"But we were also known as the Shimmy Shimmy Bangs. We were the Lady Robin Hoods of the American Southwest. And we were going to do one last jewel heist. The biggest of them all. The North Star."

Nick Norton celebrated his 40th birthday in jail, but now he's out and determined to keep on the straight and narrow. No more lock-picking, no more jewel heists, no more gambling.

But, this motorcycle riding cinnamon roll is in for the greatest heist of his life when he is unwittingly roped into helping a beautiful and hilarious woman steal a diamond engagement ring. A theft she uses to help pay for and reclaim her elderly neighbor's pawned items. A gorgeous, modern day Robin Hood.

Stella and her two besties are preparing for their final heist, their last hurrah, and is not in the market for another partner, romantic or otherwise. But, Nick is completely and irresistibly sweet, not to mention utterly delicious. When her two friends are hurt in a car accident, Stella figures out she may actually need Nick's help after all.

What follows is a slightly insta-love but so good romance that you don't care heist story that just is the perfect combination of steam, heart, and fun. Similar to Tamara Morgan's Stealing Mr. Right but with SEX. Yes.

I was not expecting this book and I loved it so much.

Highly recommend. Also, a cute dachshund and great female friendships that I hope are explored in more books.

Fairly standard New Adult romance featuring a bad-boy player who falls hard for his friend after they have a drunk "one night stand" that turns into a fling that turns into love.

The story opens with a bang, as Allie, hiding from the long-term boyfriend she recently dumped, barges in and and busts up hockey player Dean's three-way and then ends up sleeping with him the same night after a bottle of tequila.

I loved seeing Dean beg Allie. I loved that Allie owns her sexuality and but also fears her dependence on having a boyfriend. I didn't enjoy that the characters' first time together was told in bits and pieces as a booze-fueled flashback that Allie only slowly begins to remember after waking up naked with Dean.

The story felt a bit bloated at times and the romance arc wasn't the most thrilling for me personally, but it was overall a fun audio book. The male narrator was pleasant, including his female voices, and I liked the female narrator as well. I would listen to the previous three books in the series.

Content warnings for alcohol, drugs, secondary character death, and depression.

Russell Hart is desperately in love with Abby Sullivan, but he's placed himself strictly in the "friend-zone." A carpenter with no advanced degrees, a falling apart house he's slowly renovating as time and money allows, and dark desires has no business touching any part of rich girl, virgin, mastermind mathematician Abby. She's not for Russell, and he knows it.

Oblivious to Russell's desires until a night they accidentally spend together in bed, Abby is delighted this grumpy, huge man seems to be brought to his knees by her growing sense of her own sensuality and worth. But, Abby cannot figure out why Russell keeps trying to push her away, adding yet another stress on her life she doesn't need as she is also secretly running her family's hedge fund while her father is in hiding after suffering a nervous breakdown.

Forced proximity and Abby and Russell's friends (from the previous two books in the series) keep bringing these two together despite Russell's fears, but how can this couple ever work if they keep hiding their true feelings?

Not my favorite, as I did not like that the tension in the story came mostly from Russell refusing to tell Abby anything but then not being able to control himself sexually around her. A bit too much angst revolving around lies and misconceptions. BUT, still a hot story and I loved that Abby was a hedge fund manager.

Free copy received in exchange for a fair review!


Despite being jilted at her own Christmas wedding barely a year ago, Ava finds herself preparing to walk down the aisle again this holiday season. Yes, it is for her brother and he's wonderful fiancee, but Ava is still not thrilled she'll again be the center of attention. Pitied.

Even worse it appears her first crush, the man who she was caught kissing as a young woman, her brother's best friend, is also back in Capetown for the wedding, something she finds out when he rescues her cat from the wildfire threatening her house and neighborhood. Great.

Noah, photojournalist and world wanderer, has finally decided to settle back down at home and try to rekindle is relationship with his father. He cut Ava out of his life after his best friend caught them kissing and warned him to stay away, but now that he's with her again, he can't help but wonder what if.

As the holiday magic of Capetown surrounds these two childhood sweethearts, maybe a Christmas miracle can bring them back together, this time for good.

I received a free copy in exchange for a fair review!

Gabe Powers, urban-legend hunter and television host, is literally knocked off his feet when quirky and charming sound-engineer Lily Jameson accidentally bashed him in the head with her equipment.

Lily has no idea that Gabe is a TV star, that is until she's hired to work with him on his hunt for ghosts in her Southern Georgia town. Too bad that contract also comes with a no-relationships clause.

What these two will discover is that while ghosts may or may not exist, what is really truly real is the power of love.

Delightfully charming Rendell has a knack for making you absolutely fall for her scruffy, 40-something heroes as fast as they fall for the heroines, instantly. This story is also full of fun secondary characters, including a parrot named General.

I did have a little bit of a hard time with the last bit of the book, as I was really worried about how these two would find their HEA, but it was worth the wait.

When NYC police cadet Charlie meets Ever at his favorite bar and she instantly agrees to a no-strings attached hookup, he's delighted. What he isn't expecting is to be left dumped an exact thirty days later because Ever has decided to finally give dating a chance. Charlie is aghast to realize he wants Ever to give dating HIM a chance.

Always the mistress, always the one in control, no feelings, thirty days. Ever learned these rules from her mother and has never had her heart broken. But, her mom is now urging her to try finding real love, and Ever reluctantly agrees. What she isn't expecting is her growing feelings for Charlie, the sexy police recruit she had to dump when the thirty days were up. And she wasn't expecting Charlie to keep showing up, ruining date after date.

A delicious dance between two people who are dying to be together, but won't trust their own hearts. I loved watching Ever and Charlie fall in love, and loved all the steamy, dirty sexy talk. Tessa Bailey at her best here!

Tessa Bailey audiobooks are the best kind of audiobooks - hot, dirty, and totally engrossing. While some of Charlie's antics in ruining Ever's attempts to date are bit, eh, not so great, I did fall in love with this dirty talking, blue eyed, man who gets hit hard in the feels and is brought to his knees. A scene between Charlie and his two best friends in the locker-room shower is just gold.

I also love Ever, who is a young woman working hard, know's what she wants, and isn't afraid to go after it, except for Charlie. And for good reasons.

I read this at a really not right time. While I did read the entire story and found parts of it pretty hot, I've decided I'm really not in the mood for stories involving billionaire bad boy alphaholes who get to use their power and position to have everything they want, consequences be damned.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I felt extremely squicky when the hero and heroine fuck during a fundraiser/benefit for the #metoo movement. Sure it is consensual, but they are definitely boss/employee and the hero's motives are to show his father (HIS boss) that the heroine is his mistress. Definitely titillating, but why did the benefit have to be #metoo? I felt this was a betrayal of the heroine's character.

I liked Jude's character which is why I read the entire story, but I felt she was inconsistent and too easy on Célian. She deserved a far better grovel. I didn't really believe their love story which had ample time to develop, it just didn't for me.

Also, I find it so tired that Célian's fiancee is portrayed as a "crazy psycho bitch" out to ruin Jude for sleeping with her man, even though she knows she is only a fiancee of convenience. This trope is not really for me.

Gabe and Addison meet once a month for a weekend of hot sexy-times in the apartment above Gabe's Bourbon Street bar. For single dad Gabe it is the perfect arrangement, except after six months he has totally caught feelings for the historical renovation architect.

Addison loves her monthly escape with Gabe, but now she's moving to New Orleans. And not expecting to find out her employer is in charge of renovating Gabe's bar. Addison thought she could ghost Gabe, but now he knows she's in town, and he wants more.

Thinking he'll forget all about her once he finds out she has a daughter, Addison is astounded to find out the sexy and charming barkeep also has a child, the same age as her's. And Gabe is ready to go all in.

What started as a fairly sexy Big Easy romance turned into a total snooze for me because most of the story is spent with the two characters discussing parenting strategies and trying to sneakily hookup in a laundry room.

I loved the narrator's sexy voice, so he kept me coming back. And, if you are into single-parent romances with very low-angst, this is the perfect story for you. As a mom, I just found this to be a bit too real and not the escape I was hoping for. Also, the constant talk about having erections and wet underwear around the kiddos was a bit yeesh.

Other than that, a really sweet story.

Salt Houses follows a Palestinian family through the generations as they live, love, and move throughout the Middle East and the world. The narrative structure is similar to Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, as each chapter is narrated by a different family member in a different time period, always moving forward in time.

What I liked the most was while the characters are obviously impacted by historical events (The Six Days War, 9/11, etc), they are not all major players in these events. Instead we see how these events have impact on "every day people" who are caught up in, for better or worse, living.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction and who would like to find empathy and commonality will find a lot to like in Alyan's novel.

While we discuss this book for my library's chapter of Book to Art Club, we'll be creating Rorschach ink prints out of various supplies. I wanted to do tea staining, but alas did not have the supplies.