eARC Book review: Close Contact (Body Armor #3) by Lori Foster

eARC provided by publisher through Netgalley

Available 11/28/2017

There’s no resisting a desire like this…

MMA fighter Miles Dartman’s casual arrangement with personal shopper Maxi Nevar would be many men’s fantasy. She seeks him out, they have mindblowing sex, she leaves. Rinse, repeat. Yet lately, Miles wants more. And when Maxi requests his services via the Body Armor security agency, he’s ready to finally break through her defenses—and protect her day and night.

Receiving a large inheritance has brought chaos and uncertainty into Maxi’s life. Her ex has resurfaced, along with lots of former “friends,” and someone is making mysterious threats. Then there’s Miles, who doesn’t ask for anything…except her trust. Pleasure is easy. Now Maxi has to give her heart as well as her body…or risk losing a man who could be everything she needs.

Miles Dartman was a MMA fighter with a chance at a title and then he gave it up to go work at Body Armor with his friends.  He likes his new job and he's good at it. Then he meets Maxi Nevar and she rocks his world three times then disappears until she needs him. Maxi inherited her grandmothers farm and she decided to move it and take care of the place her grandmothers million and one cats.  Weird things keep happening and Maxi questions herself until she wakes up in the backyard a long way from her house in her nightgown and not sure how she got there. She know Miles is the person she needs.  

This was a huge hot for me. Lori Foster starts off the book with a bit of intrigue and suspense. I was hooked by the end of chapter one. I already loved the characters from the previous books and it's always fun to see them again. Miles is a alpha male but Maxi is tough as nails and wants to take care of herself. I really was not sure who the bad guy was until close to the end. The author did a great job of giving us a few suspects to choose from. It's one of those books you enjoy from cover to cover and flows so easily you find yourself at the end before you know it.

Find out more about Lori Foster and this series here www.lorifoster.com

eARC Book review: A Rancher's Heart (Heart Falls #1) by Vivian Arend

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eARC Provided by author


Caleb Stone is wearing too many hats and it’s making him crankier than usual. He’s a cowboy, a father, and the head of his large family—and has been since tragedy claimed his parents over ten years ago. The ranch is struggling, but it's the title of single dad that’s got him tangled up in knots. He needs a full-time, live-in nanny at the Silver Stone homestead in Heart Falls, Alberta, to help with his two little girls, but the woman about to arrive on his doorstep? Tantalizing, tempting, and trouble with capital T’s. 

Tamara Coleman doesn’t regret the choices that led to losing her job, but she definitely needs a fresh start. When a friend recommends her for a nanny position in a new town, she swears this time it’ll be different. No more acting on impulse—except sexy, gruff Caleb is exactly the kind of man who pushes all her buttons. And what’s more, it’s so much fun to push his in return. Sparks fly between Tamara and her gorgeous boss, but she can’t risk her position, and he doesn’t dare risk his heart. 

With two people fighting their true natures, something’s going to give. Luckily, there’s more than one way to capture a rancher’s heart. 

This is the first book in a Spinoff of the Six Pack Ranch series. Vivian Arend introduced us to some of the characters in this book in her last Six Pack book so if you read that series you got a heads up. If you didn't it's fine because you get a introduction to them all again. Caleb Stone is the head of his family. Not by choice. His parents were killed in a car accident years ago so he had to  raise his siblings. They are all grown and he has two little girls of his own now. Their mother and his ex-wife took off and has never looked back. This has left the two girls and Caleb with some pretty significant scars. Tamara Coleman was a nurse but after she was fired from her job for doing the right thing so she needs a new start.  Just so happens Caleb Stone needs a nanny for his two girls and so Tamara's new start begins on the Silver Stone ranch. The first paragraph made me laugh out loud which i thought was a good indicator this would be a good book. There's a lot of characters in this book but it's really not hard to keep track of who is who. Tamara has her hands full getting the girls to trust and believe in her and Caleb has his own set of issues. There are visits from Tamara's two sisters who did not get much book time in the Six Pack series so that was fun. Things don't really heat up til the last quarter of the book but when they do things move quickly. Once Caleb makes up his mind on what he wants he doesn't hesitate. There are some mini stories going on in this book which I hope are going to be full stories in future books. A excellent start to the series. 

Find out more about Vivian Arend here www.vivianarend.com

eARC Book review: Santa Paws is Coming to Town (A Dogfather Short Tail) (The Dogfather #3.5) by Roxanne St. Claire

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eARC provided by author.
This is a 50 page novella.

What could be more joyous than a Kilcannon Christmas? But for Daniel Kilcannon, the man they call “The Dogfather,” this holiday season is anything but happy. It’s been three years since he’s lost his wife and though his family is growing – thanks to his matchmaking efforts – he still dreads the day his dearly departed wife used to love so much. Determined to make Christmas Eve festive and fun, he puts his sadness aside for the family and pretends everything is normal…until it’s not. 

When a recently rescued puppy goes missing on Waterford Farm, all celebrations come to a halt. The entire family, from Gramma Finnie down to the youngest Kilcannon and their cousins, is enlisted on the search. Before they can continue the old Irish tradition of putting a candle in the window to welcome strangers, they must find little Jack Frost…and nothing short of a Christmas miracle can make that happen. 

The Dogfather Series 
Daniel Kilcannon is known as "The Dogfather" for a reason. It's not just his renowned skills as a veterinarian, his tremendous love of dogs, or the fact that he has turned his homestead in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains into a world class dog training and rescue facility. Ask his six grown children who run Waterford Farm for him, and they'll tell you that their father's nickname is due to his uncanny ability to pull a few strings to get what he wants. And what he wants is for his four sons and two daughters to find the kind of life-changing love he had with his dearly departed wife, Annie. This old dog has a few new tricks...and he'll use them all to see his pack all settled into their happily ever afters! 

If you've been reading the Dogfather series you'll enjoy this short little novella. It's a tiny glimpse at the Kilcannon family at Christmas. It has a little of everything in it. Some family history and visits with the couples already covered in previous books as they search for a new missing rescued puppy. Huge surprise for the family in the end. Great addition to the series and a enjoyable quick read. I enjoyed the follow up with some of the characters and bits of history. 

Find out more about it and Roxanne St Claire here www.roxannestclaire.com

eARC Book review: Want It (Wolfshead Whiskey #2) by Elisabeth Barrett

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eARC Provided by the author

Brody Phelan has his hands full keeping the peace between his six brothers and cousins and managing the finances for Wolfshead, his family’s brewery and distillery. He’s gladly sacrificed his own happiness in order to help his family, but from the moment he sees feisty, curvy Juliette Costa he wants to claim her for his own. Too bad their clans are at war and Juliette sees him as the enemy.

Juliette wants one thing–to open up her own wine bar. Problem is she can’t get the project started while she’s constantly helping with her family’s business, dodging her relatives’ misguided efforts to fix her up, and cleaning up her brothers’ messes…which frequently involves some wheeling and dealing with the sexy, bearded CFO next door.

When their tentative alliance morphs into something deeper, things get complicated. Together, Brody and Juliette will have to decide whether they only want a business-with-benefits relationship…or whether they trust each other enough for something more.


Book 2 in the Wolfshead Whiskey series brings us Brody Phelen. The guy who fixes things and keeps the peace. Juliette Costa is the Italian girl who works next door and her family and Brody's are enemies. Problem is Brody is attracted to Juliette and even though she won't really admit it to Brody she is attracted to him too. I loved loved loved Brody! I liked Juliette as well but there was something about Brody. These two were amazing together. Both have some hurts in their hearts but they help each other through it. It's all going well til her family finds out. That's when everything crashes down for Juliette and Brody. Love the Phelan family. So far Brody is my favorite but each other them are so different and interesting. Elisabeth Barrett draws you in with the connections and secrets and loyalty the Phelan's have with each other. I believe you can read this as a stand alone but it if course is much better if you read book one first. Excited to see which one of the Phelan's are next. Don't miss out!

Find out more about Elisabeth Barrett here www.elisabethbarrett.com

eARC Book review: The Christmas Cowboy Hero (Heart of Texas #1) by Donna Grant

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eARC Provided by publisher through Netgalley

’Tis the season for ex-Navy SEAL Clayton East to come home for the holidays―even if the mood at home is anything but festive. His father is ill. The East Ranch is in financial trouble. And now it’s on Clayton, the prodigal son, to make sure his family doesn’t lose everything.

Headstrong Abby Harper is like a mother to her younger brothers, who she’s helped raise since she was a teenager. Keeping them in line is no small task while she’s also working toward her college degree. And now that one of her brothers has been arrested for stealing cattle at the East Ranch, Abby is at her wit’s end. But there is a silver lining: Clayton East. He believes in second chances, and is willing to give one to her brother this Christmas. Letting beautiful Abby―and the inescapable longing in his heart―off the hook, however, is a whole ’nother story. Could it be that the woman of this local hero’s dreams has been back at home all along? 

Clayton East left the military and instead of going home took a contract job protecting animals at a wild animal preserve. Until he gets a call from his mother because everything is a mess at home. Ready or not he's forced to go home and deal with the issues there and face his personal issues. Abby Harper has raised her two younger brothers since she was 18 years old when her mother abandoned them all. Now one of her brothers is mixed up with some bad people who stole Clayton's families cattle from the their ranch. Clayton takes one look at Abby at the police station and he's done in. I loved this story. Clayton is suffering from PTSD and not really dealing with it. Coming home means dealing with demons there and well meaning family. He doesn't want to go but it turns out it's the best thing he could have ever done. The more he's around Abby and her brothers the better. Not only does having Abby and her brothers help Clayton it helps his parents as well. Abby's dad passed away when she was young and her mom took off one night and left her and her younger brothers.  They have this amazing bond made stronger by being around Clayton and his family. Enjoyable read from beginning to end. 

Find out more about Donna Grant here www.donnagrant.com

ebook review: Own It (Wolfshead Whiskey) by Elisabeth Barrett

Available now!

Aidan Phelan has finally gained control over Wolfshead, his family’s craft brewery and distillery, but there’s one catch—his curvy firecracker of an ex-wife has also inherited a share. It was Aidan’s stubborn pride that destroyed their marriage to begin with, and now he has a daily reminder of that failure strutting around in sexy heels and pencil skirts. But he has bigger problems—namely establishing himself as CEO by successfully launching Wolfshead’s new whiskey without his family driving him insane.

Emma Crandall is shocked when she finds out she’s part-owner of Aidan’s family business, the company that drove a wedge between the two of them. Aidan offers to buy her out, but she’s not biting. She’s just started up a freelance marketing consulting business, and working with Wolfshead could open the door to bigger and better clients. Besides, it’s high time she proved to herself that she can handle her arrogant ex, even if he is big, bearded, and hot as hell.

Forced to work together, Aidan and Emma must confront their darkest fears and deepest desires. But owning Wolfshead comes with a price neither of them anticipated…their hearts. 

First in a new series it's always exciting to see the beginning. The Phelan's are a crazy but bunch of alpha males trying to run a craft brewery and distillery without killing each other. Aidan is the oldest of the bunch but just barely. He's definitely head alpha and wants everyone to know it. He gave up a promising career and a major league baseball player when his dad and his dad's twin brother were killed in a car accident to come home and help run the company. He constantly butted heads with his grandfather until he passed away. In his grandfather's will was one surprise he didn't expect. A share of the company going to his ex-wife Emma.  Emma decided to stick it out and be a part of the business. They of course butt heads as again Aidan is the head alpha and needs to have his way. You know i did not like Aidan much at all. He definitely had to grow on me and until he saw what he screwed up with Emma, TWICE, i didn't care for him one bit. Thanks god he saw the error of his ways. I'm like the other brothers and cousins and am interested to see who they will be. Book two releases in November. Can't wait to see what happens with Aidan's cousin Brody.

Find out more about this series and author Elisabeth Barrett here elisabethbarrett.com