Monthly Archives: May 2015

May Reading List

So my historical to-be-read list bled over into May a little and I’m supplementing it with a lot of cowboys and general contemporary romance stuff.

Heart of a Hero series – Shelly Gray – post-Civil War (1874) Texas, Colorado, Kansas

  • A Texan’s Honor (book 2) – Jamilyn is traveling by rail from her home to Kansas City to live with her aunts when the train is over-run with the Watson Gang.  Little did she know that her fate was in the hands of Will, a US Marshal working undercover to take the gang down.
  • A Texan’s Choice (book 3) – While focused on Scout Proffitt hanging up the gun-for-hire hat and becoming a family man, a good deal of energy is spent on Russell, a young former Watson Gang member from book 2, and Miles, Scout’s brother-in-law from book 1 as they all deal with a group of deadly cattle rustlers.

Grant – Jennifer Ashley – book 2 of the Riding Hard series.  A year after Grant and Christina split up, neither can get the other out of the system.  A volatile reconciliation is attempted amid personal and public crises.

Tycoon Takedown – Ruth Cardello – book 2 of the Lone Star Burn series. Cowgirl Melanie’s trip to New York to find her baby’s daddy is side-tracked by billionaire Charlie who is dealing with his own demons from the past.  (Book 1 read in January 2015)

Books 3-5 of the Walker Island Romances: When It’s Love, All for Love, Forever in Love.

All I Ever Need is You – Bella Andre – book 14 of the Sullivans series. Adam is the last single Seattle Sullivan and is more than happy to stay that way until he meets Rafe and Brooke’s wedding planner, Kerry.  But Kerry knows Adam’s reputation as a playboy and is convinced he’s just like her father who abandoned them when she was little. He has his work cut out for him in convincing her of his devotion.

Destined for Power – Kathleen Brooks – book 4 of the Women of Power series.

One Man’s Treasure – Sable Hunter/Ryan O’Leary – part of the Heal Yeah! series and Equalizers subseries.  While on a trip to Veracruz, Mexico, MMA fighter Jet unknowingly takes on Sami, a terminally-ill journalist who is running for her life from the Mexican drug cartel.

And I Love Her – Marie Force – book 4 of the Green Mountain Romance Series.  It’s now or never for Hunter to make his move on Megan now that her sister is selling the local diner where she works.

Heartbreak Cove – Lily Everett – book 3 of the Sanctuary Island series.  Complicated doesn’t describe what happens between horse rehabilitator Sam and local sheriff Andie when the fate of an abused horse rides the fine line of the law.

On the Run – Jo Davis – book 4 of the Sugarland Blue series.  Tonio gets in over his head when he stumbles into an undercover gig to nail a local thug.

Women of Power

The Women of Power series by Kathleen Brooks is centered around the Simpson family from Atlanta.  Their father worked his way up, steadily building up an empire over the years. When he passed away, Elle was put in charge of the family business and together with her siblings–Reid, Bree, and Allegra–managed to grow it into an international powerhouse.  The series is loosely connected to Brooks’ Bluegrass and Bluegrass Brothers series.

  1. Chosen for Power – Elle runs the family business, Simpson Global, but someone wants to take her and her company down.  Can tech mogul Drake help her save everything her family has built?
  2. Built for Power – Bree heads up the construction division of the family conglomerate and someone wants to ruin her. She’s convinced that architect Logan is her nemesis, but they soon find they’ve been set up by the true enemy.
  3. Fashioned for Power – Allegra oversees the fashion division of the family business and has been dealing with a stalker for months. Finn, former professional baseball player turned lawyer/entertainment agent, is tired of waiting for Allegra to acknowledge what they might have, until he needs to protect her from her enemies.
  4. Destined for Power – Sixteen years ago, Reid fell in love with Elle’s best friend Mallory who was the daughter of a rich senator.  When Daddy threatened to destroy Reid’s family, Mallory sent him away and broke his heart. She fell in with the CIA and trained with Ahmed (Bluegrass) which eventually led to her career in security. Now there’s a threat against the presidential candidates, her father being one of them, and Mallory has been tasked with discovering the details.  The twist? The order for the hit goes down in one of Reid’s casinos and now he’s a target, too.  It’s a race against the clock to put it all together and stop an assassination that will rock the world.

Walker Island Romances Series

The Walker Island Romances series consists of 5 books written by Lucy Kevin, the “sweet” pen name for Bella Andre.  There’s no steamy sex scenes in these books; it’s only inferred.  The series is about the 5 Walker sisters (Emily, Rachel, Paige, Morgan, and Hanna) who live on Walker Island off the coast of Seattle.  I previously read the first two books and completed the series this week with the last three.

  1. Be My Love – Hanna, the youngest sister, is doing a documentary for one of her film classes and digs into the Walker-Peterson feud which has plagued the island for three generations. Standing in her way is Joel Peterson–at least until they both realize there’s more to the story than either of them have been told.
  2. No Other Love – Morgan left the island and has become a world renowned make-up artist. She’s back now to incorporate some of the island’s natural plants to her new line of products, but didn’t count on old boyfriend Brian, the high school science teacher and football coach, to give her a reason to stay.
  3. When It’s Love – Rachel was the wild child, at least until her boyfriend got her pregnant seven years ago and walked away without looking back.  Now she’s careful to a fault until Nicholas comes to the island to film his extreme sports TV show.  Can he show her that life is better with a healthy balance between the two?
  4. All for Love – Paige was burned by a boyfriend when she attended Julliard and now runs her grandmother’s dance studio on the island. Christian is reprising a role formerly done by Fred Astaire and enlists Paige’s help learning to dance. Can he break her out of her shell so she can meet her full potential as a dancer?
  5. Forever in Love – Now that all her younger sisters are paired off, Emily’s at a loss for things to manage.  That doesn’t last long when Michael, her bestie since she was five makes his move and professes he’s loved her since day one.  Can he convince her taking the next step will make their friendship even better?