Forbidden by: Lauren Smith

Synopsis

He's her first. He's her everything. He's her . . . stepbrother.

Kat has always been a good girl. She studies hard and never stays out too late. But when sitting in a pub on her birthday, she realizes she's a nineteen-year-old virgin who's never really lived. And she wants tonight to be the night that changes.

Then she sees him walk in. He's tall, dark, handsome, and straight out of her deepest fantasies. His voice makes her knees feel weak, and when he smiles, she imagines him doing wicked things to her in bed. From the look in his eyes, she knows he's imagining it too. So when he asks if he can walk her home, she hears herself whisper yes . . .

My Review

Oh my goodness... This was good! I enjoyed this from the beginning until the ending that came all too soon. However, before I continue, I just need explain that I am not on the Stepbrother romance bandwagon, so I was a tad hesitant to request this read from Netgalley. You see I've only read one other stepbrother novel which was Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward and believed that was a rare find in this particular sub-genre. Thusly, I was quickly proven wrong when I read Forbidden by Lauren Smith.

Here we find Katherine “Kat” Roberts, an American college freshman, living with her father, who recently started working abroad in London. She is attending school in Cambridge and because she and her father had moved around so much, she had not formed any meaningful relationships up to this point of her life. So, since she will be in Cambridge for three years, she takes the plunge and try to forge some relationships with a bestie and a spare.

The Royal Conquest by: Stacy Reid

Synopsis

After being cruelly jilted by a lord who claimed to adore her, Miss Payton Peppiwell swore her future husband would be as ordinary as she. Now if only her family would listen to her. Then she meets Mikhail Konstantinovich, an untitled horse breeder, in a highly improper and scandalous encounter. Never had Payton expected to be so attracted to the dark, intriguing man, who seduces her to recklessness with a mere stare.

Mikhail abhors anything to do with intimacy. Yet Miss Peppiwell stirs hunger and a need long forgotten in him. But Mikhail has a dark past—one that means his lust must be sated in a way entirely unsuitable for a lady. But his biggest secret will be the hardest for Payton to overcome: Mikhail is not only titled, he’s a prince…

My Review

I really enjoyed reading The Royal Conquest by Stacy Reid. It was a nice departure from the usual historical romance novel which usually includes some young woman who is in search of a title and wealth from some hot duke trotting along the countryside just outside of London. Instead in this novel we get Payton Peppiwell with ties to the Americas, who just wants to shake it all off while wearing a pair of trousers, ride random horses, and write children’s stories. However, her family of gold diggers and social climbers want her to do the whole London, high-society thing and marry well, even after her engagement was publicly ended by Sir Duke-A-Lot.

Life's a Beach by: Jamie K. Schmidt

Synopsis

Sex on the beach has never been so much fun! USA Today bestselling author Jamie K. Schmidt kicks off a series set in paradise with an irresistible tale of second chances, secret identities—and a connection that's too sweet to miss.

When Amelia Parker arrives in Maui, newly single and unemployed, she's shocked to discover the resort she booked is actually a ramshackle little beachside hotel. At least the scenery is easy on the eyes—as is the toned, laid-back snorkel instructor, “Dude.” After two weeks of sun, serenity, and mind-blowing sex, she even accepts a job as the hotel's concierge. But what Amelia really wants is to relaunch the place completely. And that means convincing the absentee Wall Street billionaire owner, Samuel Kincaide, to take a chance on her.

Samuel has a plan, too: selling off every last reminder of his former life and chilling all day, every day as his slacker altar ego . . . Dude. He loves his romps in the ocean, and under the sheets, with the feisty Amelia. If she discovers his true identity, her boundless enthusiasm and innovative business plan will seriously diminish his hammock time. But when Amelia runs into real trouble on the island, he'll put everything on the line to keep her safe. He just hopes that the woman who's falling for Dude will feel the same about Samuel.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

My Review

Life's A Beach was very good! I mean I enjoyed this novel from the beginning to the end. Amelia Parker was an interestingly eclectic. I liked her. Her story was relatable to a regular everyday chick who was trying to make it in a big city. She had a boyfriend that was half-way committed to their relationship as she was all in and has been planning and paying for an entire year a surprise trip for the two of them to escape the cold and cruel winter of New York City.

However, Amelia’s bae has another bae on his mind and is caught red handed with said bae on his lap and Amelia is forced to take her exotic vacay with her clairvoyant aunt Zarafina. Once at her destination, Amelia, quickly realizes that nothing is the way it seemed, thousands of miles away, so Amelia and Zarafina makes the best of a not so great situation. Zarafina, begins offering psychic readings and such, while Amelia finds herself working and improving the hotel she is staying and finding the adventure and comfort she needs in the arms of Dude, a.k.a Samuel Kincaide. 

Accelerated by: Tracy Wolff

Synopsis

A sexy carjacker takes a would-be starlet for the ride of her life as a pulse-pounding new series from New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff begins.

Once the brains behind a car-boosting ring, Nic Medina has spent the last three years playing it straight. Now drag racers flock to his L.A. auto shop, Hotwired, for a shot at going head-to-head with the man himself. But when a crooked cop gives Nic a treacherous ultimatum—steal ten high-end cars or watch his nephew disappear into the system—he makes the only choice he can, one that puts the life he's worked so hard for at risk. No sooner does Nic agree than he spots some nasty competition—and a gorgeous bystander in harm's way.

A small-town girl with Hollywood dreams, Jordan Bass never expected to be swept up in a real-life drama. But that's exactly what happens when she witnesses a violent crime. And when a smoldering stranger takes the wheel and practically kidnaps her in a desperate bid to keep her safe, she's not sure whether to scream . . . or kiss him. Nic's bad news—but the real bad guys aren't above silencing a witness. On a collision course with danger, Jordan finds herself falling for the man whose street smarts are keeping her alive . . . and whose touch puts her in high gear.

My Review

I must say that I was hesitant to read Accelerated by Tracy Wolff. I mean I have enjoyed other books she has written, but was unsure of what to expect from this one. However, Ms. Wolff showed me quite differently as she introduced me to Nic Medina and Jordan Bass. Nic was a family guy that made sacrifices for his family and carried the guilt of unrealistic expectations that he set for himself with the assistance of a crooked officer of the law. Conversely, Jordan was a fighter, a survivor, who was just trying to live with the hand she was dealt, until the eventful day she finds herself being snatched up and stuffed in her car as it is being stolen by none other than Nic Medina.

Childstar by: J.J. McAvoy

Synopsis

Amelia London is America's sweetheart. Noah Sloan is America's bad boy. Both are former child stars and once were lovers. When they are cast as the leads in the upcoming erotic suspense blockbuster—Sinners Like Us—they are forced to come to terms with the issues that tore them apart to begin with.

As the whole world watches, can they keep their secrets hidden? After all, everybody is a sinner…

                                  My Review

I have to start by saying that this was a pretty good story! I mean, I knew that I liked the synopsis enough to want to read, Childstar, by J.J. McAvoy, but I was not did not know how much I would grow to like the story of Amelia and Noah. This is my first time I have read a story by J.J. McAvoy, and I must say that her style of writing draws you in and have you anticipating for what's next. Her style is detailed enough, that you feel like you are literally watching a movie or some entertainment digest or gossip column, as the story of these star-crossed lovers come to life. 

I was fortunate enough to be able to read the complete series all at once and was not disappointed from the beginning to the end. This series started with what seemed to be a story ripped from the site of www-dot-gossip-and-such-dot-com about two child stars who fell in love, but life, fast-paced and slow, got in the way. One day, they were both cast to play lovers in crime as the lead characters of a best selling novel entitled "Sinners Like Us". There were raw emotions between the two of them that festered to a head once the two of them hit the set and all heck broke loose when lines began  to blur and stirred up for real emotions. Talk about  being reunited and having the feeling feel so good! However, once this happened, the floodgates of emotions of the past, present, and future came tumbling down hill.  From hate, to lust, to love, these two felt these emotions and every time you thought things were finally turning in their favor, something else happens that leaves you wondering how they will get out of this one.