Holding Out For Special

 

K.T. RAINE

Stats for my copy: Kindle Edition, 9/15/21.

How acquired: Via BookSirens for review.

First line: Emory Dockins navigated the busy onramp onto Interstate 270 outside of Baltimore, her eyes blurred with tears.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: This was an absolute delight. When you pick a random book from an author you’ve never heard of, you never know for sure what you’ll get. Sometimes you get a dud, and sometimes you get a gem.

It’s billed as a “Clean and sweet contemporary romance with a dollop of suspense”. It is sweet, and it is clean, with just some kissing between the hero and heroine, but there is also some heat and palpable chemistry. I love a law enforcement hero, and I think this is the first romance I’ve read where the hero was a Secret Service agent. Emory and Vince both have some baggage, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to get a lot of angst, but it was light in that department. What we do get a lot of is amusing banter. I smiled a lot, and I laughed out loud, and then suddenly I was crying, real tears running down my face. And I was only at the 50% mark!

The narrative alternates between Emory’s and Vince’s POV, and I loved both of them. Emory is a teacher, and I really liked how Vince was very respectful of her profession, describing her as “An underpaid, self-sacrificing teacher…”. When she asks how does he know she’s underpaid, he responds “All teachers are underpaid in my book”.

There’s also a cute little girl named Macy, whose mother, a politician, has been receiving threats. Vince’s current assignment is protection detail for the child, and the relationship that he develops with her was just adorable.

This is a breezy, fun and heartwarming story, with well written characters, including the child and her dog, that I probably would’ve finished in just a couple of days if I didn’t have a freakin job to go to. From what I read about the author, this is her first adult book, with her previous books being for young readers, but she has more coming, and now that she’s on my radar I’m eager for more from her!

Synopsis from Goodreads: After 32 years of no luck in the true love department, sweet, unassuming school teacher, Emory Dockins, has pretty much given up on ever finding the right guy. Never in a million years does she expect to catch the eye of the intimidating, but swoon-worthy Secret Service agent, Vince Murano, who comes to question her about death threats against an aunt she never knew existed. Yep, life's funny like that. And maybe Emory shouldn't give up on her happy ever after just yet.

Love Beyond Reason

SANDRA BROWN

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Warner Books, 1994.

How acquired: Unknown.

(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)

My thoughts: A reissue of one of Sandra Brown's early romances, written under the name Rachel Ryan. It's a bit dated, which she mentions herself in the forward. Nobody has a cell phone; they use a car bed for the baby and in one scene while riding in a jeep Katherine holds the baby in her lap; when Jace gifts Katherine with a fancy new typewriter she's over the moon. But the story still holds up well and was very enjoyable. Of course there's a big misunderstanding over the other woman, and that was the only time I got irritated. I wanted to yell at Katherine to stand up for herself and demand an explanation from Jace, and I wanted to yell at Jace to just be straight up with Katherine and don't just get mad at her for being mad at him for what she saw. But again, I still very much enjoyed the book and especially at the end I was racing through the pages to finish before going to sleep.

Goodreads synopsis: Katherine Adams will never marry a Manning -- not if she can help it. Her sister Mary's fairy-tale marriage into the family's wealthy, powerful dynasty turned into a nightmare of abuse. And on the night her playboy husband was killed in a car accident, Mary died in childbirth. Now, the savvy, smart, and very angry Katherine has vowed to protect her sister's child, even if it means rejecting the dashing, charismatic oil man who shows up at her door. Katherine wants to believe that Jason Manning isn't like his ruthless family. But secrets and lies are part of his heritage. And Katherine could be destroyed by a truth she's afraid to face . . . and a man she can't resist.

Blithe Images

NORA ROBERTS

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Silhouette Books, 1982.

How acquired: Book Mooch

First line: The girl twisted and turned under the lights, her shining black hair swirling around her as various expressions flitted across her striking face.

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

My thoughts: In the beginning I thought standard (for the time it was published in) category romance. Also, the heroine is a model, and models/beautiful women who all the men are attracted to are not my favorite heroines. But Hillary actually has two men in her life, the photographer she works with and a friend she dates platonically, of whom neither have any romantic designs on her, and it was refreshing. The friend only makes one appearance, but the photographer gets a little romance of his own with the hero's secretary.

There was one scene that gave me pause, and I had to remind myself how old the book is - Hillary and Bret are kissing and one thing starts to lead to another before she stops him, and he gets angry. Really angry, and accuses her of being a tease. Not a scene an author can get away with writing today.

Of course there are misunderstandings and Hillary and Bret are often at odds with one another, as well as Hillary and the Other Woman, who manages to keep driving a wedge between them. But it all comes out right in the end, and I absolutely loved the way Bret finally proposed marriage.

Goodreads synopsis: Beneath her sophisticated beauty, fashion model Hillary Baxter was still just a small-town girl from Kansas. How could she be expected to resist the devastating charm of her new employer, mesmerizing magazine mogul Bret Bardoff? Bret knew all the moves, all the right things to say to leave a woman defenseless. But as he discovered the alluring innocence behind Hillary's world famous face, it was Bret who was left defenseless...against the pull of his own heart. 

Temptation Ridge (Virgin River, Book Five)

ROBYN CARR

Goodreads synopsis: At twenty-five, after five years as her mother's caregiver, it's time for Shelby to experience freedom and adventure. Time for travel, college and romance. But when she visits Virgin River, she runs into Luke Riordan, decidedly not whom she has in mind. 

A handsome Blackhawk pilot, Luke exited the army after twenty years, four wars and having been shot out of the sky three times. At thirty-eight he's tough and jaded. His major was in one-night stands, with a minor in commitment avoidance. 

Technically, these two are all wrong for one another. But sometimes what you want and what you need are two different things...two very good things.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Mira Books, 2009.

How acquired: Bought.

First line: Shelby was within ten miles of her Uncle Walt's ranch when she had to pull over to the side of highway 36, the busiest stretch between Virgin River and Fortuna, behind an old pickup truck that looked vaguely familiar.

My thoughts: After being a tad disappointed with the previous book in the Virgin River series I'm happy to report that this entry was another winner. (To be fair, I did give the previous book four stars on Goodreads, but only because of Joe and Nikki. Well, actually because of Joe. Secondary characters in that book, but whose story I absolutely loved,more than the main characters' story.) When Temptation Ridge opens, Shelby, Vanessa's cousin, has a meet cute with Luke Riordan, a newcomer, on the side of a stalled highway.

As with all the Virgin River heroes, Luke is former military, though not a Marine. He was deeply burned by a woman several years ago, and now he doesn't do relationships. He's appalled to find himself attracted to Shelby, who he initially thinks has to still be under the age of twenty. And learning that she's actually twenty-five doesn't make him feel much better about it. And as with most of the Virgin River heroes, I fell head over heels for him.

I love how Ms. Carr always incorporates characters from the previous books into each new book, sometimes meandering away from the main storyline to give another character some significant page time. And she slips from one plot point or story line to another seamlessly, so it's never confusing or hard to keep up with the narrative. She's also great at natural feeling conversations between characters, or at several paragraphs of narrative with no dialogue. I especially loved the scenes with Luke's younger brother coming along and charming everyone while Luke just gets angrier and angrier at him.

My only complaint about this entry in the series is that one of my favorite characters, the mysterious marijuana grower, never showed up. I miss him.

There is also the beginning of a possible romance between Cameron, who we met in the previous book when he dated Vanessa for a short time, and Abby, one of Vanessa's closest friends, as well as a continuation of the blossoming romance between Vanessa's father, Walt, and Muriel, the movie star who moved to Virgin River in the last book. And I loved this quote, from Muriel to Shelby:

"I'm not alone, Shelby,” she said patiently. I'm on my own – there's a difference...”

I so relate to that.

I say this after each book, and will probably continue to say it: I want to move to Virgin River!!