Melinda's Review: How to Belong with a Billionaire

How to Belong with a Billionaire by Alexis Hall
Publisher: Forever Yours (September 3, 2019)
Series: Arden St. Ives, 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance (Queer, M/M)

1st POV

If you love someone, set them free...

I thought I'd be okay when Caspian Hart left. He was a brilliant, beautiful billionaire with a past he couldn't escape. And I was ... just me: an ordinary man lost in his own life. It would never have lasted. It should never have happened. Not outside a fairytale.

And I am okay. I've got my job, my family, my friends, and everything Caspian taught me. Except it turns out he's going to marry his ex-boyfriend. A man who doesn't understand him. A man who almost broke him. And I've finally realized it's not enough for me to be happy. I need Caspian to be happy too.

Problem is, I've already done all I can to help him. I've followed his rules and broken his rules and learned his secrets. And he still won't believe I can love him. So now it's his turn. His turn to fight, and trust, and hope. It's time for Caspian Hart to choose me.

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Reviews for Hall's books:

• For Real
• Glitterland
• How to Bang a Billionaire

Melinda's Review:

Melinda's Review: Trashed

Trashed by Mia Hopkins
Publisher: Little Stone Press (July 16, 2019)
Series: Eastside Brewery, 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
1st POV

He burns for her. Lucky for him, she likes to play with fire. . .

My name is Eddie Rosas, but everyone calls me Trouble. Since I got out of prison six months ago, I’ve had one goal: find my father, whatever the cost. My older brother says I need to move on. He also wants me to leave our gang, East Side Hollenbeck, and go straight, but I can’t—not until I uncover the truth about our family and its missing piece.

One problem? I’m distracted. My distraction’s name is Carmen Centeno. Smart, passionate, and tough as hell, Carmen is a woman from the neighborhood who’s built her career as one of the city’s top chefs. She’s a master of creating pleasure both in and out of bed. But when our connection deepens, how can I show her I’m not the trash everyone says I am?

The pressure’s rising. Carmen deserves a man she can depend on. And when the ghosts of my past rise up, I’ll have to outsmart them—or lose my shot at a future with the only woman who believes in me.

The Rosas brothers will return in Tanked!

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Reviews for Hopkins' books:

• Thirsty

Melinda's Review:

Melinda's Review: Luna and the Lie

Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata
Publisher: December 12th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance

1st POV

The problem with secrets is that they’re too easy to keep collecting.

Luna Allen has done some things she would rather no one ever know about. She also knows that, if she could go back in time, she wouldn’t change a single thing.

With three sisters she loves, a job she (mostly) adores, and a family built up of friends she’s made over the years, Luna figures everything has worked out the way it was supposed to.

But when one of those secrets involves the man who signs her paycheck, she can’t find it in her to regret it. Despite the fact that he’s not the friendliest man in the world. Or the most patient.

Sometimes there are things you’re better off keeping to yourself.

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Kindle -- KU Title

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Kat's Review: We Will Make Mischief Together

We Will Make Mischief Together by J. Hepburn
Publisher: Less Than Three (March 14, 2018)
Genre: Historical / Steampunk -- F/F
Novella (about 65 pages)
1st POV

Frances once had a life of her own, and a future in a world that was throwing off old shackles.

That was before she was hauled back home to be chained by convention and family, and the dearest person in the world to her went missing, presumed dead.

Then a battered wooden box arrives, bearing a cryptic message from someone she thought long dead.

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Jen's Review: Thirsty

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on March 29th for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

BONUS! Jen's giving away 5 copies of Thirsty next week when she interviews Mia. Be sure to check back! :)

Thirty by Mia Hopkins
Publisher: Loveswept (March 13, 2018)
Series: Eastside Brewery, 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
1st POV

A gangster hiding from his past. A single mom fighting for her future. Can she show this bad boy the man he’s meant to be?

“Mia Hopkins is an imaginative author who doesn’t take the easy road to a formulaic book.”—USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog

My name is Salvador Rosas. Back in the barrio, my past is written on the walls: ESHB. Short for East Side Hollenbeck, my father’s gang—my gang. Hell, it’s a family tradition, one that sent both my brothers away. They used to call me “Ghost” because I haunted people’s dreams. Now I’ve got nothing going for me except a hipster gringo mentoring me in a new career. An ex-con making craft beer? No mames.

Still, people in this neighborhood look out for one another. That’s how I became Vanessa Velasco’s unwelcome tenant. Chiquita pero picosa. She’s little, but with curves so sweet they’re dangerous. I remember Vanessa from the old days, the straight-A student with big plans. Plans that were derailed by another kid stupid enough to think he was bulletproof. Now Vanessa knows better than to believe in empty promises. There’s fire in her . . . and if I touch her, I might get burned.

I’m trying everything I can to go straight. But when East Side Hollenbeck comes calling, I might have to risk it all to find out if there’s a future for Vanessa and me. Because she’s the only one who can quench my thirst for something real.

The Rosas brothers will return in Trashed!

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Jen's Review: The Virgin and the Beast

Are you ready for a good, ranty review? OF COURSE YOU ARE.

The Virgin and the Beast by Stasia Black
Publisher: July 30, 2017
Series: Stud Ranch, 0.5
Genre: Dark Erotica

They say good things come to those who wait.

Bullsh*%!

My whole life has been about waiting. Playing it safe. Be the good girl, don’t color outside the lines. Put in the hard work trying to prove myself to Dad, then to my college professors, then to my boss at New World Media. Just waiting for the day when it will all pay off.

And right when it was all starting to—I finally had the house, the job, I was even thinking about getting a cat—boom!—my life explodes and suddenly now I’m here and—

“All done,” the doctor interrupts my thoughts, pulling off her gloves with a loud snap.

Even from the bed where I’m lying, my legs spread like the Thanksgiving turkey, I can hear the impatient growl of the man standing in the doorway. If you can even call him a man. More like a beast out of a friggin’ fairytale. “Well?”

Her pronouncement echoes throughout the room while the speculum is still inside me. “She’s a virgin.”

Where to Buy*:

Kindle

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Jen's Review: Seared

Seared by Suleikha Snyder
Publisher: Suleikha Snyder (December 12, 2017)
Series: Master Chefs, 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance

1st POV and 3rd POV

It’s been 10 years since Naya saw her stepbrother, Lachlan Christie. In that time, he’s become a famous chef, complete with his own hip and trendy Manhattan restaurant…and she’s become the woman who can give him everything — especially her body and soul. But the past doesn’t always stay dead, and you can’t escape it, no matter how far you fly or how hot you burn.

Naya’s determined to win Lachlan and secure them a happily ever after, no matter what it takes — but is love enough to save her master chef?

In the first book in the Master Chefs series, the forbidden meets the possible — and passion cooks up a storm. 

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[Jen's Review]: "Roller Girl"

Roller Girl by Vanessa North
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (July 23, 2016)
Series: Lake Lovelace, 3
Genre: F/F Romance -- Contemporary

1st POV (Tina only)

Recently divorced Tina Durham is trying to be self-sufficient, but her personal-training career is floundering, her closest friends are swept up in new relationships, and her washing machine has just flooded her kitchen. It’s enough to make a girl cry.

Instead, she calls a plumbing service, and Joanne “Joe Mama” Delario comes to the rescue. Joe is sweet, funny, and good at fixing things. She also sees something special in Tina and invites her to try out for the roller derby team she coaches.

Derby offers Tina an outlet for her frustrations, a chance to excel, and the female friendships she’s never had before. And as Tina starts to thrive at derby, the tension between her and Joe cranks up. Despite their player/coach relationship, they give in to their mutual attraction. Sex in secret is hot, but Tina can’t help but want more.

With work still on the rocks and her relationship in the closet, Tina is forced to reevaluate her life. Can she be content with a secret lover? Or with being dependent on someone else again? It’s time for Tina to tackle her fears, both on and off the track.

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