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Back Cover Blurb: Home isn't a place—it's a feeling

Brian Conway is Hayden MacNulty's hero from the start. One Halloween, she knocks on his door, and before long, her puppy love turns serious. His mother, Kathleen, welcomes her with open arms. Brian's house, with its neat shutters and window boxes, isn't just a home. It's family. As the years pass and life pulls them in different directions, Brian remains Hayden's touchstone, her best friend. So how is it that they never seem to get it right when they're together? Not even the child they bring into the world can persuade Hayden to accept Brian's proposals.

But a life-altering challenge can change almost anything, and in one special moment Hayden knows it's time to say, 'I do.'

A heartrending story, this book takes us along through the memories Hayden and Brian share of their longtime friendship and love. We get sneak peaks into how they fell in love, who these people are and how their shared pasts bring them back together when the unthinkable nearly tears them completely apart. I laughed, I cried, I got aggrevated...so yeah, it was a great read. :)

A++

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Back Cover Blurb: Even by vampire standards, Reaper is a loner, and his current mission to destroy a gang of rogue bloodsuckers is definitely a one-vamp job. Then fate takes a hand, and before he knows it, he's surrounded by a ragtag crew of misfit helpers: the newbie, the princess, the shape-shifter and the human healer. Seth is new to immortality, but he's sharp and strong—and he'll risk anything for the rogues' strange female captive, a secretive creature he doesn't understand but feels compelled to save. Vixen is confused by the emotions that swirl through her at the sight of her impulsive hero. She only hopes the brutal Gregor and his bloodthirsty renegades will leave her alive long enough to explore them. Or will Reaper himself be the one to destroy them all?

I'm a huge Wings in the Night fan so yeah, this was an auto-buy for me. And while the only way you'd know it was part of that particular series was Rhiannion's brief scene in the prologe, I still greatly enjoyed this novel. Not to say that I don't have some issues with it.

The greatest issue I have is deciding exactly who in hell the hero and heroine are. Only one of the three sets of characters gets a HEA. The other characters, while their POV's are there, don't really contribute anything to that. Not to mention that with so many POV's in one book (and no clear H/h) there wasn't really any time to truly develope any of the characters the way I'm used to in this series. Sure, I'm used to their being a cast of characters involved but this was different than that.

All that being said, I did actually thoroughly enjoy this novel. Maggie Shayne has a great voice that over-rides any issues I may have had. And the story itself--which I'm assuming will continue in the following books? or at least I hope?--was fast paced and gripping.

So, I give this one an A+. (no extra + because of said issues.)

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Back Cover Blurb: From the moment Rudy Vaccaro saw her, he was a goner. Never mind the fact that his twelve-year-old daughter hated the house on site. The old girl might be nothing to look at, but Rudy saw her potential. So did Violet Kildare….

The house was supposed to be hers! Now Violet would have to find another place for her and her two sons to live. And then Rudy made an offer the struggling single mother couldn't refuse.

There was plenty of room at the inn. But Rudy needed Violet's help—actually, he needed Violet, period. Somehow he had to show the once-burned mom that what was his was hers—and vice versa!

Another winner from Karen Templeton. I can't even explain what exactly I enjoyed so much about this book. I loved Rudy, sure. And Violet's kids were adorable. But the story itself was just one of those simple pleasures that you love but can't pinpoint why. And why dissect something that you enjoyed? So I won't. I'll just say, "I enjoyed this book a great deal and look forward to whatever Ms. Templeton has for me next."

A++

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Back Cover Blurb: Charismatic Nick Martelli is all smoldering good looks and animal magnetism. Unfortunately, he's not the man Sydney Gordon is nearly engaged to—the man who's waiting for her to come back from Europe and accept his marriage proposal.

And Nick's certainly not what you'd think of as ideal husband material. Sydney needs somebody steady to help her rein in her impulsive nature… Doesn't she?

I do loves me some Terry McLaughlin. She's an auto-buy for me and it isn't any wonder why. Much like previous books, the characters in this one came alive for me. Sydney was such a fun complex character. I enjoyed watching her twist herself into knots and tripping on her own feet--figuratively and literaly. And Nick--ah, if only men like Nick truly existed.  Together they were fun, hot and definitely worth spending time with.

A++

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Back Cover Blurb: After taking the rap for a crime he didn't commit, Jake Chandler swore he'd seen the last of his unforgiving Texas hometown. Until family business brings him back…face-to-face with his past in River Bluff. Face-to-face with Rachel Diamonte.

And now the former homecoming queen—a single mother who needs help—has the nerve to ask him for a job. It could be Jake's chance to make her pay for what she did.… So why does he find himself compelled to protect her and her little girl?

As a stand-alone book I think I'd have enjoyed it much better. As it were, I got the feeling that this particular author maybe didn't spend as much time collaborating with the two previous authors as she could have/should have. The time-line of the other characters doings didn't seem to mesh with the previous books--Cole especially. It really felt off. And, an issue that was started in Betting On Santa that Cole had with Jake was never really resolved. I wanted a little bit more closure on it than the glossing over the author gave it. Another thing that seemed off was that the Jake in this book seemed terribly at odds with the Jake from previous books though I can attest from first hand experience that writing another person's character in a collaboration is a tricky thing indeed. So I can't fault the author on that. The previous authors are more at fault for that and perhaps they should have consulted this author more. I don't know but all these things just left me feeling confused at first.

Other than that it was a decent story. Jake is a far more forgiving man than I'd have been but then I got the impression that Jake is an old softy at heart with a conflictingly big chip on his shoulder. Like most folks he's a contradiction to himself. lol Rachel was an interesting character/heroine. Her devotion to her Down Syndrome daughter was touching and I loved that Jake accepted her daughter as more normal than not and seemed to bond with her before he did Rachel.

All in all, as I did it's predecessor, I'll give this one a B+. Enjoyable but not gushing worthy.

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Back Cover Blurb: But this time Tessa Jamison isn't leaving River Bluff, Texas, until she finds what she came for: the father of her sister's two-year-old son. And the stand-in Santa at the local church bazaar could be the man she's looking for.

Which means gambling everything she's got. Including her heart.

The second in the Texas Hold 'Em mini-series, this was almost as good as the first. Cole is stubborn and hotter than concrete in Texas at noon in the summer. The brother to the first book's heroine, Annie, we learn what deamons haunt Cole and see him grow though as he learned about himself while seeking out the true father of Tessa's nephew. Tessa was a bit of a sap though I think she meant to be strong though it takes a mighty strong woman to resist a hottie like Cole for too long.

I know this review isn't very clear but to sum up, it didn't suck. I can't think of one single thing I didn't really like about it but it didn't exactly set off my gushing mechanism that hails a really amazingly good book. I give it a B+. Enjoyable but not terribly memorable--which is why I can't seem to write the review terribly clearly.

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Back cover blurb: When a blizzard strands Fiona MacPherson and her students in Oregon's Cascade Mountains, their only hope of survival is to seek shelter at Thunder Mountain Lodge. Their host is John Fallon, a handsome, enigmatic war veteran haunted by secrets and scars that may never heal.

John Fallon never imagined he'd be playing host to this captivating teacher and her eight teenage charges. But when his solitude is shattered by their arrival, his world shifts on its axis. He needs Fiona—but does she need him? There's only one way to find out. The ex-soldier must find the courage to reach out to the remarkable woman who has transformed his life.…

I enjoyed this book immensly. John was such a complex character and I loved how he had to begin to resolve his issues (mainly PTSD) before could ever truly committ to Fiona and even more, I loved that Fiona would accept him fully until he at least committed to getting the help he needed. This was no weak-knee'd heroine here.

The icing on the cake was the sweet friendship that bloomed between these two characters in the most unlikely of circumstances. That they forged not just a romanctic love but a friendship as well really great. Another refreshing thing about this book was the involvement and interactions with the teens that were stranded at the lodge with them. They were really fun and had a very real feel to them. They added an extra element of interest for sure.

All in all, I give this one an A++.

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