Publisher: Forever

#BookReview Lady Codebreaker by K.D. Alden @KDAldenAuthor @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #Forever2024 #KDAlden #LadyCodebreaker

#BookReview Lady Codebreaker by K.D. Alden @KDAldenAuthor @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #Forever2024 #KDAlden #LadyCodebreaker Title: Lady Codebreaker

Author: K.D. Alden

Published by: Forever on Mar. 12, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 9/10

Fans of Kate Quinn and Kristina McMorris will love this gripping historical novel based on the true story of the woman who used her codebreaking skills to bring down Prohibition gangsters and WWII Nazis, and who ultimately helped found the present-day NSA.

Grace Smith has never been one to conform to society’s expectations. She flees small-town Indiana to seek adventure—and finds more than she bargained for when she’s hired by an eccentric millionaire to learn codebreaking. Soon she’s using those skills to help head the government’s fledgling cryptanalysis unit.

During Prohibition, Grace takes up the fight against rumrunners—not to mention Al Capone himself. And as the country careens from one Great War to another, it’s Grace who must crack the secrets of foreign governments, catch spies, and derail saboteurs . . . before it’s too late.

With wry wit and sheer grit, she forges her own path as a codebreaker, wife, mother. She’s spent a lifetime going up against powerful men and winning. But as war rages and the stakes grow impossibly high, Grace faces a truly impossible choice: her family or her country?


Review:

Moving, alluring, and intense!

Lady Codebreaker is a thrilling, captivating tale set from 1917 to 1958 that takes you into the life of Grace Smith, a young American girl who, after leaving her small home town in the hopes of something more, finds herself learning cryptanalysis, having a distinguished career, and marrying a loyal, successful man all during a time of chaos and upheaval and two world wars.

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are intelligent, brave, and strong. And the plot is an insightful, compelling blend of life, loss, secrets, surprises, heartbreak, betrayal, politics, power, friendship, and romance.

Overall, Lady Codebreaker is an intricate, passionate, fascinating tale by Alden based on real-life events that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the personalities, feelings, and lives of the characters within it that you can’t help but be fully absorbed and invested.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About K.D. Alden

K.D. Alden is the pseudonym of an award-winning author who has written more than twenty novels in various genres. She has been the recipient of the Maggie Award, the Book Buyer’s Best Award and an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award. A Mother’s Promise is her first historical novel.

K.D. is a graduate of Smith College, grew up in Austin, Texas, and resides in south Florida with her husband and two rescue greyhounds.

Photograph by Christhopher Hawke.

#BookReview The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson @katethompson380 @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #KateThompson #TheWartimeBookClub #HBGCanada

#BookReview The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson @katethompson380 @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #KateThompson #TheWartimeBookClub #HBGCanada Title: The Wartime Book Club

Author: Kate Thompson

Published by: Forever on Apr. 9, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 512

Format: Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Inspired by true events, The Wartime Book Club is an unforgettable story of everyday bravery and resistance, full of romance, drama, and camaraderie and a tribute to the joy of reading and the power of books in our darkest hour.

The Isle of Jersey was once a warm and neighborly community, but in 1943, German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule.
 
Nazis have ordered Grace La Mottée, the island’s only librarian, to destroy books that threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, she wants to fight back. So she forms the Wartime Book Club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading.
 
But as the occupation drags on, the women’s quiet acts of bravery become more perilous – and more important – than ever before. And when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . .
 
Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times – as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.


Review:

Rich, absorbing, and sincere!

The Wartime Book Club is a poignant, immersive tale set on the Isle of Jersey during 1943 that takes you into the lives of Grace La Mottée, a resilient, kindhearted librarian and her best friend and local postal worker Beatrice Gold as they do whatever they can to entertain, protect, and fight back against the Nazi Germans who invade and occupy their homeland during WWII.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are brave, tormented, and determined. And the plot is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, tragedy, survival, love, the horrors of war, and the power of literature.

Overall, The Wartime Book Club is a moving, emotional, beautifully written tale by Thompson inspired by real-life events that reminds us that survival of any kind often involves heartbreaking choices, moral dilemmas, action, spirit, extreme loss, and beyond all else, unimaginable courage and sacrifice.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kate Thompson

Kate Thompson was born in London and worked as a journalist for women's magazines and national newspapers before becoming a novelist. Over the past ten years, Kate has written twelve fiction and nonfiction titles, three of which have made the Sunday Times top ten bestseller list. She now lives in Sunbury with her husband, two sons, and two rescued Lurcher dogs, Ted and Saphhie.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #AbbyJimenez #JustForTheSummer #HBGCanada

#BookReview Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #AbbyJimenez #JustForTheSummer #HBGCanada Title: Just for the Summer

Author: Abby Jimenez

Published by: Forever on Apr. 2, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 432

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?


Review:

Enchanting, heartwarming, and brilliantly crafted!

Just for the Summer is a tender, witty, romantic tale that takes you into the lives of Emma and Justin, two twenty-somethings who, after connecting through a funny Reddit post, agree to temporarily date in order to try and break the curse they both seem to be living under.

The prose is well-turned and fluid. The characters are sweet, flawed, genuine, and lovable. And the story is an exceptionally absorbing tale about life, love, healing, forgiveness, hope, self-reflection, familial drama, weighty issues, friendship, courage, taking chances, happiness, and new beginnings.  

For the past few years Abby Jimenez’s books have been some of my all-time favourites, and even though I didn’t think it was possible to love another one of her books more than the ones I’ve already read, she proved me wrong. Just for the Summer is an unbelievable story that captured my heart from the very first page, and not only did I devour it, I absolutely loved it!

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez is a Food Network champion, motivational speaker, and contemporary romance novelist living in Minnesota. Abby founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen in 2007. The bakery has since gone on to open multiple locations in two states, won numerous Food Network competitions and amassed an international cult following. Abby has since turned her talents to penning novels. She loves a good book, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #KennedyRyan #ThisCouldBeUs #SkylandSeries #HBGCanada

#BookReview This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #KennedyRyan #ThisCouldBeUs #SkylandSeries #HBGCanada Title: This Could Be Us

Author: Kennedy Ryan

Series: Skyland #2

Published by: Forever on Mar. 5, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. Because, of course, she does. She plans everything. She designs everything. She fixes everything. She’s a domestic goddess who’s never met a party she couldn’t host or a charge she couldn’t lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigrette for that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes poof in a cloud of betrayal and disillusion.

But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost. She’s too busy keeping a roof over her daughters’ heads and food on the table. And in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise.

But then an unlikely man enters the picture—the forbidden one, the one she shouldn’t want but can’t seem to resist. She’s lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trust herself?

After all she’s lost . . .and found . . .can she be brave enough to make room for what could be?


Review:

Evocative, affecting, and heartfelt!

This Could Be Us is a heartwarming, touching tale that takes you into the life of Soledad Barnes, a mother of three daughters who must learn how to take risks, be true to herself, follow her heart, and try not to lose sight of her own wants, needs, and dreams after her husband is arrested for a white-collar crime.

The writing is genuine and sincere. The characters are flawed, compassionate, and endearing, And the plot is an absorbing tale about life, loss, heartbreak, forgiveness, family, courage, happiness, self-love, female friendships and new beginnings.

Overall, This Could Be Us is an uplifting, emotive, alluring addition to the Skyland series by Kennedy, and as always, after I finish any of her novels, I’m already looking forward to reading whatever she publishes next.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kennedy Ryan

A RITA® and Audie® Award winner, USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish, and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts. Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, TIME, O magazine, and many others. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.

#BookReview Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #JennyHoliday #CanadianBoyfriend #HBGCanada

#BookReview Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #JennyHoliday #CanadianBoyfriend #HBGCanada Title: Canadian Boyfriend

Author: Jenny Holiday

Published by: Forever on Jan. 30, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Fate brings together a ballet teacher and a hockey player in this big-hearted novel about second chances and taking risks.

Once upon a time teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. And soon, he was the perfect fake boyfriend, a get-out-of-jail-free card for all kinds of sticky situations. I can’t go to prom. I’m going to be visiting my boyfriend in Canada. He was just what she needed to cover her social awkwardness. He never had to know. It wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again…

Years later, Aurora is teaching kids’ dance classes and battling panic and eating disorders—souvenirs from her failed ballet career—when pro hockey player Mike Martin walks in with his daughter. Mike’s honesty about his struggles with widowhood helps Aurora confront some of her own demons, and the two forge an unlikely friendship. There’s just one problem: Mike is the boy she spent years pretending was her “Canadian boyfriend.”

The longer she keeps her secret, the more she knows it will shatter the trust between them. But to have the life she wants, she needs to tackle the most important thing of all—believing in herself.


Review:

Winsome, warm, and uplifting!

Canadian Boyfriend is an absorbing, heartfelt tale that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Mike Martin, a professional hockey player and widower whose main focus is raising his daughter the best way he can, and Aurora Evans, a former ballerina turned dance teacher who, after pretending to date a Canadian hockey player for years as a teen, may have finally just stumbled across the man himself in real life.

The writing is light and tender. The characters are supportive, kind, and genuine. And the plot is an entertaining, amusing mix of life, love, family, friendship, grief, trust, compassion, happiness, healing, self-reflection, tricky moments, undeniable attraction, and romance.

Overall, Canadian Boyfriend is a cosy, sweet, heart-tugging tale by Holiday with characters I couldn’t help but fall in love with, a push-pull storyline that kept me engaged from start to finish, and a happy-ever-after ending that made me swoon.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jenny Holiday

Jenny Holiday is a USA Today bestselling author who started writing at age nine when her awesome fourth-grade teacher gave her a notebook and told her to start writing some stories. That first batch featured mass murderers on the loose, alien invasions, and hauntings. (Looking back, she’s amazed no one sent her to a shrink.) She’s been writing ever since. After a detour to get a PhD in geography, she worked as a professional writer, producing everything from speeches to magazine articles. Later, her tastes having evolved from alien invasions to happily-ever-afters, she tried her hand at romance. She lives in London, Ontario, with her family.

#BookReview The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #NatashaLester #TheDisappearanceOfAstridBricard #HBGCanada

#BookReview The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2024 #NatashaLester #TheDisappearanceOfAstridBricard #HBGCanada Title: The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

Author: Natasha Lester

Published by: Forever on Jan. 30, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 464

Format: Hardcover

Source: Forever, HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Three generations. One chance to prove themselves. Can the women of the Bricard fashion dynasty finally rewrite their history?

French countryside, Present  Blythe Bricard is the daughter of famous fashion muses but that doesn’t mean she wants to be one. She turned her back on that world, and her dreams, years ago. Fate, however, has a different plan, and Blythe will discover there is more to her iconic mother and grandmother than she ever knew. New York, 1970:  Designer Astrid Bricard arrives in bohemian Chelsea determined to change the fashion world forever. And she does―cast as muse to her lover, Hawk Jones. And when they’re both invited to compete in the fashion event of the century―the Battle of Versailles―Astrid sacrifices everything to showcase her talent. But then, just as her career is about to take off, she mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind only a white silk dress.

Paris, 1917:  Parentless sixteen-year-old Mizza Bricard has made a to be remembered on her own terms. Her promise sustains her through turbulent decades and volatile couture houses until, finally, her name is remembered and a legend is born―one that proves impossible for Astrid and Blythe to distance themselves from.


Review:

Astute, heartbreaking, and mysterious!

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is a tender, intriguing tale that takes you on a journey into the lives of three generations of Bricard women. Mizza, a young Paris assistant and muse to Christian Dior who spends the wartime helping the resistance; Astrid, a bold, headstrong designer who uses all her energy to try to step out of the shadow left by her mother and prove the journalists wrong once and for all by showcasing her true talent at the 1973 Battle of Versailles Fashion Show, and Blythe a mother of two who, after being abandoned by both her famous parents, dreams of making a success of her own sustainable-fashion brand and perhaps finally discovering what really happened on that night so long ago when her mother seemingly disappeared without a trace.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are talented, tormented, and resilient. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel into a poignant, simmering tale of familial dynamics, drama, emotion, secrets, love, loss, lies, heartbreak, introspection, passion, inequality, injustice, and the misogynistic world of fashion.

As most of you know, I am a huge fan of Natasha Lester and have read almost every novel she has ever written, and The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is without a doubt another compelling, romantic, affecting tale by Lester but one with perhaps a little more grit, depth, and layers than we’ve had the pleasure of seeing from her before.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Natasha Lester

Natasha Lester is a USA Today, internationally best-selling author. Prior to writing, she worked as a marketing executive for L’Oreal, managing the Maybelline brand, before returning to university to study creative writing.

Her first historical novel, the bestselling A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald, was published in 2016. This was followed by Her Mother’s Secret in 2017 and The Paris Seamstress in 2018. The French Photographer is her latest book (note: this will be published as The Paris Orphan in North America in September 2019).

Natasha's books have been published in the US, the UK, Australia and throughout Europe. She lives in Perth, Western Australia with her 3 children and loves travelling, Paris, vintage fashion and, of course, books.

Photograph courtesy of Goodreads Author Page.

#BookReview Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2023 #NeverMetaDukeLikeYou #AmalieHoward #TamingoftheDukes

#BookReview Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2023 #NeverMetaDukeLikeYou #AmalieHoward #TamingoftheDukes Title: Never Met a Duke Like You

Author: Amalie Howard

Series: Taming of the Dukes #2

Published by: Forever on Nov. 14, 2023

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 9/10

Clueless meets Bridgerton in this spicy opposites-attract Regency romance from “a must-read author” (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is beautiful, clever, and popular. Afforded every luxury as a duke’s daughter, she fills her days with friends, intrigues, and a self-professed knack for matchmaking. She may have sworn off love for herself, but she is rather excellent at arranging it. 

Faced with an insolvent estate, the Duke of Greydon has no choice but to return to England in a final attempt to revive his family’s fortunes. He’s been gone for years, happy to have escaped his mother and the petty circles of the ton. To his dismay, not much has changed, including the beautiful and vexing heiress next door.  

But when an accident of fate traps the friends-turned-enemies in an attic together, the explosive attraction between them becomes impossible to ignore and even harder to resist. They are total opposites and their lives don’t align in the slightest, but fate, the ultimate matchmaker, appears to have other plans . . . 


Review:

Amusing, enticing, and adventurous!

Never Met a Duke Like You is a heartwarming, playful romp that sweeps you away to England and into the life of Lady Vesper Lyndhurst, a clever young woman who, although doesn’t believe in a happy ever after for herself, is more than happy to matchmake those around her even the dashingly handsome Duke of Greydon who once spurned her affections and broke her heart and who would much rather spend his day studying bones than wooing potential brides.

The prose is smooth and light. The characters are loyal, supportive, and endearing. And the plot is a delightfully enchanting tale full of friendship, family, societal expectations, tricky situations, tender moments, desire, and romance.

Overall, Never Met a Duke Like You is a fast-paced, passionate, highly entertaining read by Howard that is the second book in the Taming of the Dukes series and a novel that I absolutely adored.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

            

 

 

Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amalie Howard

AMALIE HOWARD is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling novelist of “smart, sexy, deliciously feminist romance.” The Beast of Beswick was one of Oprah Daily’s Top 24 Best Historicals to Read. She is also the author of several critically acclaimed, award-winning young adult novels. An AAPI/Caribbean-born writer, her books, interviews, and articles have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Oprah Daily, Seventeen, and Ravishly Magazine. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found reading, being the president of her one-woman Harley Davidson motorcycle club #WriteOrDie, or power-napping. She currently lives in Colorado with her family.

Photo by Kristoff Lutchman.

#BookReview Twisted Secrets by Katee Robert @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #KateeRobert #TwistedSecrets #TheOMalleysSeries

#BookReview Twisted Secrets by Katee Robert @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #KateeRobert #TwistedSecrets #TheOMalleysSeries Title: Twisted Secrets

Author: Katee Robert

Series: The O'Malleys #3

Published by: Forever on Sep. 19, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 8/10

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert continues her smoking-hot series about the O’Malleys-wealthy, powerful, and full of scandalous family secrets.

Greed. Ambition. Violence. Those are the “values” Olivia Rashidi learned from her Russian mob family-and the values she must leave behind for the sake of her daughter. When she meets Cillian O’Malley, she recognizes the red flag of his family name . . . yet she still can’t stop herself from seeing the smoldering, tortured man. To save her family, Olivia sets out to discover Cillian’s own secrets, but the real revelation is how fast-and how hard-she’s falling for him.

Plagued by a violent past, Cillian is more vulnerable than anyone realizes. Anyone except Olivia, whose beauty, compassion, and pride have him at “hello,” even if she’s more inclined to say good-bye to an O’Malley. While his proposal of sex with no strings seems simple, what he feels for her isn’t, especially after he learns that she belongs to a rival crime family. Cillian knows that there is no escape from the life, but Olivia may be worth trying-and dying-for . . .

Previously published as The Indecent Proposal.


Review:

Steamy, charged, and action-packed!

Twisted Secrets is a dramatic, spicy tale that features the independent Olivia Rashidi, who, after growing up as the illegitimate child of Russian mob boss Andrei Romanov, is determined to do whatever it takes to keep her daughter away from the family business, even if it means having to ask for help from the sexy, broody Cillian O’Malley who is not only part of a prominent crime family himself but more than capable of breaking her heart while protecting her life.

The writing is sultry and intense. The characters are troubled, hesitant, and driven. And the plot is a tight, tantalizing tale full of desire, temptation, chemistry, uncertainty, danger, deception, violence, sizzling romance, familial drama, secrets, and organized crime.

Overall, Twisted Secrets is a hot, edgy, suspenseful addition to the O’Malleys series by Robert that has all the elements I’ve come to know and love in her novels, including a fierce heroine, an attentive alpha male, and a fast-paced, seductive, can’t-get-enough-of storyline.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

     

 

 

Thank you to Forever & Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katee Robert

Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview My Rogue to Ruin by Erica Ridley @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #MyRoguetoRuin #EricaRidley #TheWildWynchesters

#BookReview My Rogue to Ruin by Erica Ridley @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #MyRoguetoRuin #EricaRidley #TheWildWynchesters Title: My Rogue to Ruin

Author: Erica Ridley

Series: The Wild Wynchesters #4

Published by: Forever on Sep. 12, 2023

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 9/10

The riotous Wynchester family has taken on a new case to expose a forger, but the prime suspect isn’t at all what he seems in this captivating Regency romp from a New York Timesbestselling author.

Lord Adrian Webb is a no-good, roguish, rakish scoundrel of the first order, which is why his father sends him to the Continent and cuts him off without a farthing. When (penniless) in Rome, what’s a disgraced gentleman to do, but dabble in some light forgery? After all, better to leave the original works of art where they belong instead of some English snob’s drawing room. But soon his scheme snowballs out of control, and a blackmailer is out to ruin him.

The Wynchester family is known for their daring capers to help those in need. Until now, Marjorie has always let her siblings take the lead when it comes to planning undercover work. But someone in London is trying to pass off counterfeits and this time she’s the only one with the skill needed to find the culprit. Her investigations lead her straight to Lord Adrian Webb. But every time Marjorie thinks she’s figured Adrian out, she learns something new that turns all her assumptions on their head. He’s a sinner. A saint. A heartless scoundrel. A loyal brother. A liar. A good kisser. Er…wait… She can’t afford to lose herself in the passionate embrace of a man she’ll have to turn over to the magistrate as soon as the case is closed.


Review:

Adventurous, spicy, and fun!

My Rogue to Ruin is a mysterious, engaging tale that sweeps you away to London during 1818 and into the life of Marjorie Wynchester, a kind, unique young woman who embarks on a mission to use her artistic talents to do whatever it takes to take down a local swindling pawnbroker with a side business in counterfeiting coins, even if it means having to work alongside the handsome, disgraced Lord Adrian Webb who has a past littered with scandal and a pile of troubles of his own.

The writing is witty and light. The characters are resourceful, clever, and endearing. And the plot is a humorous, compelling tale full of family, friendship, tricky situations, scheming behaviours, awkward moments, secrets, attraction, desire, and romance.

My Rogue to Ruin is an amusing, lighthearted, entertaining tale by Ridley that I thoroughly enjoyed and which is the fourth novel in a series, The Wild Wynchesters, that I absolutely adore.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

            

 

 

Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Erica Ridley

Erica Ridley is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical romance novels. When not reading or writing romances, Erica can be found riding camels in Africa, zip-lining through rain forests in Costa Rica, or getting hopelessly lost in the middle of Budapest.

Photo courtesy of Forever website.

#BookReview Change of Plans by Dylan Newton @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #DylanNewton #ChangeofPlans #HBGCanada

#BookReview Change of Plans by Dylan Newton @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #DylanNewton #ChangeofPlans #HBGCanada Title: Change of Plans

Author: Dylan Newton

Published by: Forever on Aug. 1, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

In this charming romantic comedy, a hometown hero comes to the rescue of a chef unexpectedly left to care for three little girls—who may end up saving him too.

When disaster strikes and chef Bryce Weatherford is given guardianship of her three young nieces, her life goes from cooking with fire…to controlling a dumpster fire. Five‑year‑old Addison refuses to remove her fairy wings, eight‑year‑old Cecily won’t bathe, and tween June is majoring in belligerence. With all this chaos, Bryce jettisons hope for a life outside of managing her family and her new job.
 
It’s been years since Ryker Matthews had his below‑the‑knee amputation, yet the phantom pain for his lost limb and Marine career haunts him. To cope, he focuses on his vehicle restoration business. He knows he’s lucky to be alive. Yet, “lucky” feels more like “cursed” to his lonely heart.  
 
When Ryker literally sweeps Bryce off her feet in the grocery store’s baby aisle, they both feel sparks. But falling in love would be one more curveball neither is ready to deal with… or is it exactly the change of plans they need?


Review:

Fun, touching, and sweet!

Change of Plans is a tenderhearted, amusing tale that transports you to the small town of Wellsville, NY and introduces you to the overwhelmed, stressed Bryce as she struggles to juggle the loss of her brother, a relocation, a custody battle, the guardianship of her three nieces, and a budding relationship with the scarred, hunky former Marine turned mechanic Ryker who is having a hard time of his own dealing with his debilitating nightmares from his time in Afghanistan and the ongoing pain in his partially amputated leg.

The prose is polished and light. The characterization is spot on with a cast of characters that are flawed, supportive, and endearing. And the plot is an irresistible blend of heart, humour, life, loss, guilt, grief, misunderstandings, tender moments, PTSD, family, friendship, tension, and attraction.

Overall, Change of Plans is another cosy, charming, heartwarming tale that I absolutely adored and which easily once again solidified why Dylan Newton holds a top spot on my must-read author list.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Dylan Newton

Dylan Newton was born and raised in a small town where the library was her favorite hang-out. After over a decade working in corporate America, Dylan quit to pursue her passion: writing books. When she isn't writing, Dylan is pursuing her own happily ever after with her high school sweetheart as they split time between Florida and Upstate New York with their two much cooler daughters and a tone-deaf cockatiel.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.