This is a unique story.  Half the chapters are told in dream scenes.  The imagery is described in great detail and has a fantasy feel.  I was expecting this part of the story to be raw and sexual but it was more sweet and traditionally romantic.  The other chapters are very realistic, no pun intended.  The alternating chapters compare the beautiful things in life with the ordinary state of everyday life.  I liked the running juxtaposition between types of relationships with men: lovers, friendship, and un-requited love.  Through these relationships the characters go through falling in love, heartbreak, and death.  The author keeps you guessing until the end.  Sorry, no spoilers here.

You can find the book at https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=heidi+hallifax+&type=

 to Heidi Hallifax@

This was an unexpected quirky and fun book.  I admit that I thought this book would be more raunchy based on the fact that Lola works at a sex toy company.  I don’t think I’m alone in that assumption.  Instead, it’s a romance/mystery with a bizarre and interesting mix of characters.  Lola is a smart-mouthed, screw-up and trained by her grandma that may possibly be a hit man.  Her brother is a Drag Queen and Ob/gyn.  Logan is a sexy-hot FBI agent and somewhat prude.  Throw in a show girl, an ex-fiance, embezzler, porn star, and ex-boyfriend and you get one crazy cast.  I promise this book is anything but boring.  Love the twist in the Epilogue as well.

 to M.D. Martin!

This book was an unexpected delight.  I had many preconceived ideas about it based on the title alone.  I wrongly assumed that the book would be the typical rich guy needs to get married for some bizarre reason and then the guy and girl fall in love.  I was pleasantly surprised by the nature of the plot.  The story was fresh and believable.  It drew me in so much so that I completely lost track of time and barely got to my kids’ pick-up line on time.

Jenna’s resistance to falling for the hot rich Braden Fleetwood rang true because her reasoning was based on a thoughtful process rather than petulance.  She realizes, “That dependency can be misread as attraction, but it’s an attraction which doesn’t outlast the patient’s treatment.”  She acknowledges, “I want all the things you despise – marriage for love, children for love.”

In the beginning of the book, the author mentions that Braden is immensely wealthy but throughout the story his money doesn’t play into an extravagant lifestyle used to impress Jenna.  Again, this made the story charming.

I would recommend reading this book.

Buy Links

AMAZON  http://www.amazon.com.au/Marriage-Merger-Sandy-Curtis-ebook/dp/B00W6Y3G90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432633161&sr=8-1&keywords=marriage+merger

SMASHWORDS  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/535707

KOBO  https://store.kobobooks.com/search?Query=the+marriage+merger+sandy+curtis

 to Sandy Curtis!

Bio for Sandy Curtis

Sandy Curtis writes contemporary romance for Ormiston Press’s Lavish Novels line, and is also the author of seven romantic thrillers published in Australia and Germany, two of which have been finalists in the Romantic Book of the Year Award.  Sandy has presented many writing workshops including 10 days teaching creative writing at the University of Southern Queensland McGregor Summer Schools, given library talks, and been a panellist at writers’ festivals.  She is a member of many writing organisations, and has organised the Bundaberg writers festival, WriteFest, since its inception in 2005.  In 2010 she was awarded the Regional Arts Australia Volunteer Award for Sustained Contribution to the arts in regional Queensland, and in December 2012 she was selected by the Queensland Writers Centre to receive the Johnno Award for outstanding contributions to writing in Queensland.

Confess has an amazing intertwined set of characters in an heart wrenching novel.  Both and Owen and Auburn refer to holding their fist tightly above their heart signifying how devastatingly they can miss someone and how much it hurts their heart.  Well, this book not only makes your heart hurt, but makes you feel completely gutted.  I was crying before I finished the Prologue.  The silver lining is that the greater the pain in a romance book, the more rewarding the happily ever after.

True to form, Colleen Hoover makes the story very unique and unpredictable.  I absolutely love how the artist takes written anonymous confessions and turns them into art.  Very cool concept!  I don’t want to spoil the book but you have to read it to see how this concept weaves itself into the plot.

  to Colleen Hoover!

Is is possible to enjoy a book that leaves you crying?  Despite waking up with swollen eyes because I stayed up late finishing this book and cried for a good time after, I did like the book.  I admit it, sometimes I do like a good cry.  I chalk it up to being female.  Don’t get me wrong, this a true romance book and it promises a happily ever after.  Since this book is a retelling of the story from Hopeless, except told from Holder’s point of view, the main story line was not a surprise.  Actually, it was knowing that I was guaranteed a happily ever after was what got me through this story.

I loved how the surprising twists were revealed in Hopeless, but the drama in Losing Hope was sensational.  It was painful and heartbreaking.  It was excruciatingly delightful.  Isn’t that what you want from a book?  Colleen Hoover does a tremendous job of explicitly making the reader feel Dean Holder’s pain, concern, frustration, and uncertainty.  I felt like I was transported into the tornado of Dean’s emotional drama.

If you revel getting lost in a romantic book, I think you will enjoy this book, too.

 to Colleen Hoover!

I love a book about reconnecting with young love.  Just because two people fall in love during their teenage years doesn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t true, real, and valuable.  Sometimes it takes time and life experiences to realize how important that first love was.  And hey, a little extra sexual experience can’t hurt – its a great way to hone one’s skills. The length of the book is short but it is not short on character depth.  I felt like I really understood the facets of the characters and their struggles.  Jake is a hot firefighter that doesn’t want to risk his heart again, even for someone that consumed his head for over a decade.  Naomi must fight to get Jake to open himself up to her again.  She struggles with his initial rejection, which is a lot to handle after having to deal with the loss of her premie daughter.  I plan on reading the other books in the series.

 to Jessie Evans!

Need a feel-good book?  This is a shorter romance book that hooked me from the beginning.  It’s about a group in their mid to late twenties.  The story line kept moving forward.  Of course, the characters endure some bumps and bruises along the way in their relationships, but the author doesn’t string-out the reader for a hundred pages until that particular issue is resolved.  This makes it a perfect read after a stressful day.  Sometimes it is nice to have problems resolved quickly.

All the characters are real and relatable.  They are all very self sufficient, but their stubborn to a fault.  Their fears and challenges highlight typical issues of their age while easily keeping the reader’s attention.  I didn’t want to put the book down.

 to Bethany Shaw!

There are all different reasons for choosing the books we read.  Usually I choose books based on recommendations or reviews that I read.  This time, I chose the book because I thought the author had a cool name.  I have a “thing” about names.  I always find them to be an important element to a character.  I personally spend a huge amount of time when considering names for my characters.  I love that Blue Ashcroft chose unique names in this book and explained the motivation of the characters’ parents.

Rain – “My parents are from Texas.  My mom says I was as welcome as summer rain.”

Knight – “[My mom] was really into romance novels.  She says I saved her life when I was born.  She calls me her knight.”

It is a sweet, relatively innocent, romance involving characters that both have a traumatic past.  The ending left me feeling satisfied and optimistic.

 to Blue Ashcroft!