber Lee Connors and Kieran Flitton

A bounty hunter down on her luck.
A fae king looking for a reason to live.
A mate bond neither can deny.

Mara Wylde is a small-time bounty hunter who just can’t seem to catch a break no matter how hard she tries. Her rent’s two months overdue. Her antiques shop is failing. She’s eaten ramen five nights in a row now and is desperate for a way out of debt.

When Mara’s offered a hundred grand to nab a high fae right out of Faerie, she knows she can’t turn down the job no matter the risks.

Even if it means catching the eye of the elusive Winter King.

Tortured by his past and not-wanting to rule anymore, Vareck Blackthorne is ready to cede his crown and journey to the nether to escape his torment. Minutes from delivering this news to all of Faerie, he sees her—a fae woman with hair like the dawn and eyes that remind him of summer. A summer that has been gone for centuries.

After six hundred years of suffering he’s finally found her—his fated mate.

The only problem?

She has no idea.

THE WINTER KING is the first FAETED MATES Omnibus that includes the entirety of Mara and Vareck’s story. It was initially released in three installments, titled: Hunted by the Winter King, Taken from the Winter King, and Taming the Winter King. This is a fast-paced, hot paranormal romance series with dominant fae males and their sassy, spitfire women. Beware of cursing and steamy scenes. This is an ADULT series.

Review

Despite the good narration, it took me some time to finish listening to this book. On the whole, it was a good story and the narration was really well done. When I started to listen to it, it was interesting and captivated me but I felt myself getting distracted every now and then because the story lost a bit of its momentum.

There were some inconsistencies and some parts where I wanted to get to the heart of it and just get on with the action but all in all I enjoyed listening to these books.

The only thing really annoyed me though, ... Treating someone like THAT and justifying it with your feelings for her and that you just know that she is your mate...? Nope. That is unacceptable no matter how accepting the heroine is and how much the hero considers this behavior as normal. It's not normal in my book and I don't feel right about it.

Apart from that though, the books were nice and quick stories to listen to.

In this case, the audiobook gets four stars and the story itself 3 so...

★★★★

The Culling Trials 3 (Shadowspell Academy, #3) by K.F. Breene and Shannon Mayer

 The Culling Trials 3 (Shadowspell Academy, #3) 

by K.F. Breene and Shannon Mayer

 Blurb

 You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

The last of the Culling Trials is here. I foolishly thought I’d survived the worst.

My team is falling to pieces around me and my heart is shattered for the losses I’ve endured. But I can’t stop when I’m so close to the end. There are too many people depending on me.

I foolishly thought there wasn’t much more I could lose…until the nature of my bloodline comes to light.

I’m not what I thought I was. Not what anyone thought I was.
But to tell people the truth would be to kill us all.

To fail the trials will mean death, but to succeed might damn me for life.

Even though I binged this whole series since yesterday and couldn't put it down, the series and especially this book left me rather unsatisfied. Yes, the story was intense and gripping but at the same time, it lacked some depth. I couldn't fully relate to the characters despite the fact that I really liked them and waited impatiently to learn more about them and to get more emotionally involved. Alas, I never did.

And then, finally, the big show-down, amazing scenes, fights, everything that I wished for...and then it was over and I was left with a bunch of unanswered questions, our great crew torn apart after everything they went through ...nope, no spoilers here...you have to find out yourself what happened...and I just sat back and thought something intelligent like..."Huh?"

All those wonderful questions about the main villain and his role, about Rory, about Wild and those that are out to kill her and who already killed her brother and then it turns out that these first trilogy doesn't even answer these questions but solves a problem that feels a bit, well, constructed. Yes, I can see why they introduced these characters but it feels as if everything is stretched faaaaaaaar.....just to fill these books. I can't find anything about the number of trilogies that they plan to add but I must admit that I won't read them, at least not until they are done with the whole series. This is frustrating. There is so much potential but at the moment it feels as if there are too many plots and none of them is really fleshed out.
The blurbs of books 1 and 2 mention that these books end on a cliffhanger, I was fine with that as the third book was already out and I thought that that would give me all the answers. Well, it didn't.  And I really don't know how I feel about that. I had a hard time deciding how to rate this book. It is a very weak 3.5 star-read now ...

~3.5~

 ★★★★

Quarter Miles (Runaway, #3) by Devney Perry

Quarter Miles by Devney Perry

 Katherine Gates has been in love with Cash Greer since the moment he saved her life from a runaway goat. According to Cash, she’s the little sister he never had, the greatest roommate in the world and his favorite coworker. They’re friends—best friends.

In the dark days of her youth, it was her friendships that kept her alive and made life in a junkyard worth living. So she’s learned to shove her feelings for Cash down deep, even if that means ignoring eyes that shine brighter than the Montana summer sun and the smile that illuminates the snowiest winter day.

Except with every passing year, the denial takes its toll on her wounded heart until one day Katherine decides to take an impulsive road trip to the Oregon coast. Alone. That is, until Cash cons his way into the passenger seat.

The farther they travel, the harder it is to pretend. And when she confesses her feelings, she learns that Cash has some secrets of his own. Secrets that will either bond them together.Or rip them apart.

I love Devney Perry's other books so it didn't really come as a surprise when I started to read Runaway Road, the first book in this series and was hooked. These books are just so good, captivating me and keeping me glued to my reader from the first page on, I love it!

The idea of the red Cadillac acting like some kind of baton being passed from one of these old friends to the next bringing them much needed change and love is intriguing. That this includes road trips and in the case of Katherine and Cash also the journey from best friends to lovers, well, that simply makes it perfect!

When Katherine tries to take a much needed vacation that is supposed to help her get over her feelings for Cash...okay, she honestly didn't expect him to jump on the chance to get on the road with her, let alone somehow manipulating her to take him with her...
I loved to see how those two finally figured out their feelings for each other and, of course, I also loved to learn more about our five friends from the junkyard.

Heartwarming and captivating, this book is another one that I'll definitely read again - and now I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out!

 ★★★★