The Highland Chieftain by Amy Jarecki

After being unceremoniously jilted by her betrothed, Lady Mairi MacKenzie is humiliated and heartbroken – but she’s not desperate. As the daughter of an earl, she won’t give her hand to just anyone, and she definitely isn’t swayed by a last-minute proposal from Laird Duncan MacRae. The powerful clan chieftain may be disarmingly handsome and charming, but he’s not a nobleman. Mairi doesn’t want his pity or his charity – even though his dark smoldering gaze makes her melt with desire.

Dunn may be a battle-hardened clansman, but he’s always had a soft spot for Mairi. For years, she tormented him with flirtation – only to reject him. But he’s not giving up. When Mairi is attacked by redcoats, Dunn goes after the woman he loves. Through brute strength and fierce action, he will protect her life at any cost. But to win her heart, he will have to show her the tenderness in his own.

Look folks, I can’t say how happy I was to have found this author. Show me a Laird with some integrity, and I’ll show you all of my Kindle money. Seriously. And, ya wanna know the cool thing? Amy Jarecki has more books out there. So, I’m broke now.

This particular book is exactly as the blurb says. There is nothing in advertisement that isn’t delivered within the pages of the story. You get what you ask for and you get it in a way that holds you for as long as it takes to read the entire story.

Starting with the main character, Mairi MacKenzie, I’ll say that she is someone I would want to be my friend. Her range of feelings throughout the book are very human, which a reader tends to appreciate. Though she is a strong character, she isn’t out of touch with reality (her own reality, that is). Maybe the author knew someone like her and that’s why Mairi turned out to be a character I felt I knew.

Dunn, on the other hand, was just as real, but somewhat of a different sort–and that’s not a bad thing. Who doesn’t love a highlander with a heart of gold? He was very well written and a very realistic match for Mairi MacKenzie.

The KINDLE copy of The Highland Chieftain is only $3.99 and has 100% earned my stamp of approval and a full recommendation. Go buy it and read it today. TODAY, folks. You’re welcome.

 

A Summer Scandal by Kat French

When Violet moves to Swallow Beach, she inherits a small Victorian pier with an empty arcade perched on the end of it, and falls in love immediately. She wants nothing more than to rejuvenate it and make it grand again – but how?

When she meets hunky Calvin, inspiration strikes. What if she turned the arcade into an adult-themed arcade full of artisan shops?

Not everyone in the town is happy with the idea, but Violet loves her arcade and business begins to boom. But as tensions worsen and the heat between her and Calvin begins to grow, life at Swallow Beach becomes tricky. Is it worth staying to ride out the storm? And can Violet find her own happy ending before the swallows fly south for the winter?

Well, I’m going to start this review off by saying that there is absolutely nothing within the pages I’d call scandalous. Not one thing. It’s a very vanilla romance with very vanilla characters who have very vanilla problems. That doesn’t make it a bad book, however. Even though the title is somewhat misleading, it’s a decent read, if not somewhat dull through the majority of it.

But, since the word scandalous is right in the title, I will say that I had higher hopes for the story and the characters–particularly the main character and her love interest. Yes, I know that a scandal could be described in ways that are debatable–one gal’s scandal is certainly not the next, so take this with a grain of salt.

There is a bit of comedy within the story, which some of my blog readers know I love. So, it has that going for it. I may give this author another shot one day, but honestly I won’t go out of my way. I’ll recommend this book to some of my friends who read this sort of thing, though! Happily, too. It’s well written and the story is well formed–no big issues with anything other than that it just simply wasn’t for me.

Get a KINDLE copy of A Summer Scandal by Kat French for $5.99 if you’re interested. 

Coming Home to Ottercombe Bay by Bella Osborne

Daisy Wickens has returned to Ottercombe Bay, the picturesque Devon town where her mother died when she was a girl. She plans to leave as soon as her great uncle’s funeral is over, but Great Uncle Reg had other ideas. He’s left Daisy a significant inheritance – an old building in a state of disrepair, which could offer exciting possibilities, but to get it she must stay in Ottercombe Bay for twelve whole months.

With the help of a cast of quirky locals, a few gin cocktails and a black pug with plenty of attitude, Daisy might just turn this into something special. But can she ever hope to be happy among the ghosts of her past?

If I’m being honest, not all books are going to work for me all the time. This is one of those fair weather books. If I’d read it in a certain mood, I may not have liked it at all. But, to be fair, I read while I was in a whimsical mood, so I actually did like it. I am mentioning this because I know there are other readers like me–what works one minute, may not the next.

I did enjoy this book. It’s a fantastic summer read and would make a fantastic early fall read, too, because once you’re in a whimsical reading mood, it enchants. Somewhat reminiscent of a Hallmark movie, it’s gripping in a light way–the main character, Daisy, and the ways in which she maneuvers her life–running away from problems (or people and familial situations) instead of facing them and dealing with them–is almost a novel (and Hallmark film) cliche, but as long as I tried not to think about it, it didn’t bother me as much as it may have. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

My one gripe was I thought Daisy might have been a stronger character when I chose to read this book. I really hoped for more for her, but the novel just didn’t deliver. I wanted a stronger, more intelligent lead character and I really didn’t get that with Ottercombe Bay. I don’t know that I’ll read more by this author, so if you’re waiting on anything else from her, you may want to check it out yourself rather than waiting on another one of my reviews.

For my blog readers, please do note that other people are really loving the book, so you might, too. Most of you, I believe, are looking for something more, though, and with that in mind, I beg that you hold your horses and wait on the reviews for some of the other books I’ve read over the last few months. There were some really great titles in there, lacking the indecisive, running-from-everything lead character. 

 

Wild Hunger by Chloe Neill

***WARNING***
This book is the Heirs Of Chicagoland No. 1, meaning there will soon be an Heirs Of Chicagoland No. 2. However, if you are unfamiliar with this author, please note that she has another series called the Chicagoland Vampires Novels that I feel maybe you should read first. It is NOT necessary because I didn’t start with the Chicagoland Vampires Novels and I felt Wild Hunger stood alone fine. But, I wish I had started with the Chicagoland Vampires Novels. If you, like me, like things to go perfectly in order, maybe start with Some Girls Bite. 

As the only vampire child ever born, some believed Elisa Sullivan had all the luck. But the magic that helped bring her into the world left her with a dark secret. Shifter Connor Keene, the only son of North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, is the only one she trusts with it. But she’s a vampire and the daughter of a Master and a Sentinel, and he’s prince of the Pack and its future king.

When the assassination of a diplomat brings old feuds to the fore again, Elisa and Connor must choose between love and family, between honor and obligation, before Chicago disappears forever.

RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 14, 2018
AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM

I loved this book. It was one of those I couldn’t put down and I felt like I knew each character personally. I have never read anything else by this author, but I’ve already looked her up and I think I’m going to have to look into some of her other series (Devil’s Isle Series, I’m looking at you).  I never once got lost through reading details, lengthy dialogs, or descriptions and I felt the plot pretty much carried itself.

I did expect there to be more interaction between Connor Stupid Keane and Elisa Sullivan, but after I read the entire novel I realize there is probably a good reason why there wasn’t. Their story is building over a few books, obviously, and there is very little in entertainment value lost by not hearing from Connor in every single chapter. Somehow, it works quite well.

The only regret I have is that I didn’t wait until closer to the release date to read the book because now I am ready for the second book, which hasn’t even been announced, much less given a release date. And, the anticipation is really driving me bananas! That being said, I’ll be singing Chloe Neill’s praises all summer long, at every opportunity. And, I’ll be (not so) patiently awaiting the announcement of a second Heirs Of Chicagoland novel.

Bravo, Chloe Neill.
Now, about that second Heirs Of Chicagoland novel…