Tag Archives: second chance romance

New Releases, Romance

💙😘 The Art of Us by Hilaria Alexander 💙😘

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Title: The Art of Us
Author: Hilaria Alexander
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 26, 2018 
Two years ago, his kiss left her reeling, but she pushed him away and they never spoke of it again.

 

Lena Andrews is bad at love, and has no intention of getting better at it. 

Men are good for one thing, and love isn’t it. 

She’s perfectly okay with finding happiness in her job as a comic book artist. 

Yet, she can’t shake the memory of her coworker’s kiss. 

Amos St. Clair has stayed the hell away from Lena Andrews for the last two years.

Work has filled his time and he’s on the cusp of making a name for himself. When an opportunity to complete a project that’s dear to Lena’s heart presents itself, Amos seizes the opportunity – even if it means being with the woman he’s avoided all this time.

Through their mutual passion for art and each other, their love blooms like a lotus flower out of a dark, muddy pool. But, is their love strong enough to withstand the challenges posed by the most important job of their careers?

Hilaria Alexander was born and raised in the south of Italy, where her family still lives. She was bit by the travel bug early on and lived in Tokyo and Orlando for a while before settling down in Oklahoma City with her husband and kids. 

 

She loves books – obviously – as well as movies and TV, and is addicted to award shows. She can’t play an instrument to save her life, but she loves music, which is one of her biggest inspirations when plotting new stories. If you have questions about her or her books, ask her on Facebook and Twitter, or email her at hilaria_alexander@outlook.com

 


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REVIEW ~ His Redneck Girl by Lindsey Brookes

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Jimmie Joe Johnson has spent years living up to his hound dog reputation. If he can’t have the one female he truly wants, then any female will do. When he isn’t off diddlin’ some female, he’s practicing for pool playoffs, determined to get his pool team to Vegas. Not only for bragging rights, but for the free trip to ‘Sin City’ and cash prize that comes along with it.
Baylee Jean Brown has never gotten over her first and only love, Jimmie Joe Johnson. So when she discovers the truth about why he really ended things with her all those years before, she sets out to get her man back. And no other thigh-parting female is going to stand in her way. She just has to find a way to make him take notice of her, considering he’d been avoiding her since that day her spell-threatening aunt (yes, she does come from a long line of witches), threatened to place his man-parts in a jar on her windowsill.
Avoiding Baylee Jean Brown in a town the size of Possum Hollow is hard enough, but all of the sudden she’s dressing sexy and aiming all that female heat in his direction. He tries to convince her that she’s better off without him, but how can he expect her to listen to reason when his own heart and body refuse to? Now his man-parts are in a whole different kind of danger. Not because her aunt might still carry through with her threat to pickle them, but because he knows no other woman will ever do.

Baylee Jean Brown is still in love with her first and only big love, Jimmie Joe. But he broke her heart and now that she knows why, Baylee has to find a way to forgive her meddling aunt and win her man back! And that just gets us past the first couple pages of His Redneck Girl! Unfortunately in the years since they’d broken up, Jimmie Joe has become a bit of a…hound dog. Bouncing from one female to the next, never staying long enough to form an attachment, which means turning him into a one woman man—again—was going to be an adventure. Lindsey Brookes set the stage wonderfully in this story, filled with fun and yes, hijinks.

His Redneck Girl is firmly a laugh out loud romantic comedy. Watching Baylee Jean get all dolled up, dressing sexy and flashy to get his attention was hilarious. Watching Jimmie Joe try and resist her though? Priceless. Baylee is exactly the kind of heroine you want to root for, strong and independent and ready to do what it takes to get her man, even if it means chasing off “every hussy in the county”. Lindsey Brookes has crafted such a fun story, completely with elements of paranormal with the reputed witches in the family and who can forget the talking possum?

The way the characters talk does take some getting used to, but after the first chapter it kind of flows off the page. His Redneck Girl is a fun, redneck love story that will have you laughing and swooning til the end.

book reviews, Novellas, Romance

Review ~ April Fool Bride by Joan Reeves

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ABOUT:

Is it a marriage of convenience or something more?

Oil heiress Madeline Quinn needs a husband by the time she turns twenty-five in order to claim her full inheritance. Mad Maddie, as the tabloids christened her, has learned the hard way that men only see dollar signs when they look at her.

Maddie decides a marriage of convenience is the only answer. She turns to the one man in the world she can trust, her housekeeper’s son who always treated her like a little sister when they were kids growing up together.

Jake Becker hasn’t seen Maddie since the night she tried to seduce him. Why should he help the woman who changed the course of his life? Simple. Revenge.

Or is it something else? Something that sizzles like steam heat between Maddie and Jake that neither can resist!?

April Fool Bride was a fast, fun read. What appealed to me about this story is that it is—technically—a second chance romance and a marriage of convenience, two of my favorite tropes. Years ago oil heiress Maddie had a huge crush on the housekeeper’s son, Jake. One night she decided to act on that teenage crush and let’s just say that it didn’t end all that great for him. Or her, really.

Fast forward to the future and Maddie needs a man she can trust and there’s only one man she’s ever met who fits the bill. Jake.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this story is the deft way Joan Reeves was able to flesh out the characters by using the other character’s perspective. When we first learn about Maddie, it’s through Jake and it ain’t pretty. He makes her seem almost irredeemable, which did color my opinion of her. But we learned more about the new grownup Maddie through Jake’s perspective, which also made it clear why he fell for her.

This is a fast read, only about 120+ pages, but it reads like a full length story in that there are no elements missing. The mom and the stepmom were fun, meddlesome, characters who added a few layers of depth to tell us who our hero and heroine really are. It was hot, fun and fast, but most of all it was a good time!

April Fool Bride is book 1 in the All Brides Are Beautiful romance series.

New Releases, Romance

RELEASE DAY ~ Free Fall by Emily Goodwin

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Title: Free Fall
Author: Emily Goodwin
Genre: 2nd Chance Standalone Romance
Release Date: February 1, 2018 
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Nora Fisher. The way my heart sped up in my chest and blood rushed through every part of me. I was drawn to her the moment our eyes met.

 She was beautiful. 

 Guarded. 
Damaged.
Just like me.

I never meant to hurt the only woman I’ve ever loved. She was light, and I was dark, casting shadows on everything around me. Letting her go meant spiraling back into the darkness only Nora could pull me from. But I’d sacrifice myself a thousand times for her.

Four years later, she’s back, and the passion she ignites makes the fight for her stronger. But the more I try to make things right, the more I realize how complicated things have become.

And now I’m starting to see that maybe her light was never meant to be mine.
They call me a hero.
But to me, I’ll always be the guy who shot his best friend. Some nights, when the air is still and the house is quiet, I can hear it. The whisper of metal on metal as the hammer is pulled back on the gun. Everything comes rushing back. The way the gun felt heavy in my hand. The pungent smell of blood filling my lungs. My finger slipping as I pulled the trigger, slick from my own blood. And most of all, the way Jason’s blood splattered my face as the bullet hit him.

 

I tell people I blacked out after that, but I remember it all. The screams. The feeling of panic and remorse and terror all at the same time, ripping my heart into a million bloody pieces. When they ask, I tell them the pain from my own bullet wound intensified and I collapsed. Sometimes, I feel bad for lying. But the truth won’t change anything.

 “And how are you feeling today, Jack?” Mr. Levine asks, not looking up from his computer.

 “Fine,” I reply in a huff, already eyeballing the clock. It hasn’t even been a minute yet.

 

“Are you still having nightmares?”

 

That’s the only kind of dream I have, well, if I sleep at all. “Nope.”

 

“Good, good.” Mr. Levine stares at his computer during most of our meetings. I assume he’s looking at porn. If he is, it makes these meetings a lot less serious. “And what about school?”

 

“What about it?”

 

“How are you doing in your classes? What kind of grades are you getting?”

 

“Can’t you look that stuff up?”

 

“Oh, I can,” he says, and I want to roll my eyes and call him out for being lazy. But that puts me at risk for getting another counselor, and I like Mr. Levine for exactly that: he’s lazy and doesn’t probe. Nearly a year of these godforsaken meetings is bad enough. I’d lose my shit if I had to sit in with anyone else. “But I want to hear it from you.”

 

“I get Bs and Cs. Nothing special but nothing terrible.”

 

“What about football? You still enjoy that?”

 

“Yes,” I say honestly. It’s probably the only thing I enjoy. It’s the one place I feel the most free. I can’t run away from my life, but I can run on the field. I can’t push, shove, or block my problems in real life, but I make one hell of a defense, even though I’m the quarterback. 

 

“You’ve gotten quite a few marks for unsportsmanlike conduct already,” Mr. Levine says and lifts his gaze from his computer to me. “And it’s the beginning of the school year.”

 

I shrug. “Just making up for lost time and feeling extra competitive. Don’t want to break our winning streak. Go Bulldogs.”

 

“Sounds good.” His eyes are back on his glowing computer screen. “You know I’m here if you need to talk. See you Friday.”

 

I grab my shit and leave his corner office, emerging into a hall that empties into the main office building of Dale Hollow High School. There are three rooms back here: Mr. Levine’s office, the other counselor, Mrs. Freeman’s office, and the conference room they sit you down in when bad shit happens.

 

I’ve been in all three more times than I can count.

 

Between the doors to the two counselors’ offices is an ugly armchair that smells like mothballs. I’ve clocked serious hours parked there, waiting to be seen, or waiting while my parents talked with the principal behind closed doors. Today it has a different occupant, and I slow without meaning to.

 

Her head is turned down to the book in her lap, and raven hair is covering half her face. Noticing me, she looks up, and I’m taken aback by her beauty. Eyes as green as emeralds stare back at me, and her full lips part. She’s gorgeous.

 

There’s something familiar in her eyes that I can’t place. She looks to be the same age as my sister, who’s two years younger than me. Yet something about this girl makes me think she has experience, and I don’t mean with sex.

 

With life.

 

She knows life is full of bullshit.

 

There was a time when I’d flash a smile, lean in, and introduce myself. But those days are gone. Her long lashes come together in a blink, making my heart skip a beat and a rush of blood go to my dick. I quickly walk away before she has the chance to say anything.

 

Emily Goodwin is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of over a dozen of romantic titles. Emily writes the kind of books she likes to read, and is a sucker for a swoon-worthy bad boy and happily ever afters. 

 


 

She lives in the midwest with her husband and two daughters. When she’s not writing, you can find her riding her horses, hiking, reading, or drinking wine with friends. 

 


 

Emily is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency.

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Review ~ Redeeming Lottie by Melissa Ellen

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Things I never planned on happening in my life: Getting married, being a mother to a house full of kids, and returning to my small hometown in Texas.

I especially never planned on seeing Tucker Monroe again.
Sexy smile. Country charm. A man and a life I left behind for a reason.

The only plan I had for myself was my career.

My career as a buyer for one of the largest high end department stores was the only commitment I had time for. The only one I was willing to make.

Now, being left with no choice but to return to my hometown, I’m finding it hard to remember why I left in the first place. Because all that’s on my mind is Tucker. He is just as sexy. Just as charming. Just as dangerous as he used to be…

When you’re a woman like Lottie, you know what you want in life, an more importantly, what you don’t want. For her she didn’t want marriage and kids and definitely not a life in her small Texas hometown. She has a fabulous life in the big city and a great job, but life laughs when you make plans and following Lottie on her journey was both hilarious and sobering.

What I enjoyed about Redeeming Lottie was that she’s like most women of a certain age, certain in what she wants her life to look like. But somewhere along the way that changes for her, and she can’t seem to figure out why. This to me was the most compelling part of the story, watching her figure it all out. Sometimes, we think we have to stick to our set course instead of taking a step back to see if it’s still the right course for us and this was a message the reader gets loud and clear in Melissa Ellen’s story.

I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of most first person stories and it took me some time to get beyond the whole ‘jet setting, super fabulous’ life Lottie created for herself. It was clear from the beginning this was a surface happiness and I was eager to find out more. The writing itself was solid but not great, however Redeeming Lottie is all about the story and the message.

Tucker was…amazingly everything and his little niece just the most adorable girl. Watching this story unfold was a joy, and the story had a surprising depth that kept me reading to the end.

New Releases, Romance

Pre-order ~ Redeeming Lottie by Melissa Ellen

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Title: Redeeming Lottie
Author: Melissa Ellen
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 1, 2018 

 

Things I never planned on happening in my life: 

Getting married, being a mother to a house full of kids, and returning to my small hometown of Billingsley, Texas.

I especially never planned on seeing Tucker Monroe again.

Sexy smile. Country charm. 

A man and a life I left behind for a reason.

The only plan I had for myself was my career. 

A buyer for one of the largest high end department stores was the only commitment I had time for. 

The only one I was willing to make. 

Now, being left with no choice but to return to 

Billingsley, I’m finding it hard to remember why I left in the first place. Because all that’s on my mind is Tucker. 

He is just as sexy. Just as charming. 

Just as dangerous as he used to be…
Read the Redeeming Lottie  review here –> https://wp.me/p52RE6-nW

 

Melissa is the author of The Blackwood Series. She grew up as a book worm, reading anything from John Grisham to Nicholas Sparks. She has always had an active imagination and been naturally creative. She began writing when a story in her head was begging to be told.

When she is not writing, you can find Melissa working on architecture projects, buried in a book with a good glass of wine, playing with her son, laughing with her husband, or tackling her latest DIY project. 

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book reviews, Events, Romance

Blog Tour ~ Art of Forgiveness by Monique Orgeron

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Title: Art of Forgiveness
Series: A Stern Family Saga, Book 2
Author: Monique Orgeron
Genre: Contemporary Romance w/ Suspense
Release Date: January 19, 2018
Can love survive years of pain?

Liam Stern lived a charmed and carefree life. Always surrounded by friends, he was the boy who could have any girl he wanted, and did.

Until Avery.

She was pure and innocent. She was the one he never saw coming.

She was the only thing that mattered, but the time came for him to fulfill his destiny. To protect Avery from a life she was not made for, he would have to give up the one thing he loved most in this world: her.

Now the decisions made years ago come back to cost them both, dearly.

Avery Edwards was a good girl, never stepping out of line, always the obedient daughter. 

Until Liam showed her everything she was missing in her life: love.

Liam was her future, or at least she thought.

Until he broke her.

That was the beginning of her nightmare.

After years apart, Liam and his family hold her future in their hands. Rebuilding a girl who no longer cares to live.

After years of hating Liam, can Avery truly give him her forgiveness?

Get your copy HERE!!!

The Art of Forgiveness has done something that very few books have been able to do, and that is get a good review despite my mixed feelings. Because, make no mistake, this story by Monique Orgeron is a good read. A frustrating and compelling read all at once.

Avery was a victim of bullying at school and verbal abuse at home for most of her life and I understand that informed a lot of what she did and how she acted. But her willingness to just push her happiness aside—as an adult—for her delusional mother made it hard to sympathize with her. During the first few chapters of the book I nearly stopped reading because I just couldn’t take her saying ‘oh it was easier so I just did as she said’. It was so damn frustrating.

Then the sh*t hit the fan and I stayed up way too late trying to see what was going on. And what that was, was awful. Terrible. A hellish nightmare that made me feel for Avery viscerally. I wanted to step in front of her and slay those dragons for her, because that was worse than anything she’d ever been through and but for the genre, I did worry she wasn’t strong enough to handle it.

And I have to give it up to Monique Orgeron for proving me wrong. That chick was strong, stronger than even she knew. The Art of Forgiveness was a story about exactly that, forgiveness. But not just Liam and the mindf*ck he unleashed on her as a teenager, but also herself for allowing it to happen and even her Mom, which…wow. I don’t see myself forgiving that woman anytime soon.

I should mention Liam since he is the hero, but honestly Liam didn’t really do much for me. He was a weak man, a scaredy cat at best and that just isn’t sexy at all. From the beginning he had all the say and while I can forgive him a little based on the decisions he made at 18, the fact that he kept doing it years later made it a little hard to swallow.

Now for the rest of the characters. I absolutely loved Catherine, she was a total badass who ruled her family with a fist made of iron and velvet. Honestly, I want to be Catherine when I grow up. And the Stern brothers? Good lord were they all hot and bossy and just what you’d expect when you got a group of big, alpha men together. Some of my favorite parts of the story were when this big strong men devolved into little boys.

I wish that the romance had been more intertwined into the story, because truthfully it was more like part one and part two of a story, but I still really enjoyed reading The Art of Forgiveness.


Written by Monique Orgeron’s eldest, most beautiful, and intelligent daughter. (My sister is going to hate this part.)

My mom happens to be the most caring, loving, and stubborn person I know, well anyone knows. She gives 100% percent of herself to everyone and has given up so much of herself for my sister and I. For twenty-one years she has poured her heart and soul into making sure we know that we are loved and that we can do anything we put our minds too, but it was about time she figured that out about herself. 

Up until this year I hadn’t seen my mom do anything for only her, but this book has allowed her to travel the world through the pages of a book, make new friends, and feel the joy of doing something exciting. 

There is a new light behind her eyes and it is just making me feel more joy than she can ever imagine. While she might be annoying most of the time, I am so thrilled that she is finally allowing herself to grow as a person and not spend all of her energy on her family. 

It has been a long journey of self-discovery for my mom; she has gone from domestic supermom to domestic goddess throughout the process of writing. 

We are so very excited and proud of you! I love you as big as the world.

-Bria and Tony

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Events, New Releases, Romance

LIVE ~ Art of Forgiveness by Monique Orgeron

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Title: Art of Forgiveness
Series: A Stern Family Saga, Book 2
Author: Monique Orgeron
Genre: Contemporary Romance w/ Suspense
Release Date: January 19, 2018

Can love survive years of pain?

Liam Stern lived a charmed and carefree life. Always surrounded by friends, he was the boy who could have any girl he wanted, and did.

Until Avery.

She was pure and innocent. She was the one he never saw coming.

She was the only thing that mattered, but the time came for him to fulfill his destiny. To protect Avery from a life she was not made for, he would have to give up the one thing he loved most in this world: her.

Now the decisions made years ago come back to cost them both, dearly.

Avery Edwards was a good girl, never stepping out of line, always the obedient daughter. 

Until Liam showed her everything she was missing in her life: love.

Liam was her future, or at least she thought.

Until he broke her.

That was the beginning of her nightmare.

After years apart, Liam and his family hold her future in their hands. Rebuilding a girl who no longer cares to live.

After years of hating Liam, can Avery truly give him her forgiveness?

 


 “Wow, I mean just WOW! I would totally give this book WAY more stars if I could, I absolutely LOVED it! Amazing!” – Jolene St. Germain Triggs

“This book is pure perfection! The author keeps making her books better and better.” – Sandra (Goodreads)

“Phenomenal! Monique as done it again!” – Tara DeLuca

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Written by Monique Orgeron’s eldest, most beautiful, and intelligent daughter. (My sister is going to hate this part.)

My mom happens to be the most caring, loving, and stubborn person I know, well anyone knows. She gives 100% percent of herself to everyone and has given up so much of herself for my sister and I. For twenty-one years she has poured her heart and soul into making sure we know that we are loved and that we can do anything we put our minds too, but it was about time she figured that out about herself. 

Up until this year I hadn’t seen my mom do anything for only her, but this book has allowed her to travel the world through the pages of a book, make new friends, and feel the joy of doing something exciting. 

There is a new light behind her eyes and it is just making me feel more joy than she can ever imagine. While she might be annoying most of the time, I am so thrilled that she is finally allowing herself to grow as a person and not spend all of her energy on her family. 

It has been a long journey of self-discovery for my mom; she has gone from domestic supermom to domestic goddess throughout the process of writing. 

We are so very excited and proud of you! I love you as big as the world.

-Bria and Tony

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Holiday, New Releases, Novellas, Romance

Second Chance eX-mas Just 99 cents!!!

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#LIVE #secondchanceromance #smalltownlove #99cents

Title: Second Chance eX-mas
Author: N.D. Jackson
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Cosmin Arnautu
Release Date: December 21st, 2017

 

💚❄️🔥……….Synopsis……….💚❄️🔥
Ally & Archer.
They were the quintessential ‘it’ couple. Young, beautiful and ambitious. Everyone said they had what it took to make it. That they would last. She had stupidly believed it. All of it.
Hook, line & sinker.
Then he’d walked away and never looked back.
Never knew what he left behind.
Years later he finally returned to the place where they’d grown up. Met. Fell in love. Smiling and looking all handsome with his big strong SEAL body, and turning Ally’s carefully constructed world upside down.
But Archer realized his mistake and though it took some time, he was ready to make it right. For everyone involved.
And Christmas in Blissful was the perfect setting for magic, romance and a rekindled flame.
Can Archer and Ally find a way to let go of the past and reach for a future beyond Christmas Day?

💚❄️🔥……….Buy Links……….💚❄️🔥
US: http://amzn.to/2BxmII3
UK: http://amzn.to/2Bmc0aC
AU: http://amzn.to/2BHWjYt
CA: http://amzn.to/2BEJlKM

💚❄️🔥……….About The Author……….💚❄️🔥
N.D. Jackson is the author of sweet and sexy contemporary romances, with an emphasis on the quirky fun and idiosyncrasies of small town living. Her stories have been called fun, steamy, witty and hot. She loves to write about tough heroines who find love when they’re not looking for it and larger-than-life heroes who would never give up on the right girl. She lives in a flat in Germany with her husband who occasionally interrupts her in the writing cave to ask for her delicious vegan Pho or to sweep her off on a weekend adventure. The heroines in her books are a combination of her ‘GIRLS’ and people from her travels who’ve left lasting impressions.

Most importantly, she wants you to know the sassy older women in her books are thanks to the strongest women she knows, her grandmothers.

💚❄️🔥……….Follow ND……….💚❄️🔥
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MustangPrairieBooks
Website: https://ndjacksonwritinstuff.com/
Twitter: @ndjaxn_author
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2ess8N5
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1iESd8T
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2etUCBB
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cwSq0X
Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/261671587620194/

book reviews, Romance

Review ~ A Teaspoon of Trouble by Shirley Jump

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ABOUT:

Type-A chef Carolyn Henderson has walked away from her job at a trendy NYC restaurant after an abrupt family tragedy. Now, as a guardian to her four-year-old niece, Emma, and a very disobedient mutt – kids and dogs are so not her skill set – moving back to Marietta, Montana seems the best temporary option. But when confronted by her parents’ declining health, Carolyn has to face reality. And she’s going to need some serious help. So who better to ask than Matthew West, a blast from her high school past… and as hunky and helpful as ever.

Vet – and very eligible, if reluctant, Bachelor – Matthew West can’t believe his luck when his high school crush stumbles through his door. Dogs, kids, and gorgeous damsels in distress. Carolyn needs help with the pup, and he needs help whipping up delicious concoctions for the Bachelor Bake-Off. So she wants to make a deal: dog obedience lessons for cooking tips… but Matthew wants to broker quite a bit more…

In A Teaspoon of Trouble we meet Carolyn Henderson, a talented NYC chef who has just lost her sister and brother in law and was now tasked with raising her adorable little niece Emma. So back to Montana the girls go, with Carolyn hoping her parents can help her be the mom her sister knew she could. Only her parents are aging and filled with grief, which means she has to figure it out. But Carolyn runs into the high school boyfriend she’d left without a backwards glance, and Matt is better than she remembered. A small town vet, he loves his life but wishes for more. For love and marriage. Shirley Jump has written a fun small town romance that includes a fun bachelor bake off for charity, moonlight kisses and tons of romance.

Where Shirley Jump excels in A Teaspoon of Trouble is creating the small town atmosphere with fun, small town characters, plenty of adorable animals and we can’t forget little Emma who is absolutely precious. And Matt was incredible; hot and generous and kind. But Carolyn was kind of hard to like for much of the story because she was so focused on what she wanted that she never thought about Emma, only her career. It was kind of repetitive but she got her stuff together in time to redeem herself, at least in this reader’s eyes.

There were also some really great moments filled with emotions, particularly a late night scene with Carolyn and her niece. Those scenes gave this book the depth it needed to be more than your average romance novel.