Book Review – Soldier of Love

15 Friday Apr 2016

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Allie Boniface, Book Review, Hometown Heroes series, Soldier of Love

Soldier of Love

Hometown Heroes series

by Allie Boniface

Welcome back to Lindsey Point…

Franny Thompson has owned a bed and breakfast in Lindsey Point for the last five years, ever since a family tragedy left her broken. Running The Hideaway has been good therapy, but this thirty-year old doesn’t have the slightest idea about dating, fashion, or men. When a lonely soldier comes to town in need of a place to live, she offers him an empty room to rent, never dreaming he’s about to change her world.

Heath Garrick has spent the last 17 years as an active duty solider, but when he retires from the Army, he finds himself plagued by PTSD and no place to call home, until he moves to Lindsey Point and Franny offers him a room. Franny is quirky and naive, everything he’s never wanted in a woman – and everything he might just need.

As Franny and Heath find comfort in each other’s friendship, a powerful attraction develops. But when a national magazine chooses The Hideaway for a makeover, they are thrust into the spotlight. For Franny, it’s a dream come true. For Heath, it’s the worst kind of trouble. Can two lonely souls help each other find love and hope again, or are some battle scars too deep ever to heal?

I do wonder if I would have a little more of an attachment to Franny if I’d read other stories in the series. I get that she didn’t have the usual upbringing and she dealt with a lot of tragedy at an early age, but I think there are some things that I didn’t quite pick up on. She didn’t have anyone help her with how to be a normal teenage girl – clothes, grooming, boys. And she’s spent a few years keeping to herself, but she does have friends and she seems very well grounded. I think that is some of the appeal for Heath. She’s got a maturity and understanding of people but she’s good on her own as well.

My heart just breaks for Heath. Besides everything that he went through at war, he’s also had some trouble in his personal life. He’s trying to find someplace where he’s comfortable and can just be and luckily he runs into Franny. The wisdom her trouble has caused her, along with her sweet heart, does something to help him. Unfortunately he’s not going to completely heal but she does allow him to find space to evaluate.

Which brings me to my only complaint – there was a lot of talk about Heath needing professional help but even in the epilogue they don’t talk about him actually getting any. The man definitely has issues, even he recognizes it, and with everything he goes through I would expect him to realize that he needs to see someone. Overall it is my only issue and the rest of the story is very satisfying, so I’ll be keeping an eye on what comes next.

Book Review – Taming the Country Star

21 Saturday Jun 2014

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Book Review, Hometown Heroes series, Margo Bond Collins, Taming the Country Star

He’ll do anything to win her heart. She’ll do anything to keep him away.

Country star Cole Grayson is in town, and Kylie Andrews is less than thrilled. As if months of changing the radio station and tearing down his posters weren’t bad enough, now she has to deal with a town of fans swarming toward the man who deceived her the year before. But when Kylie’s eyes meet Cole’s again, she can’t deny the electric chemistry that drew her to him the first time around.

Cole Grayson is on a mission. Ever since Kylie left him, he hasn’t been able to forget her sweet country smile. After writing a song just for her, he sets off for her hometown to prove he’s not the player she thinks he is. But as much as Cole can’t forget her, Kylie wonders if she can forgive him…

Kylie’s reaction to Cole’s fame (and her reluctance to get involved with him) are totally understandable. Her family was torn apart and it could easily be blamed on her dad’s status as a rodeo star. Or he could have just been one of those people who couldn’t commit. I do wish we’d gotten a bit more about that history and what happened after he left the family. You get the idea that there may have been more involved in the dynamic between her parents but it isn’t really explained in depth. Instead we focus on her and Cole, who are fantastic together, but since it does play a big part in her reaction to his fame I think that a little more detail might have helped.

Otherwise the book is great and Cole and Kylie together worked for me. Cole is very level-headed for someone so much in the public eye. He cares about the people he’s close to and works hard to woo Kylie back. He’s smart, sexy and dedicated. He’s already got his heart set on winning Kylie back and watching them try to date is a lot of fun. Cole is dedicated to figuring out a way to make a relationship between them work and it says a lot about his feelings. The ending is sweet and worked well with the rest of the story. I loved watching these two get over their issues and move to their own happy ending.

Novella length, Taming the Country Star is another one that does a good job of being complete even in just around 100 pages. I love that because when I get really involved in a story I don’t want to put it down and this lets me read it quickly and still feel satisfied at the end. And this one definitely sucked me in and kept me turning pages to get to the HEA.

(I’ve seen some complaints online because this is in Entangled’s Bliss line and therefore all the sex scenes should be behind closed doors, but this one isn’t. Personally I don’t care – as long as the romance is good, you can be as detailed (or not) as you want. However I know that some people want a “clean” romance and they might be expecting something different from this line. I know that my copy came with a disclaimer but I want to add an extra warning here just in case.)

Guest Post – Naughty and Nice

20 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest

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Hometown Heroes series, Making Waves, Margo Bond Collins, Ophelia London, Perfect Kisses series, Taming the Country Star

Today we welcome Justine from Making Waves and Kylie from Taming the Country Star as they share their idea of a perfect date. (Make sure you come back tomorrow when I share my review of Taming the Country Star.)

*****

Making Waves

Justine’s perfect dream date

Justine loves the water. If it’s the weekend or her day off, you’ll most likely find her at the beach or the pool. Recently, she’s fallen in love with Hawaii. For a dream date, it would be kind of amazing if her dream guy (for the sake of argument, let’s go ahead and call him Will) surprised her with a weekend trip to the Islands. He’d have a convertible waiting at the airport and—after a quick “lei”—they’d drive straight to North Shore to hit the big waves. Justine isn’t an accomplished surfer like Will yet, but she’s willing to learn and Will is a very hands-on teacher.

After they’re tuckered out from a morning of surfing, Will takes Justine to his favorite shrimp stand in Haleiwa. For dessert, they have amazing shave ice at Matisumoto’s. Will doesn’t even suggest they share a cone, because he knows Justine will want one of her own. Once they’ve had their fill, Will takes them to a secluded beach only he knows about. The waves are calm so they can just float in the water or play or…whatever other private activity they feel like doing. Once the sun is ready to set, both Will and Justine are ready to take this party indoors. And there’s not a more gorgeous place on Oahu than The Turtle Bay Resort. Being a gentleman, of course Will reserves two rooms. But, come on… Talk about paradise!

Taming the Country Star

Kylie’s perfect dream date

One of the things that Kylie Andrews loves best about living in Fort Worth, Texas, and working in the touristy Stockyards District is that she gets the best of both a big city and a small town. And like most people who work in tourist areas, she doesn’t spend nearly enough time exploring her own city. So her favorite date would involve activities close to home. If she could write up a date itinerary (and she might—she’s pretty organized!), it might look something like this:

Fort Worth Herd Longhorn Cattle Drive in the Stockyards district
A stroll through the Stockyards Museum
Dinner at the Reata Fort Worth, a restaurant serving Southwestern haute cuisine
Dancing at Billy Bob’s Texas

*****

Taming the Country Star

by Margo Bond Collins

Blurb:

He’ll do anything to win her heart. She’ll do anything to keep him away.

Buy Links: Goodreads * Amazon *Barnes & Noble *iTunes * Entangled

Author Info – Margo Bond Collins

Margo Bond Collins currently teaches college English courses online, but writing fiction is her first love. After a decade of moving all around the country (Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta are a few of the places she’s lived), she has settled in her native Texas. Margo lives near Fort Worth with her husband, her daughter, and several very spoiled cats, and she spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them. She currently writes for Entangled Bliss – Website*Blog*Twitter*Facebook * Goodreads

Making Waves

by Ophelia London

Blurb:

She’s in over her head and he’s in hot water…

Visiting her friends Ellie and Charlie in Hawaii was supposed to be a much-needed vacation for journalist Justine Simms. But when she learns the notoriously reclusive pro-surfer Chase Ryder is coming out of retirement for a competition, she knows she’s found the perfect exclusive to save her career. Of course, then she learns he’s the gorgeous, secretly nerdy guy who broke her heart a year ago.

Will Davenport—aka Chase Ryder—doesn’t do interviews. He keeps his real name out of the papers and doesn’t mix his public life with his private. That is, until the still-heartbroken Justine blackmails him into giving her an exclusive. Seeing Justine, stunningly beautiful as ever, brings back all the feelings he had before. But despite their smoldering attraction, nothing has changed since he had to leave her the first time.

Buy Links: Goodreads *Amazon* Barnes & Noble *iTunes *Entangled

Author Info – Ophelia London

Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she’s lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching art-house movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Ophelia is the author of ABBY ROAD; the Perfect Kisses series including: PLAYING AT LOVE, SPEAKING OF LOVE, and FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER, and the new adult DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE. Twitter * Website * Facebook * Goodreads

*****

Entangled Bliss:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlissImprint

Twitter: @RomanceIsBliss

Steals and Deals

*****

Giveaway:

$20 Amazon gift card from Margo Bond Collins

iPod Shuffle with the Making Waves playlist from Ophelia London

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1cb554383/

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