I have had Saving the Rifleman on my to-read list for awhile, but never really got inspired to buy it.  Then I found it on Scribd and was so happy that I added it to my library.  I soon realized that it was part of the massive romance purge that Scribd is doing in August so I quickly read it.  And...it was okay.  I enjoyed it and it was easy to read, but I did feel a little letdown by it.

Maria Hunt is a nurse working in Belgium during World War I.  She works at a hospital run by the Red Cross that helps soldiers and civilians regardless of nationality.  Maria and her supervisor, Rose, use this position to their advantage by sneaking injured British soldiers out of the country right under the noses of the Germans.  I really liked her character for her loyalty and her capability.  I am squeamish so I really admired her ability to keep going through some of the more violent aspects of the book.  I also loved her devotion to her patients, no matter who they were.

The hero of Saving the Rifleman is John Bennett, an aristocrat and career soldier, who stumbles upon the hospital and needs Maria's help getting to the Netherlands.  What I liked about him was his protective nature that was never over-the-top.  He spends much of the book in awe of Maria's intelligence and bravery and often bowed to her valuable experience.  John also doesn't care much about her lower class background and believes that he can convince his family how amazing she is.

This was a very sweet road romance that has these two likable characters traveling across the Belgian countryside while escaping the Germans.  There was a lot of danger and some appropriate wartime violence.  This all caused the love story to get a bit rushed.  Both Maria and John have their emotions running high and it was not hard to understand their intimacy.

I did feel like things got disappointing once they reached England.  I wanted more page time devoted to Maria adjusting to her new life and dealing with John's family's upper crust sensibilities.  I guess I found myself in need of more proof that these two had a real connection once they were out of immediate danger, but the page length didn't allow for that.  But, if you are looking for a decent historical romance that isn't Regency or Victorian-era, it might be worth checking this series out.

I received a free copy of this book from Riptide Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amy Lane is a M/M author that I have read a lot from and she is one that I turn to when I need a good cry.  She has the ability to balance the line between angst and emotional torture that I find valuable at certain times.  So I was excited when I learned that she would be involved in Riptide Publishing's cross-author series about Bluewater Bay, Washington.  The Deep of the Sound is exactly what I expected from Ms. Lane since I came away from with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face.

Calladh "Cal" McCorkle is a Bluewater Bay native who is just keeping hold on his sanity.  His parents died when he was a young man and he now spends his days working his ass off to support his Alzheimer's-riddled great uncle and mentally unstable younger brother.  Avery Kennedy is a freelancer writer who is having a serious string of bad luck incidents such as a cheating boyfriend and a desperate financial situation.  Cal manages to come across Avery on the side of the road outside of town and these two quickly realize how much chemistry they have together.

Cal and Avery are such richly developed characters that I felt like they could just jump off the page and have a conversation with me.  Cal's difficult life has forced him to always be the caretaker so he is immediately attracted to Avery whom he dubs his "rescue puppy".  But, things quickly turn for the couple when it turns out that he needs care from Avery just as much.  I liked how Avery was able to gain confidence through helping Cal and his family.  His upbringing left him with no self-esteem and a desperate need for any affection he can get.  Together they figure out what one another needs and that was a true highlight of The Deep of the Sound.

Cal's great-uncle, Nascha, and brother, Keir, are big parts of this story as well.  Each of them spends a lot of time stuck in their own heads and are unpredictable outside of them.  This is where my heart really broke while reading.  Alzheimer's is such an awful disease to witness and Nascha is trying desperately to hang onto some semblance of his old personality that I kept tearing up.  And Keir's multiple psychological issues make him a danger to himself and those around him.  I could tell where his story was going to end and I kept crossing my fingers that the journey would be smooth.

There are fun cameos of other Bluewater Bay inhabitants that readers of the series will be happy to see.  I loved getting to visit the Stomping Grounds coffee shop and, of course, continue to see the changes brought to the town by the cast and crew of the popular Wolf's Landing TV show.  But, don't worry about getting caught up on the series since this book can be read as a stand-alone.  If you haven't gotten to try an Amy Lane story, I highly recommend this one.  Just make sure you have a box of tissues available at certain points.

The Art of Sinning is the first book in Sabrina Jeffries's new Sinful Suitors series which is a spin-off to her Duke's Men series.  I have been reading Jeffries for years now and enjoy how consistently she entertains me.  As far as I can tell, the basis for this series is going to be an informal "club" of gentleman who spend their time protecting their sisters/cousins/wards from unsuitable suitors.  I appreciate the protectiveness that this storyline emphasizes though I know that the meddling will not end well for anyone.

First out of the gate is an American painter, Jeremy Keane, who was first introduced as the cousin of the heroine of How the Scoundrel Seduces.  He has been living and working in England for awhile now and is desperate for a muse to help him complete his ultimate project.  Thankfully, for him, he spots the perfect model at a ball and pretty much forces his way into a introduction with Yvette, sister of the stoic Earl of Blakeborough.  Jeremy convinces Yvette to model for him in exchange for helping her solve a family problem that her brother refuses to deal with.

The majority of this book involves Jeremy and Yvette spending time together at Blakeborough's country house.  There is a great deal of sneaking around since they are making her brother believe they are just working on a perfectly suitable portrait while, at night, they are making their way through the scandalous painting of Jeremy's dreams.

It is obvious early on how well-suited these two are on an emotional level.  Yvette has always felt out of place in society due to her height and blunt personality, but Jeremy is thrown for a loop by her which greatly improves her confidence.  I absolutely adored Yvette!  She isn't afraid to voice her opinions though she is never mean about it.  I also enjoyed watching her interact with her older brother, Edwin, who gets his own story next.

For his part, Jeremy is hiding a dark secret about his life in America which is forcing him to resist his attraction to Yvette.  The hidden past plot point went on a bit longer than I would have preferred, but it really helps explain Jeremy's behavior.  I just wanted to give him the biggest hug once the whole truth was revealed.  Sabrina Jeffries does a wonderful job with researching unique historical topics and, in this book, she clearly had a blast working in little tidbits about the 19th century artistic process.

The Art of Sinning was very easy to get into and I quickly sped through it.  Jeremy and Yvette had so much chemistry together and I was rooting for them to get their heads on right and figure out how perfect they are as a couple.  And I cannot say enough how excited I am for The Study of Seduction which pairs Yvette's brother (who was a huge surprise in this story) and her best friend, Clarissa.

Kristen Callihan's The Hook Up was one of my favorite reads of 2014 so, of course, I was excited to read the sequel, The Friend Zone.  While this wasn't as wonderful as its predecessor, I did enjoy it and continue to impressed with the NA romances I've been reading lately.

Gray is the tight end on his college football team and is very close to realizing his dream of being drafted by the National Football League.  He even has an agent waiting to sign him after graduation.  So he is not prepared for the entrance of his agent's daughter, Ivy, into his life.  Ivy and Gray try to remain friends, but it becomes obvious that they are so much more to one another.

I really liked both Gray and Ivy.  Gray is a stud athlete, but he also, surprisingly, has a hell of a brain which he keeps a secret from most people.  His childhood wasn't the happiest and he is determined to make it in the pros to finally find a place he belongs.  For her part, Ivy has been surrounded by athletes her entire life and resents the attention that they get from her father.  She has recently graduated from college and is trying to figure out what she wants to do next.  Ivy has never felt a connection with someone like she does with Gray and is terrified of what will happen if they move out into relationship territory.

The plot of The Friend Zone basically deals with Gray and Ivy becoming friends (mostly through text messages) and trying to not mess things up when feelings get in the way.  I loved the development of their friendship and how comfortable they were with one another.  It is obvious to readers that they both are in love, but I appreciated that it took time before romance appeared.  The plot ended up being a question of "when will they" rather than "will they or won't they" which was fun.

So I would definitely recommend fans of NA romance or contemporaries in general check out Callihan's The Friend Zone.  It has mature characters who respect one another and are just searching for somewhere to belong with some fun side characters and enough sports talk to provide a great background.