Review: From the Ground Up by Jennifer Van Wyk

*****5 Stars*****

I am pleasantly surprised to learn that this is the debut book for this author as it is a lovey piece of writing and shows great promise of what we can expect from Jennifer Van Wyk in the future. This book is the one people always ask for the one about the regular people living lives we can identify with juggling jobs, careers, kids, you know the list of a married couples lives, and yet the author brings a bunch of emotions to the story of a couple searching to find THEM again in the middle of it all. Its funny how you can read a book that mirrors exactly what you are experiencing in life perfectly and as such I cried maybe more than I should when reading it at times. 

Tess and Barrett are high school sweethearts that married and started a family young and as their four children and careers make demands on them they realise they have let things slide. So we find them both completely on the same wavelength as each other in wanting to get back to how they were but life always wins over. With the help of friends they set out to reconnect away from the stresses of life but nothing is that simple and they realise that they still have work to do to rediscover each other. The connection and humour between the main characters is so real that you share the emotions with them and as such are a joy to read.

This is a lovely read and different in that it isn’t about falling in love but fighting for the love you already have. It is beautifully written with lovely characters that will resonate with the majority of readers. 

My only issue with this book is I would say that at time the “stage directions” were a little excessive but after learning it is a debut book then I am more prone to overlook them.

This is one that I highly recommend you read and I am already looking forward to more from the author.

He can't remember the last time he had his wife to himself...

She can't remember the last time she felt wanted... 

Life hasn't slowed down since Tess and Barrett married over twenty years ago. After carting kids around, making dinner, enduring the stress of jobs, bills, life-it's no wonder neither of them can remember the last time they had sex. 

Or the last time they weren't too tired to at least try. 

Date night no longer consists of wooing, but going to the same restaurant and ordering the same food, then repeating the process. 

The magic-is gone. 

Life refuses to give them what they need-time alone together, so they take matters into their own hands. After all, a week away in a remote Michigan cabin is just what they need to light the fire in their relationship again. 

The only problem? How do you fall back in love with each other when you never fell out in the first place? How do you re-build, from the ground up? 

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2ku1YaW

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2kAvQF5

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Review: Zero to Sixty (Body Shop Bad Boys #3) by Marie Harte

*****5 Stars*****

Yes! I've been waiting for Sam's story since book #1 and it didn't disappoint!

I loved the first two books but this series is definitely going from strength to strength. Each book tops the one before but they're all good. They're well written and are fun and lighthearted, even when dealing with the more serious back stories.

Sam caught my attention immediately in book one. I was drawn to him and just knew he'd have a good story to tell. There's more to the brooding fighter, who rarely cracks a smile, than meets the eye.

What I really loved about this series - but this book in particular - is the camaraderie between the men. It's perfectly depicted.

Having finished this book, I am now thoroughly intrigued by the elusive florist and just what her story might be and of course Lou.

This is a great read that you're sure to enjoy as much as I did.

Reviewed by Vivienne Kauffer

Bad boy Sam + Good girl Ivy + Stray puppy = Damaged hearts learning to love again

After her last relationship bombed, Ivy Stephens is doing her best to put her life back together. She's enjoying her job, her apartment-and the cute little puppy she's seen hanging around. When she goes looking for him, she finds the stray in the arms of a big, burly, devastatingly handsome man.

Sam Hamilton is lonelier than he's ever been after his best friend's engagement. To give himself a sense of purpose, he takes in a puppy that keeps showing up around the garage where he works. The puppy has another suitor though-one who happens to be blond and beautiful.

Amazon UK - http://amzn.to/2hFxjHd 

Amazon USA -http://amzn.to/2hJrSXg

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Review: Make Me (The Complete Novel) by Beth Kery

****4.5 Stars****

Harper is an investigative journalist who needs a change after tragedy strikes and she loses her parents. Hoping a change of location and a slower pace will help her heal, she moves from San Francisco to a small town in Lake Tahoe and takes a job editing a local newspaper. Her new simple life takes a turn when she meets the mysterious bad boy software creator, Jacob. She can't help being intrigued by him and wanting to uncover the mysteries surrounding him and his business.

Jacob is private. He avoids the media and tries to keep out of the spotlight. A former investigative reporter is the last person he should be involved with, but he can't help his attraction to Harper. Can a man who depends on secrets and privacy for survival let someone who asks questions for a living into his life?

Make Me combines all 8 serial volumes into one book. I'm very happy to have read this all at one go, not sure I could have dealt with the suspense at the end of each volume. Kery always brings the heat and gives readers compelling characters with sizzling chemistry. Jacob and Harper continue that tradition. They had instant chemistry and I ate up each page these two shared. Add in a heaping dose of suspense and I could not read this book fast enough. This is a perfect story for anyone who enjoys a well written suspenseful erotic read.

Reviewed by Rosemary Feil 

Available for the first time as a complete novel the serial from the New York Times bestselling author of When I m With You that explores hidden pasts, dangerous obsessions, and uncontrollable passion... 

Harper McFadden established herself as an investigative journalist by being both compassionate and fearless. After tragedy strikes her family, she moves to the shores of Lake Tahoe to find some peace. But when mysterious software mogul Jacob Latimer enters her life, her thoughts turn from her own healing to an insatiable desire to get closer to him... 

No one knows what secrets lurk in the past of Jacob Latimer. He built his corporation from nothing, but rumors abound about his mysterious rise to power. Harper is the last person he should let into his life. She could expose the truth about his origins. But Jacob knows things about Harper s past that draw him in. He wants nothing more than to make her his and Jacob is a man who always gets what he wants..."

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2it8mSV

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2jqn0cM

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Review: The Feeling of Forever (Love Unplugged #2) by Jamie Howard

4.5 STARS

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and jumped at the chance to read the second book. The blurb intrigued me and is unlike anything else I have ever read and the cover was absolutely gorgeous! 

In this book, the story is focused on drummer Felix who has been paralyzed from the waist down in a tragic accident. He is struggling to accept his new reality until he meets Jules, a successful, famous actress, when they win the Sexiest Man & Woman Awards. They have an instant connection and she makes Felix feel alive for the first time since his accident. Only when Jules' stalker reappears, she will do anything to protect the ones she loves....even if it puts her life at stake. 

I loved getting to know Felix since we didn't really get introduced to him in book 1. I felt for his every struggle and all the pain that he was going through. He was sexy and the chemistry was off the charts between these two. I was surprised by how well done the sex scenes were in this book. I absolutely adored Jules' character. She was such a strong heroine and I loved how nothing fazed her or got her down. She had a very upbeat personality considering everything that she was struggling with and I loved how she loved and gave with her whole heart. 

The writing was beautifully written although the plot was kind of predictable. I definitely guessed who the stalker was pretty early in the game. Overall this was a great second installment to the series and I cannot wait to read Gavin's and Ben's books next.

Reviewed by Ashley Ziegler 

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Juliet St. Clair has spent her life under Hollywood's spotlight. While being America's favorite girl next door has had its perks, having to testify against her stalker to put him behind bars certainly wasn't one of them. But when she thinks about walking away from it all, she can't help remembering the enormous pile of medical bills her family is drowning under. Bills that just keep on coming.

Felix Donovan had it all--stunning good looks, gorgeous women, and a spot as the drummer to a band that's sitting pretty at the top of the charts. Until one life-altering decision left him paralyzed from the waist down. He doesn't know whether to laugh or cry when he wins this year's Sexiest Man award, but the one thing he immediately does is send out a Non-disclosure agreement. Hiding his condition from the public is hard as hell, but he's not ready to face the world while he's still struggling to accept his new reality.

Except this year's Sexiest Woman--Juliet St. Clair--never looks at him with pity, only desire. But falling for Juliet means a permanent spot in the tabloids, a decision Felix isn't sure he's ready to make. And when Juliet's stalker re-emerges from her past, Felix's secret isn't the only thing at stake, it could cost Juliet her life.

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2jAOxpQ

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2iCKjzo

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