About that night

Kyle  is a computer genius and Rylann is in law school. They meet when they were in college, and had their first kiss. He stands her up for their first date, because his mom passed away. After nine years, the only relatively lasting relationship she has is with a Brazilian  model. However their long-distance relationship does not work for her and she dumps him over Twitter. Furious, he hacks Twitter and crashes it for two days. He is arrested, and since then he was known as the Twitter Terrorist. However,  his sentence is reduced when his sister helps the FBI.

Rylann moves from San Francisco to her hometown in Chicago, when she breaks up things with her boyfriend, who wanted them to start a new life in Italy.In her first job as assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago was she comes face to face with the Twitter Terrorist (Kyle). In court they declare his sentence served. She is relieved to be done with him, and get away from tempation. However things are far from done, since a man was killed in the prison he was in, and she needs him as a witness. Will they continue where they started nine years ago? Can she get passed the fact the is an ex-con and a witness? Can he trust a woman again, especially one that works for the people that named him the Twitter Terrorist and persecuted him hard?

Blackmailed bride, Inexperienced wife

 

After loosing his entire family, Dario Parisi had one thing in mind, doing justice for his family and recovering what had been stolen from them, the Parisi Castello. Gianfranco Mangano, did everything he could to ruin the Parisi as a form of retribution. A Parisi had jilted his sister. When he succeded the family sold the castello and he promised to give it back to them, but he never did. Dario’s parents were going to northern Italy for a venture with potential for sucess, by they died during the trip by sea. Years later, Dario swallowed his pride and visited Gianfranco to make a deal with him. He said that the only way  for Dario to get back the castello was to marry a Mangano. Dario accepted, but Alissa, his grandaughter, rejected him, twice.

When Alissa Scott’s parents died, she and her sister Donna had to live with their abusive Scicilian grandfather, Giancarlo Mangano.  They lived in Australia. When his grandfather demanded her to marry Dario Parisi, she defied him, the last thing she wanted was to be under the control of another Scillian. Dario proposes to her again after her grandfather’s death, but she rejects him once again. Things chance, when Donna’s health becomes grave because of her drug problem and Alissia needs money money for the treatmeant. According to her grandfather’s will, if she wanted the inheritance, she needed to get married for six months. She planned for marry a friend, but Dario paid him to forget the deal, so she had no choice but to marry him. Dario thinks she’s spoiled and that she has drug problems, since she was the one that was detained for carrying drugs. Alissa, in the other hand thinks that Dario is ruthless like her granfather. Even though they despise each other, they is a powerful chemistry beteween them.

The truth is, Alissa was far from spoiled, she was treated awfully by her grandfather. Secondly, she doesn’t have a drig problem, she confiscated the drugs from her sister, and kept quiet when she was caught to protect her sister. Dario is far from being like his grandfather, he’s actually kind and honest, but he’s has suffered greatly in life . He is desperate to bring justice for his family and misjudges Alissa. Will they get over their pride and misjusgements to actually know each other? or will they have six miserable months to bare each other and then get on with their lives?

It was an entretaining book, but it lingered a lot in the thoughts and feelings of the characters, for my taste. Is not a memorable book, but if you want something to pass the time, it’s an okay book to read.

The Black Hawk

An intringuing novel set in the post Napoleonic Era. Justine DeCabrillac’s parents were killed, when she was eleven.  during the French Revolution. She and her sister Severine, were put in the care of her parents’ trusted friend. However instead of taking care of them, he gave Justine to the owner of a brothel. Justine had to work for her, and she and her sister were forced to live in the brothel. Her life changed when Madame, the brothel owner and member of the French Secret Police, selected Justine to spy for her. At thirteen she was ordered to spy an English agent called William Doyle.

When Adrian Hawkhurst, dubbed Hawker,  was a boy, he lived low  neighborhood of St. Giles in London. He was expert in theft, and had even worked for the king of the underworld. His life changed when he met William Doyle. He decided the boy had talents to be spy,  put him under his wing and trained him. He took him to Paris, where there was a lot of work to be done, after all, it was the era of the French Revolution. In Paris he met Owl, Justine’s undercover name. Although they worked for different sides, they became good friends. Deciding Marguerite and William Doyle were nuce people, she gives up her sister to them, since a life in a brothel and with a sister who was constantly under danger, was no life ( for full story  about Justine and Hawker’s first encounter  see Forbidden Rose) . A couple of years later, Justine, while doing a job England, decides to see her sister, at least from a far. In this moment, she and Hawker meet again, and become secret lovers. They keep on with their affair, until Justine shoots Hawker in an operation. Only, she doesn’t really shoot him, her boss tells her to shoot him, and  wasn’t aiming at him purposely, but before she took rhe shot, her boss moved her aim and she shot the man she loved. Hawker thought she shot him, so they became real enemies. However, even as enemies, they missed each other.

Now, after the Napoleonic wars, twenty four years after they first met, Justine appears at the headquartes of the english spies, dying of a knofe wound down in her chest. They used one of the special knives Adrian Hawker had fabricated. Now, they have to work together to find who tried to kill her and why. Can they resolve the mystery? Can they reconciale?

The Billionaire Princess

 

After discovering that her ex used her to get close to her family, Sarah Sherbrook, the President’s daughter, swore of men. . Being a tech- genius, Christopher Hill made his company succesful, and became a billionaire. He always had a crush on Sarah, his best friend Jake’s sister. When Sarah meets Chrisopher in Jake’s surprise wedding in Hawaii for the first time in ages, she can’t believe how he changed from a thin geeky boy to a well-built man. After a few drinks and a dance, they have one-night stand. The next morning, full of remorse from sleeping with his best friend’s sister, Christopher decides to leave. She’s furious with him and doesn’t want to see him again. However, she is forced to work with him iin an education iniciative for a senate candidate, which Sarah works for. They mend things up and decide to act on their attraction for each other. They work together, have dates, watch Bigart movies. Sarah gets to know this wonderful man and decides she might trust him fully, but when a news report insinuates that Christopher is using the education iniciative for his personal gain, her trust shatters. Christopher is hurt by her distrust, and with his hurt pride, decides to let her go. Can they let go of their insecurities and pride and follow their hearts?

The Billionaire Playboy

Charlotte O’Brien is back home on leave. She is a doctor who s rved in the Army.  She has to make a decision whether to re-enlist or head into public practice. While at home, a hurricane hit New Salem. She was volunteering to help in the aftermath, when head of the Falmouth Foundation and the president’s son,Jake Sherbrook arrived. She thought he only came to have his pictures taken “helping”. She judged him wrong, however, and he actually helped. Whilestays in her mother’s bed and breakfast, she gets to know him, and learns that his more than the “rich playboy” that the media portrays.

Jake Sherbrook’s  parents wanted him to be politician, since it was a tradition in his family. Instead he enlisted in the Army, and then created Falmouth Foundation, to help those in need, which fully satisfied him. However, to his irritation, the media insists on falsely portraying him as a  portrays him as a the spoiled President’s boy. When he hears of the disasters left from the hurricane in North Salem, he comes personally to help as head the foundation. To his annyonce, this judgemental woman who believes in what the media says about him, Captain Charlotte O’Brien, s the leaders of the town volunteers. He has to work daily for her. However, as he gets to know, she opens up and he gets to see a softer side to her.

Jake Sherbrook’s fear is that he will always be seen as someone he isn’t. He specially fears that Charlotte will never completely see how he truly is. Charlotte has abandoning issues, since her father abandoned her and her brother. Therefore, she has difficulty opening up to people and trusting them. Can she get pass this? Can Jake break her barriers and convince her to trust him?

The author portrays the characters pretty well. The banter between the main characters was very entretaining.  However, I felt like it foucused too much on the character’s feelings and fears.

The Best Man

After a disastrous date, Faith Holland decided it was time to go back home. It had been three years since she’d left home. Three years ago her fiance and neighbor, Jeremy Lyon, jilted her at the altar, confessing he was gay. Since has the town’s doctor, she decided she was the one who had to leave. Back at home now, she started renovating the old farm, since she was a landscape designer, and turn it into a place for wedding receptions and other events. This will complement well with her family’s vineyard. Everyone seemed glad that she was home, except Chief Levi Cooper.

Levi Cooper grew up in a park trailer. He was raised by his single mother. When he was finishing high school,he knew he couldn’t afford to go to college. When he asked his father, who he hadn’t seen since he was nine and who owed her mother child care, for the money he needed for colledge, but not suprisingly, his father said he couldn’t help him. However, his life wasn’t that bad, he had his mother and her sister, and his best friend Jeremy, ho didnt care of their difference in social class. Jeremy became Faith’s boyfriend, which has suprising for Levi since he thought Jeremy was gay. A few years later Jeremy confessed to Levi he was a gay, and he insisted Jeremy in confessing this to Faith. Jeremy couldn’t do it, and almost went through with his wedding with Faith, but Levi stopped it and made Jeremy confess the truth to her.

Three years after thr failed wedding, Faith was a women who couldn’t find the committed partner that she wished for. Levi, in the other hand, had been married for three months, and had beem divorced for almost two years now. They met in Afghanistan, she was helicopter pilot, but when they settled in Levi’s hometown she realized that being the wife of a chief of police in a small town was not for her.

Levi had always thought of Faith as an irritaitingly happy princess without a trouble in the world. Seeing her move on from the humiliating experience three years, makes him see her in the different light. Watching how she could relate to his sister, with both them having dealt with the death of their mother, also made him see her differently. Beeing alone with her while she had a seizure and having to take care of her, made him feel protective of her. And finally when she confessed that she blamed herself for her mother’s death, in their car accident, tugged at something in his heart. Faith saw Levi as a snobish jerk, until he takes care of her after having a seizure. Until she saw how he cared for his sister. Until he turns her grandparents’ anniversary, organized by her, from disastrous to success. Until she is touched by the things he does for her. Will they admit they have feelings for each other and act on them? Will they guve another chance to love?

At Odds with the Heiress

Scarlett Fountaine inherited one of her family’s casino/hotel. She isn’t trained for running the casino, she studied to be an actress. However she manages to hire people that successfully run the casino. She has two sisters, who also inherited a casino/hotel each. Logan Wolfe owns the security company hired by the family for the casinos. Logan has prejudices against Scarlett, and sees her as a spoiled brat who inherited a casinos which she was never trained to run. However, he seems to need her now, since she is the only one of the sisters available. His niece is visiting, and he has to convince her to go to college instead of running off to Hollywood. He is reluctant to ask Scarlett for her help, since he has been resisting his attraction for her for years. He also thinks that  she is the least appropriate person for the job. She is hurt by his judgement, and wants to prove him wrong. She also happens to be attracted to him. Will they resist their attraction for each other? Can they help Logan’s niece?

At his mayesty’s request

When his brother left his home, Prince Stravos will now inherit the throne if Kyonos, an island in Greece. Now that he will be king, he needs queen. He doesn’t want love in a relationship. His mother died nineteen years ago, and as a result his father reigned the kingdoom disastrously. This made him decide that love was a liability in ruling a country. Therefore, he hires Jessica Carter, an excellent matchmaker. The problem is, he comes to like this feisty and confident women, and starts seeing the candidates a boring. He is determined to know what she is hiding.

Jessica Carter, doesn’t want have anything to do with relationship. She had enough with her failed marriage. However she feels satisfaction in knowing that other people can have lasting marriages. This is the reason she became a matchmaker. She is hired by a prince Stavros for her services and she is determined to find him the appropriate wife for him. A wife who can be a queen and who can bare him children. Having to spend time with him, she notices that there’s more to him than a cold and calculating man. She starts to like him, even though she is not supposed, since she is hardly the appropriate candidate for him. The biggest issue being that she cannot bare heirs for him.

Will they surpass their insecurities and obligations to follow their hearts?

Anything for you

Connor O’Rourke is a chef who owns a restaurant-bar with his twin sister. His teen years weren’t idyllic since his father cheated on his mother, and had a kid with his lover. Jessica Dunn had a messed uo childhood. She lived in a trailer with her drunk parents. Her mother seemed happier when she drunk, so Jessie made her drinks while she was pregnant. This resulted in her brother Davey having a ver low IQ and Jessie felt guilty about it. Taking care of her brother became her first priority.

When he was twelve, Connor was attacked by the Dunn’s dog. Connor’s father demanded the mayor to put fown the dog. Since then, Davey blamed Connor for the dog’s death and hated him for that. Nine years later, Jesiie and Connor started their ten year on and off secret relationship. The main issue being that she had to take of Davey and that Davey hated Connor. So when Connor proposed to her, she said no. Fed up with the situation, Connor told her that he couldn’t continue with this on and off secret relationship. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget about her. She cared about him too. Can he stay away from her? Will Davey forgive him someday? Will  Jessie let him take care of her and her brother?

Any Duchess will do

Griffin York, Duke of Halford, is happy living as a bachelor, but his mother abducts him and gets him to Spinster Cove. He chooses the less appropriate canditate, a servant girl who happens to be all covered in sugar. He hires her to follow his mother’s “duchess training” and fail miserably. However he doesn’t expect to like thus feisty, brave and sweet girl.

Pauline Simms has one goal in mind, to work hard so she can leave her abusive father, and have a book shop in Spinster Cove. She wants a better life for her and her sister, who has a special condition.Her dream mught become a possibilty, when a duke comes to Spinster Cove and hires her for a fortune to submit to his mother’s “duchess training” and fail miserably. She decides to accept the deal, and as she spents more time with him, she discovers that there’s more to him than a rich man who gets what he wants. She also feels that there’s more in this than a mother trying to get his son to marry. Can she meet her end of the deal? When the week ends will they go their separate ways? What’s the mystery in mother and son relationship?