FIREPROOF
by Delancey Stewart
Release Date: September 13, 2021
Blurb
The newest barista at the Busy Bean is about to steam the place up...
Former Marine Mason Rye can make a cappuccino with military precision, but he finds it much harder to serve up a smile. It’s not that he doesn’t like people. But he knows from experience that once you let someone in, it hurts like hell when you lose them. And Mason’s lost too many people already.
So it’s pretty damn inconvenient when his old Marine buddy shows up on Mason’s goat farm with his younger sister in tow. Heather’s work in Washington D.C. has turned dangerous, and she needs a safe place out of town.
Mason doesn’t need a new roommate, especially not a pretty, single one who insists on rearranging his spice rack and giving his chickens cute names. Although there’s no denying the haunted look in her blue eyes. Every time her fear shows its face, he wants to reach for her.
The problem is that she wants him, too. And when Mason breaks all his rules, they practically burn down his bed together. But her life is in D.C. And the threat against her is over.
Unfortunately, neither of their hearts is fireproof...
Warning: this stand-alone novel contains cute goats, bossy Marines, and small-town charm.
My Review
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If you've read the blurb for this one you know why I picked it up. I don't know why a grumpy, hot, ex-marine works for me but it just does. There's something about the description that has me picturing a scowling John Cena in a khaki green shirt, tight enough to count abs that makes my hand shoot into the air while screaming "I volunteer as tribute."
And it was worth it. Mason was everything grumpy and growly with a soft centre I could have asked for. Throw in his dog he rescued and I'm complete putty in his hands. Even if he wasn't keen on having a house guest, he didn't hesitate to help his friend out the second he asked.
Heather was so nice. She's one of those people who just makes life sunnier just by being around her because she has such a positive can-do attitude. She knew Mason wasn't a fan of her being there and she went all out to help him and make things easier for him. I really liked her. And she was exactly what Mason needed, even if it took him a while to admit it.
This book was a great addition to the True North World, and I can't wait to read more books by this author. I'm really hoping that Amelia and Kevin will be getting a story of their own because they were great secondary characters. And now I'm off to Goodreads to do a little stalking. Toodles
DOUBLETALK
by TERALYN MITCHELL
Release Date: September 13, 2021
Blurb
Basketball has always been his one love, until now . . .
Zeke Armstrong never imagined he’d be back in Vermont, but here he is, living in Colebury and trying to rehab an injury that could mean an early retirement from pro basketball. Running into his former classmate, Mallory Barrett, shouldn’t be a distraction. It shouldn’t mean anything, so why is he accidentally on purpose showing up at the coffee shop where the beautiful writer spends her time?
Mallory Barrett has met a guy. Well, she hasn’t met him yet, except for on the dating app she almost refused to download. “Coby” sparks her interest and gets her jokes--and gives the romance-novel heroes she loves so much a full-court run for their money. When their first date doesn’t work out, she decides to give him another shot . . . just as a man she despises reenters her life. While her interest in the mystery man on the app grows, she clashes constantly with Zeke in real life. She can’t forgive him for humiliating her in high school, yet she can’t deny she’s drawn to him now.
She’s somehow gone from confirmed bachelorette to the tie-breaker between two men. Meanwhile Zeke has a secret--one that will cost him the game if Mallory finds out . . .
My Review
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Excerpt
She didn’t wait for me to say anything else, spinning on her heels and heading for the nearest store or restaurant where she could sit down. I chuckled and turned to head in the other direction. A hard wall of muscle made me stumble. Two strong hands gripped my upper arms. I looked up to see who had saved me from falling and who I needed to thank. The need to be polite shriveled and died when I saw that it was Zeke holding onto my arms.
“Are you okay?”
The combination of his deep voice and his hands on me caused me to shiver. I shook him off. What the hell? Why was I always reacting to him? I didn’t like him or his stupid good looks. I crossed my arms over my stomach.
“Why are you always where I am?” I snapped.
“Small town?”
“We’re in Burlington.”
“Still small, Ror. You also don’t have a monopoly on all things Vermont.”
I rolled my eyes. He had me there. “So, you’re telling me you normally wander the Marketplace on a cold Sunday?”
“When I have something to do, I wander around,” he said. “And maybe Stacey texted me and told me the two of you would be here.”
I clenched my teeth. Of course, she told him we’d be here. She went out of her way to make my life hell. So even though today had been about me getting her back, somehow, she’d figured out how to stick it to me too. I mean, not really. It’d probably been innocent, but I was going to blame her anyway.
It was frustrating to continuously run into Zeke. He had a point about it being a small town. This was what I dreaded when I realized he was back in Vermont and living in the town I now called home.
“You and Stacey talk often?”
The smirk on his full lips made me narrow my eyes at him. I hugged myself tighter as my stomach clenched. A tingle down below, that I was not acknowledging, had me pursing my lips. Why did he have to be so goddamn handsome? I was sure women fell all over themselves when he smiled at them like he was smiling at me right now. Especially when that dimple in his left cheek popped, but I wasn’t going to. Delight danced in his hooded light brown eyes. His sharp jawline was sprinkled with hair that looked good on him; it wasn’t a full beard but cut close to his skin. Not that I was looking, or rather, staring.
“Jealous?”
I groaned. “Not even a little, but I do want to have the facts right when I confront her about divulging my location to the enemy.”
He let out a deep laugh. “You’ve always been a bit of a drama queen,” he teased. “Stace and I exchanged numbers the last time we happened to be at the Busy Bean. We’ve only talked a few times.”
“Whatever.” I was done with this conversation and being around him.
I started walking, only for him to fall into step beside me. I let him walk beside me for a few minutes before I couldn’t resist saying something.
“Can I help you?”
“I don’t think so, unless you work at Burlington Records.”
“That’s where you’re going?” I asked.
“Yep.”
I am loving this whole True North World thing. Sarina Bowen is an absolute genius who creates amazing stories, and this has just added to her awesomeness. So, I have been avidly scouring all of these sign ups reading the blurbs and reading the books as soon as I get my grabby hands on them. And this one had me super excited. It is by a new to me, author; and its main character is a professional basketball player. It was right up my alley.
And then I started reading it and I just never clicked with it. I couldn’t get into the story, and I didn’t connect with either character. In fact both characters annoyed me more than I liked them, but most of the time I was just apathetic towards them. Now this is possibly a me issue and other people will love the book and the characters, and I probably just didn’t connect because I struggled to read the book. And for me sometimes that’s just something that happens and has nothing to do with the book I’m reading.
For me my first issue was Mallory. She is 28 years old and I just felt like she was holding onto juvenile grudges and was always playing the victim. And while I got why she wasn’t prepared to forgive Zeke for the actions he had made while they were children, she just kept on about how everyone had let her down and she had trust issues. But it felt like everything was catastrophised and she was the innocent princess sitting in her tower being spat on.
Zeke went all out to win over Mallory and gain her forgiveness and I liked that he was so invested in their relationship. But his words didn’t back up his actions. And his claims of her being the one that got away and having her tattooed on various parts of his body didn't mesh with the fact he hadn’t seen her in ten years and then he bumped into her by chance. After they had been estranged for 5 years before their physical separation.
Then we had a secondary relationship going on off to the side that didn’t really feel like it added much to the story. The sex scenes were hot and the writing was easy to read. It just wasn’t the book for me at the moment.
