Shattered Vows by Linda LaRoque

Shattered Vows
By: Linda LaRoque
Publisher: Prayers and Promises Publications.com
Published: November 10, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Inspirational, Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: ReadingPatti
Date: February 10, 2016

 

Annie and Stuart Rayburn have loved each other since high school. Their life is idyllic until their baby dies of SIDS, and Annie falls into a deep depression. Months of therapy help her recover, and they look forward to another child sometime in their future. Despite his own grief Stuart tries to comfort Annie, yet when he reaches for her in the night, his advances are rebuffed. In a moment of weakness, he turns to another woman. Stu learns his night of infidelity produced a baby girl. The mother died in a car crash, and her will gives Stu custody. Stu can't deny the child is his, and he's determined to raise her. He begs Annie's forgiveness. Hurt and angry, Annie must face her demons, decide if she can forgive Stu, and love the innocent child, or divorce him and move on without the only man she's likely to love.

Annie and Stu are a regular couple who have gone through a tragic loss then they face another issue that causes them to separate. Can they find the way back to each other? That is the question.

I was hooked on this book from the first page. Stu moves out and Annie comes home to find her way. Does Annie love Stu enough to make their marriage work? Annie questions everything about their relationship, but Stu still loves her and Annie finally realizes that she loves Stu too. They work at reconnecting their relationship and stay together. With the love they have, can Annie and Stu find that they do belong together? Not just for themselves, but for their whole family.

I loved this book. This was so real that this story could happen to any couple today in real life. I loved how Annie and Stu worked though their issues to realize that they really do love each other and can come together. That their love was strong enough to go through these issues and become even stronger than before. I think we should all read this book. It shows how no matter what comes up in your relationship, if you remember that you love each other your relationship can survive and grow even stronger.

Read more »

Cowboy On The Run by Devon McKay

Cowboy On The Run
By: Devon McKay
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Published: January 25, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance 
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: ReadingPatti
Date: January 5, 2016

Running from a final fight with his drunk and abusive father, Nate had never planned to return to the town where the only good thing had been a brunette beauty with more compassion than he deserved. But finding himself on a ranch for boys facing the same issues not only taught him how to be a man, it taught him that there was more to life than running.

Nate Walker always did know how to make an entrance, once again turning Jessie Calhoun's routine life upside down. Unfortunately, he'd also had the same impact when he left her mending a broken heart in a cloud of dust and taillights.

But this time would be different.

No longer that gullible, naive girl he left behind, she'd be a fool to fall under his spell again. Especially now that she had more at stake--two very important reasons.

Wow!! What a great read!!

Nate Walker has come back home for his father’s funeral and to claim his family’s ranch. But the ranch isn’t the most important thing on his mind to claim. It’s a person. Nate wants his Jesse back. He left her many years ago. Now he wants her back, but Jesse is not interested or so she claims.

Sparks begin to fly when they see each other for the first time in years, but Jesse has more important things to think about than Nate. Things are happening on her ranch and Nate is the last thing on her mind.

As schemes come to head, they once again discover that the love they had as teenagers is still there. It is stronger than it was before and they realize that they belong together.

I loved this book from the beginning. I just knew that when Nate Walker came back home to his family ranch and to the woman he loves, that sparks where going to fly. Jesse Calhoun is the woman he left behind and now has come back to claim her. This was a great read. The relationship between them was funny and in the end, Nate and Jesse found their forever love and their forever home with each other.

Read more »

Shattered Heart by Dorothy F. Shaw

Shattered Heart:
The Donnellys, Book 3
By: Dorothy F. Shaw
Publisher: Samhain Publishers
Published: January 19, 2016
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Content: M/F, Spanking, Anal Play, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Toys
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Scorching
Reviewer: Marchelle
Date: January 21, 2016

 

A crush is just a fantasy. The real thing packs some serious heat.

The Donnellys, Book 3

When Cynthia Donnelly lays eyes on her high school crush at her brother’s wedding rehearsal, she regrets her self-imposed, one-year moratorium on dating. If possible, he’s even hotter now than when they were teens.

Back in school, Shane made a point to ignore his best friend’s cute, sassy little sister. Now that she’s grown into an incredibly sexy woman full of Irish spunk, resisting her is out of the question. Besides, in his book, all “hands-off” rules have expired.

One sizzling night together should have been enough. Instead, the heat rises, tempting Cyn to take a chance on a long-distance relationship and making Shane consider pulling up stakes and moving back to L.A.

Cyn’s recently dumped ex, however, has other ideas. His quest to get her back escalates into violence, shattering Cyn’s faith in herself, and in anyone else of the male persuasion, and leaving Shane with his work cut out for him to repair the damage or lose his shot at a once-in-a-lifetime love.

Warning: This book contains a physical assault. Buckle up for a bumpy emotional journey with the characters as they fall apart and then slowly find their way to healing, and to each other. You might get angry or tearful along the way, you may even get frustrated, but as is with any good love story, it’ll be worth it in the end.

When Book 2 in this series was released I was beyond excited. I had been eagerly awaiting Jimmy’s story and if you read my review of that book, you know it far exceeded my expectations. I never imagined another book in the series could top it. I was so wrong. Shane and Cyn’s journey to each other is at times incredibly frustrating, sweetly touching, laugh out loud funny and burn up the sheets sexy.

Cyn hooks up with her longtime crush/brother’s best friend when he is in town for the wedding of another of her brothers. Their chemistry is off the charts, which leads to Cyn completely disregarding her year long celibacy pact with her sister and inviting Shane into her bed. When her ex-boyfriend goes off the deep end and brutally attacks her, Cyn realizes she cannot trust her own instincts when it comes to choosing a good man. She repeatedly pushes Shane away until he is forced to protect his heart from the one person he wants to give it to.

Cyn and Shane’s romance is heart-wrenching, super sexy and best of all, realistic. I love the scene in the strip club where the brothers basically give Shane permission to pursue their sister when Shane has no real clue yet that he even has any intention to do so. It’s representative of the true dynamics of a big, nosy family. Everyone is in everyone else’s business. It’s believable and it’s heart warming. It’s so easy to connect with these characters and truly care about them when they feel as though they could be part of your own family.

I love how the Ms. Shaw presents all the Donnelly characters without making it confusing. They are a big family and it would be easy to lose track of who is who, but that is not the case here. They are all unique characters with their own stories to tell and hopefully we will be enjoying them for a long time to come.

Read more »