It is always a joy to read a Cardeno C book. They are always a little bit of light in what can be a dark world at times.

I have read quite a few CC books, but I have to tell you, Not A Game is by far my favourite to date.

Because this is a bit longer than the normal novella-ey books, things did not feel so rushed. I am not really a fan of the insta-love thing, but this started with instattraction that develops into more.

Jaime and Oliver - on paper they don't look like the perfect couple, but after a chance encounter, things just roll so freely between them that as a reader you can't help but feel this is it for them.

In a world of books where the guys all look like models, perfect v's and abs you could grate cheese on, Oliver is a breath of fresh air. 6'2", nearly 300lbs, he is not your average lover interest.

And I LOVE it! There is so much pressure, not just one women but also men to be this "perfect" body, and it was refreshing to see our guys have body issues too.

And to Jaime he is perfection.

There is a slow burn from attraction and lust to maybe more, and it left me wanting more!

There are some great secondary characters in this book, and I am hoping that sometime in the future we will be getting more about Jaime's best friend Jack. Please???

Not a game is a quick, sweet and sexy read that I finished in one sitting.

Can't wait to see what Cardeno C brings us next.

ARC received for an honest review

Hidey ho neighbours, that was my first though as I started reading Don't Tempt me.

This is a sweet contemporary romance, set in a small town - but where oh where were the Guthrie boys when I move to a small town? - and from the first insta-lust look to the last look of love, I was hooked.

This is really 2 stories in one, Honor and Jason, and Lexie and Sullivan (but mainly Honor's book).

Honor is smitten with sexy neighbour Jason from their first embarrassing meeting. She is pretty quiet and reserved, but this boy gets her motor running.

Their relationship isn't really a slow burn, but it isn't an insta-love kind either. It is the Goldilocks rate, it was just right.

At times I just wanted to shake some sense into Honor, but I could also understand why she is so reserved and at times appearing stand offish.

But they could really be perfect for each other - if she will let them?

Lexie on the other hand is the party girl of the pair, very outgoing and goes after what she wants. And what she wants is Sullivan,

In comparison to Honor and Jason, their relationship kind of feels like it goes balls to the wall, from zero to sixty in 10 pages. But it isn't really like that. I think it feels that way as we don't get so much of their story as the others.

I wanted to bitch slap Honor's family. Ugh to me they were just horrible! (well, one only mostly horrible, and I couldn't understand her really)

The main thing about this story, beside the lovey love stuff is about family. Family is who you surround yourself with, not necessarily those joined by blood. Get the right people around you and you can take on the world.

This was a great start to this series, and I can't wait for more. I need Hogan's story, like now!

Copy received via Netgalley for an honest review.

Rock Wedding was unlike any of the previous books in the Rock Kiss series.

It was so much more.

Abe and Sarah's history is not a pretty one. Loneliness, drugs, addiction. It was all there.

By the time I was about 25% in this book, I just knew that it was going to be a rough and emotional ride.

Raw, gritty, heartbreaking and gut wrenching. I think I spent at least half the book reading through tears.

Sarah has been knocked down so many times in her life, but she is strong, resilient. In spite of it all she is a success. All she has every really wanted was to be loved.

And she thought she had that with Abe Bellamy, keyboardist with Schoolboy Choir.

Gah, Abe in the first part of the book is a d!ck. No other word for him. I wanted to love him, but for a while there I just couldn't do it.

But maybe, just maybe, he can redeem himself?

Reading Rock Wedding was like being thrown in a tumble dryer and having it set to high. I never knew which emotion Ms Singh was going to have me feeling next.

This book really should be called Rock Weddings, as we come across more than one of them as the Schoolboy Choir is brought back together for this last in the Rock Kiss series. I loved how they love and protect fiercely those in their extended "family" - even those who feel they are on the fringes.

I feel like I am waffling on here, trying to put into word how this book has made me feel. But I just don't feel like I am doing it justice.

Just go read this book!

Copy received from the author for an honest review

Yes! I have been waiting for this story since the second I finished the first book i this series, Offensive Behaviour.

You never know what you are going to get with a book from Ms Paton. No cookie-cutter stories from her, it is like a lucky dip each and every time.... and I love it.

We met Owen and Cara in the first book - Owen is best friends/business owners with Reid and Cara is Zarley's best friend.

A lot happened at the and of the first book, and Owen and Cara's story continues on from the aftermath of book 1

I felt that this story was quite a bit darker than Offensive Behaviour. Both our lovelies have been through so much, and things are start to take toll on them. Damaged Goods deals with matters of addiction and abuse among other things.

I can't tell you how many times my heart cracked, how many tears I shed whilst reading,

But with this group, there were also plenty of smiles and laugh out loud moments - especially with my favourite geek Reid!

But can our two damaged souls be the ones to heal each other. Be the light in the dark? Be the happy ending they each want?

For that you will have to read for yourself.

Now am impatiently waiting for the next in the series.

I can't wait to see what Ms Paton brings us next.
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Copy received from author for an honest review

What would happen if Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett met on the show The Bachelor? Then add a little bit of Cinderella to the mix.

That is the feeling I got when I was reading Lord Bachelor.

This is a sweet, funny, romantic story that left me with a smile on my dial.

The wit, the banter, the snarky comments. The sparks, the heartfelt emotion. It has a bit of it all.

I enjoyed Abby and Edmund's journey to find love, even though they weren't looking for it.

Lord Bachelor captured me from the start, and I couldn't put it down.

I look forward to reading more from this new author

ARC received for an honest review

Rock Bottom was a surprising little story from debut author Josephine Traynor. I wasn't sure what to expect at all, but she had me at Rock Star.

Reece Ashton - just wanna give the guy a hug. When the rug is pulled from under his feet and his world as he knows it comes tumbling down, he was like a little boy lost.

Hidden away in a small town until the fallout of his band breakup settles down, the last thing he expects is Madelyn.

Madelyn has had her fair share of attention and doesn't want it again. My heart broke for her as we learn more about her past. But Reece, she might just be willing to give it ago, even with the consequences she may face.

Watching Reece deal with the every day, OMG had me in stitches at times. But more so, watching him become a better man than he has been in the past.

There was just so much to this story. Reece's heartbreak over things that have happened, what will happen with his career, finding true friendship, and falling in love when least expected.

It was also a case of what you see is not necessarily what you get. There were some things that I had a gut feeling weren't what I thought, but when things played out I was all Wow! Was not expecting that.

Rock Bottom is a wonderful debut novel from Ms Traynor. Her writing drew me into the story, I had visceral reactions as events unfolded. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to throw my kindle across the room in anger. And it takes a good book to get those reactions out of me!

Thank you Ms Traynor for giving us Reece, and I can't wait to read what you bring us in the future.

ARC received for an honest review


Sweet baby cheese and all that is holy. I would buy this book based on the cover alone, let alone it being Vi Keeland book!

Bossman was just.. everything. It was sweet, it was sexy, it was laugh out loud funny. But it also had a bit of heartache thrown in there for good measure.

It was everything I have come to expect from a Vi Keeland novel.

The things that come out of Chase's mouth! My goodness he is a dirty, dirty, cocky man! And he is a persistant man! You can understand why he is so successful in business, when he want something he goes for it. Like Reese!

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I don't know how Reese handles it! A lesser woman (like me!) would have given in to his charms a lot quicker than she did!

I really did adore Bossman from the first word to the last, and now, while I am waiting for the next Vi Keeland book, I am packing my suitcase and moving to NYC to find my own Chase!

ARC received via Netgalley for an honest review

It is always a bit sad when you come to the end of a series. Till I kissed You is the 3rd and final book in the Cottonwood series, but I do hope that somewhere down the line we do get to revisit.

To me this was the best in the series. There is just something about Regan and Sawyer that spoke to me.

I love a good second chance romance, and this love-to hate-to lover story was all that and more

Maybe it was the fact that even though it had been years since they had been together, they never really had that distance since they lived across the bridge from each other? That might be what made their relationship more intense than the others in the series.

They toed that very fine line between love and hate, but all those years snipping at each other just felt like extended foreplay!

Till I Kissed You is full of spark and snark. There is heat and tension, with a bit of a whodunnit trown in there for good measure.

Cottonwood was a fun, sweet, sexy and moving series, and I can't wait to see what Ms Trentham brings us next.

What a fantastic, brilliant book. After seemingly endless books where the female character is a whiney, procrastinating annoying person, it was great to come across Caroline, a smart, sassy woman who says what's on her mind. I laughed out loud with this book and I have not done that in such a long time. love love loves it!

ARC received for an honest review

Not gonna lie, from the minute I read Tapping Her, I have been wanting, no, needing more Thatch. I thought I loved Kline but Thatcher Kelly has taken that love to a whole new level.

I simply adored Banking The Billionaire. Thatch and Cassie continue on from where the novella ended - only things really are ramped up now!

These two shouldn't work. They should butt head they are so similar. Pranksters out to one up each other.

But there is so much more to them both, and gah, I just need them to be together.

They are great friends with awesome benefits - coma sex anyone - but all the while they are falling in love. Or are they? Are these feelings real or are they just kind of projecting what they really want and it is all just a bigger part of their prank.

The banter between them is fun, is sexy, the sparks between them fly. And just when you think you know what will happen between them, a bit of a curve ball is thrown in.

I adored this book. I read it in one sitting and the only thing about it was I wanted more (which I guess we will be getting in the novella coming soon!)

Oh, and when you read, tell me you don't love Philmore!

This was a perfect summer (or winter for me) read, but if you are reading in public, beware you might get looks for laughing out loud!