I adore Dash and Ari so much, Melanie Harlow has put together a phenomenal novel. Who doesn’t love when a character gets a second chance to fall even harder for her best friend’s older brother, bonus he’s a Hollywood heartthrob!

I am a Melanie Harlow review team member, but I remain honest and genuine in my reviews.

Only in the movies does the Hollywood heartthrob fall for the small town diner waitress.

So when Dashiel Buckley returns to Cherry Tree Harbor for a wedding, I’m determined not to let my massive crush on my best friend’s older brother hijack my good sense.

(It happened once before. Do not recommend.)

But when my hand is injured, it’s Dash who steps in at the diner. The moment he realizes I can’t afford to fix my car, he takes care of it. And when he hears about the way my toxic ex treated me, he refuses to let it go.

Now it’s not just his blue eyes and sexy smile that have me swooning, it’s the way he wants to help me. Encourage me. Protect me.

I can’t resist.

Our text messages heat up. Our phone calls melt all my defenses. “Just friends” turns into “just once,” and “just once” becomes a distant memory. Night after night, he warms my bed, my body, and my heart.

But it can’t last.

Our dreams have us on two different paths–Dash wants the lights, camera, action of Hollywood, and I’ll always be a small town girl.

If only I could be his.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Dash and Ari are the main characters. Dash is the Buckley of this instalment, the brother who left Cherry Tree for a movie career. When we meet him you empathize with him right away, he’s been typecast and wants to pivot into a more serious role. That is not going as easily as he planned, and he’s back in town a bit early for his brother’s wedding to see if being home gives him that boost he needs. That boost comes instead from Ariana DeLuca. Ari is Mabel Buckely’s best friend and has loved Dash since she was young. When we meet her she is all embarrassed about Dash, specifically when she crawled into his bed at sixteen years old with seduction on her mind, and the gentleman Dash is he turned down her advances. I loved Ari and her determination, as she’s a professional chef set to inherit her parent’s diner but waits for nothing to be handed to her. She helps Dash with his bit of stunted emotions at the beginning of the story, by the end every reader will fall for yet another Buckley brother.
• Setting: Cherry Tree Harbor is in this wonderful world of Melanie Harlow’s Michigan. I loved that we are not too far from so many of her iconic settings and so we get this really wonderful Cloverleigh cameo in Small Town Swoon. Speaking of cameos, I see you Melanie with the reference to one of our fave bull riders Rhett Eaton (Elsie Silver fans will eat it up, or should I say drink it up).
• Pacing: I fell headfirst into this story and never wanted to come up for air. I love this town and its cast of characters. The story beats are timed very well, and I enjoyed how the third-act conflict was dealt with maturely. It felt like further proof that when they were young it was the right person at the wrong time, and now is their perfect time.
• Romance: I love this type of second-chance romance, the kind that feels so rewarding when it is so many years in the making. Ari had loved Dash for so long and never thought he’d look at her twice since the night she messed it all up. Rather it was Dash who admits he did always want Ari but believed he was not good enough for her when she was sixteen, and he was nineteen. Now all grown-ups both of them have palpable chemistry, the tension oozes off the page, and Melanie produced one of her steamiest books, each scene is the chef’s kiss (a chef’s pub for Ari). Their relationship conflict felt so real, and it makes me more bittersweet that we are nearing the end of our time in Cherry Tree Harbor.

Small Town Swoon receives five out of five stars.

You can pick up the story here.

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Thank you again to Melanie and her team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Melanie Harlow’s Small Town Swoon ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Devney’s college football series which began with Coach is continued with Blitz and damn is this book dripping in forbidden. He’s a football coach and she’s a star volleyball player, they can not explore any sort of relationship. What ensues is a slow burn, with so much tension, and I will guarantee that any reader who likes a taste of forbidden will enjoy this one.

I am a Devney Perry review team member, but I remain honest and genuine in my reviews.

A forbidden, small town, sports romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Devney Perry.
 

A coach. A student. The rules were concrete. We broke them anyway.
 

The night I met Toren Greely was the night I learned how to lie. He was a Treasure State football coach. I was the star of the volleyball team. Coaches and students were forbidden. My future was on the line, so I told myself it was only one night.
 

That was the first lie. They got easier to tell after that. The lines blurred. The boundaries shifted. Our relationship became a game of its own.
 

A chaste smile. A knowing glance. A veiled touch or a hushed kiss. We hid in plain sight. We were invincible. Or so we thought. Neither of us saw the blitz coming until it was too late.
 

Game over. The night I left Toren Greely was the night I learned how to lose.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Toren and Jennsyn are the main characters of this story. Fans of this series may remember Toren as Ford’s best friend and assistant coach. Torren grew up and attended Treasure State, his dream was always to come back and help coach the team he played for. It’s hard not to fall for him quickly, he’s noble and kind. Jennsyn threatens that nobility, she’s a transfer student to Treasure State, but she and Toren hook up in the summer and never share the key details that would have had them clue in to the forbidden nature of their relationship. Jennsyn will be relatable to any reader out there who struggles with balancing parental expectations with doing what actually makes you happy. Jennsyn’s past reveals itself throughout the story (I think some of the reveals could have happened earlier, I don’t like how long she kept pieces of her past from Toren), but nonetheless, my heart broke for her and I loved her character journey.
• Setting: As with all of Devney’s stories it is set in Montana. Treasure State is in a little college town called Mission, and it has that very US college town feel. Toren and Jennsyn are neighbours so much of the book is the longing glances and the sneaking out late at night and early in the morning. I think Devney writes college very well and am very excited for more books in this series.
• Pacing: The timeline of this story was super interesting as it is told concurrently with the previous standalone, Coach (Millie and Ford’s story), which I really liked. I find most often romance series tell one story after another in chronological order, so it was a nice change. It also gave a nice insight into Toren’s thoughts on Millie and Ford’s relationship. I flew through this book, I literally read it on a plane and half my flight just went by in a blink cause I was so entranced by it. I was a bit underwhelmed by the ending, it felt like it was like an abrupt end and here’s an epilogue. I would have liked a bit more exploration of their relationship once more people knew about it.
• Romance: Ooooh Devney crafted a delicious slow burn here, the payoff is so worth it. The story naturally opens up with them meeting the night Toren hosts a party and Jennsyn is compelled to check out what her new neighbour is up to. You don’t get the story of that first night right away, rather you get it in flashbacks and I loved this. After that night they do attempt to steer clear of each other, but their undeniable chemistry breeds some emotional and romantic moments. That build-up also meant that when they could no longer keep their hands to themselves the characters and the readers alike were giddy. 

Blitz receives 4.5/5 stars.

You can pick up the story below…

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Thank you again to Devney and her team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Devney Perry’s Blitz ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

When Bloom announced they were picking this up I took it as the sign I was waiting for to dive into this series finally. I love a good why choose story every once in a while and I was ready to be whisked away into the world of Madison Kate and her boys.

“Madison Kate Danvers was murdered tonight.” Those words changed my life, and not for the better. They were wrong, of course. I wasn’t dead. But I was set up. After being framed for a deadly riot, charged with a string of offences, and being made into an example by my politically minded father, I’m eventually released back into Shadow Grove. I could keep my head down, but I only have one thing on my mind. Hate. The boys who framed me are going to pay for derailing my carefully laid-out future. They’re going to catch the full force of my revenge. Except when I arrive back in town, thanks to my father’s shiny new girlfriend, I find all three of them living in my house, right down the hall. Archer, Kodiak, and Steele are secretive. Untrustworthy. Dangerous―and dangerously magnetic, too. But I’m not falling for their games. Not after what they did to me. Archer D’Ath and his boys messed with the wrong chick, and they’re about to learn just how cold Madison Kate’s hatred can run.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Let’s first dive into the titular Madison Kate, back in town after her father exiled her to Cambodia and she’s ready to re-enter, no actually to reclaim her life. She’s a character you’ll love if you like to embrace rooting for a morally grey leading lady. She’s violent and vengeful, and I loved every bit of it. She has this magnetism about her, which no doubt lures her three boys in. In a why choose story it’s hard to make sure all the love interests are well-defined and separate characters. Archer, Steele, and Kodiak are very different from each other. Archer is the possessive asshole type, the classic I hate you but am wildly attracted to you, type of character. Kodiak is the sweetest of the guys for sure, while Steele definitely brought his own swagger, having the balls to really put the moves on MK first. For sure though it’s these main characters that have me intrigued to keep reading.
• Setting: Shadow Grove is the setting for this story, and I feel like I have yet to understand this town. This is understandable because this is the first book, not all the secrets are going to reveal themselves just yet. It does lead to a few frustrations while reading as it is hard to believe an entire town let MK be the scapegoat for Riot Night.
• Pacing: The first few chapters took me a bit to get into, but I felt way more invested in what was happening once the plot picked up. The story improves as we get more information, I do not really like how left in the dark we are as readers. It ends with quite the cliffhanger, which did have me diving into the second book Liar, basically right away.
• Romance: It’s hard to really rate the romance in this one, as this first instalment is very much more the boys lusting over Madison Kate, and her denying that she is lusting after any of them. The spice in this book doesn’t really hit for me, but I really do hope as the series continues we get longer scenes, basically most of the scenes in this book did not last nearly long enough. I am invested in seeing how each of the relationships grow, especially Kodiak and Steele, but I trust that Tate James will even have me rooting for Archer by the end.

Hate receives 3.5/5 stars.

You can pick up the story below…

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Thank you again to Bloom and Raincoast for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Tate James’ Hate Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Did I dive into Keeping 13 basically one minute after finishing Binding 13, yup I definitely did! What a cliffhanger, maybe one of the most brutal I have read this year. This book wrecked me even harder than Binding 13, it had me bawling my eyes out.

Falling in love was the easy part. What comes next is the test. Johnny Kavanagh’s first, last, and only true love has always been rugby…until now. Following a devastating injury that has left him stripped of his beloved number 13 jersey, Johnny struggles to hold onto his dreams as they crumble around him. Lost and desperate, he sets his sights on unraveling the mystery of the girl with the midnight-blue eyes who haunts his every waking Shannon Lynch. But navigating the future, even together, isn’t as easy as it once seemed. Keeping secrets has never been a problem for Shannon. The life she was born into demands nothing less. After all, demons and evil men don’t just exist in fairytales―they exist in her world, too. Traumatized beyond repair after her return from Dublin and desperate to protect her little brothers, Shannon finds herself struggling like never before, barely keeping her head above water. Her walls are up and her trust is shaken, and only one boy has the ability to reach her heart. But when new truths come to light and old wounds are reopened, will love be enough to help them heal, or is their future forever broken?

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Johnny and Shannon have my heart! This book took all our characters on such an emotional journey. I want to ensure I do not spoil the events of this sequel, but I thought the worst was behind Shannon and her brothers Joey, Tahdg, Ollie, and Sean, but it was not. I will not get over the emotional wrecking ball that is this story and neither will Joey (I cannot wait to read Saving 6, I need to know that Joey and Aoife are going to be okay!). Chloe Walsh has pulled off what I love in an ensemble story when the side characters are so rich that you cannot wait to devour their stories too.
• Setting: This story is set in 2005 Ireland, in the small town of Ballylaggin and I had no idea just how attached I would get to this town and all the people in it. I love all the Irish slang and the early 2000s references. This small Irish town matches the heaviness of the book perfectly.
• Pacing: I read this book in a few days, back to back with Binding 13. It made me stay up late and get up early to read, which is always a good sign of just how much a book is enthralling me. I do feel the need to say that I still find this series too long and I will be interested to see how the lengths affect future instalments.
• Romance: I adore Shannon and Johnny and their relationship. This book features their physical relationship much more than the previous instalment. As they are given so many more moments to be alone together in their feelings. I adored the reformed gentleman Johnny, matched against the bolder Shannon who in falling in love with Johnny grew her confidence and willingness to ask not just for what she wanted, but what she deserved.

Keeping 13 receives four out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

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Thank you again to Bloom and Raincoast for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and su

The post Chloe Walsh’s Keeping 13 Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Broken Vow is officially my second favourite in this series, so far! If you love either mafia romance or cowboy romance, this one is both!

He’ll protect her…whether she likes it or not. Riona Griffin is gorgeous, intelligent, and iron-willed. My perfect woman, except she hates my guts. She thinks she doesn’t need anybody. But she needs me. She’s being hunted by an assassin who never misses his mark. I’m going to stay by her side, day and night, keeping her safe. Riona thinks that’s a fate worse than death, but I know she’ll learn to love me. If this hitman wants to kill her, he’ll have to go through me first. Broken Vow is the wild and dangerous fifth installment in the Brutal Birthright series. It’s a standalone bodyguard mafia romance, with a HEA and no cliffhanger. Contains steamy scenes.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Riona Griffin’s story has been one of my most anticipated since I started reading the Brutal Birthright series. I knew early on I was going to love Riona, in the other instalments she is presented as the workaholic, ice queen sister to Griffin. Being in her head allows the reader to really understand how she balances her fierceness and determination with a whole lot more to it. She’s one of Sophie Lark’s most flushed-out characters, Riona is so focused on taking care of everyone else and her career that she has little left to care for herself. Enter Raylan, her new bodyguard and a bit of a cowboy! I loved him and his family so much, he is a very different hero for this series as he is the first and only one who is not in the mafia directly himself. Rather, he is hired to be Riona’s bodyguard because her life is in danger. He was the perfect counterpart to Riona, ready to match her fierceness.
• Setting: The setting is such a fun part of Broken Vow. Early on it is apparent that the city of Chicago is not safe enough for Riona so they must escape to Raylan’s family ranch. I loved the little, small-town cowboy romance inside a larger mafia romance series, it was like an escape inside an escape.
• Pacing: Sophie Lark writes these incredibly easy to breeze through books. This series is just so damn bingeable to read, I basically read Broken Vow back-to-back with Bloody Heart in the same night. The pacing is so strong in the first two thirds, due to their length these books often need to be wrapped up rather quickly at the end. Yet I can overlook that in the instalments that really shine bright like this one and Brutal Prince.
• Romance: The relationship is very opposites attract, with grumpy sunshine vibes. Riona is the grump, and Raylan is the sunshine. Both characters really push each other because of this and bring out the best in each other. The sex scenes in this book are on another level for this series, with some light BDSM elements for those who are into reading that. Of course, I have always been a sucker for bodyguard romance in each and every form it has come in and this was a great take on it.

Broken Vow receives five out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

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Thank you again to Sophie, Bloom, and Raincoast for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Sophie Lark’s Broken Vow Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

It is bittersweet to see The Edens come to an end. I have been such a fan of Devney’s for a long time, and this series just raised the bar. Indigo Ridge remains not just one of my favourite Devney Perry books but one of my favourite romance novels I have ever read. This was a perfect send-off to the world and the family that we love along with a beautiful story for characters I have been excited to see depicted for a while.

I am a Devney Perry review team member, but I remain honest and genuine in my reviews.

Vera Gallagher is chasing constant. For four years, her life was anything but normal. And the years before that she refuses to even remember. Dwelling on the past only hurts. Life is fragile, a lesson her mother taught her well. She’s determined not to waste a moment of her newfound freedom.

Maybe some would consider her crush on Mateo Eden wasted time. Maybe some would call her a fool for loving a man who hasn’t once dropped a crumb of interest her way. Still, to Vera, it’s Mateo or nothing.

He’s handsome. Charming. Witty. And he loves his family the way Vera loves—with her whole heart.

Maybe he’ll never notice her. Maybe she’s too damaged, too broken, to find that normal life she craves. Maybe her secrets will always keep them apart. But Vera will love him anyway. Whether Mateo realizes it or not.

An unrequited love, small town romance.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Matteo and Vera are the main characters of Sable Peak. From the minute I finished Crimson River I wanted Vera’s story, even more than I wanted Matteo’s. Devney is so good at building these heroines who have gone through tremendous loss, trauma, and adversity and they respond in ways that feel so human. Of course, Vera has moments of what feels like immaturity or she will close herself off, she’s been closed off from the wider world for so long. I loved her personal journey in this story. Matteo is hard not to love, this final Eden sibling has been someone I have been excited to read about since the early books. He’s a single dad and it was so heartwarming to see him grow from the hotheaded side character Matteo, into the father figure leading man. This would not be the last instalment without lots of character cameos, I am so happy that Deveny did so many family dinners and that we got insights not just into our favourite characters, but all their new little kids. Special shout-out to Anne and Harrison, the original Eden love story who are some of the best parents I’ve ever seen in romance, if you have not read the bonus epilogue it is a must!
• Setting: Quincy, Montana how I will miss you! This town with all of its different Edens in it, and its iconic settings from the Edens’ ranch to the Eloise Inn to Eden Coffee. This book similar to the last one also showcased the majesty of Montana’s landscape, and the book titles have all been odes to that as well what a wonderful touch. All of Devney’s books for the most part are set in Montana, but these feel like the biggest love letter to her homestate.
• Pacing: This book had some very interesting pacing as it tells a two-year story. I get why Devney decided to put all this time into Vera’s unrequited crush and Matteo’s time as a single dad. I also get that if she wrote more of the early parts of this book then it would have gotten even longer, maybe even way too long. It would have been interesting to read that stuff, but it was not make or break for me. I love the story we did get but be warned if you are not a fan of huge gaps and flash-forwarding in time.
• Romance: This romance had a really interesting structure, as for a good chunk of the book it is Vera who is holding this crush on Matteo. Her confronting him about it was a scene that had me rooting for her! Once they began to spend more time together we saw her grow to love baby Alaina which is always the best part of a single parent story. This book is very slow burn vibes, as glances and winks turn into touches and countless hours spent together. I loved this build-up and it all felt paced so perfectly. Plus of course, the steamy scenes are hot, Devney has always done a wonderful job writing these. What a lovely send-off to all the Edens couples!

Sable Peak receives five out of five stars.

You can pick up the story here.

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Thank you again to Devney and her team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Devney Perry’s Sable Peak ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

We have reached the moment of my Chestnut Springs re-read that I have been waiting for! I was so excited to revisit the instalment that was my favourite the first time through. Of course, it remains so on my second, in which I just let myself read this in one sitting on Sunday morning and it is just so damn perfect.

He’s scorching-hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package. And he’s looking at her like she might be his next meal. Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider. Notorious ladies’ man. Winter Hamilton knows exactly what it means when he eyes her like that. But she’s almost free of her toxic marriage and has sworn off men entirely. So all she sees when she looks back at Theo is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak. The man is hard to trust―but, it turns out, even harder to resist. Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard Winter tries to freeze him out, he melts her icy exterior and pulls apart all her defenses. Over a drink in a small-town bar, she finds herself blurting out her deepest, darkest secrets. Then, she spends the singular hottest night of her life with the man she never thought she’d say yes to. He worships her body. He makes her blush. She comes alive beneath his hands. Then she tells him to forget it ever happened. She wants simple, and with him it all feels complicated. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. A secret. But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: How on earth can I even put into words how much I love Winter and Theo? Winter, was a character I remember being so excited to see have her own story. Throughout my re-read, I have been looking forward to being in her mind again. She is one of my favourite characters in this series, how she went from somewhat of a villain, to this girl in need of this found family. I am so glad she found it with Theo! He is definitely the most gentlemanly guy in Chestnut Springs. It is hard not to fall in love with him and how he loves his daughter and Winter with his whole heart.
• Setting: This story primarily takes place on the same road in Chestnut Springs, where Theo and Winter have conveniently ended up as next-door neighbours. Don’t worry there are still some key scenes at the Wishing Well, including my favourite Eaton family dinner with a “my wife” reference!
• Pacing: I remember flying through the book on my first time through, my second I re-read it on a Sunday morning in one sitting. I woke up, grabbed the book and just read for a few glorious hours. That is how easy this book, these characters, and this relationship is to escape into.
• Romance: Winter and Theo are the best Chestnut Springs couple! Elsie convinced me to love a trope that is often so hard to execute. From the early chapters, their chemistry is obvious and once they have a child it all but intensifies. The love feels so epic in this one. The spice and the steam are really great too, from the scene in the gym to the scene at the wedding, I just ate it all up. I cannot speak enough about how much I love this book, and how it is not just my favourite book in the series but one of my favourites I have read this year.

Reckless receives five out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

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Thank you again to Elsie and Raincoast for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Elsie Silver’s Reckless Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

I have been meaning to read this book for what feels like forever. I know fans more than just love this book but live and breathe it. I have always been intimidated by the length, I still am not fully sold that this book needed to be this long. What I am sold on is that I love Shannon and Johnny, and want the world for them both.

He wants to save her. She wants to hide. She’s damaged. He’s determined. Fate brought them together. Love binds them. Johnny Kavanagh has everything going for him. On the rugby pitch, he’s a force to be reckoned with, even plagued with a hidden injury. Everyone knows he’s heading straight for the top—but that means there’s no room for mistakes or distractions. Not even the shy new girl at Tommen College, the one with the sad eyes and hidden bruises. He needs to stay focused, keep his cool, and not let anything get in the way of the bigger picture.  Except before he knows it, this lonely girl has become his only picture. Life has never been easy for Shannon Lynch. Bullied and tortured, she arrives at Tommen College mid-way through the school year praying for a fresh start and desperate to shake off the demons that plague her. But when she meets the notorious Johnny Kavanagh on her first day, her plans to keep a low profile are at serious risk. As they fall into a complicated friendship and grapple with their undeniable chemistry, hidden pain and complicated secrets threaten to be their undoing—but Johnny won’t give up on Shannon. No matter what it might cost them both.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: I love Shannon Lynch and Johnny Kavanagh, and I totally get why you all do too. When we met Shannon, I was attached within the first few pages as I could not help but feel for this girl carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. After facing severe bullying at her public school, Shannon the only daughter in a family of multiple sons is able to go to a private school instead. This poor girl spends so much of this story helpless, yet I began to see the light in her as not just Johnny but her siblings and friends fill in the bright spots of her days. How does one not fall for Johnny Kavanagh, the high school rugby star is so endearing, charming, and caring. The cast of side characters really shines too, I know that there are books out about some, and others have books coming and I am invested to see what happens to everyone.
• Setting: The story is set in 2005 Ireland, in the small town of Ballylaggin. I did not know what to expect with the setting, and I loved it! I have learned some Irish slang, I am very thankful for the glossary that is included in this book. What the slang and the time period of almost twenty years ago do is it really transport you and further immerse you in the story.
• Pacing: This book is heavy, you need to look up content warnings and be cautious about the real-world themes it tackles. I knew about the topics this book would delve into, but I did not know how graphic some of the scenes would be. This book is not just heavy emotionally, it is heavy physically as it is just over 600 pages. I understand fans eat up every scene and love all this time with Shannon and Johnny. I did love most of their interactions, but some of the other chapters fell a bit flat when the two of them were not interacting. I really do think this book could have been a bit shorter, it really deters someone from starting this series when you see these huge books ahead of you.
• Romance: Johnny loves hard and falls fast and I adored reading every time he stepped up so quickly to defend her, while still being her greatest comforter. Shannon really struggles with her feelings, first, the idea that Johnny or anyone could love her this deeply is a foreign concept for her. Then once her own feelings develop she must navigate lying every day to the person she loves. What drove me through this book was getting to the revelations, I wanted Johnny and Shannon to communicate with each other in the most open way possible. While reading I had to remind myself of their age, which gives them a bit of a pass for struggling to communicate with one another for hundreds of pages. What is so special about this story though is the epicness of this love story. It has this deep overwhelming feeling that had me thinking about them constantly days after finishing this (along with propelling me to jump into Keeping 13 basically as I finished this one).

Binding 13 receives four out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

Shop Local | Amazon | Indigo

Thank you again to Bloom and Raincoast for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Chloe Walsh’s Binding 13 Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

After waiting for this book for quite a while, I am so happy to say that Giana is back and better than ever. This book is top-tier and has so many elements of Giana at her best. My review is glowing because honestly, this book was just phenomenal and I never want to go almost three years without a Fallen Men book again!

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Giana Darling comes an age gap, forbidden love story about a rebel soul and her best friend’s dad who wants absolutely nothing to do with her…

I fell in love with my best friend’s dad when I was seventeen.

He seemed like some kind of heathen god, big enough to kill a man with his bare hands, tattooed with bright, bold images, and weathered by time and a short stint in prison.

Blind to the consequences, I made a mistake that ran him out of town and ruined his life.

Now, he’s back after all these years––hating me more than the day he left.

What he doesn’t know is that I’ve been working to atone for my sins.

I’ve infiltrated the Vancouver Triad that killed his wife.

Always my protector, he decides it’s not safe for me to be in this alone, so he resolves to get me out of the Triad and out of his hair for good.

*A stand-alone novel in The Fallen Men Series.*

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: I very quickly adored both the main characters, Axe-Man and Mei have my heart. Mei might be one of Giana’s strongest heroines yet, she has such strength but at the same time vulnerability, she really stands out in a world of phenomenal female characters. I loved Mei’s friendship with Cleo and then the way over the course of the story she is brought into the fold of the found family that is the Fallen MC. Axe-Man was her perfect match, as he has such a dark history and a fraught backstory. Right away I felt invested in his happiness and him finding that with Mei. This book of course gives us so many amazing moments with the wider cast of characters, with great moments with Cressida, Nova, Bea, Kodiak, Cleo and Zeus. Plus there is a whole subplot of Danner and HR’s wedding which long-time fans will love.
• Setting: You do not realize how long you have yearned to return to a place until you have to be away from it for so long, and that is exactly how I felt about Entrance, BC. The clubhouse, the bookstore, and the tattoo parlour mean as much to fans as the colourful cast of characters.
• Pacing: This book is told in three parts, with the key back story elements of a much younger Mei, seventeen-year-old Mei, and then we catch up with her at twenty-five years old. I really loved this as I feel like I really got to know a character very well without having to rely on seeing them in the previous books. This book can really stand alone from the others for that reason. It is over 600 pages and it did take me a few more nights to read than I expected but I never wanted the return to this world to stop, so I made the active choice to slow down which is something I rarely do.
• Romance: Some of the best Fallen Men love stories are the ones with not just rich character backstories but deeply rooted and emotional pasts that are tangled up in each other. Mei and Axe-Man’s love story is probably in my second slot (nothing is going to beat my love for Nova and Lila), but what a triumph their story was. Warning it is a sixteen-year age gap, and he did know her when she was younger which I know is not everyone’s cup of tea. The journey from seventeen-year-old Mei’s crush on her best friend’s dad to her at twenty-five trying so desperately to reconnect and help carry his emotional burdens, was devastating to read. I found myself close to tears so many times throughout the book as I felt just how raw this couple’s relationship was. With that rawness came some pretty intense sexual tension, and some of the romantic scenes were simply some of the best Giana has ever written. What a triumphant return to the indie publishing world, I cannot wait to see what the future of the Fallen Men has in store for us!

Caution to the Wind receives five out of five stars.

You can pick up the story here.

Follow Giana on all her social channels…

Website | Facebook | FB Group | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub | Goodreads | Amazon | Newsletter

Thank you again to Giana and the team at Valentine PR for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Giana Darling’s Caution to the Wind ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Did I just about drop everything I was doing when this ARC hit my Kindle? Yes, I did! Melanie Harlow returns to her latest world of Cherry Tree Harbour, with a marriage of convenience, forced proximity, a fake relationship, enemies-to-lovers, and a one-night stand. This book had everything and more!

I am a Melanie Harlow review team member, but I remain honest and genuine in my reviews.

Fall in love with my enemy? No way. Marry him to save my family’s struggling ski resort? That’s a different story… Getting hitched is the only way I can inherit Snowberry Lodge, and I’ll do anything to spare my childhood home from the wrecking ball–even wear Devlin Buckley’s ring on my finger. Not that I’ll enjoy it. Sure, he’s charming and handsome, and that no-last-names one night stand we shared ended with a fantastically big bang (I saw stars I hadn’t seen in six months, if you catch my drift). But I’ll never trust him–he was working for the company trying to bulldoze my life. Right up until the day he knocked on my door with an offer I couldn’t refuse. Marry him, and he’ll help me restore my family’s crumbling resort to its former glory–and get revenge on his ex-boss in the process. Once our goals are achieved, we’ll go our separate ways. It’s temporary. Strictly business. Purely for show. Until I realize how much I like it when he says “my wife.” Once we’re sharing a last name–and a bed–our make-believe match starts to feel a little too real. And if I’m not careful, I could lose everything… my home, my dreams, and my heart.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: The main characters are Lexi and Devlin. As we meet Lexi she is ready to inherit her family’s ski resort except her grandmother failed to mention that her in will it stipulates that only a couple can inherit. Enter Devlin, who works for the development company dead set on buying Snowberry Lodge. I fell for Lexi hard, she is a firehouse and never let Devlin get away with anything. I loved all the side characters so much, from Lexi’s grandmother to her friends who will be familiar faces to fans of Melanie’s other books. Along with the other Buckleys of course! I loved an excuse to see these characters again!
• Setting: This small-town romance happens mostly at the Snowberry Lodge and I loved it there! But also gotta love a little side trip to Las Vegas and a Vegas wedding!
• Pacing: I devoured this book and how could I not?! It’s electric right from the start and never slows down. You just want to root for Lexi and Devlin so easily. I could not wait to see what the fake, turns into real so I just kept reading and reading fast.
• Romance: The tropes just made for the perfect amount of sexual tension! The book starts off with a bang literally and never slows down. The characters struggle to keep their hands off each other, and what is supposed to be all for a show to protect Lexi’s inheritance devolves into way too many “my wife” moments from Devlin. Very soon he is giving his all to Lexi and you cannot help but be swooned by him too. Plus of course, this book is hot just like all of Melanie Harlow’s books as she has been a top-tier smut writer for me for a long time.

Make Believe-Match receives five out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

✦ Kindle Unlimited/Amazon ✦ Alt Male Paperback ✦ Paperback

Follow Melanie on all her social channels…

Facebook | Amazon | Bookbub | Instagram | Pinterest | Website | Mailing List

Thank you again to Melanie and her team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Melanie Harlow’s Make-Believe Match ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.