She needs a fake boyfriend for the Christmas party. The problem? She’s my boss.

I should never have agreed to be her fake boyfriend.

But she is smokin' hot and I needed a date to the Christmas party.

There are rules to being a fake boyfriend, and I’m sure I’ve broken all of them.

Kissing your fake date under the mistletoe?

Perfectly acceptable.

Keeping her warm after the limo breaks down?

How could I not?

Making her jerk of an ex-fiance jealous?

Yeah, that was fun.

But, falling in love with your boss?

I’m pretty sure that’s going to get me on Santa’s naughty list.

Title: One Perfect Fake Boyfriend
Author: A.J. Wynter
Series: The Billionaires of Torver Corporation
Pages: 77
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: death of her previous fiancé <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)

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This is the 5th book in The Billionaires of Torver Corporation Series but can be read completely as a standalone. Characters from the other books do pop up, and mention things from their own books - but just in a way that makes you want to read their stories rather than make you confused!

Despite the blurb, this is very much Sabryna’s story and is told entirely in first person from her point of view. Because of this, we really get to know Sabryna and all her feelings and secrets. She was a very likeable characters - honest, forthright and endearingly confused about what she should do for best. And I have to give a special nod to when Logan takes off his short in her office. Very funny reactions!

Speaking of Logan - he was a cutie. A very hot cutie. He was that delicious blend of sexy, slightly arrogant, in-charge male with the heart and sometime mannerisms of a geeky nerd. Loved him. I’m going to confess that before I saw the cover of this book, I thought that he was black. Not that it matters, but I’m not sure if it was my mistake or if the characters weren’t described much.

There were a few potentially heavy topics in this book, as short as it was. The earlier death of Sabryna’s fiance, Nate*, and cheating being the main two. However, it was done with a light touch and never felt overly dramatic or heavy. Perfect for a quick read.

There was a teeny bit of Christmas festivities - I loved the depictions of snow and the Christmas party - but not too much that would overshadow the romance.

I liked the style of the book and of Ms. Wynter. The pages kept turning and the writing was conversational and free. Fresh, light and fun with just a smidge of Christmas - this is a book you could happily get lost in on a cold, wintery afternoon. 4 stars from me.

* Fair warning to those who’ve previously read One Perfect Professor / or spoiler for those that haven’t: That book is the love story of Sabryna and Nate. I’m so glad I hadn’t read Professor before this book because it’s so not cool to kill off the hero of a previous novel. But I’m not letting this affect my rating of this book since I didn’t find out this tidbit until after I’d finished.

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The Billionaires of Torver Corporation:

               

    

    

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Two Powerful CEOs. One Risky Takeover. Will it be careers or hearts that are broken?

F&*k chemistry. The businessman in me wants to ruin her, and her piece of s&*t company; but the red-blooded man in me wants to take her right here on the boardroom table.

I’m Johnathan Torver, and if you live on planet earth, you know who I am: the young tech billionaire; the CEO; the heartbreaker - at least that’s what they say in all the magazines.

Being one of Seattle’s top CEOs was pretty uncomplicated…at least it was until we acquired a company headed by the cunning, conniving, manipulative, you know what, Samantha Doyle. If that woman thinks she can outmaneuver me, I’ll show her who’s the real boss.

Even though she’s sexy as hell, and the smartest woman I’ve ever met, there’s no way I’ll let myself fall for her. She’s not winning the power struggle over my business, or my heart.

Title: One Perfect CEO / The Boardroom: Johnathan
Author: A.J. Wynter
Series: The Billionaires of Torver Corporation
Pages: 62
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: /

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This is the first book I’ve ever read by A.J. Wynter and, confusingly, my book is called One Perfect CEO rather than The Boardroom: Johnathan. But it’s the same book so be sure not to buy it twice.

The first thing I noticed about the book is that the writing style is fast, dynamic and keeps you hooked. It has that vibrancy that really makes you want to keep those pages. Definitely something special.

We start off with playboy Johnathan. He’s a successful tech CEO about to takeover another firm. He’s your typical playboy to begin with - although I did have an issue with how on earth he became a successful businessman and CEO as he did not a jot of work. I can believe in superheroes, unicorns, ridiculous coincidences and the like for some reason this really frustrated me. Self-made man? I didn’t buy it. But he was very well-written and I was interested in him as a character.

Sam was a fiesty one and when she first met with Johnathan - the sparks flew as they argued. I do enjoy when the hero and heroine start off hating each other! But since the book is 100% written from the viewpoint of Johnathan (in first person), I felt I didn’t really get to know her or what she was feeling.

Back to the business thing - I didn’t understand why she was even being kept on by the Torver group since she’d bankrupt her own company - but that’s neither here nor there! Johnathan then took a break from work (what work?) and took Sam on a boat ride. And then he announced he was going to sleep with Sam’s assistant (spoiler: he doesn’t). And then Sam and Johnathan didn’t see each other for weeks. Any chemistry or spark that was originally there took a nosedive with all the breaks and roadblocks and confusing cruises.

It picked up again when it started to snow. Not sure why the pair were doing admin tasks for the investors (wow - I just can’t let the business thing go!) but they get stuck in the office in a power cut (with streetlights) and things start to heat up again. Yay for all the sex which added a nice sizzle to the story. And sex on the boardroom table? Yes, please.

The ending was cute as a button and it was nice to see Johnathan and Sam both concede something on the path to our happily ever after. If anything, I would have liked it to be longer so I could savour in their new found love. But thankfully there was an epilogue. I bloody love it when there’s an epilogue!

An added bonus was Kirk, Johnathan’s best friend - and the tiny tease for his story which comes next in The Boardroom: Kirk. The third book in the series is The Boardroom: Cassidy. And Cassidy is a boy, FYI.

This book didn’t hit all the right marks for me but it did introduce me to an author whose style I really enjoyed. And while the story itself only gets 3 stars for me, I still sped through it and am looking forward to reading more from A.J. Wynter.

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At her wit’s end with her twelve-year-old niece, Wren Snow takes the manager’s job at Blue Spruce Lodge so Sky can get to know her father, Trigg Johanssen—a tycoon snowboarder with a playboy reputation.

Gold-medalist Trigg Johanssen is furious she kept Sky a secret, but quits competition to focus on his newly discovered daughter only to have his chemistry with Wren complicate their attempts to co-parent.

When outside forces threaten the ski resort he’s rebuilding, a marriage of convenience seems like the answer. It would give his daughter the life she deserves, but is it too much for a heartbroken woman still nursing past hurts?

Title: In Too Deep
Author: Dani Collins
Series: Blue Spruce Lodge
Pages: 315
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: Death, Abuse<-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)

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This was a really difficult book for me to review, to be honest. From start to finish - it took me a looong time to get through to the end. While that would normally tell me all I need to know about a book - there were lots and lots of things that I really enjoyed about it.

For the first half of the book, I felt all I was doing was learning about who the characters were. Not learning about how they interacted with each other - well, except for Skylar and Wren - just about them and their outlook on life. We have our three main characters and a myriad of other players - and it was just so confusing at times, I found myself rereading passages just trying to figure out who was who - who was sleeping with who - and other confusions. After a while, I decided I didn’t care and just would continue on with the story.

I mention that there were three main characters - our hero - Trigg, our heroine - Wren, and Skylar - Trigg’s 12 year daughter/ Wren’s niece.

And that is one of the other reasons I disliked the first 50% of the book. Skylar had whole chapters dedicated to her thoughts and feelings. The thoughts and feelings of a bratty, entitled 12 year old girl. There are no words to tell you how much I do not care about these things. I understand she was an integral part of the story - but it really moved this book from a romance into the territory of a family drama/saga type story.

However, the book definitely picked up after the first 50%. The romance started (seriously, there was nothing before that) and things finally got interesting. At first I thought that it was because the book was better in the second half, but now I wonder if it was because I hadn’t read the first two books in this series, On the Edge and From the Top. If I’d read them, perhaps I would have been more interested in the scene setting and I wouldn’t have been so confused by the large cast of characters or how they were linked and related.

I liked both Wren and Trigg. Liked, rather than loved but that’s likely due to it taking so long before I saw some action of any kind whatsoever. Trigg is a funny, playboy type coming to grips with a daughter that’s just as much of a pain in the ass as he is. Wren was sweet and feisty and someone just trying to do the best for everyone. I did wish she would open up a bit more and be a bit more mature about her feelings - but then again she herself was only 23 (sigh - I’m so bloody old!) so I guess I should forgive her! But I won’t - because I’m old and bitter about all these young folk!

Despite all my complaints, the writing was excellent. Descriptive, fast paced and I could see the mountain resort of Blue Spruce Lodge as clear as if the author had painted the picture before me. The scenes with Wren’s sister’s diary absolutely killed me. I’m a cryer by nature but oooft - those passages hit me hard in the feels.

Having come to the end of the book, strangely enough, I really want to read more about these people. I’m off to get my hand on the first couple of books in the Blue Spruce Lodge series - and suggest that you do the same before reading this. While the love story in this book is a standalone - I don’t feel that the book itself is. Had I read the first couple of books first, I feel this would have been a solid 4 or even 5 star read. As I was coming in blind (and confused), I can only give this 3 stars.

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* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

The Blue Spruce Lodge series:

       

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Tanner Harlow is a talented landscape designer, quietly building a name and a solid future when he finds himself needing to be the temporary guardian to his eleven-year-old half-sister. Tanner loves her, but can’t see himself as a father figure or imagine how he’s going to build his business during his busiest season with a child in tow until his newest client—his high school crush who still makes his heart pound—has a proposition that will help them both as long as Tanner can resist the tempting lure of the girl next door.

Elementary school teacher Francie Tate moved back to Marietta to be close to her ailing father. She plans to settle in and fix up her little bungalow before the school year starts, but definitely needs help with the neglected yard. She’s shocked when the landscaper she hired turns out to be a class mate. Tanner used to be shy in school, but he isn't the same kid anymore–he’s tall, sexy, and has the most striking brown eyes she's ever seen. When Francie learns of Tanner’s need for child care, she impulsively offers to watch his half-sister for the summer in return for some landscaping and renovations around the house.

It seems like a win-win, but Francie didn’t bargain on falling in love.

Title: Tanner's Promise
Author: Kaylie Newell
Series: Harlow Brothers
Pages: 226
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: /

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This is the first Kaylie Newell book that I have read and also the first in a new series about the Harlow Brothers. Each book follows a different brother so stands very much alone. No cliffhangers here. (Hey - if your book is good enough - people will buy it without you having to resort to cheap marketing tactics. Just saying.) The next book in this series is Luke’s story, Luke’s Gift.

The story kicks off with Tanner in a bit of a turning point in his life. His mother has just passed away and he has taken guardianship of his sister. Despite the very sad set of circumstances, at no point in this book is the story overly maudlin or upsetting.

Tanner is a good guy - sweet, understanding and just a little bit gruff. Sadly for me, the author described him as exceedingly tall and 26 years old. 26. Good God - how old am I getting that this sounds so young?! So all through the book I had this image of a tall, lanky man-boy as our hero. I’m going to send out a plea - don’t tell us the age of our couple. Let me pretend I’m young - or that my couple are a little older!

I really like Francie, too. She was the girl next door that everyone had loved in high school - including Tanner. But she’d lived too long living up to the expectations of her mother, and everyone else in her life. And she’d always been the kind of person to try to not hurt anyone else’s feelings - even if it costs her something. I just felt for her and sympathised with what she was going through.

And surprisingly for me, I also really loved wee Maddie. I’m not usually into kids in a book but I enjoyed her and thought she brought something extra to the story.

The writing was good, the story kept me interested and I’m keen to read the next book in the series - always a sign that a book was good.

So now onto the things that stopped me from marking this 5 stars.

At first I thought this was a sweet, clean book. The first kiss wasn’t described much and I didn’t feel much sexual tension between the pair - only the sweet romance. But some words caught me out and left me wondering if the book was a bit sexier than it first appeared. And it did get sexier from there - it’s just I didn’t feel it. I have never said this about a book in my life (liking the sexy times as I do) but I honestly think I might have given it 5 stars if the door was closed to us when Francie and Tanner had all the sex. There was just something missing for me in the intimate scenes which made them feel a little awkward.

And I was also a bit confused as to what the problems were with Tanner and Francie - both individually and together. Why didn’t they want to be with each other? Why were they fighting against their feelings? It left me a bit drained trying to get my head around it - which made me think it might be the age thing. Which made me angry because that means I’m definitely getting old!

As I say, a couple of minor things dropped this from a 5 star read to a 4. But it was still a fun, small-town romance with a great couple and hopefully another couple of equally excellent books still to come in the series. Recommended.

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* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

The Harlow Brother's Series:

    

Click to see other books by Kaylie Newell