Between a Highlander and a Hard Place by Mary Wine & Ache For You by J.T Geissinger

BETWEEN A HIGHLANDER AND A HARD PLACE
by Mary Wine

Series: Highland Weddings #5
Genres: Historical

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Publication Date: November 6th 2018

Source: ARC received for review

Rating: ★★★

Amazon 

Mary Wine's Highland Wedding series has been a consistently entertaining historical romance series for me. I've been enjoying these books, these characters, and the setting tremendously. I'm always eager to pick up a new book with these books. Between a Highlander and a Hard Place was one I certainly could not miss, especially with that stunning cover. While I enjoyed my time with this 5th book, I have to admit that the books are starting to all blend together for me as they all have a very similar premise. When a broken-hearted Athena is forced to flee her uncle's home to escape the scoundrel who pretended to be in love with her, she runs into the arms of a Highlander, Symon. Symon helps her by providing her safety from the wilds of Scotland. While both were instantly drawn to each other, Athena was adamant about wanting to give in to her attractions. As with the other heroines in this series, she was fiery and feisty. It took a lot of courage for her to run away from the safety of her home to Scotland and I admired that about her. Symon was also a good caring man who wanted the best for his people. He had lost his wife recently and was on the look-out for a wife. Though he was fiercely attracted to Athena, he never forced himself on her. He was constantly there to save her from dangerous situations. The romance between the two was great as usual. There was a lot of passion between the two that only seemed to grow as the book progressed. What I really enjoy about this series that there are secondary storylines that delve into clan politics and historical issues that keep the books engaging. All in all, while Between a Highlander and a Hard Place did not offer anything particularly fresh in terms of characterizations and romance, it was still an enjoyable story that I think fans of the series will enjoy.

3 Reasons To Read Melt For You by J.T Geissinger

MELT FOR YOU

by J.T Geissinger
Series: Slow Burn #2

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Publication Date: May 15th 2018

Source: ARC received for review

Rating: ★★★★

Amazon - Barnes & Noble

I was pleasantly surprised by Burn for You, the first book in this series last year, and have been eagerly waiting to read more from this author. I couldn't wait to start Melt for You and what a delight it was. Here are 3 reasons why you should pick up Melt For You.

1. It has a lovable heroine

Melt for You has a funny, feisty and very relatable heroine. Joellen is a 30+ woman who has been in love with her boss for the longest time. She thinks that she desperately needs to shed some pounds, is awkward as hell and lives with a grumpy cat. There are lots of shades to Joellen's character and I have to say, I enjoyed every facet of her persona. She definitely had some self-esteem issues stemming from being the ugly duckling of her family. Though she tries not to let her issues to get to her, it does take her a while to realize what a lovely person she is. Joellen is also funny as hell, and she'll have you cackling throughout the book. She was just so easy to warm up to.

2. OOF THE HERO! <3 

Oh man! Cameron has to be one of my favorite romance heroes in a long time. He was just so swoony and great and had me melting into a puddle goo. Oh and he's Scottish! What a charming guy he was! OK, I have to admit that I wasn't entirely into him at first. He seemed like a fuckboi, but the guy totally grew on me. I loved how he pushed Joellen to see herself for the fabulous woman she was. The guy is so positive and endearing - it was easy to forgive his manwhorish ways.

3. The slowest of slow-burn romances

I'm such a sucker for a good slow-burn romance, and J.T Geissinger captured everything I love about them in Melt for You. Joellen and Cameron don't start off on the right foot because he's a terrible neighbor. Their relationship slowly evolves into a comfortable friendship, and then into more. The banter between them was A+, and the chemistry was even better. I couldn't wait for them together, and the author makes all that waiting worth the while. Cameron and Joellen had the type of relationship that was built on making each other better and damn if that didn't have my heart aflutter.

So there you have it! Three solid reasons to check out Melt for You. :)

Have you read anything by J.T Geissinger?
Let me know in the comments below!

♪♪ We'll have a happy ending now / Taking a chance on love ♪♪

Happy Thursday!

Wow, it feels like forever since my last Thursday post/wrap-up thingy. And wow, it’s October, how did that happen?

Life update: I turned 27 on Sept 20^th! Honestly 27 doesn’t feel any different than 26… It’s kind of sad that birthdays lose their specialty as you get older. I didn’t do anything special on my birthday as it was a school day, but getting birthday wishes was still pretty exciting. Also, I’ve turned in the first full draft of my Master’s thesis to my supervisor so she can go through it and give her feedback. I’m expecting at least two more edits before the thing’s ready to be submitted—I’m so having a pizza party for one the day I submit my thesis, truly.

September reading recap: It’s been a good reading month for me, I think. There were so many September releases that I enjoyed. For one, A Kiss in Lavender by Laura Florand is my 5-star read this month; it exceeded my high expectations and I wrote a long email gushing to Laura about it. I’m going to reread it before writing my review here sometime soon. Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa is also a very great one and pretty much flawless, and so is Completely by Ruthie Knox. Lastly, Jennifer Dawson’s latest, Head Over Heels is also a winner for me. I wrote my review almost immediately after I finished because I had so many emotions about it, which literally never happen to me—unlike books I dislike, it usually takes two reads for me to properly review a book that I love. I want to make sure that I cover everything, LOL.

October has some pretty exciting releases too, and I’m looking forward to a greater reading month.

Today I'll be reviewing two titles that share a common theme: taking a chance on love. The heroes and heroines in both books are stubborn and have their own reasons as to why they think love is too good to be true, but love (and HEAs!) can be just as stubborn. I'll just stop here before I get too corny but proceed for the mini reviews!