Apex (Faster #3) by Victoria Denault

 

 

Blurb:

Red flags only count on the track. In real life, I ignore them.

My name is Gabriel Allard, and I'm the only heir to a billion-dollar fashion empire and a rookie with Mayflower Racing. I know what everyone thinks - that I don't deserve to be in the driver's seat. And worse, that I mistreat people because my father will bail me out and fix things. None of that is true, but I've never been able to sway public opinion, so I've stopped trying.

Dad hasn't though. In an attempt to save my image and my seat on the race team, he hires me a boyfriend. Because the universe loves a good joke at my expense, he accidentally hires a guy I shared a scorching kiss with years ago. A guy who, instead of trying to use me like everyone else, ghosted me.

Axel Walsh is nothing like me. He's levelheaded. Shy. Disinterested in motorsports. He wants to keep this professional. Since I love a challenge, I try to change his mind. The next thing I know we're fake married, and Axel is in my bed. But is he really mine? It's getting hard to tell the truth from the lies.

The public starts to buy my cleaned-up image, and I'm getting better results on the track, but privately I feel out of control. My life is on the line every time I strap into my race car, but I've never put my heart on the line, until him. I hope Axel and I can survive this publicity stunt and make it to the finish line without breaking each other's hearts. Just like everything else in my life, the odds are against it.

Apex is a contemporary mm sports romance about open-wheel race car drivers. It's a fake dating, fake marriage, slightly second-chance love story set against the glitzy backdrops of Monaco, Vegas, Paris, Greece and more. Apex is a stand-alone book in the Faster series, which also includes books by Leslie McAdam and Regina Kyle.

 

My review:

Gabriel and Axel are adorable together in this opposites attract, fake marriage romp. I was rooting for them throughout. A fun escape.

 

Buy links:

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Talon (Shadowridge Guardians MC #6) by Pepper North

 

 

Blurb:

“Buttercup, try that one more time and see what happens…”

Elizabeth Sinclair has just escaped from a lackluster marriage and isn’t about to try that again. She’s ready to spread her wings and find the one she really needs in her life–a Daddy with all the moves to make her heart skip beats. She’s sure she must be dying when her heart rate skyrockets upon meeting a tattooed, young motorcycle club troublemaker.

Talon Deveraux enjoys flirting with pretty women. When a petite blonde makes him take a second and third look, he pays attention. He has no doubt she’s his when Elizabeth puts him firmly in his place.

Changing her mind and spicing up her life to make sure she’ll never get bored becomes his goal.

 

 

My review:

Elizabeth has lived her life going along to get along. She is now divorced and living life on her terms. She did not count on a hot young biker sweeping her off her feet and making her feel alive. Talon has played the field and knows what he wants and he finds it in Elizabeth. Age is just a number and he is going to help her live her best life.

Talon will make your heart dance.

 

 

Buy links:

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Elemental Fire (The Hidden Realms #1) by E.G. Manetti

 

 

Blurb:

Sin Marston is a rare human who can see through glamor. With the veil with the treaty of 2010, the magical visitors flowed into the Terran realm. With her unique talent, Sin's services are in demand from businesses and law enforcement with hidden problems. She also has a growing clientele of hidden visitors wishing to avoid confrontation with the Human Protection Society and other anti-hidden Terrans.

After thwarting a daring art heist, Sin encounters a stunning fire elemental who reveals the heist was something very different. Everything she thought she knew changes.

Radzik Cray has lived for centuries, building his magical and political power base. The appointment as the Elders’ Council warden for the Eastern United States comes with untold wealth and power, as well as untold danger. When he meets Sin Marston, he is interested in a pleasant distraction. Instead, he discovers that Sin is not all she appears and his control over his territory is not as absolute as he thought.

 

My review:

This book is fantastic! I was sucked in from the first page and didn’t come up for air until the very end. This is a tale of magic, love, hate and betrayal. The female main character is incredible. She takes hit after hit physically and emotionally and just picks herself up, dusts herself off and keeps on going.

I do hope the author continues this world.

 

Buy links:

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Four-Alarm Homicide (House-Flipper Mystery #6) by Diane Kelly

 

 

Blurb:

The sixth in the delightful cozy mystery series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville, TN—where the real estate market is to die for.

Some properties are too hot to handle...

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are hot for a historical property that has just come on the market—a fire station in Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood that was built nearly a century ago.

The cousins have just begun the interior demolition work at the fire station when Joanna Hartzell, who lives in a townhouse around the corner, comes by with a plea for help. Joanna owns the right half of her building, which she proudly maintains in perfect condition, while the left side falls into disrepair: the seven adult children who inherited it years ago refuse to lift a finger on repairs. Never one to turn down a challenge, Whitney and Buck manage to acquire the rundown townhouse—though it turns out Joanna is only one of the many neighbors interested in buying the property once they’ve worked their magic.

Then Joanna shows up at the fire station confused and rambling, then collapses, never to recover. Alarm bells go off for Whitney: she suspects something—and someone—evil could be the real cause. Can she and Collin put the clues together and smoke out a killer?

 

My review:

I loved this delightful cozy from the adorable cover to the very last page.  This episode has Whitney, Sawdust and the gang of usual cohorts taking on not one but two rehabs and a bunch of family drama most of it not her own.  The mystery had me guessing and re-guessing and I still didn’t peg the killer. An entertaining addition to the series.

 

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Moments for You (The Wilder Brothers #7) by Carrie Ann Ryan

 

Blurb:

Two widows. One wedding dress. And a promise of forever in the next installment of the Wilder Brothers from NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan.
A wedding dress is meant to be worn only once.
When a stranger finds herself in need of a miracle at the last minute, I do the unthinkable: I offer mine to her.
The same one I wore down the aisle for my late husband.
Now I’m invited to the wedding and finding myself wondering why I shut myself away from the world for so long.
I’m only meant to be at the Wilder Retreat for a single day except I go home with not only a job offer, but the promise of something more.
Ridge Wilder is hiding secrets of his own. And the undeniable chemistry between us burns before we even contemplate taking that first step.
Only I’ve already had my happy ever after. I never planned on finding another.
And Ridge is even far more broken than I am—with a past that might come back to haunt us both.

 

My review:

Carrie Ann Ryan does it again! Moments for You is a heart-warming tale with gut-wrenching moments of heartbreaking sorrow all leading up to happily ever after.  Join Aurora and Ridge as they find a second chance at love and happiness. 

 

Buy links:

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Controlling Chloe (Syndicate Kings #3) by Kate Oliver

 

 

Blurb:

Chloe
He’s my brother’s best friend and he saved me.
Now he says I’m his and he takes care of me in a way you wouldn’t expect from a ruthless mafia boss.
He also disciplines me when I’m naughty and makes me call him Daddy.
Do I want another man controlling my entire life?
I’m just not so sure he’ll let me go even if I wanted to.

Bash
I’ve had feelings for her for years, but I kept my distance because of who she is.
When I finally get the blessing I never expected, my feelings for her become an overpowering obsession.
I live and breathe to keep her happy and safe.
There are no boundaries when it comes to her.
And I’ll do anything to make her mine forever.

 

My review:

Brothers best friend, mafia romance. Bash is controlling, domineering and exactly what Chloe wants and needs. This book is a fast-paced riot of emotions that will leave you happy and exhausted.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

Syd King: Werewolf Attorney by Cleo Mercer

 

 

Blurb:

Syd King always wanted a pet, she just didn’t expect him to be a werewolf. Being legal counsel to the most powerful werewolf family in the city comes with its own perks. When she’s given an injured werewolf to look after, she knows better than to question their thinking. It helps that he’s a handsome, young alpha.

Joss Gotti is in big trouble. He’s killed a very important man and now he has a giant target on his back. He has no choice but to hide out until it all blows over. Luckily for him, the pack has placed him with a very beautiful, very sexy hostess.

A turf war is escalating in the city—werewolf pitted against werewolf. It’s a game of chess and Joss and his new mistress are little more than pawns.

SYD KING: WEREWOLF ATTORNEY is a short and steamy urban shifter romance about a human attorney and the werewolf she’s sworn to protect.

 

My review:

I bought it for the title. Interesting concept but it just didn’t hit for me. I haven’t read any of the others in the series so it may just be lack of context but there you have it.

 

Buy links:

Amazon