Like everyone, covid drastically changed our lives. I have been working from home since last March, which is amazing, but that has dramatically cut down my ability to read. I’m getting twice as much work as I was when I was in-person, and there is just more going on in general to take my attention. Some family health issues have come up since then also that take a considerable amount of my time and away from home.
I do still read, but I’ve stopped requesting ARCs except for a few authors that I work with directly. I post those on Amazon and Goodreads, and may or may not put them here also. In all honestly, if I have to build a post from scratch it’s not likely it will appear on this blog for the time being. I just don’t have the brain power left over.
I hope you all are faring well in this never-ending pandemic! If things ever do get back to normal, I’m sure I’ll return to reviewing the books I read. In the meantime, happy reading!
The only thing Tess knows better than walking into a disaster is digging herself out of one. But when she becomes the victim of a revenge porn site, she needs help — from brilliant and sexy hacker, Max. Falling for him could lead to another epic disaster…Readers who love Christian Lauren and Jasmine Guillory will love this spicy, humorous contemporary romance. “… a deeply satisfying romance with real stakes and a realistic look at caregiver burnout. Readers won’t want to put this down.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review
Blurb Tess Greene knows disaster—dating disasters, computer disasters, family disasters, you name it. But just when her life is finally almost perfect, she’s targeted by an internet celebrity who runs a revenge porn site admired by douchebags across the country. She has one month before the entire world will have an up-close-and-personal view of her sexual history. Tess has always handled everything on her own, but for this disaster, she needs backup. Max Hampshire, a brilliant hacker, is exactly the lifeline Tess needs. What she doesn’t need is Max himself. She does not need his quick wit, sexy black-framed glasses, or all-around sweetness. The last guy who helped Tess left with his life crushed and his heart broken, so she knows that staying far away from Max would be safer for everyone. But safety isn’t really an option when dealing with sleazy predators—or love…
My review:
This book did something that doesn’t happen often lately – it made me feel things! First off, I have to say that I adored Tess and Max. And Roz – especially Roz! I was expecting an entertaining book, but this one was captivating. I felt so much rage for Tess when she found out what happened, and after meeting with her lawyer. I could relate to so many things in this book and it felt so very real. I could feel her elation, her sadness, her frustration. And caregiver stress is a very real thing, and the author nailed that feeling as well.
Max. Max is perfection. I could give so many examples but I don’t want to give anything away, so just trust me on this. Definitely read this one, though. The banter, the chemistry, the friendships, the family crises – this book has it all.
Excerpt Copyright 2021 @Michelle Dayton Sometimes when out at a restaurant or the park, I’d see a couple smiling at one another. Not speaking or laughing, but just solely connected to one another from the eyes and lips. They didn’t feel you watching because they were seeing only each other. These smiles were private moments happening in public, and you almost felt like a voyeur watching it. On the few occasions I’d witnessed that kind of smile, I’d felt odd, physically. A pain my chest, a shortness of breath, a sting in the eye. At this moment, smiling at Max, I knew what those physical symptoms represented: jealousy. Because I’d never experienced one of those shared smiles that spoke of pure enjoyment and appreciation and connection and all that sappy bullshit. Until now.
Contemporary Romance | Small Town | Holiday Romance
USA TODAY Bestselling authors Claudia Burgoa and Grahame Claire bring you an enchanting holiday romance that’s sweet and full of light.
Audrey’s boss gave her one objective—head to the small town of Winter Valley, and acquire that bed and breakfast the company has had their eye on forever. A big sale like this could change her career . . . and she’s the only one who could convince the owner to make the deal.
On her way, she crashes into the truck of sexy, unavailable, single Dad Colin Bradford. The repairs won’t be done until Christmas Eve, so she’s stuck in Winter Valley until her car is fixed.
There’s something magical about being in a small town at Christmas. Life is slower than her hectic job in the city. She finds herself falling for Winter Valley . . . and for Colin.
Though acquiring that bed and breakfast is much harder than she planned . . .
Amidst all the hot chocolate, snowflakes, and silent nights, Audrey has a choice to make. Could Colin end up being her Christmas miracle?
BLURB I didn’t mean to walk in on Will, my nerdy best friend, naked and pleasuring himself. But ever since I saw what the Clark Kent lookalike was hiding under his Superman T-shirts and Star Wars pyjamas, I’ve been unable to stop thinking about his…lightsaber. Yes, touching him would be great, finding out what he tastes like, amazing, but our friendship means too much to risk. After suffering a devastating loss, I lost myself. Will found me, held me, made me believe I could carry on. Volunteering at a LGBTQ+ sexual health clinic gave me purpose and a new focus to make a porn film that would take out the smut and replace it with love, realism and the message of safe, consensual sex. But to do that, I need Will again…as a photographer who can adapt his skills to filming porn… And definitely NOT for sexy sexcapades…
So, I’ll stick to the banter with an edge of snark we do so well, project my sexual tension into the scene I’m directing, ignore his magnificent ass as he films the pop shot, and keep pretending that my best friend doesn’t make me want to risk it all. I didn’t mean to walk in on Will, naked and pleasuring himself. The same way I didn’t mean to fall in love on a porn set.
Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were fantastic and the chemistry between them was absolute FIRE. Will and Skye have been best friends for five years. They’ve also been in love with each other for five years but neither one knew the other felt the same, and they also both were afraid of losing their best friend. When Skye ropes Will into helping her make a healthy porn film to be used at the clinic where she volunteers, lines get blurred.
I liked a lot about this book. Skye’s volunteer work is awesome and the reason behind it is heartbreaking. The appearances by Stacey and Matt are wonderful. The community around Skye and the clinic are inspiring. But what tipped me from really liking the book to loving it was the message of Skye’s film and the reasons for it. That is something we don’t have enough of and really need in real life.
USA Today Bestselling author Claudia Burgoa brings you a fresh romantic comedy filled with an unexpected surprise, a wicked billionaire, and plenty of laughs.
The right life is the one you never see coming.
I had it all. The luxury apartment, hot dates, and the big office to go with long nights at work.Life was perfect.But after a one-night stand, two little lines on a pregnancy test, and three lost legal cases later…Well, overnight I went from career lawyer to single mom.
It’s okay, I can do it. I’m ready to face this alone until…
Along comes Nathaniel Chadwick. Billionaire adrenaline junky. Everyone’s favorite playboy… and my sister’s brother-in-law.He’s as hot as he is jaded. When it comes to relationships and family, he’d rather jump off a cliff.I wrote him off long ago, except since he learned about the baby he’s been by my side.
Is it pregnancy hormones or is there something real happening between us?I didn’t expect any of this…most of all him.
***
Didn’t Expect You is a billionaire romance of unexpected pregnancies, exciting encounters, and flirty love. It includes a very confused dog, a precious newborn, and a family you might want to belong to. This chick-lit novel is a romantic comedy with a HEA guaranteed!
My review:
I adored this book.
We first met Nyx and Nate in Wrong Text, Right Love. Nyx is the sister of Persy and Nate is the twin brother of Ford. Nyx and Nate meet when the four of them are in New York. Despite their mutual attraction, neither one is in the place for a relationship and Nyx doesn’t want to accept his offer of friends with benefits. They develop a close friendship, however, that is beautiful. Soon, Nyx discovers she is pregnant as the result of a regrettable one night stand.
Nyx and Nate have a special relationship that I loved. Even though they seem like opposites on the surface, they are quite similar and really understand each other in ways that no one else does. I loved all the little moments, too – the ones that really make a relationship feel “right” even when they couldn’t admit to themselves what they were feeling. Ms Burgoa has a talent for writing well developed characters that feel like real people and it makes her books stand out.
Don’t fall for your enemy…especially when he’s your new roommate. Dean Evans is the worst. Not only does the devil in disguise steal my pie on a regular basis, he also lives in the apartment right. Next. Door. I see him all the time. At the mailboxes. In the elevator. Every single morning. It’s exhausting because he’s exhausting. Now, after setting his apartment on fire, he’s my roommate…and he’s the worst at that too. I don’t know what possessed me to let him stay with me. Pity, perhaps? I do know that I won’t be falling for his charm. Or that panty-dropping smirk. His quick wit. That body he works so hard for. Nope. Not falling for any of it…least of all him. There might be a fine line between love and hate, but I know exactly where I stand.
My review:
Teagan Hunter has done it again.
I loved this book so much. Dean (not Winchester) and River (not Song) are next door neighbors and nemeses. When an accident happens, River lets Dean stay with her temporarily until his apartment is livable again. And then the real fun begins!
These two… Teagan can seriously write some amazing characters. They feel so *real* and not like book characters at all. They are smart-assy, they have their own quirks (hello, emotional support turtle), and make us feel a whole range of feelings. River is very driven – she owns her own business and it takes up most of her brainpower. Dean is a teacher and loves his job. Everyone seems to love him except for River. Their banter is off the charts hilarious and so many times I laughed out loud reading this. The humor is second only to the steam in this book. Holy hell are these two hot together!
Also:
You are going to love this book! I am so excited about this new series and can’t wait to read more.
I’m a Missouri-raised gal, but currently live in North Carolina with my US Marine husband and 9-year-old dog. I spend my days begging him for a cat, and I survive off coffee, pizza, and sarcasm. When I’m not writing, you can find me binge-watching various TV shows, especially Supernatural and One Tree Hill. I like cold weather, buy more paperbacks than I’ll ever read, and I never say no to brownies.
Writing is my passion, and this is just the beginning of my journey.
USA Today Bestselling author Claudia Burgoa presents a witty, funny & heartfelt billionaire, enemies-to-lovers romance.
I hate my boss. He’s the devil in disguise—but I just can’t seem to stay away.
When my employer Henry Alderidge is set to claim a large inheritance from his deceased father, he drags me along with him—because he needs his assistant. I have no choice but to move across the country with Satan’s bastard and stay with him for over a year in order to pay for my mother’s debts.
Henry drags me to a small town where everyone knows your business and to a family that’s more broken than close. The Alderidge brothers are handsome, arrogant, and sinful.
They’re also too much to handle.
Henry’s dad lost his mind before he died, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I don’t know how I’ll survive for eighteen months with this man.
Except you should never judge a book by its cover. And Henry Alderidge has more hiding beneath the surface than I ever thought possible…
The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers series is a romantic comedy saga packed with the perfect mix of angst, tears, and laughs. If you like strong heroines & alpha males, steamy romances, and witty love stories, this series is for you!
My review:
I am really enjoying this series and loved both these characters. Henry is so much more than the persona he projects and Sophia is a force of nature. She is amazing and unstoppable. I love how the brothers have gone from 7 virtual strangers who hated each other to a real family. Even the two antagonists (there are 2 for me – one of the overall series so far, and one of this book) aren’t horrible people. Sophia’s solution to the huge obstacle in the story was brilliant and truly original. I also really like how Henry continues working on himself with a therapist to overcome his upbringing. I can’t wait to read more about this family!
Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author.
She lives in Colorado, working for a small IT. She has three children and manages a chaotic household of two confused dogs, and a wonderful husband who shares her love of all things geek. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Claudia Burgoa presents an engaging love story full of mistaken identity, drunk texts, and hysterical mishaps.
Sex talk is my job. I’m an influencer. I run a popular blog where I give all kinds of dating tips, and girls all over the world thank me for helping them with their love lives.
I wish I could follow my own advice because my love life is totally dead. I just drunk texted my ex-boyfriend… except, I didn’t. That text ended up going to someone else.
Oops.
This new relationship is almost picture-perfect, just like my online life. I guess I give good…text.
He doesn’t have to put up with my colorful personality–as my hot next-door neighbor describes me. Or my messy schedule.
This long-distance relationship is the best thing that’s happened to me and I plan to keep it that way.
Until we agree to meet up, and I’m freaking out.
When he meets the real me, will he hate me forever?
Or will we be one day telling our grandkids about that wrong text, right love?
***
Wrong Text, Right Love is a cute rom-com of two secret lovers who prepare to risk it all for love. Claudia Burgoa brings the flirty fun in this cozy novel of risking it all for romance.
My review:
This book was SO good! I confess I wasn’t sure how much I’d love it to begin with, since the initial description sounded a lot like another book I loved. Text sent to the wrong number turns into more. But I should have known better. Both authors are among my favorites and both have very different styles. The stories aren’t remotely similar.
Persy (Persephone) lives in the public eye. She is a certified therapist who also has a strong social media side to her career, a popular podcast, and a multibook deal. She moves in next door to Chad, stepbrother of her agent and oldest friend’s husband. They clash like oil and water – he is cold and likes things a certain way, she is loud and colorful. She is very close with her large family, he tolerates his small one. They slowly strike up a friendship and she sees the side he tries to hide behind his cold, mistrusting demeanor. He gets to know the real her she doesn’t show on camera. Then there is the text friendship. Persy relishes being able to get to know someone without that person knowing her public persona. As her relationships with both men grow, she has to make a choice – fantasy guy who seems perfect for her, or reality next door who is adamantly against relationships?
I loved the characters in this book. Persy’s family is fantastic (except for Callie, but I have hopes for her. She’s a true product of her upbringing). Chad/Ford is the perfect growly guy with the hidden heart of gold. The bad dates were hilarious. And the ending? Swoonworthy.
Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. She lives in Colorado, working for a small IT. She has three children and manages a chaotic household of two confused dogs, and a wonderful husband who shares her love of all things geek. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.
Dating is hard. Dating in a small town? Impossible.
Leave it to my little brother to come back home announcing he knocked up his fiancée and the wedding has been moved…to next month.
When he tries to set me up with one of his football buddies, I tell him I’ll be bringing my own plus-one.
Only problem? I’m hopelessly single.
Enter Sullivan Scott, AKA my hero.
We strike a deal: he’ll pretend to be my boyfriend, and I’ll use my mechanic skills to help him fix his boat. That’s it. No funny business, and definitely no feelings involved.
Sully’s quiet and reserved, and I’ve been told I’m too much to handle on a good day. We’re opposites, and neither of us is looking for anything serious.
We have been waiting for what seems like forever for Sully’s book, and it does not disappoint! There is so much I loved about this one. It is definitely my favorite of the Slice series.
Thea is amazing. She is a tiny, adorable, 100% unfiltered mechanic who is succeeding in a male dominated industry. She’s been burned, though, and afraid to catch feelings again and get her heart broken again. Sully is just perfection. Three books of buildup were absolutely worth the payout here. I adored their relationship, their banter, and their chemistry. These two absolutely belong together. And while this is a standalone, each couple from the previous four books (and Simon, owner of Slice) appear often so there is a lot of fun interaction, dialogue, and shenanigans involved. But don’t worry, if for some wild reason you haven’t read the other books you absolutely won’t feel lost or like you’re missing something in this one. Although if you loved the novella A Slice of Love and want more Frankie and Jonas, Thea is Jonas’s sister and they are both in this book. Score!! I also loved Thea’s relationship with her family, both with her parents and with her brother. As an aside, I absolutely adore that lots of the parents in this author’s books have long marriages and they are still shown as happily in love and having healthy romantic lives.
I tried to pick out lines to highlight, but I couldn’t narrow it down and would basically be copying and pasting the entire book so instead I’ll just drop two of my favorite moments that made me laugh out loud: rock stuffed teddy bears, and chapter 13. Yes, the whole chapter. You will understand when you read this.
About the author:
I’m a Missouri-raised gal, but currently live in South Carolina with my Marine veteran husband. I spend my days begging him for a cat, and I survive off coffee, pizza, and sarcasm. When I’m not writing, you can find me binge-watching various TV shows, especially Supernatural and One Tree Hill. I like cold weather, buy more paperbacks than I’ll ever read, and I never say no to brownies.
USA Today Bestselling author Claudia Burgoa presents a heartwarming, sexy romance about second chances and starting over.
After a week off the grid, I finally get reception and the first voicemail I hear stuns me.
“You’re summoned to Baker’s Creek by the late William Tower Alderidge.”
Twelve Years.
It’s been twelve years since the last time I heard from the Alderidge family.
That one voicemail changes everything—I need the money the late William offers.
In exchange, I have to live eighteen months in Baker’s Creek.
I’ve survived cancer, the jungle, and the plague.
This should be easy compared to all that, right?
Or so I think until…I see him.
Confident, charismatic, bitter, sexy as hell, Doctor Hayes Benjamin Aldrige.
My first love, my first kiss—my late husband’s brother.
He hates me.
He still hasn’t forgiven me for walking out on him, and I can’t blame him. It’s been over ten years, and I still have feelings for him.
But I faked it once and I can fake it twice.
I can survive eighteen months and that’ll be the last time I see the Alderidge brothers.
Isn’t it?
The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers series is a romantic comedy saga packed with the perfect mix of angst, tears, and laughs. If you like strong heroines & alpha males, steamy romances and witty love stories, this series is for you!
My review:
Loved You Once is the first book in a new series from Claudia Burgoa, following seven brothers who all have the same father but different mothers. Their father dies, leaving one final manipulative “F*** you” from the grave – they must all uproot their lives and move to the small Oregon town founded by his family and run the businesses there, all living together in the derelict family home for 18 months, or else all the properties owned by the family will be closed off and sold to predetermined developers, which will basically ruin the town, closing almost all the small businesses and bankrupting most of the families living there.
Hayes is second oldest of the brothers, but first born to their father’s actual wife. Blair was his college girlfriend and only love, but after he broke her heart she married his now deceased younger brother. She is required to take her late husband’s place in the deal.
This book is the story of Hayes and Blair, and it was really a sweet story. They were deeply in love back in college, and even though their feelings didn’t change, there is a lot of hurt and heartbreak and fear in the way. Also, they are both two different people now. They have done a lot in their years apart and have to reconcile who they are now with who they were then. It is their complete, standalone story. However, the book also sets up a lot of potential future books and I cannot wait to read more to see what happens over the 18 month term.
About the Author:
Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. She lives in Colorado, working for a small IT. She has three children and manages a chaotic household of two confused dogs, and a wonderful husband who shares her love of all things geek. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.
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Meet Teagan Hunter:
I’m a Missouri-raised gal, but currently live in South Carolina with my Marine veteran husband. I spend my days begging him for a cat, and I survive off coffee, pizza, and sarcasm. When I’m not writing, you can find me binge-watching various TV shows, especially Supernatural and One Tree Hill. I like cold weather, buy more paperbacks than I’ll ever read, and I never say no to brownies.
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