The Contract: two best friends and a marriage of convenience

The Contract is the fifth book in the Brides of Beaufort series by Jess Mastorakos. Zoe Katsaros and Chase Mitchell are fellow Marines and best friends especially after they were on deployment together. His family is about to lose everything and he can’t send extra money home. Her family is pushing for marriage to a Greek man she doesn’t like or love. Thanks to dual military benefits and his willingness to embrace her Greek family’s traditions, Zoe suggests a marriage of convenience as the answer to their problems. They discuss terms and set their plan into motion. However, married life isn’t all they thought it would be, even to a best friend. Their arrangement started out as a means to an end; however, Chase will do everything he can to make it much, much more. 

When I started Chase and Zoe’s story, I wasn’t sure I would like it as well as I did the previous books. It did have a different vibe than the others. However, there were a lot of deep issues present in the story and I cheered for them and ended up falling in love with their story. Parental expectations. Family traditions and culture. And responsibility of adult children to their parents. I loved how strong Zoe was as she loved her family, her culture and their traditions but deep in her heart, she wanted something more than an arranged marriage. I wanted to hug Chase as he struggled helping his parents and I was angry on his behalf when he learned the truth. What is the truth? You’ll have to read the story to find out. I highly, highly recommend The Contract. And if you haven’t started this series, what are you waiting for? 

The Contract is available in paperback and eBook

The Bridesmaid: a second chance military romance

The Bridesmaid is the third book in the Brides of Beaufort series by Jess Mastorakos. Layla Robinson is always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Not that she is really looking for a partner after her heart was shattered three years ago. Zac Miller left three years ago with no goodbye, no explanation. Now he arrives back in town with a young son in tow. He is determined to make things right with Layla, to explain what happened three years ago. That is if she’ll listen. Avoiding Zac is difficult in a small town. Layla is reluctant to hear him out. After the urging of her friends and sister, she decides to talk with him, if anything, to find closure so she can move forward. What she finds is the old feelings are them, for them both. Can they start over? Or can she finally get the goodbye she wanted? 

I have enjoyed this series so much. This story was a tad different as it is a second chance romance with a painful past. At times, I thought Layla was a tad unreasonable as she scoffed at Zac’s attempt to explain; despite her questions. However, since I have never been hurt in the way she was, I didn’t judge her too much. I continued reading, hoping that she would seek the answers she asked herself for three years. I cheered when she started to soften toward Zac and listened to his explanation. Zac was wrong to ghost her so many years ago and he knows it. His explanation made sense, even if it doesn’t elevate the hurt. I really enjoyed his plan to win Layla’s heart. I smiled quite a bit. Overall, I enjoyed this story so much. If you enjoy second chance military romance, I highly recommend The Bridesmaid. 

The Bridesmaid is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Planner: a friends to lovers military romance

The Planner is the second book in the Brides of Beaufort series by Jess Mastorakos. Will Paxton is Paul Bristol’s best friend and his family has been Will’s family since childhood. His sister, Aria, is off limits. Not just because she is Paul’s little sister; but because she deserves better than someone like him. However, that didn’t stop him from falling in love with her. Will pushed his feelings aside and had become a master at hiding them from everyone. She’s fierce, feisty and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. It is getting harder and harder to hide. Now that he is stationed back home and they are spending more and more time together, it is getting harder and harder to hide his feelings. One desperate kiss brings those buried feelings up and he doesn't even want to hide anymore.  What does Aria feel? If he pursues a relationship, will he lose their friendship and the only family he has? 

The Brides of Beaufort series is so good and The Planner is a story of found family, love and finding purpose and worthiness in love. I loved Will’s character. Will comes from a broken family and has found love and acceptance with the Bristols, his childhood neighbors. He and Paul joined the Marines together and he has become a worthy leader of those in lower rank. He looks out for those who need help. I understand his concerns about expressing his feelings and losing the only family he has. I also loved Aria’s character especially after Will expresses his feelings and she expresses hers. She is the voice of reason and encouragement for Will. They worked so well together that they were surprised that the people around them were thinking they belonged together. Overall, I enjoyed this story so much and I am looking forward to continuing the series. If you enjoy friends to lovers, military romance, I highly recommend The Planner. 

The Planner is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Proposal: a clean military friends to lovers romance

The Proposal is the first book in the Brides of Beaufort series by Jess Mastorakos. Paul Bristol has been friends with Shelby Thompson since grade school; however he fell in love with her in high school. However, she firmly placed him in the friend zone. He settled on being her best friend. Now as a Marine who jumps out of airplanes for fun, he is not afraid to take risks, except where Shelby is concerned. When his public proposal to his girlfriend ends with rejection, he learns that proposing to the wrong woman because you can’t have the right one is never a good idea. However, Shelby is hiding a secret. She loves Paul as well but living with a life threatening condition, she doesn’t want to be a burden. Shelby has always had Paul’s heart, can he convince her to trust him with hers? 

The Proposal is a clean romance with plenty of drama, banter and deep issues. From the very beginning, I enjoyed Shelby and Paul’s characters. Shelby is learning to deal with a life threatening condition. I had never heard of this condition and the author does a great job explaining the condition without being overly technical. I loved Paul as a man who knows what he wants. I love how he shows that he wants Shelby and that supporting her as she deals with her condition is not a burden. Together, they were sweet. I also enjoyed their supporting characters and hope they get their own stories in the future. The great gesture at the end is very sweet and romantic. Overall, I enjoyed this story and I look forward to the rest of the series. If you enjoy clean military romance, I highly recommend The Proposal. 

The Proposal is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

A Match for the Marine: a fun, clean romantic for a weekend read

A Match for the Marine by Jess Mastorakos is the first book in the First Comes Love series. The matchmakers at First Comes Love, a premier matchmaking service, have certain rules. The first and most important is: never fall in love with the client. After making her way to the top, Amy is in the running to become the new CEO. Her next client seems to be a shoe-in to help her. A hot Marine with bulging biceps with a killer smile would be easy peasy to match. Dexter “Dex” Harrington is not thrilled when his meddling mother signs him up for the matchmaking service. He wants to get it over with and on with his life. It doesn’t help when his perfect match seems to be his matchmaker. 

A Match for the Marine is my first book by Ms Mastorakos and it definitely will not be my last. From the opening chapter to the final page, I had so much fun reading Dex and Amy’s love story. It was sweet, cute and a clean romance with great flirty banter. Dex may be a hunky Marine but deep down he is a geeky computer nerd and he was so adorable! Amy was doing her best to be professional but couldn’t help being drawn to Dex. I loved their friends and even their enemies were great to the story. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. I highly recommend A Match for the Marine for a quick, enjoyable weekend read. 

A Match for the Marine is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook