Alrighty then...

Tale the first: set-up made me bristle quite a bit. H and h's late husband were both friends and business rivals. H's secretary was h's best friend. After the death of her husband, h had taken over the company. Construction apparently pays well - the h's secretary owned a condo in HI (not time share, which I might have believed, but outright), so does H. Heroine takes secretary up on offer to use condo for a week, with every intention of getting laid. Secretary lets H know, so he can stay at his condo the same week. H "rescues" h from some guy who is reluctant to understand "no", then asks h why she is really there. Apparently the thought of "I wasn't aware I needed to clear a vacation with you" never crosses her mind - she tells him she's there to get laid. H/h hook up, then afterwards, it's back to business as usual(?!). I mean; beyond the improbability of a mere secretary owning a condo in HI - while working in Tulsa, there's the notion that the h has to have approval from her competitor to take a vacation.

Tale the second. Rather poignant. Heroine is a 40-something former supermodel who trusted the wrong guy 20 years ago. His selling lewd pics of her to tabloids didn't have any affect on her career BUT...her dad was a minister. Uh oh. She's pretty much kept everyone at arm's length ever since. She's having surgery in a few days because a tumor (or polyp) was found in/on her uterus. The boss has feelings for her and after she breaks down following a business meeting, he seizes the opportunity. In this case, he offers to fulfull a fantasy for her - a threesome - and keeps her distracted up until surgery and hangs around afterward. The tumor/polyp is benign fortunately, and the H refuses to let her go.

Tale the third. So a guy walks into a fetish bar, picks up a sub, and fulfills her fantasy... Then she's gravely injured in Iraq, while he's in Afghanistan. He finds out about her injuries, and goes after her. She's now blind and nearly deaf. And a good deal of the story is his form of psychotherapy. Hmmm. I mean; I suppose snapping out orders might get a soldier up out of the easy chair but... Or maybe it's that he takes her to a club - a crowded club - 48 hours after dragging her from the easy chair she'd been moping in for close to a year. You'd think the sensory overload would leave her in a crumpled heap on the floor. Just a little weirded out by that one.

Tale the third. Odd fantasy where the language is crude earth but there are 2 moons. Hero is high ranking soldier. Heroine is slave. She's owned by an ambassador to a rival nation. There's intrigue, sex (obviously), a blocked assassination attempt, a faked death, etc. What little world building there is, is interesting.

Laced In Lies: A Shelby Nichols Adventur...

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Shelby's life is always full with the kids and her work as a consultant for Uncle Joey and the police. Her clients cross when she takes a job to follow a friends husband, and ends up in a bar of a gang that's got an amicable deal with Uncle Joey. She calls for help from Ramos, and afterward finds out Ramos has something going on he doesn't want her involved in, but ultimately needs her skills to help him. Uncle Joey meets her family and wants Shelby to go with his son, Miguel, to New York for his audition in a Broadway musical.

Wow. Wendy is one amazing voice actor. She gives Shelby the full feel of a person. I love the lightness to Shelby yet the complete package that she's well aware of what's happening around her is not good (when in trouble). When Wendy slips into Shelby's persona I feel like I'm watching Shelby as she goes through her day and stumbles into troubles. A wonderful combination of Colleen's writing and Wendy's voice makes me giggle in the right moments and feel the excitement in Shelby. Wonderful job.

Shelby is amazing at getting into trouble. But the best part is, even through she's nervous, she works her way out with quick thoughts. She does have a small consulting business of her own and helps with the cops on special cases, and these sometimes cross into the life that's including Uncle Joey. But if Shelby ever gets in trouble she can call on Ramos for help, and she does.

Goodness! Ramos. He's amazing. If you love dark, sexy men you'll love Ramos. I love the time Shelby and him spend together. They tease each other so well, and mean some of what they say. lol. Harmless flirting...maybe? Sometimes I wonder if Ramos doesn't have his own dose of reading minds ability. He's great at knowing and reading people, and finding them in a crowd. He even makes me smile when that all is focused on Shelby. Oh, Shelby is amazing with her husband too. He's different from Ramos, yet just as sexy. I really love both men when Shelby is with them.

Being part of the family with Uncle Joey is growing to a new level for Shelby with her husband and kids. All starting with the family barbecue that they agreed to when at Miguel's musical. Things have really grown with Uncle Joey personally. This leads us to get to spend time with Miguel, which is really nice. The family feel really comes through strong. There are ties that are reconnected and ties that grow to bring a big family feel to the whole story.

Colleen is amazing at writing the characters so I love them and I'm drawn into every moment with them. There is something with each scene that keeps me listening to the words. Shelby has amazing chemistry with everyone she meets. Awesome job!

I absolutely love these books and will continue with Shelby and all the characters as long as there are books written!

Tied Up in You by Erin Fletcher

Release Date: 7/10/17

About the book:

Everyone says hotshot goalie Luke Jackson is God’s gift to girls, but the only girl he wants is his best friend, Malina Hall. He’s always known how brilliant she is, but now that he’s “accidentally” kissed her, he can’t stop thinking about her…or wanting to kiss her again.

Problem is, things have been a little…awkward since the kiss. Because she likes him, too? Hopefully, but even if she did, their futures—and the ridiculous schedules that come with them—are in the way. And now one of his teammates is showing interest, and the guy has more in common with Malina than Jackson ever will.

As her best friend, Jackson should get out of the way. But if there’s one thing he’s learned from hockey, it’s that you have to go for what you want, even if it means falling flat on your face. And he’s definitely falling for Malina.

Disclaimer: This book contains a hot hockey player who goes after what he wants, a super-hot, super-distracting shirtless workout, and the kind of best friends to lovers romance every girl in the friend zone has dreamed of.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072V26ZGV

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tied-up-in-you-erin-fletcher/1126605022?ean=9781640631489

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tied-up-in-you/id1250033681

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tied-up-in-you

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35486927-tied-up-in-you

Entangled: https://entangledpublishing.com/tied-up-in-you.html

My hand froze awkwardly in midair as reality slammed into me. Oh, shit. Shit. I kissed my best friend. “Sorry,” I said, jumping up and slamming my leg on the coffee table. “Ow,” I moaned as I turned on the lamp, then turned on the overhead light for good measure.

The look on Malina’s face was one I hadn’t seen before. Her eyes were wide with something—shock? Disgust? Embarrassment?

My cheeks and ears burned. Was it possible for your nose to blush? I was pretty sure mine was. “Malina, I’m so sorry. I was just…” I ran a hand through my hair, struggling to come up with something, anything I could say to excuse what had happened. “I was just so relieved there wasn’t a serial killer or something in the kitchen, and I just…” Nope. There weren’t any more words. There were hundreds of thousands of words in the English language and not one of them was going to help me.

For a long time, she didn’t say anything. A long time. The expression on her face didn’t change. Then she nodded slowly. “Right. Yeah. I was relieved, too.”

She was going to accept my ridiculously lame excuse? Or at least pretend to accept it? “Right? Yeah. Okay. Sorry.”

She frowned. “Just…don’t. Do that. Ever. Again.”

“No,” I said quickly. Spastically quickly. Oh God, my cheeks were still on fire. I couldn’t look her in the eyes. “Sorry. I won’t. It won’t happen again. I should probably go.” Then I winced and said, “Ow,” when I took a step that jarred my bruised leg.

Her frown changed from confusion to concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, too quickly again. “Fine. Just…bruised my leg. Banged it. I’ll be fine.”

“Do you need some ice?”

“No. No. I’m fine. Sorry again. Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you at school, right? Sorry.” Instead of coming out like individual sentences, the words kind of blurred together into one big blob of awkward.

Malina got up and walked me to the door. “Yeah. I’ll see you at school.”

I had one foot out the door when she stopped me.

“Jackson?”

As much as I wanted to keep going, I couldn’t ignore her. I stopped and turned and looked somewhere in the vicinity of her left shoulder. Not in her eyes. Not at her lips or her boobs. Shoulders were safe. “Yeah?”

“I don’t really know what just happened, but it was an accident. We’re still friends. It’s fine.”

I forced a nod and kept my eyes on her shoulder. “Okay. Thank you. Sorry. Good night.”

When I got in my car, I leaned back against the headrest and tried to breathe. Despite what she said, it wasn’t okay. I’d kissed my best friend. I’d acted like an idiot who didn’t know how to human, not the confident hockey player who kissed girls all the time.

But the worst part? Worse than the kiss or the embarrassment or awkwardness that followed?

I liked kissing Malina.

A lot.

I was screwed.

Tied Up In You by Erin Fletcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is book #2, in the All Laced Up series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader understanding, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this great series in order.

Malina and Luke AKA Jackson, have been best friends a long time. They used to do everything together. Lately, school and other commitments have kept them further apart. So when they do spend time together, they seem to fight a lot.

Jackson knows he should not be feeling attracted and hot over his best friend, but he cannot seem to put aside his feelings. When they go on a double date, jealousy gets the better of him and he almost self destructs!

There was so much to love about this story, where do I start? The characters were amazing. They were real, flawed, and felt all the feels. The banter was so much fun. I laughed out loud, I cried, I just basically enjoyed this novel right to the very last page!


***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley and its publishers, in exchange for an honest review only.

View all my reviews

About the author:

Erin is a young adult author from North Carolina. She is a morning person who does most of her writing before sunrise, while drinking excessive quantities of coffee. She believes flip-flops qualify as year-round footwear, and would spend every day at the beach if she could. She has a bachelor's degree in mathematics, which is almost never useful when writing books.

Connect:

Website: https://booklaunch.io/erinfletcher11

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinFletcher11

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7544504.Erin_Fletcher

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Erin-Fletcher/e/B00HV4IQPE

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$5 Amazon GC & Hawaiian Swag

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~~Tied Up In You

(All Laced Up # 2)

by Erin Fletcher

This is book #2, in the All Laced Up series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader understanding, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this great series in order.

Malina and Luke AKA Jackson, have been best friends a long time.  They used to do everything together.  Lately, school and other commitments have kept them further apart.  So when they do spend time together, they seem to fight a lot.

Jackson knows he should not be feeling attracted and hot over his best friend, but he cannot seem to put aside his feelings.  When they go on a double date, jealousy gets the better of him and he almost self destructs!

There was so much to love about this story, where do I start?  The characters were amazing.  They were real, flawed, and felt all the feels.  The banter was so much fun.  I laughed out loud, I cried, I just basically enjoyed this novel right to the very last page!  I give this book a 5/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley and its publishers, in exchange for an honest review only.