"In the Eye of the Storm" by Samantha Chase

At two a.m. in the middle of a storm, Holly Abrams quit her job...

This contemporary romance by indie author Samantha Chase had me turning the pages and completely engrossed in the story.  "In the Eye of the Storm" is the story of a workaholic CEO who finally sees the light in the middle of a tropical storm when he's trapped inside his home with his assistant.  

Stephen Ballinger doesn't like to be inconvenienced and when Holly announces that she's quitting, he does everything in his power to convince her to stay.  The only problem is that now that they have finally cleared the air about their work relationship, Stephen finally notices Holly in a whole new way and he' s not sure that it's only a work relationship that he wants.

Typical to contemporary romances, Holly has, of course, harbored a secret crush on her boss and once the opportunity to have this secret weekend presents itself, she is right on board and to hell with the consequences.  But at the end of the weekend, there is more than storm debris to work their way through.

This is another category-length novel that would fit in perfectly with the Harlequin Desire line and interestingly enough, it was a finalist in their Editor's Pitch Challenge.  Though Harlequin passed on their chance to publish it, Samantha Chase took the indie route and self published.  Available for only .99 cents on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble, "In the Eye of the Storm" is a sexy, steamy read that fans of Ms. Chase will no doubt enjoy!

Indie Authors #58 Samantha Chase Write and Sell Romance

Trust in Me (Montgomery Brothers Book 2) by Samantha Chase

All work and no play…
 
…would make Jason Montgomery a very happy man. Ever since his brother had married a woman who worked for their company, Jason has been walking around fending off the unwanted advances of all of the single women in his employ. Now, with a make or break business expansion in the works, the last thing he needs is a hands-on assistant who wants to get her hands on him!
For three years Maggie Barrett has happily hid in the shadows of Montgomery’s. After dealing with her own unwanted advances from her previous employer, staying under the radar was working just fine for her. But now she’s thrown into the spotlight as Jason’s assistant because he believes her to be a safe choice because she’s married.
The only problem?
She’s not.  
Working in close proximity wasn’t supposed to be an issue. The lines of their relationship were clearly defined. But when a mutual respect turns into a mutual attraction how will Maggie explain that the only thing holding Jason back was just a little white lie?

"Trust in Me" is book number two in Samantha Chase's The Montgomery Brothers series.  This one focuses on middle brother Jason and quest to keep his personal life and his professional life separate.  A task that is complicated simply because his younger brother Lucas (from book one's "Wait for Me") recently married his assistant.  Now it seems that all of the single ladies that come to work for Montgomery's are looking at Jason as potential husband material.

I loved the opening of this book where Jason is trying to describe his criteria for a new assistant.  We never see the other women chasing him but he summarizes it in this scene and it leaves you with a vivid enough picture of what the poor guy's been going through.

His father, the lovable matchmaker who did wonders for Lucas and Emma, offers Jason the solution in the form of the very capable Maggie.  The do not hit it off in the beginning but once they start spending some time together, the attraction that they feel for one another offers up some interesting situations.

There's great dialogue and even greater attraction between these two that builds as the story goes and all in all it made for a great read.  I loved the family interaction and for only .99 cents on Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Smashwords, you can't go wrong.

Looking forward to seeing where the third brother Mac is going to find his true love!

"Wait for Me" by Samantha Chase

The newest release by Indie Author Samantha Chase was released today.  "Wait for Me" is book one in the Montgomery Brothers series and all I can say is that I cannot WAIT to meet the rest of the family!

Lucas Montgomery is a former NFL quarterback living in virtual solitude due to a career-ending knee injury.  His family has waited patiently for him to overcome his depression and disappointment and his father has become particularly determined to draw him out.

Emma Taylor has worked for the Montgomery's for several years and has harbored a crush on Lucas all that time.  While she thought that she had kept her secret crush a secret, her boss is on to her!  He seems to think that Emma is the key to drawing Lucas out of his self-imposed exile and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring these two together.

This is a great read with lots of wonderful dialogue and two main characters that really have you feeling like you not only know them but that you actually LIKE them!  Sometimes that's hard to find in a book.  Lucas is certainly surly and difficult but he's dealing with a major life-altering event.  Emma is very down to Earth and seemingly brings some balance back into Lucas' life.

"Wait for Me" is available on both Kindle and Nook and is only .99 cents!  Don't miss out on this great contemporary romance!

It Had to be You by Jill Shalvis

Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she's a thief, and now she's about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who's as sexy as he is stern....

After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke's own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

I am not going to lie to you, you know my love of all-things-Jill-Shalvis but I had a really hard time getting into this book!  "It Had to be You" is the latest book available in the Lucky Harbor series and I had great expectations for it.  The problem?  There was just too much BAD stuff that was happening to the main character, Ali, in the very beginning of the book and it was so much that it became uncomfortable to even read.

But I persevered and I'm glad that I did!

"It Had to be You" turned into a fabulous story of two people who are both going through some serious life changing issues - and not of the good variety - but that are at heart, really good people.  While they fight their attraction to one another you know that they are going to end up together.

This story had a lot going on and once you got through those first few chapters, everything flowed at a much more reasonable pace.  A great read and something that I would definitely go back to and read again. 

Video Trailer for "Catering to the CEO"

This is the fourth book by Indie author Samantha Chase and it's a bit more racy than her previous books - "The Christmas Cottage" and "Ever After".  But hey, we contemporary romance readers LOVE the racy, right?

Get your copy of "Catering to the CEO" on Amazon.  Click HERE.  

Catering to the CEO by Samantha Chase

"Jaded CEO Adam Lawrence knew how to get what he wanted in the boardroom and the bedroom.  When independent, sexy and impossible to ignore Cassie Jacobs bests him on a business deal, Adam vows revenge.  But how far can he go when the two find out they are about to become family?"

LOVED this book.  "Catering to the CEO" by Samantha Chase was written in the style of Harlequin Desire there is an amazing tension between Adam and Cassie that is just jumping off of the page.  Going from business colleagues to enemies to lovers...their journey is turbulent and steamy.  What I enjoyed most about this book was that they each had some very powerful insecurities but were willing to take a bit of a risk with each other.

From the first page to the last, this was a roller coaster ride with a typical alpha male that had you hating him one minute and then sighing the next.  Cassie is a very relatable girl-next-door that you just want to see things work out for.

This book is currently available exclusively for Kindle for $1.99 and is totally worth the investment.  Indie author Samantha Chase is definitely an up and coming and someone to keep watching.  I think we're going to see some big stuff from her in 2013!

Kitchen Affairs - The Riverside Trilogy by Brooke Cumberland

Drake Staglinao is from a wealthy empire family who owns Riverside Hotel & Restaurant in downtown Chicago. He's attractive, charming, witty, and will do whatever it takes to get the one he wants, Molly Woods.

Molly, a chef intern at his five-star restaurant, shows no interest in dating Drake, or dating at all for that matter since the death of her fiancé four years earlier. After several attempts, Drake goes to extreme measures to get some alone time with Molly, knowing that he just needs a few hours for her to realize their intense chemistry is too hot to ignore. Drake finds out why Molly is reserved and guarded - but that doesn't stop him from getting who he wants.

Molly and Drake need to keep their relationship private, but when a surveillance video goes viral of the two of them, they must overcome obstacles that most relationships don't have to endure. 

Molly needs to let go of her past in order to let Drake in... but how far can she go without cracking? 

I thought this would be a good, steamy read and while there was definitely steam, the characters were absolutely horrible! Basically you have an egotistical hero who is essentially sexually harassing someone who works for him, THEN steals her wallet and then does nothing but have sex with her. 

Then you have our heroine who you believe to be a grieving widow-esque person who is a single mom to a four year old and within days of meeting Drake, she's sleeping with him all over the place. I was appalled by her behavior and her lack of ethics where her child was concerned. There was no dimension to these characters;  neither was likable at all. Could hardly finish it with all of the random secondary plotlines did nothing to enhance the story because they were never fully explained or fleshed out.

It was basically a book that should have ended much sooner than it did.  Just because something has a higher word count does not mean that those words enhance the story at all.  That was completely the case here.  This story just went on and on and on and on until I thought I would scream.  The only reason I actually finished the book was because I kept hoping it would get better.  Not worth it the $2.99 price for the eBook. 

Continental Breakfast by Ella Dominquez

Bella Darcy is personal assistant, muse and plaything to wealthy businessman Mr. Pettifor. Their 9-5 relationship is unconventional, but mutually satisfying.
 

Mr. Pettifor is alpha male personified - demanding, stern, insatiable, emotionally closed-off and seemingly indifferent to anything that doesn't involve six zeros behind it.

Bella had never wanted more until the day she heard passionate cries that didn't belong to her, coming from his office. 

Deeply hurt and realizing that she cannot be with a man who can so blatantly be with another woman while she is mere feet away, Bella turns in her letter of resignation, throwing Mr. Pettifor into a tailspin. Everything he's worked so hard for now seems insignificant and the woman whom he trained to be everything he wanted, has now decided to move on, leaving him reeling.

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This 16,000 word erotic novella was both interesting and annoying.  Ella Dominquez's writing style was a little hard for me to get on board with because she doesn't write how most of us speak.  Their vocabulary was very formal and it came across as being stiff at times.

I'm not one who has jumped on the Fifty Shades train but this novella had just the right amount of everything to make it steamy and sexy and an excellent page turner. Very enjoyable!  Definitely worth your .99 cents to get it on Kindle.

Video Trailer for Ever After by Samantha Chase

This is the video trailer for Samantha Chase's latest novella, "Ever After".  Check it out exclusively on Kindle for only .99 cents!  
 

"Ever After" by Samantha Chase

"She walked away from her fairytale wedding in search of her true happily ever after.

She hadn't counted on it coming searching for her first.

Eight months after canceling her wedding, Ava Callahan finally has her life in order and sees nothing but blue skies ahead. A chance encounter with the man responsible for ruining her wedding has her newly organized world in chaos.

Brian McCabe had persevered for eight long months seeking the woman he loves and his patience was about to expire. Purposely putting himself in every path Ava was on might not always work to his advantage, but he wanted to make sure that she truly saw him for who he was.

Her happily ever after..."
 
"Ever After" is the follow up to Samantha Chase's best seller, "The Christmas Cottage".  Picking up where "The Christmas Cottage" left off (well, maybe 8 months later) we now get to read Ava's story.  Ava was the best friend in the previous book - a modern day Bridezilla who had some pretty definite ideas on how she wanted her fairytale wedding to be.  There were binders...it was wild!

Now, eight months later, she is planning her future but the reappearance of sexy Brian McCabe into her life has her feeling confused.  After all, it isn't every day a man proclaims that he loves you and then disappears for almost a year!  Feeling like it would be wrong to get involved with him, Ava does her best to discourage Brian but the man is suddenly persistent!

Ava was a high-maintenance woman in "The Christmas Cottage" and was a little more than over the top, Samantha Chase stays true to that character and has Ava still a little hard to handle.  While some were seemingly put off by her character, if you had read the first book, you knew that this was clearly her personality.  And Brian?  He is just yummy.

A great, light romantic novella; perfect for a weekend read.  "Ever After" is currently available exclusively through Amazon on Kindle for only .99 cents!  Enjoy!  

The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

Sometimes the best man is the one you least expect…

 Faith Holland left her hometown after being jilted at the altar. Now a little older and wiser, she's ready to return to the Blue Heron Winery, her family's vineyard, to confront the ghosts of her past, and maybe enjoy a glass of red. After all, there's some great scenery there….

Like Levi Cooper, the local police chief—and best friend of her former fiancé. There's a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, and it's not just those deep green eyes. The only catch is she's having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding all those years ago. If she can find a minute amidst all her family drama to stop and smell the rosé, she just might find a reason to stay at Blue Heron, and finish that walk down the aisle.

This book should totally come with a warning label:  WARNING - DO NOT READ IN QUIET SURROUNDINGS - UNCONTROLLABLE LAUGHTER MAY ENSUE.  "The Best Man" by Kristan Higgins was just an amazingly incredible surprise.  Not that I'm surprised that it was a good book but I was surprised at just how good it was and how I could not put it down!

I chose to start reading this on a road trip with my family to visit my older son at school and after several laugh out loud moments, my husband informed me that I was distracting.  I finished it over the weekend and didn't care how much I bothered him.

"The Best Man" is, at heart, a family oriented story with a great romance thrown in.  Kristan Higgins is fabulous with creating heroines who we all would want to hang out with because they are fabulous and flawed.  No Victoria's Secret models who have beauty, brains, money AND get the guy!  Love her stories and this one was just above and beyond entertaining! 

The King Next Door by Maureen Child

Single mom Nicole Baxter is perfectly fulfilled without a man in her life. But when billionaire Griffin King moves in next door, she considers a fling. Not only is he gorgeous and exciting, but he's not staying. It's an ideal situation, as long as she doesn't fall in love….

Griffin King never met a woman he couldn't leave. But desire sparks with Nicole like lightning: quick and hot. It's just what this workaholic commitment-phobe needs. But why does the thought of summer's end have Griffin longing for more with the one woman he shouldn't have?

Can I just say how much I LOVE Maureen Child and her Kings of California series?  She hooked me from the get-go with "Bargaining for Kings Baby" - which, FYI, is still my favorite - and still has me coming back with each new book in the series.

What she does that is so wonderful is that she keeps the series fresh.  She doesn't feel the necessity to keep mentioning the thirteen or so King's that have come before and overwhelm her readers, each story is it's own and I so appreciate her for that!  So Maureen, if no one tells you that, know that I, as a loyal reader, appreciate you!

Nicole is your typical single mom and you totally feel her vulnerability and her indecision on what she is supposed to do where men are concerned.  I like that she was not made to be someone who has a child but conveniently forgets that fact because she's too busy sleeping with the sexy neighbor!

And Griffin?  He's a King of the Kings of California!  Need I say more??  

"The King Next Door" is another great read and it's one of the only series that I'll pay the Kindle price of $3.82 for.  Totally worth it!   

Candy Store by Bella Andre

On the verge of losing her candy store, Callie Moore decides to blot out her troubles with a tall, dark, handsome stranger. Derek McNear isn't about to turn down a cute, curvy woman at his best friend's wedding reception. But the next day, when Callie discovers that Derek is the consultant she has hired to save her store, they find it difficult to concentrate on business...

CANDY STORE, by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre, is a 25,000 word / 150 page sexy contemporary romance novella.

Romance and chocolate. It doesn't get cuter than that. A good quick read, nothing that I got too attached to but made for a nice distraction.  While it would have been nice for the story to have been fleshed out a little more and for there to have been more substance than sex, it's still another great book by Bella Andre.

Video Trailer for The Christmas Cottage by Samantha Chase

While admittedly short, I think this makes for a cute attachment for Samantha Chase's holiday novella, "The Christmas Cottage".  Currently it is a best seller on Amazon in several categories and it's not only a great holiday story, but a great romance.

Available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle (only .99 cents!), you can also find it on Smashwords and Barnes and Noble.  

Instant Temptation by Jill Shalvis

T.J. Wilder is the perfect package of breathtaking adventure and raw sex appeal. Even better, he's about to reconnect with the one woman he's never been able to forget. . . 

Get Your Pulse Racing

To Harley, the landscape around Wishful, California, is exhilarating, untamed, and more than a little dangerous. The same could be said for T.J. Wilder, who's invited himself along on her trek to study a rare coyote. Harley's career is riding on this trip, and she doesn't need a stubborn, incredibly sexy distraction tagging along. But T.J. is a professional guide who knows when to stay back and when to provide invaluable expertise--just like he's done since they were in high school. And Harley, as usual, is torn between throttling him and giving in to the raw attraction that's been smoldering all these years.

After waiting so long, it's all about timing. . .

"Instant Temptation" is the third book in the Wilder series by Jill Shalvis and like the others, thoroughly enjoyable.  I mean, you know when it's a trilogy that all three brothers are going to find love - even when they claim that they aren't interested and so you go into it with a predictable premise.

The description really says it all and while I did enjoy this one more than "Instant Gratification", I still found "Instant Attraction to be my favorite.  T.J. Wilder is just as yummy as his brothers and your typical alpha male and he is what Jill Shalvis does best.

A great ending to an entertaining trilogy.  I am never truly disappointed when Jill Shalvis is telling a story!  

Under the Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis

There's no place like home for the holidays. And the Lucky Harbor Bed & Breakfast is bursting with festive lights and good cheer. But for Mia, Christmas is turning out to be anything other than merry and bright. Her recent break-up with her boyfriend Nick has made her return bittersweet. But then a surprise arrives, when Nick follows her to town bearing gifts-and asking for forgiveness.

Nick grew up without a family of his own so he's overwhelmed by the love that Mia receives from all her relatives, gathered together to celebrate the season. Under their watchful eyes, Nick finds earning back her trust the hardest thing he's ever had to do. If he succeeds, he will receive the greatest gift of all, Mia's love for a lifetime.

 

“Under the Mistletoe” by Jill Shalvis is a sweet little holiday novella for those of us who were hungry for some interaction with our friends in Lucky Harbor.  This was a great way to catch up with some of our favorite residents as well as get to know Mia a little bit better. 

With her three sisters all settling into their lives in Lucky Harbor, Mia is a little like the outsider, even more so now that she’s broken up with Nick.  But her alone time with her family is cut short by Nick’s arrival.  Watching Nick come to grips with her close-knit family as well as Mia’s first love and ex-boyfriend makes for some entertaining reading.

While this was a great story, I guess my issue is that it was so short and at times felt a little rushed.  I don’t think this was something that could have supported a full-length novel, it certainly had the potential to be a longer, more satisfying novella.  At 14,000 words, it could have easily been stretched to 20,000 words and been a better story.

Overall, it was a great holiday story because Jill Shalvis is so good at what she does.  It’s not something I was happy to spend $1.99 on; it should have been offered as a .99 cent download.  Just a way for the publishers to get more money because they can.

Instant Gratification by Jill Shalvis

Stone Wilder is no less a daredevil bad boy than the rest of his brothers, especially when the thrill of a lifetime is about to arrive in a surprising package. . . 

The Doctor Is In Deep...

Wishful, California, is 3000 miles from Dr. Emma Sinclair's last job in a New York City ER. Running her father's clinic for a summer, Emma treats bee stings, stomach flu, and the occasional pet cat. Then there's Stone Wilder: gorgeous, laid-back, and irritating beyond belief. Emma loathes him. Almost as much as she wants to throw him on her examining table and break every doctor-patient rule in the book. . .

Paging Dr. Sinclair...

 

I’m not going to lie to you, “Instant Gratification” was not a favorite.  Jill Shalvis does really amazing men in her stories and Stone Wilder is no exception.  Her females, however, sometimes are annoying. 

Dr. Emma Sinclair is unlikable and annoying.

She’s running her father’s clinic for the summer even though the two have a very distant relationship.  She’s not trusting, she’s a bit of a snob and all in all she’s just not likable.  I get the concept of creating characters who are flawed and redeemable but I had a hard time remembering that about her.

Stone was just sexy and yummy to read about.

A bit of a disappointing follow up to “Instant Attraction” but still a good read.

Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis

Accountant Katie Kramer is a quintessential good girl—working hard, recycling diligently, all the while trying to ignore the feeling that she doesn't fit in anywhere. That's all she wants. Well, that—and amazing sex, and the kind of daredevil escapade she can look back on when she's crunching numbers in a dusty cubicle. Which explains why she just took a job in Wishful, California, working for Wilder Adventures and Expeditions. Waking up to find a magnificently built stranger towering over her bed—that part defies explanation...

After wandering the planet for months following a life-changing accident, Cameron Wilder has come back to the only home he knows. Under other circumstances, he might be thrilled to find a gorgeous woman sleeping in his cabin, but now, while he'll risk his body taking clients on adrenaline-drenched excursions, his heart is off limits. Still, Katie's killer smile triggers something deep in his gut...among other places. Showing her how exhilarating it can be to stop balancing her life as if it was a checkbook is the biggest rush he's ever felt—and an adventure Katie's wishing would never end. . .

This story grabbed me from the get-go!  “Instant Attraction” by Jill Shalvis was the perfect title for this book.  While the attraction for Katie and Cam was instant, it took them a long time to actually act on it willingly.  They are two complex characters which made them interesting on their own to read about.  What bothered me in this story was that while having a couple get interrupted once when they are about to get busy is one thing, when it happens almost every time, it gets tiresome.  By the third time it happened in this book, I almost called it quits.

I’m glad I didn’t.

Fans of Jill Shalvis won’t be disappointed.  This promises to be a great series and I’m looking forward to the next ones for sure!

All Summer Long by Susan Mallery

Former underwear model turned entrepreneur Clay Stryker has loved, tragically lost and vowed that he'll never risk his heart again. After making his fortune, the youngest of the rugged Stryker brothers returns to Fool's Gold, California, to put down roots on a ranch of his own. But he's frustrated to discover that even in his hometown, people see him only for his world-famous…assets.

Firefighter Chantal (Charlie) Dixon grew up an ugly duckling beside her delicately beautiful mother, a feeling reinforced long ago by a man who left soul-deep scars. Now she has good friends, a solid job and the itch to start a family—yet she can't move toward the future while she's haunted by painful memories.

Clay finds an unexpected ally, and unexpected temptation, in tomboyish Charlie, the only person who sees beyond his dazzling good looks to the real man beneath. But when Charlie comes to him with an indecent proposal, will they be able to overcome their pasts and find a love that lasts beyond one incredible summer?

 

With the final Fool's Gold book of the summer I was both looking forward to it and dreading it because it didn't want it to end! Susan Mallery's All Summer Long is a great end to this summer's trilogy. Charlie and Clay, who seem like an odd couple on the outside, really have a lot in common inside. Both are judged for their looks and both want to change their lives and overcome their pasts.

There were parts that were a bit weird and for me, I think my biggest hangup was that in all of the Fool's Gold books that Charlie was mentioned it, she is not someone who I particularly liked or cared about and I certainly didn't see her in the role of the romantic lead.  It took a little while for me to get over that fact.

This book was sweet and charming at times and hot and steamy in others. You'll laugh and you'll love catching up with some favorites from Fool's Gold who we've met in previous stories. This is a must read for all Susan Mallery fans and even if you haven't read all of the books in the series, you'll be able to enjoy All Summer Long.