Tag: Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Tangled Up With You by Jessica Prince
Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Tangled Up With You by Jessica Prince

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Tangled Up With You by Jessica Prince is AVAILABLE NOW

My mother always gave the best advice. I just wish she had advised me to stay away from bull riders.

One in particular.

Connor Bennett is a walking red flag I could see coming from miles away, but I was a sucker for his rakish smile, his irresistible charm, and that world class behind always wrapped in a tight pair of Wranglers.

I told myself I’d learned my lesson when I woke up and discovered he ghosted me, leaving a note behind on the pillow where his head should have been. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true.

High emotions and too much booze during a mutual friend’s wedding lands me back in his bed, but this time I make sure I’m not the one left high and dry once the sun comes up.

Even though I can’t stop thinking about him, I convince myself I’ve worked him out of my system. However, two pink lines a few weeks later make it impossible to pretend he doesn’t exist.

We make an agreement. We’ll co-parent once the baby is born, but nothing more.

There certainly won’t be any more hanky panky.

But it turns out Connor has other ideas and wants to share more than just custody with me.

I’m trying so hard not to fall for that charm a second time, but my hormones are going crazy and he’s doing and saying all the right things.

Despite all reason, I find myself wanting to get tangled up with him all over again. I just don’t know if I should trust the bull rider not to trample all over my heart.

𝑭𝑹𝑬𝑬 𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅

✦ 𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗭𝗢𝗡 → https://geni.us/TUWYeBook

✦ 𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 → https://geni.us/TUWYPaperback

✦ 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 → https://geni.us/TUWYSEPaperback

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

I remember Ivy as a sassy little preschooler in Hayden and Micah’s book (Love To Hate You from the Hope Valley series), so I was happy to see her all grown up and still a bit of a wild child! (Connor, meanwhile, is the son of one of the Cloverleaf couples; I have not read that series from Jessica Prince’s back catalog, so I didn’t have that connection going into this book that I had with Ivy.)

We got to see the beginning of Ivy and Connor’s friendship in The Little Things, as he is friends with Zach and occasionally worked on the ranch when he was in between bull riding stints. Tangled Up With You picks up after Ivy and Connor spent a wild night together — and then he freaked out and took off without a goodbye, leaving her humiliated and brokenhearted.

Once they got over their issues, I thought that Connor and Ivy balanced each other out well. At first, I didn’t like Connor all that much for ghosting Ivy. Ah, but he was burned by his ex and his mentor, and the boy has intimacy issues. When he returns to town for Zach and Rae’s wedding, Ivy consumes all of his thoughts and eventually he realizes what he let go and sets out to win her back.

Overall, I really enjoyed Tangled Up With You. I wish there would have been more of Connor and Ivy together as a couple. So much of the book is the push and pull between them, him trying to make things up to her, and her keeping him at a distance because he’d already broken her heart once before. I felt like their actually being together was rushed, and I didn’t get to enjoy that payoff.

I was super excited to hear from JP that Blythe will be getting a book and Tanner Fine will be coming back to town!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Shattered Dreams by Natasha Madison
Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Shattered Dreams by Natasha Madison

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SHATTERED DREAMS by Natasha Madison is NOW LIVE!

Blurb:

Charlie

It was supposed to be a regular day out.

Three couples celebrating the last days of summer.

When tragedy struck.

I thought I was going to marry her.

Instead, I was burying her.

I blamed the world for my pain.

I buried it all.

I became a man I didn’t even recognize.

Autumn

In a blink of an eye, everything changed.

My best friend was gone, and I was responsible for it.

I may not have been driving the truck, but I didn’t stop it.

Escaping the town was the only thing I could do to survive the guilt.

I thought I was strong enough to go back.

I was wrong.

One look from him and I knew I wasn’t welcome.

But this is my home, and I wanted to come back.

One night turned into more. But at the end of the day, I know he’ll never love me.

Besides, we all have shattered dreams.

Buy Link:

https://books2read.com/KUShatteredDreamsNM

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Yay! Another new spinoff series from Natasha Madison and Shattered Dreams started off STRONG! Get the tissues ready because this book is TOUGH but has the most wonderful HEA once

Charlie is the son of Quinn and Willow from the Southern series and the grandson of the magnificent Casey Barnes. As the book begins, Charlie, Autumn and their friends are in a horrible car accident that ends in two fatalities: Charlie’s girlfriend Jennifer (also Autumn’s best friend) and Autumn’s boyfriend Waylon, who was driving. For several reasons, Autumn took the brunt of blame for the accident, and ended up leaving town to get away from it all.

Eight years later, Charlie is a shell of his former self. Consumed by grief, he has never moved on and still visits Jennifer’s grave almost daily. Autumn isn’t doing much better, and when she comes back home to help with her family’s bar, she quickly learns that Charlie — and most of the town — still blames her for the accident.

Shattered Dreams is an emotional, heartbreaking story of grief, loss, and recovery. Once Charlie learns all that Autumn went through and realizes that she was an easy target for his grief, it’s like a switch is flipped and he is ALL IN when it comes to trying to make things up to her.

There are so many emotional moments in this story, each one better than the last. Shattered Dreams is definitely going to be on my re-read list! I can’t wait for the rest of this series!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Natasha Madison:

When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her…

Connect with Natasha Madison:

https://linktr.ee/natashamauthor

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Shuttered Hearts by Erin Graves
Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Shuttered Hearts by Erin Graves

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SHUTTERED HEARTS by Erin Graves is NOW LIVE!

Blurb:

One phone call changes everything.

Returning to Ashford Falls was never part of the plan for Quinn Marks. It reminded her too much of her mother and a past she was desperately trying to keep there. But sometimes plans have to change. Quinn knew the chances of receiving that phone call from her brother about their father were high, but she hadn’t been ready for it. She also hadn’t been ready to meet Declan Day, her new co-worker and, apparently, her brother’s best friend.

Running from a messy situation of his own, Declan hadn’t been sure he would stay in Ashford Falls when he first arrived, but it’s been five years, and he’s still here. He didn’t know how he made it all that time, not once meeting his best friend’s sister, but something about Quinn Marks calls to him. Making him feel things he never thought he’d feel again.

Both had their reasons for steering clear of romantic relationships: Declan with his failed marriage and Quinn with her mother’s example of why nothing was permanent. As they struggle with their feelings and confront the past, will Declan and Quinn realize that it might be worth opening their shuttered hearts to face an uncertain future together?

Shuttered Hearts is a return to hometown, brother’s best friend, found family, emotional contemporary romance set in a fictional small town. This is the first book in the Love in Ashford Falls series, each book in this series can be read as a standalone. Happily ever after, guaranteed!

Buy Link:

https://a.co/d/9jEQHeu

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

I’m pretty sure that Shuttered Hearts is the debut novel from Erin Graves, and it was a great read! This emotional story deals with love, loss, trauma, coming home again, and finding oneself again.

I thought that Declan and Quinn had such a great connection. Not only that, but he was such an integral part of her family, who adopted him as one of their own after he had a rift with his own parents. It’s been a few years since Declan got divorced, and he’s still kind of raw and hesitant to get involved with another woman. The last person he expects to fall for his his best friend’s little sister, who is only planning to be in town for a limited time. But these two just *got* one another from their first meeting, and it was a joy to see them blossom and open up to one another as they spent more time together.

Quinn is carrying a lot of baggage. She’s got trauma from her mom’s abandonment, as well as trauma from an attack. Both of those incidents had a huge impact on her, and she questions herself at times… especially when it comes to whether or not she can be the partner that Declan deserves. But these two were so open with their feelings and made it a point to communicate with one another even when the going got rough. I really appreciated that mature approach to their relationship.

Shuttered Hearts is beautifully written. Don’t miss the bonus epilogue, because it was so worth it to get a glimpse into Max’s life, eight years in the future! I am looking forward to more books from Graves!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Erin Graves:

Born and raised in Maryland, Erin Graves lives with her husband and two cats in a small town in Pennsylvania. She rediscovered her love of writing after finding some old stories she wrote in high school and decided to give the author thing a try. She still works full-time in corporate America and isn’t sure that will ever change, but she’s open to the idea of making writing a full-time thing. She won’t call it a job because it doesn’t feel like one … yet.

Connect with Erin Graves:

https://beacons.ai/eringravesauthor

Sunny Shelly’s Review: From Here to Eternity by AL Jackson
Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: From Here to Eternity by AL Jackson

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🖤 From Here to Eternity by A.L. Jackson is Live Now 🖤

▪️ Single dad⁠
▪️ Morally gray hero ⁠
▪️ Heroine on the run⁠
▪️ Secret society ⁠
▪️ Ex-MC hero ⁠
▪️ Touch her and ☠️⁠
• Romantic Suspense
• No Cheating
• No Third Act Breakup
• HEA

Available on Amazon and Free with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon & Kindle Unlimited: https://geni.us/FHTEAmznOP

Audio, Narrated by Andi Arndt & Austin Stone: https://geni.us/FHTEAudioOP

I should have known everything was going to change when she walked into my tattoo shop…

Timid as hell and gorgeous to the extreme. I knew better than even thinking about touching a woman like that.

My life is dangerous.

My calling wicked.

Willing to cross any line to protect the innocent.

I thought I’d never see her again until my little boy tumbled and busted his lip, and I found her working at the doctor’s office.

The woman who’d taken possession of my thoughts.

When it becomes clear she’s in trouble, I offer up a deal.

Twenty questions to earn her trust.

Too bad trusting me is the last thing she should do.

With one kiss, I’m addicted. With one night, we’re falling into a passion greater than either of us has ever known.

The voices in my head warn I can never keep her. She can’t know the secret life I lead.

Only she’s keeping a secret, too.

And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means losing everything…

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

I know I can always count on AL Jackson to deliver a heartfelt story with twists and turns, and that is exactly what we got with River and Charleigh in From Her to Eternity! This was a great start to the new Moonlit Ridge series!

The story is told in dual POV through past and present chapters. I really got a sense of who River and Charliegh were thanks to the dual timeline. I loved River as a morally gray character. He was utterly devoted to his son Nolan and sister. He tried to stay away from Charleigh because he thought he wasn’t good enough for her, but fate has a funny way of brining people together, and they couldn’t ignore the connection between them after being placed in each other’s paths a second time.

Both characters have troubled backgrounds and are trying their best to move forward. They really do balance each other out as they become each other’s rocks and lift one another up. River is so dang sexy, especially when he’s in protector mode trying to save Charleigh from the trouble that’s followed her to town.

The captivating twists and turns in this story are exactly what I’ve come to love in Amy’s books. I have finished the ebook but am still listening to the audio and loving how Austin Stone and Andi Arndt bring these characters to life.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Mr. Heartbreaker by Piper Rayne
Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Mr. Heartbreaker by Piper Rayne

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MR. HEARTBREAKER by Piper Rayneis now available in ebook, audio, paperback and hardcover!

BLURB:

I made a deal with my brother a long time ago to never date his teammates.

Technically, Rowan Landry, the hot as hell center for the Chicago Falcons, is no longer my brother’s teammate. Or his best friend. Their college days are long behind them, and they barely talk now.

Also, I’m not dating him—we’re just sleeping together. There’s a difference.

Except there’s not a lot of sleeping going on, and neither one of us wants to stop what we’re doing.

It’s all fun and games until my brother is traded to the Falcons, because Rowan doesn’t know I’m the new goalie’s little sister. Oops.

START READING –> https://books2read.com/mrh

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

From The Den to The Nest!

I was so excited to dive into Piper Rayne’s new series, The Nest. Set in the same Chicago apartment building where some of the Grizzlies lived before finding love (aka The Den), the building has been renamed The Nest as it now is home to a trio of hockey players for The Falcons. Mr. Heartbreaker was a great kickoff to this new series!

I loved the connection between Kyleigh/Leigh and Rowan right from the start. Neither of them are looking for anything serious when they begin a benefits-only relationship, but the more time they spend between the sheets, the more time they want to spend with one another outside of the bedroom. It’s not long before their boundaries begin to blur and they become more important to each other than just someone to let off steam with. But neither of them are brave enough to tell the other that their feelings are changing.

Except that Leigh is hiding her true identity from Rowan: Her brother is his former college pal and new teammate. When blow up in the most spectacular way once Kyleigh’s lies catch up to her, will this couple be over before they have a real start?

I simultaneously read this book while listening to the audio, and the full cast narration was spectacular. Sean Masters and Erin Mallon lead the charge as Rowan and Kyle, with additional narration by Troy Duran, Teddy Hamilton, JF Harding, Connor Crais, and CJ Bloom. I am really looking forward to getting to know the rest of this group, especially if Tweetie gets his own story!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Reluctantly Royal by Erin Nicolle
Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Reluctantly Royal by Erin Nicolle

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RELUCTANTLY ROYAL

Erin Nicolle

Release Date: March 14


Connect with Erin Nicolle:

https://www.instagram.com/authorerinnicolle

Blurb:

A brand new modern royal romance that will sweep you off your feet! From bestselling romance author Erin Nicholas writing as Erin Nicolle!

A marriage proposal from a deliciously handsome and wickedly charming prince sounds like a fairytale.

But for a nerdy scientist with severe social anxiety,it’s a horror story.

Prince Torin O’Grady, with his mischievous blue eyes and his cocky grin, is always in the spotlight. And he needs me to inherit the crown. 

But we have nothing in common. He’s a future king. And I’m perfectly happy slogging through mud in my work boots.

So why can’t I stop thinking about him? 

Maybe because he won’t stop texting me. And sending me gifts. And making me feel like everything I find awkward and weird about myself is special and amazing.

And there’s also that little detail of him offering me my dream job and telling me that together we can change the world.

Well, I could probably 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 for him.

And if I have to marry him 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 to get what we both want, then fine. It’s for the greater good.

It has nothing to do with the way he kisses me. Or that dirty mouth. Or the 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵  he gives me in the bedroom.

Fine. Maybe it does. Still, it’s only a year. Then I can turn in my tiara and come back to my normal, boring, behind-the-scenes life.

But Torin is determined to turn me from reluctantly royal to royally 𝘩𝘪𝘴. 

Buy Link:

https://amzn.to/42mPEyQ

Available in KU

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Reluctantly Royal is the first book I’ve read by Erin Nicolle and WOW, I loved Torin and Abigail’s story! This book was classic opposites attract, with a gooey cinnamon-roll hero who falls hard and fast for a quirky, smart heroine.

Torin needs to prove to his grandfather that he is prepared to take over the monarchy and rule the tiny island country of Cara. His plan is to convince Abi — the sister of a friend who lives in Louisiana, where Torin had lived for a few years — to come to Cara and set up a system of alternative farming in the country, which is nestled somewhere near Norway. Their mutual arrangement/marriage of convenience will give them both what they want….

This story is funny, spicy, packs an emotional punch, has well-developed characters, and a well-executed plot. It was more than I expected, and an enjoyable escape into the royal world of Cara!

Reluctantly Royal is a spinoff of another of Nicolle’s series; there are a lot of secondary characters involved in this book, and I felt as if there was more backstory to their relationships with Torin. I’m sure fans of Nicolle’s will enjoy those crossovers!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.