A Lot Like Love

Review:

Jordan happens to be the daughter of a rich man and the sister of someone who did something stupid and is paying for it. Jordan also happens to be fucking awesome all by herself. She's a successful business woman, owning her business, a popular wine store. She knows knows everything about wine.
Nick, is an undercover FBI agent who has worked one undercover job after another. He doesn't "do" relationships. He lives her the job.
You know where this is going! See, the FBI needs her for her connection to someone. She can get the FBI in, so they can get the evidence they need to take this person down. Nick becomes Jordan's fake BF. Things happen and their fake "date" has to become more. 
I enjoyed this one so much. I loved the banter between Nick and Jordan, Nick and his family, Jordan and her family. In fact, I enjoyed this so much, I wasn't ready to say goodbye at the end of the book. An epilogue would have been nice:-) Nick has his preconceived notions of who Jordan is based strictly on the fact she has money (or in this case stands to inherit $$). Jordan quickly proves him wrong. I liked how this progressed from not-quite enemies to an admiration to lovers. 
One of the only things I didn't like about this book was how most women were struck dumb by Kyle's attractiveness. Really?! It's also a little dated with the "Lost" references (Kyle looks like Sawyer).

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1616018/a-lot-like-love

Shoulda Been a Cowboy

Review:

Jake was the resident "bad" boy in Copper Ridge, Oregon. Cassie, a "good" girl, had a huge crush on him and tutored him in math. Before she worked up the nerve to tell him how she felt, he left town abruptly. Cassie made some bad decisions (getting married and not furthering her education) while trying to please her mom. 
Fast forward 15 years later. Jake is back in town, he dad died, leaving him her properties. Cassie is renting one of his properties for her coffee shop. Cassie decides to go after what she wants.....for a change. 
Both have some issues, they talk and work through them. Decently paced, but I thought it was rushed towards the end.

 

 

 

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1615264/shoulda-been-a-cowboy

The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton

Review:

Got this weekend (11/4) at my local library sale. Having heard about Miranda Neville's death, when I saw this, I picked it up. I've never read her and I thought I would remedy that.
Here is her obituary.
Avon's remembrance.

I enjoyed the opening. Celia was being kidnapped and stripped of her clothes. When the kidnapped leaves, she takes initiative and escapes, stumbling over Tarquin. It turns out, the hit on his head gives him amnesia. In the past, he had made a comment about Celia that, in turn, ruined her marriage prospects. So, to get back at him, Celia makes up a story and an identity for him.
I did find it hard to believe that Tarquin, with no title, had the influence he did. Seriously, *one* comment, and everything is ruined?!
I enjoyed the first part of the book (act 1). The road trip (for lack of a better word) across the countryside, their banter and interactions, the who/why was Celia kidnapped, their survival in the wilderness. This was the best part of the book.
Then (act 2), Tarquin remembers who he is. They go to a friend's house. I lost some interest at this point.
I was surprised at how much I liked Tarquin. (Since he is/was an arrogant bastard). Since this isn't a book that would have jumped out at me, I'm glad I read this.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1614502/the-amorous-education-of-celia-seaton

The Highlander Next Door

Review:

Got this this weekend at my local library sale (Nov 4th). Having heard about Janet Chapman's death, when I saw this, I picked it up. I've never read her and thought I should. I think this was the wrong book to start with (detailed below).
Here is her obituary.  I loved that her family mentioned she was on hospice.  

Oopsie, this is book 6 in a series that is a spin-off of another series. So, maybe I would have enjoyed this (a little) more if I had been more involved in this world and characters. So, back to the book.
Niall is originally from somewhere else. Make that a different time. Pretty cool, yeah? He is the Chief of Police. He had moments where I liked him and didn't. My main problems where with the heroine, Birch. And maybe Niall's intelligence in falling for someone like Birch.
Birch's mother has been married 4 times and has made some iffy choices. So, Birch is JADED. To the point she's a BITCH. Yes, in caps, because she is that BAD. I didn't like her, couldn't connect with her, and didn't believe her turn around. No, no, and no.  I didn't like that she ran a battered women's shelter. Wrong career choice there.  

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1614480/the-highlander-next-door

Wrapped Up in You

Review:

Justin hates the holidays: with good reason, someone he was close to was killed right before. So, his colleagues (makes you like em, right?) sign him up to be a Santa for a week. Everything he collects goes to charity.
Lilly is best friends with Justin's sister. Shocker- they have a history and it's not the best one. Lilly was a bit of a bully to Justin when they were younger. To Lilly's credit, she does realize what she did when younger was wrong. 
So, of course they are paired together. Lilly, a reporter doing a story, rides with Justin for a week. I don;t mind stories like this when done well. Each side talks, forgives, is apologetic, and has empathy. I didn't care for this one much, mainly because I didn't like Justin or Lilly. Both had moments where I wanted to slap some sense into them. Lots of angst. I just didn't connect.

eARC courtesy of Entangled Publishing(Lovestruck) and NetGalley
Expected publication: was November 13th (per NetGalley) *this has changed to? (Amazon says Oct 8th, 2018. I had to go back and look at that date, yep, it says 2018). No listing on B&N.
*as of Nov 2, 2017

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1613665/wrapped-up-in-you

The White Lily

In the northern Varis Empire, Friedrich Volya, the Duke of Winter Hill is the one in charge. His uncles are Dominik (the most ruthless of the Queen's sons) and Marius (he married the leader of the rebellion and "betrayed" his family). Friedrich is on the side of the rebellion. Someone in his land is spreading a pamphlet of support for the rebellion and is called "The White Lily." Dominik is on a quest to find and bring down this person. 
Brennalyn has lived in Terrington for the last 3 years. She works as a school teacher, taking in orphans who have no where else to go. She also is an agitator and is actively working for social change. 
I've enjoyed each book in this series. Each is a fairy tale retelling. This one is Snow White. Brenna has 7 orphans (Helena, Emment, Caden, Beatrice, Jack, Denny, and Izzy) that she is mom to. They think of her as mom and I loved Friedrich's reaction to them too. I liked, although it's brief, reading about Arabelle, Marius, Sienna, and Nikolai again after their stories. The underlying story is progressing and I like where this is going. 
No description is out for book 4 (assuming there will be a book 4), but I'm guessing it will be Dragomir Vilhelmina of Arkadia's book, aka Mina. I hope. I suspect maybe Mikhail (Blood Guard) or Dane as the love interest. I'm interested to see if I'm right.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1613322/the-white-lily

It Takes Two to Tangle

Review:

Henry is recently returned from war. Having suffered an injury, he is learning a "new normal." His has a devoted brother (Jem) and sister-in-law (Emily). Emily is friends with Caroline. Caroline happens to be the most popular in social circles, so Henry decides that he must court her to win Society back over. Frances, is Caroline's cousin and companion. 
Frances "gets" Henry and what he is going through. She also has lingering guilt over something she did when she was first married (I personally didn't think it was a big deal considering a woman's place in society). My issue with Frances is she let Henry think someone else was writing him letters for way too long. She had many, many chances to come clean- and didn't. 
Both characters are likable and "fit" together well. I really liked Caroline and look forward to her book.

 

 

 

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1613110/it-takes-two-to-tangle