Monday, January 26, 2015

Desperately Seeking Fireman (Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel #4.5) by Jennifer Bernard

The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel is one of the few “must read” series on my shelves. The stories make me laugh, make me think, and have me falling in love again and again. Desperately Seeking Fireman is a shorter story, but it’s filled with all the things I love most about Jennifer Bernard’s writing!

Blurb…

Fire Captain Jeb Stone and incredibly successful press secretary Nita Moreno have both been burned by love before. That's why neither of them is looking for more than a few steamy nights of passion.

When circumstances find them stranded on an island together, babysitting a cross-dressing senator and the very pregnant wife of San Gabriel's most famous captain, they allow the sparks they feel to take center stage. But as their feelings grow, can they each allow the other past the barriers both have built to protect their hearts?

My thoughts…

I have to be honest, I loved this story and even though it’s a novella, I’m giving it 5 stars because of Jed and Nita. They are great people, the kind I’d love to count amongst my friends. Apart they’re amazing, together they’re perfect! My only complaint about this story is that I would have loved to spend more time getting to know them.

The bottom line…

Jennifer Bernard is a fantastic storyteller, and this series is wonderful. The stories are about real people and the ups and downs of finding that one person who makes you complete, and no matter how many times I read these books, I never get enough!

If you’re looking for something new to dive in to, something romantic, exciting and steamy, then look no further than The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel!

An ARC of this story was generously provided by Avon Books.   

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Sweet Surprise (Sweet, Texas #4) by Candis Terry

Welcome to Sweet, Texas, where neighbors are friends, friends are family, and family is everything!

Description...

Playing naughty or nice...

Fiona Wilder knows all about falling in lust. Love? That's another story. Determined not to repeat past mistakes, the single mom and cupcake shop owner is focused on walking the straight and narrow. But trouble has a way of finding her. And this time it comes in the form of a smoking hot firefighter who knows all the delicious ways to ignite her bad-girl fuse.

Can lead to heartbreak...

Firefighter Mike Halsey learned long ago that playing with fire just gets you burned. He's put his demons behind him, and if there's one line he won't cross, it's getting involved with his best friend's ex. But when fate throws him in the path of the beautiful, strong, and off-limits Fiona, will he be able to fight their attraction? Or will he willingly go down in flames?

Or a sweet surprise!

***********

Sweet Surprise is the fourth installment in Candis Terry's Sweet, Texas series, a series I absolutely adore. Each book is fun, romantic, and sexy, and gives me exactly what I look for in escapism reading.

In this book we finally get Fiona's story, and what a story it is! I have to honest, I'm not sure I really bought her being 100% happy with her ex husband, Jackson, finding his happily ever after with another woman, but after reading Sweet Surprise... well, there's no doubt in my mind that she is definitely that kind of awesome. She and Jackson, both. They care for each other, so much, in fact, that when it became clear to them both that they married for the wrong reasons, they divorced but remained close friends. That's a tough storyline to pull off, but Candis Terry does it with flying colors!

As I said, I adore this series. Ms. Terry never fails to deliver characters we can't help but fall in love with, whether they're the leads or the supporting cast. Mike and Fiona are great people with pasts they're trying to leave behind. And even though both have their demons, they're not needy. They are strong, intelligent, hard working people who want the same things we all want; health and happiness and love. And it's their normalcy that makes them people I believe in and relate to and cheer for and, truth be told, wanted to smack when they were being too dense to realize and admit the depth of their feelings for one another.

If you're like me and enjoy the close knit feel of small town romances that come with fun, quirky small town folks and just the right amount of passion and steam, then you absolutely need to read this book! I do recommend reading in order so you get get the whole back-story, but trust me, once you read Sweet Surprise, you'll want to go back and read them all, anyway. So save yourself the trouble and start from beginning. You won't regret it!

An eARC was generously provided by Avon Books. In appreciation, I'm giving them an honest review.