Review: Gilded Mess (Three Bears Series Book 1) by Colette Rhodes

Gilded Mess by Colette Rhodes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Messy World of Shifters in Alaska

I am ashamed to say that I wanted to read this book because it has such a beautiful cover. I’m glad it did because I probably wouldn’t have read it otherwise as 'retelling of fairy tales' isn’t exactly my favourite trope. I’m also not keen on MFC’s who are ‘a bit of a mess’. Whilst I know characters who are flawed are interesting and more fun to write about, I like to read about characters that are competent and together and just make reasonable mistakes. Ria, is definitely a bit of a mess. She’s nearly 30, never had a career, dropped out of college twice and is constantly needing to be bailed out of trouble by her older brothers.

Ria’s latest catastrophe is getting lured into a relationship with the promise of a great cabin in the woods of Alaska, a caring partner who wants to have children together and the opportunity to start a small business from home, rather than working in a diner. Only it turns out the caring partner is pretty much a sham and Ria runs away into the fading light out into the woods, with no idea where she is going. I pretty much wanted to smack some sense into the woman during the first couple of chapters but I stuck it out.

Ria started to grow on me when she met the bears. She stole into their fantastic cabin, made herself at home and wasn’t really embarrassed about being caught. Once she settled into staying with the bears she started to show more of her less ‘messy’ side. She chipped in around the house with chores without being asked. She had a go at things even when she didn’t know if she was capable or not and she stood up for herself against her ex. Some of her more messy personality traits turned into more admirable ones when taken with a more positive spin.

To be honest she wasn’t the messiest character. The three bear brothers were quite a bit unusual. They have lived together in the woods since the eldest twins were 15 and the youngest was 10 after their parents were killed in a house fire. They lived in their grandparents’ cottage and then built their own home by hand. They mainly live off the land with occasional trips into town to sell things they make. Living mainly in isolation from an early age and never really venturing out to face getting hurt again lead to isolationist tendencies. Putting the three messy bears together with the messy non-shifter leads to a much more balanced situation if only they can get out of their own way.

I ended up quite liking Ria and the bears, despite myself. Ria has a good sense of humour, a good heart and tries hard. I also quite liked the plot which was secondary to the relationship aspect, but it definitely adds some interest to the book. I will definitely be reading the second part of the duet, because I want to know what happens next, after the cliffhanger. Apparently, the second book comes out within a month, so fingers crossed the release date isn’t too far off.

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Review: Holding On (Cascadia MC Series Book 1) by Mia Malone

Holding On by Mia Malone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Middle Aged MC Romance

I love how Mia Malone writes beautiful, sexy romances about powerful and interesting people in their middle years. This book is set within the Cascadia MC, dealing with Finn, the Sargent At Arms, a man in his 50s who still works out and is a force to be reckoned with. This MC is tied to Thor MC, which was the last set of books written by this author, and there are some cross overs with characters.

Addie is in her early 50s and over the last couple of years has lost everyone she ever loved. She’s also running hard from some very unpleasant people. She ends up in Alaska where she meets Milo, a old grizzled mountain man, who decides he is going to teach her how to stay safe in the wilderness.

When the people Addie is running from catch up with her again, months later, Milo makes her run until he can find her again. Addie finds her way to Cascadia MC, just as she starts to run low on cash, so when a cook’s job opens up at the MC’s roadhouse she jumps on it.

This is a really great story. Both Addie and Finn are very interesting characters who have lived fully before meeting. They both have rich pasts that give them real depth. Though they are instantly attracted to each other they don’t act on it immediately, there is some dancing around whilst Addie learns to trust Finn and the MC.

As with all Mia Malone stories, the supporting characters are really strong and fascinating. They provide a rich backdrop on which the story is laid. This author understands that romantic love isn’t the only thing that drives a person, they need friendship and family too.

What I particularly love about this story is that Addie isn’t a traditional damsel in distress. She’s strong, intelligent and skilful. She is capable of mostly keeping herself safe, except in the situation she’s in, where there are overwhelming odds set against her.

Though the plot is fairly straightforward, this story is captivating because of the characters and the world in which they live. Though predictable, there is nothing wrong with the plot, which is still interesting, despite it’s direct route from start to finish. There weren’t any real surprises to me, but sometimes I enjoy the sense of restfulness a straightforward plot can bring, so you can relax into the people and the world they inhabit. Mia Malone excels at this.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series, as the teaser at the end of this book looks great. I’m so glad we get to hang out with this interesting group of people for a while longer.

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Review: Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega Series Book 1) by Patricia Briggs

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

This story is a spin-off from the Mercy Thompson Series and the meeting of Charles and Anna is explained in the novella Alpha & Omega, which is also in the On the Prowl book.

Charles returns to Aspen Creek, the main werewolf town in the mountains, from Chicago, bringing Anna his new mate with him. Anna was brutalised by her old pack to keep her Omega nature a secret and to force her to work her magic on the alpha’s unstable mate with her presence. Anna’s last three years of isolation, fear and the everyday brutality of her existence has turned her into someone scared of dominant male werewolves, something her new mate is, as are many of the wolves in her new pack. Leaning on her wolf for strength has fooled Charles into thinking that Anna isn’t as broken as she is and she doesn’t know how to tell him.

Being brought into a new pack in the middle of the Montana wilderness, with no money, no role and no friends has left Anna uncertain and fearful of her future. With Charles so badly injured from his trip to Chicago, they don’t have time to sort through all her problems before Charles’ father sends them both into the mountains to track down a rogue shifter.

This story is complex and multi-faceted. The relationship between Anna and Charles is complicated and evolves quickly through the experiences they share. But also at the heart of the story is Bran, The Marrok, Charles’ father. We learn a little of his history and why he chose to mate Leah a woman who is vain and cruel. We learn of Asil, The Moor, and his lost love. We learn about the bravery of strangers who try to do what is right in the worst of circumstances even when they are damaged themselves.

Through this book, you can almost smell the crisp scent of the pine trees and hear the crunch of the snow as they trek through the mountains. This author conveys emotion and place with surety and precision, never leaving you in doubt of where the book is situated or how the character is feeling, even if it’s only confusion.

This is not the first time I’ve read this book, and it won’t be the last because Anna may be damaged and she may feel weak, but she has a mighty strong heart that can’t help but captivate the reader and her strong and silent mate is the support and protection she needs. How can you help but fall a little in love with these characters and want to know more about them, even if you’ve read their story before?

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Review: Lotus Empowered by Clairissa Sinclair

Lotus Empowered by Clairissa SinClair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Weirdly Soothing

This book seems like it should be filled with energy and high emotions because it’s about The End of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI), it’s also a Reverse Harem. Instead, it’s strangely soothing. The narrative is filled with gentle observation, even when there is peril and violence, or sex. I might have been disappointed if I’d wanted something different from what I got, but I was actually in the mood for it, even if I didn’t realise it when I started the book.

The book is set in an isolated motel, on the side of a mountain, which is where Lotus, the MFC is staying when TEOTWAWKI happens. Basically, all the computers stop working, which leads to everything else not working. Lotus is a city girl now, working as a Marketing Director for an outward bound equipment company, but she used to live off the grid in a free-love hippy commune, until the age of 16 when her commune was dismantled.

So, when TEOTWAWKI happens she is out in the middle of nowhere, with a truck full of survival equipment and the training and mentality to help her stay alive when the rest of the world stops working. The story is how Lotus not only survives but gets back to a kind of living that makes her happy, making a different kind of family along the way.

As I said, it’s got a very gentle observational style of writing. This puts a small barrier between the reader and the characters which help reduce the amount of angst and darker emotions that people going through TEOTWAWKI experience. However, that also mutes their happiness and joy. It has a kind of a pioneer spirit feel to it, with learning how to manage finite resources and finding ways to better their lives without electricity and easy access to modern medicines.

The characters are pretty interesting, and there are multiple POVs though the main POV is Lotus. We have an insight into some of the character’s journey to the mountain hideaway, but that insight isn’t uniform. This allows the history of the characters to slowly unfold. I really liked Lotus. She has a very conflicted attitude to her childhood which she loved but felt that she shouldn’t because it isn’t generally accepted to practice free love as an underage girl. Her background meant that she never really achieved happiness in the outside world. It did make her strong and educated in the way that really matters when it comes to surviving in the wilderness.

The men were all interesting and captivating in different ways and all of them had things they had to recover from, either from before TEOTWAKI or their journey after it happened. They all had very different circumstances but had complementary personalities as they learned to live with themselves and others.

I really enjoyed this book and will probably investigate reading others by the author, because she has an unusual way of looking at things and people, and that’s something I always enjoy.

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Review: Mac (The Brothers Series Book 5) by Mia Malone

Mac by Mia Malone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It Starts With Email

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

This appears to be the final book in this series, which I’m pretty sad about, because Wilhemine is an awesome place to visit. However this book is about Mac, the last of The Brothers to find happiness. It makes sense to end the series here, but I hope that maybe the author might be tempted to return to cover the younger generation who all appear to be pretty interesting folks.

This book feels a lot more complicated than the others and that’s because it’s about a much more complex situation. Mac lost his beloved wife and son 12 (ish) years ago when they were killed by a criminal who belonged to a gang The Brothers wiped out. Mac never really recovered from their loss. He had longer term hook ups but never looked for another relationship. He also kept his emotions bottled up and away from his friends and family.

When Mac first met Beth they had a misunderstanding and Beth was hurt by it. After she left Wilhemine Mac decided to email her to apologise and they end up communicating for well over 9 months via email as Beth travelled the world with her best friend Bebe. Beth was trying to recover from the death of her police officer husband. She turned to Mac because he understood the loss of a spouse in terrible circumstances. Slowly they both grew closer and closer, without ever meeting again, until Beth decides to come and visit Bebe again.

I loved that this story was messy and that there were hiccups in the relationship because both parties were vulnerable. There was also Beth’s adult children to take into consideration. Once again the friendships between all people in this group shines through on almost every page. It also overflows into the friendships all the children have or are developing.

Whilst this book mainly focused on the relationship side of things, it did also have sections of action based plot, as is to be expected as Mac is the police chief. As usual The Brothers pitch in to help, as do Wolves MC (I’d really love to see a series about them!!)

This series really is wonderful and this was an excellent book to round it out so everyone gets their HEA. I’ve enjoyed every minute of this series that covers people in their middle years finding happiness. It was well written and the characters were wonderfully engaging. This is definitely an author I will be reading in the future.

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Review: Day (The Brothers Series Book 4) by Mia Malone

Day by Mia Malone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Day and The Author

This was another great book in this series about a group of friends who live in a small mountain town.

Damien (Day) was an Olympic gold medal winning skier. He knew Sissy before her attack over 30 years before. He’s lead a very interesting life travelling all over the world and making time to visit with his 5 children that he had with three different women that he’s still on good terms with. He’s a very likeable man, but he’s been unhappy since he was a young man, when he lost his entire family within a few years of each other.

Bebe is an author of erotica. She’s been doing it for 10 years and been very successful at it. Before she was an author she was successful in corporate America, with a VP job by the age of 40. She also has 5 sons. On the day that her life was transformed, she met Day and his role in that transformation was fairly key.

Years later she is friends with Beth, Lee’s ex-cousin-in-law, and Beth asks Lee if she can arrange somewhere for Bebe to work as she needs to finish writing her current book in peace. She ends up staying in Day’s guest house and their meeting for the second time is not smooth.

This book is actually quite poignant with the focus being on Day’s family and their loss, and helping him to move on from that loss. Once more the friends all bond together to help him get through the tough stuff, with love, support and ridiculous amounts of teasing. Once again, this book is a wonderful example of romance for people who have lived a little.

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Review: Joke (The Brothers Series Book 3) by Mia Malone

Joke by Mia Malone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Joke’s Girl

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

As this is the third book in this series about the same group of friends, I’ve got to know Joke quite well, and what I saw I really liked. He’s a good guy, runs his bar, loves his sister, stands up for his friends and community and is actually pretty level headed with a really solid sense of himself. It was mentioned in a previous book that he was a little lonely and he overheard the comment and kind of agreed with it, especially with his friends starting to pair up.

Then one day Sissy walked into the bar and asked for a job that he’d not yet advertised for, sent over by Lee. Sissy didn’t even know she wanted to stay in town or apply for a job, but the place really appealed to her and reminded her of where she grew up in the mountains surrounded by skiing and bikers. As soon as they saw each other Joke and Sissy were really attracted to each other but were a little cautious because of the job.

I also like Sissy a LOT. She was multi-faceted, which was commented once or twice in the book. She reminded me that during your life you are never just one thing all the way through. You can be wild, dependable, nurturing or reckless at different points and at the same time. By the time you hit 50 you’ve lived several stages of your life and they are all different, but they are all still you.

Sissy’s life wasn’t easy. She was attacked at age 18 and her leg shattered with a steel pipe, destroying her skiing career after being accepted onto the national team. Ever since the same man who destroyed that part of her life would get out of prison and start chasing her again causing her and her family terrible distress. Moving to Wilhelmine was to escape him and draw him away from her daughters to reduce the danger to them. She is strong, intelligent, brave and has a wild side that fits in with Joke’s.

I laughed out loud several times when reading this book. There was a lot more banter than the other two books, which already had quite a lot. This book felt like the group was settling in together with the new relationships and the addition of the extra women. It reminded me of listening to any group of friends who had known each other for years, that were maybe slightly more open than most!

These books reflect the many layers of real life with friendships, community, children, work as well as love and hot sex. It’s all important and life is not solely focused on one aspect, it’s made up of all of them, and I like that these book show that so very clearly.

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Review: Padraig (The Brothers Series Book 2) by Mia Malone

Padraig by Mia Malone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Paddy and Jenny’s Story

In the previous book in this series it was obvious and that Paddy and Jenny had ‘feelings’ for each other in some way. It’s in this book that we see the depth and nature of those feelings.

Paddy has always been considered a playboy in Wilhelmina, but gossip doesn’t always give the full picture. Part of it is because he’s stunningly gorgeous, still at 55, and a lot of women want him, and part of it is for certain periods of his life he was a bit of a playboy. He’s always worked exceptionally hard with the construction business his father left him when he was still a relatively young man, and he built it up into a very successful enterprise.

Jenny is Joke’s little sister and she runs the diner and is an exceptional cook. She was married for 10 years to a man who hit her. She’s been pretty lonely for a while because her only female friend was killed 15 years ago and it’s only since Lee has been in town has she had that kind of closeness with a woman again. She spends a lot of time on her business and the rest with her brother and his friends, with occasional trip out of town for a discreet good time.

When Paddy hears about her trips out of town to a local MC and is faced with the president asking whether she would open to becoming his old lady, Paddy goes a bit out of character, loses his cool and claims she’s already HIS old lady. This incident gives them both a kick up the backside to see if what they want could actually happen.

One of the things I love about this series, and this book in particular, is it is about strong women who have experienced life, been knocked down by it a bit, but picked themselves up and got on with making a go of it. They are also compassionate, funny and sexual beings into their 50s. I also like that the books are not only about romance, they are also about family, friendship and loyalty. They also have an interesting plot that introduces peril.

Highly recommended for people who enjoy romances but are no longer in their 20s!

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Review: Gibson (The Brother Series Book 1) by Mia Malone

Gibson by Mia Malone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mature Motorcycle Mountain Men

Charlene (Lee) had a marriage that fell apart, a body that was letting her down and job she wasn’t really enjoying, so she moved to the mountains and settled in a small town, in a tiny cabin. She took up yoga, spent time outdoors and started to look and feel better about herself and her life again. So she decided to actually start living in her small town and started talking to people. One of the first women she spoke to, Jenny, ran the diner and desperately needed the help of someone with Lee’s skills in cake decorating (rusty but better than Jenny’s).

Gibson is 55 with two failed marriages, three grown sons and a really cool dog. He retired from Chicago PD and moved back home after all the cases got too much. He now practices his carpentry skills for rich folks buying in the mountains for his friend Paddy’s construction company, when he is needed. When Gibson spots Lee with Jenny, his friend’s sister, he is instantly smitten in a way he’s never before in his life experienced and spends some time trying to devise a way around her moratorium on relationships.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that the characters were all mature, had histories, previous relationships and kids. I loved they had bodies that were slowing down but hadn’t stopped by a long shot, that they had sex and gossiped with their friends about it. I liked that there was an incredibly tight group of friends who’d known each other their whole lives that lived in a wider community that all knew each other.

There were lots of additional things I loved about this book that revolve around plot and humour and general sexiness. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series, because I’m very intrigued about the lovely Paddy. 

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