Appealed (Legal Brief Series) by Emma Chase

When Brent Mason looks at Kennedy Randolph, he doesn’t see the awkward, sweet girl who grew up next door. He sees a self-assured, stunning woman…who wants to crush the most intimate—and prized—parts of his anatomy beneath the heels of her Louboutins.

When Kennedy looks at Brent, all she sees is the selfish, Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue–worthy teenager who humiliated her in high school in order to join the popular crowd. A crowd that made those years a living hell for her.

But she’s not a lovesick social outcast anymore—she’s a Washington, DC, prosecutor with a long winning streak. Brent is the opposing attorney in her next case, and Kennedy thinks it’s time to put him through a little hell of his own.

But things aren’t exactly working out the way she planned. Brent has his sights set on Kennedy, and every fiery exchange only makes him want her more—and makes her wonder if he’s as passionate in the bedroom as he is in the courtroom. In the end, they may just find themselves in love…or in contempt of court.

While on a long-haul flight from Canada to Australia, scribd recommended this book to me, and having an excessively large amount of time on my hand, I thought why not? And then, I was hooked and quickly worked my way through the rest of Ms. Chase's books.

Written in the first person and switching back and forth between Kennedy and Brent, this novel is satisfying in all senses of the word. A great cast of characters, a satisfying build-up, believable characters and action, romance, comedy, heartbreak and a sweet ending, this book has truly become a firm favourite. Not only is this a strong read the first time, it also stands up to the test of re-reading and keeps the reader hooked, albeit knowing the ending.

Not being a fan of modern romance, I can say from the bottom of my heart that Ms. Chase has become a firm favourite in my mind, and I'm truly excited to see her further novels. A fantastic read!

Rating: 4.5/5

Click here to buy from Amazon.

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(ARC) Wrong Bed, Right Brother - Rebecca Brooks

I’ve been crushing on my coworker for months. And now he’s moving… across the country. I’ve got one shot to make my move. We’re all holed up in this amazing house upstate and tonight I’m going to sneak into his room and finally Make. Something. Happen.

So I go for it. I climb into Luke’s bed and the kissing is so much better than I imagined. Why did we wait so long to feel this? I moan his name and Bam! He jumps out of bed. WTF? It isn’t Luke. It’s his twin, Noah. I don’t even like Noah. And he certainly doesn’t like me.

This will NEVER happen again...until the next day against the barn door. Why can’t I stop seeing him? It will never work. We're complete opposites. Enemies with benefits is a thing, right?

But what happens when I start to want more?

I've always been a big fan of Entangled Publishing and am always eager to read their new releases, and this was no exception. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, I did receive an Advanced Reading Copy of Ms. Brooks Wrong Bed, Right Brother, the fourth in the Accidental Love series, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I can't really recall reading a book like this before where we're so quickly launched into the story, and the instant heat between two characters, but it worked really well. Accidentally ending up in the wrong bed of the twin brother that she wanted to seduce, we're quickly brought into the simmering attraction between Amanda and Noah, and it is steamy.

I will say that both characters react rather well to finding the wrong person, and then coming back from the attraction, the romance is then built between our leads. I do feel that our female character did more growing than our male lead, and she probably gave him a few more opportunities than I would have done (especially after a certain text was sent), but life isn't perfect. I was intrigued to see some life lessons included in the novel and definite character growth - however I will say that despite our hero and heroine's change of mind at the end, I still don't like his twin, Luke. Some things can't be unsaid.

I did like the character growth that our leads went through, but I think we saw that more for our heroine than our hero. I would have liked to have seen more information about the relationship Amanda had with her mother, and Noah had with his (due to some mentions in the story), but it was still full without.

A definite steamy interesting plotline, and a great summer read!

Rating: 3/5

Click here to purchase from Amazon, available 15th June.

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Weekly Round-Up

I can't believe it's Friday again! The weather is currently glorious outside, and many more books have been read this week. 

As I've said before, this website is for positivity and celebrating all those books that I've read and loved and want to share. I do read quite a few other books, but not all make it onto this list as I'll be honest, I stop reading them before I finish. Why is that? Well, one of my biggest turn-offs at the moment is reading a book that's had a recent death, and for some reason most of the deaths I'm currently seeing in the romance genre are those of a parent, and I'm really not sure why. Reading is an escapism for me and I love reading books that make me happy. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you have to have some rain to have sunshine, but is that really necessary to include death in the mix? I'm curious whether it's just me who stops reading a book because of this - let me know your thoughts.

In the world of romance, a new Netflix film arrived last night - The Wrong Missy. We were supposed to watch last night, but it'll most likely be moved to tomorrow. Give me a shout if you've seen it and recommend it.

Harlequin is celebrating Friday with us too with a sale, buy 3 books, get 2 more free by entering MAYB3G2 at checkout, only valid today May 15th until Midnight E.T.

We're four days away from the release of Emma Chase's Dirty Charmer, one that I've eagerly been awaiting. What read are you waiting for next?

Have a fantastic Friday and weekend!

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The Beau & The Belle - R.S. Grey

Beau Fortier starred in most of my cringe-worthy teenage fantasies. I met him when I was a junior in high school, a time that revolved exclusively around bad hair, failed forays into flirting, and scientific inquiries into which brand of toilet paper worked best for stuffing bras. That is, until Beau moved into the small guest house just beyond my bedroom window.

A 24-year-old law student at Tulane, Beau was as mysterious to me as second base (both in baseball and in the bedroom). He was older. Intimidating. Hot. Boys my age had chicken legs and chubby cheeks. Beau had calloused hands and a jaw cut from steel. Our interactions were scarce—mostly involving slight stalking on my end—and yet deep down, I desperately hoped he saw me as more of a potential lover than a lovesick loser. Turns out, I was fooling myself. My fragile ego learned that lesson the hard way.

Now, ten years later, we’re both back in New Orleans, and guess who suddenly can’t take his eyes off little ol’ me. My old friend, Mr. Fortier. But things have changed. I’m older now—poised and confident. My ego wears a bulletproof vest. The butterflies that once filled my stomach have all perished. When I was a teenager, Beau warned me to guard my heart. Let’s hope he knows how to guard his.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the adage, don't judge a book by its cover? Unfortunately I do, and I couldn't resist this cover. Added in that this is set in New Orleans, one of my favourite places? I just had to read it.

I will confess that I had to read this in two very separate sittings. Starting off, I was somewhat confused why I was reading a romance novel that's hero was in college, and heroine in high school, and had some trepidation about continuing. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for romance, but it has to be all good, legal, and consenting. I will admit that it did throw me a bit of a curveball to see the romance so young (although I did google to check, and 17 is the legal age of consent in New Orleans, but still, touch worrisome), but thankfully, our hero did keep his distance and there is a moment at the end of part one which I'm still slightly dubious about, but I was curious to keep going.

Thankfully part two meets our hero and heroine at an older age and nothing worrisome about the two engaging in a relationship. The setting is gorgeous - honestly, if you haven't been to New Orleans, I'd highly recommend going, especially at Christmas-time, it's stunning - and the pace was light-hearted with a good flow that keeps you pushing through 2:10am in the morning to finish at 3:30am.

There are many times in a romance novel that I look at the actions and tones of our characters and it's hard to imagine it happening in real life as it just seems so far removed from how I, or anyone I know, would act. But, Ms. Grey has an interesting take in her novels that I didn't find that happening. There are a few awkward parts from the actions of her characters in how they react, including an argument occurring between our leads, that I haven't seen occur in any other romance novel. I feel looking at his actions that he's wrong in how he acts, and he semi-confesses to knowing this, but still goes ahead with it. Most other romance novels try to put an argument that each thinks they're right, not acknowledging their own faults, and while the argument is flawed, it's the human element that adds to this novel. Acknowledging that romance characters aren't perfect and do make mistakes add to the genuine romance in this novel that even though we all want that happy ending, it doesn't need to be perfect with no faults. To err is human, to forgive, divine.

Overall, I really did enjoy this novel. As mentioned, I was a bit concerned about the beginning, but it did blossom into a genuine romance between our lead characters, with an element of humanity not often seen for this reader in other romance novels, which was a great, welcomed change.

Rating: 4/5

Click here to purchase from Amazon.

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