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: Edge Of Reality (Arrow's Edge MC Series Book 5) by Freya Barker

Edge Of Reality by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mature MC Romance

This is the fifth book in a series of connected standalone novels. Each book can be read independently of the others, but reading the preceding stories gives background and insights into the characters and the world in which they live. Both main characters make appearances in previous books in this series.

Mel is the family lawyer for Arrow’s Edge MC. She deals with the fostering and any other issues around the boys and young men that the MC provide a home, support and education for. She is 48 years old and raised her 27 year old daughter pretty much single-handed after her husband left very early on in the marriage. She’s close to Lindsey, her daughter, who works as her assistant and lives in the downstairs apartment in her house. They behave more like friends than mother and daughter.

Mel is kind of quirky, in that she wears her chucks to court, doesn’t dye her grey hair and rarely wears make up. She’s abrasive, argumentative, loyal and kind. She always does the best for her clients and her best is pretty good. She and Paco have been attracted to each other for quite a while but he put his foot it in a few times too many.

Paco has been with the club since he was 14-years-old, when he was found scavenging on the streets for food. He was one of the first young men to be taken in by the club. He’s good with tech gear and does the security systems for the club, and most of the computer work. He also spends time with the kids and does some of the home school teaching. He’s finally moved out of the club in the last year into a house he built near some other club members. He’s finally grown out of the club ‘lifestyle’ of getting drunk, partying and sleeping around. He’s 50-years-old and definitely feels it. He’s had his eye on Mel for a while and is prepared to wait for her until she finally forgives him for his terminal foot-in-mouth syndrome. When Mel and Lindsey get into trouble he sweeps into action to protect them both with help from the club.

This is a really good book. I love that it deals with mature people who know themselves and what they want. It deals with things like having night sweats and mammograms at the same time as working out sharing the chores and also having hot sex. I like that these two have been dancing around each other for a while when the book starts as it makes sense when they jump into full gear straight away.

The suspense part of the plot is definitely twisty and interesting and keeps you guessing until very close to the end. The little 6-year-old boy who comes as part of that suspense plot is very sweet and Mel and Paco’s response to his need is lovely. They do not hesitate to support him and provide him a stable and safe place when he needs it.

I love how Freya Barker writes about mature people and their love lives. She makes romance very real and down to earth but never diminishes the emotions involved or devalues the relationships involved. The characters she creates feel as real as can be, and they almost walk off the page into your local bar where you can join them for a beer or two. I always connect with her characters and feel real sense of homecoming when I read her books, despite never being a part of an MC, or living in the USA. It just feels like the worlds she creates, are somewhere you’d love to live.

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Review: The Rowan's Destiny (The Killian Blade Series Book 3) by Stella Brie

The Rowan's Destiny by Stella Brie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An Enemy Is Uncovered

This is the third book in a continuing series. It marks the end of this section of the story that focuses on Arden. The story will continue in future books focusing on a different main character, therefore there is no cliffhanger, just a few hooks to get you looking forward to the next books in the series.

This book is filled with content to keep you guessing what will happen next. The plot moves at a very fast pace and a lot happens to the characters. I gulped this book down in one sitting despite my gritty eyes at the end because I couldn’t stop following what was happening with each new turn of the page.

Arden must find a way to achieve her destiny, whatever she chooses to make of that. She has been given the guidance of visions of her deceased mother and other ancestors who set things into motion to provide her with a chance to make things right in the world of magic. The path she was forced to walk has taken her to a place where she can discover who her enemy is and do her best to defeat them. She also has to determine the best way to lead the witches into an age of acceptance of all magic users, no matter how much they hate the idea.

The path to winning her battles is not an easy one and not everything is smooth sailing in her relationships with the members of the Imperial Cadre. External pressures come to bear on their relationships and it may prove too much to accept for Arden when decisions are made for her without her knowledge or agreement.

This book is filled with passion, romance and the love of a family, made through choice. It’s not only the Cadre who are important to this sense of family but also those that raised Arden in the absence of her mother, and the other friends that she makes on her journey.

This author writes such rich and diverse characters they seem to step off the page into your heart and mind. They feel real and believable, as though you could bump into them in the street. The members of the Cadre are all so different yet at heart, they share the same passion for helping and protecting others weaker than themselves. They are flawed in such different ways and their personalities sometimes may be abrasive, but they are good people and adore Arden and the changes she has brought to their lives. I like how each relationship Arden has with the members of the Cadre is unique and separate from the others. Obviously, there is some involvement because these men have been family to each other for nearly 1000 years, but they don’t butt in too much and Arden doesn’t let them even if they wanted to. All of them, including Arden, have their own responsibilities separate from being part of the Imperium Cadre and these can take them away from home for days and weeks at a time. However, they are lucky that texting works across dimensions. Technology and magic in conjunction seem to do marvellous things!

There is so much unveiling of hidden truths in this book that it is difficult to keep up. It may be complex and fascinating, but the fabulous plot does not overwhelm the emotional content of this book. The characters and their emotions, and their connections to each other are as important to the book as the troop manoeuvres, magic skills and political manipulation. It’s very difficult for an author to maintain that balance in a book of this nature and that this author has achieved such a perfectly poised balance is a credit to her. It gives me high hopes for the rest of the series, that it’s not just the fabulous Arden that makes this series so readable but the entirety of the way she writes.

I’m sincerely looking forward to the next section of this series because even though one section of the plot is resolved, this world is fascinating and the next main characters are just as intriguing as Arden is!

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Review: Watching Trin (On Call Series Book 7, Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) by Freya Barker

Watching Trin by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Single Mum and The Firefighter

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

This is part of a continuing series with characters that appear across all the books, however, the book can be read as a standalone and the experience won’t be lessened. There is no cliffhanger.

Katrina, aka Trin, has just moved back to Durango after more than 20 years away from home. She went away to college and became a journalist and travelled all around the world with work, until she settled in Houston after having a baby. Her baby is now nearly 15-years-old and beginning to enter his snarly teen years. The main reason she’s returned home is to help her sister look after her father who is suffering from dementia.

Bohdi, aka Roadkill, is a firefighter and his new colleague is Vic, Trin’s sister. He loves his job and his family. He has good friends and is pretty content with life. When he meets Trin, he is struck by her in a way he wasn’t expecting and finds himself really drawn to her. Though Trin’s life is currently a train wreck when Bohdi asks her out eventually she accepts because he slips his way into her life being helpful and supportive with a side order of flirting thrown in.

When Trin’s son gets into trouble and Bohdi saves his life their relationship steps up a gear. As Trin gets onto the path of a story about a cold case Bohdi offers her help when he can, support when he can’t and a strong body to cuddle up to.

This is such an enjoyable story, with engaging characters. I really like Bohdi’s relationship with his family and how his family wrapped up Trin’s family so quickly and warmly into their warm embrace. Bohdi’s relationship with Trin’s son was also endearing.

One of the things I really like about this author is her characters feel real. They have all the excitement of a new relationship, the passion and the heady emotions of finding someone you care about, but she also shows what happens when two mature people who are set in their ways try to merge their lives and fireworks happen. It’s not all plain sailing, but they work out their differences like the adults they are.

On top of all this good relationship stuff and believable characters, the plot is interesting and gets the brain working as you try to solve the whodunnit. There is suspense and danger alongside research and determination.

I devoured this book in one sitting and I’m sad I didn’t eke it out a bit more. Now I’ll just have to wait for the next one in this very enjoyable series.

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Review: 10-Code (Rock Point Series Book ) by Freya Barker

10-Code by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

FBI Agent and the Single Mum

This is the fourth in a series of connected books. The story stands alone but the characters and history carry over from the previous books. Reading the first three books in the series give you a more complete understanding of the main characters in this book, who were supporting characters in the others.

TRIGGER WARNING: This book has discussion of child abduction and sexual assault. There is also discussion of spousal abuse. If these subjects cause you emotional difficulties, you may want to avoid this book.

Marya’s ex-husband walked out on her and her three sons five years ago and she hasn’t heard from him since. She got involved with a man a few years ago and he used her to get information on her boss and friend, Kerry. When she caught him he kidnapped, drugged and beat her. She is very wary of getting involved with another man. She’s also constantly working in order to provide for her sons.

Dylan is a single dad whose wife walked out on him and his son. He’s an FBI Special Agent and is the junior member of his team at 33. He’s lucky that he gets lots of help from his mum and step-dad and the rest of the time he’s not working he’s with his son. He’s known Marya for a while, but only superficially. When Marya’s middle son, Liam, and Dylan’s son Max end up playing soccer for the same team they find themselves spending time together and Marya finds herself looking forward to seeing him at the games, despite her being 8 years older than the handsome man.

This book is quite a lot darker than the rest of the series as it deals with child abuse and kidnapping. It also deals with the subject of grooming victims online. It’s not an easy subject matter and it certainly does not make for comfortable reading. However, it does make it challenging and gripping.

There was so much going on in this book from medical emergencies, to abduction and to drama with exes. The book also deals with the problems of blending two families together during a difficult time. The author deals with all these issues with a gentle hand, giving the reader time to relax at moments during all the difficulties to recover enough to handle the next side swipe.

I really like both Marya and Dylan. They are both devoted parents who try their absolute best to put their children first. Marya in particular wants her boys to have some fun things even when she can’t afford them, so she works extra jobs to provide for them. At the same time, she doesn’t stint on the discipline. There are some pretty funny moments in her mental musings on the joys of being a mother of three boys.

This is currently the end of this series, but the next series, Arrow’s Edge MC, shares some of the characters from this series, so you can still get to hang out with them.

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Review: HWY 550 (Rock Point Series Book 3) by Freya Barker

HWY 550 by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Biker and FBI Agent

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

This is the third in a series of connected books. The story stands alone but the characters appear in previous books so you get to know them before they are this story’s focus. You will enjoy this book better if you read the previous books, but you will still understand the story if you don’t. There is no cliffhanger.

TRIGGER WARNING: There are references to sexual assault, mental health issues and child abuse. The subjects are not dwelled upon but they are important to the characters and their stories.

Luna is an FBI Special Agent. She’s 41 years old, petite, prickly and vicious. She’s very good at a her job and exceptional at hand to hand combat. She’s keenly observant and very good at getting people to talk to her. She’s also a loner who finds it difficult to open up to people. Her colleagues don’t really know her because she doesn’t let them. She doesn’t really have a life outside work.

Ouray is the president of Arrow's Edge MC. I actually read the Arrow’s Edge MC books before this series so I knew more about Ouray going into this book than if I’d read the series in the order they were written. This did not diminish my enjoyment of the book at all. Ouray is 48 and became president 10 years earlier when he took the club legitimate. They have several successful businesses and the club fosters teenagers who have been failed by the system.

When Ouray is approached about allowing Luna to go undercover at his club to find out who is carrying out a series of robberies that are designed to implicate him, he accepts as Luna has already caught his eye on previous instances where they came into contact. Forcing Luna to play the part of his woman in order to protect her whilst undercover means that Luna is pushed out of her safety zone and finds herself liking it.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Luna and Ouray are great characters who have fascinating personalities and histories. Their interactions are fun and passionate, as well as emotional and poignant. I also enjoyed their interactions with Ahiga and the other members of the club. This book was a great blend of police procedural and MC romance. The suspense aspect had me guessing right until the end, which always a good thing.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series because these stories are seriously addictive.

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Review: Cabin 12 (Rock Point Series Book 2) by Freya Barker

Cabin 12 by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

FBI Agent and The Paramedic

This is the second book in a series of connected books. The plot stands alone, but the characters share history and this contributes to the story. You will enjoy this book more if you have already read the first book in the series. There is no cliffhanger.

TRIGGER WARNING: There are references to sexual assault and mental health issues. Neither are dwelled on intensely but they have affects on characters in this story.

Bella Gomez is the sister of Damien, the MMC in the first book in this series. She is a paramedic and moved to Durango a year ago after she was forced to quit her old job. Her ex worked with her and spent a big chunk of their years together cheating on her with colleagues and sexually harassing those who weren’t willing partners. Suffering from depression, her very large and meddling family didn’t really know how to help her, and being around them didn't help. Eventually, she moved to be near her brother, the family member who understood her the most.

When Bella first met FBI SA Jasper Greene she saw a pretty and charming man, who didn’t take relationships seriously. She dismisses him out of hand and their interactions are quite abrasive. Jasper really likes Bella but steers clear of her because her brother is his boss and Bella seems to be really against the idea of getting together. Jasper was abandoned at age 3 and spent his childhood in the foster system. He loves his job and when he tried a relationship in the past it didn’t work out too well, so now it’s short term flings or nothing.

Circumstances force them together when Damien is on his honeymoon, and they get to see each other more clearly and things become complicated. I really enjoyed the suspense aspect of this book. It was complex and interesting. It was less of a ‘whodunnit’ and more of ‘howtocatchhim’, all of which had Bella being pulled in because of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is a well-written book, with likeable characters that draw you into their world. The plot is intriguing and the romance is emotionally satisfying. There is passion, laughter and tears in this book and once again Freya Barker writes a thoroughly enjoyable story.

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Review: Keeping 6 (Rock Point Series Book 1) by Freya Barker

Keeping 6 by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Romance Wrapped in a Whodunnit

This is the first book in a series of connected standalone stories. There is also some crossover of characters from other series by the same author. You don’t need to have read any of the other series to enjoy this book though.

Kerry met Damien, an FBI agent, when he rescued her from a kidnapping. She didn’t really like him at the time, plus she was married, admittedly it wasn’t a happy marriage but nonetheless, she wasn’t free to act on any attraction to the handsome man, even if he hadn’t been an ass to her.

Now Kerry is divorced and living in Durango, where Damien is now based. She owns a bookstore, and when he walks in to buy a coffee sparks fly and neither of them can work out what kind those sparks are.

When Kerry gets drawn into a case Damien is working on, her life is once more put in danger and he can’t resist trying to protect her.

I really enjoyed this book. As always, Freya Barker writes about engaging, flawed and real characters who have life experience, which only makes them more interesting. There is passion and emotion between the two main characters. They are also surrounded by friends, family and colleagues, who also have distinct personalities and play their part in the storyline.

What makes this romance different is the very intriguing and complex whodunnit wrapped around it. It kept me guessing right up to the end, who the ‘bad guy’ could be. The suspense part of the plot helps move the romance part forwards, but even without the romance that part of the story is interesting.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series, as I believe the next book is about Damien’s sister, who was a major supporting character in this book, and someone I liked.

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Review: Bronco (Elko Executioners Motorcycle Club Series Book 1) by Bijou Hunter

Bronco by Bijou Hunter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Making A Family

This is the first book in a new series. There is no cliffhanger, but there is a hook for the next book. This series follows others set in the same world and has crossovers between these series of history and characters.

Maude is a single mother and a stripper, who performs as Lana, who is recently divorced from a waste of space ex-husband. She hasn’t had a great life and lives in a very tightly locked down way. However, when she sees Bronco the president of Elko Executioners MC where she worked she fell for him hard. They end up in the back of her SUV and she doesn’t see him again until she asks her brother in law, the president of an MC with whom he has a very tenuous peace, to find him.

Bronco started the EEMC when he was 19 years old and filled with rage and ambition. He succeeded in taking his town and has built up wealth and power as a result. However satisfied he is with his life, he’s not truly happy. He has two daughters, both from different mothers who were club bunnies. Both women were dreadful mothers and Brono took the oldest when her mother badly neglected her and the second daughter he raised from birth because he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

When Bronco is summoned to Shasta, where he met the woman he knows as Lana, he finds her holding a baby who has his sister’s nose. He trusts her when she says the baby is his but has a DNA test anyway and they plan for her to visit with the baby.

Both Lana and Bronco are really attracted to each other still and have thought of the other often, but the distance and the situation between the clubs made them wary of trying to find the other, until after the baby was born. Bronco is a very loving father and he knows he wants to be in his daughter’s life, no matter what, but he also starts thinking about having Lana too.

I got this book as a freebie during a promotion for MC books. I remembered that had read some books by this author and decided to try this one. I’m glad I did because it reminded me that I like Bijou Hunter’s books and I will go back to the series where I left off before. Because this book is part of several connected series I feel like I missed out on a lot of backstories, however, the author gives the information that is necessary to make sense of the plot.

The writing style is quite observational and alternates between Bronco and Lana’s points of view. There is a lot of internal descriptive prose rather than speech, which can make the book seem a little subdued sometimes in settings that anything but. This is because both Lana and Bronco are very self-controlled people. They have a tight hold of their emotions and this is reflected in their internal monologue.

The story is actually really sweet for a romance between a murdering biker and a stripper. The blending of their two families is bumpy in places and downright rocky in others, but there are some glowing positives right away, especially with Desi, Lana’s first daughter and Sidonia, Broco’s second daughter who are instantly the best of friends.

Most of the focus of this book is on the family and the romance and how both main characters have fought to make themselves better people and better parents. There is some MC plot but it’s in the background and Lana knows nothing about it.

This was a compelling book and I enjoyed reading it, but I think you need to be a specific mindset to enjoy it. I will go back to the books I missed out though because I do enjoy these stories and the way this author looks at the world.

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Review: Chef (Tenillo Guardians Time Served MC Series Book 3) by Cee Bowerman

Chef: Time Served MC, Book 3 by Cee Bowerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two Ex-Cons In Love

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

This book is the third in a continuing series that intersects with the Tenillo Guardians Ares Infidels MC, which starts with Sin's Enticement by Ciara St James. Each series alternates to progress the timeline in a single story arc, however, there aren’t really any cliffhangers.

This book is about Chef and Brea, both of whom we’ve met in previous books. Chef is a high school science teacher who went to prison when he killed the dealer/pimp that helped his daughter die of an overdose. They call him Chef because he cooked up a toxic chemical smoke bomb that killed him and his associates. He’d lost his wife, his high school sweetheart to illness before the death of his daughter which probably helped him go off the rails.

He’s a huge guy who used to play American Football but is gentle and kind with the people he cares about. He really cares about Brea and Sis her daughter. He’s loved Brea since he met her around 5 years ago whilst she was still married.

Brea is also an ex-con. She was a drug addict who stole to get her next fix. She’s been clean for quite a while now and lives quietly and reasonably happy in Tenillo. Her husband died a few years ago and she’s scared to get involved with anyone again to get her heartbroken. She’s loved Chef for over a year but won’t act on her feelings because of her fear.

I felt like the plot was a little weaker in this book than in the others. Brea and Chef already knew and loved each other so they didn't have to make their lives mesh awkwardly, in fact, it didn’t take much to persuade her to take a chance on being with Chef at all.

There was very little progress made on the story arc that goes over the whole interconnecting series and though some drama came from it, it didn’t feel very impactful. The events should have been, but the emotions felt muted.

There were some spicy scenes between Chef and Brea that were quite enjoyable but didn’t feel natural in their set-up.

I feel that this book missed the mark for me, which is unusual for this author, so I’m sure that future books will be back to their usual enjoyment levels, so I’m unlikely to walk away from this author for a slightly lacklustre enjoyment of one book.

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Review: Dissecting Meredith (On Call Series Book 6) by Freya Barker

Dissecting Meredith by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Coroner and The Detective

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

This is the 6th book in a series of standalone novels about a group of colleagues in the police and fire departments in Durango. You do not need to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one, but reading them first will make reading this novel a richer experience.

Meredith is the coroner, but she’s also a fully trained and experienced forensic pathologist. She takes great pride in her work and is ambitious for her department and her team rather than for herself. She was widowed a long time ago and hasn’t had a serious relationship since. She is intelligent, determined and hard-working. She is content with who she is and how her life is.

Jay is a newly qualified detective. He was happy being a police officer and working the community, helping people but when he met Meredith his buried ambition came back to life. He wanted to impress her so started studying for his detective exams. He comes from a background of wealth and privilege but he left that behind when he chose not to follow his family footsteps and become a cop instead. He is self contained and doesn’t share himself and his emotions easily. Most people in Durango only know him superficially.

Since becoming a detective Jay has been biding his time to ask Meredith out on a date but before he has a chance a case they are working on keeps throwing them together and does some of his work for him. Whilst trying to establish a relationship Jay and Meredith work with the rest of the team to find out what has been happening with body parts turning up around the city.

I enjoyed this book a lot. There is much to like about Meredith and Jay, both individually and as a couple. I loved how they took their time building up their relationship, getting to know each other better. I also loved that their animals were involved in their relationship, with Jay having to gain the trust of Meredith’s big dog and tiny kitten. They have various problems to work through but they manage to work through them with intelligence and compassion.

At the same time as showing how the relationship was building was an interesting case that involved several agencies as well as Durango PD and the Coroner’s office. I enjoyed the suspense aspect of this book as much as the relationship one. There were lots of strands to the investigation and I didn’t know which one was going to be tugged on next to get to the next clue.

This book was satisfying on all levels and I’m sad this appears to be the last in the series, for now, but I hope it will come back at some point because all the books were a great read.

Note: Since writing this review the author shared a publishing date for the next book in the series, due out on 14th September 2021, Watching Trin. YAAAAY!! 

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Review: Revealing Annie - Police and Fire: Operation Alpha (On Call Series Book 5) by Freya Barker

Revealing Annie (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sumo Gets An Insta-Family

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

This is the fifth book in a series about a group of colleagues. Each book can stand alone from the rest and be enjoyed as a solitary book, but the experience is much richer if the other books are read first. You will understand the characters more if you have seen them in previous books and how they interact with their friends and colleagues.

Sumo is an EMT who is the joker in any situation. He likes to make people laugh as he finds it easier than trying to confront difficult emotions. He keeps a lot of himself hidden behind his smiling persona. He loves his job, and spending time with the fire crew he works with. He considers his female partner, Blue, to be his best friend and adores her baby daughter. He loves cooking and feeding his crew and dreams of a day when he can build a house on a mountain top. He is much more complex than people give him credit for.

Annie is hiding in plain sight. She has short neat hair, short unpolished nails, no makeup and huge unflattering glasses. She works in a bakery, usually behind the scenes creating sweet treats for other people to enjoy. She lives in a one-bedroom trailer in a park with an elderly person on each side of her. She helps one of them, Edward, with his dog when his arthritis means he can’t walk very far. She also does other things for him when she can persuade him to let her. He’s a curmudgeon but she still likes to help him. She also volunteers at the animal shelter to get her doggy fix and does yoga to keep fit. She’s only been in Durango for around a year and she has a nice safe predictable life, where no one really sees her or knows her.

When Blue introduces the two of them Sumo is very interested and starts to pursue her. She is slowly won over when all hell breaks loose. Sumo suddenly has a teenaged son he didn’t know he had, dumped on him and Annie’s old stalker re-emerges. They each leap into action to help the other and start to tighten their bond.

I’ve been motoring through this series because I find the characters so engaging. They all are around 40 or so and have well-established careers and are only just finding love at a later stage in life. They are all so incredibly supportive and loyal but at the same time spare no sympathy when getting the opportunity to laugh at each other. It’s like a very large extended family between the fire, EMT and police departments where everyone knows each other’s business.

On top of those qualities this book, like all the others from this series, is really well written. The plot is paced beautifully and the whodunnit aspect left me puzzled to the end. The characters are developed with lots of backstory and the emotional aspects of the book are very satisfying.

Basically, it’s a great book in a very good series and I’m off to download the next one right now!

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Review: Absolving Blue (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (On Call Series Book 4) by Freya Barker

Absolving Blue (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Breaking Blue’s Shell

This is story is part of a series, however, it can be read by itself. The series is about a group of police and firefighters so reading the other books gives you a stronger idea of the background characters, but if you haven’t read them it doesn’t prevent you from enjoying this book.

Blue is the only woman on her fire crew. She’s an EMT and loves her job with a passion. She sees her crew as the family she never really had, but she doesn’t show much of herself to them. She keeps herself locked down tight and at 40 years old she has never let anyone close. She basically works, hangs out with work buddies and volunteers at the animal rescue. Her nickname comes from her personality rather than her eye colour.

Tony is a police detective and has worked for years with Blue. He’s always been attracted to her but she seemed so unapproachable he never did. He is handsome and charming and enjoys the company of different women too much to settle down, plus his job is very demanding. He has a loving family with his father, brother, sister-in-law and niece and spends time with them as well as his friends and colleagues.

When Blue has a series of patient’s die over a short period of time when she thought they would be ok, Tony sees her tough shell crack a little and he sees the real Blue. When she adopts a dog on a whim he suggests they look after him together as they both have demanding jobs but between the two of them, they should be able to look after Arthur. This impulse finally lets him into Blue’s life and he begins to see the real woman at a time when her world comes crumbling down.

I enjoyed Blue and Tony’s developing relationship a lot. Blue had been alone for so long that it took Tony time to work his way into her life and her heart. He was supportive and loving as well as being protective at a time when she desperately needed it. He also came into her life at a time when she was vulnerable enough to seek help for her mental health. Having a professional guide her through the relationship minefield helped a lot.

All the little details in this author’s books really help to shape her characters. Things like Tony being colourblind or Blue being scared of heights show us real people that we can connect with. Being over 40 means that they have some baggage and are set in their ways which give us a chance to see them work through their differences to create a new life together.

The suspense part of this book was tough on Blue. She was really put through the wringer and the support of her crew and Tony and his family made all the difference to her making it to the other side. The plot was intricate and interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat as it wove in between the romance and the character development. This author is really good at finding the balance between all aspects of a strong Suspense Romance novel. This series as a whole has provided excellent entertainment and I can’t wait to read the next book.

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Review: Tracking Tahlula (On Call Series Book 3) by Freya Barker

Tracking Tahlula by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Writer and The Firefighter

This is the third book of a continuing series, however, the book works on its own without reading the previous books. The series contains the same group of characters based around a group of firefighters/EMTs.

Tahlula is a writer who has had moderate success until recently when her book blew up the best seller’s lists. All of a sudden her publisher required her to do interviews and appearances, something she hadn’t done before as she wrote under a pseudonym. When she started appearing in public she received threatening messages and someone broke into her house. In the end, she decided to move away from where she felt threatened to Durango where her big brother Trunk lives. She bought a house high up in the mountains, miles from town and loves her solitude.

Evan is a firefighter and paramedic. He works long and often dangerous hours. He is a good man, who loves his widowed mother, and helps her as much as she will let him. He has good friends and when he’s not working ridiculous hours enjoys spending time with them. However, he’s single and has spent most of his adult life in that state and now he’s over 40 he’s not expecting to meet anyone to alter that.

Evan has got a slow period at work and his boss has sent his staff out into the mountains to check on the houses up within reach of forest fires to make sure they are set up as safely as possible. When Evan meets Tahlula he is smitten straight away, as she likes him too, that’s fine. When external pressures push their relationship onto the fast track, neither of them objects too much, except when Evan gets bossy!

I really enjoyed this book. Lula and Evan were great characters and I loved how they were two lifelong single people trying to fit their lives together because they couldn’t imagine being apart once they met. They rub each other the wrong way sometimes because they are both strong personalities but they work their way through it.

The suspense part of the story is good, though the romance is more of the focus of the story. This story also brings characters from different series written by the same author together. In particular, Lula’s brother Trunk is from the Arrow’s Edge MC series and is a huge character and is immensely important to Lula in this book. Having all these crossover characters is great fun, but does take away time from the suspense plot, which means it isn’t as full and rich as other suspense plots written by this author. It’s still very interesting and intriguing though.

Once again Freya Barker writes a great story about people in their forties, still having time to have their dreams come true.

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Review: Lost & Found (PASS Series Book 4) by Freya Barker

Lost & Found by Freya Barker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent Romantic Suspense for the Over 40s

This is the fourth in a series of books that are independent of each other but revolve around a security company that at least one of the main characters works for. You don’t need to read the other books to know what’s going on, but you’ll have a richer experience if you do.

I really enjoy Freya Barker’s writing. She writes about people who have some life experience under their belt. Her characters are believable because of their flaws and strengths. She also writes about people over 30 having sex, which seems to be a rare thing in the romance world (sadly).

This book is about Yanis, the owner of PASS and Bree one of his valued employees. There has always been an undercurrent running through the other books between these two, but no one has ever understood what it is. In this book, we finally find out.

Yanis is 46 and was a police officer who went on to set up his security business around 15/16 years ago. He’s the son of very exuberant hippy parents who embarrass him on a regular basis. He is their polar opposite and is very shut down and self-contained. He doesn’t express his emotions well but is an excellent leader with sharp intelligence and an ability to get the best out of his team.

Bree is 42 and started working for PASS soon after it started up. She has a psychology degree that backs up her good instincts about people and their behaviour. She is also adept at self-defence, using both weapons and hand to hand skills. She is intelligent and articulate and able to get people to trust her and talk to her. She’s good at understanding people’s motives.

Bree is asked to go undercover by a client and ends up on the wrong end of an obsession of a deranged stalker. Injured in the course of doing her job, Yanis swoops in and demands that he take care of her by moving into her apartment so he can keep her off her injured leg. He knows that after fearing for her life he can’t hold back from Bree anymore. Forced into close proximity with Yanis forces Bree to look at her boss and decide if risking her heart is worth the possibility of making it work with this closely guarded man.

One of the reasons I really enjoyed this book is that though romance is a big part of this book, it’s not the entirety of it. There is a very large chunk devoted to the suspense part, which is quite a big investigation going on throughout, that seems to get bigger with every chapter. The suspense plot is complex and interesting and it kept me thinking right until the big reveal. I liked that sometimes work had to come first for the main characters, even when they didn’t like it.

I also liked that a lot of the romance problems got solved by talking them through. There weren’t ridiculous misunderstandings or jealousy over past partners, there was opening up to each other, even when it felt hard to do so. I also liked that Bree called Yanis on his overbearing ways on multiple occasions and he was able to curb it after talking things through. This was a grown-up romance and I enjoyed that aspect tremendously as good communication is often lacking in more conventional romance novels aimed at the twenty-something reader. Miscommunication is an over-used plot device that drives me nuts, so it’s great when an author doesn’t use it very often.

This book has well well-developed characters, who have a believable and pretty hot relationship and a really clever suspense plot. I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in one afternoon. I highly recommend it if you like your romance to have a little more meat on its bones than usual.

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Review: Honey to Burn (Sweet and Dirty Series Book 10) by Cathryn Cade

Honey to Burn by Cathryn Cade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second Chance MC Romance

This is the 10th book of this series. You don’t have to have read the previous books to enjoy this book, but it will improve your understanding of the characters and situations. Also, they are all good books.

This book starts in 2002 and half of the book is set around that time. The second half of the book is set in 2019. At the start of the book, we meet RaeAnn, who is 22, shy and sweet. She lives in an apartment on her mother’s property and works in her mother’s business and she isn’t particularly happy with either choice. One night angry at her mother she goes out drinking with friends and meets the handsome and very charming Mac.

Mac is an EMT and hopes to be a paramedic someday. He’s a prospect with the Devil’s Flyers MC, where he feels like he has found the family of his heart. He loves to ride free and party.

When they start to casually see each other, despite a few misunderstandings they really like each other. However, when RaeAnn gets pregnant her priorities change and Mac’s don’t seem to match. They end up co-parenting their son but have little interaction until their son needs the help of his father.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting. It was much more set in the past than I thought, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It gave an insight into RaeAnn and Mac’s history and explained how they got to where they did. It was definitely an important part of their story.

When it got to 2019, when this book was written, things became a little more familiar. All the characters you get to meet in the earlier books are present and accounted for and help Mac, now known as Cooler, and RaeAnn with their son’s situation. The situation is handled with typical Flyers aplomb and of course, we get the usual HEA we expect from this sweet and hot series.

This book, like all of those in this series, is filled with sweetness, once we get past when these two good people hurting each other through misunderstandings and youth. It’s also pretty passionate in places too. The plot isn’t particularly complex, this isn’t heavy reading after all, but it’s interesting and provides a vehicle for the love story to be carried in. I still enjoyed it because it is perfect escapist romantic fiction.

I can’t believe I missed reading this book when it came out, because I used to read them on the day of release. I think I lost track of the series and forgot about them and the newsletter got buried by the spam filter for some reason. Never mind, I fixed the spam filter so it shouldn't happen again!

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Review: Demon's Consort by Lori-Anne Cohen

Demon's Consort by Lori-Anne Cohen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Richly Imaginative Paranormal Romance

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

This is definitely set up to be the first book of a series, however, the story comes to a good strong HFN conclusion, which always makes me happy whilst I wait for the next book.

This book is a little different as it is about demons, who aren’t the traditional evil creatures who delight in torment, but absorb the darker energies of humans. Anya is a human who was raised with the knowledge of demons as her long-ago ancestor is consort to a demon who is on the ruling council, and was loosely involved in her life.

Anya is in her early 40s and a professor at a university in Paris, where she has lived for many years. She has no contact with her family other than her uncle occasionally by phone as he is still in Russia where she spent her childhood, in the family-run circus. When Natalia, her ancestor, tells her she is part of a prophecy and she is destined to meet her demon mate. She wants to brush her off. Eventually she gives in to the demands and goes to the club she has been told the demon owns, with her best friend Gwen, who is a witch.

Declan has been a demon for 800 years and is destined to serve on the council. In order to do that he has to find his consort because when he mates his powers will increase. The council have been pestering him to seek out his consort and he’s been reluctant. Then when Anya walks into his club his whole life feels turned upside down.

This book starts out as a traditional paranormal romance with fated mates and all that entails but gradually becomes something much more interesting. Their set up is actually much more complex than appears on the surface and there is a lot of danger for them to face. As well as Anya and Declan, this story introduces us to lots of really interesting people. Declan has several demons in his household who help him manage France and Belgium, the areas under his control for the council. These demons all have their own stories to tell, some of which get touched on in this book, but many stories are hinted at to intrigue you for future revelations. They are all really interesting characters and feel well thought out and fully realised.

Anya brings her friend Gwen into the family and also a young demon who is a student of hers, Luc. There are other characters surrounding the story and they all interact with each other as well as the main characters, which I love, because it makes them more real to me.

I love Anya so much. She’s such a complex character. She’s strong, assertive and bold. At the same time she shares her vulnerabilities with her closest friend, and later with her mate. She’s been lonely most of her life and has still hidden much of her past from Gwen, because she is scared to lose her. She is intelligent and physically capable. Growing up in a circus meant she got to indulge her passion for knife throwing from an early age. She also taught herself to fight with them. Basically, she’s amazingly competent. Competent female characters are like catnip to me. We so rarely see them, so when I do, I beam with happiness.

Declan is interesting in that he is a ruthless leader who doesn’t hesitate to punish transgressors, but at the same time cares for his people and the humans under his protection. He isn’t ambitious but accepts what he has been given to look after because he knows he can do the job right. He is mentally flexible, despite being 800 years old, who started life as a farmer. However, he was ahead of his time when he was a human and even taught both his son and daughter to read, an unusual thing that long ago. He is very protective of Anya, but he tries not to suffocate her. This is another trait in a male character I like, one who fights his alpha instincts to let his mate make her own choices.

The world-building in this story is well done and gradually revealed over the course of the book. It is solely focused on the world of the demons with the human world being on the periphery, though it is still important because some of the characters have their roots there.

The plot is very twisty. It took me a little while to get into it. The first chapter was a little obscure in places, but once I had that under my belt the plot just got better and better. This author has a great imagination and I can’t wait to see where this story goes next. Anya has already proved herself to be a bit of a closet matchmaker, so I’m sure the other’s relationship situations may get tackled in future books. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this author produces next.

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Review: Hook (Time Served MC Series Book 2) by Cee Bowerman

Hook: Time Served MC, Book 2 by Cee Bowerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hook Gets An Old Lady

This is the second book in a continuing series by Cee Bowerman. Though the relationship aspect of the book is standalone, the characters are introduced in the previous book and there is a slow-moving story arc that runs between this series and Ares Infidels MC by Ciara St James, which runs parallel to this series and has overlapping characters and storylines.

This story is about Hook, who is good friends with Boss and lives next door to him and his Old Lady, Jenn. Hook is a veterinarian and has all sorts of weird and wonderful pets which include an undersized tiger that was rescued from a circus after they declawed and defanged her as a baby. When they first started talking about the tiger I thought it was a euphemism for a really big striped domestic cat, but no, it’s an actual tiger.

Hook got his name from his boxing days. He was a highly ranked amateur until he got sent away for manslaughter. He was another of Pop’s rescue projects, like the rest of the MC members, and he took him on when he got out of prison after nearly 20 years and had nowhere else to go.

Paula is friends with Jenn, who she met in a salon. Paula, showing her character early on, got into an altercation with a mouthy young woman and dropped her phone in her foot bath. Jenn high-fived her and they’ve been friends ever since. Paula runs a craft stall where she sells all the jewellery she makes, so they see each other a lot when Jenn has her food truck at the market too. When Paula is at Jenn’s house a man tries to break in and attacks Paula, only Paula attacks back and between her and Jenn’s cast iron pan he goes down long enough to be tied up. They pretty much insist that Boss and the guys take him out back and ‘deal with him’. when this happens Hook takes on the task of keeping an eye on Paula to make sure she doesn’t talk. This of course leads to all sorts of fun and games.

I really really enjoyed this book. I loved Paula. She’s feisty, confident and funny. There were so many layers to her I thought we’d never reach the bottom, in fact, we probably didn’t. She fits right in with the Time Served MC as she is just as ruthless, pragmatic and dangerous as they are.

Hook is such a softy when it comes to animals. He’s constantly rescuing them and nursing them back to health before rehoming them. His tiger, Tonya has an entire habitat in his house and an outside enclosure too, not to mention she’s treated like a house cat the rest of the time. It shouldn’t be forgotten though that he’s capable of killing in defence of those unable to look after themselves, or those he cares about.

This story has lots of layers too and each layer was as good as the next. In this book, there was humour, danger, mystery and awesome hot bedroom scenes. I love the companionship displayed between the people in and surrounding the MC as they try to do the right thing by any means necessary and looking out for each other as they do it. I can’t wait for the next book in this series because I love these characters.

 

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Review: Starting Over (Cascadia MC Series Book 2) by Mia Malone

Starting Over by Mia Malone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful Characters

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

I love Mia Malone’s books. They are warm, funny and real. The characters are so engaging I want to sit in a pub and have a drink with them, while we banter about people we know. Her books feel like a sit down with old friends who have no inhibitions and truckloads of wit.

This book is about Tony, the president of Cascadia MC, and Rosie, a woman who was Eye’s boss, both in their 50s. We meet Rosie when she comes into The Roadhouse to deliver some books for Eye as she has resigned. After the break up of her very bland marriage, Rosie is sick and tired of her life. She is lonely, with her daughters moved away and living their lives, and stifled and wants something more. She doesn’t know what, but she knows what she has isn’t cutting it for her.

When Rosie and Tony meet, Tony is so attracted to Rosie that he completely messes up and really insults her, however, Rosie does make friends with Addie, so they are brought into each other’s orbit again. After many apologies, a very stealthy and slow courtship ensues.

As I already said above, this book is wonderfully real. There are issues with friends and family, their history is painfully revealed and lusty adventures are had. This is another thing I like about this author’s work, she shows over 40s having a fun and active sex life that may not involve a dungeon or a sex swing but still is pretty adventurous.

The plot isn’t complex, but it’s so well written and the characters just wriggle under my skin so much I’ve had to give it a higher rating than I give most MC books. You will smile, laugh and feel sad for the pain the characters feel and be fully immersed in the lives they lead during the course of the book. I definitely want to read the next book when it comes out. I’m betting it’s about Emma!

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Review: His to Own, Hers to Claim by Siobhan Smile

His to Own, Hers to Claim by Siobhan Smile
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Filth For the Over Forties

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

Though technically a romance I’d probably classify this as erotica. However, it’s very well done and it’s nice to find this sort of book aimed at a slightly more mature audience. There’s really very little plot and there’s a tonne of hot and steamy times, however, it felt utterly real.

The book is about Alexis who is about to turn 50 years old. She’s hard-working and a successful business owner. She has three fantastic daughters and she likes herself and her life, though she wouldn’t say no to some action in the bedroom. Alexis meets Wall at a nightclub her daughters drag her to. They are instantly attracted to each other but don’t act on it.

Wall owns the nightclub he met Alexis in. He’s 40 years old and is pretty grumpy, but he loves the way Alexis stands up to him and challenges him without complaint.

One of the things I loved about this book was that the characters were flawed and interesting. Wall is huge and hairy and Alexis is overweight, but they like themselves. They don’t worry about the way they appear except to think they like the way the other looks.

These characters are grown-ups. They know what they want in life and are willing to work for it. It’s so nice to see characters who don’t worry about how damaged they are or are trying to figure themselves out. They also have uninhibited and filthy sex. It’s nice to see books that have grown-ups having relationships or just having fun. This book celebrates that life doesn’t end at 35, and I enjoyed reading it.

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