Review: Maybe I Do

Synopsis: 

She doesn’t believe in fairy tales. He is married to his job. Maybe whiskey is the secret ingredient that will bring them together—and give true love a shot in Nicole McLaughlin’s Maybe I Do?

Wedding photographer Charlotte Linley loves her work—even though she hates weddings. Sure, she still holds a grudge after being left at the altar by her high-school sweetheart. But today Charlotte is just happy to have complete control over her career, which is flourishing. Especially since she joined forces with one of the three gorgeous owners of The Stag, a boutique distillery that has become Kansas City’s hottest wedding venue.

Dean Troyer, bitter after the end of his own marriage, knows that Charlotte is the real deal—beautiful, talented, and successful. He may flirt with her every time she comes to The Stag but Dean is determined to keep his professional distance. . .particularly now that she’s helping him with his own sister’s wedding. The only problem? The more time Dean spends with Charlotte, the deeper their connection grows. Is this a rom-com cliché or could it be that these two jaded souls in the wedding business have finally found their real-life happily ever after?

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Maybe I Do by Nicole McLaughlin is a sexy sweet contemporary read. I was addicted from the first page. Here, the writer has brought together two kind people. Each one has their own fears that they struggle with, as well as their attraction to each other. Dean is forty-one- years-old. He feels old. Yet he stays fit. Packing a six pack and not a single grey hair, he’s every woman’s fantasy. Including, Charlotte’s. Dean was married once, and it didn’t work. Plus, he’s hiding a secret. Then, there’s Charlotte who was almost married. Her fiancée didn’t meet her at the aisle. Now, she works as a photographer photographing weddings mostly. Charlotte also holds a secret of her own. 

Maybe I Do fits in perfectly. Each protagonist finally figures out that maybe they do want a happily forever…but will their fears stop them? Nicole McLaughlin created a beautiful yet emotional journey. I cried, laughed, and fell in love. Two older people falling deeper for one another. Their lust, attraction, and fears have a long way to go. It was easy to relate to the characters. Hopeful, funny, and well-developed. This book felt so real. Truly, a heartfelt romance. Overall, I recommend this to readers everywhere.

Review: Roxie the Doxie Finds Her Forever Home

Synopsis: 

A Book To Help Children through Adoption and Other Family Transitions. Join Roxie, a dachshund dog, as she makes the transition from her temporary Foster home to her new Forever home. Based on a real dog and her experiences, the book is designed to help children through the complicated process of adoption and other family transitions such as welcoming adopted children into their home, joining step-families and blended groupings, or moving between one separated parent and another.Adopted children can undergo a wide range of emotions when facing these transitions. Roxies story shows children it is perfectly normal to be afraid or anxious and to ask questions, and most importantly that they are moving into a loving, caring family and everything will be all right. The book includes a Parent & Therapist Guide for Adoptive Families written by a professional therapist to help adult caregivers in guiding children through the adoption process and answering questions they may have.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Roxie the Doxie Finds Her Forever Home by Jody A. Dean is an excellent children’s book. Beautifully illustrated. The images are bright and colorful. They go well with the story. Page after page,mI followed a dog named Roxie. She’s a Doxie. It turns out she’s a real dog too. This is her story on adoption. Being in a foster home and going to a forever family. The intention of this book was to make adoption seem less frightening for children going through the process. I agree that the book has indeed accomplished that. Plus, there’s more materials in the back for parents of adopted kids. Great read. Fascinating adventure. Cute and friendly. I recommend this tale to readers everywhere. 

Review: A Forever Family for the Army Doc

Synopsis:

Rescued by the single mom
As a nurse and single mom, Izzy Halliday has her hands full. The last thing she needs is the distraction of a maneven one as irresistible as new hospital director Nicholas Macpherson!
Former army doc, Mac, has come to Wetherby to heal his soul but the sparks flying between him and stunning redhead, Izzy, aren’t bringing him much peace! Mac is in search of a quiet life, but time with Izzy and her daughter soon teaches him the unexpected joys of a chaotic family life.

Rating: 4-stars

Review: 

A Forever Family for the Army Doc by Meredith Weber is a great read. It brings up the life of adoption and adoption families. Not every child goes into a good home. But the main leading female charcater ended up in a home where the people loved her. It was crazy, messy, and good. 

Izzy had it bad. Her life has been going okay, until she meets the new stranger in town. Izzy soon learns that it’s her new boss. That means off limits for her. Dating a previous doctor she worked with has landed her in the zone of ignoring all men. Especially, with what happened with the last boyfriend. 

Mac wasn’t expecting to meet a woman like Izzy. The redhead has his attention from the get go. Instant chemistry. But soon he learns who she is…and that means off limits for him. Izzy isn’t the woman he can just roll in the hay with…and she deserves better. Plus, she has a daughter and is his coworker. Yet somehow, their time together is pulling at their threads and causing them to break…love is in the air. 

A Forever Family for the Army Doc is an entertaining read. I found it realistic. The characters were believable. Their situations kept building into an intense environment leaving me hanging off my seat wondering if it will go anywhere….Meredith Weber’s novel was strongly about family life. I liked that. Overall, I recommend this book to readers everywhere. 

Review: Finding Our Forever

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak welcomes readers to the town of Silver Springs, where surprises wait around every corner!
The search for her birth mother brought Cora Kelly to the New Horizons Boys Ranch. Getting a job there was easy enough, but confiding in Aiyana, the ranch’s owner, that she’s really her daughter? Cora’s not sure she can do that, not unless she’s confident the news will be welcomed. And once she gets to know Elijah Turner, Aiyana’s adopted son and ranch manager, that decision becomes even more difficult.
Although Elijah can’t deny his deep attraction to Cora, he’s always struggled with trust. Anyone with his past would, and there’s something about the ranch’s newest employee that isn’t exactly as it seems. But if the feelings she awakes in his guarded heart are any indication, she might be just what he’s long been waiting for. 

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak is the beginning to a new series. Talk about a starter…this novella is packed full of emotional journeys. In this tale, I met a young woman who was adopted. Luckily for her, her adoptive mother and father were good people. That doesn’t happen much for orphans. Yet, Cora lucked out and she’s about to luck out further. Cora is a twenty-eight year old woman who hired an investigation into who her birth mom was and where she could find her. Finally, she has her answers. Little did she know that she would not only met her mom but her future husband, too. I was ecstatic. Neverous, happy, and sad. The intensity of the story kept building up to where it could end badly…I wasn’t sure which way the news would swing. 

Brenda Novak has once more impressed me with her writing. This writer is a pro at coming up with plots that are engaging. From the beginning to end, I was tailing after Cora every second. Left in suspense as to what will happen next and what Cora might decide to do. I was happy to have read this new novella by Brenda Novak. She truly, knows what her readers want and expect. I have read many of her books….and I love them all. There’s always some form of an emotional attachment that has me connecting immediately with the main charcaters. There’s either a dilemma that has me on edge of my seat guessing or a romance that has me hooked. Either way, I’m always left feeling satisfied having read each of her works. Finding Our Forever had a theme of adoption and family. I thought it was brilliant. A believable tale with all its craziness just like the real world brings. Overall, I highly recommend this book to readers worldwide. 

Review: The Idea of You

Synopsis: 

With her fortieth birthday approaching, Lucy Carpenter dares to hope that she finally has it all: a wonderful new husband, Jonah, a successful career and the chance of a precious baby of her own. Life couldn’t be more perfect.
But the reality of becoming parents proves much harder than Lucy and Jonah imagined. Jonah’s love and support is unquestioning, but as Lucy struggles with work and her own failing dreams, the strain on their marriage increases. Suddenly it feels like Lucy is close to losing everything…
Heart-wrenching and poignant, this latest work by bestselling author Amanda Prowse asks the question: what does it mean to be a mother in today’s hectic world? And what if it’s asking too much to want it all?

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse is a powerfully written novel. A novel that all women can relate to easily. Love, relationships, and family are just a few of the themes presented inside this tale. From the beginning, I felt saddened by the main charcater’s life. She gave up her one and only child. A child that kept her wondering for forty-years, if she had a good life or not. The  Idea of You was indeed a perfect title. It perfectly worked for this read.  This same woman felt like a loner. Always single at events that couples would be attending. My heart reached out to Lucy. But then, the unexpected happens and she meets Jonah. He’s a great man. Their love is true and it made me smile to watch them as they worked out their issues and are just as happy as when they wedded.  However, a secret comes out and before readers know it, Lucy’s and Jonah’s world has been flopped upside down and inside out…then, Jonah’s daughter has a secret to tell. I felt that this tale was very believable. I can see this situation happening to anyone. Jonah’s struggles as a father and husband were tested. I loved the end results that Amanda Prowse created. So much sorrow and then some healing and laughter. Lucy went through a lot more than giving up her only child, she also miscarried. I can only imagine her hurt…overall, I highly recommend The Idea of You to readers everywhere. Emotionally deep and satisfying to read. 

Review: When All The Girls Have Gone

 

Synopsis:

When Charlotte Sawyer is unable to contact her stepsister, Jocelyn, to tell her that one of her closest friends was found dead, she discovers that Jocelyn has vanished.

Beautiful, brilliant—and reckless—Jocelyn has gone off the grid before, but never like this. In a desperate effort to find her, Charlotte joins forces with Max Cutler, a struggling PI who recently moved to Seattle after his previous career as a criminal profiler went down in flames—literally. Burned out, divorced and almost broke, Max needs the job.

After surviving a near-fatal attack, Charlotte and Max turn to Jocelyn’s closest friends, women in a Seattle-based online investment club, for answers. But what they find is chilling…

When her uneasy alliance with Max turns into a full-blown affair, Charlotte has no choice but to trust him with her life. For the shadows of Jocelyn’s past are threatening to consume her—and anyone else who gets in their way…

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz is a cozy romantic mystery with a lot of humor. I have read a few of Jayne Ann Krentz’s novels, but this latest one hooked me. The characters were fascinating to watch in action. Their easy-going nature and troubles were interesting. They fit in together like a jigsaw puzzle. Both main characters had lived lives that changed them. Apparently, it seemed to change them both in a positive way. One escaped a fire and was adopted the other was dumped before her wedding and left with bills to pay off…both have issues. Real life issues.It was easy to connect with them on many levels. The way life pulls the rug from under their feet kind of theme also rings true in real life. I love how realistic everything played out inside this book. The PI investigator’s timing and knack for gut instincts in finding out stuff were incredible. Yet he seems to put doubt, in his gut, when it comes to a more personal reason. This causes him to wonder and it eats him alive. Anyone placed in this man’s shoes would have questions as well as doubts. Then, there’s the leading female character who believed in him. This sort of gave him a piece over his internal conflicts. Plus, the instant chemistry between the two satisfying. Two sisters are involved in a dangerous situation. One left thinking she was protecting her sister and friends. Turned out that she was wrong. Instead, she and her sister will be reunited under dire circumstances and it will be up to the PI investigator to get them both before it’s too late…When All the Girls Have Gone is an intriguing, suspenseful, yet wonderful journey. One that readers won’t resist. I loved reading it. Every page had some kind of action that intrigued me. Kept me turning those pages. When I reached the ending, I was very glad I read this book. Overall, Jayne Ann Krentz’s novel is a must read for all. I highly recommend it.