Monday, May 9, 2022

Burning Desire by Diana Stout

 

What happens when a man and woman are attracted to each other, but he's a non-committer and she's a non-dater?'

About the Book:   

Eddie Taylor’s life changed drastically just before her senior year in high school after her parents were killed and she learned her father had embezzled from his company for. Determined to repay the embezzled money, Eddie spent all her spare time, studying to become a realtor—and hung her shingle the day after graduation.

Now, a decade later, and after selling her parents' home, she must consider selling the one thing that matters: her grandmother’s farmhouse to heal her income woes. Then a fire damages several rooms and she believes she was to blame. 

New to the community, firefighter, Rhett Renoux offers Eddie an opportunity she can’t refuse—to become a partner in flipping houses, beginning with repairing and fixing up the farmhouse. For the first time in her life, she’s falling in love.

But then, he begins to learn secrets she’s kept hidden from the entire community. Has she made a mistake letting him in?

Our Review: Remembering the varied quirky characters populating Laurel Ridge, it came as a real treat to revisit this rural Georgia town with Burning Desire. As always Stout’s ability to create compelling characters who remain true to their values and goals are a pleasure to meet and come to admire. Burning Desire is a winner all the way around!

 On a scale of 1-5, Burning Desire deserves a 6.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

  

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Ghost Notes by Beth Henderson

 Success can be deadly. . .

 About The Book: Jace Hastings, rising music star, is presumed dead in a vehicle collision, courtesy of a stalker with deadly designs. Ten years later, P.I. Gaelen Wyndom can’t believe someone wants her to find him.

          Pelham Flannery rejoined the world from ICU, fully aware someone had tried to kill him. To live, he went under the radar, distanced himself from music, and disguised everything that would give away his identity as Jace. After a decade, is it safe to come out of hiding?

          Gaelen, delighted to be trained as a professional investigator by her new husband, continued in her new career after he was killed. Assigned to locate Jace Hastings, she isn’t told who wants to find him, but she puzzles it out. If she’s right, it’s the man who tried to kill him before. Which means she needs to find Jace Hastings and save him.

 Our Review: Two lost souls, each recovering from profound loss, come together under a guise of resurrecting a career while uncovering a decades old tale of revenge and madness. Author Henderson, known for creating detailed settings and infusing deep emotion into her characters’ lives and loves, has used the world of modern music to enhance this tangled plotline.

 On a scale of 1-5, Ghost Notes deserves a 4.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Tangled in Taurus by Sadira Stone

  …She considers him bull-headed to a fault.

…He calls her an airy-fairy hippie chick.

 

About the Book: Keeping his organic farm afloat was hard enough—then Gemma Moore comes back home to help out her aunt with the Psychic Emporium. Jesse DelToro is convinced the bewitching fortune teller will never settle down in the quirky beach town of Trappers Cove, but he can’t resist the woman he’s never been able to forget.

When a harmless secret backfires, Gemma discovers just how deeply she’s wounded the beautiful bull man, and how desperately she wants to keep him.    

Our Review: As with Caught Up in Capricorn, another short story in the Zodiac Encounters Anthology, Sadira Stone shows off her expertise for creating fun, steamy romances with quirky settings and even quirkier characters. Tangled in Taurus is another winner for this talented author!

Based on a scale of 1-5, Tangled in Taurus deserves a 6

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Caught Up in Capricorn

 Caught Up in Capricorn, by Sadira Stone, part of the Zodiac Encounters Anthology.

 About the Book: When a confident, control-freak Capricorn is forced to partner with a prickly, seductive Scorpio, their business and their hearts will never be the same.

     After his head brewer quits, brew pub owner Ryan must learn to get along with snarky, sexy brewer Lilo, whose weird, niche beers are the last thing Salty Dog Brewery needs.

     Working side by side ignites long-simmering desire, but a high-stakes beer competition triggers a fierce battle of wills. Can their love and the brewery survive?

Our Review:

Caught Up in Capricorn, part of the Zodiac Encounters Anthology, showcases Sadira Stone talent for creating a short and steamy contemporary romance set in a quirky beach town in the Pacific Northwest of Trappers Cove. Ryan Lee, struggling to keep his brewery afloat after his head brewer retires, is reluctant to put snarky, sexy Lilo Eisinger in charge of his beloved business. They’ve known each other since grade school—but can they function together as adults without coming to blows? It takes a wise man to step in and teach a few valuable lessons on trust and taking risks.

        This fun, spicy romance is sure to warm your heart.

 On a scale of 1-5, Caught Up in Capricorn deserves a 5.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Trevor by S. Hilbre Thomson

            About the Book:

Unable to escape the tragedies of his past, Matt Stone heads North, leaving behind the memory of his dead wife and son. His journey takes a turn when he comes across young Trevor Reed, his late son's doppelgänger. Blinded by the resemblance, and already unable to cope with what he’s already lost, Matt becomes obsessed with Trevor and begins stalking him.

Concerned about her son’s continued reports of ‘the Badman’ watching him, Trevor's parents enlist the help of the local authorities to keep him safe. Despite the involvement of local and national law enforcement and eventually, an enthusiastic reporter, Trevor disappears. The ensuing investigation results in a chase starting in the suburbs of Boston to an island on a New Hampshire lake.

Will their efforts to find Matt and Trevor be enough? Or will they be too late?

Our Review: In this powerful story of tragedy and loss, debut author, S. Hilbre Thomson, demonstrates the effects of viscous crime on one man and the perfect storm created by a system-wide failure to adequately address the issues of the varied aftereffects suffered by survivors. Thomson has done an exceptional job of creating a sympathetic antagonist, leaving the reader to ask how and why something so horrendous could happen to one person who then simply falls through the cracks.

Based on a scale of 1-5, Trevor deserves a 4.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The Man Across the Alley by Emilie Barage

 ABOUT THE BOOK:  After breaking up with her long-time boyfriend, Holly Harrison finds the perfect distraction for heartache by reading stories about true crime on her favorite blog: Murder For Your Thoughts. But when a number of young women from her neighborhood go missing, Holly is determined to help anyway she can. Distraction number two arrives in the form of the yummy new neighbor, who sports tight buns and terrific shoulders.

Luke Morris is finally all moved into his new apartment—and should focus on unpacking—not the hot next-door neighbor Holly. While getting to know her, he witnesses something suspicious in the building across the alley. Working together, he and Holly decide to get to the bottom of things.

Who would believe that crime solving could lead to some seriously steamy nights?  

Our Review: Set in one of Chicago’s unique neighborhoods, The Man Across the Alley is a fun, cozy mystery featuring two twenty-somethings who decide the man across the alley has something to do with the disappearance of several women from the neighborhood. Proving their theories turns dangerous for both. First time author Barage shows a remarkable talent for creating creepazoid bad guys who practically jump off the page. We look forward to the next story in her Murder For Your Thoughts series.

On a scale of 1-5, The Man Across the Alley deserves a 4.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Monday, April 4, 2022

The Wylder Rose by Jane Lewis

 The Wylder Rose, a Historical Western Romance, is a current release by The Wild Rose Press.

About The Book: To escape an abusive lover, Rose O'Brien flees Cheyenne, Wyoming but is waylaid in Wylder, Wyoming after her buggy crashes in the middle of an early Spring snowstorm. Callum MacPhilip, a handsome Scots rancher, rescues her, then nurses her back to life. The attraction is immediate, intense and mutual but . . . given what she’s already survived—as well as the threats from the man who is hot on her trail—Rose is more than reluctant to trust any man. Not to be denied what his heart is telling him, Callum vows to protect Rose, then convince her to take a chance on love.

Our Review: On the surface, The Wylder Rose is the usual damsel in distress story line. Underneath it is a detailed examination of domestic violence and its long-term effects on victims. Since relationship violence is as old as recorded time, the feelings and actions were the same then as they are in the 21st century—though they wear fancy titles such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Author Lewis has brilliantly shown the cycle of violence and mind-numbing fear and long-term helplessness it instills in its victims.  

On a scale of 1-5, The Wylder Rose deserves a 5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews