The Marine's Marriage: a grumpy-sunshine romance with faith, hope and healing

The Marine’s Marriage is the first book in the Fuller Family in Brush Creek series by Liz Isaacson. After retiring from the Marines, Tate Benson has arrived in Nowhere, Utah in order to fix up his late grandfather’s house and join the local police department. Wren Fuller has her days filled with running the family’s cleaning company. While Tate calls and needs a maid for that morning, Wren decides to clean the house herself. She discovers that Tate is her new neighbor and behind his rude exterior hides a kind heart and a wounded soul. As Tate keeps his cool exterior, he and Wren can’t help but be drawn to each other. The Marine and the maid seem to be a match made in heaven. Can their new relationship weather the storms of past wounds and look to the hope of the future? 

The Marine’s Marriage is a grumpy-sunshine romance with hope, healing and faith. It is a fast read, fairly short. A perfect book for an afternoon of reading. I enjoyed the introduction of Wren and Tate. Wren is the quirky member of the Fuller clan who wears the shirts that irritate her mother. And Tate is the man carrying more than physical wounds. Their first meeting was funny with great banter as Wren goes toe-to-toe with grumpy Tate. The romance between Wren and Tate was good and I enjoyed their happily ever after. However, the sheer number of secondary characters was overwhelming and keeping track of them all was difficult. Overall, the story was good; however, I was not intrigued enough to read the rest of the series. If you enjoy stories of hope, healing and faith, I recommend The Marine’s Marriage. 

The Marine’s Marriage is available in paperback and eBook. 

Her Unexpected Cowboy: one birthday wish, a man with no memory and a web of danger

Her Unexpected Cowboy is the first book in the Unforgettable Cowboys series by Danae Little. Sydney hides out on her goat ranch, clinging to her loneliness and refuses to ask for help. While making a birthday wish, a handsome stranger shows up at her door, wounded with no memory. Sydney is torn between allowing him to stay in her barn or sending him on his way. When Jameson woke up on the side of the road, he came to the first house, he was struck by the beautiful woman who answered his call for help. As he struggles to restore his memories, he makes excuses to stay, to help her around the house all the while ignoring the warning ringing in his head. That is until the local sheriff comes to the ranch, Jameson recognizes his voice and a web of danger begins to close in. 

Her Unexpected Cowboy was my first book by Danae Little and I enjoy a good cowboy story. The beginning of the story was intriguing. I liked Sydney from the beginning. I liked her courage, strength and hard working attitude. She is lonely with only her pets and the goats on her ranch. She loves her life, the ranch but something is missing. Jameson was a man with no memory and the mystery around him was interesting. However, the story was slow. The suspense was okay. The resolution was a bit predictable. The author’s attention to detail was admirable but slowed down the story’s flow. The romance between Sydney and Jameson was sweet and their happily ever after was good. Overall, the story was okay; but, I will not be continuing the series. If you enjoy cowboy romance with a bit of suspense, you may enjoy Her Unexpected Cowboy. 

Her Unexpected Cowboy is a available in paperback and eBook

The Relationtrip: a vacation, friends to lovers romance

The Relationtrip by Elana Johnson asks the question: what do a reclusive author from Wisconsin and an outgoing real estate agent from Pittsburgh have in common? The answer is simply nothing. Logan Murphy is Sloane’s accidental best friend when one fateful choice brought them together on vacation five years ago. Every year since then, Logan and Sloane take an annual trip together. This year’s trip is to an adults only resort in Belize. When Sloane sees Logan at the airport for the final leg of their trip, she feels something, something that hasn’t happened for a very long time. However, Logan is hiding a secret as Sloane doesn’t know what he does for a living and she doesn’t know how he truly feels about her either. He wants more than a once-a-year trip with his best friend. He wants to be in her life every day. How will she react when she learns the truth? Will it be the end of their friendship? Or can it be the beginning of a happily ever after? 

The Relationtrip is described as a standalone, slow burn travel romance similar to Beach Read and The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, The Layover by Lacie Waldon, and The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. While I have not read the mentioned books, I know they are highly recommended. I was looking forward to friends to lovers romance; however, the story fell flat for me. Sloane is way too jaded about love and marriage for me. Her fiance left her at the altar and her parents ended their 33 year marriage, so her jadedness makes sense; however, I couldn’t connect with it. Also, I did not like her reaction to Logan’s secret about his real job or his true feelings for her; despite her own feelings. However, I did like Logan. He really tried to have a relationship beyond their current arrangement; but Sloane made it difficult. Overall, I was bored and not interested in their love story. However, if you enjoy the books mentioned above, you may enjoy The Relationtrip as well. 

The Relationtrip is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook