Review: Antagonist (Dads of Stillwater #1) by Ana Ashley

Rating: 3.25🌈

Antagonist is the first of Ana Ashley’s Dads of Stillwater series. Ashley ‘s story gives us all the necessary elements we need for a first novel. A foundation in the small town of Stillwater, with major events taking place at the elementary school, bakery, and other places that will be highlighted in this and other stories. We get a feel for it’s various citizens and township. Good and bad.

A overall theme of single dads , a section of liberal families versus a conservative “embedded bunch of pearl clutchers”, change versus status.

The first couple mirrors that image in their current lives. Bisexual attorney Harrison Davis is moving with his ex wife Stella and their child, Megan to Stillwater so Megan can have a better childhood.

Several terrific elements here. Harrison, Stella, and Megan are a great family unit even though Harrison and Stella are no longer married. Everyone is a fully fleshed character. No one is demonized over the end of the marriage. These are adults who respect each other and work in the best interests of their child.

Harrison is a bit lost in a small town environment but it’s his personality. It’s all well crafted and believable.

Fletcher, the artist and another single father who is the second main character is very engaging. Ashley has the father / son dynamics down perfectly so we fall in love with them as a family immediately. Gigi is adorable.

Fletcher has moments here that just keeps me frustrated with him. I not sure if it’s the author’s creation of his character or something in the storyline but the entire element with his ex, the dithering about even thinking of giving a narcissist personality(as written by this author) custody of a child because of a old promise comes across more as a need of story inserted drama then any believable plot line.

In reality, a person would have lawyered up faster then you could have said I don’t think so. But then a lot of the dramatic narrative would have been lost. That was me being polite.

The dithering about just was unreal , frustrating, and frankly, made me disconnect from the story a bit.

So was the whole outcome from the disagreements with the “pearl clutcher “ Karen here. Very disappointing.

So some very sweet, lovely elements and a great foundation for the series. A contemporary romance with two men with wonderful children and terrific found family dynamics.

It’s a nice start with some stumbling blocks.

I’m recommending it and will definitely go on to the next installment.

Dads of Stillwater:

✓ Antagonist #1

◦ Breakthrough #2

◦ Heartstring #3 – March 14, 2023

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showAntagonist (Dads of Stillwater #1) by Ana Ashley

Description:

Single dads. Polar opposites. Undeniable chemistry.
Harrison
Meeting at a bachelor auction for charity has trouble written all over it as far as I am concerned. Especially when the guy with the winning bid seems to be after only one thing…a good time between the sheets.

Refusing the advances of a man who’s too good looking for his own good, is easy at first. But how can I stay away from him when our kids are in the same class and trouble is already brewing between the two?

Fletcher
What do you do when the guy you can’t stop thinking about—and thought you’d never see again—turns up at your kid’s school?
You bring your A-game and flirt until he caves.

Harrison is hell bent on resisting the chemistry between us.
That is until we’re thrown together to organize the school’s Spring Fair.
Will that be my only chance to prove to him that I’m looking for more than a casual fling?

Antagonist is book 1 in Ana Ashley’s new series, Dads of Stillwater. You can expect bumping heads, show-stealing kids, a school fair so heated it may just go up in flames, lovable secondary characters, and Ana’s usual happy ever after.

Review: Love and History (The Script Club #6) by Lane Hayes

Rating: 4.5🌈

The events of Love and History run concurrently to The Professor’s Date and works beautifully to tie all the original couples up into their HEA as well as give us a heartwarming romance for one of the remaining Script Club members and a new boarder at the lovely old historic house they’ve been renting the entire series.

Almost everyone has either moved out as they have found their partner and established themselves in their careers. The ones left at the house are Tommy and Holden, both Professors at CalTech, both geniuses going for their PhD’s. All the other scientists/geeks in their circle have moved out, forcing them to rent to jock friends of Blake (Aster’s boyfriend).

If you’ve read The Professor’s Date, then you’re aware of how certain events will play out regarding the house. So having Lane use it as a dramatic element is a bit awkward. We know there’s no real threat there.

I wish another thread was used to have Holden thinking of moving on other then the loss of the house. Cole and Ezra had a realistic reason. They needed a location closer to work, which made sense. Holden’s emotional ties also felt believable. A renovation versus a loss of lease perhaps?

Anyway, the romance between Holden Galymer ,astrophysicist, microbiologist ,Phd candidate at CalTech and jock/lawyer in the making Ezra Marsden turns out to be incredibly bumbling, sexy, and sweet.

Ezra has been an irritant on Holden’s nerves since he moved in. With a dislike for clothes past the front door, and a disregard for respecting or replacing someone else’s groceries, Ezra is a itch Holden can’t scratch.

Lane is excellent at creating two wholly opposite characters and then making the reader see how perfect they are for each other. As she does here.

Each man has issues they are still working through. Especially Ezra. A lively outgoing demeanor hides someone who’s dealing with deep grief and anger over his father as well as a inability to come fully out of the closet as bisexual. Holden too has many layers and things that he keeps hidden. Those issues impact his feelings and ability to move forward into relationships.

How Ezra and Holden stumble through into love and HEA includes some wonderful events, some painful moments, and a outstanding wrap up with every couple in the series.

It’s a treat and a great way to say goodbye.

This is a series I really enjoyed. I had my favorites (who doesn’t) and was absolutely entertained.

If you love contemporary romance, this is a group of men I think you’re going to love. Including their finale. I’m definitely recommending this!

The Script Club Series:

✓ Following the Rules #1

✓ Rules of Play #2

✓ The Jock Script #3

✓ The Holiday List #4

✓ The Professor’s Date #5

✓ Love and History: Ezra and Holden #6 – series finale

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: Short Stack (Short Story Collection 2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.5🌈

Lily Morton’s Short Stack Collections follow our favorite couples from her romances after their happily ever after endings. What happens next? Or sometimes just before.

It’s the main question every reader and fan has wanted to know when they get involved in the lives of a couple and their relationship. We want to know what happened next?

Did some get married? What? What?

Morton has given her readers a collection of short stories featuring eleven couples from some of my most favorite romances. Some of these stories are ones I often wish had been folded into the books themselves as quite a few take place before the epilogues of the novels mentioned. Others occur after the books have ended so we get glimpses into the lives the couple’s are now leading.

Happy sigh ensues.

All are well written with style that brings these characters so vividly to life, so grounded within the framework the author’s set out for them.

If you’re not familiar with these stories, you’ll be at an immediate loss here. I’ve put the book each couple is from in parentheses next to their names.

For me, the successful stories were the ones that came from those books and couples I loved the most. Apparently my favorites carried over.

The richness of their original novels and romances flowed over into these stories too. I could see them easily written at the same time. It made me want to go and pick up those books and dive back into the love affairs that made me laugh and cry and sigh .

What joy!

So if you’re new. Head to the books these reference. If you’re familiar with these novels, set back and enjoy a side journey with memorable couples you have wanted to see again.

Plus one very stoned Dean appearance that’s hilarious.

I’m highly recommending this second collection as well as the first.

Note:Some of these appear on the author’s website, others are new exclusive stories.

Jesse and Zeb: (Best Man)

🔹The Graduate

🔹Of Maps and Valentines

Charlie and Misha (Charlie Sunshine)

🔹Sunshine and Showers

🔹Brighton Rock

❤️Max and Felix (After Felix)

🔹Eyes Wide Open

🔹A Day In The Life of Max

Matt and John (The Summer of Us)

🔹Not Just A Cold

❤️Arlo and Jack (Merry Measure)

🔹Somewhere In Between

❤️Mags and Laurie (Beautifully Unexpected)

🔹Visiting Hours

🔹Three Tries

🔹A Red Ribbon

❤️Mal and Caden (Spring Strings)

🔹The Lion Tamers w/Dean

❤️Wren and Mateo (The Cuckoo’s Call)

🔹Gertie and the Glitch

Barnaby and Cosmo (On a Midnight Clear)

🔹Cosmo’s Wish

Will and Jem ((The Skeptic)

🔹When Will Met Jem

❤️Simeon and Ziggy (The Stopping Place)

🔹Sun Cove – Chapters 1 to 3

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

AMAZON FR

Description:

What happens after the happy ending?

Drawn together for the first time, this is a collection of Lily’s short stories about some of the much-loved men from her books. Follow them through wet and windy marriage proposals, surprise workplace visits, and a very entertaining ghost tour.

It includes stories previously written for her website, newsletter, and readers’ group, along with four brand new and exclusive short stories—Gertie and the Glitch, A Red Ribbon, When Will Met Jem, and Sun Cove.

Review: Playing By The Rules (Miami Piranhas Book 3) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5🌈

Playing By the Rules brings to focus a relationship that’s been referred to in the previous books, that of the obviously close connection between the highly stressed young Miami Quarterback and their new Quarterback Coach .

This is their story, from beginning to a realistic HFN at the end.

With a slight wobble for me at the start of the novel, where it seems to want to launch a instant love romance, Playing For Keeps then settles nicely into a grounded sports romance, one that takes time to explore the history and current all around status of both characters involved.

One is ex NFL quarterback Davis Abernathy, who’s NFL career was abruptly cut short, when his team traded for a quarterback with a dubious reputation and investigation in progress. However no team picked up his contract amidst health rumors. Until a phone call asking him to come to Miami.

Davis is a recognizable figure, even for those who don’t follow sports closely. We can understand his feelings and predicament. And bitterness.

The man he’s to coach ? A young , new to the NFL quarterback. One who’s already screwed up his first year in the big leagues and is under enormous scrutiny and pressure to produce. Or end up much like Abernathy.

Paxton Kelly is a wonderful character. Although he initially doesn’t seem to have all the dimensions (and can’t) that Davis has, he balances the older man beautifully in a way that makes their romance make sense.

Now the team is rebuilding. New head Coach, new players, new management. And new hope for a ex quarterback and a struggling starter if they can work together as Coach and player.

Bolden’s familiarity with the sport and team dynamics helps to create a professional, realistic team and ,through great writing, a vivid group of personalities trying to mesh in a trying season.

You can hear the bluntness of the advice Davis hands out. The realness of the stubbornness and denial in quarterback Paxton Kelly’s voice as he responds to the first authentic NFL coaching he’s been given. It’s pitch perfect.

As it the revolving relationship between them as Coach and player, Vs the attraction they keep fighting.

The attraction and growing feelings between Davis and Pax has a more realistic feel as the story progresses then that of the “instant” ones layered on at the beginning. I believe in that aspect of them as a couple rather then the hot flames of the start.

Other terrific elements? The dancing and seeing another established couple from a favorite series towards the end. That’s always a plus.

I ended up absolutely enjoying Davis and Pax’ romance. It a grand story and it leads up to one I’ve been anticipating the most.

Happy reading! I’m highly recommending this!

Miami Piranhas series:

🔹Playing For Keeps #1

🔹Playing The Player #2

🔹Playing By The Rules #3

🔹Winning The Season #4 – Dec 1, 2022

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Playing-…Playing by the Rules (Miami Piranhas Book 3) – Kindle edition by Bolden, Beth. Literature …

Description:

Ex-quarterback Davis Abernathy knows he’s on his last chance.

If he strikes out as Paxton Kelly’s coach, nobody else is going to call him. Not to get back on the field, and not to stand on the sidelines.

He’s got a lot to teach Pax, and as a second-year quarterback, Pax has a lot to learn. But Davis doesn’t anticipate the irresistible way they’ll be drawn together from their first meeting. He never could have predicted such a fierce and uncontrollable yearning—or that Pax would feel the same.

It should be easy to remember rules aren’t meant to be broken, and certain lines aren’t meant to be crossed, but the only thing that’s easy is falling totally, completely in love with Pax.

As Davis falls harder, Pax succeeding becomes just as important—and maybe more so—than resurrecting his own career. If he messes this up, his last chance isn’t all he’ll be sacrificing.

What he should be is focused on being the perfect mentor. But what he wants is Pax in his bed, Pax in his life, and more impossibly, to win Pax’s heart forever.

Davis Abernathy ex quarterback called to help fix Paxton Kelly quarterback of the Piranhas

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Bad Deal (A-List Security Book 3) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4.5 🌈

So far, Bad Deal is now my favorite story in Annabeth Albert’s A-List Security series.

This is the first book that I really just completely got both characters and was invested in the growing relationship from the very beginning and stayed that way.

It’s not got a ton of high angst. Except for a realistically traumatizing scene (trigger warnings) early in the book. Ambrose Sterling has Hercules, Chinese Crested emotional support dog, because he has anxiety and panic attacks.

Albert does a terrific job with this element of Ambrose’s character and this aspect of the story. He sees a therapist, he’s situationally aware of what might bring on an attack, and he has Hercules. Hercules is an adorable pint sized character indeed. He’s also unafraid to talk about his condition.

I love how adult and responsible this is.

That means that, except for that attack scene (non sexual but realistically frightening), the path that tv producer Ambrose Sterling and head security adviser Harley Burton take towards an emotionally rewarding relationship and HEA is one of small steps. Of them becoming friends, then lovers as eventually, they deeply connect through shared experiences and values.

And one tiny emotional support Chinese Crested who adores both.

Harley Burton, a common character in the previous books, finally gets the depth and emotionally satisfying dimension to his character we’ve been hoping for. The internal dialogue about his sexuality that’s been happening settles in so Harley recognizes he’s probably always been pansexual. It’s the beautiful dialogue that occurs between Ambrose and Harley, a naturally flowing exchange of feelings and thoughts, that’s believable and cements their relationship.

Of course, there’s more bumps to overcome to HEA, but it’s a fabulous, heartwarming journey. One where you absolutely connect with these men and their families. And one tiny dog.

I’m highly recommending Bad Deal and wondering what the next has in store.

Plus it was a pleasure to get glimpses of past couples in Rainbow Cove, if only for a moment.

A-List Security series:

🔹Tough Luck #1

🔹Hard Job #2

🔹Bad Deal #3

🔹Rocky Start #4 – Jan 26, 2023

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showBad Deal (A-List Security #3) by Annabeth Albert

Description:

I’m a bodyguard and far from ideal boyfriend material, but agreeing to this fake dating scheme might be the best bad deal I’ve ever made…

I’m a fixer. As a SEAL chief, I succeeded in impossible no-win situations. Now I’m retired and determined to improve the lives of my former military teammates through our Hollywood security firm. Plus, I get to guard intriguing people like Ambrose Sterling, creator of one of my favorite TV shows.

Of course, I want to keep Ambrose safe. When he’s attacked, I leap into action to save him and his scrappy little therapy dog.

But my good deed results in a coastal road trip with me pretending to be Ambrose’s boyfriend to keep him out of more danger.

I don’t do relationships, and I’ve never thought about dating a man before, but here I am, sizzling with every touch and dreaming about more stolen kisses.

Each night of white-hot passion brings us closer to an unbreakable bond. But I’m blue-collar, and Ambrose is Hollywood elite. I want a happy ending more than anything. Can I turn this fake boyfriend gig into the real thing, or am I just a guest star?

BAD DEAL is book three in the A-List Security series. It features a highly protective SEAL bodyguard, a suit-wearing silver fox, an adorably ugly dog, and all sorts of brand-new emotions. Get ready for all the high heat, big feels, and found family feels readers expect from this fan-favorite military romance author. Join A-List Security for this lower-angst series featuring former SEALs and the celebrity clients who win their hearts. Happy endings and no cliffhangers guaranteed!

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Unmanageable (In Vino Veritas #3 ) by Leslie McAdam

Rating: 4.5🌈

Unmanageable (In Vino Veritas #3 ) by Leslie McAdam is another terrific contemporary romance in a series solid with them.

There’s several elements here that immediately spoke to me.

Luke Lagomarsino and his ex-wife Kira have a young daughter, Addison. McAdams makes Kira a complicated, loving individual and mother who deserves to thrive in a rewarding professional career. And has Luke acknowledge that it’s time for him to make the changes and decisions necessary for Kira to be able to take a job that’s important to her emotionally and career wise.

I love a story that doesn’t demonize the wife or any ex for that matter but looks at a family situation from a layered perspective.

That continues to happen with Luke as he has to adjust to returning to his small hometown, being a full time father, and a less “ hands on “ business career.

It’s a great portrait of a man in flux. It’s identifiable and makes Luke someone we can relate to.

Scott Malone, the romantic, sweet younger man who’s both rescued by and rescuer of Luke is a vulnerable and engaging character. So overwhelmed by debt that he’s incapable of facing it or knowing how to ask for help, he’s generous of heart and loving nature. The scenes written with him and Addison, the daughter, feel incredibly believable and grounded in reality.

Luke and Scott’s path to love and family is heartwarming and thoughtful. It’s got layers of realistic personal growth that needs to happen, and communicating between men and family for everyone to come together.

It’s wonderful to read and their happiness is everything!

I’m highly recommending this and the series. There’s something for everyone here.

I’ve listed them below. Check them out and happy reading.

In Vino Veritas series 2:

✓ Wildfire #1 – Garrett Leigh

✓ Counterpoint #2 – JE Birk

✓ Unmanageable #3 – Leslie McAdam

◦ Underdog #4 – LA Witt

◦ Wonderland #5 – Rachel Ember

◦ Dauntless #6 – Victoria DeNault

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showUnmanageable (In Vino Veritas, #3) by Leslie McAdam

Description:

I’ve never been romantic. Just ask my ex-wife.

Since she broke up with me, I get my needs met any time I want, without putting my heart on the line. Exactly how I like it.

But when she is called overseas and leaves me with our child, my bachelor lifestyle ends faster than you can say, “Daddy, I want a pony.”

I need help.

Problem is, help’s come in the form of an incredibly hot nanny.

My employee.

Who is much younger than me.

And also … a guy.

I watch Scott care for my kid and can’t help feeling like he clicks into place in her life.

When he looks at me, though … I get an entirely different feeling. One that makes me long for things I can’t have.

Like him.

Unmanageable is a contemporary m/m age gap romance about a starry-eyed nanny who wants hot-air balloon rides and singing telegrams and a grumpy single dad who most definitely does not.

The first series:

Vino and Veritas #1:

🔵Featherbed (Vino and Veritas 1) by Annabeth Albert

🔵Heartscape #2 by Garrett Leigh

🔵Headstrong #3 by Eden Finley

🔵Undercover #4 by Eliot Grayson

🔵Aftermath #5 by LA Witt

🔵Booklover #6 by JE Birk

🔵Flipcup #7 by Kim Hartfield f/f

🔵Hideaway #8 by Rachel Lacey f/f

🔵Turnabout #9 by Laurel Greer

🔵Unguarded #10 by Jay Hogan

🔵Insatiable #11 by Rhys Everly

🔵Daybreak #12 by Kate Hawthorne

🔵Heartsong #13 by AE Wasp

🔵Stronghold #14 by Ana Ashley

🔵Limelight #15 by E Davis

🔵Unforgettable #16 by Marley Valentine

🔵Showstopper #17 by Regina Kyle

🔵Undone #18 by Leslie McAdams

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Best Love by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.75🌈

Best Love is a previously published short story (Heart2Heart Anthology, old title The Tattoo Artist and the Writer) that’s been reworked, along with a epilogue.

It’s new title, Best Love, is absolutely fitting for the love story of writer Noah Sutton and tattoo artist Sage Higgins. Best friends and soul mates since Sage’s mother and his brothers moved next door to Noah and his single mother at age seven, they’ve been inseparable except for certain college years and Sage’s time spent traveling.

A Valentine’s Day blind date arranged by a app goes wrong and they end up together, going on the dates they would have taken their dates on.

One of Lily Morton’s many gifts is the ability to write a relationship that feels emotionally entwined. One grounded in years together spent in getting to know each other so deeply that the stage where the reader comes in upon them feels rich in shared history and lives spent in a bond that’s become deeply part of each man.

Morton can accomplish this skill of writing a multidimensional relationship and beautifully defined characters in a short length of page space. Some richly crafted scenes, accompanied by dialogue that enlivens both the characters yet heightens whatever emotions the author’s narrative has in store for them (and the reader). All done precisely but with a true palette of a word artist.

In a short time, we know these men intimately. We know their history together and the feelings they’ve hidden from each other.

And we care immediately for them and the relationship.

Then Morton takes all of us on a journey to HEA.

If you’re not familiar with this author, then you might not realize you’re about to visit some fascinating locations and find out some intriguing elements about whatever place the couple ends up strolling around.

*cracks knuckles, readies Google fu*

It never ever comes across as a travelogue but is seamlessly folded into Noah and Sage’s journey to love and happiness.

Here we both climb up the Minster’s Tower tour in York (a real tour) for a breathtaking sight of all of York below. Then it’s off to Staithes for Captain Cook, artists, and the incredible Painted Illusion Trail.

But that’s all secondary, to the depth of the changes that this long relationship is undergoing as the men slowly open up as they spend all this time together showing the other things about themselves.

Best Love is a short story that manages to feel as though you’re taking a long journey with a couple you’ve known for a long time.

It’s moving, heartwarming, and so rewarding.

It’s one I’m highly recommending.

Plus Google those trips and be prepared to want to visit there yourself. Just as I do.

Bonus:

WordPress.comhttps://environmentalsculptures.wordpress.com › …Staithes Painted Illusion Trail

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showBest Love by Lily Morton

Description:

Noah and Sage have been best friends since they were seven when Sage climbed over the wall between their childhood homes. They know everything about each other apart from one small thing. Noah is hopelessly in love with Sage and doesn’t ever intend to tell him.

However, fate has other plans. A dating website with a glitch in its system leads Sage to challenge Noah. Two days in which they will show each other their best dates. What could possibly go wrong?

At the end of these two days will the men discover that the best love comes with someone who really knows you, or will they fall back into being just good friends?

Review: The Last Nanny in Manhattan (Nannies of New York #1) by K. Sterling

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Last Nanny in Manhattan, the first in the Nannies of New York series by K. Sterling, is a snappy, sexy, sweet contemporary romance by a author that’s new to me.

I enjoyed this journey immensely. It’s got age gap, wickedly intelligent 6 year old triplets , a widower who’s overwhelmed by work but most by a sense of failure when it comes to fatherhood and parenting. And , importantly, a gay, effervescent, highly competent Mary Poppins of a nanny in need of a family to fix and fall in love with.

It helps that Fin the irrepressible, remarkable nanny has a thing for gorgeous SavageFenty underwear as well as the ability to bring the chaos the demon triplets have caused to a heartwarming close through understanding, and love.

Finley Marshall comes with an entire faction of fantastic people to support him and to act as main characters in the succeeding novels. There’s Reid, Fin’s oldest brother. Reilly, his best friend. Pennsylvania aka Penn the Gandalf of nannies. And more. The LGBTGIA nanny network of New York and the solid basis for this series. Each one a highly intelligent, and star of the nanny network of the Manhattan wealthy clientele.

What a fabulous start!

Walker Cameron III is the other side. He brings his amazing bisexual sister who I’m hoping we see a great deal more of. Plus his butler, who slowly unbends to Fin, his unusual style of doing things and welcomes Fin into the household. But it’s really about Walker. And his dysfunctional relationship to his children. Walker is a tightly wrapped bundle of pain, stress, mourning, and fear.

Sterling does an excellent job in making these characters and their relationships with all the people around them clear, layered with history and emotional, and relatable.

Walker maybe wealthy but he’s a father who’s inability to connect with his girls is hurting them all. He’s lost his way and the reader hurts for all four of them even as we might be snickering at the ingenious damage the triplets are inflicting on the household.

Watching Fin come in, assess the situation, amidst the turmoil and incoming weapons the children hurl, is amazing. So is the journey the girls and Walker start on back to being a family and normalcy. With one special addition.

It’s got obstacles of course, some drama, but there’s a HEA at the end that so wonderful and heartwarming.

Nannies of New York Book series:

✓ The Last Nanny in Manhattan #1

◦ Giles Ashby Needs A Nanny #2 – January 26, 2023

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Last Nanny In Manhattan (Nannies of New York, #1) by K. Sterling

Description:

Walker Cameron III might be one of the most feared men in Manhattan, but he’s no match for his six-year-old triplets. After exhausting all other options, Finley Marshall is the grumpy widower’s last hope.

Luckily for the Camerons, Fin is a master of chaos and can calm even the most beastly of children. But Fin soon learns that the girls aren’t the problem; it’s their father. Still grieving and easily overwhelmed, Walker leaves the servants to cope with his little hellions. Fin wants to prove he’s the best nanny in the city and that his older brother, Reid, should start his own agency. Is Fin willing to risk life and limb to do it, though?

Afraid to lose the most competent caregiver to ever cross his threshold, Walker agrees to an unusual set of terms. He’ll give the girls more of his time and practice better parenting with Fin as his guide. But Walker finds himself with a new and unexpected problem. For the first time in years, he’s having very improper thoughts and can’t stop thinking about Fin. Can he keep his feelings to himself or will Walker fall for the last nanny in Manhattan willing to take on the cursed Camerons?

*The paperback edition will include additional illustrations by Jayla, a short story featuring the Camerons, recipes from the book, and a soundtrack!

Review: Bet You (Franklin U Book 4) by Neve Wilder

Rating: 3🌈

Bet You is among 8 novels written by different authors in the Franklin U series and each is a standalone featuring a different couple.

Bet You by Neve Wilder has a number of well known themes running through it. There’s opposites attract, the rich easygoing frat boy versus the stressed, overworked middle class student with money flow issues, and a somewhat jock / science nerd aspect as well. But the biggest trope is embedded in the title itself. Bet You.

Yes, that a bet by the rich frat boy that he can make the overworked poorer science student “like, date, fall in love “ with him, whatever the bet is here. There’s been many variations on this theme, but this is the basis for the storyline.

And the largest issue with it is that the reader always knows how the plot will play out regardless of author or book. It always goes the same way.

MC Character makes a bet with his friends. Figures out a way to get the 2nd MC to go out with him. The relationship progresses. They fall into (like,love) then MC2 finds out about the bet. He , naturally feels betrayed, they break up. Big drama. Then MC 1 redeems himself. Reunion and HEA.

It’s every story. The MC1 never tells MC2 about the bet.

If there’s a book out there where that happens, shoot me the title, pls.

So Wilder is trying to make a tired trope feel fresh, a tough job. And on top of that it starts with the fact that overworked, stressed Spencer Crowe’s designated parking spot (paid for) is routinely taken by the fraternity brothers next door. The loud, partying, 24/7 obnoxious fraternity. Which is already a huge problem when the scientists next door want to study.

And when he complains to the person he catches in his spot this time , the rich Cory Ingram, the complaints are immediately treated as insignificant. When Spencer’s reaction to being treated as a nonentity is rage, Cory and his frat brothers instincts lean towards bullying, his friends admitting that they park there often.

None of this makes me want to connect with anyone other then Spencer. Especially Cory’s tactics that follow the bet.

Yes he eventually becomes a nice person but for me, that early personality and events cut him and his frat off from engaging in this story.

Basically, I just wanted to tell Spencer to have him , and all others who park there towed , and call it quits.

It would have felt satisfying, however there wouldn’t have been any romance.

Things here just kept annoying me. What year is this that frats party 24/7 without complaints? Because it doesn’t happen here. In fact those chapters get closed down.

Bullying, non stop partying. Infantile actions. I’m sure they still are ongoing on campus’s elsewhere. I guess I no longer have the patience to read about them.

If you do, if all this sounds like it’s something you’d want to read. Then happy reading.

Franklin U series:

✓ Playing Games #1 – Riley Hart

✓ The Dating Disaster #2 – Saxon James

✓ Mr. Romance #3 – Louise Masters

✓ Bet You #4 – Neve Wilder

◦ The Glow Up #5 – A.M. Johnson

◦ The Learning Curve #6 – N.R. Walker

◦ Making Waves #7 – Christina Lee

◦ Football Royalty #8 – Eden Finley

https://www.goodreads.com › showBet You (Franklin U #4) by Neve Wilder – Goodreads

Description:

Spencer
Whose brilliant idea was it to build university housing next to one of Franklin U’s most notorious party frats?

I’m a real student—the kind who actually came to college to learn, not some dumb frat bro who sees Franklin U as a four-year challenge to consume the most booze and throw out the best pick-up line.

Their all-hours lifestyle is driving me crazy. Not to mention, the jerks keep taking my assigned parking spot.

But the worst offender might be Cory Ingram. Sure, he has a smile that could melt a polar ice cap, but no way will I ever be one of his minions. I’m pretty sure I made that clear when I blew my top at him. So I have no idea why he’s suddenly everywhere around me, turning on the charm like I might actually fall for it.

Nope. Not gonna happen.

Cory

From the first day I set foot on Franklin U’s campus, everything has been golden. I have a ton of friends, endless parties to be the life of, and whoever I want in my bed on any given night. Sure, I’m a shameless party boy, but I’m not a jerk. Ask anyone. Seriously.

Even the crotchety old groundskeeper waves and smiles at me when I pass.

Then there’s Spencer Crowe. I’ve never seen a guy’s face get so red over a parking spot. Even when I try to make it right, he proceeds to give me the tongue-lashing of a lifetime—which is about the moment I notice that, in addition to being irrationally irate, he’s also crazy hot.

My friends think I’ve finally met the one person I can’t seduce…

Bet you I can.

Review: Counterpoint (In Vino Veritas #2) by J.E. Birk

Rating: 4.75🌈

Counterpoint by J.E. Birk is such an excellent story. It’s the second in a new round of books about the Vino & Veritas bookstore and bar located in Burlington, Vermont. And a whole new look at the wonderful collection of characters and couples that appear in many of the novels.

The previous linked book here is Booklover https://www.goodreads.com › showBooklover (Vino & Veritas, #6) by J.E. Birk – Goodreads. Aaron Morin, is brother to Jamie, from Booklover and Jeremy Everett, the other love interest, is his best friend. We’ve met them all before if you’ve read that book. If you haven’t, you will want to. It’s amazing.

Honestly, each story now feels like a homecoming if you’ve become as connected to these people, their lives, this small town, from the bar and bookstore to Moo U, as I am.

Our two main characters here have known each other and been close friends for a while , along with Jamie , until a argument Aaron had with his dad about the farm fractured the family, sending Aaron off to Harvard and a isolation that remained until recently (Booklover).

Now Aaron is back, to intern for the summer, at one of the local law offices in Burlington. But Aaron has secrets and isn’t happy with himself or at ease with his family and friends.

Jeremy Everett is on the run from reality. He’s running from phone calls, his family, his mother, his future. And he’s using his playboy image to do it. Until his mother cuts off his funds. And forces him to get a job. In the law office where Aaron is working for the summer.

Birk has created a deeply moving and emotionally satisfying story about love and family. About the types of stress and damage parental expectations can place upon a child as well as many faces of love that a child often cannot recognize because of unbearable situations.

So much painful truths here.

If you’re someone who has a relative or close friend with Alzheimer’s , then this will hit deep. All the denial, the spectrum of emotions that the family uses to deal with the loved one who’s lost to this insidious disease. The pain they inflict on each other . It’s so real, heartbreaking, and believable.

Not just Alzheimer’s but a father’s fears and hopes for a family farm that built and then , targeted a son until all he felt he had to be was perfect. We get to feel and hear from Aaron’s internal dialogue and discussions how damaging that childhood has been. Even after a reconciliation, the wounds are still open and Aaron isn’t recovering.

Birk has given us two seemingly different men on the outside but in the center, they are suffering from the trauma their past history and their struggles with the pain their families have caused.

How they overcome it, especially when working together with a certain event in their own personal history still bringing up stumbles, is funny, heartfelt, vulnerable, and just plain a heartwarming story.

I adore this couple, their friends and the future ahead of them. I’m sure we will see them again.

I’m highly recommending Counterpoint, as well as Booklover if you haven’t read that too.

Get caught up and join into this series!

In Vino Veritas series 2:

✓ Wildfire #1 – Garrett Leigh

✓ Counterpoint #2 – JE Birk

◦ Unmanageable #3 – Leslie McAdam

◦ Underdog #4 – LA Witt

◦ Wonderland #5 – Rachel Ember

◦ Dauntless #6 – Victoria DeNault

The first series:

Vino and Veritas #1:

🔵Featherbed (Vino and Veritas 1) by Annabeth Albert

🔵Heartscape #2 by Garrett Leigh

🔵Headstrong #3 by Eden Finley

🔵Undercover #4 by Eliot Grayson

🔵Aftermath #5 by LA Witt

🔵Booklover #6 by JE Birk

🔵Flipcup #7 by Kim Hartfield f/f

🔵Hideaway #8 by Rachel Lacey f/f

🔵Turnabout #9 by Laurel Greer

🔵Unguarded #10 by Jay Hogan

🔵Insatiable #11 by Rhys Everly

🔵Daybreak #12 by Kate Hawthorne

🔵Heartsong #13 by AE Wasp

🔵Stronghold #14 by Ana Ashley

🔵Limelight #15 by E Davis

🔵Unforgettable #16 by Marley Valentine

🔵Showstopper #17 by Regina Kyle

🔵Undone #18 by Leslie McAdams

Counterpoint (In Vino Veritas, #2) by J.E. Birk – Goodreads

Description:

One playboy. One perfectionist. So many secrets.

I’m considered the biggest playboy in Burlington, Vermont. The party boy. The guy who lives in the moment and makes decisions with no thought for the future. But people don’t know my past. They don’t know why I make the choices I do. Even my best friend doesn’t know the truth about me. Actually, there are a lot of things he doesn’t know…like the fact that I had a one night stand with his brother last year.

Did I mean to hook up with Aaron? Um, no. Mistakes were made, okay? But unlike most of my mistakes, this one has lasting consequences. Aaron works at the law firm where circumstances are forcing me to be their errand boy. Now we see each other every day. Aaron’s such a nervous wreck he keeps tripping over the copy machine. I’m surprised he hasn’t ended up in traction yet.

He and I are opposites in almost every way. He’s got a GPA higher than Mount Mansfield, and I’m barely going to graduate college. He grocery shops with a spreadsheet, and I’ve got YOLO tattooed on my body. But Aaron sees things in me that no one else does, and I see things in him he doesn’t see in himself. Before I know it, we’re sharing late-night office picnics, evenings out at the bar, and long, hot afternoons on my boat. I’m having the best summer of my life, but there’s no way this can end well. My bff will kill me if he ever finds out how thoroughly I’ve corrupted his brother…

Counterpoint is an opposites-attract forbidden romance featuring an incense-filled law firm, meddling friends, and angst and humor in (mostly) equal parts. It stars Jeremy Everett and Aaron Morin, who first appeared in the Vino and Veritas story Booklover, but Counterpoint is a standalone novel.

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