If you’re looking for something sweet, light hearted, filled with laughter and love, then grab up Operation Meet Cute, the first book in KM Neuhold’s new Operation HEA series.
Adorable Harlow , his parents ugly divorce haunting him, decides the way to HEA and his true love is through a movie “meet cute” moment. And he’s been busy staging his own for years….to no avail.
Teddy, his neighbor upstairs, has been watching Harlow’s search go unrewarded for 4 years, the same amount of time Teddy has been Harlow’s best friend. Only his heart wants more.
This best friends to lovers story is funny, engaging, full of great lines and captivating characters. Alternative POV work beautifully to move both the storylines and romance forward.
By the time we’ve reached the ending, both the couple and reader are satisfied and ready for the next step.
What can I say? What a outstanding story! And not the least of which because every element comes across as a fully adult intelligent relationship that’s being explored, grown, and in the end, committed to.
Hallelujah
Rainbow Cove is a terrific series, heartwarming, rainbow, and yes, kinky.
Hope on the Rocks delivers up the story of bartender/co owner of Rainbow Tavern, Adam Ringer’s, path to a very beautiful and somewhat kinky HEA.
His partner to be? Dr Quinn Strauss, the town’s GP who’s current heartbreak leads him to Adam’s bar, a load of cocktails and a drunken confession about his secret desire for a Daddy.
Which just so happens to fit beautifully in with Adam’s need to be a Daddy, especially to the appealing man before him so in need of being taken care of.
What follows is first an agreement for a summer friends with benefits arrangement, no ties, to help Quinn explore fully his sexual/emotional desire for a Daddy.
As with the previous story. Lumber Jacked, which explored rope kink, beautifully so, Hope on the Rocks focuses its men and their burgeoning relationship around their mutual desire/need for Daddy kink. Albert expertly uses her characters and their relationship to explain exactly what this type of kink means and how it fits into a committed partnership.
Far from any sort of sex tutelage into Daddy role play, we get a sexy, moving, and meaningful story, full of adult communication on each other’s needs, expectations, and secret desires. Safety and trust, patience and love. All seen and experienced by Quinn and Adam as their summer and relationship deepens.
What barriers there are to overcome are ones that are equally realistic and ones I appreciate as they affected their dynamic. Demands by family, fears generated by past history, even work schedules…..all that rings so true.
The men are so sympathetic and engaging, both separately and as a couple that I read this story from start to finish without stopping. That’s a true measure for me of how much I love a book and how fully I’m involved in that universe and couple.
Here? It was 100 percent, I was all in and didn’t want to leave them and Rainbow Cove behind at the end.
I have no idea how many more stories the author intends to write in this series but here’s hoping that Rainbow Cove’s future is bright, as shiny and wonderful as this story and all those before it.
Tara Lain’s stories always leave me with warm, happy feelings. I certainly adore the characters she introduces her readers to in her books and series. And her storylines are well plotted and end satisfactory.
So it was with real anticipation that I started her Fuzzy Love series . The central character being a Papillon, huge bat earned tiny ball of high intelligence and energy. Yep, I’m all in immediately as I love books with animals as main or largely secondary characters.
Can I say right now I absolutely love Bat? That’s Batshit Crazy, the Queen of the Universe, yes, she’s amazing.
The rest of the universe and main couple, Em, the vet and the defense attorney, Finn Morgenstern, are so engaging and heartwarming that they not only deserve Bat but clearly each other and a HEA.
This story is full of suspense, action, character growth, romance, and dog on criminal adventures. It’s fast paced and so much fun.
I was fully involved with everyone and their relationships, and their HEA.
That includes the delightful glimpses we get of the people in the next books who inhabit Em’s sitting room .
I’m absolutely recommending this book and the series. The cover is on point. Look at that dog! The coloring exactly and the attitude! Pure sass! And the butterfly ears the breed is named for. Love it.
Reviewers And Dog Lover/owners note: Like tv series and movies, a book can make a breed so irresistible that it makes people want one for themselves, without exactly checking out if that breed is right for you and your lifestyle.
Tara Lain does a responsible job here in noting aspects of the Papillon breed that make it not for everyone. They are highly energetic and intelligent. They are territorial, and yes bark…..a lot. Alarm barking, hey look what’s passing by, what’s that sound barking. It’s part of the breed and she had her characters mention that repeatedly, albeit fondly and sometimes with exasperation.
They do outstanding as agility dogs because they need an outlet for that intelligence and energy. Don’t confuse this breed with that of a lap dog. Uh no. 😂
Want to explore more ? YouTube Papillon in agility and Papillon dog facts. They are a fantastic breed….for the right people.
This story has such amazing energy! And I’m not just talking about that great title.
From the start I fell in love with the plot, characters, and settings for Prancing of a Papillon.
It was effortless to fall so throughly into the lives and relationships of the people here.
From the sad, vulnerable moment we meet Jericho Jones , with his mother’s Cairn terrier, Killer, and , of course, Batshit. He’s on a blind date and it’s awful. Jericho is sweet and gentle and introverted. The exact opposite of what his huge “Exterminator “ exterior projects. That sets up an immediate conflict between what the men he meets assumes he’s going to be and the withdrawing “old maid “ he considers himself. That chasm in expectations leads once more to disaster.
And a broken-hearted harshly rejected Jericho.
Fear not! Because this man and romance has a super Papillon on his side!
Bringing back Bat’s owners from Passions of a Papillon, Finn and Em, our gentle hearted first grade teacher Jericho proceeds to get involved in the wildly entertaining business of the professional dog show world. A former Best in Show and Champion in her former life, Bat has been missed on the circuit and who’s better to accompany Bat on her return as her handler then Jericho! But he needs training.
Enter Ichiko the trainer/handler for well known Papillon breeder and downright gorgeous Brees Apollonia., Rodolfo , his Champion Papillon in tow. Soon there’s romance, mystery, suspense, and fabulous dogs prancing their hearts out in show rings to cheers from the crowd. There’s even another wonderful secondary character, Kathy … new owner/handler of Papillon White Trash, to join in on the action..
Prancing of a Papillon! You got that right! If you’ve ever seen Westminster or Crufts Dog Show then you’ve seen this breed. All high energy, enormous butterfly ears at attention, the brightest eyes totally focused on the job and handler. Ah but put them down and let them start around the ring? Magic! Those tiny legs pumping , flying up high, prancing as fancy as anything imaginable, head held like royalty. And barking to let everyone know they are THERE! Always to the huge enjoyment of the people watching. YouTube it.
Tara Lain has captured this perfectly. The flow of communication between dog and handler. The judging and the various owners/ handlers. It’s quite the show and not just in the ring.
In fact everything about this story is just so fine. The characters that pour themselves into your heart ,
(Jericho Jones I truly adore), the many layered plot, the venue. The romance which swung from fragile to sexy to perfection …..woof!
And yes, the humor, bravery, and cheers for Bat and all the dogs involved.
Yes, this turned out to be my favorite after all.
That’s hard in a series I loved this much. Grab them all up and find your own.
A note about that outstanding cover! Yup that’s both Jericho and Brees to perfection. But the best? That Batshit Crazy is accurately pictured as fawn Papillon. That’s the brown and white coloring. Rodolfo is black and white , similar to the dog pictured on the other covers. Just one more reason this is the Best in Show!
Reviewers And Dog Lover/owners note: Like tv series and movies, a book can make a breed so irresistible that it makes people want one for themselves, without exactly checking out if that breed is right for you and your lifestyle.
Tara Lain does a responsible job here in noting aspects of the Papillon breed that make it not for everyone. They are highly energetic and intelligent. They are territorial, and yes bark…..a lot. Alarm barking, hey look what’s passing by, what’s that sound barking. It’s part of the breed and she had her characters mention that repeatedly, albeit fondly and sometimes with exasperation.
They do outstanding as agility dogs because they need an outlet for that intelligence and energy. Don’t confuse this breed with that of a lap dog. Uh no. 😂
Want to explore more ? YouTube Papillon in agility and Papillon dog facts. They are a fantastic breed….for the right people.
There’s no literary voice like BA Tortuga’s . As I read one of her stories, the richness of the regional dialect that rolls out from the mouths of her characters rings with such authenticity that I can still hear those words and sentences even now.
It’s not just a muttered “sweet baby Jesus” or a “all you all”. Nor is it all the many local dishes eaten, barbecue grilled ( btw I’m definitely taking up the pickled mustard seed tyvm), or even the Tex mex delicious drool worthy food her characters devour, nope, it’s more. It’s small town Texas itself, the good, the heartwarming, and yes, the ugly. BA Tortuga knows the land and it’s people on a truly cellular level and is able to take that knowledge and love and pour it into her books.
I always feel as though I honestly know these people, these flawed human beings she writes so well. Here it’s Jericho and his children, a rancher neighbor of Bailey’s. She’s got a stalker and called her brother Anderson back in California for help. A brother bullied as a youth in school there in that small Texas town and now reborn as Logic, a highly successful tv robotics Star, writer, and robot builder. The renewal of acquaintance sparking more, being in town pulling up old memories.
Both the sister and Jericho have children and again, these kids are so well written. Perfect for their ages, each voice memorable and funny, engaging and sweet. When Travis meets his hero Logic for the first time and thinks he’s being punked? Perfection!
I could read that and enjoy their relationship over and over.
In fact all the interplay between the families just draws you into this incredible dynamic and makes you want to be a huge part of it as well.
There’s drama, hurt/comfort elements. But also for me there’s that great ending..
I’ve really debated with myself over how much to say here about it. Because at one point I thought BA was going to go a certain way with it ( shame on me, should have known better) because hey, isn’t that what happens with romances like this.
I know I know. Wet noodle time. Trust in the Tortuga.
So yep, fantastic ending….. ok I wanted more but I say that about all her stories. Can’t stop now. That’s because I never want them to end. Sue me.
But this one? It’s so special. One of my favorites out of so many of hers. Read it and I think you’ll agree.l
A series that’s centered around the smarts of a Papillon? One called the Queen of The Universe, aka Batshit Crazy? Love it!
As someone familiar with the breed ( a groomer of mine had 3 he brought to work with him), the author captured their high intelligence and marvelous personality to perfection. Loved the way Lain wove the antics of this wonder dog into her plot of suspense and mystery. With its aspects of academia job applicants , stress/joy of teaching and then the romance with all the characters, human and animal…well, it’s is just so entertaining and quite wonderful.
Animals done well in books always add that extra layer of warmth and layers for me. Here Bat, Harry, and Cat were the perfect characters and plot foils time after time. Paired with their humans, their dynamics allows us a window into each person’s character and sometimes current emotional state, showing us a vulnerability we might not see otherwise.
Cat the abandoned Abyssinian works so beautifully with Jack Sparks, a human being, isolated by history and need. Harry the ingratiating pit bull in love with Bat works perfectly as a foil for the twins, the adorable Toby Albertine and his sister Molly. Toby the twin in need of a fake boyfriend and a real love life. And Batshit the super Papillon who brings everything and everyone together.
Humor is also a lovely part of the storyline, especially with regard to the animals and their association with each other . Bat is after all Harry’s true ❤️.
It’s a fast paced, emotionally satisfying, well written story. And it ties up the 3-book series in a way that everyone will love. Including me.
This is a marvelous story. Read them all and see for yourself which of Bat’s capers come the closest to your heart.
Reviewers And Dog Lover/owners note: Like tv series and movies, a book can make a breed so irresistible that it makes people want one for themselves, without exactly checking out if that breed is right for you and your lifestyle.
Tara Lain does a responsible job here in noting aspects of the Papillon breed that make it not for everyone. They are highly energetic and intelligent. They are territorial, and yes bark…..a lot. Alarm barking, hey look what’s passing by, what’s that sound barking. It’s part of the breed and she had her characters mention that repeatedly, albeit fondly and sometimes with exasperation.
They do outstanding as agility dogs because they need an outlet for that intelligence and energy. Don’t confuse this breed with that of a lap dog. Uh no. 😂
Want to explore more ? YouTube Papillon in agility and Papillon dog facts. They are a fantastic breed….for the right people.
I adore this author and eagerly grab up each new offering as she releases it. Doesn’t matter what trope or character type, I’ll know that the author’s engaging style, her well layered characters and terrific plot will have me deeply entertained and throughly meshed with whatever universe and romance she’s created.
So it was with real interest that I saw a chance to read Albert’s very first story and series. I wanted to see what her first book and couple looks like and how much I could learn about the beginnings of a author I admire.
Here we have the story of a tv singing competition, a cobbled-together singing group and the two wildly different young men in it who go on to romance and hopefully a HEA . One flamboyant, desperately competitive and definitely out gay. The other quiet, from a conservative religious family that accepts he’s homosexual but only within a strict set of guidelines. And away from home for the first time.
That’s the barest story framework. Then Albert works a lovely sort of magic.
All the elements I expect from Annabeth Albert now in her series I can see here. Not fully . Not yet but the rough, lovely start of the complex, flawed people who we will meet in all the stories and series to come.
The messy personal dynamics? Check. The personal growth and self revelation? Check. Here the epiphany and hard choices seem to arrive and resolve themselves too quickly for all the history that both the men have and the sea changes each has to undergo.
But it’s her first book. So yes I get it. All that is a new author, one who’s works will , one after another, settle, show growth themselves, a strength and depth that here glimmers as promise.
Is this still a very sweet and lovely story to read. Absolutely. A must is the list of songs from the author at the end. Don’t miss them or any of the videos she listed. They enrich the story and will make you smile.
So a definite yes. I’m recommending it and will finish the series.
A Case for Christmas is just plain amazing. Sumptuous in period details, incredibly well written, and so full of clever scintillating dialogue that a review could easily be filled with one quote after another, it’s one to remember.
From the unusual cast of characters, to a twisting, devious mystery, and a romance that the reader is never quite sure is actually going to come together, along with the misgivings , miscommunications, and overall misunderstandings by our main leading men. Both of whom feel genuine and genuinely so completely flummoxed by their feelings for each other that it threatens to derail the investigation and the romance.
All the while the reader is steadily pulled into this universe and relationship. We learn to love the Gales, what a mad, wild, incredible bunch they are, the urchins, even the dogs. It’s the whole of the dynamics here that have you not only entertained but emotionally involved.
I’m so heavily invested in the proceedings that I couldn’t stop reading. I needed to finish and then I was sorry I had because it meant leaving everyone behind before I knew what happened next.
I honestly want more. Another in their story, the next stage, another case. Perhaps a marriage. But definitely more.
After this, you’ll feel the same.
Now for the others in the series. Yes need those too.
So many things I could quote to use as examples of just what a brilliant comedy romance Red Heir is if Amazon didn’t forbid the use of certain words. Ah well.
Ok I’ll just say it here. Fuckery stool. 🙈🤣🤣 nope can’t go further. My sides are still too sore.
That just means you’ll get the pleasure of reading first hand the sentences and passages that had me in tears! Tears! Holding my stomach, outright guffawing from almost the very beginning of the story.
And once the laughter came it never stopped. The amazing characters, the outstanding plot that’s so full of the oh so well crafted lines that it will have you spewing out whatever you so cluelessly thought to munch on or drink while reading this tale ( big note to you all, don’t eat or drink anything…just saying….you are warned). Also grab a box of tissues if you’re a snotty laugher.
Really it’s as if a great bar joke came to life and suddenly it’s THE tale you always wanted to read full of characters you always wanted to meet (well maybe not Scott ) and it’s perfection!
A elf, a dwarf, a prince, a pickpocket, a orc, a human, and a dragon walk into a bar…. Nope scratch the bar…. But the rest? Priceless adventures and hmmm the encyclopedic mention of sex positions fantastical.
So incredibly well written I’m still laughing at lines as I write this ( and realize I’m going to go back and read it immediately again), the characters so beautifully fleshed out that I can see them all so clearly before me, funny, engaging, sometimes fragile but always full of the unexpected.
And while I was contemplating the ending (which is fabulous) the authors give us the gift of a second book coming in the series. Be still my heart. What a glorious journey awaits.
How I wish I could run around shouting, read this book! Because it, the characters and the authors deserves it.
Btw? My sides still hurt. Well done, Red Heir! I haven’t laughed that hard and long in ages. Love, love this book
I had been reading all the other stories in several series that mentioned this couple, chef Wyatt Blake and out MLB player Ryan Flores (Food Truck series and Kitchen God) but had never quite gotten around to their story.
Until now.
What a wonderful story it is. I’m so sorry I’ve missed out on all the references, not understanding what they meant until now. So many 🤦🏼♀️.
Because now I get them, and the impact on this couple as their relationship continues.
It’s only a sports story in that Ryan plays MLB. It does discuss his continuing impact as the first out MLB player and his negotiating with the team owner. Nothing about his dynamics within the team. Shame
Unlike other stories with hockey and football where the sport itself is a featured player, baseball here is missing as a story element. I sort of wished that had been more of a stronger aspect of Ryan’s character here but , as it wasn’t really a passion of his, I get leaving it out.
There’s a lot here to dive into, food , food /recipes of Puerto Rico ,inability to trust and communication, even to understand what it is to truly love and commit to another person. That’s an enormous narrative load for any couple and book to carry.
There’s so much to unpack here narratively speaking. It’s funny, real, harsh, heartbreaking, and ultimately so warm and loving.
It’s exactly why I read this author’s stories.
Honestly I should have gotten to Wyatt and Ryan sooner but better late than never.
Don’t you make that mistake. Read about their love story now. I highly recommend it and this author.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 