The Ones who Got Away by Roni Loren

REVIEWED BY

Micky Barnard

The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THE ONES WHO GOT AWAY has the makings of an excellent series. Book one, of the same name, builds some of the background but focuses in on Liv and Finn. The characters, both main and side are survivors of a high school trauma and remain affected into their 30s.

The book started off with an intense bang and slowly but surely lost a bit of traction, leaving a lull. I have still rated it four stars because by 40% it had grabbed by attention fully. The story built and built to an emotional and impactful ending.

Finn and Liv have a second chance story to tell and it was believable. I found their feelings for one another powerful and feverish which fit with their traumatic past. Both characters were well developed and I liked them. Finn, in particular, made for some serious hero swoon. That cover, well let’s just say that’s brought to life. The side characters of Rebecca, Kincaid and Taryn have me intrigued from their stories.

So, I guess I wanted this to blow me away following the beginning but I did really like it. I think some of the background to build the series might have impeded the flow but I’ll be reading the next in the series and generally checking out Roni Loren’s other books.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through netgalley in return for a honest review.

Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.

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Sex Not Love by Vi Keeland

REVIEWED BY 

Becky Cox 

Sex, Not Love by Vi Keeland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hunter Delucia is the ultimate book boyfriend. Attentive, caring, sweet with a dirty dirty mouth. Dirty talking that he lives up to I might add.

Natalie has struggled to have her career that she loves and with a crappy ex-husband that left her with a teenage step-daughter to raise it's impressive that she is handling it all so well. She has always liked the good looking bad boys but this most recent experience has her swearing off the good looking charmers and dating the "nice" guys.

Natalie and Hunter have ridiculous chemistry, so after him chasing her for over a year, they finally come to terms for a short term "Sex, Not Love" agreement. What could go wrong.

I love Keeland's storytelling style. She sucks me in every time. Tons of witty banter, which I love. I am half leaving my husband for Hunter now. He has enough bad boy to get my attention and a caring side which reeled me right in.

While there is plenty of comedy and melt the pages sexy time, Keeland touches on a real life condition that added depth to the story. Thanks for another great read Vi!

I was gifted a copy for an honest review.

Reviewed by Becky for JoandIsaLoveBooks

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Deadly Summer by Denise Grover-Swank

REVIEWED BY

Monique Cashmere 

Deadly Summer by Denise Grover Swank
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you are a lover of mysteries, than this new series by Denise Grover Swank will keep you enthralled until the very end.

I have heard others say that this book is a good mixture of DGS’s other two mystery series, and while I can see it too, I feel it is mainly because the heroine, Summer, has plenty of sass and wit that is synonymous with this author’s brilliant characters. They have such complexities and flaws and growth that you can only fall in love with them. She is very clever in giving us well rounded hero’s too. Nobody is perfect, and characters shouldn’t be either, or they would be totally boring. Even the secondary characters have plenty of mettle and grit. Speaking of grits, not being from the south, I had to look up and get a visual of what Summer was eating with Luke. OMGosh it looked delicious!

Of course being a mystery, I can’t delve too much into the story line without giving away vital plot twists but when Summer finally gets to come home, not everyone is happy to see her. Her reality TV show is causing major upheavals around the town and when she starts finding dead bodies, she decides to use her real PI license to investigate further.

What I love about a Denise Grover Swank novel is you get swept away and taken on a journey that makes you feel apart of the Book. I always get excited when she releases a new one, being a mystery, contemporary romance or rom-rom, she is very talented in all genres. I highly recommend this new series, along with any series she writes.

I am greatful for the early copy which was provided by the author for an honest opinion.
*Reviewed by Monique for JoandIsaLoveBooksBlog.

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Infraction by Rachel Van Dyken

REVIEWED BY

Melinda Lazar 

Infraction by Rachel Van Dyken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Infraction by Rachel Van Dyken

Based on the last book I read by RVD just a few days ago, I was really not looking forward to reading this but thought I'd best get it out of the way. Well color me surprised. I thought this was just great - there was family, there was friendship, there was heat. There were times I laughed and times I cried. A lot.

Infraction features characters we met in Fraternize: the lovable Kinsey and the delectable Miller. We find out what happened in Vegas and now that Kinsey is back home, what will become of them particularly with Kinsey's brother encouraging them to fake-date.

I loved Miller from the previous book and I still love him now. I felt like he got a raw deal previously and I'm thrilled that he got his HEA particularly with someone like Kinsey. She's got such a great personality and while I really felt for her with the way she was treated even though it was with the best of intentions, I think she handled it all as well as she could. I enjoyed this book so much and the bonus? We get two love stories here!

I definitely recommend this and while it can be read as a standalone, I think you're better off to read it after Infraction so you get the full picture of who's who and what's what.

*arc received from publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest review.

**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog.

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Unearthed by Amie Kaufman

REVIEWED BY

Micky Barnard

Unearthed by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the best that this author pairing have written so far and I’m a fan of their previous series. UNEARTHED provided immediate connection with a story that left me clueless, breathless, full of adrenaline and utterly drawn in.

Neither Jules nor Mia should find themselves on the planet of the Undying at the age they are, but both are there illegally on missions of their own importance, passion-filled and wanting to change the direction of their own lives and earth’s. What ensues is a twisty, unexpected tale of a civilisation long-gone that seemed to have intentions for earth to save it from something. This is a story with bandits, criminals, firsts, genius and survival. I felt absolutely on the edge of my seat from start to finish, which is kind of uncomfortable but completely worth it.

Mia was the making of Jules and Jules became the making of Mia, where integrity grew and selfishness diminished. Their friendship and bond might have been over a short period of time together but they experienced so much, I believed their tether. Often side characters are important to me in books, but with UNEARTHED I felt the opposite, Mia and Jules were the focus and all surrounding were supplementary; it worked.

I’m pretty impatient at where I’ve been left, but like the best of books, I can hang on for the kind of quality of writing that isn’t everyday, or every read. Spooner and Kaufman wrote seamlessly together and I am bitten by these worlds they have created. I still don’t know who the goodies and baddies really are!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through netgalley in return for a honest review.

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Thanks

The Wright Secret by K.A. Linde

REVIEWED BY

Becky Cox

The Wright Secret by K.A. Linde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Wright Secret is a brother's best friend romance. It is fun and witty with just enough angst.

This is Morgan's story. She is at the top of her game career wise. She has a fantastic family and great friends. What she doesn't have is romance. Love. She has secretly been in love with her brother's best friend for years...like 10 of them. She never thought he would think of her that way and was deeply worried it would harm her or his friendship with her brother.

Patrick has always like Morgan as Austin's little sister. He has had a few fleeting thoughts of her that weren't very sisterly, but worried over his relationship with Austin and the other Wright brothers killing him, he quickly stowed them away.

K.A. Linde gave me an action packed story that kept me intrigued. A few twists and a bit of angst were woven in peaking my interest. Morgan and Patrick are very explosive together. I enjoyed the twist of the female being the powerhouse character and Patrick being such a patient and supportive partner. And...he makes great mashed potatoes.

The supporting characters were great and well developed. It was nice getting to check in with some of the other Wright family members.

Enjoyed this read and would recommend to all romance readers who love the brother's best friend story and a strong female lead character.

I was gifted a copy for an honest review.

Reviewed by Becky for JoandIsaLoveBooks

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Bear the Burn by T.S. Joyce

REVIEWED BY

Joanne Swinney

Bear the Burn by T.S. Joyce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You know when you start a new series, and you can’t help but keep downloading the next book in the series. By the time you have finished you haven’t written a single review because you are too engrossed in reading the next book on that Authors shelf. Yep, I know J.S Joyce has hundreds of reviews.

If you haven’t picked up a book by this Author yet, you definitely need to take a peek.

Dade Keller is all alpha male and as stubborn as they come. He is fighting the inevitable where Quinn Copeland is concerned. She isn’t what he was expecting at all, but then fate does have a funny way of turning lives upside down even for a shifter.

Quinn is new to the area and hoping to fit in. Her past isn’t something she ever wishes to talk about. She’s so quiet and shy and pretty much keeps to herself.

Secrets always have a way of coming out. The Kellers have been hiding so many for a long time. When a fire breaks out and the fire department arrives at the scene, the public get a birds-eye view of a lot more than they’d ever bargain for.

No matter what happens to this family they will always stick together. This book was another gripping read and I was eager to download the next one.


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