Roman Holiday 1: Chained. Ruthie Knox. 2014. Loveswept. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] The first part of Ruthie Knox’s serial is a good start to what could be a great story. It pulled me in right away and left me hanging all too soon.Knox presents a story that is easily spread across several books, though I’d like to get them all in one sitting. I will absolutely be checking out subsequent books in this collection. Ashley and Roman’s introduction is not quite what one would expect, with her being chained to a tree and him seeing how soon she’ll break. Her heart is certainly in the right place — she wants to save a small Florida resort from destruction at the hand’s of Roman’s company. Her grandmother sold it behind her back, and it’s really all she has left.

The Rogue’s Proposal. Jennifer Haymore. 2013. 401 pages. Forever.  [Source: ARC provided courtesy of Netgalley.] Emma’s husband is dead and her family is on its last pennies. Luke’s mother is missing and he’s got a chip on his royal shoulder. They’re after the same man, whom they hope has the answers they both need to put their respective lives back on track. The two team up in search of the elusive Roger Morton, but get much more than either of them bargained for. I don’t typically read historical romance, but I found myself caught up in this story. Within a few pages, I forgot that I was reading a story set centuries ago and instead was wrapped up in a compelling plot. The themes and experiences of Emma and Luke transcend time and are easily relatable. Emma struggles with learning the truth behind her marriage and is forced to come to terms with her sheltered sexual experiences. Luke is tired of being seen as a scoundrel while living in the shadow of his “perfect” brother and is grappling with a revelation about his family that complicates his ability to forge his own identity. Together, they’re challenged to think differently not…

Since You’ve Been Gone. Mary Jennifer Payne. 2015. Dundurn. 224 pages. [Source: NetGalley]. It’s not often that a book leaves me unsettled, but more and more I’m finding that YA books leave me just that.  Since You’ve Been Gone follows 15-year-old Edie Fraser as she adjusts to life in England after abruptly fleeing her home in Canada with her mother.  Mere days after settling into a new home and school, Edie comes home to find that her mother has failed to keep their communication pact and is missing.  Edie is left to further adjust to life in a strange new city by herself but also find out what’s become of her mother.  In her attempts to do so, she runs afoul of administrators in her school and the people she’s come to consider her new friends.

All Fired Up. Kate Meader. 2013. 416 pages. Forever. [ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] This story is as hot as the flames in the kitchen of Sarriette and the sexual chemistry between its two main characters, Shane and Cara, is definitely its fuel. All Fired Up is a great romance filled with just the right balance of lust, attitude, and humor and has so many references to delicious food that my mouth watered most of the time. I loved the writing overall. Meader has a way of building up just the right amount of tension and letting it crest a while before the reader everything they want. I knew while I was reading chapter 1 that I was in for a treat. In most books, the problem is front and center within the first page. Instead, I was left wondering what the awkwardness was between Cara and Shane for the entire chapter. It’s not often the book starts with the marriage, and that an immediate solution wasn’t granted made it all the more enticing to keep reading.

Unexpected Love. Casey Clipper. 2014.  213 pages.  Amazon Digital Publishing.   [Source: ARC provided courtesy of The Book Gurus.] Unexpected Love is the second installment in Clipper’s “Love Series.”  As far as I can tell, the series revolves around a group of cousins in the Millen family.   Close-knit to a fault, the family is filled with ex-military alpha males who protect the women in their families at all costs.  This book in particular focuses on Ryan Millen, a playboy whose life is turned upside down when he unexpectedly becomes a father overnight.  Financially strapped Lynn enters his life and the two find a seemingly mutually beneficial arrangement around the care of his son newborn son Brady. I think this is a great book for readers who enjoy romances filled with Alpha males and/or military-types.  Every single man in this book is imposing and aggressive, bordering on overbearing.  The women in the book seem to enjoy that so it works. But if that’s not your thing … Unexpected Love may not suit your fancy.  Regardless of personality type, the guys in the book mean well and Clipper does a good job of pairing them with women who balance them out and in some cases go toe-to-toe with them….