Review: The Luck of the Bride

The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked the first two books in this series, so it was a nice surprise to be chosen to review this latest installment through Netgalley. I enjoyed meeting March Lawson, the novel's heroine, in a previous book, and have been looking forward to reading her story ever since. March is a really admirable character, despite the questionable legality of some of her choices, because her actions are motivated by such deep love for her family. There aren't very many 17-year-old girls who could (or would) step up and raise their younger siblings as she did! Granted, she was probably more mature than the average modern 17-year-old, but it was still a huge challenge, and March faced it head on despite the personal sacrifices looking after her siblings required.

McCalpin was also a very interesting character, mainly because of his learning disability. It's pretty amazing that he was able to keep it hidden for so long during his education, but as he himself noted, it helped to be a duke's heir because it allowed him to get away with a lot of things other boys couldn't. His brother Will's help was also required, and is another great example of the power of fraternal love in this story. (Sidenote: I really hope Will is going to get a story of his own!) I think McCalpin's strong family ties made it easier for him to understand (and forgive) March's actions.

At any rate, this was a great read, and it does stand well on its own (though if you haven't read the first two books in the series yet, you will probably want to do so after catching up with some of those characters in this installment!). I look forward to the next book in the series.

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Review: Royal Treatment

Royal Treatment by Tracy Wolff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the first book in this series, so I was thrilled to be able to read and review this one through NetGalley. Thankfully, the book not only lived up to my expectations, it exceeded them. Garrett and Lola were incredibly likeable characters who came together to become a great couple. From the descriptions of Garrett in the first book, I expected him to be uptight and perhaps a somewhat unlikeable character, but he turned out to be funny and sweet in a lot of unexpected ways. He certainly suffered from his time in captivity, but his determination not to let it break him was clear. Lola was just the perfect heroine for him - strong and feisty without being overbearing. They really brought out the best in each other.

I wish Garrett and Kian had more siblings! I would happily keep reading books in this series.

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Review: Vegas Dumb Luck

Vegas Dumb Luck by Sharon Kleve
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This story was cute and funny, kind of in the vein of the Stephanie Plum series but without some of the mystery elements. However, it was very short - more of a novella than a full-length novel, really. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but IMO it would have been nice to learn more about PJ's relationships with Bruno, her aunt, and some of the other side characters. It sounds like PJ and Bruno met in a really interesting way, and maybe there's a (prequel?) story there. I don't think this is currently part of a series, but I may have missed something. Whether it is part of a series or not, it certainly stands well enough on its own for readers not to feel lost, but I would definitely read more stories about PJ and her family and friends if the author decides to write them.

*Ebook provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Dare and the Doctor

The Dare and the Doctor by Kate Noble
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've loved the previous books in Kate Noble's "Winner Takes All" series, but for some reason I found it a bit difficult to get into this installment. I enjoyed getting to know Margaret as a secondary character in the previous book, but initially, I found it difficult to connect with her as the heroine of her own story. When the book began, I think she still had some growing up to do. However, as events unfolded and Margaret finally ventured outside the comfort zone of her greenhouse, she had the opportunity to learn more about herself and gain some much-needed confidence.

Around the time Miss Morton's character was introduced, the dynamic between Rhys and Margaret began to get a lot more interesting. If it weren't for Miss Morton providing an external motivation, I'm not sure Margaret and Rhys ever would have ended up together. They both seemed pretty determined to maintain the fiction that they were nothing more than "academic correspondents," or, at the most, friends. Miss Morton, as well as the interference from the Gray family, provided exactly the push Rhys and Margaret needed to find their way to each other.

Overall, this was an entertaining read, and I enjoyed catching up with the couples from the earlier books in the series. Hopefully we haven't left these characters behind entirely, although the epilogue did wrap things up pretty nicely.

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Review: Her Hopes and Dreams

Her Hopes and Dreams by Terri Osburn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was ridiculously excited to find an ARC of "Her Hopes and Dreams" by Terri Osburn available through Netgalley. I recently finished reading books 2 and 3 in the Ardent Springs series and loved them both, so I was counting down the days until November 15th when I could get my hands on book 4. Getting it early was a wonderful surprise.

Thankfully, Ms. Osburn did not disappoint in the latest installment of this series. Set in a small Tennessee town, the story focuses on Carrie Farmer, a single mother and domestic abuse survivor who was a secondary character earlier in the series, and Noah Winchester, a recently discharged Army veteran suffering from PTSD following 4 tours in the Middle East. I got to know and like Carrie in earlier books, and I was happy when I found out that she would be the heroine this time around. She really deserved an HEA of her own!

Even though they had a rocky beginning, Noah turned out to be the perfect hero for Carrie. Not only did she have to learn to be strong for herself and for her daughter, she had to be strong for Noah too. Noah, in exchange, had to face the fact that he couldn't hide from his problems and needed professional help to deal with his PTSD. I think they both learned a lot about themselves in the course of falling in love with each other, and healed a bit in the process. Theirs was a "real" relationship, full of struggles both large and small that many of us face every day. I appreciated that Ms. Osburn was able to paint such a vivid picture of what Noah and Carrie were going through. It certainly made me appreciate how lucky I've been in my own life.

The one thing that bothered me a bit was the speed with which Carrie and Noah's relationship progressed. It seemed like Carrie's attitude regarding relationships in general, and about starting one with Noah in particular, completely changed overnight. Her reluctance to start dating early in the story was completely understandable; after all, it was only a year or so after her (abusive) husband's death, and she had a young daughter who needed her attention. However, once she met Noah and got over her initial dislike, she seemed to jump into the relationship with both feet. I would have expected more caution from a survivor of domestic abuse, especially considering she now had a daughter to protect. I also would have expected her to wait a bit longer before introducing Noah to Molly.

At any rate, this was definitely a very good book, and I highly recommend it even for those who may not have read the earlier books in the series. This story stands well on its own. I do recommend reading the other books at some point, though - they're worth it!

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Review: A MacKenzie Clan Gathering

A MacKenzie Clan Gathering by Jennifer Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the Mackenzies. It's always a pleasure to revisit these brothers and their McBride in-laws, but I particularly enjoyed this installment since it was a continuation of Ian and Beth's story, ten years later. I adored Ian in the first book of the series and it was great to be able to get back inside his head and see how much progress he's made since marrying Beth.

I accidentally read this story before Malcolm and Mary's book, but fortunately wasn't lost at all. However, if you haven't read "The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie" before beginning this novella, please stop immediately and find yourself a copy of that book first! It's totally worth the delay in getting through your existing TBR pile. :-)

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Quick Update

Once again, it has been a while since my last post.  For various reasons, I haven't had as much time to read as I would have liked over the past 8 months or so, but hopefully life is returning to normal now.  I've continued to be active over on Goodreads and even posted a few reviews, including those for a couple of really good upcoming releases that I was able to check out thanks to Netgalley.  I have several more Netgalleys stacked up that I'm really looking forward to reading soon.

(Sidenote: I think I've finally figured out how to cross post my Goodreads reviews over here at the same time as they're posted over there, which would be nice!  Usually I'm pretty good with this technology stuff, but that's something that has managed to elude me this whole time.  Wish me luck!)

Especially observant readers may notice that I've changed the blog's URL.  The original "Groaning Shelves" title, explained in my very first post, doesn't apply so much anymore since I almost exclusively read on my Kindle these days.  My bookshelves are still VERY full, but I'm donating a lot of DTBs to the library after I read them now, so the shelves don't "groan" quite as much as they used to.  The new URL should be pretty self-explanatory, but in case it's not: Hi, I'm Laurie and I read romance novels!  ;-)

That's all for now!  Happy reading, everyone.