Too Hot to Handle

In Katie Rose's Too Hot to Handle, the 2nd installment in the Boys of Summer baseball sports romance series, this newest love story hits a grand slam right out of the ballpark. Jake Baldwin is the star hitter of the Sonics baseball team and a ladies man. But when Nikki Case, their new PR spokesperson, arrived in his world, it changed everything. At first, everyone gave her a hard time by pulling practical joke. They even made a bet to see if Jake can seduce Nikki--a bet he's not willing to lose for a mere locker.  Nikki Case had met her match when she met Jake and the team, though she was through with baseball when her ex gambled away their fortune. But while she tried to clean up their bad boy image, things changed into their favor. She'd gotten to know more about Jake and his persona--how he helped his alcoholic mother and gave a Hispanic boy a job and so much more. While she dealt with pressure from the bass of the team's owner and went toe-to-toe to him, she learned what it was really about the bet and how her heart broken was afterwards. In the end, Jake comes to his senses and sweeps her off her feet to her happily ever after ending.

This was another captivating sports romance with the baseball theme. I'm really enjoying and loving any type of sports romance stories these days, especially with the Covid-19 outbreak. when we'll be watching any sports from home to see fan-less empty stadiums. I really cared for Nikki and how she turned things around for the Sonics and how she cared for her sister and nephews. I also loved how Jake took Joaquin under his wings and cared for his mother and looked out for others in the team. Even though he was coerced into the bet, he did follow his heart and chased his dreams to find his own true love. I loved the Southern New Jersey location and the other visual settings in the area to make it come alive. The themes are to follow your heart and live for your dreams and be caring to others.

If you love fantastic sport romance stories with tons of romantic drama, compelling sports action, lots of intrigue and a spark of mystery, check out Too Hot to Handle today! It's a home run!

The Evil Within

In S.M. Hardy's The Evil Within, this dark thriller will send you goosebumps in every page that would keep you up at night. For Jim Hawkes, he needed a clean slate and to retreat to a sleepy village town. He's still wheeling and dealing with the loss of his fiancé Kat and needed time for his heart to heal. But when he arrived in Slyford St. James, it wasn't the respite he was looking for and expected. He learns from his two newest friends that his cottage has a shady history of sorrow and of neglect. Little did Jim know, that on his first night there, he listened to the voices and the sounds from a ghost haunting the home and later attacking him. This started for him to look deeper and harder to find out more about the cottage and who could've haunted him and harming others in the process. Meanwhile, he finds new love with a woman named Lucy, someone who could mend his broken heart. As they grow closer, they learn more about the evil spirit that's been inhabited and possessed a local resident. The danger's escalated and heightened near him as they race against time to exercise the spirit and rescue Lucy from its evil clutches with a fight to the finish in the end.

This was a terrific and bone-chilling dark thriller with a creepy ghost thriller twist. I did care for Jim and how he dealt with a broken heart and then a haunted house--um, cottage. I loved how he'd gotten to the heart of the mystery of who's been haunting him and why. And I liked how he found new love with Lucy and have found new friends in Jed and Emma. I loved the Slyford St. James as the disenchanted cottage town that had its own dark secrets buried in the ground. I also loved the other English settings around the area. The themes from this story are to do your research before you buy, rent or lease a new home. And don't get possessed by an evil spirit either.

If you love ghost stories that would keep you at night, check out The Evil Within now! It has tons of drama, lots of action, plenty of suspense, and a twisted mystery to keep you guessing and leave you at the edge of your seat!

Earthly Delights

In Kerry Greenwood's Earthly Delights, the first installment in the Corinna Chapman mystery series, this culinary mystery tale gives you delectable treats and a scintillating tale. For Corinna Chapman, she's just a baker in Valley City Australia, trying to get ready too start the work day. But when she finds a dead girl at her doorstep, she calls the police and does some investigating of her own. She learns about the OD and someone who's supplying heroine to these girls. Along the way, she handles two Goth assistants who help her work at the bakery. When Daniel Cohen arrived in her bakery, she finds out he runs a soup van and looks for a girl who's turned out missing. They work together to find out clues while someone's marking her bakery with graffiti on the doors. While she hopes to open business, she helps out Jason, a teen who has an impeccable taste for baking skills, and who has a substance abuse problem. What little can Corinna do, other than go undercover as a Goth to find out who's supplying drugs and play the part of a dominatrix in his club. And the chemistry between Corinna and Daniel is impalpable and read hot. Before they can take it to the next level, they've got to stop a serial drug dealer in the tracks and set him to rights.

This was a great introduction to the Corinna Chapman mysteries. It was real delightful and a treat to read another one of my late mother's favorite authors this year. I instantly cared for Corinna who worked hard for her money in her bakery and to establish her own business too. I loved how she was compassionate to help Daniel on his quest and to have hire some unique helpers on her hands. I did love how Daniel ran a soup van and was diverse since he was Jewish too.  I loved the Valley City location and the surroundings in the area for its vivid scenic settings. The themes are to be compassionate for others, no matter who they are, and to not do drugs.

If you like great storytelling with plenty of non-stop drama, plenty of suspense, sparks of intrigue, and a hint of mystery, check out Earthly Delights tonight and try the included recipes too! 

The Sea Glass Cottage

In RaeAnne Thayne's The Sea Glass Cottage, this beautiful contemporary romance will have you moving to tears by the end of the novel. For Olivia Harper, she always loved living in Cape Sanctuary California as a young child. But after two devastating tragedies in her family, she moved away to Oregon to start a new life. But when her mother fell off a ladder and broke her lip, she rushed home when tensions ran high between her niece and her mother. As she helped her mother out  in the greenhouse and ran her social media  company from home, she never knew why her niece Caitlin hated her and why her mother was distant in the past. But as she bonded with her best friend, Melody, she ran into her late sister's best friend and her childhood crush, Cooper Vance, who also her best friend's brother. Olivia also dealt with fear and panic attacks from an incident in a coffeehouse in Oregon. For Cooper Vance, he's the newest fire chief and a war veteran, who's been consumed by guilt on the night of the fire that claimed Olivia's father so many years ago. But he had feelings for Olivia for the longest time. For Juliet, she dealt with raising Caitlin after Natalie died and has MS, but she had feelings for her neighbor, her late best friend's husband, and didn't want to be anyone's burden. And Caitlin also wanted to find out who's her father and wanted to be there for Juliet and to also patch the differences with her aunt Olivia. All of them dealt with finding out the truths of the past and the crossroads that led them to find happiness there in Cape Sanctuary with a wonderful tear-jerking ending.

This was so beautifully written and wonderful to read. It's so lifting and powerful that tug at the heartstrings. I did care for Olivia, Juliet, Cooper, and Caitlin. As told from their POVs throughout the story, they've dealt with a lot of heartache, sorrow, sadness, and found their own cloud of happiness. Individually, they've also searched for a missing piece in their lives and resolved their own differences. I loved the beautiful seaswept location of Cape Sanctuary, California, and how it was so visual and picturesque at the scenic settings throughout the story. The theme deals with home and what really makes a family, whether it's biological or not. It's about love and second chances to feel settled and rooted.

Grab your tissues! If you love emotionally-moving romances with non-stop drama, suspense, plenty of action, and a bit of sweet romance, check out the Sea Glass Cottage today!

The One Who Got Away

In L.A. Detwiler's The One Who Got Away, this chilling serial killer thriller will leave you breathless and with goosebumps in the end. For 79-year-old Adeline Evans, she just moved into Smith Creek Manor in West Green, London. As a new resident there, strange things have been happening there.  Residents have been "accidentally" killed, the staff neglects them, and no one believes her. During this time, she does a bit of investigation of her own. It also brought back a harrowing time for her when a serial killer targeted young women in 1959. Left, right and center, mysterious bite marks were found on the dead bodies. During this time, Adeline deals with the break-up of her rich boyfriend, Oliver Parsons, and how she fell in love with Charles Evans, who was beneath her station. And also the secret she took to the grave and what brought her back to face the past in the present. When her friend Dorothy winds up dead, it brings her closer to danger and to the truth of who was after her all this time. In the end, Adeline does all she could to fight for survive before she meets her untimely end with a chilling ending.

This was a bone-numbing new thriller from L.A. Detwiler. If you loved Nevada Barr's What Rose Forgot, you'll love this story which has a similar storyline of elderly abuse in a senior care center; though this one has a twist to it...a roaming serial killer. I did care for Adeline and how she lived in a creepy time in 1959, when she dealt with a love triangle, in the summer of terror. And I also liked how she escaped for freedom, when she left the past behind with her true love Charles. I loved the dual timelines which worked out well to tell her story and the serial killer's too. I did like the compelling settings and the locations in West Green and Crawley London to give us thrills and chills. The theme is that the past has a funny way to catch up with you and to atone for your sins.

If you love bone-chilling thrillers that keep you up at night with non-stop action, plenty of suspense, lots of drama, and a spark of dark mystery, check out the One Who Got Away tonight!

The Beach

In Sarah Linley's The Beach, this gripping thriller debut has some shocking twists and turns in store to keep you at the edge of your seat. Five years ago, four friends who graduated from university, partied at a beach in Thailand. They had the time of the lives there until things took a turn of the worse. When Holly's boyfriend George tried to rape her best friend Meg, one of her friends hit George with a rock. The three of them made a pact about to keep this secret about his "accidental death." But fast forward to the present, Holly Metcalfe is a teacher in London and had found a soul mate with her boyfriend Tom, who's been having issues with his ex-wife Rebecca. While she deals with a student's tardiness at her school, someone's been stalking her, burned her house down, and leaving her cryptic message via the phone. It makes her revisit the past to that horrifying time. When she learns that her best friend was killed by an accident OD, it makes her suspicious of who's next and why. And when her other friend was killed a week late, it makes her fear for her life.  As she picks up the pieces to this puzzle, she faces her stalker and confront her in a life-and-death struggle with a gripping climax for the ending.

This was a terrific heart-pounding thriller debut. I did care for Holly and her troubled flight from keeping that harrowing secret from the past. She should've told the truth in the beginning, but it would put everything at risk. She didn't deserved to be treated that way by George either. But I do like her happiness with Tom and his son Jack. I do like the dual locations of Thailand from the past and the vast scenic settings in the London area for the present to make it picturesque and mesmerizing. The theme is that secrets will have a way of coming out and honesty is the best policy too.

If you love heart-pounding suspense, intense drama, gripping non-stop action, and sparks of intrigue, check out Holly's story in the Beach today!

Wild Wild Rake

In Janna MacGregor's Wild Wild Rake, the sixth and final installment in the Cavensham Heiresses historical romance series, this loveswept romance will have you weeping in no time. For Avalon Cavensham Pierce, she was forced into a loveless marriage to Richard Pierce, the Lord Warwyk.  He treated her cold and cheated on her with his pregnant mistress, Mary Bolen. While she was pregnant with his heir, his mistress spared him from harming her and her unborn baby. Ten years later, Avalon is a single mother with her ten-year-old son Thane, who raised him for nine years ever since her husband died from a fever. She spent her time helping unfortunate women who were down on their luck and using her money as a charity. But when Devan Farris, the new vicar of his community, have been asked to spy on her for his brother Gavin, he had no choice since his brother forced his hand. And when he met Avalon and her son Thane, his luck had changed when he tutored Thane. Due to one incident in the wine cellar, magic happened between them when they've shared feelings and how much of the past had hurt them. But after that night in the cellar, there's been accusations against Devan that put his reputation to the test. Only Avalon and Devan knew the truth, and when asked, Avalon proposed a plan for them to marry by special license to salvage his career. All bets aside and the truth is revealed, they've found each other as true soul mates that belonged together with a fitting ending to the series.

What a beautiful way to wrap up this series, though this is the second book in the series. I've read the 4th one last year. I loved how emotionally involved I was in Avalon's world and how she changed things for the better for others around her. She changed a negative into a positive for her and her son. I instantly cared for her and how she became her own woman and found true love with Devan Farris. I loved how she looked after Thane and her sister Sophia too. I did find Devan a charming vicar who had found his own belonging in the village and how he captivated his congregation around him. He became someone that Thane should look up to as he grows up. I loved the English countryside for the locations and the settings in and around London that transported us there. The theme is that love can transcend between two lovers and everyone deserves a second chance to find true love.

If you love heartfelt, emotionally-packed historical romances with lots of drama, compelling suspense, lots of romance, and a spark of intrigue, check out Wild Wild Rake today.