The Detective and the Burglar

KIRSTEN PAUL

Stats for my copy: pdf review copy; pub. 2020   

How acquired: BookSirens

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts: I requested this book because it sounded like a light, fun, romantic comedy, and the book delivered! Emily is an appraiser for an auction house, and is in King Court to help appraise furniture at an inn for an upcoming auction. In her younger years, she did some breaking and entering, but has been on the straight and narrow for the past ten years, and is focused on her career. Then she sees a small wooden train car at the local antique shop, which may help unlock some secrets about her biological family, and before she can talk herself out of it she steals the train car. Armand is a detective with the local police, investigating several car thefts, and when Emily's rental car is stolen, their paths cross, in a very unforgettable way. 

I was pretty captivated from the first few pages. Armand and Emily are, of course, attracted to each other right away, but both have reasons for not acting on that attraction. Armand is a morally upstanding officer of the law, and Emily is a victim and a witness in his car thefts investigation, which makes her off limits. Emily just broke the law when she stole that train car, so of course she wants to stay as far away from Armand as possible. The last thing she needs to be arrested and loose her job and her professional reputation. I smiled a lot, and laughed occasionally, while reading about their antics and escapades. And when they finally give in to the attraction? Hoo boy, worth the wait!

The author’s writing is a little on the breezy side (that’s a good thing!), and when I finally had some time over the weekend to just sit and read I sailed through the book fairly quickly. There are quite a few supporting characters, and while they weren’t all as fully fleshed out as Armand and Emily, they were often amusing. Looking at the author’s other books, I noted that one of the characters had her own story in THE HOCKEY PLAYER AND THE ANGEL, which came out in 2019, and I definitely want to read it also. 

Overall, a a fun and quite enjoyable story. 

Goodreads synopsis: Former burglar on demand, Emily Atterberry has left her life of crime behind. Or so she thinks until she stumbles on a piece of her past holding clues to her biological family's identity. She feels guilty but steals it, hoping it will lead to the answers she is searching for. Detective Armand Lecavalier is investigating recent luxury car thefts and is convinced Emily knows more than she's saying. He needs to find out what she knows to prove to the big-time police precincts he's more than just a small-town officer. Thrown together, Emily and Armand find it hard to remain professional. All they want to do is have fun—with and without handcuffs. But can Armand look past his code of conduct for love or is Emily facing time behind bars?

Living Lies (Harbored Secrets, Book 1)

NATALIE WALTERS

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2019.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blog Tour Program, for review.

First line: Just let go.

My thoughts: Where do I start? I was sucked into this book from the first couple of pages. When Lane is standing on the edge of a dilapidated bridge, contemplating letting go. And Charlie, the new deputy in town, happens to come along. Not your typical meet cute!

Lane is not your typical romantic suspense book heroine either. Oh, she has lots of the qualities. Widowed, single mom, young son, doesn't date, runs a cafe in a small town. Not looking for a relationship, though for very different reasons than your average heroine. Typical qualities, but there is absolutely nothing cliché about her. Or about Charlie, who is closer to being a typical hero, but fleshed out very well. I was quite enamored of him almost immediately, and I was glad the book went back and forth between their POVs so we got inside his head and really got to know him.

Lane has secrets. No spoiler, since it's right there on the back cover copy, “dangerously depressed after the death of her husband”. Another character, a veteran, suffers from pretty severe PTSD. And Charlie is also a veteran, having recently returned to civilian life, so he's got a few issues of his own. I felt the author handled all of it beautifully, especially Charlie's reaction when he learns about Lane's depression.

Lane's little boy is adorable but not cloying, and I loved some of the scenes with her sister and seeing them become closer. Her parents were a bit misguided and career/society focused. I half expected Charlie to pull a nobody-puts-baby-in-a-corner at some point. But all's well that ends well.

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, though from what I read about the author she did already have a lot of writing experience. She's definitely good at it, and I can't wait for Deputy Frost's book to come out!

Goodreads synopsis: In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret. At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Debut novelist Natalie Walters pulls you to the edge of your seat on the first page and keeps you there until the last in this riveting story that will have you believing no one is defined by their past. 

Part Time Cowboy (Copper Ridge, Book One)

MAISEY YATES

Synopsis from Goodreads: Sadie Miller isn't expecting any welcome-home parades on her return to Copper Ridge. Least of all from part-time rancher, full-time lawman Eli Garrett. The straight-laced, impossibly hot deputy sheriff glares at her like she's the same teenage hoodlum who fled town ten years ago. But running from her demons has brought Sadie full circle, ready to make a commitment at last. Not to a man, but to a B and B. On Garrett land. Okay, so her plan has a tiny flaw…

Eli works too hard to let a blonde ball of trouble mess up his town. But keeping an eye on Sadie makes it tough to keep his hands off her. And if she's so wrong for him, why does being with her feel so right?

Stats for my copy: Mass Market paperback, Harlequin Books, 2015.

How acquired: Bought

First line: Whoever said you couldn't go home again had clearly never been to Copper Ridge.

My thoughts:  After my first Maisey Yates experience, a book I did not particularly enjoy, several members of a Facebook group I'm in recommended her Copper Ridge series. I happened to already have this book, the first in the series, in my massive TBR, so I gave her another chance. And boy, am I glad I did.

Sadie and Eli argue whenever they're in each other's company, and their bickering is almost juvenile, yet hilarious.

“That's funny, Sadie, because I feel like I end up irritated every time I'm around you.”

“I just think your irritation is contagious,” she said.

“Maybe you're so irritating you irritate yourself.”

On on the same page:

“I'm going to go now. And I'm taking the beer. And the water. Thank you. Again. I'll try not to bother you anymore.”

He snorted. “Good luck.”

“Oh, I don't need it. I don't mind bothering you. You are clearly the one who is bothered by being bothered. So...you're the one who needs the luck, not me.”

Of course, you know what all this arguing is going to lead to. I do love the enemies to lovers trope!

I liked Sadie very much, and I loved Eli. He ticked so many of my boxes: lawman, cowboy, rancher, grouchy, stoic. In control until the right woman comes along to break that control. They both have some serious baggage, and I enjoyed watching them slowly unpack it and share it piece by piece with each other. Yep, high angst level here.

I also liked Eli's sister and brother – Connor is even more of a grouchypants than Eli - and I'm looking forward to their stories. Now I understand why Ms. Yates is so popular, and I'm so glad I didn't give up on her after that first book of her I read!