too much of a physical attraction in the book
919337
The book was good, but I did not like how this strong female character sees one man, and is thinking about him constantly it seems. She hates him, but he's so wonderful to look at. She tries to stay away but needs him. Less is more.
4802729
I liked the premise of being able to capture memories and how that impacted police investigations and criminal punishment.

The romantic interest that developed was too far fetched. The description of the detectives state of mind and his being a physical wreck make it too hard to believe the perfect women falls for him so easily. The pickaxe as the weapon of choice seems unlikely as well despite the murderers job in the cemetary.
308688
The relationship in this book was good. I liked both Jessie and Deke. Two things made me give it three stars. I love a top gun type astronaut as much as the next girl but I don't need to know every little detail about the space program and how a shuttle works. I know you need some details to make the story feel real but this was way too much for me. I actually skimmed over some parts. Also the part about Jessie's job really annoyed me. In the very beginning she is the star, a top money maker on her way up. This new girl Carla is brought in from another branch and the boss just loves her and totally forgets that Jessie was so great??? And that was before someone started to sabotage her work. The best part of this book really is the couple themselves. It was definitely worth reading but I would have liked it more with less detail and a more believed reason for Jessie to end up at NASA.
1307435
As one reviewer said, this book encourages one to want to have a more real relationship with the Holy Spirit. I therefore enjoyed reading this one. However, sometimes things seemed to come across as too surreal.  The characters of Gary and Tim seem too much alike in their speech and endearments. The spanking scenes reinforce this. It is hard to believe that spanking grown women is a part of any modern day belief; the fact that both, completely different men partake in it is too much to believe. Another scene is where Brent meets Dana, tells her he feels attracted to her and asks her out, and then the next day tells Elaine he would like to pursue a relationship with her, does not sit right with me. Also, all the relationships with the couples start getting serious to the point of marraige, within days. With supernatural  interference from God, it is possible, yes. But many times God does not work that way:).  Also, You don't get the sense that Tasha's relationship with God has any real depth. A good book, but sometimes it comes across as what it is, fictional.
4191357
So I can see why some people would like this book....

The pros: So much "loving"... So much hot, steamy and vocal "loving".
The cons: too much "loving" and not enough story line. I also found some of the dialogue at the end of the book was so... Bad? That it took away from the HEA.

This is the first book I've read from this author, and I read it on a recommendation.
I hope the next book I read from her is better than this one.
4443647
3.5 stars. I had high hopes for this book since I prefer reading contemporary Christian romance; the concept sounded good and the cover draws you in. But this book disappointed me. There were a number of aspects the author did right: spunky identifiable heroine, brooding, wounded man, feisty senior citizens, the way the relationship between Kate and Matt was realistic and evolved slowly, the way she tried to draw him out of his shell...but there were too many things that bothered me. I thought it all over a few days before writing this, so please know this review is not "off the cuff." The writing was fine but with perhaps a few too many short, choppy and disjointed sentences (and questionable placement and use of too many adverbs). I'm thrilled Bethany House has put out a contemporary romance, but very surprised with some of the things in this book; it's to the point where it might turn off some of its regular readers (like me) in order to reach a more mass appeal. Poker playing for money (no matter how little or much), yoga, a Halloween observation, designer name-dropping and crass thoughts and expressions didn't endear me to the characters, realistic or not. More than that, the emphasis on raging hormones and Matt's hotness quotient was completely overkill. Every single woman--no matter how old or young, married or single--commented on how hot he was. That's not realistic. I admire Kate for wanting to help out two senior citizens on the road to love, but I didn't like how the woman insisted the man look a certain way (even to wearing a certain brand of shirt) before she'd go out with him. And perhaps most of all, why on earth did Kate accept a date with a leering guy who obviously had little or no faith and was so sleazy? If you guessed because he was fine looking, you've got the idea. I lost a good deal of respect for her at that point. Sure, it made Matt jealous. And sure he's rich and has a high-powered, ultra expensive car in the garage. Even in one of the requisite scenes at the end, it's mentioned how a guy friend of Kate's back home once had the "hots" for her. This book was simply too formulaic in many respects and with the old cat-and-mouse game (he loves me, he loves me not, I'm not worthy of him/her). I don't want a Harlequin romance, I want a Christian romance. Mention of faith was there, but I was offput by the other worldly factors, bottom line. I'll be more careful next time I see one of this author's books although I'm sure this will be a wildly popular hit. ADDENDUM: I do not appreciate being singled out (along with other reviewers with less than stellar ratings for this specific book) by a blogger who belittled my conservative Christian opinions expressed in this review. The reason for his ranting in the first place was to discuss the "controversy" caused by this book, but his ridicule was grossly unfair and unwarranted.
2240460
The book has an interesting premise, but as a straight woman, I prefer for the focus to be on the female. Most erotic romance book descriptions let you know when a book contains M/M, BDSM, rape, spanking, etc., etc., so the reader knows whether the book includes their favorite fantasies. To me, menage means hetero pleasuring between one woman and two men (or two women and one man). When, in addition, the male characters indulge one another, the description usually says M/M/F. Like anyone else, I enjoy reading about certain sexual situations, while I don't identify with others.

By the looks of the first sexual scenario, the book's title should've been Menage A Draco. I lost interest after that.
2799874
The first part of the book is very entertaining. It's not your typical Regency book, both regarding the plot and the characters, especially Madeline, who is a mercenary.
The mystery part is well developed and it has a good end, but the romantic one isn't as good, mainly because of the hero's behaviour in the second half of the book.

Perhaps I'm the one at fault, but I couldn't like or respect a person that, with the idea to stop the immediate wedding between his brother and the woman who has loved all his life, could make love to another woman. I don't mean that he should be a monk until he marries her, but if he's in love with a woman (or he thinks that) and plans to stop her wedding, how can he can have an affair with another woman? And I don't care that she's the heroine.
This doesn't speak well of his character: how little he values the person he loves, no matter who she is, how little respect he has for love itself.
I may seem a little harsh, but in my mind, if I think I love someone who's going to marry another and I race to stop the wedding, I don't have an affair while getting there.

I think it would have been different if Colin had started to have confused feelings for both, or realized that his feelings were changing. That he hadn't really loved Louisa that way, or that Madeline had awakened in him real love. Some internal conflict would have been great.
I suppose that was what really happened, but we didn't see it. Colin made love to Madeline while thinking of stopping the wedding and get back Louisa. Suddenly, at the end, he realizes that he loves Madeline, and that it's different for what he felt for Louisa. Well, it would have been more realistic to show a gradual change of feelings, and not a realization at the end.

Another thing that wasn't very convincing was the absence of information or thoughts regarding Madeline's first husband. We know he existed, but not how he affected Madeline, and so on.

I think the problem is that it was sorely missed an internal perspective of the hero and heroine, their feelings, so I couldn't connect with them. We only see their actions, and in a romantic aspect, at least for me, they weren't very telling. And so, when we got the required "I love you"s, they seemed a little sudden and awkward, although from Madeline were a little more believable.

It's not a bad book, and I like Julie Anne Long's writing style --hence the 3 stars--, but as I couldn't get involved with the romantic aspect of the story, I couldn't enjoy it.
92420
You will enjoy the story - IF - you can get past the author's massive ego. There are parts of the book that appear more like a romance (describing male anatomy) longingly. As I've been told (by someone who actually worked with the author - "There's a lot in that book that didn't happen that way." You'll spend a lot of time reading this book and rolling your eyes.
1764761
This was a good book to read until Belle initiated a desire to experience love-making. I wish the author had gone a different route.
1563931
This could have been a real favorite of mine with its connection of sustainable living to some Christian ideologies mentioned throughout the story. Unfortunately, however, it will not be so. I truly agree with many of the sentiments throughout the book regarding sustainable farming and although I have only taken very small baby steps in that direction, I would love to live as these three girls are setting out to do (which is why it got 3 stars). I do not, however, agree with Josephines presentation of their ideas. We would not have been friends, despite our shared ideals.  I assume (from the books discussion questions) that the author meant her to be annoying, just so shes more of an opposite personality to Zach. I understand the reasoning, but the method doesnt seem to lend itself to convincing anyone else of their beliefs.

I also didn't like the plot twist near the end. I stopped reading Nicholas Sparks for almost 7 years because of his tendency to do things like that in his books, and I normally wouldnt hesitate do it with other authors either. Despite these things, I would probably continue this series to see where the plans for the farm are taken, and learn what I can from their relationship of Christianity to sustainable living.  I would also like to see if Josephine evolves as a character and to see if the twist turns into what I think it will.  The book was a decent beginning to the series, if you can overlook some of the character attributes. The actual ideas presented are more than worth reading about and researching if you're interested in things like that, just try to ignore the overbearing and downright condescending way some of them come across.

Rating: 3

HEAT Rating: sweet

Reviewed By: Daysie W.

Review Courtesy of: My Book Addiction and More
786160
Ex-model-turned-lingerie-designer Alexa Ranger is successful, wealthy and fifty. After years of searching for true love, she's given up ever finding the right guy. Until she meets thirty-eight-year-old medically retired Marine Casey Carter. It's instant attraction for both Alexa and casey, but he's not looking either and she knows she's too old for him. Besides, her twenty-something daughter is dating Casey's younger cousin.

Complications notwithstanding, Casey's persistence catches Alexa off-guard, and they embark on a sexy, hedonistic adventure filled with lust. Can these two people turn that surfeit of passion into something more permanent?

I like the idea of a beautiful older woman being attracted to a younger man and was interested to see how the author handled this situation. Overall, the story line was good with some great dialogue at times. Casey was somewhat likable, despite a chauvinistic nature. Alexa less so because of an unrealistic sense of hurt. Their arguments seemed without real basis and often descended into farce. Still, I kept reading to the conclusion because I wanted to discover what happened to these two.

My overall enjoyment of the story was diminished by some glaring editing mistakes-missed words, misspelled words (example: "pouring" over a newspaper instead of "poring") and the constant reminding the reader how perfect and beautiful Alexa was. We got it the first time.

I also found Alexa's girlfriends' potty mouths tiresome, but the biggest problem was in writing style. Every character had a point of view and the author head-hopped constantly through scenes with little delineation between POV changes. Also, the reader was constantly being told that the characters were thinking (as in why did she do that? he thought) rather than put in italics to signal inner thought.
3577677
I have mixed feelings about this book.  On the one hand it was a great read with very human characters who readers really got to know in a lot of ways.  They are characters who made mistakes in life but still managed to find their way.  It is a romance novel but there is more to the plot than there is to the average romance novel.

Spoiler:

 What I didn't like about the book was a divorce that happened not because two people hated each other, not because one had done something unforgeable, not because family was pulling them apart, not even because an old flame returned to her life; no a divorce happened to the parents of a young child because they just lacked that spark they thought they should feel.  Maybe I'm lucky, having such a wonderful husband and all that, but I think one thing wrong with our society today is that too many people are chasing the greater happiness they think they could have if they would only.....and not making themselves and their families happy where they are.

If such things are important to you, it is noted a couple of times that characters had sex, but it wasn't graphic.
Grade:  B-

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.
1699751
I think this book had SO much potential. What prevented me from giving it another star or 2 was the fact that the lead male was so much more mature than the female. I didn't like that the author made Roni so darn unattractive when she was heavier but MIRACULOUSLY when she lost a crap load of weight Noah developed feelings for her.
4252756
That should have been the title of this book.  Treat Braden is rich, sexy and owns upscale resorts around the world.  Max Armstrong, his love interest in the novel, is an independent female, with a successful career. Treat meets Max in the Bahamas at his Nassau resort. Not having read anything by this author before, I assumed that Treat and Max were meeting for the first time.
 He's very attracted to her, but doesn't give her any indication he's interested at all.  Later he sees her with one of his employees, Justin Barr.  Justin appears to be attracted to Max and it seems the feeling is mutual.  Very early the next morning Treat sees Max standing in the lobby in front of the elevators wearing the same dress she had on when he saw her last, late the night before, with Justin.  Assuming she has spent the night with Justin he is angry and disgusted.
Max notices Treat while she is waiting for the elevator.  She's stunned as Treat looks at her revoltingly.  His expression is pure disgust as his eyes travel over her attire from the night before.  In Max's opinion, without Treat uttering a word, she knows that he has a low opinion of her.  This incident is what the premise of the storyline is based upon.  Apparently, Max had been attracted to Treat but after he gave her "the look" that morning, she feels like two cents and doesn't want to have anything to do with him either.  [Spoiler alert: later in the story we find out "the look" from Treat has dredged up the horrors that's she's tried to suppress as a result of a bad relationship in her past].
Initially the storyline appeared to have potential, but rather than Treat's character evolving, we follow him into an emotional abyss.  He spends the majority of the novel  being a total wreck where Max is concerned stressing  and agonizing about her.  He beats himself up about what could have, would have, should have been between them in their non-existent relationship.
The man was so sensitive he overreacted  throughout the book.  He was either tearing up repeatedly, or outright crying.  Seriously?  Also he expressed angst over the guilt he felt about his decision and actions in his past that have followed him into adulthood.  [Spoiler Alert:  from the tender age of 11 years old, he had helped his father raise his younger siblings when his mother died.  However, it has racked him with guilt because he dared think about himself for once and left the ranch to go to college leaving his then teenage siblings who were capable of fending for  themselves].  Treat has more emotional baggage than an Eagle Scout has merit badges.  My apologies to any Eagle Scouts out there.
This was my first time reading anything by this author. I like to keep an open mind. It isn't easy  creating  storylines and characters to hold a reader's interest.  I'm not annoyed by spelling or grammar mistakes.  If the storyline is good, and the characters plausible spelling and grammar, for me, can be easily overlooked.  However, I didn't find this particular story or the characters to be either.  I had to force myself to finish this book.  Perhaps I may give this author another go in the future, but I won't be reading the rest of the Braden Series.
1019649
I had a difficult time following the thoughts of the narrator in this book. I felt that the author was trying to be very philosophical about why and how people fall in love or what love means to different people. Although I appreciated the effort, I felt that there were too many tangents that didn't add to the true storyline. It was difficult to stay interested or focus on the train of thought and I often found myself skipping the inner monologue until I got to dialogue with another character and saw where the story was heading. I would have liked if the author focused more on the romantic relationship that was occurring. I think it was an important situation that has been happening to more people in this age of technology and should be represented in books. So I just wish the author had focused mired on that rather than trying to make this great big points about love.
3441515
The book has two things going for it:

First, the female characters are delightful and well-drawn. Lexy's passion for her design work and her independence both stand out. Lexy's assistant Amanda is also quirky and lots of fun.

Second, the dialog sparkles. I especially liked the conversations between Lexy and Amanda. I love strong, believable female friendships in romances.

But the book has some serious problems. The biggest failure is the male lead, Charles. He's a former jewel thief who now works for the good guys in some mysterious capacity. His stint as a thief is rationalized as nearly noble: stealing was a challenge to relieve his boredom, and he only robbed people who were rich enough to lose the valuables. Both of these reasons are distasteful.

I could never figure this man out. Was he glamorous merely because he had lots of money and was once a bad boy? Or was he a criminal? Maybe I'd buy him as an attractive and sophisticated former rogue if he'd behaved decently toward Lexy. I don't think did. To "protect" Lexy he drugs her (makes me wonder why he just happened to have knock-out potion handy in his limo) and kidnaps her. Not honorable in my book.

Ultimately Lexi and Charles consummate their relationship. Sadly, the love scenes feel sterile and tepid compared to the usual Blaze.

Okay. So maybe not every woman wants hot. I'll accept that. But I will never, ever buy the HEA. This relationship is doomed. Charles is a man who once invaded people's homes, broke the law, and took their valuables--because he was bored. There is no way someone with that kind of self-absorbed entitlement could ever be faithful to the sincere Lexy. One minute of tedium and he'd take off.

Depressing love story.