Review: Kari & Levi (Rojo, TX Series Book 4) by Cee Bowerman

Kari & Levi by Cee Bowerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Third Time’s A Charm

I’d probably give this book 3.75 ⭐️ if I could.

This book is this fourth in the Rojo, TX series. This series is connected to others written by this author set in the same place with lots of cross over characters. You don’t *technically* need to read the other books before this one, but you’ll find it a lot less confusing if you do.

TRIGGER WARNING: This book deals with people with mental health issues including OCD, panic attacks, PTSD, anxiety and depression. There is also the aftermath of surviving domestic abuse, though not the specific details of what occurred to create the problems. If these subject matters cause you to experience emotional difficulty, you may want to stay clear of this book.

Kari has been in Cee Bowerman’s books since the beginning. Before she was introduced she was in an abusive relationship and got out, but not before she was scarred both physically and mentally. After her escape, she decided to make a safe haven for other women like her, who needed a safe place to make a fresh start. She’s spent most of her life looking after other people at the expense of her own health.

Levi has also been around in a supporting role from quite early on in Cee Bowerman’s books. After college, he went into the army and broke Kari’s 18-year-old heart. They had been dating several months when he had to go away and though he asked her to go with him she felt she couldn’t leave her family, so he went alone and their relationship ended.

After being in the army Levi became a police officer in a different city until he was kidnapped and tortured. After that, he was unable to work in the force and left to set up a gym with his family. Since he’s been back in Rojo, he’s wanted to see Kari but felt his mental health wasn’t good enough to try starting up a relationship again, especially as he knew what she’d been through whilst he’d been gone. Then when Kari moved into her old family home they discovered they were neighbours.

The beginning of this book is quite muddled and a lot of information is thrown at the reader in order to help make the rest of the book comprehendible. There are a lot of scenes from past books and flashbacks in a short period of time which was quite overwhelming as I tried to place all the reminders in the right order. I didn’t particular enjoy wading through that initial section of the book, but once past it I found the book to be of the usual high standard of this author.

This story is a journey of two very damaged people who truly love each other but don’t know how to love themselves. They are both on the same road to happiness, but they are at different stages in the journey. At first glance, Kari seems to be happy and fulfilled and it’s only because Levi lives next door and sees her all the time does he come to suspect that she’s never really dealt with her problems. Levi has a support dog who helps him with his PTSD and he is on medication and seeks counselling because he knows he’s not healthy yet. Kari however denies there is a problem. It takes a lot of work for both of them to get healthy and a lot of heartache is exposed along the way.

It’s really nice to get a HEA for Kari who has been such an important character throughout all of the books set in Rojo. She does so much for others that it’s nice to see her rewarded for that work. It’s also good to read a book about how people can appear fine on the outside but inside are screaming in pain. If you’ve never suffered from mental health issues this is a good reminder that just because your friends and family look OK, they might not be. It’s a good reminder to people who do suffer from mental health issues that you need to do the work to get better, and you need to keep doing the work to stay that way. It’s a very good example of why you need help when you spiral out of control and that it doesn’t mean you are weak or ‘broken’ to ask for it.

There’s a lot love in this book and a lot of hard work. At times it was painful to read, but it was worth it to get to the HEA that these characters deserved.

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Review: Prose Before Bros (Green Valley Library Series Book 3) by Cathy Yardley

Prose Before Bros by Cathy Yardley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finding A New Way Of Doing Things

This is the third book in a series of connected books. This series is a spin-off from The Winston Brother Series written by Penny Reid, set in the same world, but written by different authors. The book stands alone but does have some cross over of characters and shared history.

Thuy has never lived anywhere other than Oakland, California, but she’s helping her best friend in the world, Maddy, in Green Valley, which is a tiny place in Tennessee. It’s a bit of a culture shock, especially because they are dealing with the death of Maddy’s father, who had not been a particularly pleasant man, and who had been a dreadful father. Maddy hadn’t been back to Green Valley since she went away to college, where she met Thuy. Maddy has helped Thuy through so much and she wouldn’t have graduated without her help, so helping to Tetris the food they’d been given into the fridge seems like a small step towards paying her back. Though she is a little taken aback when Maddy decides to stay and asks Thuy to stay too. Being a big city librarian hasn’t given her enough training to work a farm, but for Maddy, she’ll try.

Drill is in a 1% MC. He’s been part of the club since he was kicked out by his father aged 16. His father cut him off completely but he felt he had a much better family in the Iron Wraiths MC. He still kept a distant eye on his sister, Maddy, but contact with blood family isn’t allowed by the Iron Wraiths MC. Over the last few years, the Iron Wraiths have had a lot of adjusting to do after key members were imprisoned. Drill has had to step up as one of the longest-serving members, and one of the toughest enforcers. However, things aren’t really sitting right with him lately and he’s been questioning some of the decisions being made. When he meets Thuy he’s instantly attracted to this pocket-sized Vietnamese tower of strength, which only confuses him more because he’s forbidden from getting involved with her.

On the surface, these two characters have little in common, but as they dig deeper there’s much more to connect them than discourage their feelings. Drill’s crisis of identity is central to this book and Thuy is a surprising source of consolation and guidance as he tries to sort out what he wants from life. She is also a source of fascination and desire. Both are trying to lead different lives and they aid each other on the way.

This book was very different from what I was expecting. Both characters were filled with surprises and I enjoyed that a lot. Maddy was a little annoying, but she’d been through a lot so I gave her a pass when I read about that, plus how she’d helped Thuy in the past made her much more endearing. Though she wasn’t the main character she was a major part of the story and being ambivalent about her was a little distracting.

As this author is new to me, I will definitely keep an eye out for other books by her that I might enjoy. In the meantime I’ll keep reading this series.

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Review: The Ways We Betray (The Path of Temptation Series Book 4) by Auryn Hadley

The Ways We Betray by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So Good I Read It Twice

This is the fourth book of a continuing series. You need to read the first books in the series to understand this one. The book ends at a natural break in the story, but there are lots of things left unresolved that I’m desperate to read about. The first book in the series is The Price We Pay.

This book starts just before the beginning of the second and final initiate year for Nari and her chosen family. Saval has taken over the education for their year group after the disaster that nearly ended Talin’s life the year before. As someone who can also see Zeal, their god is happy to help her make plans to finish their education properly. After making their choice to specialise in Entertainment Nari and Ela are thrown into a much more complete and enlightening education. Nari is also taking her extra classes, both of which she finds fascinating and lead her to meet even more priests in different branches of the priesthood. Even though everything seems to be going well, of course, things aren’t going to stay that way.

This book only covers the period between the Summer and New Year, so there is a lot packed in. The growing emotional bond between Nari, Ela, Talin, Wraythe, Anver and Zeal is the main focus of this book. Through exploring their emotional bonds, we are also exposed to more about their history and personalities. The characters internal landscapes are explored through multiple points of view. These characters are all growing as they get a little older, gain more education and training and have more experience of what they want from life. The developments are all in keeping with their core personalities and are part of a believable and engaging journey to attaining their goals.

This book deals frankly with the difference between lust and love and how the characters separate the two things to maintain their relationships. Though we still have very passionate and erotic content within this book, the sessions the Priests of the Body engage in within this book are not just about these encounters. These sessions are also about socialising with people of different backgrounds and dealing with the differing needs of the individuals concerned. This also aids in exploring the relationships between the different temples. This is especially useful as Zeal’s siblings start to step up needing aid in connecting with their own priests.

Zeal not only wants to bring back the power of the gods for himself and his siblings but because he wants to help his people. We see glimmers of this in the way he talks about his manipulations and nudges of temptation and the things he wants to achieve with them.

The Head Priest, Kinen, doesn’t show his hand very often in this book, which leads me to believe that we’ll see more of him in the future. There are still plenty of difficulties faced by the five Priests of Temptation, but they are not all brought about by Kinen. There are external politics to be dealt with, instead of solely focusing on internal ones.

This book, like the others in the series, wraps you up and doesn’t let go until you turn the last page. I was wrapped up in it so tightly I was disappointed when the book ended. In fact, I couldn’t bear not reading more, so I read it again straight away. That NEVER happens to me. There is something about this combination of characters that resonates with me. There is something so accepting and inclusive of these priests who follow Zeal.

As always with this author, we can see the foreshadowing and the laying out of pathways that may lead to further plot twists and the tying off of loose ends that were left from previous books. It’s a masterclass in how to write a complex and engaging series and I can’t state how much I love it. Originally this series was meant to be 5 books long, but at the end of the book, we are informed that there will actually be a further two books in the series, which makes me ecstatically happy as I can’t see myself ever getting tired of these characters and the incredible world in which they live.

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Review: Crime and Periodicals (Green Valley Library Series Book 2) by Nora Everly

Crime and Periodicals by Nora Everly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Hot Cop and the Shy Librarian

This is the second book in this series of connected books, which stand alone. The books all contain the same characters and they all have shared history, but the other books aren’t required to make sense of this one. The series is a spin-off from Penny Reid’s Winston Brother Series, and is written by different authors.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was intrigued by the characters selected for this book and decided to give it a go despite never having read anything by this author before. I’m glad I gave it a chance because I enjoyed it a lot.

Sabrina is incredibly shy and suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. She is an assistant librarian and hides from nearly everyone, even at work. She lost her mother when she was a young child and later lost her sister when she was 17. Since the death of her sister, she has raised her sister’s children along with her father at the family ranch. Sabrina's father is a pretty famous surgeon and popular in the small town where they live. The two eldest children they are raising are now in their teens and will graduate in the next couple of years. They are happy and well adjusted young people. Harry the youngest was born the day his birth mother died and sees Sabrina as his mother, he is also
on the autistic spectrum.

Wyatt is one of four brothers and is the odd one out. The others all work for the family construction firm but after he got injured and couldn’t play football anymore he became a cop in Nashville, where he attended university. He recently moved back to Green Valley and became a deputy sheriff after his now ex-wife left him for a country music star and decided she didn’t want anything to do with their adorable daughters. In Green Valley, he gets help from his mother and his new job allows him greater flexibility to be a parent.

When Wyatt bumps into Sabrina on a traffic stop he falls for her instantly. He’s great with Harry and later on his daughters are also great with him. When he asks her for a date her shyness overwhelms her, but he is kind and gently persistent.

This is a very sweet love story that is as much about Sabrina becoming less afraid of the world and the people in it as it is about the romance. It’s also not surprising that the children are a big part of the story and they are incredibly sweet and funny.

I like that there is great family support for Sabrina. Her relationship with her 16-year-old, highly intelligent niece is more like a friendship than that of a parent and daughter. Sabrina also starts to find friendship outside her family because of the strides she makes in facing the world.

It’s a really lovely story and I’ll definitely be looking for other books by this author.

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Review: Enlightened (The Ascension of Meghan May Series Book 2) by Jaya Moon

Enlightened by Jaya Moon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

History is Revealed

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the second book in a continuing series. You need to read the first book to understand this one. The book concludes at a natural break in the story, but there is a lot more yet to come.

After Tallow has told her to stay away from the Kin for her own safety, Meghan tries to return to her usual dull routine of sleep, eat, work and repeat. However, it seems like the world of the Kin does not want to let her go now they have found her and her abilities. At least it gives her a chance to see Tallow and Mox again.

This book is full of revelations about Meghan’s history and about the men she has come to care for. She seems to spend quite a lot of this book being overloaded with information about what she hears. Some of the information seems to conflict with things she thought she understood and it leads to confusion.

There is violence in this book, counterbalanced with passion elsewhere. It made me feel like I was being thrown from pillar to post, never knowing what emotional wringer I was going to get pushed through next. Poor Meghan experiences much worse than me. Her emotions are all over the place. She’s still grieving the loss of her family, she has strong feelings for an owl shifter, a human and an angel, she finds out she’s not what she thought she was and the Kin want her to risk her life for them. If some of her decision-making skills are a little shaky I can forgive her, given the state of her life.

This book is just as compelling as the first in the series. Meghan is someone I can empathise with and I really want to know what happens to her next. The plot is intriguing and I want to know more about the men in Meghan’s life. I will definitely be reading the next book soon.

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Review: Love in Due Time (Green Valley Library Series Book 1) by LB Dunbar

Love in Due Time by L.B. Dunbar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second Time Around

This is the first standalone book in a spin-off series. The original series, Winston Brothers, was by Penny Reid and this series is set in the same location, Green Valley, with a lot of the same characters. This first book got my attention because I enjoy reading books by LB Dunbar. I’ve read the first couple of books in the Penny Reid series but got sidetracked. I will have to go back and finish my read!

This book is about one of the librarians at the Green Valley Library, Naomi, who has worked there her entire working life. At 39 she’s quite stuck in her ways, living a quiet and unassuming life. She’s a practicing Wiccan and lives in a little cottage in the woods. She is often accused of being a witch but she tries to ignore that and let go of the hurt that causes her.

Naomi has only ever been with one man, when she was 21, Nathan. They were together one time and then he disappeared from Green Valley. Now he’s back and when they run into each other sparks of attraction light between them.

Nathan left Green Valley after an incident involving the Iron Wraiths MC, for who he was a prospect at the time. He ran and didn't come back until now because his family is here and he needs help raising his two daughters, Dahlia and Clementine. When he bumps into Naomi again he’s delighted to find the woman who he has thought about over the years and asks her for a series of dates to convince her that he’s not going to run away again.

This book has a lot of different threads running through it. The romance part is complicated by those threads, the history of the couple, the MC’s involvement, issues with bullying and problems with the library. The plot is tightly constructed and kept me reading as I wondered what was going to happen next.

Naomi is a wonderful character. She’s complicated and filled with regret and guilt, but is determined to try and connect with the world around her. She loves her job dearly and inspiring people, especially children, gives her life meaning. She has a highly evolved philosophy on life and tries to live according to her beliefs. I loved watching her evolve and change through the course of the book, whilst still holding true to herself.

Nathan is another character filled with guilt and regret. He loves his daughters, his mother and his brother and tries to do what is right. He has morals and tries to live life accordingly. He didn’t strike lucky with the mothers of his children and has been the main carer for both girls for some time, with the help of his mother. He’s more sad for his daughters’ sakes about the failure of his relationships. This journey is less of an evolution of character for him than it is for Naomi. His story is more about seeking happiness and being determined to hang on to it no matter what. He has to fight for his relationship to succeed and he has to let go of his guilt and regrets for his happiness to stick around.

I really like how the passion and emotion slowly grew between the two main characters. They didn’t just hop into bed with each other again, despite their history. They spent time together getting to know each other and the passion built gradually between them. It felt very real.

This is a wonderful story of two people with a complicated history taking hold of their second chance and being determined not to waste their opportunity. Even if you haven’t read Penny Reid’s original Winston Brothers series, you can still enjoy this book.

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Review: Crush the King (Crown of Shards Series Book 3) by Jennifer Estep

Crush the King by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some Loose Ends

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the third book in the series and you need to read the first two books in order to understand this one. The narrative appears to end with the conclusion of this book, but it’s been left open for future adventures.

This book is about the Regalia, an international competition for physical, mental and magical abilities. Each country enters their own top competitors in each category and then they all compete for the top slot. The Regalia is held every three years on Fortuna Island, which is an independent port/trading post/banking centre. Fortuna Island is home to the DiLucis who are the ruling family and are so wealthy they behave like royalty. They seem to be up to no good in relation to Everleigh and no one can work out why.

The Regalia give Everleigh the opportunity to finally meet the Mortan king face to face for the first time. With all the royal families on the continent together since taking power, Everleigh plans to use the opportunity to make some alliances and to cause Morta some problems, of the terminal variety.

One thing I really liked about this book was the Everleigh employed multiple avenues of attack. She had several ways to try and accomplish her goals because she knew that not all of them would work. She utilised the skills she learnt from her warrior training and Lady Xenia’s spy/political training and mashed them together to come up with some unique options that might not be obvious initially.

I felt a bit sorry for Sully in this book because he went from being a major part of the story to being basically backup for Everleigh. All he really did was comfort her and play guard, when he’s a really powerful magician and swordsman in his own right, not to mention he grew up in his father’s court, so he should have been a really valuable resource and he wasn’t given much to do or consulted much at all. It seemed like his role was to basically hug and kiss Everleigh and tell her she was wonderful. It felt like once he became her consort the relationship became unimportant to the story except as background filler.

This book was all about the plot and there was so much less about the emotional aspect of the characters. It felt like a run to the finish line to get everything accomplished by the end of the book. It left a lot of loose ends, that I really hope get resolved in a future book, but I don’t know if that is planned or not. I know there is a spin-off series about Gemma, set 15 years after the end of this book, but I don’t know if there is going to be anything else in this timeline, and if there isn’t that will be a shame.

So whilst I enjoyed the political, magical and physical plotlines, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous ones, which is a shame because they were exceptionally good books. This was just a good one. However, if another book came out in this series, I would probably snap it up because I want to know how all those loose ends tie up!

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Review: Beyond the Bases (Out of Reach Series Book 1) by Kaylee Ryan

Beyond the Bases by Kaylee Ryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sweet Single Mother Romance

I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the first book of a series, but the story stands alone and there are no cliffhangers.

Larissa is a young single mother, whose husband died in the line of duty before his daughter was born. Larissa is trying to raise her daughter, Paisley, with the aid of her mother, whilst trying to earn enough to survive and finish an accountancy degree. She’s stretched thin but is determined to make life better for her and her 4-year-old daughter.

Easton is a successful baseball player who loves his family and has reached a time in his life to be sick of the kind of women he can pick up easily because of his profession. He grew up around other famous baseball players and has seen the pros and cons of fame and wants what his parents and their friends had with close and loving relationships.

When Larissa is persuaded by her girlfriend to go out for drinks they end up in the bar that the baseball team often go to because they are protected there by the owner. As soon as Easton sees her he is smitten. However, Larissa doesn’t want to get involved with anyone because of the pressure she’s under on a daily basis, plus she has her daughter to consider.

Easton doesn’t know why Larissa is reluctant when she is so attracted to him so he pursues her, until he finally meets her with her daughter by accident and he is great with Paisley.

This is an incredibly predictable book. It doesn’t surprise me to learn this was written as a novella because there isn’t anything particularly complicated to work out in terms of plot. It progresses from A to B in straight forward and orderly manner providing sweetness and cute kid stories.

I see this book as something to read as a palate cleanser after reading something a bit dark or heavy going. It’s not challenging and makes you smile, which is something you sometimes need.

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Review: Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards Series Book 2) by Jennifer Estep

Protect the Prince by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now She’s Queen

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the second book in a continuing series. In order to understand this book, you need to read the previous one. The book comes to a natural break in the storyline, but the narrative definitely continues after this book is done.

I listened to this as an audiobook, so the review is written with that in mind. This may alter my experience of the book because listening to a narrator can change how a story is perceived.

This book starts after Everleigh has been Queen of Bellonia for 3 months. She’s spent that time clearing up the mess that her defeated cousin made in her short tenure as monarch. Now she’s finally trying to start getting her reign back on track. At the first formal court session she faces her nobles and wealthy families trying to manipulate her and sway her to their own advantage, including try to marry her off to their own children and grandchildren. What her court isn’t expecting from the ex-Royal Stand-In is someone who is fully capable of standing up for herself and has a long memory for those who slighted her during their petty cruel court games.

One thing everyone seems to agree on is that Everleigh needs to stay away from Lucas Sullivan, something they are struggling to do. The next thing on Everleigh’s agenda is to travel to Sully’s home and try to patch things up with the royal family after the death of Sully’s half-brother the Prince, during the massacre at Seven Spires that demolished the Bellonian Royal Family.

Travelling to a new court means Everleigh has to deal with unfamiliar politics and individuals. She may be Queen now, but she’s on unfamiliar territory with a King who has his own Court to deal with.

It’s always strange in a series when the protagonist achieves success at the end of the first book. Everleigh deposed her cousin and took the Crown. That’s the sort of thing that comes at the END of the series normally, rather than in the middle. However, I think this book handled it well and the challenges that Everleigh faced in a foreign court were sufficiently difficult to make the story continue to flow.

I was surprised that we seemed to see less of Sully in this book, especially when we were on his home territory, but it made sense in the context that both he and Everleigh were fighting their own battles here. Sully was being split between his two loyalties, his father and Everleigh.

I enjoyed the people that Everleigh surrounded herself with. She kept her friends from The Black Swan gladiator troop with her as her key advisors and guards, but she also accepted a few others that she trusted from her earlier days in the palace. I liked how she was willing to take advice and work together with those she trusted, but she was also in charge and not afraid to make big choices without advice.

This book essentially covers Everleigh coming into her own as a Queen on the international stage. She has to deal with assassination attempts, political manoeuvring, learning about her magic and trying to find a path to happiness.

There weren’t any huge surprises plot-wise with this book, but the story was well told and this isn’t a mystery book that requires me to be shocked at the plot twists. I enjoyed the journey on which Everleigh and her friends took me, in this book, especially as I think for me the most enjoyable aspect was the growth of Everleigh’s character. She has changed and matured over the course of the series in a believable and enjoyable way.

As with the first book, the narrator is convincing and entertaining. Her ability to differentiate between the characters through voice is very good and not over the top, which is sometimes a danger with narrating a series with a large number of characters. The narrator read naturally and smoothly and this helped suck me into the story. I found it hard to stop listening once I started, and finished the book in one day!

Though this book ended with a HFN, there is a lot to intrigue me about the next book in the series and I can’t wait to read about what Everleigh does next. I’m especially excited about her discovering more about her magic.

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Review: Another Word for Magic (Family Law Series Book 6) by Mackey Chandler

Another Word for Magic by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alliance of Science

This is the sixth book in a continuing series. Without the preceding books, this one wouldn’t be understandable. There is also a connected series of books that shares the universe, history and characters, but you don’t need to read those books to understand the narrative of this series, however, it's best to start with the April Series. A full list of both series and the reading order is given in this post.

The three habitats that used to be in the Solar System are now scattered around the galaxy. They have been dispersed so one is at Derf, one is at Mars and the last is at Fargone. Instead of three habitats that governed themselves together, they are going to be following separate paths. This book mainly follows the inhabitants of Home which was relocated to Derf. In addition to the new embassy staff sent by Central, April and Jeff have become valuable visitors to Derf. Jeff is principally there to supervise the technical work on the jump drive that Lee’s scientists are working on. However, Jeff and April soon become valuable sounding boards and advisers for Lee and her plans for the future.

Jeff manages to talk Heather into offering a complete technical alliance for all gravitational discoveries. Not only is Lee and her team offering something more than equal to the information that Jeff is providing, but she’s also got something extra to add on top, in the balance of technical information.

After Heather destroys USNA’s ability to venture into space any time in the near future the Commission decides to prevent Lee and Gordon from receiving any more payouts for their Claims. Now in breach of contract Lee and Gordon know they have to go and reclaim their discovery.

This book is a story about the meeting of minds, both scientific and political. Lee has to work out what she wants to happen and frame it so that she achieves success. The help that Central keeps giving her is invaluable. Talking through the mistakes they’ve made helps her decide to make her own different errors.

We also get to know the Central characters even better, along with different Derf. Strangelove is becoming one of my favourite characters because of his honesty and humour and Alonso is crankiness personified. These wonderful characters make me smile as I read about their interactions.

It saddens me that there are no more books in this series out yet. It means I have a reason to go back and start with the April series so all the gaps are filled in.

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Review: Highball Rush (Bootleg Springs Series Book 6) by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score

Highball Rush by Claire Kingsley & Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What An Ending!

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the 6th and final book of an ongoing series. Without the previous books, you won’t understand this one. Each book features one couple but there is an overarching storyline over the whole series.

This book is about Gibson, the last Bodine standing! All his siblings have found love but he believes that he’s not suited for relationships as he’s grumpy, antisocial and has a mean temper. He forgets that he is also loyal, determined and a talented musician. With all the recent revelations regarding Callie Kendall’s disappearance, he’s still got to turn up to gigs that were booked a while ago. One of those gigs gets recorded when he performs one of his original songs and the video goes viral, which only adds to the pressure he’s under.

This book lived up to its potential. It was great finally getting to know the real Gibson and find out why he’s always kept himself so withdrawn from everyone outside his family. So much happens in this book as we finally find out what happened to Callie Kendall 13 years ago and who knew what. When things finally come to light the people of Bootleg Springs prove their mettle and work to keep everyone safe while justice is served.

This book is filled with romance, passion and mystery. Gibson may finally find his girl but he’s also got to figure out a way to unveil all the secrets and keep everyone safe whilst he does so.

I’m sad to say goodbye to Bootleg Springs, the people are fantastic, the customs are hilarious and the town chicken, Mona Lisa McNugget, deserves her own series. Maybe one day they’ll write a series about the next generation of Bodines!

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Review: Who Can Own the Stars? (April Series Book 12) by Mackey Chandler

Who Can Own the Stars? by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Diplomacy

This is the 12th book of a continuing series, which means you need to have read the preceding books to understand this one. The narrative ends at a natural break, but the story definitely continues in future books. There is a connected series, Family Law, which is set in the future with some of the same characters. The reading order across these two series is given in this post.

With the space race to the stars going on, the USNA seems to have decided to pump money into their endeavour, despite not having control over their own country. Whilst Central and Home don’t have a problem with them going to the stars, they do have a problem with them taking serious weaponry with them. It’s up to The Three to stop the Earthies from starting an interstellar war before it even starts, by keeping the weapons inside L1.

This book, as with previous ones in the series, follows multiple storylines. As well as the issue with interstellar ships with weapons, there is also the issue with making money to keep everything moving forward with their own interstellar endeavours, the group of people in Northern California (Vic, Eileen and Alice) and dealing with Martians. It’s a complex juggling act, that I sometimes wish was formatted differently. Jumping between storylines with little demarcation can be confusing at times and the first paragraph may need re-reading once you realise you are dealing with a different group of people. However, despite this challenge, it does make for an entertaining read.

It’s interesting watching April, Jeff and Heather develop in different directions. They’ve always had different interests but their personalities and strengths are diverging and becoming more entrenched. This doesn’t mean they are growing apart, but they have to work to make time together with Heather being on the Moon and Jeff and April being on Home.

I’ve now come to the end of the published books in this series and find myself wanting to read Family Law again now I’ve read this series because I know it would be a different experience reading about the characters from this series set 100 years in the future. The two series have been published alongside each other, alternating in schedule, so I’m not sure which one will come next. It will be fun to see.

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Review: Gin Fling (Bootleg Springs Series Book 5) By Lucy Score and Claire Kingsley

Gin Fling by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Plot Thickens

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the fifth book in a continuing series and the previous books need to be read in order to understand this one. Each book deals with one couple and there is an overarching plot that links the books together.

Jonah Bodine is the illegitimate son of Jonah Bodine Sr. When his father died he became aware of his half-siblings and decided to come to Bootleg Springs to get to know them. He’s been here 12 months and still hasn’t decided if he’s staying or not, because until the disappearance of Callie Kendall is solved and the family is no longer under a cloud of suspicion he feels he can’t make an informed choice because he can’t abandon his siblings when everything is so fraught.

Jonah has a successful business as a personal trainer and has become an important part of the town’s life with the classes and training he provides. He’s just moved out of June’s house now she’s got together with George because he doesn’t want to intrude on their new relationship. Scarlett has set him up in one of her tiny rental properties, unaware that she has decided to do a little matchmaking.

Shelby is George’s little sister. She came to Bootleg Springs after she heard about how their small community ran a group of journalists out of town. She’s studying for her PhD and she wants to understand what makes the community work so well when other places don’t. When Scarlett discovered her misunderstanding of why Shelby was in town (she thought she was a journalist) she decides to matchmake and sets her up in the same house as Jonah. They don’t get off to the best of starts but carrying out Bootleg Justice together forms a bond and they begin to consider having a summer fling because neither of them knows where they are going to end up in a few months.

There’s a lot more to Shelby than first appears and she is a really interesting character who has gone through a lot. I really like how her study into why Bootleg Springs works as a tight-knit community brings her deeper into the heart of the town. She makes friends and finds supporters who help encourage others to aid with her research. She is intelligent, single-minded and independent beyond belief, she also has a huge heart and just wants to help people.

I liked how Jonah was brought more into the family and the community through his friendship with Shelby, who helps him see that he isn’t the outsider he has always considered himself.

A lot is uncovered about Callie in this book and some very interesting facts come out. Shelby even chases down some leads, which of course places her and others in danger. This book sets up things for the finale in the last book in the series. I can’t wait to find out how it all ends. I’m not even going to peek at the blurb for the final book because I want to be truly surprised at how it all shakes out.

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Review: All in Good Time (April Series Book 11) by Mackey Chandler

All in Good Time by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Earth Just Won’t Learn!

This is the 11th book in a continuing series, if you haven’t read the preceding books you won’t understand this one. The narrative ends at a natural break but the story definitely continues in the next book. There is a series, Family Law, that is set in the future and shares some of the same characters. The timeline winds between the two series and the reading order can be found in this post.

With April, Jeff and Heather working to make their plans work, they know in order to get out into the stars on a more permanent basis they need resources. Resources that they need to keep dealing with Earth for. Sadly Earth seems to be filled with people incapable of learning a single lesson in relation to Home and Central. Despite being beaten badly by April, just recently, USNA decides to take advantage of an emergency landing in Florida of a plane that carries Irwin who is a friend and colleague of hers and take him prisoner on trumped-up charges. So what’s a girl with orbital weapons to do?

This book continues to explore the idiocy of Earthies. Though Central and Home do continue to have friends on Earth, they appear to be in the minority. I felt that this book wasn’t the most exciting in the series and it covered a lot of the same ground that previous books, namely that people from Earth just don’t learn and that April is prepared to bomb them back to medieval times if necessary.

I did enjoy the continuation of following Eileen and Vic on Earth, in Northern California. Their story is a result of April’s previous bombardment and is a dystopian tale of hardship and the bonds of a made family. Those characters are interesting because they are very very practical people who find themselves happy because of practical decisions. Vic is much older than Eileen by decades but their emotional and mental connection is very real as they look at things in the same way, as Eileen is intelligent and mature beyond her years. I imagine living through what feels like an apocalypse is very good at making you grow up fast.

Whilst I know that everything comes in time, I’m not sure that some of this book wasn’t filler until enough time has passed until something more useful occurs. I hope the next book’s narrative takes a leap forward into something new.

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Review: Bourbon Bliss (Bootleg Springs Series Book 4) by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score

Bourbon Bliss by Claire Kingsley & Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Genius and The Football Player

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the fourth book in a continuing series and you need to read the previous books in order to understand the overarching plotlines, even if each book covers one couple’s story. The previous books will also give a deeper insight into the characters, who all know each other or are related, their shared history and the history of the very quirky town in which they live. The couple gets their HEA by the end of the book, but the overarching plot continues in future books.

June Tucker is a genius. She works as an actuarial consultant and finds numbers so much easier to understand than people and their emotions. Her father is the town sheriff and her sister is a sheriff’s deputy. June is seen as ‘odd’ in a town of quite strange people. Though it doesn’t explicitly state it, there are very strong hints that June is neurodivergent. She comes across as cold and analytical and though the latter part of that statement is true, the former part is not. June feels things deeply but doesn’t know how to process those feelings or understand other people’s feelings. She asks questions when she doesn’t understand and that emphasises her ‘odd’-ness.

In a town filled with unusual characters, she is more widely accepted than she would be elsewhere, especially as her sister loves her and Cass and Scarlett, Cass’ best friend, have always included June in their social activities to the extent if she was invited, they wouldn’t go. Their loyalty has led to a widespread acceptance of June and her unusual ways amongst the townspeople. June is incredibly grateful for her acceptance and has invested heavily in Bootleg Springs, using her logical and analytical mind and high earnings to bring small businesses to the town, and help them grow.

One of June’s obsessions is sports statistics, especially football stats and has run a fantasy football league for years, alway winning because of her in depth understanding of statistics. One of her favourite players has always been George Thompson, a wide receiver. When he hurts his knee and is forced to retire she doesn’t win the league for the first time. When he walks into Bootleg Springs she is stunned and very very attracted to him, which takes her by surprise. What surprises her, even more, is that he seems to feel the same way about her.

George has had a very successful career until his knee injury and has earned enough to retire comfortably, so when his sister visits an unusual town called Bootleg Springs and tells him about it and the healing reputation of their hot springs he decides to go and visit her there and try out the benefits of the springs. When he meets June is he knocked for six by the unusual and intriguing woman and he can’t decide if he finds her intelligence or her bluntness more fascinating. As a successful and popular football player most of his life he has been targeted by the kind of women who like to have expensive things and are willing to do anything, including pretend to have feelings they don’t, to get them. He has never truly trusted a girlfriend but knows that June won’t lie about her feelings right from their initial meeting.

If you’ve read my reviews before you will know that I enjoy reading about neurodivergent people, especially those in romance novels because I know and love several people who think in this way. I really enjoyed that George accepted June exactly as she was straight away. He never believed that she should change who she was or how she saw things unless it made her unhappy. He was able to help her understand herself and her experience of life in a way no one else ever had because he accepted her and cared about her. The scene where he explained why dancing is one of his favourite activities and got her to appreciate it too is a particularly good example of why I loved his character.

George is by no means perfect and messes up a couple of times, but the people of Bootleg Springs like him enough to help him out when he’s a bit lost. He is accepted by the town really quickly because they know he appreciates the way things are in Bootleg Springs. He is embraced by the Bodine and Tucker families very quickly because of June.

As well as the romance the overarching plot regarding the missing girl from 12 years ago has a few major twists in this book. By the end of the book, you are scratching your head much more than at the start of it. It’s this aspect of the series that keeps me reading each book because I really want to know what happens next.

I really do enjoy this series and each book I read emphasises why.

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Review: Friends in the Stars (Family Law Series Book 5) by Mackey Chandler

Friends in the Stars by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ratcheting Up The Tension

This is the fifth book in a continuing series. You need to read the preceding books to understand this one and the story continues in the next book, despite the natural break in the narrative at the end of the book. This series is also connected to the Alice Series in terms of shared timeline, history and characters. The reading order of the two series can be found in this post.

Lee is now based on Derfhome. She has a suite in the best hotel in town and finds herself enjoying the service and view. She is trying to get on with creating their rival organisation to the Claims Commission. She’s also developing the jump drive inspired by The Three. Now she’s witnessed that it exists she is determined to get it for herself and her allies.

This book focuses a lot on Derf. There are humans now living in the capital city and they are linked to outside powers. Derf has become very important to lots of people because Earth, in particular USNA, does not want Derf to have any more power.

The tension on Earth is increasing and The Three realise that things are going to come to a head soon. The agreement of Central and Home with Earth, to ask permission for armed ships to transit L1, was always a cease fire rather than a peace treaty. Seeing the way the wind is blowing means Queen Heather has to make some hard choices about her people and about how to handle Earth to prevent their brand of crazy infecting the universe.

This book has a lot more about The Three and I have a feeling that the Alice Series really should have been read in parallel to this series. I can understand that plot, but believe that there are a lot of subtleties I’m missing. However, as there is only one more book in this series, I’m going to read it then go back to the beginning in the Alice Series and try to ignore the spoilers.

Despite feeling like I’m missing something I really enjoyed this book. Lee is coming into her own as a figurehead for something bigger than just her and Gordon. She has stepped into a position of authority and she is trying to embrace it. We saw a lot less of Gordon in this book, which saddened me because he’s an amazing character. I feel if there is going to be a war we may see a lot more of him in a future book. Seeing less of Gordon though meant that Lee took on more responsibility without oversight on more occasions.

We also got to know The Three and some of their people much better in this book. They are stuck right next door to Earth and as they are the front line in dealing with the Earthies. We see more and more that they have a very similar attitude to life and morality as Lee and her allies. I can’t wait to see what they achieve together in the next book.

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Review: Moonshine Kiss (Bootleg Springs Series Book 3) by Lucy Score and Claire Kingsley

Moonshine Kiss by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Work Gets In The Way

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the third book in a continuing series. Each book deals with one couple within the same family/circle of friends, but there is an overarching plot told over the course of the series. There is no cliffhanger relating to the romantic aspect of the book, but the overarching plot is unresolved at the end of the book.

Cassidy Ann Tucker has loved Bowie Bodine since she was in kindergarten. Bowie is the older brother of her best friend Scarlett and they have always been a part of each others’ lives. When Cas was 19-years-old she thought she saw in Bowie the same feelings she had for him and she got her hopes up. Then he dashed those hopes when he told her to her face that he thought of her as a little sister. Ever since she has been looking for someone to love and be loved by in the same way her parents love each other.

Bowie has wanted Cass since she was 16-years-old and it was only the thought of being a creepy older guy that stopped him acting on those feelings. Just as he starts to cave and consider telling her how he feels, he decides that he isn’t good enough for her and tells her that he doesn’t think of her that way. By breaking Cass’ heart, he breaks his own. In the 8 years since the day he destroyed the idea of them as a couple, he’s never found anyone that can live up to Cass.

Cass is a deputy sheriff and her father is the sheriff of Bootleg Springs, a rather different undertaking to most small towns, as it has some very unusual town ordinances on the books, some of which were covered in the previous two books. As Cass is part of the investigation into the disappearance of a young girl 12 years earlier that got re-opened after her cardigan was found in Bowie’s deceased father’s house, they have to tread carefully around each other, because Cass doesn’t want to risk the job she’s wanted since she was a teenager not even for Scarlett and Bowie.

This book delves a great deal further into the disappearance, which is unsurprising given Cass’ job. There are police procedural elements to the book as well as the romance and family drama aspects. I really enjoyed the mystery part of this book as it really ramped up after the previous two books.

I also really enjoyed the conflict between Cass wanting to do her job well and wanting to support the people she cares about. It feels like she is forced to do a great deal of growing up mentally and emotionally through the course of this book. She has to deal with deep emotional conflicts that shake the foundations of who she is and who she wants to be.

Bowie is the vice principal at the local high school and he’s really made something of himself considering his very humble and unpleasant beginnings. However, he has to learn what is the most important thing to him, his desire to be a good guy and do the right thing or his love for Cass.

This book gives a much clearer picture of what life in Bootleg Springs is like. We also get a lot more information about the kind of life the Bodines had growing up as information about the case is uncovered and the relationship between the Bodines and the Tuckers is explored.

There are a lot of layers to this book and I enjoyed reading about each of them as they were peeled back. Reaching the end of this book has made me hungry for the next one as the investigation part of the storyline has been ramped up and as I’ve got to know the characters involved much more.

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Review: A Hop, Skip and a Jump (The Family Law Saga Book 4) by Mackey Chandler

A Hop, Skip and a Jump by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

New Friends

This is the fourth book in a continuing series. The book finishes at a natural break but the story definitely continues. This series also crosses over with another series by this author and has shared history and characters, and the reading order is listed on this post.

Now Lee has been given the gene modifications that most of those who live on Central and Home have, she has to change the way she looks at her life. She will live for hundreds of years and is stronger and faster than she ever could have dreamed of. Her life’s work is something that would take other people generations to accomplish and she will be there to see the results of her endeavours. Knowing you have that much time on your hands changes the way you look at things.

Coming back to Derfhome after their big journey means a different set of challenges to be faced. It seems that the Earthies are a bit reluctant to administer and protect their claims the way they did before because these claims are so far away. This means their teams aren’t getting money from their work any time soon. It also puts pressure on Lee and Gordon to find an alternative way to protect what they have found from claim jumpers.

As so many of their expeditionary forces were from Fargone, they decide to see if they can recruit them to their cause and find themselves spending more time there than anticipated.

Lee has more money than she can ever spend, she had found some fantastic friends and she knows with all the extra time she now has that she must DO something to fix all the problems she can see. Working with both old and new allies she tries to work her way through her difficulties in a way that everyone can live with.

I really enjoyed this book because we once again spend time with the Central characters. I really must read the April series to find out more about them because they are intriguing.

As Lee is getting older she is becoming more independent from Gordon. Gordon is becoming busier as he is recognised as very important to Derfhome in general and the Red Tree Clan specifically. He is a feared adversary on other worlds because of the way he fought in the war and that gives him a position he never expected to have. On top of that, he is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams and though he doesn’t seem to have Lee’s need to ‘fix’ everything, he is more than willing and able to help guide her in her endeavours. He is her mentor as well as her father.

The Mothers also recognise that Lee is growing more able and is given her own tasks by them, something every Derf expects from their Clan Mothers. Behaving like an adult gets you treated like one and Lee has proved herself in numerous ways to the Mothers already. As a member of the Clan, she knows she can’t say no and knuckles down to getting on with her job. This means lots of other things get shunted down the line, but she sets things in motion that have unforeseen consequences.

I love how the plot is really starting to tighten up in this book. Things are coming together and we can see the consequences of previous actions not only on the part of Lee but the other characters and political entities in the story. We also get to know a little more about the culture of the various races in the story, the Humans, Badgers and Derf in particular.

This is a great series and I can’t wait to read the next book, especially as Lee gets older she seems to really be starting to come into her own.

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Review: Sidecar Crush (Bootleg Spring Series Book 2) by Claire Kingsley & Lucy Score

Sidecar Crush by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Fame Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be

This is the second book in a continuing series. On the whole, each book can be read separately, however, there is an overarching storyline which only makes sense if the books are read in order. The overarching storyline is fairly well explained in this book if you really don’t want to read the first book, but it will make more sense if you read the books in order.

I read the first book in this series quite some time ago and I’d forgotten that I’d already bought the second book straight after reading the first one, Whiskey Chaser. I was reminded of the book after reading Lucy Score’s Benevolence Series and decided to dig it out.

Jameson Bodine comes from a family that’s had its share of rough times. Jameson was always accused by his father of being weak because of his gentle, shy and artistic nature. Jameson did not feel valued or loved by his father, but he sought refuge in his art made from found scrap metal materials. He’s making a living with his art but is on the verge of becoming sought after if only he can finish the biggest commission of his career.

Leah Mae Larkin grew up in Bootleg Springs until age 12 when her parents divorced and she was dragged to Florida by her mother. For the next four years, she came back for the Summer, which she adored, especially because she got to spend it with her best friend Jameson. When Leah Mae’s career in modelling took off, she stopped coming back to Bootleg Springs and she lost touch with Jameson. Now she’s back for a visit to see her Dad who has been sick and to introduce him to her fiancé. The fiancé doesn’t seem much impressed with Bootleg Springs and Bootleg Springs doesn’t rate him much either.

This story is about a woman who has wanted fame more than anything her whole life and worked so hard to get it that when it arrives and she finds out it isn’t what she expected doesn’t know quite what to do. It’s also a story of finding your own path and determining your own worth rather than letting other people do it for you.

I wasn’t sure how this book would unfold but I was impressed with how everything was handled. There is no cheating in this book and I wasn’t sure how Leah Mae was going to get her HEA with her waste of space fiancé involved. It was handled well and in a believable and relatable manner.

I like how the Bodine family are around each other. They are very loyal, but still have problems between themselves, they just won’t tolerate outsiders hurting their siblings. Their formative years shaped their identities in unique ways but also formed a tight bond that though weakened occasionally is never broken. They can go from fighting hard with each other and then in an instant take each other’s backs against someone else. It’s a very common sibling dynamic and it’s utilised deftly in this book.

Now I’ve been reminded of this series of books, I’m going to carry on reading them, because I love the craziness of a town which has a 4th July obstacle course race that ends up in a puddle of mud followed by a dip in the lake and a town chicken that is a bit of a mascot. There are so many other lovely comedic touches to this town that you can’t help but smile as you read the book. It makes the relationship growing pains all the more bittersweet in contrast. I can’t wait to see who’s story comes next.

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Review: Secrets in the Stars (The Family Law Series Book 3) by Mackey Chandler

Secrets in the Stars by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Learning To Communicate

This is the third book in a continuing series. You need to have read the previous books to understand this one. The book ends with a natural break, but the story definitely continues. This book also has connections to an associated series that I now want to read because of the crossover of history and characters. The two series intersect and the reading order is listed on this post.

At the end of a long trip into the unknown, it’s now time to be heading back home, especially because they have new allies that need to spend money on weapons to keep themselves safe. The journey home is going to be a bit different to the one on the way there because they want to make sure they find as many resources as possible over the entire trip.

On the way back the members of the expedition are determined to solve the mystery of trying to communicate with the caterpillars. It seems that the desire to communicate is reciprocated.

It’s fascinating to read about the different species trying to work out how the other might think or express their concepts to each other. I particularly enjoyed seeing how the different races worked together to figure things out.

This journey also offers Lee more opportunities to learn about the universe and herself. She matures a lot in this book. I particularly enjoyed the part of the book that crossed over with a different series by the same author. It definitely made me want to read that series as well because the characters are intriguing as is the story that this book’s plot hinted at that’s contained in the other series.

This series continues to impress me in its attention to details surrounding different planets and societies. The universe building is impressive. This can slow down the plot in places, but I’m enjoying the journey so much I can’t grumble too much about that. I can’t wait to get my teeth into the next book. It definitely looks like the adventure’s only really getting started!

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