Apex Shifters Boxset, Emilia Hartley

Book 1: The Bear's Home

A giant of a bear-man who knows very little about his past, a sly feline-woman whose avarice might just ruin her chance at a future with that bear-man, and an unknown danger threatening everyone.

Starting off the series with a simple-minded bear and a crafty feline, there's a lot of drama both in the relationship and in the danger behind the scenes.  I enjoyed the story more for the plot surrounding the town of Ripple and involving the "villain's" machinations of the MC's rather than for the characters themselves.  Thorn and Felicity were likable in an aloof way, but not relatable, admirable, or even charming.  There was an immense amount of objectification and brawn over brain that threatened to tank the story, but the direction of the series just may save it.

Book 2: The Jaguar's Romance

Helping an innocent bear shifter caught in the middle of a feud brewing into a war, the jaguar player might just have met his match in the curvy, insecure, subtly passionate woman who needs him...in more ways than one.

I can't say my opinion of Sally and Oscar was very good going into the story and wasn't holding out much hope for them.  They weren't bad, just not really my cup of tea.  With the drama in the story heating up, there's a lot more that drew me in and along the way Oscar managed to win me over with his heart and acceptance of all the changes he's willing to make to keep Sally and the love they've found.

Book 3: The Grizzly's Vendetta

Elathan is finally being brought to justice.  But the type of justice staring him in the face is none other than a past he swore to avenge...and to love.

Ending with a bang, there were a lot of surprises that kept drawing me into the story.  I don't feel the ending was complete enough and there was a lot of unresolved tension surrounding the MC's and the main players from Ripple, Oregon.  The dramatic story line throughout this series is brought to a satisfying conclusion, though only for us as readers, not for the rest of the characters from it.  I was so glad to get the full story, the bigger picture surrounding Elathan's actions and what goes down is definitely a doozy.  I'm glad I kept up with the series and didn't give up before getting to this point.

*$2.99 on Amazon

The Walker Five Boxset, Marie Johnston

The Walker Five Boxset

I first fell in love with Marie Johnston's writing when I read Bishop from the New Vampire Disorder series.  After that I pretty much devoured the rest of that series as well as the preceding and connected series, The Sigma Menace.  I honestly didn't even know she wrote contemporary stories until I joined her Facebook reader's group and saw her post about new covers for the Walker Five books.

And now here we are, maybe a year later, and she's offering the complete Walker Five boxset!  Live today, the 17th of June, 2019...

Five cousins that farm and ranch together.

Five women that twist them up inside.

Five standalone novels.

Modern western romance with a Midwest twist.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

He's the leader, the one everyone goes to with their problems. The one time he seeks help  or himself could ruin his chances with the perfect woman.

MUSTANG SUMMER

She only wanted a peek at his cars, too bad it involved a little trespassing. And too bad his family is putting her brother in jail.

LONG HARD FALL

Her one night stand turns out to be just the guy she's looking for.

GUILT RIDDEN

She's a widow trying to move on in a town that won't let her forget. He's always remembered their one night together. How can he convince her to give him another chance?

MAIL ORDER FARMER

A down on her luck former nursing student and a perpetual bachelor connect online, but the distance might prove too much.

No infidelity, no cliffhangers, all the feels. Contemporary western romance from an award-winning author.

APPLE BOOKS: Coming Soon!

BARNES & NOBLE

KOBO

About Marie...

Marie Johnston writes award-winning paranormal and contemporary romance and is a RITA® Finalist. Before she was a writer, she was a microbiologist. Depending on the situation, she can be oddly unconcerned about germs or weirdly phobic. She’s also a licensed medical technician and has worked as a public health microbiologist and as a lab tech in hospital and clinic labs.  Marie’s been a volunteer EMT, a college instructor, a security guard, a phlebotomist, a hotel clerk, and a coffee pourer in a bingo hall. All fodder for a writer! She has four kids and just as many cats.

Follow Marie...

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GOODREADS

AMAZON

Find Me a Valentine, Hazel Parker; Summer Cooper; Piper Sullivan

A filthy rich sexy billionaire with the highest bid.
A hot as hell music mogul ready to rock you however you like it.
A high profile hockey player who carries a hard stick.

What more can you ask for on Valentine’s Day?

VIP Valentine, Hazel Parker

Lucy is a singer and she's hoping for a break.  She's also a compassionate woman caring for her mother who's suffering with cancer.  With one phone call she's got a gig that's one step closer to her dreams.  She just wasn't expecting that her dreams would feature a tall, handsome blond Adonis bidding an insane amount of money for her.

Eric is a hard-working billionaire and is hosting a Valentine's Day ball.  He's not thrilled about it, but for charity, he's willing to attend his own soirée.  He's also not expecting to be captivated by a replacement singer, enough to bid an insane amount of money for a date with her.

While the pairing had a lot of potential, I found the fact that there were 16 chapters plus an epilogue plenty of time to get to know one another both in and out of the bedroom...except they didn't.  After two short encounters they were making generalizations about one another based on things they'd needed more time to have talked about or witnessed than occurred.  Because of this it was difficult to believe their declarations of love.  Insta-love is fine in short stories, that's not the issue, but in other stories the set-up for the quick growth of affection is based on more than what preceded Eric's declaration.

I found the overall story to be juvenile and that was in the writing not necessarily the elements the author was trying to include.  There were a bunch of extraneous details that didn't matter to the story, it was just unnecessary text on a page.  A significant portion of the story was Lucy's mom's service and that would have been fine if not for the complication of Jennifer.  The Jennifer thing was an uncessary complication in such a short story.  The date should have been used for discussion between Lucy and Eric but instead it was included to complicate the plot and it didn't work.  It hinted at things that never happened or were not important.  And that weird interview that led to the ballroom recreation with Jennifer in attendance only for it all to be cut short?  Cut all of that out and just have a date because all that set-up was convoluted and just odd.  The drama should have been kept to the mother and everything with Jennifer should have been excluded to streamline the plot and make their romance develop in an organic way that could be felt and believed.  2 stars.

One Night, Summer Cooper
This was a pretty good story, just a simple story that was straightforward with characters that were pretty likable.  A superstar hockey player and a humble personal shopper.  When an encounter in a dark corner of a balcony at the Valentine's Day ball sparks an interest in both Jenn and Aaron they decide to make the most of it.  But during the course of the evening Jenn sees a side of Aaron she's not so sure she wants to give in anymore.  Aaron is baffled by Jenn's sudden disinterest and is determined to find out and fix it.

When that leads to a memorable night with a promise for more Jenn is confused by his silent departure while she's at work.  Was the connection just on her part or was he just as interested as he proclaimed he was?  What she doesn't know is that Aaron's father needs him and even though he didn't want to leaver her, he didn't have much choice.  Will she take him back when he returns determined to win her heart and prove he's done being a playboy?

Jenn's vibe was younger and her age matched what I felt when I read her parts.  Aaron was a bit too "manwhore playboy" in his description of women which made him seem far more immature than his age and life experience suggested.  There was a lot of sweetness, however, with his own reconciliation with family members and his confession to Jenn.  Despite a lot of name errors in the book, I enjoyed reading this.  3 stars.

A Proposition, Piper Sullivan
This was the best of the bunch with Becca as my favorite heroine of the three stories because of her feisty nature, her spunk, her determination to be capable, dependable, and because of her vulnerability.  The forgot her thing?  Her admittance made me tear up, seriously.  I was also very impressed with Jackson's determination to keep her forever.  His interest in her went beyond their one night and he wasn't really afraid of the change she caused in him.  It was her, however, that needed to be convinced that she shouldn't be afraid of what they could be.

Convincing her would be difficult though.  Their first meeting was less-than awesome with him being an arrogant jerk after stealing her parking spot.  Her reaction was funny if a bit over the top.  From that point on their interactions were about one-upmanship and humorous revenge.  They intrigue, interest, and arouse one another and it leads to a smokin' hot night in his penthouse suite.  When what they could have beyond that turns into being stood up it'll take a lot more than an apology from Jackson for Becca to give him another chance.

Becca's vulnerability almost led to ending something before it ever began but Jackson's tenacity was more than a match for her.  Together they were both hot and sweet.  A great combination both professionally and personally.  Their story was the most well-rounded with the most fleshed out character and plot.  It also had the least amount of complications so the story could be told well from beginning to end and fit much better in the shorter novella format.  3.5 stars.

*98¢ on Amazon or FREE on KU!