Jackie AshendenBesprekingen

Not as good as her others. I found the beginning kind of stilted.

I enjoyed this one a lot, despite (or maybe because) of the knock down drag out fights with the hero and heroine beating the shit out of each other and getting turned on by it. I'm not sure what that says about me, though I'm hopeful that I can distinguish between fantasy and reality.

I did not expect to like this as much as I did. Ashenden does well with the damaged people in her stories. They are easy to like & root for.

I thought this was going to be about a BDSM club, so I was pleasantly surprised that it's not. I enjoyed this and the others in the series.

Not a fan of billionaire in titles, but this wasn't really about that. It was better than I expected, but I liked You Are Mine best of the series.

Right Where We Belong by Jackie Ashenden

Standalone New Zealand small town romance that sees two people with difficult backstories finding their happily ever after by the end of the book.

What I liked:
* That it made sense though I had not read previous books in the series
* Indigo Jameson: Alaska native, abandoned by her parents, raised by her paranoid rather negative hermit grandmother, stepped out of her comfort zone to go to New Zealand, wants a home and place of her own, grows a lot
* Levi King: grew up in foster care, never found a hearth or home, ex-military, works with friends in an outdoor adventure company they own, helicopter pilot, wealthy, giving, one night stand only sort with women, grows a lot
* The uneasy teasing and prickly relationship between Levi and Indigo and watching it grow into a loving mature relationship as the book progressed
* The friends who must have had books of their own earlier in the series
* Mystery: a canine looking for its forever home, too
* The warm small-town community feeling

What I didn’t like:
* The difficult childhoods that both Levi and Indigo endured and how it impacted them
* The people that did not step up when they should have for Levi, Indigo, and Mystery

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars½

Right Where We Belong by Jackie Ashenden
Small Town Dreams series #3. Contemporary romance. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Indigo Jameson traveled to the very small town of Brightwater Valley three months ago. She had lived alone in a backwoods cabin where she grew up and it took all her courage to go to New Zealand. She loves it there and has decided to stay though she is lonely. Both the women she settled with in Brightwater have found a true love and have settled in. Indigo is interested in Levi King but he’s quite the ladies man and Indigo has no experience whatsoever. Levi returns the interest but he wants to make it very clear, he’s only a one night kind of man.

Indigo and Levi have a few issues each needs to reconcile. Their relationship starts out tentative and skittish but soon is friendship slowly growing to more. Characters from the prior two books are included in various scenes which is a nice revisit if you’ve read the prior books. It’s sentimental and ultimately happily ever after.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Book was okay. Nothing exciting or memorable. Listened while doing home chores, so it passed the time. Not sure if I'll continue the series.

The June 2023 #TBRChallenge is "Love is Love." I originally thought my pick would be ODAO for this month, but as it turns out, this story features two rather unique protagonists, each of whom doubts their ability to love and/or their worthiness of another's love.

Rose is a young woman with no identity. Abducted as a child and sold into servitude, she doesn't know anything about her past or even her real name. (She was named 'Rose' by a fellow abductee.) She was given a very basic education - literacy and basic math skills - before being set to work as a house servant, cleaning rooms in a Black Sea resort owned by a Russian oligarch.

Rose has heard through the grapevine that she's about to be sold, however, and basically takes her last chance to escape from the oligarch's clutches. She approaches a man, a guest who arrives once a year and stays only a short while, and basically the only one who doesn't treat her like a servant or a sex object. She takes a chance and asks this man to help her escape. She's willing to do whatever it takes to avoid being sold on, up to and including using her body.

Luckily for her, the man she approaches doesn't care to transact business and sex. Ares Aristiades is a widower, the former son-in-law of the oligarch who basically pays an annual visit out of some sense of obligation to his deceased wife. He takes an interest in Rose because she is forward enough to request his help, and he sees a fighting spirit in her that appeals to him. He wasn't aware that his father-in-law trafficked in people, but gets straight to the point and buys Rose's freedom that same day. The two leave shortly thereafter, taking off in Ares's helicopter and leaving the Black Sea compound for good.

Rose has only known transaction in her life; she feels like she is in debt to this man (she doesn't even know his name at this point) because he bought her freedom. Ares tries to tell her she isn't, but when she insists on paying it, he tells her that what he wants in a wife, to give him heirs for his fortune. Rose quickly agrees to marry him and give him children as payment for buying her freedom, but Ares gives her conditions: they will marry, but they will spend two weeks together for every season of the year getting to know each other before they consummate the marriage. If, at the end of the year, Rose doesn't want to stay married to him, they will annul the marriage and go their separate ways.

True to his word, they fly to Istanbul, get married, and part ways. Rose learns his name when he gives her a copy of their marriage certificate as part of her identity documentation. Rose goes to Paris, gets a job and an apartment, and sets out to find out about her past - as well as her mysterious, horribly disfigured husband.

This being HP, this is of course the escapist fantasy world of ridiculous wealth. Ares is a self-made billionaire with a high tech security company. He owns villas and mansions and even freaking castles. But there is an intrusion of reality into this world: Russian oligarchy and human trafficking, both of which play pretty big roles in this story. Rose struggles a lot with adjusting to the world outside of servitude. She marvels in being able to open a bank account, dye her hair outrageous colors, watch movies and read books. Finding out who she was before she was abducted is a major goal of hers.

Ares has built up walls around his own heart, and banished every emotion he ever felt in the wake of his wife's death. He was burned in the fire that killed her, and carries the scars over literally half of his body. The pain from the burns is gone, but he blames himself for her death; everything he does after that, including his mysterious billion-dollar empire, is built in her name and trying to live a life she would approve of. He's given up on the idea of romantic love, and only now that he's getting older (I pegged him somewhere around 40) does he start thinking about fulfilling his promise to his wife (and his father) to continue the family name. He's attracted to Rose, both physically and cerebrally, and enjoys matching wills with her, but deep down he believes she could never really love him.

Rose grows to trust Ares as they have their two-week meetings every three months, and quickly grows infatuated with him. She has never looked at his disfigurement with pity or dismay; once she understands what she's feeling is sexual desire, she is all about quenching that particular thirst, LOL. She has agency and makes choices and pushes him to tell her things about himself, out of curiosity and gratitude but also because he rescued her and she loves him for that, more than anything else.

Ares learns of Rose's past identity and that brings matters to a head between them. Rose demands to know more about him than he's comfortable telling, because why should he know everything about her when she can't say the same? It ultimately drives them apart and forces them to really look at themselves and what they want - from their relationship, but also from the world in general.

I really loved this story because it is purely character driven. The "action" takes place off page, which may be off-putting to others, but it felt right to me because it allowed us to concentrate on the characters and their growing emotional entanglement. They have sexual chemistry in scads from the off, and the buildup to their first sexual encounter is delicious. What makes it better is that they appreciate each others' fighting spirit, agency, and will. The push-pull between them is really, really great.

Ares isn't an asshole, and Rose isn't an idiot. They both kinda want to save each other from themselves. Ares realizes he loves Rose and tries to exit the relationship because he doesn't feel worthy of her, but she doesn't give up and basically brings the battle to him. It's a refreshing change of pace for the typical romance beats in an HP.

I loved this and am adding this author to my auto-read and auto-buy lists. This is the second in a duology and hopefully I can still find the first one fairly easily! I have another of her books on my shelf (not related to this) which I will definitely move up Mount TBR as well.

2.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

They'd come from places where people didn't care, not on the regular, and Camp Phoenix had shown them they were worth something.

The Comeback Cowboy was an anthology with a cool concept of having four different authors continue the story of the same characters, giving each couple a starring role. I thought this would give four different perspectives and vibes to each couple but set in the same world, instead it delivered a whole lot of sameness. The men are all tall with “barely reaching” shoulder height women and except for one couple where it was reversed, the guys are the ones wanting to keep it to just open door bedroom scenes and fearing love. All of the men work/ed in law enforcement, along with one woman, but the stories were too short to really delve into that, they are all just “protective”. The setting is a camp that they all spent time at as teenagers, it's a juvenile retreat to try and help teens change their life path, and after the death of their mentor, Bill McClain, one of the former campers buys it and asks/guilt trips for volunteers to get it back running. Until the last story though, the camp setting wasn't really felt by me and I was kind of disappointed in that aspect. If you were looking for a certain kind of vibe, short, not deep, men scared of love, teenage crushes finally getting fulfilled, then each story had these notes. I was looking for different perspectives and instead got same one after the other.

The One With the Hat by Jackie Ashenden 2 stars

Flint Decker. Sheriff Flint Decker and his stupid hat.

This story had the added responsibility of introducing all the characters, setting, and the whos and whys of everyone. When Bree was fourteen, Officer Flint Decker took her in for stealing food, she says arrested but he really took her to Sheriff Bill McClain, who sent her to Camp Phoenix. Flint was twenty at the time and while Bree had a crush on him, he obviously never felt anything. I started to get a little “ok, enough” over how many times it was brought up how she was fourteen and his “arresting” her, it started to feel a little nothankyou, I wanted a focus on here and now. He remembers her and when Bree moved back to town (Jasper Creek, this is #4 in the city named series) he gets up in his feels how she ignores him. All our characters, well, except for one, come from families of neglect or crooks, providing the issues our characters have to work to deal with or overcome. Bree has worked to become a real estate agent and distant herself from her no account brothers but still has some problem with authority and feeling ashamed of how Flint first met her. Flint is the new Sheriff and feels he has to always be setting an example, his self-righteousness ruffles Bree's feathers.

“Am I getting to you, wildcat?” he murmured as she got in, his deep voice sending the most delicious chills right down her spine.

With the crushes going on, there was also our four heroines bunking in a cabin together and starting off a bit cool and adversarial to each other. They start to bond as they come up with the plan for Bree to steal Flint's hat to teach him a lesson. It's a theme that runs through the whole book, each heroine trying to steal something from their hero. It was at turns cute and immature, most of the heroines had an immature feel to them while most of the heroes were production line tough, stoic. When Bree goes to steal Flint's hat the attraction flairs and it kicks off a bedroom relationship. We seem to miss all the good bonding as it's said weeks go by of them continuing their bedroom antics. It comes to ahead as Bree wants more and Flint has to get over his issues for the eventual happily ever after.

The One With the Locket by Caitlin Crews 2.5 stars

Lincoln Traeger was not easily riled.

As Bree and Flint's relationship is getting settled, Violet and Lincoln move into frame. Lincoln is a calm, cool, U.S. Marshal and Violet an argumentative lawyer. As with the other couples, for forced proximity trope, they get paired up and are supposed to clean up the campgrounds chapel. Violet had a crush on Lincoln when they were at camp, she, 15 and he 19, and now grown up, she's still annoyed that she can't wind him around her little finger like she does all other men. It forces her to want to be seen for other than looks but also be scared to be liked or disliked for who she really is. Lincoln catches on to this about her and after he kisses her when she says she only thinks of him as a brother, he then ignores her. This prompts Violet to want to steal a locket of his to prove that she really does hate him to her bunkmates, who she's growing closer to.

This man was trouble. There was no getting around it.

As with the first, Violet gets caught stealing and it ends with Lincoln and her hitting the bedroom scenes. This did the same thing where all the time they spend together is basically skipped and I was left not seeing or feeling the emotional developments between these two. These two had logistics issues with some of Violet's emotional (Lincoln seemed to just accept the seriousness between them right away??), Violet lives across the country. This has Lincoln just boldly stating that Violet needs to quit her job and move to him. There's a tiny little background on Violet wanting a change in life but it was side-eyeing how comfortable Lincoln was with only saying she should move to him and not ever a consideration for the reverse. This one had a little more enjoyable heat to it for me but, again, lacked the emotional depth and Violet just expected to upheaval her life was meh.

The One With the Bullhorn by Nicole Helm 2 stars

Because Kinley was not a rash, belligerent person. She was shy. She liked to hide and be left to her own devices.
But when she was mad...well.
Jackson Hart better watch out.

Jackson is the leader of the camp and putting his whole energy behind it because he's been forced to retire from the DEA, he has leg damage after being shot and trying to run into a burning building to save his partner. Kinley has always been a wallflower and after only feeling like she could belong at camp, she moved to Jasper Creek years ago but has felt stagnated. Jackson hires her on as the camp's cook but his militant attitude has her destructive tendencies flaring, she used to act out to try and get attention from her parents, and mixed with the crush she's had on him, it has her agreeing to steal his beloved bullhorn. Except he catches her and she blindly snatches up his cane he sometimes uses for his limp. Jackson decides to teach her a teasing lesson and, you guessed it, it leads to them starting up the bedroom antics.

No one had ever treated her like this. Like she might be precious, or someone to be careful with. She found herself wanting to cry and hold on to him forever.

Kinley was a character that had probably the deepest hurt, she has a burn scar from an ex now in jail, and frequently talked about therapy but the shorter page count had her issues getting rushed through. She's also the one who was afraid and running away when Jackson told her he was all in. Jackson was a pretty stoic guy, some little flashes of lighter personality, I never felt like we got a look behind his brick wall, but he did feel the most mature of all the characters. I would have liked a better look at the guys' friendship in his story as he's the one who brought them all together, we really only get quick mentions of poker night and a few short conversations here and there in the short stories, the women's friendship gave more of a growth thread. Jackson's calm, steadiness eventually has Kinley feeling deserving of his love, but while the words were said on paper, I'm not sure I felt their romance.

The One With the Trophy by Maisey Yates 3 stars

He worried about her, and he shouldn't. He worried about her, and it made her feel special. He worried about her, and she wished he wouldn't.
And she wished he would.
Forever.

This was my favorite of the anthology, Clementine, the daughter of Sheriff Bill, she spent her summers at the camp. As she wasn't forced or sent there because she wasn't a juvenile delinquent, she always felt like an outsider and then growing up without a mother, while her father loved her, he never seemed to know what to do with a little girl, she has also always felt like an outsider with women. Working now as a deputy with Flint and Duke, another of her father's proteges, she always tried to hide her feelings for Duke. Being ten years older than Clementine, Duke has always tried to watch out for her as his mentor's daughter but the last few months have had him seeing her in a different light. He's trying to say she's like a sister to him but when he overhears her tell the other women that she's going to lose her virginity tonight, his emotions are all over the place.

He kept imagining it. Some guy kissing her. Putting his hands on her.

Clementine was really talking about losing her thief virginity and stealing his MVP football trophy from highschool but when he catches her and alludes to attraction to her, Clementine decides to take her chance. This had more of that emotional feelings I was looking for and had some light laughter with heat. Duke was still missing some fully formed character feel but Clementine came out stronger with working out her issues and growing from someone who felt they had to hide their emotions and feeling like an outsider. I also thought their prior friendship helped me believe in their romance more. This did follow the same old, same old trend of the anthology of having the guy scared to trust in love and move it from casual with the woman declaring her love first and saying she wanted more. Duke does get over his parental hang-ups and they get a happily ever after.

This also wraps-up the Camp Phoenix setting with the camp welcoming in a new generation of juveniles that need help. This didn't have much of a camp setting and while it seems at least two of the guys wear cowboy hats and own ranch/land, there really wasn't a western feel that the cover looked like to promise. But, again, if you're looking for the particular vibes I mentioned, those pretty much get repeated in all four stories.

Faith Beasley is not her real name and she has no idea what it is or who she really is. Jacob Night, who runs a security firm called 11th Hour nursed her back to health and made her an important member of his organization, but now his patience is running out. Buried in her lost memories, Faith knows about Jacob's lost brother, Joshua, and he has tried to wait for her to remember, but now it's time for a more aggressive approach. Faith can no longer hide from who she is because someone is out to kill her and Jacob must put the pieces together before it's too late.

Hard Night takes the amnesia trope and adds some layers in this interesting romantic suspense. The story contains a great deal of angst as Faith and Jacob have so much baggage that they can't seem to overcome. There is lots of steam in this book, and it tends to slow down the plot, but it does contribute to the physical connection between the two main characters. Unfortunately, it doesn't really add much to their emotional connection. The most exciting part of the book happens in the last 80 pages with a plethora of action and emotion. Overall, Hard Night is an enjoyable romantic suspense novel that would have benefited from more even pacing.½

This was pretty good; sweet, with a good dose of angst.

Rating: ★★✬☆☆ (2.5/5 Stars)
Title: King's Ransom
Author(s): Jackie Ashenden
Character(s):
― Imogen White: Blonde, Green Eyed
― Ajax King: Blue Eyed
Setting: N/A
Tag(s): Romance, Contemporary
Content Rating: R
POV: Alternates between Heroine/Hero
Smexy Level: Hot
Favorite Quote(s):
― "I did need someone. I’d always needed someone."
Overall Opinion:
Surviving decades of being the oldest son of the biggest crime lord, Augustus King, in Sydney doesn’t leave a man without scars, and Ajax's ran deep. With Ajax's life revolved around keeping my brothers and my city safe, he takes matters into his own hands by kidnapping the willing rising crime Lord's daughter, Imogen. To get the crime Lord out of his town, his bargaining chip is her innocence but when all Imogen wants is to feel the raw masculinity of the eldest King, Ajax is tempted to free her from her gilded cage for good.

Imogen is fearless and bold about her attraction to the King and desire for him to keep his promise to ruin her. The blurb is what made me pick up the book due to the unique concept but overall, it was an okay read. The story wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be and I'm completely glad I didn't bother with the rest of the series. There wasn't any real connection between the characters, it was purely sexual. Virginity this, virginity that and the instant love, don't get me started on that. I was surprised I was able to make it to the end of “King's Ransom’ instead of dropping it. I appreciate the ARC but unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling this at all.

Find Your Way Home by Jackie Ashenden
1st book in the Small Town Dreams series. Contemporary romance set in New Zealand. Enemies to lovers troupe.
After being dumped by her fiancé and losing her job on the same day, Isabella volunteers for a 3 month start-up business project and jumps on a plane to New Zealand. She’s not totally prepared but she’s going to give it her all. Even if that means no internet or coffee in the tiny town that’s being revitalized.
Chase isn’t prepared for Izzy. She doesn’t have the right boots, or coat, but she sure is pretty.

Grumpy Chase is a cliche but kind of funny. He can’t resist Izzy and reacts as a grumpy bear. Everyone in town (all 30) watches him bring her a coffee every morning. Just her. No one else.

A humanitarian project? Maybe. It’s certainly nice of the women to travel to start a business so far away from home. I’m sure they didn’t set out to find a new home and romance but that’s obviously the slant of the series. Either way, Chase and Izzy dance around each other and succumb to the attraction then have to struggle to deal with ghosts and their past.
It touching and delectable with a couple of sizzling scenes. Chase’s daughter is another heartstring that they both can’t help pulling.
Lovely.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Sweet Home Cowboy
Jasper Creek #3

Standalone quartet of splendid stories that put a smile on my face today as I watched four half-sisters find their happily ever after cowboy partners in Jasper Creek. The four women settle into their new home, soon to be The Four Sisters Farm, and in so doing the bonds that began to form at camp when they were thirteen only become stronger. I liked all four of the sisters and the men that they ended up with. Every couple had issues to contend with and did so admirably.

TEDDY by Nicole Helm:
Teddy ends up with Beau but only after she feels ready and he deals with some past demons from childhood. Teddy is a bee whisperer and loves chickens…sweet and charming but with a backbone

JOEY by Maisey Yates:
More mechanically minded, Joey likes to learn from experts when tackling new projects. Hollis is the man to help with the old farm equipment and perhaps he will help with a few other things, too.

GEORGIE by Jackie Ashenden:
Con is best friends of Georgie’s brother and has been there pretty much always until one day things begin to change and prickly Georgie is not sure what to think…even though Con is sure what he wants.

ELLIOT by Caitin Crewes
Elliot is the sister with the freest spirit and she openly embraces what she wants, Colt. Colt’s sense of duty almost derails the couple’s budding romance…until he sees the light.

All of the characters have some growing to do as individuals and as couples. It was fun watching them interact as I got to know them and the men they ended up with.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQN for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

That Deep River Feeling by Jackie Ashendon
3rd book in the the Alaskan Homecoming series. Contemporary romance. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series since the first two couples are part of the town and background stories.

Morgan is the town police officer. She takes care of the people and the town problems. And the people look after her in return.
Zeke is at home in the wilderness. It’s the only place he felt like he belonged. Being in Deep River to look after Morgan is temporary. Owning a piece of the town is something he needs to figure out.

The heroine is intuitive and nurturing. And alone.
The hero is alone but skittish and trained to run. There were several times I was mad at his decisions but Phil, the self proclaimed hermit, gave him some really good advice.
“You have to accept yourself before you can accept anyone else.”

Because trust was hard. Because people lied.
Love wasn’t a lie. Love was powerful.

“someone told me tonight that it’s not about changing myself, it’s about changing my attitude“
I’ve used this last one many times in my career and life. It’s an unexpected gem to find in a romance novel.

The book was ultimately a huge tug on the heartstrings.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Sourcebooks. Opinions are my own.

This book was such a departure from the typical contemporary romance. I liked that the hero and heroine were both Middle Eastern and that the storyline revolved around their culture and customs. Most romances involving a Middle Eastern hero that I've read involve a western woman, with them having met through business somehow, so this book was a refreshing change and thoroughly enjoyable. Although she was young, Safira had been raised as a strong, independent woman and she challenged Altair at every turn. Author Jackie Ashenden did a great job - the characters had depth and I found myself drawn in to their emotions and turmoil - a real page-turner.

Four stories in this anthology: four female cousins, each come back to their grandmother's home for one season after her death, each falling for a local cowboy while she is there.

I liked the idea of this story, with a different couple featured for each season. I loved the use of Grandma June's house as a character, acting as a link for all four stories. But I felt like the four stories were more repetitive and similar than they should be. (For example, three of the four female leads were virgins when they found their cowboy partner. Three out of four adults? In a romance novel? Okay.) My favorite of the bunch was the second story, the summer story, by Nicole Helm. She is a new author to me and I'll be seeking out more of her stuff.

I would certainly enjoy each of the stories more if it was a full-length novel. But as an collection of linked stories, it was just okay.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you HQN Books!

A strong willed and determined heroine. Just a shame she has no resistance as soon as he kisses her. He is dealing with horrors from his past that prevents him getting close to anyone.
Typical Mills and Boon formula to be honest.

A good story.
Arranged marriage to enhance business interests plus a bit of revenge.
The Hero is a manwhore type, the heroine isn't a virgin but a bad experience has meant she's not been close to any one in a long time.
No cheating, once they met eyes only for each other.
For me it started off well but was mostly about sex, I would have liked some family drama with maybe her dad or even the sister or ex drama from his side to give it a bit more angst.

HEA.
The end did feel a bit abrupt to me.
Hoping for more from this couple in the brothers stories.

This was a terrific collection of stories about second chances, self-discovery, and family. I loved seeing these four women overcome past hurts and find their ways back to the love and friendship they used to share.

Spring - Caitlin Crews
Keira and Remy

Keira is the first of June's granddaughters to arrive at the old homestead. Her task is to help with the cattle, which after five years of living in the city, will take some getting used to. Her partner in this endeavor is Remy, the former love of her life. Their relationship fell apart when he couldn't understand her need to move away for a while. It wasn't that she didn't love him or want to marry him, but that she had to get away from her parents and find out who she was without their influence. Remy was very cold to her at first, but it wasn't long before the old attraction rekindled. However, they are now older and better able to discuss the differences between them and see where things went wrong before. There were two scenes I especially liked: Remy being there to support Keira during her confrontations with her parents, and Keira facing off with Remy's mother about the way his family has treated him. I liked how they finally worked through their differences and were able to move forward together.

Summer - Nicole Helm
JJ and Cade

Grandma June's request of JJ was that she watches two little girls for the summer while their single dad does his work. JJ's parents divorced when she was young, leaving her with her father and her mother taking her little sister Lila. JJ's father was very anti-emotion and taught JJ to be the same way. She has spent years hiding and burying her emotions while trying to win her father's approval. Fulfilling her grandmother's request is the first time she's gone against him. JJ feels very much out of her depth at first with the two girls. I liked watching her relax with them, and begin to see similarities between Ellie and Lora and herself and Lila. There were sparks between Cade and JJ, but they tried to ignore them, as JJ wasn't planning to stay. They developed a very sweet friendship before the sparks started to burn out of control. I loved watching JJ learn to embrace her emotions and show them to those she cares about. It was sweet to see how Cade helped her express those emotions by not judging her when she did. The ending was terrific.

Fall - Maisey Yates
Lila and Everett

Fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants Lila was tagged to organize and run the yearly Red Sled Festival, something she feels is way beyond her capability. But that's okay because Grandma June has also asked neighbor Everett to help Lila. This forces Lila to face the man she had a crush on as a teenager, and who she made of fool of herself in front of at his engagement party. But Bella is an eternal optimist who does her best to see the bright side of everything, so she sucks it up and deals, only to discover that the feelings she had for Everett never died. Everett is a very pragmatic man who views everything with a jaundiced eye. The opposites attract development of their relationship was an interesting one to watch. I especially enjoyed the discussions of their different ways of looking at life and the effect on their dreams of the future. It takes Everett a little longer to recognize his feelings for Lila. I loved his big moment at the end. There was also a terrific scene between Lila and JJ as they mended the rift caused by their parents' actions.

Winter - Jackie Ashenden
Bella and Noah

Bella was the missing cousin, the one who didn't come to the funeral because no one knew where she was. The lawyers finally tracked her down, just in time for her to have her season in Grandma June's house. The timing was fortuitous for Bella, as she recently had her bank account cleaned out, leaving her with nothing. She showed up at the house with little more than the clothes on her back. Bella is very independent. Having grown up with a mother who used men for whatever she wanted, then leaving them when something better came along, Bella works hard at never asking for help. Her letter from June tells her to fix up the house and sell it if she wants to, and not to be afraid to ask for help. When Bella arrives at the house, she immediately runs into the last person she wanted to see - her ex-stepbrother, Noah. Her mom was married to Noah's dad the year Bella was thirteen. Bella had a massive crush on nineteen-year-old Noah, who never seemed to notice her. Lila asked Noah to check on Bella. He wasn't happy about it, as he had cut himself off from everyone. Years of taking care of his drunk father had drained him, and he doesn't want anyone to need him. But something about Bella draws him like a magnet. The development of the relationship between them was a rocky one. There was intense chemistry, but both of them feared getting too close. Noah fought it, but couldn't stop himself from wanting to help her. There were some sweet scenes of the things he did for her, things that showed he understood her. Bella was a bit lost at first, having a hard time accepting his help. Though both fought against their growing feelings, they also found it easy to talk to each other about stuff they'd never told anyone else. I ached for Noah, who was afraid of becoming addicted to Bella the way his dad was addicted to booze, and caused him to push her away. I cried for Bella, who had finally let someone in, just to be rejected. I loved the ending and the unexpected visitors who arrived at just the right time to give Bella the support and kick in the pants that she needed. Her and Noah's big moment at the end was deeply emotional and perfect for both of them.

This was a fairly quick book and if you are familiar with Jackie's book you know that they are steamy. We meet Ash and he is an angry individual, his father never claimed him, his brother betrayed him and his mother who loves him dearly would never accept any of his gifts. On his quest for revenge he meets Ellie who is his replacement limo driver but what he doesn't know is that Ellie is there to plead for her fathers company. These two have a steamy encounter and when Ellie explains what she needs he leaves her upset that she used him, but when he needs someone to go with him to show he is in a steady relationship to take something away that his brother also wants he makes a deal with her. You know how this will work, she falls in love he gets angry because no one will truly love him and when he comes to the realization he needs to grovel.

Rcvd and ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions

Romance at it's best. Alitair is an alpha male who chooses to ignore the word NO. Safira knows who she is and what she wants. She has no intention of being controlled and told what to do by anyone. Never Refuse a Sheikh is an entertaining, sexy fun tug of war between two people who will not back down. Who wins is anyone's guess. Received an ARC of this story for an honest review.

ARC Review: The Billionaire Beast (Billionaire Fairytales) by Jackie Ashenden

She needs a little mystery in her life. He has a lot of darkness in his soul. The Billionaire Beast is a seductive tango of tragic events, intense characters and a sensually energized dance of love. Jackie Ashenden is well known for her deeply troubled, challenging and alluring heroes. Larger than life, broken inside but capable of more than the pain that shadows their existence. Nero is equally stunning in his turbulent behavior and bad boy image. He craves a chance at stepping into the light, but has allowed the fear and turmoil of his past to imprison him. Will he ever escape the chasm of pain that surrounds him? Or will one slip of a woman prove to be his downfall? The Billionaire Beast expounds on the best parts of a turbulent tale that begins in darkness and ends in light. Redeeming story.

In the eyes of her father she was a disappointment. Never good enough to wear the family name. When in reality, she was a sensitive soul looking for someone who would love her despite her flaws. Will she sale her soul to the devil or find salvation in his arms? Misunderstood, misjudged and heartbreaking seem to be a running theme with the main characters. She"s broken, he's cold but behind the subterfuge are two lost ships searching for a lighthouse to guide them home. The Billionaire's Intern is a tragic story of treachery, love and absolution. Ms. Ashenden proves that despite the ugliness of life, miracles can happen if we believe.