Melinda's Review: Daring and the Duke

Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean
Publisher: Avon (June 30, 2020)
Series: Bareknuckle Bastards, 3
Genre: Historical Romance (M/F)

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the much-anticipated final book in her Bareknuckle Bastards series, featuring a scoundrel duke and the powerful woman who brings him to his knees.

Grace Condry has spent a lifetime running from her past. Betrayed as a child by her only love and raised on the streets, she now hides in plain sight as queen of London’s darkest corners. Grace has a sharp mind and a powerful right hook and has never met an enemy she could not best...until the man she once loved returns.

Single-minded and ruthless, Ewan, Duke of Marwick, has spent a decade searching for the woman he never stopped loving. A long-ago gamble may have lost her forever, but Ewan will go to any lengths to win Grace back…and make her his duchess.

Reconciliation is the last thing Grace desires. Unable to forgive the past, she vows to take her revenge. But revenge requires keeping Ewan close, and soon her enemy seems to be something else altogether—something she can’t resist, even as he threatens the world she's built, the life she's claimed…and the heart she swore he'd never steal again.

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Reviews for MacLean's books:

• How the Dukes Stole Christmas
• Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
• One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
• The Day of the Duchess

Melinda's Review:

Sarah's Review: Prem Numbers

Prem Numbers by Suleikha Snyder
Publisher: Suleikha Snyder (December 3, 2019)
Genre: Contemporary Romance (M/F and M/M/F)

The cocky charmer at your local bar...the awe-inspiring U.S. Vice-President you'd lay down your life and your love for...the mysterious stranger who comes to your rescue one night...the beautiful woman you can't touch, because to do so might literally kill you...the smokin' hot roadhouse bartenders who take your troubles away, only to add new ones. These are the prem numbers. They almost always add up to passion.

In this collection, find previously published stories like "In Her Service" and "The Pick-Me-Up" as well as steamy new material like "She's So Lovely," a small-town ménage set in the same world as Tikka Chance on Me.

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Reviews for Snyder's books:

• Seared 
• Tikka Chance on Me

Sarah's Review:

CaribBelle's Review: American Sweethearts

American Sweethearts by Adriana Herrera
Publisher: Carina Press (March 30th, 2020)
Series: Dreamers, 4
Genre: Contemporary Romance (Queer, M/F)

Dual 1st POV

Juan Pablo Campos doesn’t do regrets. He’s living the dream as a physical therapist with his beloved New York Yankees. He has the best friends and family in the world and simply no time to dwell on what could’ve been.

Except when it comes to Priscilla, the childhood friend he’s loved for what seems like forever.

New York City police detective Priscilla Gutierrez has never been afraid to go after what she wants. Second guessing herself isn’t a thing she does. But lately, the once-clear vision she had for herself—her career, her relationships, her life—is no longer what she wants.

What she especially doesn’t want is to be stuck on a private jet to the Dominican Republic with JuanPa, the one person who knows her better than anyone else.

By the end of a single week in paradise, the love/hate thing JuanPa and Pris have been doing for sixteen years has risen to epic proportions. No one can argue their connection is still there. And they can both finally admit—if only to themselves—they’ve always been a perfect match. The future they dreamed of together is still within reach...if they can just accept each other as they are.

This book is approximately 90,000 words

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Reviews for Herrera's books:

• American Dreamer
• American Love Story
• American Fairytale 
• Mangos and Mistletoe

Tropes and themes: Second chance romance, childhood sweethearts, forced proximity.

Content warning: The main character investigates a case of suspected childhood sexual abuse.

CaribBelle's Review:

Melinda's Review: Every New Year

Every New Year by Katrina Jackson
Publisher: Katrina Jackson (December 31st, 2019)
Series: Love at Last, 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance (M/F)

Dual 1st POV

When Ezra Posner was eighteen, he met Candace Garret and fell in love.

When Candace met Ezra, she instantly knew he was the boy for her.

In the middle of their first year at college, Candace and Ezra share a clumsy kiss that should have been the beginning of an epic love affair, but it's not. Instead, it begins a nearly two-decade journey of never quite getting the timing right for love. For almost every New Year's Eve after, Candace and Ezra stumble into one another's arms, but can’t manage to hold onto each other for more than a single night. They live with the expectant giddiness of being able to spend New Year's Eve with the person they love, always hoping that next year will be their year. Until eventually, their annual trysts ruin even the friendship that held them together.

As 2019 ends, Candace and Ezra are both running away from their broken hearts. They board a plane hoping to finally move on from their relationship, only to run right into each other's arms.

Every New Year is a friends-to-lovers romance that takes nearly twenty years to bloom. It's also the first in the Love At Last series, where happily ever afters might take some time to mature, but they're always worth the wait.


Content Warnings:
parental sickness (cancer, diabetes, hypertension)

Where to Buy*:

Kindle (KU)

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Reviews for Jackson's books:

• Grand Theft N.Y.E.

Melinda's Review:

Sarah's Review: Grand Theft N.Y.E.

Grand Theft N.Y.E. by Katrina Jackson
Publisher: Katrina Jackson (December 31st, 2019)
Series: Heist Holidays, 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance (M/F)

Cleo Wright is just a happy scammer on a mission to rob a rich man before his ex-wife or the federal government seize all of his money and possessions. She's not expecting to meet another rich man who makes her want to use her nimble fingers for other, not thieving, things. But Robert Shimizu is just that man.

The two share a night of fast cars, expensive champagne and the best sex of her life. But Cleo is who she is and when Robert wakes up the next morning, she's long gone... with his car and a few other very expensive possessions.

It takes him months to track down the woman who stole his favorite watch and his heart, but when he does, there's fireworks.

Content Warnings:
Mentions of parental illness and death

Where to Buy*:

Kindle (KU)

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Sarah's Review:

Melinda's Review: House Rules

House Rules by Ruby Lang
Publisher: Carina Press (February 10, 2020)
Series: Uptown, 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance (M/F)

ROOMMATE WANTED to share a gorgeous sun-filled apartment in Central Harlem. Must love cats. No ex-husbands or wives need apply.

Seventeen years ago, different dreams pulled Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kuo apart. But when Lana takes a position as a chef back in Manhattan, her apartment search puts her right in her ex-husband’s path. Music teacher Simon is also hunting for a new place to live, and when Lana proposes they be platonic roomies, well…it’s not the worst idea he’s ever heard.

A sunny uptown two-bedroom sounds far more appealing than the cramped, noisy space where he’s currently struggling to work. Still, Simon has seen firsthand that Lana’s a flight risk, so he agrees on a trial basis.

Three months. With strict boundaries.

Living together again feels wonderfully nostalgic, but when the ex-couple’s lingering feelings rise to the surface, the rules go out the window.

Of course, chemistry was never their problem. But while Simon’s career feels back on solid footing, Lana is still sorting out what she wants. With their trial period soon coming to an end, they’ll have to decide if their living arrangement was merely a sexy trip down memory lane or a reunion meant to last.

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Reviews for Lang's books:

• Acute Reaction
• Open House
• Playing House

Melinda's Review:

CaribBelle's Review: The Worst Best Man

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
Publisher: Avon (February 4, 2020)
Genre: Contemporary Romance (M/F)

Dual 1st POV

A wedding planner left at the altar. Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s managed to make other people’s dreams come true as a top-tier wedding coordinator in DC. After impressing an influential guest, she’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials.

Tired of living in his older brother’s shadow, marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him.

If they can survive the next few weeks and nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own.

But even the best laid plans can go awry, and soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn’t interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again...

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Reviews for Sosa's books:

• Pretending He's Mine

Tropes and themes: Interracial romance; Forced proximity; Enemies to lovers; and Just one bed.

CaribBelle's Review:

Melinda's Mini Reviews for January (Part 2)

Melinda has a few mini reviews for you today, from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 Stars.

American Love Story by Adriana Herrera
Publisher: Carina Press (October 7, 2019)
Series: Dreams, 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance (Queer, M/M)

No one should have to choose between love and justice.

Haitian-born professor and activist Patrice Denis is not here for anything that will veer him off the path he’s worked so hard for. One particularly dangerous distraction: Easton Archer, the assistant district attorney who last summer gave Patrice some of the most intense nights of his life, and still makes him all but forget they’re from two completely different worlds.

All-around golden boy Easton forged his own path to success, choosing public service over the comforts of his family’s wealth. With local law enforcement unfairly targeting young men of color, and his career—and conscience—on the line, now is hardly the time to be thirsting after Patrice again. Even if their nights together have turned into so much more.

For the first time, Patrice is tempted to open up and embrace the happiness he’s always denied himself. But as tensions between the community and the sheriff’s office grow by the day, Easton’s personal and professional lives collide. And when the issue at hand hits closer to home than either could imagine, they’ll have to work to forge a path forward…together.

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Melinda's Review:

Melinda's Mini Reviews for January (Part 1)

Melinda has a few mini reviews for you today, from 3 to 5 Stars.

Open House by Ruby Lang
Publisher: Carina Press (November 11, 2019)
Series: Uptown Series, 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance (M/F)

Love can take root where you least expect it.


Tyson Yang never imagined that one day he’d be the de facto spokesperson for an illegal community garden. But when the once-rat-infested-but-now-thriving Harlem lot goes up for sale, Ty can’t just let all their hard work get plowed under.

Even if he is irresistibly drawn to the lovely but infuriatingly stubborn real estate associate.

Magda Ferrer’s family is already convinced this new job will be yet another flop in her small but growing list of career path failures. But her student debt isn’t going anywhere, and selling her uncle’s historic town house and the lot nearby means a chance to get some breathing room.

Ty is her charming rival, her incorrigible nemesis, the handsome roadblock to her success.

Until one hot Harlem night blurs the hard line drawn between them, and the seeds of possibility in this rocky garden blossom into love…

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