Sugarcoated: a brother's best friend romance

Sugarcoated by Erin Nicholas is the first book in the Hot Cakes series. Aiden Anderson and Zoe McCaffery practically grew up together. Everything was fine between them until she showed up in his bedroom in lingerie and asked him to take her V-card. It surprised him that she asked and it surprised her when he refused. Embarrassed and humiliated, Zoe threw herself into the family’s bakery business, determined to forgive Aiden and the whole incident. Now five months later, he is back in town, realizing his mistake and determined to tell her he has fallen in love with her and wants to make her his forever. However, there is a snag in his plan. He also has to tell her that he bought her biggest competitor. Aiden realizes he has his work cut for him. 

Sugarcoated is my first book by Erin Nicholas. It is a fun brother’s best friend romance. It was a fun and fast read. Zoe is spunky and sassy. Aiden is sweet and sexy. Their banter and flirting was fun to read. When it came to their spicy, sexy moments, it wasn’t as sexy. I literally skimmed over that part. Their flirtation was much better. The issue of Aiden buying her competitor and it’s revelation to Zoe was slowly built, yet over and forgiven a little too quickly. I enjoyed the secondary characters and their interactions with Aiden and Zoe. The story gives hints as to who pairs off in future stories in the series. Overall, I enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind picking up the rest of the series. If you enjoy fun romance, I recommend Sugarcoated. 

Sugarcoated is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Make Me Wilder: a fun, sweet, sexy romance

Make Me Wilder by Serena Bell is the first book in the Wilder Adventures series. In the small town of Rush Creek, Oregon, Gabe Wilder and his brothers operate the Wilder Adventures. Offering everything from fishing, hiking, survival camping and more, they have done well. That is until new businesses came to town and the new tourists have no interest in getting dirty in the woods. Enter Lucy Spiro, a city girl  sticks out like a sore thumb. She has been hired to give Wilder Adventures a bit of a makeover and help the family business thrive once again. Gabe and Lucy have an instant connection and while they are on the opposite ends of the ideas for the business, they cannot fight their attraction. Lucy is there to do a job and go back to New York City. Can Gabe show her that life in a small town with him would be worth it? 

Serena Bell is a new author to me. Make Me Wilder is a fun, sweet, sexy romance. I could not put it down. The banter and head butting between Lucy and Gabe had me smiling and the grand romantic gesture at the end made me sigh. I loved Gabe as the strong, older brother who felt a duty to take care of the family and the family business. I loved Lucy as a woman out of her element and yet willing to prove she can be as rough and tumble as the small town. Their banter and spicy moments were wonderful. I also enjoyed the secondary characters and look forward to reading their own stories. Every character felt real as their strengths, flaws and fears were relatable. If you enjoy easy to read, page turner romances with great banter, I highly recommend Make Me Wilder. 

Make Me Wilder is available in paperback and eBook

Never Lie: a domestic psychological thriller with unreliable narrators

Never Lie by Freida McFadden is a domestic psychological thriller with twists and turns. Tricia and Ethan are newlyweds who are searching for their dream house. They come to the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who disappeared without a trace. When they are forced to stay at the estate when a sudden blizzard blocks the roads. In her search to pass the time, Tricia comes across a secret room filled with taped sessions of Dr Hale with her patients. Tricia learns the chain of events and a web of lies unravels which led to Dr Hale’s disappearance. As the blizzard rages outside, there are strange events happening inside. Are Tricia and Ethan alone in the house? Or is someone watching? 

I have seen Freida McFadden books everywhere online; however, I haven’t had the opportunity to read one before. Never Lie is my first book by Ms. McFadden. It was a fast paced, easy to read, engaging story. With narrators you aren’t sure you should trust, readers will pick up clues and watch as twists and turns of a rollercoaster until the final page. I closed the book with a sense of awe and amazed at the all around craziness that occurred on the page. Overall, I enjoyed the story. I wasn’t wowed by it but I enjoyed it. I will try other Ms McFadden’s books in the future. If you enjoy fast paced psychological thrillers, I recommend Never Lie. 

Never Lie is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Finders Keepers Library: a heart-warming second love story with hope and healing

The Finders Keepers Library is the first book in the Love in Bloom series by Annie Rains. Savannah Collins’s life has been filled with lots of thorns and zero roses lately. As a gardener with a green thumb, she finds herself out of a job, dumped and evicted, all in one swoop. With all her belongings in her car, she heads to her Aunt Eleanor’s in Bloom, North Carolina, to spend the summer and hopefully figure out a new plan. What she doesn’t expect is to run into Evan Sanders, her childhood crush. Eleanor shares her love of literature with the Finders Keepers Library, located in the beautiful garden her late husband cultivated; anyone can stop by to pick a book or even leave a book. When a sudden summer storm destroys a portion of the library and the garden, it is a race to clean it up for a coming wedding. 

The Finders Keepers Library is a heart-warming second chance love story about hope and healing. It is a sweet story with a few tears and self-discovery. I loved the great applications of books into life situations. From classic stories like Anne of Green Gables to modern stories like The Hunger Games, the characters show us that books can be entertainment as well as  life lessons and inspiration. I also loved that the story uses the therapeutic aspect of gardening. I loved all the characters. From Savannah to Evan to Aunt Eleanor and to the secondary characters, just wonderful, wonderful characters. Their hopes, dreams and struggles were relatable and inspiring. I am looking forward to the more books in this series. I just didn’t want this story to end. If you love stories of second chances, healing with books and gardening, I highly, highly recommend The Finders Keepers Library. 

The Finders Keepers Library is available in paperback and eBook

Every Last Secret: a domestic thriller of neighbors, friends and secrets

Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre is a domestic thriller about neighbors, friends, and secrets. Catherine “Cat” Winthorpe worked hard to get where she is. She has a gorgeous home, great social standing and successful, handsome husband, William. When a new couple moves into the estate next door, She welcomes them, though cautiously, with open arms and friendly hospitality. Neena Ryder is not a fellow lady of leisure. She is a life coach who wants to move up in the world and moving into the neighborhood gets her one step closer. However, she’s not quite there yet. She is more aware of what she doesn’t have, namely a husband like William. As her infatuation with William grows, so does her friendship with Cat. However, beneath their friendly interactions, is a web of temptations, secrets and jealousy. Can their desire for the perfect life turn deadly? 

A.R. Torre is well known for her domestic thrillers. Every Last Secret is my second book by her and I was eagerly waiting to dive in. Unfortunately, from the very beginning, it was not the story I was expecting. It gave off Desperate Housewives vibes which is not my cup of tea. None of the characters had any redeeming factors. The women were catty, bitchy and downright psychotic while the men were weak and spineless. While seemingly realistic, these were not characters I wanted to really know more and understand on a deeper level. The thriller part of the story was a bit unbelievable and didn’t really make sense to me. Overall, I did not enjoy Every Last Secret, however I am looking forward to reading more of A.R. Torre’s domestic thrillers. If you enjoy Desperate Housewives and domestic thrillers, you may enjoy Every Last Secret. 

Every Last Secret is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

The Keepers of Metsan Valo: a mix of Nordic folklore, family traditions and mystery

 The Keepers of Metsan Valo by Wendy Webb is a mix of Nordic folklore and family traditions and finding a new future. In Metsan Valo, on the shores of Ile de Colette in Lake Superior, Anni Halla’s family home has been a place of happy memories, where she and her twin brother, Theo, explored the vast forests and listened to their grandmother’s folk stories. She comes back after the sudden death of her beloved grandmother and finds herself learning there is more to the family stories than just entertainment. As the family gathers for the reading of her grandmother’s will, there is tension in the air and not just between the family members. There are whispers in the wind, bursts of laughter when no one is around and nights filled with strange dreams and visions. As she investigates the strange occurrences, Anni learns there is more truth to her grandmother’s stories than she realized. 

Wendy Webb is one of my go-to authors for thrillers. The Keepers of Metsan Valo is a sleeper thriller with a mix of folklore, family drama and mystery. The story was engaging and mysterious. It was spooky enough to keep me reading and looking forward to more but not so spooky that I was frightened. The way Ms Webb incorporates forests and the animals into the story adds to the eeriness and atmosphere. I enjoyed the incorporation of Nordic folklore which isn’t used in literature very often. I enjoyed all the characters and how they interact with each other throughout the story. I also enjoyed the theme of staying connected to the family, the past and ancestors, remembering their stories and who they were. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to more books by Ms Webb. If you enjoy sleeping, gothic type thrillers, I highly recommend The Keepers of Metsan Valo. 

The Keepers of Metsan Valo is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: a practical parenting tool for Christian families

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God by Lee Ann Mancini answers the question: How can we raise the next generation to have an unshakable faith in God as they navigate the challenging terrain of modern culture? Author and parenting expert Lee Ann Mancini offers the idea that children need a heart change, not just a behavior change, in order to become effective disciples and followers of Christ. She offers ways to teach the essential Christian principles in order to navigate the world with grace, integrity, and a lifelong bond with God. With personal anecdotes and experience, Lee Ann Mancini offers practical strategies to address doubts, fears and questions biblically in today’s culture as well as ways for children to understand their emotions and actions. Raising Kids to Follow Christ has easy to understand apologetics for children and adults with fun ways for parent and child to connect. 

Raising Kids to Follow Christ is another tool at the disposal of parents to help teach biblical principles. With gentle reassurance that it is never too early or too late to start teaching children about Jesus and the cornerstones of Christian beliefs. From basic child rearing techniques to teaching the biblical virtues and the fruits of the Spirit. Each chapter has review questions for parents to consider, apply and adapt for their family’s needs. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It gave me a lot of ideas on how to teach biblical principles in a family environment. I would have liked it better if the questions were at the end of each chapter so the material is fresh in my mind in order to answer, instead of being at the end of the book. If you are looking for another tool in your parenting repertoire, I recommend Raising Kids to Follow Christ. 

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God 

is available in paperback and eBook