Book review: It Had to Be You (Lucky Harbor #7) by Jill Shalvis

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Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she's a thief, and now she's about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who's as sexy as he is stern.... 

After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke's own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

The Lucky Harbor series continues with the first of 3 more book in the series. Ali Winters has the worst luck all at one time. Seems like everything is falling apart in her life. Boyfriend dumps her then she finds out he was cheating on her with more than one woman and then $50,000 in cash goes missing and she's the one accused by the ex for taking it. She's homeless and she loses her job when the owner closes it down to move away.  Luke Hanover finds her in her undies in his home that he rents out but is supposed to be vacant.  This is how they meet. Luke just looking to hide out for a while from his disappointment in himself. A cop he had a case go horribly bad and is blaming himself. He doesn't want to help Ali at first but one look in her eyes and he's sunk. Even though Ali is in dire straights herself she helps him as he helps her. The whole while falling for her and in denial about it. Ali tells herself she can do this but after a while it's apparent she can't and not fall for him. In the mean time Luke and Ali try to find out who really took the $50,000 before Luke has to go back to his real life and back to his job. I enjoyed this installment of the Lucky Harbor series. We get a pinch of time with our old friend Sawyer  and the sheriff investigating the stolen money. Luke thinks he has issues but it's nothing compared to everything that Ali has been through in her life and he learns from her how to persevere and stay strong. He is so gentle with her and so taken by her she will  to not let things get her down. Of course there is a nice healthy dose of Jill Shalvis humor is this book as well. Below are a few of my favorite lines.

"Not all men will disappoint you," he said. "I don't mean me. Because i will absolutely disappoint you. But we're not all assholes, Ali.

"I'm not nice. I'm never nice. And Jesus, remind me to never try and separate you from your ice cream again."

He stared at her. "I don't think i am authorized to have this conversation." ( this after Ali told him she might be falling for him) lol

Once Luke got it together i really liked him a lot. We get introduced to more people who will be in the next two books as well. Another hit for Jill Shalvis. 4 out of 5 stars for It Had to Be you.

Find out more about Jill Shalvis and Lucky Harbor series here www.jillshalvis.com

Book review: Secrets of a Shy Socialite (Beyond the Spotlight #2) by Wendy S. Marcus

She'll do anything to protect her newborn twins…

Jena was always "the good Piermont twin," preferring nursing others over life in the limelight. Seducing her all-time crush was the bravest and definitely the most outrageous thing she's ever done. What did giving in to her desire bring her? Two adorable baby girls! But the social fallout will be nothing compared to confessing the truth to the unsuspecting father.

And how will he react when Jena reveals her most heartbreaking secret of all?

This is book two in the medical romance series Beyond the Spotlight by Wendy S Marcus. I reviewed book 1 yesterday. As i said yesterday i had not read a medical romance until now and it seems it might be something i could read more of. In Secrets of a Shy Socialite Jena, who is Jaci twin sister finally comes clean about who the father of her twin baby girls is. We find out in book 1 along with Ian but no  one else knows til we get started in this book. Justin is a good guy but with some hang ups. He doesn't want to be be married or have kids. His upbringing shaped his ideas and unfortunately he's not going to get a choice on at least one of those two things. He is the Jena's twins father. One night of drunken passion on his part and a broken condom and he's a dad. Problem is he thought it was Jaci until after.  His reaction to the news drove Jena away for ten months so she could regroup have her babies and decide what to do.  Justin is stunned at first but quickly regroups. It doesn't take long for him to realize Jena isn't what he thought. She might not be the wild child outspoken person Jaci is but she's tough as hell when it's needed. She's not a spoiled rich girl either which she proves by taking a job in a urgent care center in a bad part of town. She needs the work as her brother put i a freeze on what money she did have and she still needs to be married to claim her 25 million dollar trust fund.  Justin is a cop and also runs security for the urgent care  center so he steps up to watch over Jena while learning more about her. Jena has a bigger secret than  Justin being the father of her twin girls though. When she finally reveals it to Justin will he run or stand tall?  This was a great ending to the two book series. Justin and Jena get introduced in book one and it is amazing how different a secondary  character is once brought into the spotlight. The author tackles some tough topics in both books. Abuse, PTSD, traumatic injury and breast cancer. Yet you don't feel totally bogged down by all that because of the way the characters handle it.  You end up feeling a bit emotional by the end of this book. Love the characters. 4 out of 5 stars for Secrets of a Shy Socialite by Wendy S Marcus.

Find out more here www.wendysmarcus.com

Book review: Tactical Advantage (The Precinct: Task Force #3) by Julie Miller

His only job was to protect her—not to get her into bed. When his co-investigator was attacked just moments after Detective Nick Fensom left the scene, he swore he'd never let her get hurt again. Thanks to their tense relationship, criminologist Annie Hermann wasn't happy to have Nick as her newly appointed protector. And although Nick couldn't blame her, being together 24/7 caused him to see Annie in a whole new light. Before long, he couldn't stop picturing the beautiful brunette wrapped up in his arms—and in his sheets. But allowing unfamiliar feelings to get in the way of the job was completely unprofessional …especially once Annie discovered the evidence that could cost her her life

I believe this is my first Julie Miller book. I'm a big fan of romantic suspense and i have really good luck with Harlequin's Intrigue line. This was no exception. Nick and Annie were like oil and water. Didn't mix. Annie has a sad background though. Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was a young girl and she had a fiance who dumped her when she wouldn't conform to what he thought she should be. After being hurt and left alone so many times she's insulated herself from any kind of relationship where she could get hurt and left again. Then she gets attacked on the job and Nick who she was partnered with when it happens saves her and decides he will protect her at all costs.  This book is action packed from start to finish. I was rooting for Nick and Annie right from the start. You can't help but like both characters. The one thing that confused me is they catch one of the bad guys in the story but not the two that the whole thing is focused on. I'm not sure if that's part of the series or if it's just not that important to the love story part of the book. I did enjoy the writing. It was fantastic. I was guessing the wrong guy the whole time. lol 4 out of 4 stars for Tactical Advantage by Julie Miller.

Find out more on the Julie Miller website. www.juliemiller.org

Book review: Run the Risk (Love Undercover series book 1) by Lori Foster

Run the Risk


September 25, 2012

When Detective Logan Riske goes undercover to find Pepper Yates, a potential link to his best friend’s unsolved murder, he vows to gain her cooperation by any means necessary. But the elusive beauty is more suspicious—and in far more danger—than he expected. And the last thing Logan needs is to start caring for her...

Pepper has spent years dodging the corrupt club owner who will stop at nothing to keep her silenced. She can trust no one, not even the handsome new “construction worker” who’s moved in next door. The heat between them is undeniable. But will surrendering to passion bring her the safety she so desires—or will her feelings for Logan draw them both into a killer’s crosshairs?

This is book 1 in Lori Foster's brand new heavily anticipated series Love Undercover! I was really excited to get the chance to read and review it. I loved her Men who Walk the Edge of Honor series so i was hoping that this series would be just as good. Logan Risk is trying to worm his way into Pepper Yates life in the hopes of finding her brother who he thinks is the key to finding out who murdered his friend 2 years ago. He won't take no for a answer in his many attempts to get her to let him in. Pepper though is also undercover but in a different way. She's hiding in plain site from the man who would easily use her to get to her brother Rowdy. Rowdy seems like a bad guy but most of the timebut he's the only person who ever loved Pepper and has looked out for her the best he could all these years. Things kind of meander along in this book at a nice leisurely pace until everyone's cover is blown. From there the pace picks up and the action portion of the book takes off. That's when i really had to sit up my seat and pay attention. I love that you really can't figure out who is the bad guy but you can speculate a lot and hang on for the ride to get your answers. It's a very exciting and crazy fun ride! You get a introduction to some great characters for the future books in Rowdy, Dash and Reese and you can see that they are going to be a lot of fun to read. Very entertaining book. I loved both Pepper and Logan. Can't wait for book 2 already! 5out of 5 Modokker Book Picks for Run the Risk by Lori Foster.

To find out more about this series and Lori Foster's other work check it out here www.lorifoster.com