Happy Thursday! Storms and Secrets is out today and I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. What a sweet small town romance! This is book two in the Haven brothers series, and unlike book one, this isn’t so much a romantic suspense as it is a romantic domestic thriller (is that a thing??) We’ve seen Marigold in other books as the best friend, the girl who’s waiting on her own HEA while all her friends all fall in love. She’s secretly been crushing on Zachary Haven, her best friend’s older brother, but he doesn’t seem to notice her existence, or worse, bolts from whatever room she’s in. After a near death experience, Zachary realizes he’s actually in love with Marigold, but the timing is off as she’s just started dating a handsome new-in-town stranger. Zachary is determined to win her over and I love a determined man! They were so cute together, it felt almost like young love even though they’re in their 30s. Marigold was a sweetheart of a character, always helping everyone else out so I loved watching her finally get her HEA. Zachary made some mistakes along the way but I loved how he learned and grew and became the man Marigold needed. This is an odd thing but I loved that they had normal jobs – he’s an electrician and she’s a salon owner/hair stylist. It fits the small town setting so well, and of course it was great to be back in Tilikum. There is a bit of a love triangle but not one where I didn’t know exactly who she’d end up with. There’s also a secondary plot of a local girl gone missing and we do get to see what happened to her and how it comes around full circle to Marigold and Zachary’s doorstep. While it wasn’t a really suspense filled whodunnit type story, it was interesting to see it all unfold. Overall this was a cute, sweet, easy reading romance that I read in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down!
Happy Thursday! Today we are lucky because a new Claire Kingsley book has released. I am doubly lucky because I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a sweet small town romance! It’s got all my favorite things – grumpy/sunshine, characters in their 30s, forced proximity, quirky small town, and a good dose of romantic suspense.
It’s a slow burn as they move from strangers to friends to lovers and I loved watching how they melted for each other, especially Josiah because what’s better than a stoic man who is perfectly happy on his own falling for a quirky sunshine woman?
Though this is a spin off of the Bailey Brothers (which is a spin off of the Miles family) you could definitely read this one as a standalone. That being said, it sure was wonderful being back in Tilikum with all its weird residents and squirrels. I never thought I’d be rooting for the Havens but I can’t wait for more of these brothers!
I’m not always into office romance probably because all my years working in an office but sometimes it works! Especially if it’s an author I already like, I will still pick it up.
And look, I get it. The late hours, the forced proximity, the power dynamics, it’s hard to resist (fictionally)! Here are some that I’ve really enjoyed.
What do you think the sexiest (… or should I say hottest 🤭) profession is? I don’t know but firefighter has to be up there! There’s something about a man who’s willing to put his life on the line to save old ladies and kittens, you know? Plus he can carry me.
Happy Father’s day! In honor of the holiday, here are some of my favorite fictional daddies. I am such a sucker for this trope, especially if you throw in a small town setting and a blue collar profession.
Do you have any favorites? I need all the recommendations.
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
Marriage of Convenience gets a lot of well deserved hype, but I also love its drunken little sister, Oops!-we-got-married-in-Vegas. The regret, the hangover, the awkward aftermath, the eventual feelings and trying to figure out how to make the marriage work in the real world – I love it all.
What a sweet ending to this series! I have thoroughly enjoyed this romcom series about a group of ladies brought together by their love of running and dirty martinis.
This one is an opposites attract/neighbor/single dad romance between Nora, the last single member of the dirty martini running club. Though all her friends have recently fallen in love, Nora isn’t looking for that in her own life. She wouldn’t mind a fling with the hot tattooed single dad next door, though. Dex doesn’t need the complication of a fling, not while he’s raising his impressionable teenage daughter alone, but his attraction to Nora is too much to resist – however, he wants more than a fling.
Nora was a strong,confident, independent woman and I appreciated the way she stood up for what she believed in. I love when the heroine is the commitment-phobe! Dex is a dream – gruff, but with a heart of gold. He’d do anything for his daughter and there’s nothing hotter than that for me. He’s also not afraid to put himself out there and make a grand gesture (swoon.) The chemistry between them was fiery melt-your-kindle hot and I couldn’t tear my eyes away to see how they were going to work out their differences.
I loved Nora and Dex together but even more I loved each of their relationships with Dex’s daughter Riley! The tween years can be rough and we should all have been so lucky as to have Nora Lakes on our side at that time.
This one is perhaps less of a romcom and more of a regular contemporary romance than the others in the series, which is totally fine, just worth mentioning that the tone is a little more serious I think.
Overall a great end to a great series that I’m so sad has come to an end!
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My Take: This was such a special book. I was so satisfied after reading it I could have used a cigarette and I don’t even smoke. This is Claire Kingsley’s best work yet, and I was already a giant fan. She’s broken through to some other dimension of writing I wasn’t aware existed where her words directly squeezed my emotions. I loved the Miles family series and this just takes that wonderful world, expands it, and brings it to a whole other level.
After a terribly tragic evening, Asher and Grace’s lives are torn apart in the most traumatic of ways. Asher returns a broken man, scared of the person he’s become. He tries to move on and put his past, including Grace, behind him, but Grace won’t give up that easy. She’s waited a long time for her fiancé to return and she won’t go down without a fight.
I loved them so much both together and on their own. Asher is so broody and worn down by life. Grace is such a strong badass. The sparks, tension, history, love and friendship between them are so well developed and believable. The world they exist in just feels so real.
I also loved each Bailey brother and can’t wait to continue their journeys. The levity they brought to what could have been a very dark book was certainly appreciated and each one deserves their HEA.
Synopsis
How long would you wait for the love of your life?
The Asher Bailey who comes home to his quirky small town isn’t the same man who put a ring on Grace’s finger. He’s bigger, harder, haunted. Forced to give up Grace and everything else that was good in his life for a prison sentence he barely survived.
Now that he’s home, he finds himself aggressively welcomed by his brothers and gleefully gossiped about by his neighbors. He’d counted on both.
But he never expected to see Grace still wearing his ring.
Grace’s fairy tale didn’t end. It was interrupted. She’s spent the last seven years living her life while waiting for one man. Now that he’s back, she’s got her work cut out for her. He’s scarred and angry, and stubbornly convinced they can’t be together. She’s more than happy to educate him otherwise.
Every beer, every prank, every kiss brings him closer to where he’s always belonged. In her life. In her arms. In her heart.
Asher fears the darkness inside him can’t be contained. But Grace won’t give up on him without a fight.
Author’s note: A brooding, wounded hero and the woman who won’t give up on him. A pack of unruly, prank-loving brothers. A wild neighborhood rumor mill. Spectacular BFF banter. This is a love story about soulmates that delivers the heat and all the feels. The Bailey Brothers series is meant to be read in order and Fighting for Us concludes Grace and Asher’s happily ever after. ☁ Start with Protecting You, FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited: http://mybook.to/ProtectingYou1 ☁ Read book two, Fighting for Us, today FREE with your Kindle Unlimited subscription: https://mybook.to/FightingForUs2 ☁
Claire Kingsley is an Amazon Top 10 bestselling author of sexy, heartfelt contemporary romance and romantic comedies. She writes books with sassy, quirky heroines, swoony heroes who love their women hard, panty-melting sexytimes, romantic happily ever afters, and lots of big feels.
Romance Reviewed 