His to Own by Theodora Taylor

Released: Dec. 2016

BW/WM

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

His to Own is the story of Mason and June. If you've read “Them Fairgood Boys” or the standalone “His Forbidden Bride” you'll recognize Mason as the cousin of “D” and Colin Fairgood. You'll also recall that Mason is a homegrown white nationalist. Yup, this is the love story of a racist white man who falls in love with an African-American woman and the little boy that she cares for. Intrigued? Disgusted? Confused? Believe me, I felt all of these things too. The funny thing is I actually liked the story.

A Thin Line by D.L. White

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Character composition: AA couple

Published: January 30, 2016
Purchase: @Amazon

A Thin Line tells the story of a man and woman in their 30s who live to argue, mock, irritate, and general hate on one another. They've known each other from childhood and share the same circle of friends. When their two best friends get engaged, they ask the quarrelsome duo to put aside their differences and plan their wedding - together. The book is a journey to discover if former friends and lovers turned enemies can resolve their issues after 18 years.

Kilted for Pleasure by Melissa Blue

Kilted for Pleasure by Melissa Blue is the third book in the Under the Kilt series. While Melissa Blue isn't a new author to me (I loved Double Dare (A Modern Fairy Tale Book 1) when I read it a couple of years ago.), I hadn't read any of the books in this serious until I had the opportunity to read Kilted for Pleasure. This book does well as a standalone, but I admit I've purchased the first two after reading this one. As you might have already guessed, I enjoyed reading this very well written and cute love story.

What It's About:
Victoria is an antiques appraiser whose career was almost destroyed because of a lapse in judgement when she first started out. Fortunately she has a second chance and she wants to make the best of it. She's been sent to Scotland to appraise objects at a Scottish castle and must persuade a very skilled restorer to work with her on the project. She doesn't expect him to be so handsome, so grumpy and unfriendly, or the cousin of her boss. Callan is a man still mourning the death of his

Filthy Lucre by Sharon Cullars

Filthy Lucre is a historical romance written by author Sharon Cullars. When I start reading a book by Ms. Cullars I do so with a certain expectation of quality. I'm pleased to say that in reading Filthy Lucre I wasn't disappointed. The author's writing style and ability stands out like a shiny star. In this, her latest book, the story takes place in the 1930s and begins with the robbery of a local store. This won't be the only robbery that takes place in the book, but it is important to events that take place later in the story. During the robbery we are introduced to Teddy Holliday. Teddy, which is short for Theodora, is a single African-American woman who lives alone in her family home (where she occasionally rents out a room for extra money) in Joplin. During the robbery, Teddy's money is stolen and she heads home empty handed. A surprise drives up to her door in the form of a white man named Louis Daniels. Louis needs a room to rent and pays her handsomely for three days. In need of money, and against her better judgement in being a single black woman alone in a house with a single white man, Teddy rents out her room. Each recognizes that there is a dangerous attraction between them and they get to know a little about one another over the first night while sharing pie, meals, music, and the same home. Unfortunately  things aren't what they seem with Louis and his reasons for being in town. He's expecting company, bad company, and soon Teddy finds herself a hostage in her own home.

Flower in the Desert by Lavender Parker

I am super excited about sharing my review of Flower in the Desert with all of you. This is surprisingly the first book that I've personally had the pleasure of reading by author Lavender Parker. So what made me pick up this one? There was just something about that cover and the title that just caught my attention. It's just that simple. And of course it didn't hurt that it is only $0.99! I one-clicked it and I am so glad that I did! I really didn't plan to read the entirety of this book when I downloaded it, but I was just a bit curious since my trigger finger didn't give me time to read the sample first. Once I started reading I found Flower in the Desert to be a very engaging and exciting book that I just kept on reading until the end.  But I'm jumping ahead of myself...

Midnight Play by Lisa Marie Perry

This is my first Lisa Marie Perry book and I have to say that I liked it. It wasn't perfect or even the most captivating book that
I've read, but it was enjoyable in that it captured my interest quite easily and kept it throughout. That said, there seemed to be a little something that was missing. I kept feeling like there should have been a bit more to the story, as if that missing "something" would have made it more solid and even more likable in my opinion. I can't quite put a finger on what it was, but let's get to the book as it was written...

Sweeter Than This by Samara King

In Sweeter Than This by Samara King, we meet Elle Taylor. Elle is a police officer who had an affair with Durant Kane, the right hand man to an organized crime boss. She's

Teaching the Cowboy by Holley Trent

Teaching the Cowboy takes place in the fictional town of Storafalt, Wyoming. The catalyst of the story is the town's sub-par school system, which is the reason why two neighboring ranches decide on hiring the services of an out-of-town tutor to school their kids at home. John is the hero of the story, he is a conservative cowboy, owns one of the ranches, and has three kids. The eldest son, Landon, will be heading off to college soon, and the second son has ADHD and is more than the lacking school system can handle. John's youngest child is a daughter who is also falling behind in school. The teacher, Veronica Silver, is looking at this tutoring job as a stepping stone toward her future career plans. Her plan is to give it a year of her time but no more. The story begins with Veronica and her best friend Phil, who happens to be gay (I mention his sexual orientation because it is important to the story), driving to her new job. It's a bit of a culture shock as Veronica's a city girl through and through, but she's determined to get the job done. When John and Veronica meet there's instant attraction between them.  John isn't one to waste time, they're both adults in his mind and soon a sexual relationship begins. The problem is, Veronica has no intention of remaining in this small town and getting caught up in a relationship isn't in the cards.

Infinity Unleashed (Valkyries: Soaring Raven #2) by Sedona Venez

If you've read my review of Infinity (Valkyries: Soaring Raven #1) you're probably surprised that I rated this one so

The Tycoon's Socialite Bride by Tracey Livesay

The Tycoon's Socialite Bride is a contemporary romance that's about - the tycoon and his socialite bride. That said, it isn't anything like what the title implies. Say what? One might

The Search by Shiree McCarver

I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to read The Search by author Shiree McCarver, and I have to say that I was taken surprise.This book was different and I mean that in a good

Denouement by M.O. Kenyan

It has taken me a little while to write this review because I wasn't certain what I really felt about it. Denouement is my first book

A Battle Raging by Sharon Cullars

Note: I was given a copy of A Battle Raging by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.


There was a lot to like about A Battle Raging, yet when I reached the final page I felt a little let down. Does that mean that I didn't like the book or that I think it isn't worth reading? No, it doesn't mean that at all. In fact, to not read this book is to lose out on a story that is very well written and captivating. I honestly thought about parts of this book days after reading it. A Battle Raging is about tragedy and life-altering events that are probably more common than we would like to imagine or think about. It's about a man named Zach who lost his ability to walk while serving in Afghanistan. In the story Zach is trying to confront the demons that have been haunting him since his injury. The thing is, he isn't handling life or his feelings very well, and he is plagued by nightmares... Enter our heroine Maya Temple. Maya is an art instructor who tries to help an unpleasant Zach only to discover that he is more than she first imagined.


What I liked: Zach and Maya. Both characters seemed very real to me. Maya didn't handle Zach with kid gloves or put up with him being an a**. I also enjoyed her relationship with her sister Jada. And then there was the handling of Zach's PTSD, and the group therapy sessions... (that's all I'm gonna say about that).


What I didn't like: I can't really get into why I was disappointed by the end of this book without giving away too much. What I can say is that I felt there was a lot of story that still needed to be told. You can't write a story like this and have an ending that doesn't explore what happens next. I want to read what happens not guess or assume. This deserved a longer story and I felt a bit cheated.


My final thoughts: Basically this is a great story that I highly recommend. The story isn't a light and fluffy tale, nor does it feature a billionaire, mobster, physically perfect hero, or any of the other usual suspects that are common IR romance characters. Ms. Cullars is a wonderful storyteller who got into the heads of her characters and made you feel for them. Unfortunately, the story ends too soon in my opinion and that is a crying shame. There was so much that still needed to be told in order to get the true story of Maya and Zach. I waited a couple of days to post this because I really wasn't sure what rating to give it. I give it between a three and a half and four stars, but it's leaning pretty heavily on four stars.

Rating 3.5 Stars