Hello friends.  Can you believe that a week ago today we were all anticipating our Thanksgiving dinner? Time is just flying by.  My daughter was home from college and insisted that we start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.  She was all excited, bugged her Dad all day to get everything down from the loft in the garage. So he did, and she worked on things for about 20 minutes and gave up.  So, as usual, everything falls to me. I’ve got the tree partially decorated and will finish up this weekend; but my family room is a mess with boxes and stuff. It’s such a huge undertaking!

As for books, I have two for you today:

Ache For You by J.T. Geissinger (Slow Burn #3)
Contemporary Romance
November 6, 2018
Montlake Romance

Kimber DiSanto has been left at the altar and her business has gone up in flames. When she learns her father is dying, she jumps on a plane to Italy. Upon arriving she learns that her father had gotten married without telling her. When her father dies, she inherits his business and his home. Faced with some serious decisions, she’s not quite sure what to do next.

Matteo Moretti is the owner of a fashion house that, at the moment, is without a designer. When he meets Kimber and sees her drawings he knows she has the talent that could bring his business some much needed recognition.  Unfortunately, their meeting doesn’t go so well, and leaves Kimber less than impressed by him. Matteo is determined to win her over, but he really has his work cut out for him.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series so I was excited to read this one.  This story combines an enemies to lovers theme with a bit of the poor girl meets rich boy and falls in love.  I enjoyed Kimber’s character. She’s been dealt one bad hand after another and Matteo’s proposition is just one more deal that she’s forced to endure. But she’s a really smart, tough girl and I loved her independence and her approach to her situation.  Matteo does arrogance well, but the reader knows that there is so much more to him. I didn’t really like that he kept his plan a secret from Kimber, but I can see how it was used to cause some interest and conflict between the couple.

Kimber and Matteo have undeniable chemistry and their road to happily ever after is not easy.  Secondary characters bring a lot of humor and round out the story nicely. And we are gifted with two other characters finding their happily ever after.  I will definitely be checking out Geissinger’s other books!

Grade: B+
Kindle

 Unspeakable by Elisabeth Naughton (Deadly Secrets #4)
Romantic Suspense
November 20, 2018
Montlake Romance

I have really been enjoying exploring the romantic suspense genre again.  I love trying to figure out how the story will twist and turn and who the bad guys are.

Rusty McClane had a rough childhood until he was adopted by Hannah and Michael McClane.  Now an adult, he’s building his business by day and playing superhero by night. His goal–to save as many young girls from falling prey to human trafficking like his step sister did.  For years now, he’s been working, in secret, perusing the dark web to try to find and help these young girls to somehow make up for the fact that he couldn’t save his stepsister. But someone has noticed him and he’s now being connected to a young girl’s disappearance.

Harper Blake is an ex-cop who is working as a private investigator.  When Rusty is arrested, she’s convinced he’s guilty and sets out to prove it.  As she investigates, what she learns puts not only herself, but Rusty in danger, but they go forward even with the odds against them.

There are a lot characters making up the underground human trafficking ring that Rusty and Harper uncover and I’m not going to lie-I got a bit confused with who was who and who was good, bad or just pretending to be good or bad.  The story woven here goes back many years and it was interesting to note the connections from then to present day. So much conniving and treachery over time. This story definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat and requires you to pay attention.  

It was really satisfying how everything came together in the end. I missed books 2 and 3 in this series, but events from those stories are referenced in this one and I’m curious to read about those previous couples.

Grade: B
Kindle