Review: His Unexpected Grandchild

I'm not gonna lie, the initial reason I picked up His Unexpected Grandchild by Myra Johnson is because of the word "grandchild."  Even if the couple in this romance were on the young side, chances were more than favorable they were going to be in their 40s (I can't recall if the author actually comes out and says it, but I got the impression they were pushing 50).  Also, I was intrigued by the plot description.

Lane Bromley used to be a hot-shot, up-and-coming lawyer, but after his wife dies he takes their infant daughter, Shannon, and moves into the mountains of Montana to live off the grid. Shannon left home the minute she could and communication with her father has largely been non-existent until she shows up one day with her toddler son, Tate, in tow. She was married and her husband, Steven, died in a motorcycle accident right before Tate was born. Shannon is struggling to the point that she voluntarily commits herself (it's not clearly spelled out, but basically severe depression) leaving Lane to take care of his grandson.

The story opens with Lane dropping by to see one of the local veterinarian's in Missoula, Dr. Julia Frasier. Lane recognizes he's a bit out of his depth, plus having no way to know when Shannon will be "better," he feels it's time to talk to Steven's mother.  One small fly in the ointment, Julia is still grieving and had NO CLUE her son had gotten married, let alone that she had a grandchild.

There are over 2 million children in the United States being raised by grandparents and yet it's something we rarely see addressed in romance novels (probably because we'd then have to read about "old people"). To add more realism to the conflict, Julia is firmly a member of a sandwich generation. She's struggling to keep the family veterinarian practice afloat while her father's health continues to deteriorate and her office manager mother needs to pull back on her work hours. Now she's got a grandson she didn't know existed which just heaps on more stress when she's barely hanging on by her fingernails.

Unfortunately the great conflict is lost in a very flat romance. This is an inspirational romance featuring Eunuch Christians. Lane and Julia immediately start butting heads over what's best for Tate, Lane being able to offer some stability and a work schedule not running him into the ground, and Julia having concerns about how isolated Lane's home is, the man doesn't even have reliable phone service! Somehow when they're not bickering about this (yes, it's understandable bickering) they supposedly catch feelings and fall in love. How? Good question. I have no idea. I can't stress this enough people, just because a story is just-kisses there can and should be tension and chemistry between the romantic couple. There's none of that here.

Since this is an inspirational romance, I want to mention The God Stuff. On my scale of 1 to 10 (1 being squint and it might be there to 10 the author is trying to convert the reader) this is around an 8. Both Lane and Julia have lost their faith but at the drop of a hat they pick it up again leaning in on the whole "God has a plan" thing and prayer. This felt especially jarring with Lane who quite literally moved off the grid after his wife's sudden and tragic death - all of the sudden his mentally ill daughter shows up with a toddler and that has him rushing right back to faith?  Sorry, not buying.

Mix in one rescue dog and Tate who speaks in Romancelandia Plot Moppet and the dynamite conflict just wasn't enough to carry the story as a whole for me. A+ conflict meets a very blah romance.

Final Grade = C-

Review: The Bachelorette Party

2024 has been the year of me trying to clean out old mystery ARCs from my Kindle and next up on the hit parade is The Bachelorette Party by Carissa Ann Lynch. I suspect this was another impulse download thanks to a Netgalley email, having gotten sucked in by a premise that was too delicious to ignore. 

Rosalee is madly in love with Asher, a handsome, successful lawyer who is absolutely crazy about her - so naturally when he proposes she says yes. They've purchased a beautiful old farmhouse, they're blissfully in love, it's just too bad there's drama surrounding them - and because Rosalee is too damn nice for her own good, that drama is coming to her bachelorette party in New Orleans.

The guest list for a fun-filled (sarcasm) weekend is as follows:

Elizabeth: Rosalee's soon-to-be mother-in-law, a total bitch who has been taking not-so-subtle jabs at Rosalee because she KNOWS she's not good enough for her precious baby boy. The woman he should be marrying and giving her grandchildren is his best friend, but more on her in a minute....

Bri: Asher's sister, Elizabeth's daughter. She's not the girly, feminine daughter of Elizabeth's dreams. She's built like her father, tall, square jaw, broad shoulders, and not the least bit interested in marriage or babies. No, Bri is a computer genius and has her own start-up. Like her mother she's not a big fan of Rosalee.

Mara: Rosalee's BFF from college and the only character who just might be a bigger bitch than Elizabeth. She's fiercely protective and loyal to Rosalee, and is part street fighter, part mean girl. This is a woman you do not want to cross and she planned the entire bachelorette weekend.

Tinsley: Rosalee's cousin. When Rosalee's parents died in a car accident when she was younger, she went to live with her aunt and Tinsley. The two are more like sisters, very close, but having drifted apart when Rosalee went to college and hitched her wagon to Mara. Tinsley is the co-planner of the weekend and is already a little hot under the collar, having max'ed out her credit cards to pay for the party with Mara promising to "pay her back."

Georgia: Asher's best friend since childhood.  Former nurse, now owner of a struggling yoga studio, impossibly gorgeous and the woman who Elizabeth thinks her son should be marrying. Too nice Rosalee has asked Georgia to be a bridesmaid even as she struggles with doubts that Georgia and Asher are "just friends."

The book opens up with a local New Orleans detective walking the crime scene at the mansion where the bachelorette party was staying. A dead body having been found, hung by a noose from the rafters in the dining hall.  Then the author backtracks, introducing the reader to all the characters and the drama that unfolds leading up to the discovery of the body.  Half the fun of this story is that the reader doesn't know who the victim is until the final third of the book as the detective has hauled in members of the bachelorette party for questioning. They all have secrets, many of them hinted at as the drama preceding the murder unfolds, and it's in this final third when it all comes spilling out.

Sometimes when I read a book I'm struck by vibes, or a feeling, that I can't quite articulate in a meaningful way and that's what's going on with me here. This story read young to me. As in impossibly young women squee'ing about it on TikTok and making me feel like the embittered old crone I'm beginning to suspect I'm becoming. This smacked of a TikTok book to me, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a good time reading it even if it did make me feel old (for some reason?) and even though it didn't change my life. 

First, we have a creepy mansion in New Orleans as the setting. I can't say no to that. Second, there's a dead body but you don't know who the dead body is until the final chapters of the book which makes for riveting reading especially since you kind of dislike or outright hate every character. Seriously any of them could have been the victim and it would have made me happy. Lastly, this is a short, fast read. Less than 300 pages. No filler, no fluff, just get down to business with the sniping, passive aggressive behavior and secrets.

I wasn't totally in love with the ending but the author throws in a twist at the end to keep things interesting and just reaffirms what a nest of vipers this crew is. I was entertained and you know what? That's good enough for me. I'd never heard of Lynch before picking up this book but I've heard of her now.  I'll read more.

Final Grade = B-

Library Loot Review: The Best Man to Trust

After reading The Perfect Bride by Kerry Connor for October's Gothic/Spooky TBR Challenge, I was curious enough to wrap things up by reading the second book in the duet, The Best Man to Trust. Like the first one, it hit me with all the nostalgic feels and the locked room-style mystery kept the pages turning.

Despite the events of the first book (one dead bride, one dead murderer), Meredith Sutton is still determined to make her wedding planning business and venue at Sutton Hall work. She just needs one wedding. One wedding that goes off without a hitch and turns out beautifully. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, her date book is littered with cancellations, except for one. Two former college acquaintances are getting married and the bride is determined to have her small, intimate wedding at Sutton Hall.  Just her, the groom, and a few friends. One of those friends? Tom Campbell, a guy that Meredith had a serious crush on in college and naturally he had no clue she even existed. Of course he's more handsome than ever, but Meredith cannot let herself get distracted. This wedding needs to be perfect.

Of course on the day the wedding party is supposed to arrive a snow storm blows into the Vermont countryside. Meredith is half expecting the party to stay in the nearest town, but somehow they make it up the mountain and the wedding is going to proceed as scheduled. But the snow keeps falling, cell phone reception goes on the fritz, and the landline gets knocked out. That's when the bodies start dropping. 

Poor Meredith. A big reason she's determined to make this business succeed is that she's desperate for a fresh start. She married her college sweetheart who turned out to be an abusive asshole. When her brother (the hero in our first book) finally figures out what's going on, Meredith is in the hospital. He, essentially, swoops in to rescue her, and Meredith is determined to move on from her past. To stand on her own two feet. To be strong, resilient, to not need "rescuing." She's thrown into the fire once the first dead body turns up, her brother and his girlfriend being out of town. Meredith is going to have to keep everyone safe, and keep the guests from panicking, until help can arrive. 

Tom is the friend of the group who had drifted away after college. In fact it's only a last minute change in his plans (minor detail, the TV show he was working on as a cameraman got cancelled - ergo he's currently unemployed) that has him attending the wedding of his old friends. He's immediately drawn to Meredith and once the first murder occurs, they both realize that pairing up for safety is the smart thing to do. They also need to figure out what's going on and keep everyone safe. Why would anyone want to murder one of the bridesmaids? Are there dark secrets among these old friends or is someone on Meredith's small staff the culprit?

The mystery has a locked room feel to it with slight shades of Christie's And Then There Were None (although you don't hate everybody). I realize dead bodies aren't exactly "light reading" but like the first book this one gave off lighter Scooby Doo vibes for me and hit me in all the nostalgic feels.  Teenage Wendy would have loved this, and Adult Wendy had a good time reading it.

The romance here is thin.  Meredith and Tom are both nice people and I do believe they're attracted to each other, but there's not nearly the sizzle of chemistry as the first book in this duet. It's not bad, I'm not even sure it's "flat," but it's not as compelling as the mystery, which is what kept me turning the pages.

Did this change my life? No. But did I have a good time reading it? Yes, I did. It kept me engaged while I was traveling recently and I was really invested to find out whodunit. All in all, not a bad way to kill a few hours.

Final Grade = B-

#TBRChallenge 2025: Theme Poll Now Open!

The older I get the more I say this, but seriously, where did this year go? I mean, shouldn't it only be March?  All of us have a lot on our plates the final two months of 2024, and hopefully not all of it will suck (please and thank you to all the deities out there), so I wanted to get a jump now on next year's (2025!) #TBRChallenge Theme Poll.

I took over hosting duties in 2011 and the smartest thing I ever did was get burnt-out (OK, maybe not?) and start asking for all y'alls help in coming up with monthly optional themes (definitely). I like to think some of you enjoy this too because the last several years you've come up with some great themes. In fact, every single theme for 2024 came out of last year's poll. None of those came from yours truly.

The 2025 poll is now open via a Google Form. I will likely close it November 30, which will give me time to select winning themes and get a post ready in early December to give folks plenty of time to sign up before we kick things off in January. Enter early, enter often.

Tricks and Treats: October 2024 Unusual Historicals

I'm squeaking in during the 11th hour to finally bring y'all October's crop of Unusual Historicals. What can I say, a brutal reading slump, work being work, and a trip home to see the family had me distracted. However there's nothing quite like Airplane Reading (I do my best reading on airplanes...) and a week of sitting around my parents' house quite literally doing nothing to revive a girl. So without further ado...

Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux

Margaret Arden yearns to live like the passionate and daring women in her novel. The idyllic life at Mosely Cottage with her two younger sisters and mother is fine, but Margaret wants more than the demure and dainty existence she’s known. After a particularly brutal rejection from an annoyingly attractive publisher, Margaret fears being forced into marriage to protect her family if their financial situation doesn’t improve—until her cousin’s glamorous wedding masquerade brings her onto a collision course with scandal, notoriety, and even love. 

Captain Bridger Darrow is starting over after fighting for his country. Now home, he is struggling to save his family from destitution and succeed in a new venture of passion: book publishing. It’s all going rather poorly, until he stumbles upon loose pages of an astonishing novel while in attendance at his dearest friend’s wedding. Bridger knows he must publish it. But upon meeting the author, Bridger is stunned to discover that he—she—is a woman, and he has already told her off in grand fashion.

While Bridger is keen to gain her trust and rescind the initial rejection, Margaret can’t help but be skeptical of his intentions. Sparks fly between the two, just as the wedding of the season starts to descend into chaos when a masked dance leads to a case of mistaken identities.

This back cover blurb has Regency romcom written all over it. She wants a bold (re: not dull as dishwater) life and he wants to make a success as a book publisher - only to realize that the book he accidentally discovers that is sure to make his reputation is written by the woman (gasp!) that he's just told off.  The mention of a case of mistaken identity seals the deal.  

The Electrician and the Seamstress by Monica Granlove

Germany, 1936. Bruno, an electrician, and Karla, a seamstress, forge a powerful love amid the rise of the Nazi Party and Hitler’s ascent to power. Staunch opponents of the Nazi ideology, they live in perpetual apprehension as they risk being labeled dissidents, navigating a complex negotiation between moral principles and self-preservation. As World War II breaks out, Bruno faces a profound internal struggle when he is drafted into service, and he is eventually captured by the Russians and imprisoned in Siberia. His nearly two-year journey back to war-ravaged Germany reveals the devastating aftermath, with his city in ruins and family displaced.

Meanwhile, Karla, at home facing nightly bombings, struggles to raise their two young children and is forced into helping the Nazis. Through these tumultuous times, Karla and Bruno’s unwavering love becomes a testament to human strength and endurance amid adversity. 

Dissidents in 1936 Germany fall in love, only to face countless struggles as he's drafted, then hauled off to Siberia, and she's faced with hard choices to ensure the survival of herself and her children. This one is based on the true story of the author's grandparents. 

Love and the Downfall of Society by Melinda Copp

After turning society upside down with her debut story, provincial Charlotte Deveraux arrives in Paris poised for literary stardom. She’s not sure where her next rent payment will come from, but she’s determined to make a name for herself as a respected writer in the cultural capital of the world.

Antoine de Larminet is the last surviving son of an aristocratic family. In line to inherit a title, he has promised his parents that he’ll marry a peer and carry on the centuries-old tradition. He was raised in an antiquated world where love was often found outside of arranged society marriages. Even as the French aristocracy is losing relevance to modernity, Antoine never questioned this commitment to this family legacy--until his chance meeting with clever and beautiful Charlotte.

Their attraction is immediate, and the more they bump into each other at the clubs and salons of Paris, the stronger their attachment grows. But Antoine can’t marry Charlotte because she’s as proletarian as they come. And Charlotte will lose all credibility as a writer and social critic if she becomes the mistress of an aristocrat.

The world around them is changing, but if love is to win, one of them will have to give up everything they stand for.

Old world (him) clashes with new world (her). It's a relationship spelling certain doom for both of them: oh, only her credibility and his very way of life. High stakes conflict set against the backdrop of Belle Époque Paris.

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire

Wallflower at risk of ruin…

Secret femme-fatale in training Millicent Whittenburg needs to escape her unpleasant betrothal. Taking matters into her own hands, she plans her eventual ruin! Then she can disappear from society to carry out the Queen’s deadly missions. Step 1: seduce the one man who despises marriage more than her!

However, she hugely underestimates her target. Major General Beaufort Drake. Fearsome private investigator, he’s notoriously cold and visibly battle scarred. But Millie’s scandalously public kiss awakens a deeply suppressed desire in Drake. Instead of allowing them both to succumb to shame he does the unthinkable, and offers for her hand in a convenient marriage.

Nothing prepares them for the fireworks when a fearless damsel collides with a dangerous Major General! And as their secret missions align they face their hardest test on the glittering battlefield – a week long wedding house party where there is nowhere to escape…only new and wicked lessons to be learnt!

Book two in The Queen's Deadly Damsels series features a heroine desperate to escape a betrothal in order to carry out deadly missions for Queen and Country. To that end, she picks our hero, a Major General and a private investigator to be the object of her ruination - except the man does the unthinkable and actually proposes marriage!

Tempted by Her Forbidden Warrior by Michelle Styles

The warrior she shouldn’t want

But can’t resist!

Viking Sibba has traveled to a Scottish island to attend a king’s wedding and maintain the fragile truce between their opposing clans. Not to engage in an impromptu archery contest with his son, Cal, with a kiss at stake if he wins…

The Celtic warrior should remain forbidden, so Sibba’s shocked by how much she wants to kiss him. She ought to stay away, but when the king’s bride is kidnapped, Sibba must join forces with Cal to retrieve her before unrest rages through their kingdoms…and their dangerous desire overwhelms them both!

Heroine attends a King's wedding as a goodwill "see we're really friends now!" gesture, only to find herself in an archery contest with the King's son, with a kiss on the line should he win and she "lose." They're soon thrown further together when the King's bride is kidnapped and they join forces before war erupts between their clans.

Mademoiselle from Armentières by Daniel Hall

In the ruins of war-torn Europe, upper-class officer Reginald Greaves finds more than just the enemy at his doorstep; he discovers Renée, a young woman navigating World War One by working at the Red Lamp, a place of refuge for those with no other options.

Amidst the chaos that the war brings, Reginald leaves Renée with an unpaid debt. Chasing him across Belgium, Renée becomes Reginald’s unwilling nurse, tending to his injuries. As they spend more time together, their initial animosity slowly shifts into a love neither saw coming.

Their relationship faces an unexpected threat when Elizabeth, the well-bred woman Reginald is expected to marry, arrives in France. With Elizabeth's arrival, a complex love triangle ensues, complicating their already tumultuous bond. As they battle their own demons and the advancing front lines, their lives intersect in ways they never imagined.

Against the backdrop of duty, Renée and Reginald grapple with choices that could change everything—choices about family, loyalty, and the future they dare to dream of, even if it seems impossible.

Look, I have issues with love triangles (as a general rule) but World War I and a prostitute heroine - I'm only human. Also, this promises the kind of high stakes conflict I'm kind of desperate for right now in romance. 

The Cornish Inheritance by Fil Reid

After her father’s suicide, Caroline Fairfield is left practically destitute and needing to find herself employment in a hurry. Her old friend, Ysella Beauchamp, now living in Cornwall, assures her that a family she knows is looking for a governess for nine-year-old Yves, the orphaned heir to his grandfather’s title and fortune, after the previous governess left under a cloud.

He’s described as weak and delicate, but turns out to be anything but, and Caroline soon discovers that Mrs Treloar, Yves’s formidable aunt, has a distinct lack of concern for his welfare. To the point of seeming to want to put him in danger. And then she discovers he’s being dosed every night, on his aunt’s orders, with something that could prove fatal.

Major Nathaniel Treloar, disfigured in battle and returning from Europe now Bonaparte is in captivity, travels down to Cornwall to recuperate at his grandfather’s estate while he decides what to do with his life. He’s touchy about his damaged looks and, although he seems friendly enough, and she’s strongly attracted to him, Caroline can’t get out of her head the fact that he would be the one to benefit if anything were to happen to Yves.

This, more than likely, isn't a Gothic, but c'mon. Cornwall, a father's suicide, a destitute heroine turned governess, her young charge whose life is in peril and a disfigured, battle-scarred hero. It might not be a duck, but it certainly seems to be quacking. This is the third book in the author's Cornish Ladies series.

Regency Glad Tidings by Carla Kelly

"Holly and Ivy"- The Napoleonic Wars are over. Troops are returning home to a joyous Christmas, except for Surgeon Jake Frost, who must escort a hypochondriac captain, barely wounded at Waterloo. Jake prepares to hate every minute of the ordeal, until he meets the hypochondriac's fiancé.

"Yours Sincerely" - Madeline and her widowed mother live in genteel poverty, at the mercy of overbearing in-laws. Despite this, they have managed well. Years earlier, they befriended an older gentleman who has since passed away. To their surprise, an American sea captain arrives, summoned for a reading of the will of that quiet gentleman. Kindness triumphs in ways unimaginable, except, perhaps, during the season of glad tidings.

"Picture a Christmas" - To avoid the poorhouse, Mary Cooper finds employment in a notions shop belonging to a grouchy old dame. Coming into her life to upend this pleasant arrangement is Luke Wainwright, nephew of Mary's employer. He's a widower and shipbuilder with no time for anything except business. To Luke, Mary is an interloper in his aunt's affairs, until he sees someone else: a person as determined as he is to improve the hand dealt them. Together, perhaps?

Kelly's Christmas stories are fan favorites and this is copied and pasted directly from her website: So here you have Regency Glad Tidings, three Christmas stories that I wrote last year in summer’s heat, when most Christmas fiction is written. May your days be merry and bright!  You know what this means? BRAND NEW CARLA KELLY CHRISTMAS STORIES, NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED!!!!!!!

A Brush with Scandal by Allison Grey

1882. An artist from the notorious Seven Dials will paint her way into London‘s heart…

Violet Latimer longs to escape her scandalous origins in the rookery of Seven Dials and finally make a name for herself as a painter. But her past is never far behind her, and nor is the notorious criminal, Archie Neville. Fresh out of prison, he's determined to make her his wife – and catch whoever put him away in the first place.

Calling on her high society friends for help, Violet finds herself in an unlikely alliance with the last man a girl from the rookeries should ever approach, undercover detective, John Barrow. A man from her side of the tracks – and dangerously handsome too – John offers Violet a bargain: he’ll help her escape from Archie if she’ll help him collect the information he needs to bring Archie down for good.

But neither Violet nor John have counted on the attraction that ignites between them. As their dangerous arrangement progresses, Violet feels all her plans for the future unravelling in the heat from John’s eyes. Can she dare to trust this man, despite the secrets she senses he’s keeping? Will surrendering to her heart be Violet’s salvation, or her downfall?

OMG, I am trash for everything about this blurb. Artist heroine who quite literally pulls herself out of the muck, only to have a dangerous man from her past slither his way back into her life. It's time to call in some favors with her new high society friends, and that gets her the hero, an undercover detective. She's a woman who can't not afford to lose her heart and he's a man who is obviously hiding secrets. 

Outlaw Hearts by Lori G. Matthews

Outlaw Elle Barstow spends her days robbing stagecoaches and her nights bedding women—all while keeping her heart safely locked away.

But everything changes when Isabella “Izzy” Collins enters her life. Banished by her family, the fiery suffragette from Boston is reluctantly traveling west to marry a man much older than herself.

When Elle rescues Izzy during a stagecoach robbery gone wrong, she plans to ransom Izzy for a hefty reward. But Elle soon finds herself drawn to the captivating woman who challenges her every instinct.

As Izzy insists on learning how to survive in the wild, Elle’s plan begins to unravel, and she faces a new peril—the growing attraction that threatens to melt her hardened heart.

Lesbians in the Old West. Even better? One of them is an outlaw and the other is a Boston suffragette whose family has deep pockets. What should be a simple ransoming a hostage scheme gets complicated by attraction and ugh, "feelings." Isn't that alway the way?

Another bumper crop of unusual historical options to peruse and sample. What are you looking forward to reading?

Review: Hard Deal

Hard Deal by Stefanie London was another already-downloaded book on my Kindle that I randomly picked to read while traveling thanks to the airplane's flaky wifi. Harlequin Dare only ended up lasting three years, but London released two books in the Melbourne After Dark duet in the first year (2018), of which this is the second title. It stands alone just fine.

Imogen Hargrove is an executive assistant wound so tight she's practically pooping out diamonds. She's smart, efficient, and dresses in monochrome colors. Three years ago she found out her husband, whom she married after a whirlwind courtship, was a serial cheater to the point where she got a full STD-screening work-up. She's trying to dip her toes back into the dating pool but it's been hard. Nobody sees her. Nobody makes her feel desirable. Well, except for Caleb Allbrook, her boss's black sheep son. But while she will drool over him behind his back, he's strictly off limits. Besides being her boss's son, he's a major player. Imogen is not about to get fooled again.

It's Imogen's trust issues that have her sneaking into a high society masquerade ball. Her younger sister is engaged and Imogen saw Daniel in a bar recently with an attractive woman. She's convinced he's cheating. He's going to this masquerade ball while her sister sits at home (another red flag!) so she decides to gate crash.  Unfortunately through a series of misadventures she misses her sister's fiancé and lands in the crosshairs of Caleb (it's pretty funny actually). Anyway turns out he knows her sister's fiancé and in exchange for helping Imogen dig up dirt he wants a date, one date, with her. 

This started a little slow for me but it picks up steam quickly and there was plenty of emotional heft to keep me engaged.  I tend to be more of a heroine-centric reader, but Caleb is who ultimately sold this story for me. His baggage is really fantastic.  He's his father's second, and unwanted, child. Caleb's Mom is Wife #2, the "trophy wife," his father's first wife and his older brother's mother died due to illness (I can't remember now if the author discloses what - cancer? A mysterious Romance Malady?).  Anyway, his older brother is the heir apparent being groomed for greatness, while Caleb is seen as the screw up even as his father and brother take credit for his ideas. One of the best aspects of this book for me was Caleb learning to stand on his own two feet and breaking out of his toxic family's shadow. 

Unfortunately there's Imogen who is one of those heroines who doesn't swear. Seriously, she says "smurfing."  SMURFING!!!!! I understood why she was wound so tight, the betrayal of her first marriage would certainly do that to anyone, but SMURFING!!!!!  Ugh. The only thing that really saves me from hating her entirely is that the Black Moment is great. She has major trust issues which eventually becomes a breaking point for Caleb. That moment when he verbally smacks her and confronts her with her trust issues - whoa boy. Good stuff. In the end Imogen does take a good, long look in the mirror and for that I was willing to put up with smurfing. Seriously, smurfing. 

I never got heavy into the Dare line, but this one has interesting emotional baggage and some nice steamy love scenes that lean in on vanilla kink (voyeurism). It's more hot contemporary than erotic romance, but it was a spicy, quick read that kind ripped my heart out a bit at the end. 

Final Grade = B

Review: Cinderella's Royal Seduction

Cinderella's Royal Seduction by Dani Collins was not the book I had on tap to read next. I'm currently traveling, and like a dodo, I didn't download the book I was planning to read and couldn't get the airplane wifi to work. So, I went trolling through my Kindle for a book that was already downloaded and here we are. For a completely random pick out of my digital TBR, this one was pretty good.

Cassiopeia “Sopi” (seriously) Brodeur oversees the Lonely Lake Spa tucked away in the Canadian Rockies. She's been running the property since her father's death, as it was something he purchased for Sopi's mom.  Unfortunately, her stepmother Maude, and her two vacuous stepsisters have decided they're bored with Europe and have come back to Lonely Lake. Even worse? They've cancelled all their bookings because Prince Rhys Charlemaine from one of those tiny made-up principalities that exist in Presents Land, has decided to visit. As a getaway. Except, of course, it's really not. Maude plans on shoving her daughters in his face thinking he'll want to marry one of them.

Rhys is a very eligible bachelor, so it doesn't take long for the spa to fill back up with single women vying for his attention. He's learned to expect this type of behavior, even as he's bored by it. The only reason he's visiting the spa is because Maude approached him about selling, and having an already impressive real estate portfolio, he's naturally curious. Also, even though he was in no rush, he knows it's time to find a wife. He's the spare, but his brother, who is blissfully married to the love his life, just found out he has testicular cancer. The chances of them producing an heir is slim to none, which means in order to keep the line of succession intact, it's falling on Rhys. Royals are obsessed with this kind of thing normally, but it's a heightened concern for Rhys. His parents died in a military coup, his brother and him struggled in exile for years, and only recently returned to the country to reclaim the throne. A sign of weakness, such as a failure to secure the line of succession, is something that cannot happen.

Before we know it Rhys and Sopi cross paths, sparks fly before he even knows her name, and once he finds out who she really is, he realizes that Maude is trying to swindle her inheritance out from under her. He also knows he's found the woman he wants to marry, but he's royal and she's a nobody - which, you guessed it, isn't going to fly given the precarious situation in his country. 

This story leans hard into the Cinderella trope to the point that the only thing missing are seamstress rodents. Sopi is at the beck and call of her intolerable step-family and a jack-of-all-trades at the spa, doing everything from housekeeping, waitressing, to stepping in to help out with spa services. However she's not a saccharine doormat, there's fire and backbone in her.  

Rhys baggage is really interesting, a man haunted by what happened to his parents and to him and his brother when they were mere children. As far as Presents go, this one is definitely kinder and gentler. The setting is unique and the hero isn't a raging Alphahole you want to take a baseball bat to upside the head.

But, c'mon, it's still a Presents.  The story loses it's footing for me around the halfway point when the marriage of convenience plot heats up and there's pretty icky broodmare overtones. Yes, Rhys is royal. Yes, getting married and getting a woman knocked up is a big deal. Doesn't make it any less icky. He has an attraction to Sopi and certainly his sense of justice to thwart her stepmother kicks in, but it's not like he's declaring his love right away. The importance on getting pregnant, quite frankly, turned me off. Maybe because it's the 21st century and I like to think of women as more than their uteruses. Look, I understand WHY Rhys wants kids right away. The author sells that very well. Doesn't mean I still didn't find it icky.

Things end on a high note with a suitably emotional ending and Rhys having to reconcile with his past trauma.  This is a really good example of what Presents can do so well, which is sell readers on a heightened, intense fairy tale - which this one does in spades.

Final Grade = B-