Review: The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren

 

The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren

Publication Date: July 14th 2026 by Gallery Books

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Emery and Luca, opposites in so many ways, met and fell head-over-heels in love. Now Emery’s life is consumed by work, focused on a top-secret project Luca doesn’t know about.

 

Emery’s project becomes vital when Luca is victim to a hit-and-run. It works, but Luca wakes up with no memory of Emery. Their marriage-in-crisis gets a second chance as Emery and Luca get to know each other all over again.

 

Reviving Luca has the potential to land Emery and her best friend/co-worker, Annie, into big time hot water and they work to keep it secret. Unfortunately, someone’s been paying attention.

 

I liked that Emery, even before the accident, realized things needed to change on her end, but had a hard time believing they communicated so little with how the relationship was described. I had a hard time thinking that Luca would’ve gone through with his plans before trying to talk to Emery first, given the chemistry between them.

 

The Romance Revival was a addictive second-chance romance/marriage-in-crisis type of story. I actually loved all the sci-fi intrigue with Emery’s revival project, and I was more engrossed with that than the romance. The ending was exciting with more danger and thrills than I expected and I enjoyed how it all wrapped up.

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

An unforgettable novel in which one fateful accident erases a troubled marriage from memory—and love gets one extraordinary do-over.

Three years ago, Emery Finch did something completely out of character: She got married. To Luca—the impossibly charming landscaper she met on one blistering night in Vegas who made her laugh, made her dance, made her feel.

But now, Emery is consumed by her top-secret job, missing dinners, forgetting anniversaries, and promising herself Luca will understand once her cutting-edge research comes to light. Until the unthinkable happens: A tragic accident takes Luca from her.

Desperate not to lose him, Emery breaks every rule to bring him back. And Luca would probably thank her for it, if only he could remember her. Their first kiss, their Sunny Sundays at the beach, the life they built together...all of it is gone.

It may be a miracle of science, but for Emery it’s her one shot at a second chance. And this time, she won’t waste it—because true love is always worth reviving.

Two Romances: A Novel Love Story & The Paradise Problem

 

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

Publication Date: June 25th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

All the members of Eileen’s book club back out of their yearly retreat, but she needs this trip, she’s had a tough few years, and decides to go alone.  However, on the way she gets lost, and somehow ends up in the fictional town of her favorite romance series; a series that’s carried her through her darkest times. She knows the characters inside and out, except for one: a grumpy book store owner.

 

What a fun premise! A Novel Love Story was also completely charming, a journey of healing for Eileen and one that helps her sort out her path to happiness. There’s also a romance of course!

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Publication Date: May 14th 2024 by Gallery Books

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Anna is in a low point in her life, having just lost her job with lots of bills when her old college roommate, West comes knocking needing her help. They married for family housing back then and apparently, unbeknownst to Anna, they never divorced. West needs her to continue with the charade that they’re married, so he can hit the five-year mark to unlock his one-hundred-million-dollar trust fund, making him fully independent of his toxic father for good.

 

They must appear together, happily married to his sister’s destination wedding on a private island. Anna agrees, because she needs the money. Of course, there’s one bed, of course there’s an attraction simmering between them and of course they fall deeper into real love as they fake it! Loved both Anna and West!

 

Family drama, serious issues, sexy times, and laugh-out-loud moments all combine into Christina Lauren’s special brand of romance! 

Review: The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

 

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Publication Date: May 16th 2023 by Gallery Books & Simon & Schuster Audio

Pages: 416

Audiobook Length: 10hrs 52min

Narrators: Jonathan Cole & Cindy Kay

Source: Publisher & Purchased Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

You’ve probably seen about a million reviews for The True Love Experiment, so I won’t bore you with another recap (plus, the book description is below). This was just so much fun! Fizzy had no filter and I laughed so hard at the things that just flew out of her mouth. Especially, the bombs she’d drop just as River was somehow entering the room! He’d just turn tail and leave, like every time, lol!

But there’s a lot more to the story than just slapstick. Both Fizzy and Connor had things to work through.  A very inconvenient, strong attraction, considering the circumstances, that I’m super happy they couldn’t resist most of the time. The sexual tension, heat and chemistry was off-the-charts! Connor and Fizzy just felt so right for each other! I was skeptical about the whole dating show feature, but Christina Lauren made it work perfectly! They wrapped it up so cleverly and in the best way! The True Love Experiment may be my favorite CL to date! Total recommend!

I alternately listened to the audio and read an e-copy. I recommend either version! Cindy Kay was perfect for Fizzy and she performed Connor’s bits well, too. Jonathan Cole’s British accent was divine and his did Fizzy’s part nicely, as well! They enhanced an already spectacular read! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

5 Stars

Book Description:

Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.

Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?

Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.

The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.

Update and Mini Review of Something Wilder by Christina Lauren

 So I'm finally moved up to Northern California with no more going back and forth down South! Thank goodness!! It's been a long two weeks with packing up two locations (apartment down South and up North) to move into our new *to us* house. In between all of this our cat (Peanut) went missing from our apartment up North and I had to leave to do my last day of work down South without knowing where he was. I was a wreck to say the least and cried the whole drive down South and every day he was missing.  He was gone for four days and showed up the day we drove back up with the moving van. I can't even tell you how happy I was!! 

Also, I've had no Internet and spotty cell service here since we moved. It was supposed to be up and running on Friday, but the company forgot to do one thing and of course they couldn't come back until Tuesday. Thank goodness we finally have Internet! I can blog again! I'm behind on reviews and a several comments back (sorry!). I will be catching up!

My  mini-review for Something Wilder:

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren

Publication Date: May 17th 2022 by Gallery Books

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Something Wilder was a little departure from the usual Christina Lauren romance, because there was adventure and more than a little danger involved, and I enjoyed every minute! Several characters to hate: Todd and Lily’s dad, although I did have mixed feelings about the dad by the end, and a few to love like Lily’s bestie Nicole. She was tough and loyal, the kind of friend that would help you bury the body if you needed it! I love that CL usually incorporates a strong female friendship (kind of like their own, I guess) in each story they write.

The romance between Leo and Lily was of the second chance variety, one of my favorite tropes.  The hurt and longing between them were palpable, which made their romance all the more sweet when they cleared things up and boy did they steam up the pages! Definite recommend! 

4 Stars

Book Description:

Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession… or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there.

Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen.

But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the adventure of a lifetime.

Review: A Christmas Courtship by Shelley Shephard Gray

 

A Christmas Courtship (Berlin Bookmobile #3) by Shelley Shepard Gray

Publication Date: October 19th 2021 by Gallery Books

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads 

My Thoughts:

Atle, a forty-year-old bachelor, has admired Sadie Mast from afar for years, but she’d been off limits being married. Now a widower, mother of three, she asks Atle to build a room for her oldest son, Cale now that he’s older to give him so space and growing room, and Atle sees this as an opportunity to court Sadie if he can muster enough courage speak up and make his desires known.

Sadie feels bad that she’s had to rely on her teenage son, Cale, to help get the family by after the death of her husband, but now that she’s more steady she wants to make Cale’s Christmas gift extra special and give her son more room now that he’s getting older. Having the quiet and handsome Atle around is an unexpected joy.

There were two romances to love: Atle and Sadie and then Sadie’s son Cale and Hope, the daughter of his boss on the farm he works.  Atle is quiet and shy, so he asks Sarah Anne, the librarian running the bookmobile for some self-help books on romance, but Sarah Anne thinks Atle might have more success reading a couple of her favorite romances for advice. The novel ending up more inspirational to Atle, because if the couple in the book could somehow find love through all their unnecessary drama, then he for sure should be able to! The fictional book couple was kind of a mess, lol.

I just adored A Christmas Courtship so much! So heartwarming and sweet! I also loved the Atle and Sadie’s relationship with her kids. Sadie’s past husband left some emotional scars they all had to deal with, and I thought both Sadie and Atle dealt with it beautifully. I think I’ve only read one story featuring the Amish, but the premise of finding romantic help through a romance book appealed to me. Also, with life so messy and complicated having a story set in community where a simpler life is embraced sounded nice.  Now I’d like to go back and read the previous two romances.

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

In this endearing Christmas tale, a bookmobile librarian knows just the novel to help an Amish bachelor woo his next-door neighbor in the latest installment of the “charming” (Carla Laureano, RITA Award–winning author of Five Days in Skye) Berlin Bookmobile series.

A solitary sort, forty-two-year-old Atle Petersheim spends his time hard at work in his wood shop. But as the days get long, he realizes just how lonely he’s become. When his longtime crush, Sadie Mast, a widow and mother of three, asks him to help her build a room in their barn for her son Cale, Atle can’t say no. Eager to pursue Sadie at last, he turns to bookmobile librarian Sarah Anne Miller for courting advice. More than happy to help, Sarah Anne decides the best way to learn about love is through books—romance novels to be precise.

Between completing holiday orders for her flourishing food business, helping Cale navigate a dramatic new relationship with his boss’s daughter, and coming to terms with the trauma her late husband had inflicted upon her and her children—not to mention Atle showing up at her door with flowers—Sadie is in over her head. Though Atle’s efforts are initially clumsy and his declarations a bit awkward, Sadie can’t help but be charmed by him. He’s patient and kind...and at times even seems to know far more about romance than he’s let on.

Review: Claimed by J.R. Ward

 

Claimed (Lair of the Wolven #1) by J.R. Ward

Publication Date: July 27th 2021 by Gallery Books

Pages: 525

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads 

My Thoughts:

Lydia Susi heads the Wolf Study Project and is disturbed when some of the wolves show up sick and poisoned. Lydia suspects the owners of a big new hotel on the edge of the reserve’s property, and she aims to stop them. Meanwhile, her director has been behaving oddly and now he isn’t even showing up at work. The WSP has been operating on a shoestring budget and they need to hire a new handyman. With the director MIA Lydia takes it upon herself to hire Daniel Joseph, the handsome and mysterious drifter.

Claimed wasn’t anything I expected. I kept trying to figure out what was going on, where the plot going, and it seemed to take forever to get anywhere. Yes, it’s a mystery of sorts, but that it wasn’t front and center, and I didn’t feel like there was a sense of urgency to solve it from Lydia or that she was in any kind of immediate danger. It seemed to be more of Daniel and Lydia getting to know each other, and slowly, very slowly falling for each other.

There isn’t any paranormal in much of the book, even though it’s part of a series named “Lair of the Wolven”.  There wasn’t anything shapeshifter/wolven to the plot, other than natural wolves in the preserve, until the very end.  I was surprised by the reveal, I thought it’d be the other way around.

I was thrown by the addition of the Black Dagger/Xhex chapters not really getting the connect to what was going on. Yes, the labs, but I think it’d would’ve been fine to leave out the BDB part. Honestly, it was a little distracting and took away from the main story, but maybe that’s because I haven’t kept up with the BRB series. Maybe someone who’s been reading every book from the BDB might understand the connections and feel differently.

With all that said, Claimed managed to hold my attention enough to finish it even though it’s a long book (525 pages), and I have no problems with pulling a DNF if I’m not enjoying the story. I wouldn’t say this ended in a cliffhanger, more a “to be continued” sort of situation. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions by the end. Hopefully, we get a more focused plot and answers in the next book, which I plan on reading.

3 Stars

Book Description:

A heart-pounding new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, with a scientist fighting to save the timber wolves—and getting caught in a deadly trap herself...

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target.

One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious, and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something?

As the stakes get higher, and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love... or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?

Review: The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

 

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Publication Date: May 18th 2021 by Gallery Books

Pages: 368

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads | Audible

My Thoughts:

Single mom Jess hasn’t really had a boyfriend since the father of her child decided he didn’t want to be a dad and took off before her daughter, Juno, was even born.  Jess is about to give up on the dating scene altogether after several lackluster encounters. However, hearing about a new dating site that matches you with someone based on your genes has an appeal to Jess.  Numbers and statistics are things Jess understands being a statistician.  Getting a Diamond Match of 98 percent to the arrogant Dr. River Pena, founder of GeneticAlly, is absurd to Jess. She can’t stand this man so how could he be her soulmate? She’s going to find out, because GeneticAlly makes her an offer she can’t refuse to get to know River and see if they could be something.

The hate-to-love troupe is so much fun when done right, there was even a Pride and Prejudice vibe here and there that put a big smile on my face! The 98% score doesn’t sound so absurd as Jess and River spend more time together, with the chemistry and heat between them magnetic and hot! I fell for both River and Jess, liking her immediately and River once we got to know the man behind the suit a bit more. Sweet and thoughtful, just the kind of person Jess needed. I really admired Jess as a single mom, putting her daughter and even her grandparents first in her life.

Her grandparents and Fizzy were such fun secondary characters!  Fizzy, a romance author and Jess’s best-friend, had me laughing my ass off basically every time she opened her mouth! Juno, her seven-year-old daughter was so cute with her enthusiasm for random, interesting facts. Even Pigeon, the cat, wormed her way into my heart. They were a whole village of people that may not have been a traditional family but made the relationships here rich with love and support!  

There’s so much to love about The Soulmate Equation! Whacky and hilarious with a slow-burn romance, but most of all it was a story filled with heart!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents—who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno—Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard...and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands.

At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.

Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Review: Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne

Love on Lexington Avenue (Central Park Pact #2) by Lauren Layne

Publication Date: September 19th 2019 by Gallery Books

Pages: 288

Source: Publisher

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the book:

There are no good men left in New York City. At least that’s Claire Hayes’s conviction after finding out her late husband was not the man she thought he was. Determined to rid her home of anything that reminds her of her cheating husband, Claire sets out to redesign her boring, beige Upper East Side brownstone and make it something all her own. But what starts out as a simple renovation becomes a lot more complicated when she meets her bad-tempered contractor Scott Turner.

Scott bluntly makes it known to Claire that he only took on her house for a change of pace from the corporate offices and swanky hotels he’s been building lately, and he doesn’t hesitate to add that he has no patience for a pampered, damaged princess with a penchant for pink. But when long workdays turn into even longer nights, their mutual wariness morphs into something more complicated—a grudging respect, and maybe even attraction...

Filled with laugh-out-loud scenes that blend perfectly with the touching friendships Layne brings to life on the page, this “hugely entertaining” (USA TODAY) novel is perfect for fans of Lauren Weisberger.

My Thoughts:

Scott and Claire meet because he agrees to take on her brownstone remodel.  Clair wants everything changed, no evidence of the life she shared with Brayden, her now dead husband she discovered was cheating on her with not just one woman, but multiple. After being burned Claire resolves to be single, not wanting to risk her heart, but she’d maybe like a fling.  However, as the story progresses it becomes clear to Claire that she’s not built for a fling where the heart isn’t involved, and I think for most women this is true. It is for me at any rate. 

Scott and Claire spend a lot of time together since he’s a hands-on type of contractor. He’s abrasive and brutally honest, giving his opinions on Claire’s decisions both for her house and her life even when it’s clear she’s not asking for advice, well at first, anyhow. Claire gives as good as she gets, though, and there’s quite a bit of fun verbal sparring.  As the renovation progresses, they become close, their personal lives intersecting as they share common friends, and Claire finds herself more and more attracted to Scott, and vice versa.

Of course, Scott is the no-strings attached sort of guy after having a bad relationship experience and because he wants to be free to take jobs anywhere in the world he likes without any personal obligations. Why are guys always like this? Don’t they think of being old and alone in the future? Whatever, you know this is a romance, so he won’t hold to that, but it’s something I wonder about.

I think my heart went out to Claire the most in this series, because she was the wife after all, and she was clueless to her husband’s cheating. Plus, he died and so Claire never got to confront him, she was angry and grieving at the same time when it first happened. I was pleased to see Claire moving on and not letting the past dictate her future happiness. I really wanted a HEA for Claire! I absolutely loved the ending!

4 Suns

Review: Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne

Passion on Park Avenue (Central Park Pact #1) by Lauren Layne

Publication Date: May 28th 2019 by Gallery Books

Pages: 288

Source: Publisher/Audio Library Lend

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible

About the book:

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Stiletto and Oxford series, the first in a sizzling new series following the unlikely friendship of three Upper East Side women as they struggle to achieve their dreams and find true love and happiness in the city that never sleeps.

For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite—the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strongminded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants—but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider.

The worst offender is her new neighbor, Oliver Cunningham—the grown son of the very family Naomi’s mother used to work for. Oliver used to torment Naomi when they were children, and as a ridiculously attractive adult, he’s tormenting her in entirely different ways. Now they find themselves engaged in a battle-of-wills that will either consume or destroy them…

Filled with charm and heart and plenty of sex and snark, this entertaining series will hook you from the very first page.

My Thoughts:

Passion on Park Avenue was a mixed bag for me.  I did really enjoy parts, but other parts were annoying.  Be warned, some of this review is kind of spoilery. 

Loved Oliver! He was honest, sweet, and patient.  My heart went out to him going from losing his mother to cancer to having his dad develop Alzheimer’s and being responsible for his care. On the other hand, I had issues with Naomi holding onto a grudge, especially when you consider Oliver was ten years old when the event happened. I mean come on, grow up!  At least let the guy know where he went wrong and let him have a chance to be sorry and explain.  Instead this ridiculous grudge/revenge thing went on WAY too long.  Can’t really get behind a relationship with the heroine keeps this kind of secret grudge to herself most of the book.  When she did soften towards Oliver it was late in the game and she was scared to come clean and ruin things between them.  Thankfully, when things blew up (because you just know they will) it was short lived. I did warm to Naomi, especially when she was so nice to Walter.  She treated him with kindness and heart when he really didn’t deserve it.

I enjoyed the chemistry between Oliver and Naomi, but inevitably as soon as something would begin between the two Naomi would be reminded somehow of why she hated Oliver and his family and turn up the frost.  I did feel sorry for Naomi over what happened, and can understand why she was so profoundly wounded, but Oliver had clearly changed after so many years.  And who hasn’t been awful at some point in their childhood? One event caused a lot of heartache for Naomi, but her mother was also very much to blame for what happened, Oliver and his family were only partly to blame, IMO.

Also, wasn’t a fan of the brand-name dropping, which was so over-the-top at the beginning I almost DNF’d. Thankfully, it tapered off, but still, the lifestyles of the rich and famous are a little hard to relate to sometimes.

As a side note, the narration was excellent!

3 Suns

Review: Her Deadly Secrets by Laura Griffin

Her Deadly Secrets (Wolfe Security #2) by Laura Griffin

Publication Date: July 2nd 2019 by Gallery Books

Pages: 368

Source: Publisher

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the book:

A young private investigator discovers the price of keeping deadly secrets when a ruthless killer sets his sights on her in this pulse-pounding thriller from the USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling author of the Tracers series.

Private investigator Kira Vance spends her days navigating the intricate labyrinth of Houston’s legal world, and she knows all of its shadowy players and dark secrets.

On a seemingly normal day, she’s delivering a report to her top client when suddenly everything goes sideways and the meeting ends in a bloodbath. Twenty-four hours later, the police have no suspects but one thing is clear: a killer has Kira in his sights.

Fiercely independent, Kira doesn’t expect—or want—help from anyone, least of all an unscrupulous lawyer and his elite security team. Instead, she launches her own investigation, hoping to uncover the answers that have eluded the police. But as Kira’s hunt for clues becomes more and more perilous, she realizes that she alone may hold the key to finding a vicious murderer. And she knows she must take help wherever she can find it if she wants to stay alive…

My Thoughts:

Kira, a new-ish private investigator and Jeremy one of the security specialist with Wolfe Security are thrown together when a case Kira and her boss are working turns deadly.  Jeremy is assigned to protect her, but Kira doesn’t want to be hemmed in while she’s trying to find a killer. However, she does see the wisdom of protection when it becomes clear she’s on the killer’s radar.

Kira’s is trying to piece together clues from her boss’s investigations to track down a killer, and while she has Jeremy at her back 24-7 he sort of becomes her reluctant partner in the case. Reluctant not because Jeremy doesn’t want to investigate, but because he doesn’t want Kira in any more danger than she’s in already.  Of course, being in such close proximity the attraction they feel for each other becomes hard to ignore. Jeremy doesn’t want his feelings for Kira to distract him from his job to make sure she’s safe, so it’s a little dance of giving in and backing off; that is when they’re not smack in the middle of danger.

I know I’m in for an exciting, fast-paced read when I pick up one of Laura Griffin’s mysteries.  While the beginning of Her Deadly Secret starts off with a bang, there was a bit of a lull until the story really took off for me, but when it did my attention was 100% consumed.  Part crime procedural and part romantic suspense. Thrills interspersed with chemistry a-brewing, and stolen moments of passion. Kira and Jeremy’s story was an exciting read!

4 Suns