Review | EVERYWHERE AND EVERY WAY by Jennifer Probst

Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst

Published by Gallery Books

May 31, 2016

Adult Romance

Buy the book on Amazon

Summary:

Ever the responsible eldest brother, Caleb Pierce started working for his father’s luxury contracting business at a young age, dreaming of one day sitting in the boss’s chair. But his father’s will throws a wrench in his plans by stipulating that Caleb share control of the family business with his two estranged brothers.

Things only get more complicated when demanding high-end home designer Morgan hires Caleb to build her a customized dream house that matches her specifications to a T—or she’ll use her powerful connections to poison the Pierce brothers’ reputation. Not one to ignore a challenge, Caleb vows to get the job done—if only he can stop getting distracted by his new client’s perfect…amenities.

But there’s more to icy Morgan than meets the eye. And Caleb’s not the only one who knows how to use a stud-finder. In fact, Morgan is pretty sure she’s found hers—and he looks quite enticing in a hard hat. As sparks fly between Morgan and Caleb despite his best intentions not to mix business and pleasure, will she finally warm up and help him lay the foundation for everlasting love?

My thoughts... 

This is the first Jennifer Probst book I have read and I loved every minute of it!  I can't wait to read the next book in this new series.  I have another of her series sitting on my bookshelf right now that I know I will be picking up very soon.

I have never seen Property Brothers, but this book made me want to go look it up on Netflix and start watching!  Caleb is the brother who stayed behind to work with a controlling father when the other two brothers decided to cut ties after the death of their mother.  Now in an unexpected turn of events he and his brothers have to work together and turn a profit for a year in order to keep the family business.  Caleb meets Morgan when she approaches him to build a house for her high profile celebrity clients.  She makes him a deal that he quite literally can't refuse even though he really, really wants too.  Morgan is a very well put together woman who favors the color white, but when it comes to her job she isn't afraid to get her hands dirty.  This is something that quickly endears her to the Pierce Brothers crew .

I really liked all the characters in this book.  They are all really likable and that's such an important part of the creation of any new series.  All of the brothers are fantastic and I believe we have already met both of the women who will be the other 2 Pierce brothers' love interests and they are fantastic as well.   They have another partner in the business, an architect, and I am fairly certain he will have his own story as well, at least I hope he does!

I loved this book!  I started reading it and couldn't put it down.  I finished it in just a couple of hours.  I am anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series, especially since I know it's going to be Dalton's book!  If you are looking for something quick and sexy, but still a little emotional to read then I highly recommend this book.

XOXO, 

Shelly

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for my honest review.* 

Review | SUSTAINED by Emma Chase

Sustained by Emma Chase
Contemporary Adult Romance Published August 25, 2015
Gallery Books
Author's website  |  Goodreads  |  Buy the Book on Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight.

When you’re a defense attorney in Washington, DC, you see firsthand how hard life can be, and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. I, Jake Becker, have a reputation for being cold, callous, and intimidating—and that suits me just fine. In fact, it’s necessary when I’m breaking down a witness on the stand.

Complications don’t work for me—I’m a “need-to-know” type of man. If you’re my client, tell me the basic facts. If you’re my date, stick to what will turn you on. I’m not a therapist or Prince Charming—and I don’t pretend to be.

Then Chelsea McQuaid and her six orphaned nieces and nephews came along and complicated the ever-loving hell out of my life. Now I'm going to Mommy & Me classes, One Direction concerts, the emergency room, and arguing cases in the principal's office.

Chelsea’s too sweet, too innocent, and too gorgeous for her own good. She tries to be tough, but she’s not. She needs someone to help her, defend her…and the kids.

And that — that, I know how to do.

My Thoughts...

This is going to be a really quick, short review.  Mostly because I had most of my review written a couple days ago and my computer did an update and restarted and for some reason blogger didn't auto-save while I was writing it and I lost it all.  I don't know what happened, but I wasn't too happy about it!!

This is the 2nd book of what I assume will be a trilogy and while I did really like the first book I think this one was even better.  This book centers around Jake Becker who is a defense attorney who wins no matter what.  Many of his clients are guilty, but it's his job to exonerate them and he's very good at his job.  He's out one day and literally runs into a young boy who happens to pick his pocket.  He chases the boy down and when he takes him home me meets Chelsea.  This girl has her hands full with her 6 nieces and nephews who range in age from less than 1 year old to 14 or 15.  I have 3 kids and I can barely manage to stay sane most days, I can't even imagine what life is like for a 24 year old taking care of 6 children she didn't give birth to.

Jake doesn't "do" kids other than the time he spends around Stanton's daughter Presley, but he's drawn into this makeshift family and becomes the only person Chelsea can rely on when things get tough.  They fall in love as they learn to change how they view how life is versus how they thought it would be.

This book is sort of unique in that it's told all from Jake's perspective through a first person narrative.  Emma Chase did this in her Tangled series and it's done really well.  I think she captured that again in this book.  In the first book of this series she did alternating POV's and that was nice, but I think this one was spot on with just Jake's POV.  The pacing was great and the character development was excellent.  If you don't like books that have kids then this may not be your "cup of tea", but some of the most heart wrenching and poignant moments take place with the kids as the focus.

XOXO, Shelly

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for my honest review.*

Review | OVERRULED by Emma Chase

Overruled by Emma Chase
Adult Romance published April 28, 2015
Gallery Books
Author's website  |  Goodreads  |  Buy the Book on Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

As a DC defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don’t call him the Jury Charmer for nothing – with his southern drawl, disarming smile and captivating green eyes – he’s a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him and women want to be thoroughly cross examined by him.

Stanton’s a man with a plan. And for a while, life was going according to that plan.  Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart and mother of his beloved ten-year old daughter. Jenny is getting married — to someone who isn’t him.

That's definitely not part of the plan.
***
Sofia Santos is a city raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn’t have time for relationships or distractions.

But when Stanton, her "friend with mind-blowing benefits" begs for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him – to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Mississippi – to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves.

Her head tells her she's crazy...and her heart says something else entirely.
***
What happens when you mix a one stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage and a gun-toting Nana?

The Bourbon flows, passions rise and even the best laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart. 

My Thoughts...

I skimmed through the reviews of this book on Goodreads before I read this book and there are a lot of mixed reviews for sure, but I tend to not let other review color my opinion of what I am reading.  I am glad that I went ahead and read this book despite all that.  I will preface this by saying that I am getting an ARC of the 2nd book in the series so I did want to read this one first even though they can be read as standalones.  

Review | MANWHORE +1 by Katy Evans

Manwhore +1 by Katy Evans
Adult Romance published July 7, 2015
Gallery Books
Author's website  |  Goodreads  |  Buy the Book on Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Billionaire playboy? Check. 
Ruthless businessman? Check. 
Absolutely sinful? Check.

Malcolm Saint was an assignment. A story. A beautiful, difficult man I was supposed to uncover for a racy exposé.

I intended to reveal him, his secrets, his lifestyle—not let him reveal me. But my head was overtaken by my heart and suddenly nothing could stop me from falling. I fell for him, and I fell hard. 

Malcolm Saint is absolute Sin, and I've become a hopeless Sinner.

Now that the assignment is over, Saint wants something from me--something unexpected--and I want this wicked playboy's heart. But how can I prove to the man who trusts no one that I’m worthy of becoming his plus one?

My Thoughts...

This was the perfect ending for this story.  Yes, you read that right it's the end!  This was the perfect way to tell this story and there was no dragging it out over 3-4 books like some series we know and love"d" (cough, cough, Crossfire).  I still contend that she should have called the first book Sinner and this one Saint, but either way it was a great read for sure.  Oh, I just found out that there is a novella coming out in October that will be the finale of this series so I will be anxiously awaiting that one!

This book picks up exactly where the first one left off with Rachel visiting Saint after the 4 week separation.  The reason he's called her isn't exactly what she thought it would be, but he does want to see her and that's all that matters at this point.  When she comes face to face with him, though, she realizes how much damage she's done to their relationship.  Will he ever be able to trust her again?  Will she be able to live without him if he doesn't?

This book is basically Rachel and Saint starting over.  They become "friends" again giving her the opportunity to prove to him how she feels.  She knows that he cares for her otherwise he would have killed the article that she did end up publishing as a "love letter" to him.  She sees the good in him when nearly everyone else sees him either as a manwhore or someone who can give them something.  When it comes right down to it, though, it's about a man and woman who truly do love each other learning how to be together again after trust has been broken.

Katy Evans has a way with words that is just a thing of beauty in this book.  Her characters are always compelling and the interaction and heat between them is just off the charts intense.  This is probably one of my favorite "series" that I have read this year and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the conclusion novella.

XOXO, Shelly

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for my honest review.*

Review | MANWHORE by Katy Evans

Manwhore by Katy Evans
Adult Romance published March 24, 2015
Gallery Books
Author's website  |  Goodreads  |  Buy the Book on Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Is it possible to expose Chicago’s hottest player—without getting played?

This is the story I've been waiting for all my life, and its name is Malcolm Kyle Preston Logan Saint. Don’t be fooled by that last name though. There’s nothing holy about the man except the hell his parties raise. The hottest entrepreneur Chicago has ever known, he’s a man’s man with too much money to spend and too many women vying for his attention.

Mysterious. Privileged. Legendary. His entire life he’s been surrounded by the press as they dig for tidbits to see if his fairytale life is for real or all mirrors and social media lies. Since he hit the scene, his secrets have been his and his alone to keep. And that’s where I come in.

Assigned to investigate Saint and reveal his elusive personality, I’m determined to make him the story that will change my career.

But I never imagined he would change my life. Bit by bit, I start to wonder if I'm the one discovering him...or if he's uncovering me.

What happens when the man they call Saint, makes you want to sin?

My Thoughts...

I am going to keep this review short because I am having computer issues today and I want to get this up before I lose it.  First I want to say that I loved this book!  I have read a handful of Katy Evans books and I really enjoyed a couple of the Remington Tate books, but I think this one was my favorite of all her books.  And if you have been reading this blog for any length of time you know how Gideon (Cross) is one of my favorite male leads, but I have to say that after reading this I have a new Gideon....Malcolm Saint is my new favorite book boyfriend!  My only complaint about this book is the title.  I just don't like it and it's not a book I would carry around with me, this is definitely a Kindle read for me.  Personally, I would have titled this book Sinner and the 2nd one Saint, but that's just me!