Chapel Bend by Kristen Proby - ARC Review & Release BLitz

Resist by Ava Harrison - ARC Review & Release Blitz

 

BLURB

From USA Today bestselling author Ava Harrison comes a steamy standalone romance about a grumpy talent agent and the gorgeous business rival who can’t stand him.

He’s the hotshot agent who hates my guts.

I’m the (almost) one-night stand turned business rival.

Imagine my surprise when Paxton Ramsey shows up across the boardroom table.

Gone is the sexy smirk, replaced by open hostility with a side of taunting.

His overbearing, grumpy attitude makes my blood boil.

But I can’t forget the taste of our kiss. The thrill of his touch.

Our clients expect us to work together.

I can’t even stand being in the same zip code.

Surely, I can survive one week trapped on an island with my nemesis?

Until one week turns into two. Then three. Then four.

When he flaunts his power to make my career dreams come true…

It takes everything in me not to ruin his.

Paxton Ramsey thinks he’ll be the death of me.

But I just might teach him how to live in the process.

The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead - ARC Review

A laugh-out-loud rom-com about learning to embrace living outside your comfort zone.

As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—the humiliation is a wake-up call. She decides she needs to change, and what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?

Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Logan is audacious and filterless, making him Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm—and in their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.

Alexis is bewildered until breaking news hits: pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. It turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot politician challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious images are poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: to squash the scandal, he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?

Fallen Foe by L. J. Shen - ARC Review

Arsène Corbin does not intend to marry for love. His fiancée has always been a means to an end, a woman he wants to conquer. But when she dies suddenly in an accident, Arsène’s grand plan unravels.

Still reeling from his fiancée’s death, he meets Winnifred Ashcroft, a struggling actress who lands a coveted role in a play at his theater…and knows things about his late fiancée no one else does. The only problem? They can’t stand each other.

Backstage at Arsène’s theater, Winnie begins to let down her guard around the tempestuous billionaire. She appreciates his wit and quirky affection for astronomy. And Arsène, jaded as he is, respects Winnie’s headstrong personality.

Tragedy and betrayal bring them together, but will their painful pasts hold them back—or fuel their desire?

Not Today Cupid by Jennifer Bonds - ARC Review

 

Notes from Triada Investment Meeting:

As compiled by Scarlett Evans—executive assistant, grad student, and reluctant admirer of CEO Nick Hart's snacktastic abs

Well, my fellow corporate drones, it's another less-than-exciting investor meeting with the executives (Loud Talker, Human Buzzword, Master Delegator). And at the front, CEO Nick Hart, the world's coldest—and ok, unbelievably sexy—tech badass. The man hasn't smiled in the history of ever, he runs a tight ship filled with miserable employees, and gosh, he just really does not love feedback. Especially from me.

Development updates, acquisition delays, and…holy hell, why does he keep looking at me? I don't work for him. I work for his brother. Which is good, because otherwise I'd spend every meeting secretly wondering what actually lies beneath that cool, aloof demeanor. Like, is he an uptight geek in the boardroom...and a sexy-assed freak in the bedroom?

He'd better not find out I'm the one stuffing the company suggestion box. What's so wrong with a Valentine's Day Social, anyway? But the fact that my notes are less professional and more entertainment is one seriously dangerous game. Because if he ever found out what I really thought of him, there'd be all kinds of sweet, delicious hell to pay...

I enjoyed a lot about this book. Nick and Scarlett had excellent chemistry and their connection as boss (sort of) and employee to friends felt genuine and authentic.

But, this title also felt a little unbalanced to me. There was a lot time getting to know them, and a lot of time watching them come to like and respect one another. But the time spent with them building their relationship as a couple felt like it was missing and a little glossed over.

In a boss/employee story, or one that is a story that evolves from enemies to friends to lovers I need to believe all of the different stages of the relationship. I believed the tension between them, I believed in the friendship. We start to get an idea of what they would be like as a couple, but it's so close to the end of the book that it doesn't feel fully explored.

Do I believe in them as a couple? Yes. Do I ruin they will be together forever? Yes. Do I think the reader really gets a feel for that? No.

That said, I did enjoy it overall. It's a quick read and I did laugh in places, so I do recommend this title.

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