Secret Haven is out now! Thank you to the author for the gorgeous trope ARC.
Oh, my heart. Love love loved this! Definitely my favorite of the series and a top all time fave from the author.
This is book six in the series, and the clues have been laid out through the series for this couple. Man, did I love them! We’ve seen the connection between them but I loved getting to know their real backstory. The love, the sacrifice, the yearning, all chef’s kiss perfection.
I don’t want to say too much because some of the elements of the book surprised me and I want the same for you but I will say I just loved everything about how this story unfolded. And as always, I did not properly guess who the bad guy(s) was/were and especially not the why.
I loved this whole series but Catherine really saved the best for last here! Love!
Happy Tuesday! Beautiful Exile is out today, thank you to the author for the ARC.
I always love being back in Sparrow Falls!
This is Arden’s story, who’s been a bit of a mystery throughout the series, and it turns out she’s one of my favorite CC heroines ever! How can you not love a FMC who holds the MMC at knifepoint upon first meeting him??
It’s got everything I love and want in a Catherine Cowles book – small town, (found) family, underestimated but strong FMC, protective MMC, romance, suspense, Lolli, and this time throw in a hilarious meet cute too!
Definitely check this one out if you’ve loved this series so far too!
All The Missing Pieces is out now! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC and the author for the ALC.
There’s not much I like more than small town romantic suspense from Catherine Cowles!
This brings us Ridley and Colt’s story, which is a complete standalone. Ridley travels the country in her van, making a true crime podcast when she rolls into town to investigate a cold case that’s very close to Colt’s heart. He doesn’t appreciate her stirring up trouble in his town and reopening old wounds.
They started off very antagonistically which I love. I also love when opposites attract, so the straightlaced sheriff MMC facing off with (and eventually living with) the free wheeling FMC was a lot of fun.
The mystery kept me guessing and I did not figure out who the “bad guy(s)” is/were in advance, which is the best.
I loved it! I read it twice – first with my eyeballs, second with my ears as I tried to pick up on any clues I missed the first time. The audiobook was well done, especially the FMC (the MMC sounded a little old for the character for me but still great!)
Broken Harbor is out now, thank you to the author for the ARC.
I’m so happy to be back in Sparrow Falls! This is Sutton and Cope’s story, both of whom we’ve met previously.
Sutton is a single mother bakery owner with a young son and a past she’s hiding from. Cope is a NHL star, in town to coach a kid’s camp and rehab his image a bit. When Sutton loses her place to live, Cope invites her and her son to stay with him.
There’s forced proximity goodness, suspense that keeps you guessing, and a swoony romance. The relationship between Cope and Sutton’s son is also very cute.
I really enjoyed this! I also listened to the audio and thought it was well done, especially Connor Crais as Cope.
Happy Delicate Escape day! Thank you to the author for the ARC and ALC
It’s great to be back in Sparrow Falls!
This brings us Thea and Shep’s story, both of whom we met in book one. Thea is a woman on the run, in hiding for reasons we discover as the book progresses, who has trouble letting anyone in for obvious reasons. Shep is a good guy who wants to get to know her and help her out when her house needs work. They end up as roommates so he can help with her plumbing (literally … but also figuratively wink wink)
I loved them both individually and together. I just love when opposites attract and their black cat/golden retriever energies were so great. Shep fell hard and fast for Thea and I love how carefully he worked to gain her trust and get her walls down.
The suspense had me guessing and my theory was so wrong which I love! The author fooled me again and I’m so glad she did.
I love the family/found family aspect of Shep’s family and how they welcomed Thea so readily into their fold. Lolli continues to be the best and I can’t wait to get more of her antics! I love this series and this world and am so glad when I get to spend more time there.
I read it first with my eyeballs then did a second read on audio and thought both narrators did a great job! It’s Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton so of course they did.
A new Catherine Cowles series feels a bit like the first day of school. Excitement, wonder, new friends, and a little bit nervous because you don’t know what’s going to happen. And boy was this an excellent new beginning. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This introduces us to Rhodes and her found family in Sparrow Falls. She finds herself growing closer to her brother’s best friend Anson, the grumpy, broody, mysterious fire restoration specialist helping rehab her childhood home. When a series of “accidents” happens to Rhodes, Anson is just the man to help protect her, but Anson is a man full of secrets and those secrets might be the most dangerous of all.
Both have painful pasts and watching them comfort each other and help bring each other’s (especially Anson’s) walls down was just beautiful. The sexual tension between them built masterfully and when it finally snapped whew it was hot.
There’s an excellent cast of supporting characters. Rhodes and her siblings and grandma were an amazing found family. They are mostly not blood related but they are a true family nonetheless and I loved their interactions and group texts. I’m looking forward to their stories and already have guesses about who their future love interests will be!
The romantic suspense kept me guessing and I was totally fooled this time. I’m usually great at guessing the “bad guy(s)” in romantic suspense but I didn’t put it all together this time and I love that! I rarely read a book in one sitting anymore, but I could not put this baby down once I started because I just had to find out what was going on.
I loved loved loved it! I loved it so much I read it first with my eyes then a week later listened to the audio as well which was also amazing and I thought both narrators did a great job!
Hey! Happy Thursday. Ashes of You is out today. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this addition to the Lost & Found series! Lawson is officially my favorite Hartley (sorry Roan). I am forever a sucker for the single dad/nanny trope. The forbidden vibes are just the best, along with the close proximity and throw in an age gap and I am a goner!
Lawson is the oldest Hartley sibling, a single father with his hands full not only with his three boys but also as a small town chief of police. He finally agrees to hire a nanny to help out at home, but he didn’t expect his best candidate to be someone he helped rescue years ago.
Hallie has a lot of trauma in her past and is trying to live her life again unafraid, and I loved her relationship with Lawson and how supportive he was, but I also really loved her relationships with his boys. Lawson fights the good fight to ignore his attraction to his much younger nanny, but eventually the close proximity wins (though this is definitely a slow burn!) and the two can’t fight their feelings anymore.
The romance was so well developed and the suspense portion will have you thinking everyone is a suspect! I loved this book, I love this series, I love the Hartley family. I’m so sad it’s over but can’t wait to see what comes next!
Finally we get Roan’s story! I’ve been waiting for this since the beginning of the series and it did not disappoint. We’ve seen Roan as the solitary, sort of outsider of the Hartley family and it was so wonderful to see him find the place where he belongs.
Aspen is in hiding with her daughter due to reasons we find out as the story unfolds, and when danger yet again arrives at her door, Roan is there to protect her even if that means sleeping on her couch and being attacked by her cat.
I loved watching that grumpy loner fall for both Aspen and Cady. The relationship between Cady and Mr Grizz was just so precious. I also loved watching Roan start to open up to his family after seeing him as such a closed off guy during the series, and I loved how easily and wholly the Hartley’s accepted Aspen and Cady into their fold.
The suspense will keep you guessing, the romance will have you swooning, and the Hartley antics will have you laughing out loud. An excellent edition to the series!
I really enjoyed this fake dating small town romance!
This is book three in the Lost & Found series which brings us Grae, the youngest Hartley sibling, and Caden, her brother’s best friend who offers to fake date her in order to protect her from an ex who won’t leave her alone. In exchange, having a girlfriend will make him look more reliable to his company and get his dad off his back.
Caden has rubbed Grae the wrong way ever since she received her type 1 diabetes diagnosis as a teen and he basically disappeared on her but she needs her ex to stop bothering her so she puts her annoyance aside, at least in public.
Caden is a bit broody, his family sucks and he lost his sister years ago to cancer and never really recovered. Grae is tired of everyone treating her like she’s made of glass due to her diagnosis, and just wants to prove she’s a capable adult. The two had obvious chemistry and while brother’s best friend will never be my favorite trope, it didn’t bother me here.
It’s a Catherine Cowles book so of course there is suspense and danger and I loved that it kept me guessing. Overall a great addition to the series and I’m so freaking excited for the next book!
One of my very favorite types of series is one about a family where each sibling finds their HEA. If you can throw in a sassy grandpa or wise grandma, I’m pretty much guaranteed to love it.
Here are some of my favorite fictional families! Do we have any in common?
Shipley: True North by Sarina Bowen
Bailey: The Bailey Brothers by Claire Kingsley
Winston: The Winston Brothers by Penny Reid
Sawyer: Cloverleigh Farms by Melanie Harlow
Beauregard: North Carolina Highlands by Jessica Peterson
Romance Reviewed 