Charge To My Line by Lani Lynn Vale
Romance Suspense
RATING: B

Vale brings more humor, romance, heartbreak, and sheer craziness in the 6th book in her Dixie Wardens MC series. Fans will remember Grayson ‘Torren’ Trammel from Life to my Line. A firefighter and member of the Dixie Wardens MC, Torren was badly hurt trying to save  friend and brother from a fiery death. Enter Tru Dougherty. A cracktastic physical therapist whose “special” relationship to the fire department is just amps up the fun factor of the story. The explosive romance blends well with a suspenseful mystery; keeping you on your toes. Seeing old friends only adds to the crack level as you race to see who or what wants to make sure Torren and Tru’s HEA never happens.

The Slayer by Kele Moon
Romance Suspense
RATING: A

The Slayer slays the heart in Moon’s 2nd book of her Untamed Hearts series. Love, hate, family, betrayal, hope, and redemption all blend together to build a lush and heart wrenching love story between a former gang banger, Chuto, and a preacher’s daughter, Aliane. If this sounds trite, it’s anything but. The brilliance lies in the characters who live in this story. Life is never easy and sometimes the hardest blows come from those you love the most and nothing even begins to prepare you for the blows this couple has to take for their love and happiness. Dark and forbidding at times, Moon doesn’t try to explain away the criminal element that permeates Chu’s life in order to give him a happy ending. Rather, she uses it as a learning guide, giving us the readers a chance to see the real man behind the deeds. Using the past and the present, Moon slowly shows us Chu’s life from the beginning and the friendship that has built between him and Aliane over the years. We learn the reasons why Chu has tried to stay away from her and the lengths Aliane will go to be with him. Fan will adore the heavy interaction with our favorite Italian boys-Novo and Tino; along with inclusions of past couples. Moon rips out out your heart and soul with The Slayer but in an exceptional fashion, she hands it back to you stronger than ever.

Bayou Blues by Sierra Dean
Urban Fantasy
RATING: B

Sierra Dean is back and ready to rock with a new spin off based on her best selling Secret McQueen series. Ladies and gentleman, meet Genie McQueen. Genie is a witch/werewolf and princess of the southern pack. When a church decides to wage war against the werewolves and kidnap a pack member, Genie and a friend take it upon themselves to ride to the rescue, never imaging the true horror that awaits them. Dean jumps directly into the fray as she sets up the storyline and recaps the world building for fans and new readers alike. Genie is nothing like Secret but has her own skill sets that serve her just fine. Action packed scenes and a well plotted storyline blend well with the dry humor and an interesting potential romance. Looking forward to seeing where Dean will take Genie in the future.

Some Kind Of Normal by Juliana Stone
Romance Contemporary/YA
RATING: B

Stone’s voice resonates through here as she tells us the story of Trevor-the catalyst in Boys Like You. A reckless HS playboy who in the flash of an eye went from an average kid with aspirations of college to traumatic brain injury patient with anger and memory problems and no hope of even graduating high school. Help comes in the form of Everly, a preacher’s daughter, who has her own issues to deal with. As Trevor and Everly grow beyond the boundaries of friendship into something more; secrets are revealed and both are left wondering what being normal exactly means. An emotionally fulfilling and sweet YA romance that doesn’t attempt to plot away the realities that the protags are facing. Angsty teen drama appears randomly with bits of humor and sorrow as readers are gifted with with both Trevor’s and Everly’s POV.

Keep Dancing by Leslie Wells
Romance Contemporary
RATING: B

The sequel to Come Dancing hits some high and low notes as Wells continues on her romance of the rock star and the publicist. Set in the 80s and dripping with the excesses this time period excelled at, Julia and Jack have reached a point in their relationship where the hard work begins. Julia is working towards her own stardom will Jack continues to play in the world that made him. As external forces do their best to force this unusual couple apart, Jack and Julia will need to decide if they should keep dancing or find new partners. Emotionally plump with laughter, love, and heartbreak; readers will reluctantly appreciate that Wells doesn’t take the easy route by allowing our lovers to sweep aside the problems in their relationship or with themselves. Character growth continues but seems to pull them apart as their inability to communicate still exists. We aren’t left feeling confident of this couple’s ability to whether the storm but I have a feeling that Well’s hasn’t given up just yet.