charlottelynn

Dirty Rich Betrayal is the fourth book in this series, which I have not read the first 3 of, but I jumped in and didn’t miss a beat.     Grayson is entirely alpha male.   He is wealthy, he is in charged, and he protects those who mean the most to him which includes Mia.    Mia is everything to him and his biggest rival is out to take him down using her.   

I devoured Grayson and Mia’s story.    While some of the scenes make me blush and the language used isn’t my style I couldn’t put the book down when it came to the drama of the take down, the heat of their love, and the unending devotion to each other.      They are a couple that when apart fails to live their lives but together they flourish and surround each other with so much love and respect that can’t do anything but succeed.  

The secondary characters of the book were great also.   They showed how much they respected each other, trusted each other, and just how true their friendships were.   While some are work friends, some are social friends, there is never a doubt that Grayson and Mia only have friends that they trust and love.    

Juliet Blackwell tells the story of Cady, present time, and the 1900’s in France using a dual timeline format.     While it can sometimes get confusing which time you are reading, Juliet does an amazing job keeping the two storylines separate while weaving them together a little bit at a time.   I liked finding out how Gus, the carousel rabbit, Cady, and the Clements would all come together.   I wasn’t surprised at how it all ended up but I did enjoy seeing how it all worked out.  

Usually, I find myself connecting to a certain character or a certain storyline but with this one  I was thrilled with the descriptions and the characters of the 1900’s.   I am also curious about wartime living and many of the characters were active in the war efforts.       The present storyline was just as amazing.   The food Cady ate, the towns she visited, the carousels she photographed, and the people she met were alive to me.   I could taste, see, and enjoy all that she did.  

I really enjoyed The Lost Carousel of Provence.  I learned about the making of carousels and all the tedious precision work that goes into their making.    There was enough fact that I felt informed but not overwhelmed with facts that I didn’t need or want to know.       Pick up your own copy and travel to Paris, visit the carousels, eat the food, and meet the wonderful characters.  

Charlotte is a character that I can relate to.    If I saw a band member at a coffee shop I would probably not know who they were and would happily offer to pay for their coffee if they didn’t have their wallet without expectations.     Then I would be curious about the person, just because that is the type of person that I am.     I love that Charlotte was clueless, I disliked that Julian didn’t come clean with her right away.  Yet, I understood why he felt he had to protect who he was and keep his identity a secret;   too many people have expectations when they find out that a person has fame and money. 

I have read all the Band on the Run books so far.   Each book is a different band member’s story.   The non-featured band members all make appearances in each other books giving the reader a chance to catch up on the happenings of their lives.   I got to learn about the weddings, the babies, and where their lives are now while learning about a new band member.  

This is a fun series.   You get a glimpse into the life of a successful band and how that success can affect the band members.     It is also a good reminder that while they are celebrities, they are real people with normalish lives also. 

3.5 STARS

I had to keep reminding myself that this was set in 2016.     There were times that I felt like I was back in the dark ages.    I felt like Pearl was 100 years old, not 44 (same age as me), with the way she talked about her babies.  Rush takes place in the South at Ole Miss and I realize there is racism everywhere but it seemed like we were back in the times of segregation.    This is a book that not everyone is going to love.   The talk of racism is not a topic that everyone can handle.   Lisa Patton takes a topic that is not easy and turns it into a story that teaches lessons, opens eyes, and gives a history lesson all in one.

The story is told from many different perspectives.    It is easy to follow and know who is telling their story.   I loved hearing about the college life from different POVs.  Each character had their own opinions and it was interesting to learn how they viewed college, rushing, their families, and the south.     Cali and Ellie are my favorites.    They took what could have been a horrible situation and changed their town, their families, and their college experiences.   

Rush is a book that will empower our youth, open the reader's eyes to changes that must be made in the world, and tell a story that will stay with you.    

Psychological thriller is exactly what this book is.    I was stuck to the edge of my seat while reading word after word, page after page, and chapter after chapter.   I could stop reading.   I won’t give it away but it seems no one is at he/she seems.   Everyone has a secret and until the end of the book, you won’t know who is telling the truth.   

This is a tough review to write only because I want to tell you all about it but The Other Woman needs to be read without knowing the spoilers.    I knew how it would end, I knew that Emily and Adam would figure out how to get past his crazy mother, Pammie would figure out how to accept Emily…everything I knew was not quite what happens.    I have to say that I wasn’t totally wrong but I wasn’t totally right either.   

The Other Woman in one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read and definitely one of the best in 2018.    As a debut author, Sandie Jones is now one of my must-read authors.

I love this book.   I am not new to Melissa Foster and have read all the books in this series so.   With each book I find myself lost in the amazing friendships, the wonderful relationship, and the beautiful settings.     The friendships are so strong and so real that I never doubt that the gals and guys will all grow old together without ever losing sight of each other.    The relationships are dreamlike with the trust, the faith, and the love their share with each other.    

Bayside Heat is the story of Drake and Serena.   They have been friends forever, best friends during the last 4 years that they have worked together, and the attraction between them started from the first day they met.     In any setting they coupled up, not romantically, but sitting together, being on the same team, just being a pair.  The more they are together the more the rest of the group see the attraction, feel the heat, and recognize that they have to be together.    There are a few comments but mostly they let Serena and Blake figure it out on their own.     I love that there was support, a small push, but mostly it was up to the actual couple to figure out how to get together.     

In true Melissa Foster style, Drake goes above and beyond winning Serena over.   He is the most understanding, loving, accepting, and trusting man yet he is an alpha male with a strong opinion that he isn’t afraid to share.   In other words, he is the perfect book boyfriend.   Serena is self-assured, knows what her goals are and is not afraid to go after them.     When she opens her heart to Drake she gives 100% of herself and never considers looking anywhere else.     

Bayside Heat is a friend to lovers romance.    I could not put it down.   Pick up your own copy and beet these wonderful Bayside friends.  

Sweet Heat at Bayside is the perfect book about love, friendship, and family.     Never is there a doubt that these Bayside friends and family will protect, love, and help you with whatever you need.    Most of the time you do not even need to ask, they just do it and instinctively know what is needed at any given time, even if it is to leave a person alone to figure things out themselves.       The heat part of the story is my favorite.  Addison Cole writes a clean and steamy story.    She leaves some of the story to the readers imagination but leads them right to the edge before letting them go.    

While this is part of a series it can be read easily as a stand-alone story.   Each book is its own complete story with the characters from other books just checking in to let the reader know what is going on with them.   The past characters are just as fun to read about as the characters that the book is actually focused it.   You learn about babies, weddings, and anything else that is happening.    

Sweet Heat at Bayside tells the story of Drake and Serena.    They have been friends since childhood, best friends for many years, and have worked together for 4 years.    Circling each other, feeling the heat between them, but never acting on it is how their relationship has been.    The timing just never seemed right to move their relationship to the next level.    Yet, with Serena moving to Boston for a new job it is time for Drake to let his feelings out and oh was it wonderful.   There was no easing into it, no doubt of feelings, and no going slow.    Drake just jumped right in, took what he wanted and Serena loved every minute of it.    

As I am a big Addison Cole fan, I thought I knew what to expect.    She managed to surprise me with how much control Drake kept when it came to pushing Serena in their relationship.    He could have asked her to stay, asked her to move back, and Serena probably would have but he respected her so much that he never did.   He let her spread her wings, find her way, and supported her with each step.  

Pick up this book and the rest of Addison’s books.   They are sweet with heat.   They have amazing friendships and wonderful relationships.

Let Me Lie is a true psychological thriller.     The suspense, the mystery, the secrets all feed into the story keeping the reader guessing as to what will happen next.  There were so many twists and turns that I found myself wanting to skip ahead and see where they were heading.    And oh the lies… so many lies.   Lies on top of lies on top of lies.     Sounds like it could get confusing but it was just the opposite.    They all played into the story perfectly. 

The story is told from multiple points of views.   I loved that one of the points of view was unidentified.   This kept me guessing as who was telling their story without revealing themselves.    From the different voices it was fun to try to tell who was lying, who was telling the truth, and who was telling the story as they knew it whether truthful or not.  

If you are looking for a psychological thriller full of twists and moment that will make you stop and think…Let Me Lie is the book for you.    

I am hooked on the Not Quite series.    This one was like a fairy tale.   Girl works while raising her best friends son, stops to help a stranger during a snow storm, and stranger changes her life.     The catch?   The stranger is her boss and CEO of a private jet company.  

The stranger is Jason Fairchild.   He lives to work.    Until a fateful night when Rachel Price gives him a ride after is Audi swerves into a snow ditch.   Immediately when these two met the reader could feel the attraction.   I knew their story would be interesting, fun, and sexy.    I loved that Jason immediately took into account that Rachel was a mom.    He made plans, dates that included Owen.    He connected with Owen just as quickly as he connected with Rachel.     

Not Quite Crazy is a fun and fast read.   The storyline was enjoyable, quick, and easy to follow.   There was flirting, sexy fun, and family time.   Add in some drama, some family discord, and some scary mom moments and it is the perfect story.      There are twists and turns throughout the story that changes some of the storylines from where I thought they were going to go but the ending was perfect.    I ended with hope for Owen to be happy and a full heart for Rachel to be living life her way with Jason who is going to give her the world.   

I definitely recommend picking up your own copy of Not Quite Crazy.

3.5 stars

What a hoot of a story. Georgie is getting married to Darcy and neither of them has much money. When she is offered the chance to live at a grand estate she jumps at the chance. Little does she know what she is moving into.

The beginning of the book moved a little slow. I wasn’t sure where it was heading and was anxious for it to get there. Maybe because I wasn’t familiar with the characters since this was the first book in this series that I have read I missed out on some of the story but I do not feel that was the case. Anyways, once Georgie moved to the estate the story flew. I was excited to learn what new trouble she would find, what she would do next, and what her housemates a.k.a employees were going to do next.

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding is a great historical fiction. There is plenty of laughs, plenty of fun, and some history. I recommend picking up your own copy.

My Thoughts…

The Whiskey Family is tough, tattooed, and run a biker club.   I love everything about them.     Along with all of that they are true to themselves, have strong family values, and work hard for what they want.    Driving Whiskey Wild is Bullet’s story.     He is fighting so many demons.   PTSD from what he saw and experienced in war is the cause of many of his issues.   Bullet just needs the right woman to help him beat those demons.  

I like that both Bullet and Finlay have experienced life.   They have had rough times and still managed to come out on the otherside.   They are not privileged, they have had to work to earn their way in the world.    They both have reasons for not feeling like they could be loved again.    Together Bullet and Finlay just make sense.   They can understand each other, support each other, and love each other because they are alike in so many ways.   

If you are familiar with Melissa Foster and are looking for a sweet, loving, tender book Driving Whiskey Wild is not it.   This is a hardcore, in your face, tough book.   There are many sweet, loving, and tender moments but there is also a lot of swearing and hard conversations being had.     

AUDIOBOOK NOTE…   Melissa Moran is a newer narrator to me but I am a huge fan of Addison Cole.  With Addison Cole’s words and Melissa Moran’s voice this is the perfect audiobook.    I could feel the story coming to life as I listened.   The characters were real and their emotions came through in the words. 

Sweet with Heat is the perfect description for this book.    Jenna is hooked, for many many years on Pete.    Pete is hooked on Jenna for just as long.    Why haven’t they got together???    Jenna gets shy around Pete leaving him to believe he just might be too much for Jenna to handle.    That sentence cannot be farther from the truth.    They belong together. No doubts.  No questions.  

I loved how Jenna went after a construction worker to make Pete jealous.   That construction worker ended up being sweet, attentive, smart, and almost perfect for Jenna.  The only problem with Charlie is that he wasn’t Pete.    For anyone else he would have been the perfect man.    I liked that Addison Cole did not make Charlie a hunky, brainless, boring guy.   She made him a guy that would be perfect for the Seaside Girls.     All of that being said, I LOVE Pete’s reaction. 

Both Jenna and Pete have known each other for what seems like forever yet there are things that they still have to learn about each other.     Pete’s dad is a functioning alcoholic and he has been keeping that a secret from almost everyone.     Opening up about that to Jenna was a tough scene, which was handled with so much care that I had no doubt that together Jenna and Pete could find the answer to save Pete’s dad and not make it an issue in their relationship.      Jenna’s mom is also a “problem” but more like an embarrassment to Jenna.    Jenna is worried that her mom will show up and embarrass her in front of Pete and the Seaside crew.      By the end of the story I had no worries that they could handle anything thrown at them.

While each book in this series is a standalone story, it is fun to see the characters from previous books make appearance and catch up with what is happening in their lives.    The next book is Amy’s story with Tony and I can’t wait!

AUDIOBOOK NOTE...What an amazing narrator… BJ Harrison is wonderful. He has a great cadence in his voice, a perfect tone, and wonderful feelings with his words. He tells that story of Addison and Jake perfectly. He takes Melissa Foster’s words and makes them come to life. While listening to the story I feel the characters come to life, their stories become realistic, and leave me wanting for so much more.

Addison and Jake are one-night stand pros, no feelings involved, no worries about the next day. That is until they hook up together. After circling each other with innuendos for months it finally happens and it is more than they ever expect. The “rules” are broken and everything changes for them.

I am not big on one night stands but it seems to work for them. I enjoyed the circling of these two and it was impossible not to feel the sparks between the two of them well before they hooked up. The heat and attraction was amazing,

The main characters of The Child are all intriguing.    There is Kate the reporter following up on a story of a baby’s remains found buried during a construction dig.    Angela is the mother of a baby that was kidnapped from the hospital just hours after her birth and has never had closure.   Emma is a surprise POV; she lived at the location that the baby remains were found.     I found it interesting how different their lives were yet together the stories all came together perfectly.

There were secrets, intrigue, and surprises that I never saw coming.   The mystery was not hard to solve but with each different twist and turn I learned more about the various characters.    I was invested in Kate getting her story, Angela getting her closure, and Emma coming to terms with her teenage years.   There is so much more to this story than meets the eyes.  

The ending was the surprise.    The Child is certainly a psychological thriller that kept me on my toes.    I could not put the book down.  

Nick is a hero.   Not because he is a Detective in the police department but because he is willing to donate his marrow to a little boy that he doesn’t even know.   Well, maybe he doesn’t know them but there is a very good reason that his marrow is a match to this boy.      I love this twist.   Sure, I knew it was coming.   It wasn’t a surprise but it was perfect.  The fact that he ends up related to the boy only endears him to me even more.   With all the drama, and oh was there drama, surrounding the fact that he is a long lost Harrison he never lets it get between the real reason that he is in New York.   

Then he meets Amanda.    Everything he thought he knew about love gets twisted around.    She pushes, she pulls, and she retreats in reaction to his tough, alpha exterior.    But she is perfect for him.    If only they would both open their eyes are realize it.    They both need to get over themselves and open their hearts to a love so perfect that it would be so sad to not accept it.  

It Might Be You is a love story.   There is romance, there is heat, there is love but it is also a family story.   A story of finding a piece of yourself that you didn’t know was missing, a story of finding out the truth about yourself, and a story of opening your heart to love.    

This is a story that is perfect with a mug of hot cocoa and cuddled under a warm blanket.