No last names. No life stories. Those were the rules.
Once upon a time a cocky, copper-haired tourist sauntered into Zara’s bar. And even though she knew better, Zara indulged in a cure for the small-town blues. It was supposed to be an uncomplicated fling—a few sizzling weeks before he went back to his life, and she moved on.
Until an accidental pregnancy changed her life.
Two years later, she’s made peace with the notion that Dave No-Last-Name will never be found. Until one summer day when he walks into her coffee shop, leveling her with the same hot smile that always renders her defenseless.
Dave Beringer has never forgotten the intense month he spent with prickly Zara. Their nights together were the first true intimacy he’d ever experienced. But the discovery of his child is the shock of a lifetime, and his ugly past puts relationships and family out of reach.
Or does it? Vermont’s countryside has a way of nurturing even tortured souls. The fields and the orchards—and hard won love—are Bountiful.
Sarina Bowen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She lives in Vermont's Green Mountains with her family, six chickens and too much ski gear and hockey equipment.
In 2016, Sarina became a Rita Award winner! The Romance Writers of America honored HIM by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.
Country boy, Ryder Davis has the world at his feet. A stellar rugby career, a winning way with women and a beach view that keeps him in blue sky and bikini babes. He's living the dream. The last thing he needs is a Great Dane called Tiny destroying his feng shui.
Dog whisperer, Juliet Morgan is about to start living her dream and she's counting down the days. In two months she'll finally be moving to Italy and no man's going to stop her this time. Not even a rugby superstar with a badly behaved pooch.
But when Ryder skids into the animal shelter looking for help Juliet agrees to assist him with his canine issues. Pretty soon they're assisting each other out of their clothes and tumbling headlong into a sex thing with an expiry date.
Neither of them expected it to become more. But when for now starts to feel like forever Juliet hits the panic button. Ryder knows he has to play the long game and let her walk away. After all it's not over until the final hooter sounds and all's fair in love and rugby.
Each book in the Sydney Smoke Rugby series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.
*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
This series keeps getting better and better with each and every book that comes out and I can't help but fall in love with Sydney Smoke's players.
It was nice to read a book where the roles were flipped, where the woman wanted a no-strings attached fling, while the man is leaning towards a proper relationship, I found that very refreshing. I also loved how Andrews at one point goes to show how comfortable two people can get with each other, that it's only really a matter of perspective, really. Ryder and Juliet have very different perspectives when it comes to how they view their relationship, and it's really interesting to read about that.
I liked Ryder. He was very funny and very sexy, and I liked that he was honest about how he felt about Juliet even though she wanted none of those pesky emotions. I also loved what he did for Tiny. He's such a good man just for taking care of Tiny as if that dog was his. I also liked that he admitted he needed help in managing Tiny, which is not something that most people even think about when getting a dog.
Juliet's story was pretty heartbreaking, really. I do understand why she didn't want a real relationship, although throughout the book it was pretty obvious she was lying to herself the whole time by not giving the proper title to what she and Ryder had. That was the thing I struggled with the most, the fact that ultimately she wasn't being honest with herself and with Ryder. At the same time, I liked that she was open and honest about what she wanted from the start, she didn't lie about her intentions.
Before I finish this review, let me talk a little bit about Tiny. The book starts with Ryder being emotionally conned into taking care of Tiny, and it is incredibly funny to see how he struggled with that dog. On one hand, I laughed like a lunatic, because it is funny, especially when Ryder took Tiny for his first walk and the first morning together. On the other hand, I cringed a little bit, because it was like I was reading about my dog at times (the walking part). I felt super happy to see that Andrews did a fantastic job into working dog training into the situation, which let's be honest, is something that not a lot of people think about when getting a dog. So yay for dog training.
The book was fast paced, it was funny, and it ended almost too fast. I am in love with this series, and I can't wait for book 5, because I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed that there will be a book 5.
Series Order:
Book #1 Playing By Her Rules
Book #2 Playing It Cool
Book #3 Playing the Player
Book #4 Playing With Forever
Amy Andrews is a multi-published, award- winning author of 50+ romance novels across both traditional and digital platforms. She writes for Harlequin Mills and Boon, Entangled, Harper Collins Australia, Momentum Publishing, Escape Publishing and Tule. She's sold in excess of a million books worldwide and has been translated into over a dozen languages. In her spare time she is a PICU nurse and mother of two teenagers. She lives on acerage on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia but secretly wishes it was the hillsides of Tuscany.
Author: Carrie Ann Ryan Series: Talon Pack #6, Redwood Pack #13 Audience: +18 Genre: Erotic Romance, Paranormal Romance Publisher: Pink Ink Books Release Date: September 12th 2017 My Rating: 5 cups Source: InkSlinger PR Blurb (from Goodreads):
The Talon Pack continues with a new twist to the Packs and a revelation no one was prepared for.
Mitchell Brentwood is aware that others think he’s the harsh taskmaster Beta trying to keep his Pack alive, but they only see what he wants them to know. He’d once thought he had his path laid out before him, but when his future was violently ripped away, he vowed he’d never let anyone close again—especially not a young wolf from a traitorous Pack.
Dawn Levin may be younger than the war that destroyed her people, but she knows she must still pay for their sins. She’s ready to find her way in this new world where wolves and humans blend as one, but first, she needs to fight her attraction to the dark wolf that stands in her way.
While the two struggle with their feelings and burning attraction for each other, they can’t ignore the world that shakes beneath their feet. There is a new enemy on the horizon, one with revenge and the unknown on their minds. An adversary that might be closer than they realize.
*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
It seems that I've been on a roll lately discovering paranormal series that I need to read ASAP and that's making me super happy. I've only read Carrie Ann Ryan's contemporary books, and I am happy that I decided to try out more of her work.
As I said before, I love to see how each author describes the myth of the shifters, and while I don't know the full explanation included in the Redwood Pack/Talon Pack series, I liked what little I got to read about in Destiny Disgraced. The idea that there's an outside force, called the moon goddess, that blesses shifters with the mating and pack bonds was really interesting and new. I liked the fact that just because they received the blessing of the moon goddess didn't mean that they couldn't lose it, although some stuff revealed during the book makes me wonder about the motivation of this moon goddess. I am hoping she'll reveal herself during the next few books.
I also liked the whole mating concept. It wasn't the usual approach I've read time and again, which was really nice, and I loved the idea that Ryan introduced in her book. I'm very curious about how triads work, so I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that I'll read about that once I get to read the earlier books.
Mitchell was an interesting hero. His full story and his reasons for staying away from Dawn are revealed little by little during the story, but once you learn the full story, you can completely understand his struggle with this mating bond. It was tragic to read about, and you can tell that he has the potential of being a much stronger male, but because of his past, because of what he went through, he's truly scarred and hurt. And I found it truly amazing and it made my nerdy side really happy to see that some details from the cover of the book not only are they found in the story itself, but you also learn the why of it. Can't say more than that because of spoilers, but I had to say just that.
Dawn was also a very great heroine. I found that she was a truly strong female, one that had the potential to be something more but because of her Pack's story, she was lacking the opportunities for them. I ached for her because of that, because her true potential wasn't being fully explored due to something her ancestors did. I liked her spirit. I liked that she could be a badass and defend herself and her friends when they needed protection, and at the same time allow herself moments of vulnerability. She and Mitchell are a perfect match, really, and I was truly happy that they found themselves.
The interesting thing about this book, and I can only hope this is something that happens with all books, is that every now and then, you get a chapter told in some different character's POV. I found that intriguing, not just because it teases about the next book's main characters, but it also shows you just a tiny piece of the puzzle, just enough to get my interest piqued.
The story is truly well paced, and I managed to read it in one sitting. I found that although I knew nothing about this world, I was able to read without feeling lost. I felt the need to know more, but not in the sense that I couldn't understand what was happening or that I was confused by the lack of knowledge.
As I said in the beginning, I'm truly happy that I got to read this book and that I've found yet another great paranormal series. I plan on working my way through the Redwood and Talon series, while I'm waiting desperately for the next book in the series.
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking.
Author: Sarina Bowen
