The Love Shack by Lori Foster

Story 4 of 5 stars

Heat 3 of 5 stars

Series – Indiana Summers

Main characters – Lawson Salder, Berkley Carr and Oliver Roth, Lark Penny

Berkley Carr came to Cemetery to leave her past behind her and to run The Love Shack Animal Haven. She grew up in a poor neighborhood with dangerous elements. A quiet girl devoted to helping her mother who was dying of cancer. When a married man takes advantage of her, and his wife led a smear campaign to destroy her, it left deep wounds. She’s determined to leave it behind her but she never truly healed.

Lawson Salder is four years older than Berkley. He grew up in the same dangerous town as Berkley but he was dealing with parents who were drug addicts and dealers. Refusing to join the family business He left town to get away from it all as well. He found success in construction and helping restore homes after natural disasters.

These two both found their place in Cemetery, Nebraska but neither wanted to revisit their past. Lawson remembered the quiet girl from his past but wasn’t in a place back then to pursue her. Berkley remembered the handsome Lawson, but is afraid her past will ruin her future in Cemetery.
Lark Penny is a vibrant, outgoing new-comer to Cemetery. She’s determined to meet everyone and make friends.

Oliver Roth was a physical therapist. Trouble at home made him want to re-prioritize his life and start fresh. He’s opening up his own Fitness Center in Cemetery. He just has to get past the matriarch of the town.

He had no plans to get involved with anyone but he finds he can’t resist Lark’s charm.
While the main love story was all about Lawson, Berkley and her beloved animals. Foster delivers a sweet bonus romance with Oliver and Lark. Prepare for hometown feels, healing, sweet romance and animals that find their own love.

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From the Grave by Kresley Cole

Story 3 of 5 stars

Heat 3 of 5 stars

Series – The Arcana Chronicles

Main characters – Jackson Deveaux, Evangeline Greene, ‘Death’ Aric Domīnija, Kentarch Mgaya, Matthew, Circe, Richter, Lark, Zara, Joules, Sol, Gabriel

III. The Empress, Our Lady of Thorns, Evangeline ‘Evie’ Greene – She’s Mother Nature with a dark side… the Red Witch. Torn between Aric and Jack and pregnant with Aric’s child. Trying to end the game so no more of her friends has to die.

XIII. Death, the Endless Knight, Aric – He’s the bringer of death and winner of past games. He’s planned and plotted for centuries but his love for Evie and his unborn child has changed everything.

Jackson Deveaux – The Hunter, has loved Evie for years. He would do anything to protect her and her child.

While they prepare for Evie’s child to be born, hoping it will end the game. They also make plans to face off with Richter and Zara who are bent on destroying them all.

As this is the final book in the series, I want to be careful not to give anything away. I have enjoyed this series over the years and have grown attached to the various characters. Especially Evie, Jackson and Aric. I’m torn about this final installment. It took me months of starting and stopping to get through this book. It felt like traveling through mud with brief glimpses of sunshine and then back to the mud, until about three-fourths of the book. The last quarter was more in line with what I expected and hoped for from this installment. But getting there was a slog and for the first time ever, I wanted to just skip to the end of the book to find out how it all ended. I didn’t but it was a close thing.

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The Family you Make by Jill Shalvis, narrated by Erin Malton

Story 4 of 5 stars

Heat 4 of 5 stars

Series – Sunrise Cove

Main characters – Levi Cutler, Jane Parks, Dr. Charlotte Dixon, Dr. Mateo Moreno

Listened to audio narrated well by Erin Malton.

Levi Cutler is a data scientist consultant. He left home after his fiancé died, he always felts like the odd man out, even amongst his loud loving family.

Jane Parks is a traveling nurse. She was passed around as a child after her parents’ death, leaving her still feeling unwanted. Everyone always left her, leaving her unwilling to invest her feelings in someone new.

Her best friend Dr. Charlotte Dixon keeps a room open for her when she returns every year. Charlotte keeps men at arm’s length, and must control her world but fellow Dr Mateo Moreno (her neighbor) can’t stop himself from ‘helping’ her, driving her crazy.

Levi and Jane almost died on a ski lift during a storm, and a last call ends up with them pretending to be dating. Levi knows it’s real but struggles to convince Jane to trust him and believe in what they have, and that he won’t leave her. Levi’s dedication causes her to slowly ease her defenses to give them a chance.

Shalvis gives us two sweet tender romances, while the focus is primarily on Levi and Jane, the budding romance between Dr. Charlotte Dixon and Dr. Mateo Moreno gives us twice the cozy read.

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Wait for You by J. Lynn

Story 3 of 5 stars

Heat 3 of 5 stars

Series – Wait for You

Main characters – Cameron Hamilton, Avery Samantha Morgansten

Avery Samantha Morgansten is nineteen years old. Five years ago, she was betrayed, deals were made and everyone turned on her. She choose a college far from home, needing to get away from her family and a town, determined to continue to vilify her, hoping to leave it all behind her.

Cameron Hamilton is a popular man on campus. He’s supremely confident, even though he too has a secret that affected him deeply.

Avery and Cameron met when she almost knocked him over trying to get to class. She’s not interested in any relationship but Cameron knows he wants her in his life. When they discover they live across from each other in the same apartment building, Cameron takes every opportunity to engage with her.

Avery’s past still affects her deeply. She never got help to deal with what happened and struggles with fear and panic attacks. It doesn’t help that she’s receiving messages and calls from an unknown caller harassing her. Avery’s new friends and Cam continue to try and draw her out with mixed success. Cam is sure his charm will eventually win Avery over, but until then he works his magic showing up and being there for her, whether she wants him there or not.

I liked Cameron’s willingness to find ways to be with Avery at her comfort level, even if he was often over the top. I liked that Avery kept trying to take back her life but the hints about what happened, without disclosing what actually happened until so late in the book was really frustrating. It’s mentioned early on that her family wouldn’t hear of her getting help after her ordeal but she was far away at campus… Why didn’t she seek help from the school counselors? especially after she had a big freak out?

I have mixed feelings about this story, I spent a lot of time being frustrated with Avery. I got tired of how often I was told about how beautiful and muscular Cam was and his arrogance was so over the top he could have easily been a villian rather than a hero. There’s a lot of cheesy stereotypical characters that were more of a distraction than enhancement. The characters felt very surface level. I wanted more depth and less caricatures. Not sure I want to continue this series.

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The Naga Next Door by Maggie Mayhem

Story 4 of 5 stars

Heat 4 of 5 stars

Series – Possessive Monsters

Main characters – Zyn, Sybil

Sybil is a witch who took over her granny’s Wards & Witchery business. She’s a strong witch with two little rats as familiars, with plans for her future.

Zayn is a naga shifter losing the battle with a curse that has him losing control of his shifts and separating him from his Naga. He thought he had a plan to keep everyone safe but is quickly losing himself to despair.

When her new neighbor’s antics leave the walls thumping at all hours, she is determined to have it out with her new neighbor only to find herself face to face with his snake form. After hearing Zayn’s story Sybil helps him with a temporary fix, while searching for a way to remove the curse entirely. While that’s going on, Sybil has a stalker who wants her to have his baby, and who isn’t afraid to try blackmail to get what he wants, which leads to more mayhem.

Overall, this is a quick read, with a quick fall into lustiness while they work together to end the curse, clean out her granny’s home, and a dash of danger. I think the story would have benefited from more fleshing out. The story felt rushed and two dimensional, without a lot of depth, I had hoped for.

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