It's a brave new world for a woman on her own. For Maggie Whitaker the child within is working to catch up to the woman she's become. Life has not always been kind. A child who needed love ended up orphaned, lonely and scared. The woman that emerges is one on a mission to create her own happy ending. Love was not part of that equation until her past ends up calling her home. Maggie's Run is a romanticized adventure of broken hearts, shattered dreams and new beginnings played out against the backdrop of the Australian outback. With a sense of wonder and a hint of hope Hunter and Soakes put a little love in our hearts.

***copies provided by publisher through NetGalley***

BOUND TO THE BACHELOR by Sarah Mayberry

I wasn't expecting a work of art, but at least something that would've kept me engaged. It didn't.

It was filled with clichés, it was predictable, featured bland characters and a very iffy insta-love romance that failed to strike the right notes, but at least it was a quick read.


BACHELOR AT HER BIDDING by Kate Hardy

The hero was a saint, the heroine was a self-righteous bitch filled with self-pity, the plot was rife with clichés and seemed written by a high-school student.


THE BACHELOR'S BABY by Dani Collins

This book was one massive clichéd rip-off of a Harlequin story (just read the blurb to know why).

The characters were poorly (or none at all) developed, the heroine's issues were annoying and the "drama" unnecessary and forced...I ended up skimming the better part of it.


WHAT A BACHELOR NEEDS by Kelly Hunter

If I had to use a word to describe this story it would be "simple". Too simple, in fact, with a very basic, rehashed and clichéd plot, and a cheesy, ordinary romance.
There was no conflict, no depth, no agency...It was just there, not doing anything.


IN BED WITH THE BACHELOR by Megan Crane

Poorly written with way too much inner monologues and with even more poorly drafted characters making them difficult to understand, empathize, sympathize and/or like.
Slow, boring and firmly in the "meh" category.


ONE NIGHT WITH HER BACHELOR by Kat Latham

Rather inconsistent (character- and their behavior-wise), and definitely nothing to write home about.
It had potential, but the author failed to bring it to fruition.

This has been languishing on my Kindle for a while, and I totally forgot that I purchased it. I rediscovered it while browsing through my Kindle library, and thinking that there is no time like the present, I downloaded it and promptly began reading it. I was in mood for something quick and relatively light, and this fit the bill nicely.

First off, the plot was delightfully ridiculous. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just mention the most obvious reason; Hallie Bennett agrees to pretend to be Nick’s wife on a week-long trip to Hong Kong. Okay, the fake wife / fake fiancée trope is not my favorite, but it worked well enough here. Mainly because of Hunter’s witty dialog and the secondary plot. Once they arrive in Hong Kong, mysterious things start to happen, and it soon becomes evident that someone is out to get Nick. Poor guy! What could a software developer have done to earn so much malice??

Nick needed a fake wife because the daughter of a financial backer tried to seduce him, and in order to avoid any further attempts, he makes up a wife. When he’s invited back to the home of his business partner, it’s assumed that his wife will be traveling with him, to enjoy the Chinese New Year’s festivities. When Nick and his mother storm into the shoe shop Hallie is working at, things get out of hand, thanks to Nick’s mom, and before she knows it, Hallie has a contract for enough money to pay for her degree and a ticket to Hong Kong. Money? International travel? A new fancy wardrobe? Sure, count me in!

Of course the sparks flair, and Nick’s brilliant idea of sleeping on the sofa in the guest room goes up in flames, mainly because the sofa is MIA. No problem! A Great Wall of Pillows will keep any invaders on their own side of the bed. Maybe??

A Wife for a Week is typical of the author. Loads of banter, comical situations for our protagonists, and hot smexy times. This is a fun read, with a likable cast of characters, and an exotic setting. I breezed right though this one, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Grade: 4 stars

Casey - Kelly Hunter 4.25 stars

Kelly Hunter is one of my favorite short form contemporary romance authors, so when I saw Casey at Netgalley, I let out a little squeal of delight. I loved the colorful cover, too, and hey, it’s about bull riders, so, yes, please!

Casey is back on the bull riding tour after his father’s death derailed his chances of winning the championship and a million dollar check. His brothers refused to wait the weekend for him to compete, so Casey quietly left the tour right before the Vegas championship. While I appreciated that family came first, I still don’t understand why he didn’t let the tour organizers know what was going on. Instead, they believe he’s a flake and he’s not dedicated to the sport after his no-show. His sponsors dropped him, and the fans haven’t forgiven him, either. I don’t think it would have been so bad to have the PR department release a brief statement that he had to leave the tour because of a death in the family, but nope.

Rowan and her father own a bull breeding business, and they are stock contractors for the bull riding circuit. Rowan has had to fight for her place in a traditionally male world. She also has to fight for her father’s respect and affection. After the death of her mother, father and daughter hit the road, hauling cattle from one end of the country to the other. Rowan and her father have a difficult relationship, and a strange one, too. They live in separate areas of the ranch house, and have for years. Her father doesn’t give her much affection, and he is very demanding. When he agrees to take on the son of another contractor to show him the ropes, Rowan is jealous. Here is the son that her father always wanted, now her presence is even less tolerated.

Casey has had his eye on Rowan for a while, and when he bets that he can ride her bull for the full 8 seconds, she reluctantly takes him up on it. A steak dinner is on the line. Rowan gives him some riding tips for Eggs, and watches as he crashes and burns. That just makes Casey more determined to stick Eggs and win the girl. What follows is a slow, hesitant courtship, where neither participant really knows what they want from each other.

I really enjoyed this book. There’s a lot of rodeo, but there’s also a lot of family. Both Casey and Rowan have an uneasy relationship with their families. Casey is at odds with his older brothers, and Rowan is ever longing for some kind of emotional connection with her father. If it wasn’t for the bulls, they would have nothing to hold them together, but even that is threatened when her father offers to buy out her share of the business. When Mab is added to their dysfunctional family, Rowan finds it hard to dislike him, even when she feels threatened by his presence. I liked Mab; besides Casey, he was the only male in Rowan’s life who set her needs first and tried to take care of her.

If you’re planning any beach time, Casey is a good book to lounge in the sun with. It’s a fast, satisfying read, with a convincing HEA.

Dawn sees herself as an ugly woman. Dawn had traveled with her parents who wanted to better the world for children. Then out of nowhere Dawn is sent to her aunt in upstate New York. Dawn felt unwanted and abandoned. Her aunt had no children do had no idea how to deal with a young broken hearted girl. Then her aunt sent Dawn to St John's boarding school. There  Dawn was “the scholarship girl”. Dawn is a beautiful woman but doesn’t feel that way. Faith is Dawn’s friend. Faith had a brother Finn who was Dawn’s first love as well as first heartbreak. Dawn had been Finn’s first and he had never forgot her . Dawn is now the head of a genetic research company she had founded. Finn was a world renowned classical musician. Finn wanted to connect with Dawn again. The attraction is still strong between Dawn and Finn and Dawn states . sex only if Finn wants her.

I really loved this story and plot.I even shed a few tears at times during the story. My heart went out to dawn no matter what she appeared she still felt ugly and doesn’t want to get hurt again even by Finn. I loved the characters especially dawn and Finn and all the ins and outs they go through. I highly recommend.

I received an ARC of this story for an honest review