Make You Mine: a steamy forbidden, second chance romance

Make You Mine by Tia Louise is the first book in the Believe in Love series. Grayson “Gray” Cole and Andrea “Drew” Harris have been drawn together since he rescued her from a snake as a child and later comforted her when her mother passed away. Despite disapproval from her father and being her brother, Danny’s best friend, Gray was all of her firsts as they stole moments together. As he prepares to ship out with Danny to the Marines, he makes her a promise. When tragedy strikes, leaving Gray badly injured and her brother killed in action. Drew must find a way to pick up the pieces. Four years later, Gray returns to their small town and finds that Drew is no longer the teenage girl he left behind but a gorgeous woman. Filled with regret and guilt, he knows he needs to stay away from her but something draws him to her. 

Mine You Mine has everything: brother’s best friend, a forbidden love, military, small town, second chance romance with redemption, finding yourself and home. It is a sweet, spicy romance with a happily ever after that I could not put down. I loved Gray as he tried to rebuild his life and be worthy of Drew. I loved Drew who loved Gray before and loves him still. There was no one else for her. When they can no longer deny that their connection was still there, the sparks flew like the Fourth of July. I loved their supporting characters, especially Drew’s best friend, Ruby. I do hope she gets her own romance in this series. Even the characters who tried to throw monkey wrenches into their romance were great characters to hate. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I look forward to the other books. I highly recommend Make You Mine. 

Make You Mine is available in paperback and eBook

The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle: friendship, healing and finding home again

The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle by Annie Rains is a story of friendship, healing and finally finding home again. Ten years ago, Melody Palmer left her hometown of Trove Isle after a tragic accident. Now she returns when she learns she has inherited her great aunt’s thrift shop, Hidden Treasures. There she discovers a charm bracelet that was lost so many years ago. A bracelet she shared with her sister, Alyssa, and her two best friends, Liz and Bri. While Melody fled, Liz stayed behind, working in her parents’ bakery, putting her dreams aside. For Bri, the consequences of that tragic accident led her on the road to self-destruction and a prison term. As she is set to be released, can Trove Isle feel like home again? Can Melody, Liz and Bri find peace about the past and look to a brighter future?

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with an adult twist, The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle is a story of friendship, healing and resilience. The story runs the gambit of emotions from anger to grief to love and tears. I loved the characters of Melody, Liz and Bri who were all relatable and worthy to cheer for as they dealt with the moment that changed their lives forever. I also loved the secondary characters of Rose, Liz’s little sister, Matt, Liz’s love interest, and Christopher, Melody’s love interest. The romance is subtle and did not overpower the story of the three friends. Overall, I loved this story and devoured it quickly. If you love strong female characters, a small town setting with a story of healing, forgiveness and friendship, I highly recommend The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle. 

The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Mountain Angel: healing, romance and finding home

Mountain Angel is the second book in the Northstar series by Suzie O’Connell. A story of healing, romance and finding home. Aelissm “Aeli” Davis returns to her home in Northstar, Montana to hide. After the death of her fiancé, her friend, Adam, becomes obsessed with her and won’t leave her. Thinking she’d be safe in the secluded valley, one phone call from Adam makes it clear that he won’t give up. When her Uncle Bill sends one of his best detectives to offer protection, Aeli begins to breathe a bit easier. Patrick “Pat” O’Neil is a man with his own haunted memories as he struggles to recover from his own traumatic experiences. Under the big sky of Montana, Aeli and Pat begin a friendship that soon leads to an attraction that will soon become too hard to resist. Will they both find the peace and healing they need? 

Mountain Angel is the second book that I’ve read by Ms. O’Connell and she isn’t afraid to tackle difficult situations. Aeli and Pat are both in need of healing and together, they find someone who understands the trauma and the questions that are left in its wake. Readers know Aeli’s story from the beginning but Pat’s story takes a bit to be revealed. Once it was revealed, my heart broke for Pat as he still struggled to move forward. Their romance is very sweet. Their banter made me laugh. I cheered for them by the end. I enjoyed all their supporting characters and look forward to seeing them get their own stories in the series. While Mountain Angel is the second book in the series, you do not need to read the first book, First Instinct, in order to enjoy it (although I do highly recommend it). I highly recommend Mountain Angel. 

Mountain Angel is available in eBook and audiobook

The Taste of Ginger: one's journey to find home

The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah is a story of one woman’s journey to find where she is truly home. Preeti Desai, a first-generation immigrant, hasn’t lived the life her parents mapped out for her. She seemingly bucked every tradition her parents hold dear. She was barely on speaking terms with her parents when she moved in with her white Christian American boyfriend. Even after the relationship ends, the only thing she has going for her is her prestigious career at a Los Angeles law firm. When a family tragedy brings her back to the city of her birth, she learns more about the complicated past that her parents left behind and their reasons for moving to America. As she realizes the family’s battles with class, tradition and sacrifice, will she discover what home truly means? 

It’s not good when my first thought after finishing a book is “I really wanted to like this story.” It came so highly recommended that I was looking forward to it. However, Preeti is such an unlikable character with no redeeming qualities or even growth. She whines about everything! She is selfish, immature and self-absorbed. There are pages and pages where Preeti is essentially arguing with herself. The internal monologues were way too often. It was hard to believe she was supposed to be a professional woman of 30 and not a teenager. The story overexplains just about everything that it felt like a condescending lecture, especially about the cultural differences between America and India. The author wasn’t nice about either culture. It’s hard to say but I do not recommend The Taste of Ginger. 

The Taste of Ginger is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

Gone Wishing: second chances and truly finding home

Gone Wishing is by Jesse Newton and is the eighth book in The Wishing Tree series. Loretta Thompson is a people person. She loves meeting new people and has a special gift that everyone feels as she is their best friend. As she helps clean the rooms at the Wishing Tree Inn, she is fascinated by the items people leave behind. Her fascination leads her across the country as she returns the lost items to their rightful owners. Now she is returning to Linden Falls but this time she has company. Sally Redwood was a genealogy center coordinator before she had her hip replacement. With no family to help her while she heals, she joins Loretta back to Linden Falls to recover. Lois Bryant lost her husband a year ago and still reeling from his sudden loss, she needs a fresh start. Despite her children’s protests, Lois packs up and heads to Linden Falls with Loretta and Sally. Back in Linden Falls, all three women tie a wish to the famous tree. 

Gone Wishing is a sweet story of second chances. Second chances at a fulfilling life and maybe even love. Readers first learn about Loretta in an earlier book as she has packed up and left, leaving Neva in a lurch. Now she’s back and we learn more about the reasons behind her wayward travels and her lack of faith in the Wishing Tree. Sally was a hard character to like as she constantly complained about the lack of good barbeque. Or at least what she would consider good barbeque. However, by the end of the book, Sally’s story is one readers will cheer for as she finds new life in her new home. Lois’s story is the one that I clung to the most. Lois takes the most risk as her children are against her move. I enjoyed that she stuck up for herself and demanded that she needs to find a new purpose. Overall, I enjoyed Gone Wishing and highly recommend it and the rest of the Wishing Tree series. 

Gone Wishing is available in paperback and eBook

Finding Home: a laid back, relaxing romance

Finding Home by Tammy L Grace is the first book in the Hometown Harbor series. Sam Collins has been devastated. After discovering her husband’s infidelities after 25 years of marriage, she is desperate for a do-over, a fresh start. Along with her dog, Sam moves from the hustle and bustle of Seattle to the quiet and quaint island community of the San Juan Islands. There she buys a bookstore and coffee shop. She soon needs a carpenter for the renovations. Jeff Cooper, a retired fireman turned handyman, answers the call. As he works on her projects, and she gets to know the community, he can’t resist falling for her. And Sam feels the same pull toward Jeff but she’s afraid to risk another relationship. Just when she thinks the past cannot cause any more pain, she is confronted with information that brings it all back. With the love and support of her new community, can she take the chance for the family and home she has been longing for? 

Finding Home is a sweet, heartwarming story of love, friendship, family and second chances with inspiration of healing from old wounds and new possibilities. The story is filled with great characters that made me smile and laugh, especially Jeff and his siblings, who also live on the island. The sibling banter back and forth was entertaining. I enjoyed all the characters and the small town feel as the community opens their arms to Sam and her dog. I also enjoyed Ms. Grace’s descriptions of the island and the town. She gives nice descriptions without being overly descriptive. I could easily picture this community and its residents. My only complaint is that everything seems to happen so fast. The conflicts that arose seem to be resolved quickly and everything is okay again. Maybe they aren’t really resolved and they will be carried over to the other books in the series. I look forward to finding out. If you are looking for a laid-back, relaxing read, I recommend Finding Home. 

Finding Home is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook