Otherworld Secrets

Review:

Most of the stories in this I've already read. I got this for the 2 I haven't.
Life After Theft
It was nice to see a peak into what Hope (1/2 Chaos demon) and Karl (werewolf) were up to. They are happily married with a daughter and another child on the way. Karl is a retired thief who works for Hope's brother in security systems. (He was an excellent thief). Karl is framed and has to go back and steal one last thing to clear his name. I liked this couple from previous books and it was wonderful to see what was going on with them a few years after the series ended.

Zen and the Art of Vampirism
A short story featuring Zoe (I don't remember her from the series) and how she gets rid of 2 vampires who want to take over her territory.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/2264836/otherworld-secrets

Just One of the Groomsmen

Review:

Addie has always been one of the guys. She is childhood friends with a group of 4 guys (Tucker, Shep, Easton, Ford). They went to college together and live in the same, small town. Tucker is the only one who moved away to be a lawyer for a firm in "the big city" (Birmingham). After a few years, he is back for good, having quit his job.
Shep announced he is getting married and they are all going to be groomsmen in his wedding. I enjoyed the dynamic of the 5 of them and how they all support each other. Addie excels at sports and can beat the best of them at poker. Her dream job is to be a sports therapist for one of the big AL college teams. She worked as a PT in a small office with a sexist asshole for a boss. I had mixed reactions at first- while her family is supportive, they also want her to be more of a girl (whatever). Addie also (IMO) looked down at women who were more feminine. I thought that dynamic got better as the book progressed.
Tucker's obsession with having a certain amount of cash in the bank came from his parent's divorce. However, he never really talked about it with Addie- so you know that was one of the barriers. There was a lot of dancing back and forth between going for it and holding back .
Overall, I really did like this. The small town where everyone knows your business and can be a bit judgey for it, can also be supportive when it's needed. I also really, really liked Lexi, Shep's intended. She easily could have been a bitch, but wasn't and became a close friend to Addie.
I read this for Romance-opoly Spring square Sun track

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/2264519/just-one-of-the-groomsmen

The Corset Diaries

Review:

Tessa is a plus sized American who goes on an English TV show. The show is designed to show how people (a Duke and his family and their servants) lives in the Victorian times. Tessa got the job because she was a distant relation to an American who married an English Duke. Max, who plays the Duke, is also a distant relation of the Duke who married the heiress.
Tessa's 1st person narration was laugh out loud funny. But (yeah you knew there was a but!), she was very self-conscious about the size of her body (she is 6ft and a size 18). When it came to Max, I liked the he was attracted to her just as she was. I also liked she was a little older than him (39 to 34). But, the 5 year gap mattered more to Tessa than it did to him. Which was very annoying considering Tessa's husband was 20 years older than her (who died from cancer 3 years prior).
This was a fun, escapist read.
I read this for Romance-opoly Spring square Moon track

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/2264302/the-corset-diaries

Ignited

Review:

Right off the bat I didn't really get Cassidy and Ronan's attraction/chemistry. Cassidy was a self-medicating mess who drank too much. It's an issue that was pointed out on just about every page. Cassidy was a helicopter pilot and something she did killed a member of her crew (it was an accident). She does eventually get therapy; but it took the whole book. I did enjoy Formula One racing as a backdrop.
Most likely will not be reading the next since I didn't particularly care for Maddux and the synopsis doesn't grab me.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/2208400/ignited

A Rogue by Any Other Name

Review:

Bourne is part owner of an exclusive gaming club. 10 years prior he lost everything in a game of cards to someone he trusted; his guardian. Since then, he's rebuilt himself and is after his lands. He will gt his lands back at any cost. Revenge is what he lives for. Michael is not a nice person anymore.
Penelope was engaged to a Duke who fell in love with someone else. This being the world in which we live, it was (of course) all her fault. As a result, 2 of her sisters took hasty marriages. Her 2 remaining sisters are on the marriage-mart. For her sisters to marry well, it's on Penelope to make a good match. Penelope grew up with Michael and has always loved him.
Overall this was a nice friends to enemies to lovers romance. I really liked Penelope and her growth throughout the book. It took the whole for me to like Michael. I didn't like his treatment of Penelope. And in the end, there really wasn't any groveling on his part. I did like the end with the revelation regarding Langford and the teaser for the next book. I did like Pippa (didn't care for Penelope's other sister Olivia- she's a bit selfish).
I read this for Romance-opoly The Cobbles sun track.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/2208222/a-rogue-by-any-other-name

Destiny's Embrace

Review:

Mariah was abused by her mom. Her mom was a seamstress and Mariah learned how to do so too. In addition, she draws designs that her mom would sell and pass on as her own. After being hit (again), she decides enough is enough and leaves. With the help of her aunt Libby, she answers an ad for a housekeeper in CA.
Logan is a rancher and shares property with his (step)mom. He also doesn't want to marry and likes his life just so. His house is also a pigsty (in both looks and smell). It also doubles as the tack shed (since the last one burned).
Needless to say, there is friction between Logan and Mariah. Mariah blossoms and becomes someone who speaks her mind and doesn't put up with bullshit. It was glorious! I liked how Logan eventually changed and re-evaluated his life and what he wanted. I enjoyed Alanza and liked her forward thinking. I'm hoping something happened with Max. I also liked his brothers Drew (Andrew Antonio)-a lawyer (and womanizer) and Noah (a sailor) even if they were not on the page. My only compliant would be the ending felt rushed; I wanted more. The ending also opens what (I assume- I haven't read the synopsis for book 2 yet) the plot for the next brother's story will be.
There is also some of CA history and a recommended reading list for more info.
I read this for Romance-opoly The Cobbles moon track

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/2153344/destiny-s-embrace

Undercover

Review:

Sera is an unranked woman who worked her way up to lieutenant in the Federation Corps. 10 years ago, she was in love with Ash. She chose to leave after Ash got married. Ash had tried to make her his mistress. She is the one who got away (and vice versa). Ash is now divorced and the leader of a undercover unit with Brandt. He selects Sera based on her talent with languages. Someone (or someones) in the Families are selling secrets to the Imperialists.
Both Ash and Brandt are sons of powerful Families. I thought the world was interesting. There was some world-building and would have liked more. There's multiple different planets, Families that are the leaders. It's all inherited, you can't work your way into a leadership position. Families look down on the unranked. It's all very patriarchal too. For this being the future, women were not in places of power- they were wives and mistresses. A guy could have a wife and an official mistress (or more); and it was all okay. In terms of the ranking, it was very old-fashioned.
Overall, I did enjoy the story and the sex scenes were well written (a few less and more world building would have been nice). Sera, Ash, and Brandt were all likable. I loved how Ash and Brandt respected Sera for who she was. It was refreshing that they weren't jealous of the other when it came to being with Sera. The lack of general ass-holeyness was nice too.
This is part of a series, but should stand on it's own. The baddies are found out.
I read this for Romance-opoly Passion Place moon track

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/2145918/undercover