Acceptable Risk by Lynette Eason

About the Book

Sarah Denning is a military journalist with the Army in the Middle East when her convoy is attacked and she's taken hostage. When former Army Ranger Gavin Black is asked by his old unit commander--Sarah's imposing father--to plan an extremely risky rescue, he reluctantly agrees and successfully executes it.

Back in the US, Sarah is livid when she's discharged on a false psychiatric evaluation and vows to return to the Army. Until she learns of her brother's suicide. Unable to believe her brother would do such a thing, she puts her plans on hold and enlists Gavin to help her discover the truth. What they uncover may be the biggest story of Sarah's career--if she can survive long enough to write it.

Strap in for another breakneck nail-biter from bestselling romantic suspense author Lynette Eason that will have you up turning pages long into the night.

My Thoughts

Get ready for another non-stop action-packed read from Lynette Eason.

This book starts with a bang and the punches just keep coming till the very end! Literally at every turn something crazy was happening or being discovered and it made the pages turn quite quickly.

The characters were both likable (besides Sarah’s issues with her dad that made her come across as irrational at times) and they made a good couple. I liked that they’d had a bit of a backstory before the book started so their relationship had some ground to stand on outside of the adrenaline fueled days that they had in the story.

The case was unique and interesting and I was definitely curious as to how it was all being pulled off, which kept me hooked till the end!

All an all a good read that is sure to have readers on the edge of their seats!

Meet the Author

Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of Collateral Damage and Protecting Tanner Hollow, as well as the Blue Justice, Women of Justice, Deadly Reunions, Hidden Identity, and Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of three ACFW Carol Awards, the Selah Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, among others. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a master's degree in education from Converse College. Eason lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Just Like Home by Courtney Walsh

About the Books
From “Master of the genre” [Midwest Book Review] and New York Times bestselling author Courtney Walsh, a sweet romance that’s sure to capture your heart.

Prima ballerina Charlotte Page has a life any dancer would envy, but the tragic loss of her best friend, Julianna, leaves her wanting more. Or maybe—less. In an effort to make her life about something other than accolades and applause, Charlotte leaves professional ballet to save Julianna’s small-town dance studio. This lands her directly in the path of cranky high school football coach and Julianna’s older brother, Cole Turner.
Fresh off a state win and a bitter divorce, the last thing Cole expects is for a prima ballerina to chip away at the wall he’s grown quite comfortable hiding behind.
Will their fledgling relationship be strong enough to weather the storm of old secrets and a haunting past? Or will Charlotte lose the new, simple life she’s given up everything to gain?

This book is a standalone novel. Each Harbor Pointe novel follows a different couple.

My Thoughts

“I guess maybe I want someone to love the parts of me that no one’s cheering for.”

This quote really embodied the heart of this story and it hit me in a way that will always stay with me. I loved the message of unconditional love and never settling for anything less that was woven throughout these pages.

Charlotte had more things that she’d never done than things she had done and my heart broke for all the missed experiences and for the way her mother had controlled her life and withheld affection. It was a wonder that she hadn’t turned into a shrew with the upbringing she had but thanks to a friendship with Julianna, Charlotte got to see another side of things and given the right conditions was able to finally open her heart. It was sad that it took a death to give her the wake up call she needed but I loved watching her come into her own and to blossom in Harbor Pointe!

Cole was quite the grump at the start but as you learned his story you really couldn’t blame the guy! And his grumpiness was just a wall he put up, underneath he was a really caring person and he was willing to make any sacrifice for his people.

I loved watching Cole and Charlotte find each other and fall in love. Things got off to a rocky start but you could see how perfectly they fit together and it was so much fun watching their love story unfold!

I really appreciated the way the author balanced the sad heaviness of the circumstances in such a way that you felt the emotion deeply but it didn’t have a depressing feeling to it as can sometimes be the case. Instead it enhanced the story and gave it a more poignant weight.

I also loved the way dance was incorporated and you could feel the emotion from the performances.

Overall this was book was a knock out of the park that I loved entirely!

Meet the Author

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theatre director, and playwright. She writes small town romance and women's fiction while juggling the performing arts studio and youth theatre she owns and runs with her husband. If For Any Reason is her eleventh novel. Her debut, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category, and her contemporary romance Just Let Go won the Carol Award in 2019.

A creative at heart, Courtney has also written two craft books and several full-length musicals. She lives in Illinois with her husband and three children and a sometimes naughty Bernedoodle named Luna.

Connect with Courtney online at her website (courtneywalshwrites.com) or on any of these social media platforms:

Facebook.com/courtneywalshwrites

Instagram.com/courtneywalsh

Twitter.com/courtney_walsh

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Vying for the Viscount by Kristi Ann Hunter

About the Book

For Hudson, the newly titled Viscount Stildon, moving to England from India where he was born and raised was already an arduous enough endeavor. When he learns the fate of the racing empire he inherited along with his title depends upon him getting in the good graces of another stable owner, he's even more at a loss.

The stable at the neighboring estate has been Miss Bianca Snowley's refuge for years, and when a strange man appears to be stealing the horses, she jumps to their protection without a second thought. Upon learning Hudson is actually the new owner, she can't help but be intrigued by the area's newest eligible bachelor.

Any thought of romance is quickly set aside, however, when Hudson proposes they work together to secure suitable spouses for each other. As their friendship grows, Hudson and Bianca begin to reconsider what they truly want in life. But will societal expectations and the weight of their responsibilities keep them from pursuing their true desires?

My Thoughts

Every time a favorite author starts a new series I get just a tiny bit nervous wondering if it can possibly hold up to the others. Thankfully though this one was wonderful! This book was one of those effortless reads that is just a happy escape. There wasn’t a lot of hullabaloo happening instead we just got to know the characters in a natural and realistic way.

I loved both Hudson and Bianca and the way they almost instantly formed a friendship. Hudson was out of his element, having lived in India all his life, but I liked how he rose to the challenge and wasn’t afraid to admit when there was a gap in his knowledge. He was such a genuine person, kind but not a pushover, confident but not proud, and more. I loved how he formed friendships with people based solely on who they were as a person not on their social standing.

Bianca wasn’t your normal society girl but she also didn’t push the boundaries to the extreme, which I appreciated since sometimes when characters are written to be “outside the box” they can come across as obnoxious but that wasn’t the case with Bianca. I liked how she could hold her own in the stables with the guys but also knew how to be a complete lady in the ballroom. I admired how she put up with her awful stepmother, choosing silence, agreement, or asking for a change. I honestly don’t know how she kept from decking the stepmother!

The relationship between Bianca and Hudson was really sweet and fun and I just loved them together. 

It was also really great to see some of our favorite characters from the author's previous series!

Overall I entirely enjoyed every second of this book and I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book!

Meet the Author

Kristi Ann Hunter is the author of the Hawthorne House and Haven Manor series and a 2016 RITA Award winner and Christy Award finalist. Kristi graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science but always knew she wanted to write. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.