JR Ward brings us something new!

For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege—as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.

For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted—and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane’s beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the ironfisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets.

As family tensions—professional and intimately private—ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.

Lizzie made a mistake in having a relationship with  Lane Bradford, she's must smarter and positive it won't happen again. Lane comes home because his "mother" isn't well. His real mother hasn't been well in years and stays in her room. The woman who isn't well is a cook in the family's kitchen. A woman who pretty much raised him and his siblings. He has avoided home but now returns to check on her. 
There are so many different story lines going on in this book.  Lane finds missing money from the family company, Lane divorcing his wife. Edward, the eldest Bradford child, learning to deal with his disabilities after being kidnapped and tortured in South America. The only girl Gin being married off by their father to a horrible man. After Lane gets in trouble for supposedly beating up his wife, will Lizzie take the time to believe in him or run?
This book, while when you read it you can see JR Ward, is different than her usual paranormal stuff, but I really enjoyed it. 

Kilts and Quils return with an all new book... A matchmaker and a fisherman? Interesting....

Description:

Kit Woodhouse’s matchmaking business is such a success, she’s expanding to the Highlands of Scotland where the hot, prosperous, and kilted are anxious to connect. Now, looking to fill her stable with eligible bachelors, Kit’s arrived in Gandiegow to recruit potential Real Men of Scotland. It’s not until she meets her tour guide that she discovers just how real they can be.

With his sexy grin, jeans, and black wellies, Ramsay Armstrong is an unpolished hulk of a Scottish fisherman—and a skeptic when it comes to romance. Not exactly a man of “pairing attributes” when talking marriageable matches, but he does make Kit’s heart beat a little faster. Maybe it’s the scent of the sea in his hair. Maybe it’s the challenge. Maybe it’s the thrill of the unexpected. Then again, maybe it’s love.

Kit is determined to keep her matchmaking business going so she can take care of her mother and sisters. She needs this job to put her sisters through school and help her mother, who works part time at an art gallery. Growing up, Kit's family had been rich with multiple homes, but the real estate crash decimated their family. She's in search of wealthy Scottish men to pair up with her wealthy American female clients.

Ramsay is determined to break up this matchmaking scheme and will stoop to low levels to get Kit to leave Gandiegow. His brother hires him out as Kit's driver, making him drive her all over the place searching out male clients. He secretly convinces the men they don't really need a woman. Kit is growing frustrated that the men are backing out on her, and Deydie forcing her to quilt is cutting into the time she has to do her job. The American women are coming to Scotland to meet the men, and Kit has no men. 

When Ramsey finds out that Kit needs this job to support her family, he realizes he screwed up. But is there any way to make it right, so late in the game? Not to mention he is so attracted to Kit, and Kit to him, and they both just can't figure out how right they are for each other! 

Patience Griffin has brought us another fantastic tale set on the coast of Scotland. Her characters are so great! Previous characters are around as well as some new ones. I pick these books up and can't put them down. And Ms Griffin herself is awesome! After meeting her last year, I promise to read and review everything she has, to get the word out. Because awesome authors need awesome fans, like us :) 

Robyn Carr and Thunder Point are back!

*******Thank you NetGalley for an Advanced copy of this title********

After losing her child, Ginger Dysart was lost in grief. But since moving to Thunder Point, a small town on the Oregon coast, Ginger is finally moving forward. Her job at the flower shop is peaceful and fulfilling, and she's excited to be assisting with the Lacoumette wedding. 

In spite of her lasting heartache, Ginger is swept up in the pleasure of the occasion. But the beauty of the Lacoumette farm and the joy of the gregarious family are ruined by an unfortunate encounter with the bride's brother, Matt. Struggling with painful memories of his own, Matt makes a drunken spectacle of himself when he tries to make a pass at Ginger, forcing her to flee the scene in embarrassment. 

But when Matt shows up at the flower shop determined to make amends, what started out as a humiliating first meeting blossoms into something much deeper than either of them expected. Everyone around them worries that Ginger will end up with a broken heart yet again. But if Ginger has the courage to embrace the future, and if Matt can finally learn to let go of the past, there may still be hope for a happy ending.

We met Ginger during the last book, where she came to live with Ray Ann after the death of her child. Her parents felt like she was spiraling downwards and thought some time away would help. Grace hired Ginger to help in the flower shop, which turned out to be exactly what Ginger needed.

Since moving to Thunder Point, Ginger has finally learned to cope with her grief and start to live again. She loves working in the flower shop and learns new things every day. Her encounter with Peyton's brother aside, she has a great time at the Lacoumette wedding. Afterwards, Matt comes to apologize and they start seeing each other; as friends. But they both know that they feel much more for each other.

Neither really feel like they can let go of the past to make a future together. Matt has deeply guarded secrets about his marriage that he doesn't want anyone to know. All of his built up anger could eventually push Ginger away. At the same time, Ginger's ex husband, who abandoned her when she was pregnant, comes back and wants to see Grace again, which makes Matt seriously angry.

Of course, since we are reading Robyn Carr, we know that these two will work through their issues. Its what I love about reading contemporary romance like Carr and Mallery. There is always a happy ending. Its always interesting to see how that happy ending will come about and how the main characters deal with the obstacles in their paths.

By now y'all should know that I wasn't particularly thrilled with the first few books in this series. I am happy to say that they certainly got much, much better.  Anyways, go forth and read, my friends :)

Nalini Singh and the Psy-Changelings ... Why did I wait?!

For years my friend Errick has yelled at me for not reading this series. A year ago, I read the first, I liked it, but it didn't hook me. What was I thinking!

A week ago I sat down with book two, and here I am now almost done with book four. And now I must tell EVERYONE to read this awesome series.

The first book is Slave to Sensation. Here's the book description, because y'all know I really suck at descriptions:
In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of “rehabilitation”—the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was…Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion—and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities—or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation…

So in less than two weeks, I have zipped through from number 2, to number 11. I can't put these books down.  So first we have the Psy, an enhanced human race. They have psychic abilities that range from teleportation, telekinesis,  medical professionals, tech geniuses, etc. A hundred years ago, the Psy instituted Silence. Violence among the Psy is a thousand times worse because of their abilities, and they believed the root of violence was emotion. Silence is a process that removes emotion from the Psy, so they are pretty cold hearted and technical about everything. Two people will have a child, but there's no intimacy, its all laboratory done. And the child is given up pretty early to whatever training he or she will be doing the rest of their lives. 

Second, we have changelings. Shapeshifters if you will. They are tight knit family groups who will do anything for each other. I want to be a changeling!
Third, there are humans, who just keep on living and doing what they are doing, among the world of the Psy and the Changelings. 

This has truly been a fascinating series. The Psy are all linked by what is called the PsyNet. Every piece of information is on the PsyNet and the Net itself is a sentient being, acting sometimes like an adolescent. Its part sci-fi, and mostly romance. I only have about 3 1/2 books before I am caught up, a new one was just released a few weeks ago. Not sure what I will do after that!