Aimee Nicole WalkerBesprekingen

Rory Snyder come to Redemption Ridge with his brother who is an FBI agent and friend of Cash’s, the owner. Rory needs to lay low for a while. He’s an influencer who is being hounded by the press about events of his past that are causing his father issues with a political campaign. He wants to be seen as just another guy, not a wealthy pampered social media guy. He says, "Treat me just like anybody else on the ranch". Ivan, who we met in the first book, is the leader on the ranch. He’s not sure what to make of Rory. They are polar opposites in so many ways, but it’s clear that Rory is interested in him and attracted to him. Ivan isn’t ready to trust anyone and that includes Rory even though their chemistry is off the charts, and it doesn’t take long for them to begin to explore a relationship. They start out as "friends with benefits", but the more time they spend together, the more find they have in common. Ivan is really a softie, and he’s a beekeeper and he loves his cats also. Soon he figures out that he loves Rory also. They both have baggage, and they each had had difficult relationships in the past that ended badly. Ivan’s issue led directly to his incarceration and a long estrangement with his family. It takes some time for them to be honest with each other about how these things have affected them. The ranch family supported them, and while they have obstacles to overcome, they were working toward something that could be lasting – even if it takes a little convincing. I really enjoyed this story. I will say the pacing was a bit off for me. Like the last book, it took a while to get this story moving...then it was a bit of a rush to the end. Lance West did a fantastic job of presenting the story.½

Kieran Sullivan is being released after 20 months in prison. For a crime he didn’t commit. Cash, an ex-con himself who runs Redemption Ranch where he tries to give back, picks him up. Kieran worked with Cash’s dog rescue and training program in prison, and he has a way with animals, so Cash offered him a place at the ranch. Kieran meets Finley Ashe at the ranch and learns that he’ll be working with him in the equestrian program. Kieran hasn’t been around horses before, so he has a lot to learn. He also cannot believe how gorgeous Finley is and finds that it’s difficult to ignore the gorgeous guy. Finely has had a breakup with a man who then joined a religious homophobic cult, so Finley hasn't wanted to get involved again with anyone...but he has a "thing" for bad boys... he’s a MAGNET for them. Kieran is a gorgeous bad boy if ever he saw one...but it seems the guy has a lot going on below the surface. He absolutely refuses to discuss anything about his past. It takes a while, but Kieran finally lets Finley in...and the walls come tumbling down. Turns out that he was set up to take the rap for a stolen car racket by a guy he thought loved him, but it turns out that there is MUCH more going on with the perpetrator than meets the eye. This sting operation results in more damage than good. I have liked almost everything that Aimee Nicole Walker has written and was happy to see this new series. I’m hoping this is a "stage setter" for a visit to a larger world with the guys of Redemption Ranch. Being the first book in the series. there was a lot of character introduction going on that slowed the story down a bit. The twist was good although it was a very long wait to get any information. I liked Finley and his family right away. His mother is so funny. I hope we get to see more of her and Finley’s sister in future stories. Cash, Reuben, Ivan and the rest of the ranch crew proved to be an interesting bunch, and of course "Mama Kitty" and her little ones. Obviously, there are lots of opportunity for more stories with them all. Lance West as a great narrator with an easy to listen to voice. Hope to hear more from him also.½

3.25

We met Jimmy Alsop, the aspiring, but insecure journalist that Felix took on as an intern, then put him into a sort of "Felix boot camp" to build up his self-image and ability to become a better reporter, in a previous Sinister in Savanna story, and yes, we fell in love with sweet, blushing Jimmy then. I was happy to see that it carried over into this, Jimmy's romance story. Jimmy has now become a much stronger reporter and individual...a bit more able to stand up for himself and his ideas than the younger Jimmy that we originally met. The stories Jimmy is wanting to do for his newspaper is the perfect format for the author to show the character’s interactions with others, and it’s Jimmy’s humanity that shine out on every occasion. Now we have Nova, the astronomer, whose mother is part of Jimmy’s series of stories. Nova, (I love his name), is equally fascinating. He’s divorced, a single dad, with issues he’s dealing with, and an overwhelming attraction to our innocent Jimmy, the journalist is the last thing he expects or thinks he needs. I really liked how the title The Invisible Strings, showed that these unseen strings are what connects people whether we see them or feel them at first. It’s those strings that just keep pulling people back together, time after time. Fate, stars… whatever you want to call it. In Jimmy and Nova case it was a list that Jimmy made up of all the "adventures" he wanted to accomplish over a two-week period. Things like "swim in the ocean", go for a long bicycle ride"...fall in love wasn't on the list... but should have been. This is a wonderful love story, made so much better by those characters that surround the two men and support them with their love. It’s family, co- workers, and friends... We get to know them all. It meant so much to see how Nova and his ex-husband shared their daughter, and how Nova's ex and his boyfriend supported Nova and Jimmy's new and fragile relationship with not a cross or bad word spoken between them. My only slight issue was with the small amount of drama at the end. It felt to be forced when given the two men and how well they communicated...but it was short lived and easily resolved. Overall, I adored Jimmy and Nova’s romance. It was a winner all the way around. Tristan James once again, does a fantastic job with the narration and "giving life" to Nova and Jimmy.

You really need to read this series in order from the beginning. This is book 4 and the story draws from the previous 3 books. In fact, this story is really all about wrapping up the mysteries from the previous books. The story was beautifully done, and I loved Gabe... and Josh has been a delightfully compelling character ever since book #1. I thought this story was less a mystery and more focused on Josh and Gabe's relationship, which was fine because we knew from the title that a wedding was happening soon. The author spent most of the story wrapping things up from the first three books, causing me to having to stop and remember back to what had previously happened and why it mattered. I loved the good-natured bantering between Josh and Gabe. They were so wonderful together. Their love and this story really highlighted their future and their bond. I also liked that Emory and Chaz’s potential romances advanced, and I am hoping this mean here could possibly be more to the series, or at least some spin-offs. I 'm just sentimental when stories with people I really, really like, come to an end. This series has been from the start, structured to leave the reader hanging at the end of each story, and I am not totally sure and really hope that this one did the same. I gave this on 4.5 stars because I felt that I was left feeling slightly underwhelmed and diffidently unfinished.½

I really enjoyed listening to this story. I use audiobooks to make my housework more 'doable' and this week I spent a lot of time doing housework - LOL. The reader did a good job of switching voices, but I know I adapt easily to audio so another listener might not agree. A quirky cast of characters who were well-developed combined with a plot that took unexpected turns made for a great story.
The protagonist is an interesting character who is multidimensional and has depth so this adds to everything. This is one I will be 're-reading' in print form just for fun.

I liked the book, but I didn't especially love the character of Darren. He seemed too snippy and at times simply overbearing. Wren, on the other hand, saved the story and was a delightfully, wonderful character. I believe that the "voice" that Joel Leslie gave Darren was about 75% of the problem...not that he did a bad job, Darren was just a character that grated on the nerves. I believe that we would have given him the same voice in our reader heads as Joel did on the audiobook. These two resolved into a relationship pretty quick...but they had been dancing around each other through three books. They were two very different, very feisty men, and Aimee Nicole Walker’s supplied them with her trademark, snarky banter. Finally seeing them come together was exceptionally satisfying. We get to see more of each man’s individual lives in this story. You can't help but love Darren's grandpa. It was really good that as it rounded out the characters and made them into "believable people" and not just mere words on a page. This book in particular, is a good one, perhaps one of the best of the series as far as I am concerned.

This part of the Sinister in Savannah series deals with some very traumatic issues. Rocky suffers from PTSD, the emotional damage he carries from the trauma from a murder-suicide that occurred while he was on a case. That case and all that occurs happens again in the Prologue....so if you haven't read the series in order, you will still have an understanding of what has happened. A word of warning...while it’s not overly graphic, it’s still emotionally disturbing enough to cause distress or harm for those people for whom it’s a trigger and anyone that might feel anxiety. That is what Rocky is also dealing with. In the previous book, Mr. Perfect, we learned of Rocky’s husband and a mention of their Vegas wedding. Now we get to see the events that brought Rocky and his husband together but has devastated their marriage as well as his career. It’s the train wreck of a broken marriage that’s plastered across numerous chapters as we learn bit by bit, everything that tore them apart, just as the current case is bringing them back together. Aimee Nicole Walker does a masterful job of characterization and writing. In between we have the ongoing heartbreak of knowing that Miss Marla is dying, and the community is doing everything they can not to mourn but to cherish each day she remains with them. She’s still the heart of this series and the one the men turn to for hugs, love, irreverent advice, and her amazing casseroles. The case of Tess Hamilton that the men are investigating now is as fascinating as all the others. It’s full of implications, reflections on redemption and forgiveness, along with the ability to recover, heal and move forward. The story is an emotional journey, but an extraordinary story. It’s an incredibly way to wrap up the "Sinister in Savannah" trilogy. Even more so since the author has promised to revisit this universe with stories for characters, we met in each of the three novels who also deserve further attention. I can’t wait. I’m happy to leave the men...their partners and Miss Marla, in Savannah at this point in time. Just want to say that this is a truly amazing series. They should be read in the order as they were written for the character that will appear again in the other books in one way or another.

It seems natural for some folks to carry some of their inferiority complexes that occurred when they were younger, into adulthood. Sometimes the bullying they got from these complexes stay with them longer...sometimes for an entire lifetime. I thought that this was going to be the case for Felix Franklin, when he met his first love Jude Arrow, again. The whole thing started back in college when someone told Felix that Jude had spread something derogatory about his mother. It was probably true...but still hurtful to young Felix none the less. Now Jude is back, and both he and Felix, are now more mature adults. Felix is an investigative journalist who has earned the reputation of always seeking and telling the truth and being relentless in pursuing justice for those who are unable get it on their own. Together with his two best friends, Rocky and Jonah, they created the "Sinister in Savannah" podcast which has gained a lot of listeners due to a recent case that was reopened and solved after it was botched up badly by both the police and lawyers who handled it. Injustice was committed and the wrong person was punished. Now we come to Jude who was the “Love of Felix’s Life,” up until the perceived betrayal during their freshman year in college. Jude moved to Savannah after his career had ended in Atlanta. He did this all because Felix was in Savannah. Jude now anchors the news for a local television network. Their paths cross again when a case that "Sinister in Savannah" is currently working on is found to have ties to a previous interview that Jude had done when he came back to Atlanta. Felix and Jude find that their love may be cold, but it is anything but dead. Now they just have to work out half a lifetime of grievances and miss understandings. For those who have read the first book, Ride the Lightning, it was focused on another couple, Jonah and Avery, but it laid out the groundwork for the storyline of this, the second book. The "Sinister in Savanah" series, has everything you could possibly want to create not only a really good story, laced with plenty of suspense, mystery, friendship, chosen family and love, but also memorable, likable characters.

Of the 4 books I’ve read in the "Fated Hearts" series this one so far has been my favorite. It was nice seeing their love build, that this wasn’t instalove right off. All have been great stories with sweet, wonderful characters but the plot in this one came across as more realistic. JJ has believed he doesn’t deserve love for the better part of his life. Having endured trauma no one should have to go through his guilt eats away at him to the point where he cuts himself off emotionally from all the people he loves. Miller likes his attachment free bachelorhood. He has no need for relationships being a "love them and leave them" kind of guy. He is in no way prepared for the attraction he feels for his mutual friend, JJ. We get to sit back and watch JJ and Miller give into their crazy attraction and insatiable lust. Believing it’s a one-off they are unprepared for the pull they have for one another. Deciding to try a "friend with benefits" type of relationship both men willing explore their desire for one another. Having two alpha men, who are deathly afraid of commitment come together, you know that there are bound to be snags along the way. JJ and Miller fight to be together and when they get to the point where they admit their feelings amazing things happen. The story is full of drama, angst, trauma, and a lot of sexy time. It was really good to finally hear JJ’s story and to see him find happiness with Miller.

"Sinister in Savannah" is a crime podcast run by three friends, one of which is Jonas St Johns , a criminal analyst for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Jonas is a mesmerizing character. Tall, scarred, highly intelligent, and haunted by his past, Jonas is half the heart of this story. The other half belongs, not to the romantic interest, Avery...although he’s quite wonderful also but to Jonas’ neighbor, Marla. Marla is dying from cancer, but she has more life in her than most people that are going to make it to their 100th birthday. Marla, is a magnificent drag queen, who has let Jonas into her life and now has a serious favor to ask of him....she wants him to care for her little French bulldog, Bette, after she's gone. Marla and Jonah's touching, intimate, relationship is what immediately connects the reader to this story. There’s Kendall, Jonas’s roommate, Avery, the love interest and Jonas’ intern, Felix and Rocky, the other two men who run the podcast with him. By the time the story has ended , the found family and community has swelled around him, due in part to the murder mystery he was asked to investigate. An old murder mystery touches off all kinds of revelations and reverberations...including ones that bring up old memories that have traumatized Jonas for years. It's a story is about growth and healing and about leaving and letting go... and found families and forgiveness and giving second chances.½

Jon is a sweet and lovely character. He oozes uncertainty is some areas and absolute confidence in others. It's his entire make up and he is just right for Emory. I don't think that we got to know Emory as well as we might have, and although he took his time coming to terms with the whole "moving on" from a lost love, it only made him more loveable. The presence of River in this story made it more believable. I thought that the explanation of his abilities and the fact he has no idea know how to tap into them, or to control them, only tells us that he has the ability and the willingness to help and that he is not ego driven but just plain hurt. This is the second book in the series, and it seems the "Road to Blissville" series is going to keep getting better. All the other characters in the story rallied around to support them, which seemed to surprise Emory. I was expecting big things from him. He is a very complex character. The story left us knowing that Nate and River can go on knowing their loved ones are safe and that they want them to be happy...whatever life brings.

This is the second series for the detective couple of Sawyer Key and Royce Locke. Their story starts with the Zero Hour trilogy and now, hopefully only temporarily, concludes with their wedding and a honeymoon....to die for in this last story of the Matrimony and Mayhem trilogy. What a truly entertaining story this one proves to be. Aimee Nicole Walker incorporates all the elements that we expect from the couple’s relationship, humor, thoughtful introspection, respect, and deep abiding love as well lots of what M/M Romances are known for. She weaves a tale of murder carried out in a tiny resort town. One that they just happen to be honeymooning in. We get a moving wedding, a hilarious jaunt to their destination, and then a lakeside mystery and murder worthy of any romance novel no matter the genera. This author never lets our focus stray off of the fact that it’s Sawyer and Royce’s honeymoon, with all the resplendent joy and happiness they have in the fact they are each other’s husbands, with a new future and family ahead of them. We get to revel in that along with them. Whether they are investigating an element of the murder, or a break in, or some aspect of the fact they are newly married, it all threads nicely into the picture. As always, the surrounding cast only adds to the story. They are all well-defined and just plain terrific characters. We may not like all of them...but they are believable. It’s a mystery wrapped up in a suspenseful, edgy climax. The ending is so good and leaves us and them in a great place with the ability to make a return sometime in the future. Soon Ms. Walker...please soon.

While I enjoyed the book, I have to say that I didn’t fall in love with it. Even though I have read the books in this series in order, (surprise, surprise), I felt that I was missing some critical piece of the puzzle. The story tells of a second chance at love when Andy and Milo are reunited after over a decade apart. Andy Mason returns to Blissville not the "full of himself" boy he was, but a man who has fought his demons for years and wants to come home to be near those he loves including the man who broke his heart 14 years ago. He finds that their reunion is not anything like he planned and 2 years later he is still trying to figure out how to prove to Milo Miracle that he wants a life with him. One small problem that I had with the book was that it begins with a few chapters that take place right after Andy comes home and then it flashed forward two years with chapters in the present time. Andy and Milo are nothing short of combustible together, but the trust they once had is gone and getting it back takes time and a bit of soul searching and confessing. I’ll admit I kept waiting for something big to happen between them after they got back together. I felt like the story could have benefited from it. I enjoyed watching them together, but I kept feeling like they skirted around their issues and solved a lot of their problems in the bedroom. I just wanted more depth. I wanted to concentrate on Milo and Andy and not on everyone around them. I gave the book 4 stars, but it felt "uneven" for lack of a better term.

Sawyer and Royce are now engaged to be married and still heading up separate divisions of the Savannah PD... but they have worked it out between them, and all is well in their lives. Aimee Nicole Walker has again brought us an amazing story filled with special moments of love and gripping moments of chaos and violence, and a storyline that will keep you interested and invested in the story. This three-book series needs to be read in order even if you are familiar with Sawyer and Royce from other series. The guys are starting to plan their wedding but thankfully Sawyer’s mom steps in to help. Meanwhile, Royce is called out for a homicide when a wedding planner is murdered. Sawyer is busy also working to get answers for two missing people that disappeared in the mid 80’s. All the while there is a string of burglaries sprouting up around town. There’s also drama that pops up from Sawyer’s past that needs dealing with. What I love most about this entire series is the amazing love between these two men, which remains unbreakable, even when events involving family members puts their relationship to the test. i also love their cat who is obviously "IN CHARGE". On to book #3.

It's been three long years since I last visited with Royce and Sawyer. I was so happy when I found that there was a new trilogy and bought the 3 books right away. I missed these two guys and was so excited to see how life had been treating them and where they were at in their lives now...especially as a couple. Glad to see they are still going strong, and that Royce has mellowed a great deal. Royce and Sawyer trilogy, I was so happy. I missed these two men so much and was so excited to see where they are at in their lives now. Things seem to be going to change for the better. Sawyer has found a ring in Royce’s drawer and is waiting for him to pop the question. On the other hand, poor Royce’s proposals keep getting spoiled and murder and other aspects of their jobs and lives keeps putting the proposal on the backburner...again. If things weren't topsy-turvy enough...we get to meet Royce’s family and see all the dirt and discontent, they bring along with them. Then the guys learn that they are being split up at work. Royce to head a troubled teen program and Swayer to head a newly formed cold case team. The first case for the new team is "The Magnolia Murders". The case is that there were three winning beauty queens that were murdered after they won the crown. The Pageant is getting ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary, so a fresh look at the cases is needed. The investigation kept me glued right to the end and when everything is solved it all makes perfect sense. A few roadblocks in their paths, from not so co-operative retired detectives, to witnesses that are either dead or can’t be spoken to. It's always good when we are allowed along for the ride and not just told what happens. This author is never a disappointment when it comes to writing a believable detective story. There is always just the right mix of love and murder.

Josh and Gabe while on a romantic double date with Adrian and his wife Sally Ann, Gabe sees what he believes is a dead man walking into the same restaurant. After asking the waiter the man's name, Gabe does some investigating and finds the man's life only started two years ago. During the investigation of Nate's murder several more murders happen, all with the same MO. The mystery actually started in book#2 and finally has it's conclusion here. Josh and Gabe...what are we going to do with these guys, Gabe the cop and Josh the beauty stylist? Their slightly goofball romance began as them being one step from enemies and then transformed into a hesitant love. In this book?... they light up every chapter. We learn things from alternating points of view some with humor, some with love and others with some really torrid stuff. The plot is complicated than the last two books because there are so many suspects and another gruesome murder in this small Ohio town where Gabe is lead detective in a crime spree and Josh keeps half the town's ladies and some of the men. He's happy with his crazy salon and I love his incredibly funny foul-mouthed parrot. Don't even try to figure mystery out...just read and enjoy your time with Josh and Gabe.

The same characters wander in and out of this one just as they did in the first two books giving the story a feeling of coming home and meeting old friends. Liam and Jack were adorable. I have read some reviews that believe they came together a bit too quick...but they both knew what they felt and waht they wanted and needed. Jack was still grieving for his grandfather who had been such a huge part of his life and Liam listened and encouraged Jack to remember his grandfather every single day. When going through his grandfather's things, Jack found a picture and a journal from 1944 that told a story of a love that was forbidden in that time, between his grandfather and a man that served in the army with him. Jack and Liam's search for the man leads them to Vermont to a nursing home and an elderly patient with advanced Alsheimer's. This part of the story is a real heartbreaker, but it shows just what kind of a man Jack was and reenforced the fact for Liam that he could always trust Jack with his heart. It's a magnificent, heartwarming part of, and a perfect ending to this 3- books series. Adding to the wonderfulness of the story was the deep, warm, beautiful voice of Connor Brown. If you haven't ever listened to Connor Browns beautiful voice...you will be in for a real treat! I would recommend anything that he reads.

I probably would have enjoyed this more if I'd read it after the "Curl Up and Dye Mysteries" series. It definitely can be read as a standalone but I feel as though it assumes knowledge of characters from that series.

I’ve really liked both books from the "Fated Hearts" series that I have read thus far. This time we learned more of Xavier and Ben's story. Xavier is a musician who hasn't made very good life choices...and had recently returned home after leaving a very abusive relationship with his band’s Manager. He has a family and friends that will lend him the support he so sorely needs, which includes Chase and Gram along with the man his heart has ached for since his last visit home...Ben. Ben works with Chase, and he has had feelings for Xavier, who is Ben's foster brother, for some time. Xavier arrives home a total mess, and Ben proves to be exactly the man Xavier needs. Both men are damaged, but they find that they can help each other heal. A really sweet story about love and happiness in spades.

I like Grayson (Gray), and Chase from the start even if their first meeting almost became their last. This story for the most part is a sweet and adorable romance for Chase and Gray. In spite of the unusual way that they met and that it took a little while for them to each get over the circumstances, Gray was determined to make it up to this sweet man and takes his efforts to win Chase very seriously. This is a good one when you’re in the mood for an instant love, low angst, super sweet, perfect match romance.

This is a spin off that gives us the story of Kendall who we met in the Zero Hour, Matrimony & Mayhem and Sinister in Savannah. I loved both the characters of Kendall and Kurt Danridge in this and the other books in the series. Who wouldn't love someone that had a big fat spoiled cat? Kendall doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. Kurt, (Ridge), is a U.S. Marshall and doesn't stay in one place for long. Kendall wants a forever guy, but Ridge just got out of a bad relationship. Despite the action in the story, things really do revolve around their relationship and growing feelings, making this a surprisingly sweet love story punctuated with select moments of heat. Also, what sounds like some pretty good chicken wings, with wind sauce. Kendell shares his wind sauce recipes and how he comes up with the names for them. It's just a fun, action packed book. I am a big fan of happy endings and this one has a 100% plus happy one.

A beautifully written story of two damaged men fated to be together. I loved the back and forth POV. I can see how this will become a successful series from the interesting characters waiting in the wings.

I enjoyed this story for the most part although the hot/cold feeling got tiresome. The mystery was done well and the intro to the next book had me jumping to order it. Fun secondary characters that I hope will follow in other installments.

The new characters were interesting additions to an already fun group. I feel like there needed to be more detail when the murderer was arrested. Sunday dinners are heating up nicely.