#contemporaryromance – Rosepoint Publishing

Bayou Beloved by Lexi Blake – #AudiobookReview – #ThrowbackThursday

Butterfly Bayou #6

Book Blurb:

When a woman returns home to Louisiana’s Butterfly Bayou, her high school crush finally notices she exists, in a small-town contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake.

Quaid Havery always planned to follow in his father’s footsteps. He went to law school and then came home to take over his dad’s legal practice. Being the only lawyer in small-town Papillon, Quaid is pretty sure he’s seen everything. After all, he was once asked to sue an alligator for defamation of character. He’s prepared for anything the town can throw at him, until he encounters Jayna Cardet. She’s gorgeous, smart, funny, and unlike any woman he’s met before….Except he has.

Jayna never thought she’d return to Papillon, but when her life gets turned around she must learn to live in the close-knit community again. She certainly never dreamed she would practice law in her little town, but she finds herself in the courtroom, and the opposing counsel is her former high school crush, Quaid. It wouldn’t be so bad if the man had developed a beer belly, but Quaid is more handsome than ever. And instead of ignoring her like he did in high school, he’s made it plain that he wants to get to know her.

Thus begins a courtship destined to end in a wedding or a war. Either way, the locals are popping some corn and eagerly awaiting the outcome.

My Review:

Another case for biting on the book because of the cover—a dog, of course. Still, once again I’d appreciate some kind of warning re content.

This is the MC moving back to her hometown of Papillon after her escape and vow never to return trope, including the old crush now looking just as fine as before, except that this time he’s looking back.

Jayna Cardet lived on the wrong side of the tracks but managed to go to law school. When she comes back to the small southern town, she discovers she’s on the other side of the courtroom from ex-crush, Quaid Havery, who was the only lawyer in town until she moved back. Her move is meant to be temporary. (She fled a high-powered firm in NY following a messy divorce.)

Of course, his childhood circumstances were better financially and he’s now enjoying a successful life in a town where he was born, grew up, and knows everyone. It’s a cushy life.

The small town setting is typical, everyone knows everyone and their business. Gossip is the major recreation and it makes for some interesting support characters. In addition to discovering they are opposing counsel, they also discover a contentious and steamy sparks-flying relationship.

Besides the case each is handling, both have major family issues and when they aren’t steaming up the windows, enjoy a lot of pillow talk. Having gotten his or her side of the problem, the other can view it dispassionately and share unbiased, helpful thoughts.

The case they are opposing is a hoot and probably what kept me reading despite the romance description that goes from Hallmark to X-rated pretty quick. Nooo, I don’t need the graphic details—I have an imagination—let me use it instead. Also, I got a little tired of her whining about how her plans were to leave town. Poor baby.

So, yes, if you enjoy hot and heavy in a fairly predictable storyline, you’ll enjoy this contemporary romance. The lawsuit is almost worth it. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
ASIN: B0BLJ87BFW
Listening Length: 8 hrs 53 mins
Narrator: Jessica Almasy
Publication Date: March 28, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Bayou Beloved [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

The Author: New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.

For more information about her books, her appearances, and her wacky life, visit her Facebook page at AuthorLexiBlake.

Currently Reading – Currently Listening – #Ebook – #audiobook

Currently Reading-Currently Listening

J. D. Robb is the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. She is the author of over 230 novels, including the futuristic suspense In Death series. Payback In Death by J D Robb.
Narrator Jessica Almasy does an exceptional job of rich southern and Cajun drawls. Bayou Beloved by Lexi Blake.

Overkill by Sandra Brown – #AudiobookReview – #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown delivers a riveting thriller where a conflict of conscience for a former football star and an ambitious state prosecutor swiftly intensifies into a fight for their lives.

Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger hasn’t seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for some time—not since their volatile marriage imploded—so he’s shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he—despite their divorce—has medical power-of-attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the responsibility and the glare of public scrutiny, Zach ultimately walks away, letting Rebecca’s parents have the final say.

Four years later, Rebecca’s attacker, Eban—the scion of a wealthy family in Atlanta—gets an early release from prison. The ludicrous miscarriage of justice reeks of favoritism, and Kate Lennon, a brilliant state prosecutor, is determined to put him back behind bars. Rebecca’s parents have kept her alive all these years, but if her condition were to change—if she were to die—Eban could be retried on a new charge: murder.

It isn’t lost on Zach that in order for Eban to be charged with Rebecca’s murder, Zach must actually be the one to kill her. He rejects Kate’s legal standpoint but can’t resist their ill-timed attraction to each other. Eban, having realized the jeopardy he’s in, plots to make certain that neither Zach nor Kate lives to see the death of Rebecca—and the end of his freedom.

My Review:

Have you ever found yourself requesting the same book? Or attracted by the cover and blurb, loaned the audiobook from the library a year later? I’ve done so, more than once. This time, however, it was a book from NetGalley requested last year that the CE read and reviewed. It wasn’t until I began preparing for this review that I ran across his review, a shortened version included below. We were fairly close in agreement with this one.

Zach Bridger was apparently a Super Bowl quarterback of some renown, as he was often recognized. His marriage to Rebecca was a short, unhappy one. She ended up on life support with what appeared to be Zach’s responsibility as her father could not, would not “pull the plug.”

First, a former star quarterback was a bit difficult for me to find fully engaging, although I did appreciate his philosophy regarding Rebecca. Kate Lennon has a stake in seeing that Eban should still be held accountable after his release. She is smart, driven, and effective in her role as a state prosecutor. Of course, Zach and Rebecca will become romantically involved.

“She placed her hand on his chest, ‘Thank you for saving by life.’ ‘Thank you for coming into mine.’” [Zach]

I thought the age-old struggle of the “right thing” to do was handled well, including both points of view but for me, the middle of the narrative sagged a bit going into the conclusion. What finally ticked up the interest was that little zinger in the end.

Love those twists you don’t see coming and this one caught me by surprise. The philosophy of the situation ended in a stalemate—but it’s that end run with the legalese that provides the satisfying ending.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook with narration by Kyf Brewer from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts. 4 stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ASIN: B09WTLHHVK
Listening Length: 10 hrs 10 mins
Narrator: Kyf Brewer
Publication Date: August 16, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Overkill [Amazon]

His Review:

[redacted] Rebecca Pratt Bridger is confined to a hospital bed. She has very little brain activity and for all practical purposes is a vegetable. Her ex-husband, Zack Bridger, has been designated her legal guardian and the one who can tell them to disconnect the life-saving devices.

Rebecca found her husband intolerable soon after the marriage and began to sleep around. One of those times she chose a man who liked to choke the woman while having sex. She didn’t come to again.

The man who caused Rebecca to be in the coma is out of prison after four years. Eban has been spoiled his whole life. He is a person with no scruples or remorse.

The author captured the essence of a narcissist who has no regard for other individuals. It kept me engaged expecting something would happen to Eban. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Did you read this one last year too?

The Author: Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including STING (2016), FRICTION (2015), MEAN STREAK (2014), DEADLINE (2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011), and the critically acclaimed RAINWATER (2010).

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Narrator: Kyf Brewer, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actor known for Serial Mom, Stop, Record, and Fallen Arches.

The CE and I

Dog Friendly by Victoria Schade – #Audiobook Review – #feelgoodfiction

Book Blurb:

A burned-out veterinarian takes a much-needed beach vacation, where a charming surfer makes waves in her love life, and a unique foster pup renews her passion for her work.

Exhausted veterinarian Morgan Pearce is feeling overworked and under-thanked, so when two favorite clients ask her to watch their special needs senior dog in their Nantucket home, she jumps at the chance for a summer break. She hopes her time on the island will be a reset from the stress of her everyday life, but her chill vacation vibe takes a hit when she gets roped into fostering a challenging, anxious dog and helping plan the local rescue group’s glittery annual fundraiser.

Her trip starts to feel more like a vacation when Morgan begins falling for Nathan Keating, an irresistible entrepreneur who thinks every problem can be solved on a surfboard. Just as the summer is shaping up to be the magical refresh she needs, thanks to a fling that feels like the beginning of something real and Hudson, the foster dog who reminds her how much she loves her job, a visit from her estranged brother and the discovery of who Nathan really is changes everything. Morgan finds herself at a crossroads, trying to determine if mistakes from the past must define the future, or if she should forgive, forget, and grab hold of a chance to finally rescue herself.

My Review:

How can you NOT love that cover? And really, the implied promise is delivered.

Not the first time this year you’ve caught me reading/listening to a romance. I know, I know, but in my defense, I just saw the dogs and read enough to know the storyline included dogs and I’ve been needing a feel-good doggy story.

I’ll bet you didn’t know “Feel-Good Fiction” was a real genre—I certainly didn’t. It’s summer and this is termed a “beach read.” Most definitely as it is located on Nantucket, descriptions of which almost had me packing for a beach read destination of my own.

This novel drips with sweetness–don’t get me wrong—it’s something we all need right now.

The main character is a burned-out vet and although I’d had no clue being a veterinarian could be so stressful as to actually cause stress-related suicide, I could almost understand the problem of being a corporate vet as a major stress-inducer. Sounds like the same constraints placed on most corporate doctors these days—profit over practice.

But here is Morgan Pearce. She loves the animals. She loves most of the humans who bring their animals in for the expectation of care for their pets. She has seen it all; reactive dogs, lack of training, decent food, inappropriate discipline. It’s no wonder she jumps at the chance to get away and take care of one of her regulars with special needs for the summer. His humans are going on an extended trip and he’ll need the one-on-one care while they’re gone. They have a beautiful place on Nantucket Island, who wouldn’t go? Nope, she won’t go as a vet—she’ll go as a dog sitter/walker.

Okay, here comes the tension: she meets a gorgeous guy selling a proprietary homemade health juice from a push cart. Oh, and he’s a surfer. Did I mention Nathan is gorgeous? And dang—he has a dog! They’ll do dog walks!

And Tension #2: she can’t find a way to say no to a pooch who has been badly misunderstood by his human. He seriously needs to be retrained into being a real proper dog. (She’s now suspected of being one extremely savvy dog walker.) The fun here is the interaction with the dogs, dog personalities, introducing dogs to each other, insights into behavior, and body language.

Morgan’s family background is tenuous and ergo Tension #3 may be the catalyst for the Morgan and Nathan breakup. I’m not one for violins and roses, but this romance is handled pretty well. As a realist, however, I’d have some serious questions about the viability of the relationship.

The conclusion is handled sensitively and probably, for most readers, as expected, but still—it’s nice and I must say a sweet, fast, and engaging read.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts and I honestly think I’ll look for other titles by this author.

Book Details:

Genre: Feel-Good Fiction, Animal Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Berkley

ISBN-10: ‎ 059343739X
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0593437391

ASIN: B09HH3B81R
Listening Length: 8 hrs 29 mins
Narrator: Patti Murin
Publication Date: June 28, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Dog Friendly [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

The Author: Victoria Schade has been a dog trainer and writer for over twenty years. During that time her dog duties have included working behind the scenes on Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl as the lead animal wrangler, appearing on two seasons of the Animal Planet show Faithful Friends, and creating dog training content and appearing in educational videos for a variety of pet-centric web sites. Victoria’s favorite way to share her dog knowledge is though her books, whether in a how-to manual like “Bonding With Your Dog” or woven into her novels like “Who Rescued Who” and “Lost Found & Forever.”

Victoria shares her 1850’s always-in- need-of- renovations home with Millie the Smooth Brussels Griffon (who wants you to know that she is not a skinny pug), Olive the mixed breed dog, the occasional foster pup, and her incredibly tolerant husband, Tom.