Romance Books Reviews & Treats

24y.o. singer has an instant mutual attraction to the son of the owner of the bar she works at.

Late 20s computer-software creator Hero is back home temporarily before he heads off to his contracted work in Bahrain. She tries hard to deflect his flirtation. But the time they end up spending together, when her brother’s accident takes her home, result in a passionate affair. Their intimacy is alien to both of them and brings up their fears. Two major revelations in Hero’s life drives his fears between them.** How much of his past will he let dictate their romance?

This book was steamy, emotionally-pulling, adorable, and poignant. The strength of this book was in how Hero and heroine persisted in keeping their romance, despite the difficulties that came. They didn’t do immature hysterics or prideful avoidance that many romance tropes do. We saw them confront each other, fight for each other, and hope for the best in one another. It massively helped that the secondary characters(i.e., Hero’s extensive adopted family and their friends) were written in to support their romance and not take the spotlight from them. So, when Hero’s repressed traumatic past came into the surface, his family helped him through it. If it wasn’t for their loving confrontations, I think the ending would’ve been different. Or, at least, prolonged.

Well-recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.

*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

27y.o. heroine quit her job as personal assistant to hotel owner 34y.o. Hero and left him, after she realized she no longer need to continue her revenge plans against him.

Finding out Hero wasn’t to blame for the terror that she and her parents went through and her father’s resulting death is changing her whole outlook in life. Hero catches up to her and confronts her with the truth she’s been hiding. Will she tell him the truth and risk the consequences to their relationship?

I read this novella without knowing this was the follow-up book to [b:The Virgin: Revenge|18404912|The Virgin Revenge|J. Dallas|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1378066276s/18404912.jpg|26034194], which I haven't read. It was intense and fast-paced yet it was valuable missing details about Hero and heroine’s relationship that would’ve made me connect with them more. I felt liked I was missing the subtle emotional nuances between them. A few more pages briefly summarizing the highlights of their past romance 10 years ago and their recent one would’ve sufficed. Regardless, I was still able to track the story enough and got the gist of their past romance and her revenge maneuvers at Hero’s company. Their truth confessions bridged their past romance problems with the present.** How they deal with the truth showed their ability to make their romance work long-term.

Moderately recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
 

20y.o. heroine agrees to finish the 42 days she reneged from her previous contract to be 30y.o. billionaire banker Hero’s mistress a year ago.

As a result, she’ll get the business loan she needed for the store she and her best friend plan to set up. Heroine’s primary motive, however, is to be with Hero as much as she can. Being away from him was very difficult yet she cannot tell him about their 3-month-old son. Hero restarts their affair with a vengeful plan to treat her like sex object but her open and vulnerable responses to him eventually soften his attitude. When things go well with their romance, the dangerous interference of his family make her think twice about staying with Hero for the remainder of their current contract. What does she do? How does Hero respond?

I liked this book much more than book 1, [b:The Billionaire Banker|18634471|The Billionaire Banker (The Billionaire Banker, #1)|Georgia Le Carre|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1381228785s/18634471.jpg|26166702] (my review here). The writing was edgier, smoother, steamier, and more emotionally-evoking. The biggest progress was that we finally get to know Hero, unlike book 1. I felt more connected to him as I learn more about his inner motives and he began getting more emotionally unhinged due to how heroine made him feel. But his openness also displayed that he was a broken man with a secret past.** Heroine had secrets and I liked how she was able to maneuver them yet still get what she wanted. She grew up since book 1 and she’s now taking charge of her wants and needs instead of just being a victim of circumstance. I enjoyed this book immensely and was a fast read because it was unpredictable and sometimes shocking.

Highly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
**ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

24y.o. model invites her ex-boyfriend Hero over to finally tell him that they have a 5-month-old son together.

But she lets their strong passion sweep them away since she believes that he’ll want nothing to do with her romantically once he knows the truth. Famous scriptwriter Hero is livid over what she did and confronts her about it. It opens up their unresolved past problems. How can they work on their irreconcilable past problems now? Are their betrayals too much to be able to have a future together?

I had mixed feelings about this Kendrick book. On one hand, I like the realistic portrayal of the couple’s issues and their reactions to them. On the other hand, it was a little too real. Hero and heroine had a lot of irreconcilable differences in the past due to heroine’s immaturity and Hero’s seeming indifference to their dying romance. Adding a secret baby to the mix seemed like a recipe for an explosive present reunion. But, due to Hero and heroine doing some maturing in the past few years, they were able to discuss some things reasonably well. They both confronted his betrayal and her subsequent betrayal.** The ending didn’t make me sigh though. Instead it made me wonder about their future. The way things ended seemed a lot like how they came together in the first place, driven by strong passion. An epilogue detailing Hero and heroine happy a few years later would’ve reassured me.

Sufficiently recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
 

26.yo. heroine demands the money she was promised by her estranged husband of 18 months Hero for their marriage of convenience.

Greek businessman Hero will only give it to her if she spends some time in his bed. Heroine unhappily accepts due to the financial pressure that’s forcing her to do so. Their sexual intimacy brings back memories and feelings she’s done her best to forget. And Hero’s coldness towards her when not intimate only makes her determined to pay him back after. What will her revenge accomplish?

This James’ book left me frustrated, since the intense emotional wrangling between the main characters wasn’t settled very well. There was the requisite love confession between them at the end but there was hardly any redemption for the cruelty Hero constantly displayed towards heroine and we didn’t get a good idea of their secret desires for each other. They were both too busy disliking, mistrusting, and planning against each other. I also didn’t feel positively connected to them. I became more annoyed with heroine as the book unfolded.** And I barely knew Hero aside from his calculated coldness and vengefulness.

Slightly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
 

25y.o. textile designer is forced to talk to her ex-husband of 2 years Hero again, regarding her sister’s scandalous affair with his married brother, in order to keep a relationship with her mother.

Seeing him again since she left him 4 years ago is reigniting her attraction towards him. His reciprocating it makes it difficult to always remember that he’s about to get married to another woman soon and her resolution to have a life without him, as encouraged by her boss and friend. How temporary are their feelings for each other? What does it mean for their significant others?

Too bad this Mather book ended up being so mediocre. It had the material for excitement & drama, with heroine’s stalker-like boss-friend and Hero having a fiancé.** Heroine dismissed too many obvious and not-as-obvious events and motivations. It made her look dumb, whether she was in denial or just naïve. It also resulted in cushioning the dramatic events so they became boring to read. The lack of emotional engagement and distancing writing added to its lukewarm quality. It’s too bad really because Hero and heroine’s characters were interesting.

Mildly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
 

28y.o. writer is dismayed to have a mix-up of her vacation lease with 28y.o. songwriter-band guitarist Hero.

She hasn’t seen him since he left Yale for Julliard, after their ill-fated summer romance 9 years ago. As in love as she still is with him, she doesn’t know how much she can trust his promises to love her forever. He broke her heart badly in the past and they’ve both changed a lot since then. When she finds out that he deceived her about her book contract, what hope do they have of a future together?

This book didn’t come alive until about page 50. The first 50 was a slow introduction to Hero and heroine’s current circumstances. After about page 50, the romance became more focus, the writing more emotionally-pulling, and the main characters more exciting. It more than made up for the tepid 1st 50 pages. It’s a second-chance romance with Hero trying to atone for the big mistake of letting heroine go 9 years ago. He consistently showed her how much he loved her in word and deed. And he made some big and secret sacrifices to do so.** His reasons for doing so and heroine’s subsequent responses to him dumping her were also wrangled out. And it was poignant to see the long-term effect of their big misunderstandings. I loved how we saw their character growth in process, especially heroine’s. It conveyed how love heals and transforms for the better.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
 

33y.o. veterinarian doesn’t want to make too much of the kiss she shared with her decades-old BFF(best friend) Hero.

She’s been secretly in love with him for a long time but now has to accept that he’ll never see her more than just a friend, after the sister comments he made about her lately. 33y.o. MMA (mixed-martial arts) fighter Hero is trying to resist his new and intensifying sexual attraction to heroine but living with her the last few weeks had made it difficult. And especially when he sees her getting closer to another MMA fighter. They eventually become intimate. But their fears prevent them from making a total commitment to each other.** How do they handle them?

Sexy, sometimes funny, sweet, and poignant. This was a good best-friends-turned-to-lovers romance. We saw the internal process of what the change was like for Hero who only recently saw heroine as a woman. We also saw what it was like for heroine to be the recipient of the reciprocated desire she’d hope for but was afraid to acknowledge, in fear that she was only fooling herself. I love the dynamics of the emotional changes in their relationship and the uncertainties both faced. Heroine was likeable in her practicality and her courage to move on, even when her hopes and desires say otherwise. She had a good head on her shoulders. She spurred Hero to grow up. Her fears that he would revert back to his old immature ways were realistic. It took grit to be able to put limits on their relationship when she did. Hero did grovel but the timing and delivery lost some of the impact it could’ve given.**

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.

24y.o. heroine isn’t sure about trusting early-30s Hero who offered his help to keep her and her half-siblings safe from their influential stepfather.

They’ve been on the run since she found out her stepfather may be abusing her 4y.o. half-sister. Hero is intent on entrapping his stepfather from his own evil plans and securing a good future with heroine and her half-siblings. Heroine soon succumbs to his persistent caring and possessiveness. But overhearing him betray her the next day sends her running to danger. How can she trust him again?

Sorry to say but I didn’t like this Banks’ book, which was too bad since I liked [b:Whispers in the Dark|10675183|Whispers in the Dark (KGI, #4)|Maya Banks|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1304091601s/10675183.jpg|15584819] a lot. It was tepid at first, with its lack of emotional engagement. Then it soon became off-putting, as Hero became quickly obsessed with heroine and her siblings. His musings about them sounded weird and over the top.** Even heroine seemed taken aback by his strange attraction towards her and her siblings. But she gave in to him soon enough. Their relationship felt more awkward and dysfunctional than romantic. It didn't help that heroine was TSTL(too stupid to live). The action-suspense part seemed contrived and unbelievable in some parts. I was going to DNF(did not finish) this book early on but hoped it would somehow improve since it’s written by Maya Banks. But, no. It became corny and contrived towards the end. So I skipped and skimmed the last few pages. I had enough.

I’d skip this book.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
 

25y.o. university librarian has been secretly attracted to her best friend of 9 months Hero but settles for their enjoyable friendship.

She knows that player Hero doesn’t do commitments and has many hook-ups. When she proposes a friends-with-benefits (FWB) arrangement, she clarified its sex-education purposes which both readily accepted. However, it surprises her when Hero spends more time with her and treats her more meaningfully. After 6 weeks of increasing closeness, however, he suddenly wants out. How does it affect their relationship?

Good overall. It was funny, cute, sexy, and angsty. We know more about heroine because the book is told from her POV(point of view). Her attraction seemed unrequited because Hero was harder to get to know. We gradually clued in to his mutual interest mostly via his nonverbal expressions, especially during their sexy times. It’s after he dumped her that it became obvious how greatly she affected him.** The angst of the book came from his realization of how much she meant to him, how he may have lost her forever because of how he hurt her, and the question of his ability to adequately love her the way she wants him to. His past has always had a huge hold on him and heroine wasn’t willing to settle for second best. He groveled for hurting her and she made him work for it, having learned to value herself more from their time together. He eventually convinced her that she was #1 in his heart. I only wished that the book honed in on their romance from the very start of the book. A little too much time was spent on the secondary characters and didn’t start focusing on the main romance until about 15% through.

Recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
 

28y.o. first-grade teacher is shocked when her loving boyfriend of 6 months suddenly breaks up with her.

She demands answers, despite his warning of how the truth may affect her. Confessing his BDSM preferences does greatly affect her but she’s not quite sure how. Her willingness to try it tests what she’s comfortable with and the nature of their romance. Can she handle it?

A good novella with light BDSM. Suprisingly has emotional depth and character growth. Both main characters did some heavy evaluation about themselves and figure out what they were comfortable with and what their limits were. I appreciated how it handled the issues that arise when 1 partner tries out the BDSM lifestyle of another. I liked that Hero didn’t try to seduce or romanticize BDSM but actually tried to dissuade heroine with the uncomfortable aspects of it, including requiring her with doing her own research about it. It showed the kind of man he was: caring, honest, and with integrity. It’s good that heroine wasn’t easily scared yet was cautious in her approach. Sex scenes were steamy and showed the awkward aspects of being a newbie at BDSM. But it also showed Hero and heroine’s true depths, especially Hero’s possessiveness of heroine. Heroine’s need for time and space to assess her willingness to be in a relationship with Hero that included BDSM in the bedroom showed her wisdom and Hero’s respect of her.** It made her decision about herself and their romance sound, well thought out, and solid.

Highly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
 

The protests that 26 y.o. ballerina-turned-florist made to the loud band practice in songwriter Hero’s apartment quickly turns to flirtation and a 1-night stand.

Hero became standoffish after their first time together and she rejected his subsequent advances. But his help in saving her floral shop softens her towards him. She’s baffled by his on and off reactions towards her. When will Hero be ready to open up to her?

My 1st Cleary book and I didn’t care for the meandering descriptions of the 1st chapter. I almost DNFed (did not finish) it. I tried again & the pace improved when Hero and heroine got together the first time. Emotional pull was average. Their sexual chemistry was hot when they were of same mind. But, when Hero vacillated, it became one-sided. Hero was heroine’s kryptonite. She eventually succumbed to his seduction, even after her attempts to be strong and keep her limits with him. She was basically his friend with sexual benefits and she didn’t want to upset him by asking him if he considered her his girlfriend yet. She was a pushover for him and it matched his self-focus. He was charming and sweet at times but he acted like a jerk at other times, especially when faced with something that reminded him of weddings. He prolonged telling her about his humiliating experience being jilted at the altar because his ego couldn’t take it. The timing of her finally finding out about it followed his acting like the worst jerk towards her.** I don’t mind doormat and egotistical characters as long as they improve in the book. This Hero and heroine did not. And their romance might end up in their HEA(happy ever after), as long as heroine doesn’t wise up later and continue being swayed by his charm and seduction.

Restrictedly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
 

22y.o. heroine has finally made it into Sydney society as a savvy antique store-owner with a proper sense of style.

She credits much of her success to her current boyfriend who invested in her business 4 years ago when she was still inexperienced but motivated in starting her new business. But her drive to succeed in high society is primarily due to the rejection and humiliation she suffered from her ex-boyfriend and his snobbish family 5 years ago. At the eve of her acceptance in Sydney society, she encounters her ex-boyfriend who is not only pleased to see her again but wants her back. She accepts his offer to spend the weekend at his family’s ranch with her current boyfriend. She wants closure with the past and to figure out who she wants to really be with. Who is the Hero of this story?

This Darcy book was quite unpredictable. I couldn’t figure out who the Hero was until past halfway through the book. We’re taken into heroine’s emotional journey of choosing between her past and her present. Heroine had been so steeped in avenging the rejection and humiliation she suffered in the hands of her ex-boyfriend and his family 5 years ago that her business and her current boyfriend were more her tools to achieve her goals of acceptance and belonging in high society. She didn’t see her current boyfriend as a man or lover. She viewed him more as her investor and business sidekick. So it wasn’t surprising that seeing her ex-boyfriend again after 5 years would make her almost forget her current boyfriend while immersed in her arduous feelings for her ex-boyfriend. But she had also grown up and change. Spending the weekend at her ex-boyfriend’s family ranch accentuated the changes in her and revealed the truth of the past. This was the turning point of the book that revealed who the Hero of the story was.** It was cleverly done and I enjoyed the process of how everything got revealed. Hero and heroine’s future together looked stable, even though it’s clear that one had the emotional upper hand in their relationship. There’s enough there to sustain their relationship in the future.

Recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
 

Documentary photographer is finally giving up on her remote 5-year marriage to busy Italian businessman Hero.

Her last failed attempt to revive their marriage and almost losing their young daughter solidifies her plans to put an end to their marriage. In the meantime, Hero has now resolved to spend more time with their daughter due to almost losing her and frees up 6 weeks of his work schedule. Their rare time together gave heroine the opportunity to confront Hero of his neglect of her and their daughter. Hero tells her the big secrets he’s been withholding from her.** It scrapes at her deep wounds while it frees him to consider their marriage in a way he never has before. Can he convince her to give him a second chance?

My rating is mixed for this book. It’s my 1st Blake book so I don’t know how typical of her writing this book was. I loved how my emotions and attention were gripped at the very start of the book. The characters were simmering with their intense emotions and the heavy drama of their dying marriage. I was hooked. But the unveiling of Hero’s secrets dampened the emotional pull of the book for me. A big part was due to how his secrets affected his romance choices with heroine confused me.** I didn’t get it. And it made his past responses to heroine look even worse. It made it more evident that love wasn't his driving force for marrying her. The good news, though, is that he began to change and started becoming a loving and concerned husband and father. I would’ve liked to see him grovel but his genuine character improvement was good enough for me to believe that they might have a chance at a good and lasting marriage now.

Moderately recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.

Military short stories about:
Story 1(Burrow): A reunion 7 months later after a hot 2-night stand between Corporal Hero and heroine.
Story 2(Bushman): A second-chance between Chief Petty Officer Hero and forensic investigator heroine 5 years later
Story 3(Corrigan): A tryst at a beach between Coast Guard Hero and young, carefree hippie heroine after just having met.
Story 4(Dawson): Military Hero's surprise for his wife of 10 years, after being apart for 6 months.
Story 5(Jones): Instant desire between British au pair in Texas and Air Force colonel.
Story 6(McAllan): Possible marriage arrangement between lascivious Major Hero and his best friend's younger sister.
Story 7(Petrovskii): A shared kiss after weeks of competitive sparring matches between Warrant Officer Hero and Corporal heroine.
Story 8(Rosewarne): Asking for sexual comfort from her brother's friend and fellow soldier after
being informed by him that her soldier brother died.
Story 9(Stoneley): Seduction plan to convince her brothers' best friend, UK Special Forces Hero, how it's acceptable to succumb to their long-held mutual attraction to each other again.
Story 10(Petrovskii): Warming each other up while snowed in a barn becomes steamy for Corporal heroine and Lieutenant Hero.

This novella had 10 short-stories, ranging from 25 pages to less. And because they were all so brief, I didn’t mind reading the less than stellar stories. The stories were a mixed bag of good and not-as-good. My favorites** were the ones that tugged at my emotions because Hero and heroine were clearly in love with and so hot for each other. I was surprised that these brief stories were able to include some substantial-enough relationship problems to the romance to warrant a bit of poignancy. Those I considered average and higher were erotic romance stories. The average reads showed the Hero and heroine’s emotional connection but they didn’t engage me as much. The below-average reads lacked emotional connection between the main characters. They’re more erotica, which I don’t like to read because it’s basically just sex. In a couple of these stories, Hero was motivated by some other non-emotional reason to be with heroine.** Love didn’t seem to be involved.

Overall, partially recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
 

30y.o. heroine accepts 38y.o. billionaire businessman Hero’s offer to go with him to his business trip to Tokyo.

Her snobbish barrister boyfriend of 3 years just dumped her after the accidental posting of her photo on a dating billboard ad. She, however, begins to question her motives and his when they get to Tokyo. She doesn’t want to get involved with another man who won’t consider marrying her. It changes the easy weekend-affair expectations of Hero. It especially makes a difference when he finds out her ex-boyfriend’s identity. Is his romance with heroine propelled by something else?

Mixed review. The worst thing being the inaccurate book title. Heroine was neither Hero’s mistress nor was she bought by him. She was financially independent and clarified that she didn’t want Hero for his money nor did she want him buying her expensive trinkets. The frequent use of the word “purr” to describe Hero’s seductive response to heroine was odd. Couple that with jungle-cat references and it became laughable. The rest wasn’t so much bad or great but just average. Their sexual attraction was the strongest part of their connection. Their emotional connection lacked intensity. It seemed like they were both at the stage in their lives when they wanted marriage and kids. She’d been waiting for her ex-boyfriend’s marriage proposal for 3 years and, since he dumped her, Hero’s interest in her came at the right time. So it wasn’t surprising that she took him up on his offer straight away, after being dumped by her ex. Hero’s keeping his secret from her while planning his perfect revenge made me question his motives for romancing heroine.** Heroine’s quick forgiveness towards Hero was predictable once he confessed his love and proposed marriage.

Moderately recommended.

**An illustrated review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.