M

I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Mini Reviews Edition 9-16-20

by | Sep 16, 2020 | Book Reviews, Mini Reviews | 0 comments

Mini Reviews Edition 9-16-20

Mini Reviews Edition 9-16-20Play It Safe by Kristen Ashley
Also in this series: Burn, The Mafia And His Angel: Part 1, The Mafia And His Angel: Part 2, The Mafia And His Angel Part 3
Published by Independently Published by Author on 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Small Town
Pages: 487
Format: eBook
Source: Self Purchased
Goodreads
AmazonLibrary ThingLibrary ThingLibrary Thing
four-half-stars

No connections. Play it safe. These were the rules Ivey lived her life by.

Until she hit Mustang, Colorado, a perfectly imperfect town where the citizens were welcoming and one of them included the tall, beautiful, macho man rancher cowboy, Grayson Cody.

On the run for a decade, Ivey knew she was supposed to play it safe. But she was tired of being on the run. She wanted a normal. She wanted real. She wanted a home.

And she wanted Grayson Cody.

And Grayson Cody wanted Ivey.

No one who looked at them couldn’t see they belonged together. There was one man in this world for Ivey and one woman in this world for Grayson Cody.

So they fell in love.

But just as quickly as they fell together, they were betrayed and torn apart. Separated for years, Ivey was certain her life would not include her rancher cowboy. Until the town of Mustang reached out to her when Gray was in trouble. Even though she thought he broke her heart, she charged in to help. Then Gray and Ivey discovered they were betrayed and, not only that, Gray had an enemy who would stop at nothing to defeat him.

There are quite a bit of reviews here, but I have read so many so quickly (I have no idea how LOL) but it would take too much time to write full length reviews. So have to downsize them…hope you all enjoy!

Play It Safe is a novel that I just adored in so many ways. I will be honest in that I had tried reading this about a month ago and put it aside ….I just couldn’t get into the beginning. But then I decided to get back to this one just on a whim over this past weekend and boy did I fall head over heels in love with this story. Its a book that isn’t my favorite element necessarily, I really don’t care for those betrayals and being torn apart for years type of story. BUT KA did a brilliant job with this one here. We get to see their beginning,when they first fall in love, the betrayal and then coming back together which was epically beautiful in so many ways. You get so many depths in this story, and we see the importance of seeing these two fighting for their love, because they will have to fight so fiercely but once they do…nothing’ll stand in their way. I couldn’t recommend this one enough for lovers of the second chance reunions

About Kristen Ashley

Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA. She nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn't taken her first breath!).

Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.

Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).

Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.

And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.


It took me a while to get going on the “Breathless” series but I have to say that these books have me HOOKED and boy her erotic romance is HOT. I love the depths to the stories that she writes and she definitely takes these books to the next level. And what makes them so hot is really the level of sexy alpha males and dominance. I love a man who likes to be all he man in the bedroom and the way that Rush is written is just epic. Its a story of two people who have known each other forever, as our hero is best friends with the heroine’s brother. So this only raises the level even more of that taste of the “forbidden” because Jace knows full well the type of man Gabe is especially in the bedroom so is even more protective lol But I was so drawn into this world, the friendship between the three men and this in depth romance that is so hot yet sweet and poignant at times.


Fever is Jace’s story and I can’t say which book I actually loved MORE….I think I liked both Rush and Fever the same but in different ways of course. In Fever, its Jace’s story. And boy was his book good although it does feature a menage scene in the very beginning. And it was quite interesting in seeing how this author writes it. We also see some tension build between Jace and Ash. They are closer than brothers and always share their women…but now Jace is conflicted because he is jealous of Ash even coming close to his woman. So we see how he becomes so divided. the heroine in this book is fabulous and unique in what her circumstances are….just shows the beauty in everyone being deserving of a HEA!

About Maya Banks

My name is Maya Banks and I live in Texas with my husband and three children and our assortment of pets. I’m more of a cat person, but my daughter became convinced she NEEDED a dog. So convinced in fact that it became her mission to convince her father and me. She prepared a two page handwritten proposal that detailed WHY she needed a dog, and well, after I sent her to her father (I knew he wouldn’t tell her no) we embarked on the search for the perfect dog. The journey that was two hours away and that I got pulled over for speeding while I was on the phone with my agent who had an offer from a publisher for one of my books… The officer wasn’t impressed. He wrote me a ticket anyway. Thus, I now tell my daughter that her dog turned into one very expensive concession! But isn’t he cute?

When I’m not writing, I love to hunt and fish with my family. We all love the outdoorsMaya's Dog and go on family hunting trips every year. We also love to travel. One of our more recent trips was to Scotland, which was every bit as comical as National Lampoon’s European Vacation. You know the part about “Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament” as they went round and round the roundabouts? Yeah, that was us, only we couldn’t even get out of the airport in Glasgow without hitting three of those suckers.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of a writing career is getting to meet so many wonderful readers. There’s nothing better than dishing books with someone who loves the romance genre as much as I do. Romance readers are passionate and vocal. We love our books, love our happily ever afters, and we love to spend time talking to others about our favorites. THIS is why I love my job so much, and I’m so grateful to readers who gave ME a chance when I began my career. So thank you.


This was such a FUN duet by the amazing Meghan March. I had such a blast with this book in so many ways and it takes us back to the Mount Trilogy—with the underworld of Lachlan Mount and Kiera and so much so I was tempted to do a re read of their story. If you loved their story and wanted to know Magnolia’s story than read this duet and you will adore it every bit as I did here. I was really drawn into this one here because of many aspects but Magnolia and Moses’ story is so beautiful, yet heartbreaking and real. I really loved a alpha male that has to grovel to win the heart of his woman back. And boy does Magnolia make him work for it which is well deserved and we see what has carved her into the woman she is. And seeing the first half of their story was so touching in so many ways but of course it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger (not as bad as she is known to do at times but it still there—make sure you have book two ready to read )


In the second book of the series we see a beautiful conclusion to the tale between Moses and Magnolia and we also get the full reveal of the secrets that are between both of them and why Moses left Magnolia all the years previous. What I was really drawn to is how Magnolia reacts to this secrets and boy I heaved a big sigh of relief. Because of the way she has lived her life and all the horrors she has seen she knows what is most important and holds her relationship with Moses worth fighting for now that he is back for good and forever. I adored seeing Moses and Magnolia together and even though their HEA wasn’t quite what I wanted for them to be honest, I felt it fitting as well. Meghan March definitely worked her magic in this duet and a must read for everyone who has been drawn into this connecting world of hers.

About Meghan March

Meghan March has been known to wear camo face paint and tromp around in woods wearing mud-covered boots, all while sporting a perfect manicure. She’s also impulsive, easily entertained, and absolutely unapologetic about the fact that she loves to read and write smut. Her past lives include slinging auto parts, selling lingerie, making custom jewelry, and practicing corporate law. Writing books about dirty talking alpha males and the strong, sassy women who bring them to their knees is by far the most fabulous job she’s ever had.


I took way too long reading this book and I don’t know why when I loved the first three books and now we get the brother’s story of the king of the underworld. And I have to say this book in the beginning SHOCKED me to the core. And anyone that reads the first few pages will know exactly what I mean. At first you think the worst of the worst has happened, until it isn’t and the truth is revealed a bit later. But boy I wasn’t sure how I felt LOL but Lylah James totally redeems the story very quickly and I couldn’t stop from being compltely immersed into this story and seeing this forbidden love grow into what it becomes. And we have a heroine that is deaf so I adore seeing a more contemporary setting seeing a character struggle with certain disabilities but still be strong and vibrant. This is not a story for the innocent though —it is a dark mafia romance and there were some things that I struggled with BUT I adored the romance as a whole and the relationship with Vicktor and his family.


In the conclusion of this series or at least this couple we have such a powerful story that is heartbreaking in many moments but it delivers a HEA for the couple so I was more than content with how it ended although it saddened me what happens towards the end. You need to put your guard up though or at least prepare yourself, I even read the ending first to make sure the characters I care the most about lived because at the end of the day its a suspenseful mafia romance. We truly see the darkness of this world and that is why Lylah James really highlights in here but what was even more powerful was in seeing that love does conquer all because this pair does have to really overcome so much to read their happy ending they both deserve.

About Lylah James

Author of The Mafia and His Angel. Creator of Alessio Ivanshov and Aylessio.

Reading is her first love and always will be.
Writing is her passion. She writes because the voices in her head won't stop and because they deserve to be heard and read. Lylah James writes about drool worthy and total alpha males, with strong and sweet heroines. She makes her readers cry - sob their eyes out, swoon, curse, rage and fall in love. Mostly known as the Queen of cliffhanger and the #evilauthorwithablacksoul, she likes to break her readers' hearts and then mend them again.

She uses all her spare time to write. If she is not studying, sleeping, writing or working - she can found with her nose buried in a good romance book, preferably with a hot alpha male


I will say that I am learning to really enjoy this series that Katee Robert has been writing but they are some of the HOTTEST that I have ever read from her so far. So fair warning on that one. I love seeing the unique play on the fairy tales, not really a big fan of making villains out of the hero from the stories BUT Katee Robert really shows a unique side to these villains and seeing them find their HEA. This one is a menage love story that is based on the “Hercules” tale where our characters Meg, Hades and Hercules have a fiery romance. The sex scenes were (fanning your face) hot so warning you all on that one, and it does play on the more kinky side of things. Even though I don’t read menage too often, I was really drawn into this one. All three have such unique dynamics so I really admired how Robert really blended this romance together and just unified all three so beautifully.

About Katee Robert

Katee Robert learned to tell stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her favorites then were the rather epic adventures of The Three Bears, but at age twelve she discovered romance novels and never looked back.

Though she dabbled in writing, life got in the way—as it often does—and she spent a few years traveling, living in both Philadelphia and Germany. In between traveling and raising her two wee ones, she had the crazy idea that she’d like to write a book and try to get published.

Her first novel was an epic fantasy that, God willing, will never see the light of day. From there, she dabbled in YA and horror, before finally finding speculative romance. Because, really, who wouldn’t want to write entire books about the smoking-hot relationships between two people?

She now spends her time—when not lost in Far Reach worlds—playing imaginary games with her wee ones, writing, ogling men, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

You May Also Like…

Book Review-Wilde for You by Jennifer Ryan

Book Review-Wilde for You by Jennifer Ryan

About The Book New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ryan’s page-turning Dark Horse Dive Bar series continues with this story of love lost...and found…as a widow seeking to heal her heart crosses paths with a rancher/bartender who offers her a taste of...

Book Review-Leopard’s Hunt by Christine Feehan

Book Review-Leopard’s Hunt by Christine Feehan

About The Book The next exhilarating Leopard novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan. In this pulse-pounding novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Leopard series, animal instinct unites two elite shifters whose heads are at war...

0 Comments

Leave a Reply