Review – The Rivals by Vi Keeland

Title: The Rivals
Author: Vi Keeland
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 13, 2020

The feud between Weston Lockwood and me started at the altar.
Only neither of us attended the wedding, and the nuptials happened decades before either of us was born.
Our grandfathers had been best friends and business partners, at least up until my grandfather’s wedding day—when his bride-to-be blurted out she couldn’t marry him because she was also in love with Weston‘s grandfather.
The two men spent years fighting over Grace Copeland, who also happened to be their third business partner.  But in the end, neither man could steal half of her heart away from the other.
Eventually, they all went their separate ways.  Our grandfathers married other women, and the two men became one of the biggest business rivals in history.
Our fathers continued the family tradition of feuding.  And then Weston and I did, too.
For the most part, we kept as much distance as possible.
Until the day the woman who started the feud died—and unexpectedly left one of the most valuable hotels in the world to our grandfathers to share.
Now I’m stuck in a hotel with the man I was born to hate, trying to unravel the mess our families inherited.
As usual, it didn’t take long for us to be at each other’s throats.
Weston Lockwood was everything I hated: tall, smart, cocky, and too gorgeous for his own good.  We were fire and ice.
But that shouldn’t be an issue. Our families were used to being at war. There was just one minor problem, though.   Every time Weston and I fought, we somehow wound up in bed.

 

Purchase Links

BFF K’s Review of The Rivals

I LOVE this story! It’s enthralling, emotional and super steamy. I started the book during an afternoon car trip and just couldn’t put it down. I finished at 3am a lot tired, but so so happy!

Weston and Sophia are bitter enemies and every time they fight the sparks ignite. The banter is witty and spot on and both of the characters are so endearing. You’ll want the best for them both and that’s definitely each other. The hotel setting is unique and creates the perfect backdrop and setting for the characters to come to life.

The enemies to lovers storyline is captivating, it’s full of tension and angst. You’ll understand the push and pull but just want them to get to the HEA. And the HEA definitely delivers.

I’m certain it will be one of my BEST reads of the year. The Rivals is a book that you should DEFINITELY add to your TBR!

An advance copy of this book was received. Receipt of this copy did not impact the content or independence of this review.

 

About the Author

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
Author Links

Other Books by Vi Keeland

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GOOGLE PLAY / AUDIOBOOK
PAPERBACK

 

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PAPERBACK

 

 

New Release – The Rivals by Vi Keeland

 

Title: The Rivals
Author: Vi Keeland
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 13, 2020
The feud between Weston Lockwood and me started at the altar.
Only neither of us attended the wedding, and the nuptials happened decades before either of us
was born.
Our grandfathers had been best friends and business partners, at least up until my grandfather’s
wedding day—when his bride-to-be blurted out she couldn’t marry him because she was also in love
with Weston‘s grandfather.
The two men spent years fighting over Grace Copeland, who also happened to be their third
business partner. But in the end, neither man could steal half of her heart away from the other.
Eventually, they all went their separate ways. Our grandfathers married other women, and the two
men became one of the biggest business rivals in history.
Our fathers continued the family tradition of feuding. And then Weston and I did, too.
For the most part, we kept as much distance as possible.
Until the day the woman who started the feud died—and unexpectedly left one of the most valuable
hotels in the world to our grandfathers to share.
Now I’m stuck in a hotel with the man I was born to hate, trying to unravel the mess our families
inherited.
As usual, it didn’t take long for us to be at each other’s throats.
Weston Lockwood was everything I hated: tall, smart, cocky, and too gorgeous for his own good.
We were fire and ice.
But that shouldn’t be an issue. Our families were used to being at war. There was just one minor
problem, though. Every time Weston and I fought, we somehow wound up in bed.

 

Purchase Links

 

About the Author

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
Author Links

Other Books by Vi Keeland

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / APPLE BOOKS
GOOGLE PLAY / AUDIOBOOK
PAPERBACK

 

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / APPLE BOOKS
GOOGLE PLAY / AUDIOBOOK
PAPERBACK

 

 

 

Review – American Royals by Katharine McGee

New York Times Best Seller

What if America had a royal family? If you can’t get enough of Harry and Meghan or Kate and William, meet American princesses Beatrice and Samantha. Crazy Rich Asians meets The Crown.

Perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and The Royal We!

Two princesses vying for the ultimate crown. Two girls vying for the prince’s heart. This is the story of the American royals.

When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne. Like most royal families, the Washingtons have an heir and a spare. A future monarch and a backup battery. Each child knows exactly what is expected of them. But these aren’t just any royals. They’re American.

As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America’s first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling. Nobody cares about the spare except when she’s breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn’t care much about anything, either…except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her. And then there’s Samantha’s twin, Prince Jefferson. If he’d been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince…but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.

The duty. The intrigue. The Crown.

New York Times best-selling author Katharine McGee imagines an alternate version of the modern world, one where the glittering age of monarchies has not yet faded – and where love is still powerful enough to change the course of history.

“The lives of the American royal family will hook you in the very first pages and never let go. Relatable, believable, fantastical, aspirational, and completely addictive.” (Sara Shepard, number one New York Times best-selling author of the Pretty Little Liars and Perfectionists series)

ORDER Audible, Kindle, Paperback or Hardback from Amazon

 

BFF K’s Review of American Royals

I just finished this amazing book, it’s Independence Day and Hamilton released on Disney+. I’ve been thinking about America and how different things could have been.

American Royals is one of the most interesting, inventive and enthralling books that I’ve read in a long time! It mixes multiple POV’s in a story that centers around the premise that America is ruled by a monarchy. It’s fun and fascinating. There are intrigues, scandals, heroes, heroines, and secrets. So many secrets. This is a YA book, so it’s full of butterfly-inducing romance, but it’s all fade to black.

For me, the mark of a really good book is just how obsessed I become with it. And, I’m officially obsessed with American Royals! I immediately went searching for information about the next book in the series. I can’t stop thinking about these characters and this story line! The last chapter of this book is stunning and so vividly written I dreamed about it last night. OBSESSED I tell you!

I listened to the audiobook on Audible and the narration is spot-on in tone and timing! Be prepared to expend a fair amount of mental energy just thinking about this book and these characters. American Royals is your perfect summer read!

Pre-Order Majesty on Amazon

Releases September 1, 2020

 

About the Author

Review – The Last Wingman by Daisy Prescott

Today is the day! The Last Wingman is LIVE on all platforms and it’s everything we hoped it would be!

 

Jonah Kingston is the last wingman standing.

June Moxee doesn’t care if he’s the last man on earth.

I haven’t exactly avoided relationships, but love has never been a priority. Solitude doesn’t bother me and being alone doesn’t mean being lonely. Until she moved to the island and I had to reconsider everything.

June seems content running her yarn shop, knitting with the local church ladies, and avoiding me. She’s a temptress in a handknit sweater. And for some reason, she’s not a fan of mine. It might be the tattoos. Or the beard. Or the fact that we’re polar opposites.

A woman has finally caught my attention. Too bad she thinks she hates me.

Good thing I’m stubborn enough to try to change her mind.

The Last Wingman is the sixth standalone, lighthearted small town romance in the Wingmen series. You do not have to read the previous books first to enjoy this book.

BUY THE LAST WINGMAN today!

 

Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

 

BFF K’s Review of The Last Wingman

Jonah and June are just the best. They’re #relationshipgoals. They are gentle and kind and perfect for each other and their journey to come together is everything I want to read in a romance novel! The Last Wingman is a leisurely walk down lover’s lane to arrive at one of the sweetest, brightest, truest, happily-ever-afters I’ve ever read! Jonah is a nerd covered in tattoos and piercings. He’s the poster boy for “Don’t Judge a Book by It’s Cover.” And, he’s just what June needs most.

Because this is the final book in the Wingman Series, this book also gave me some tears. Not that this story is sad, it’s not at all! But, I will miss John, Tom, Dan, Jonah and the Kelso brothers! They’ve been such a welcome and wonderful part of my reading and blogging journey over the last few years. While I will miss them terribly, the beauty of books is that they will always be there for me, just as they are, when I want to go back for a visit. And, isn’t that part of what’s wonderful about books? We can read, relate to and love these characters. It is like we build our own relationship with each of them particularly in a really wonderful series that builds such a strong sense of place and the vibe of a whole island and its’ people.

The Last Wingman is receiving a rare 6-Rating on BFF Book Blog because it completely illustrates everything that I have loved about this series. It is warm, cozy, heart-felt, full of friendship, quirks and incredible characters. It will have a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf. If you haven’t read The Wingmen Series, now is the time to start. Spend some time in Whidbey with the Wingmen and their lady loves. You won’t regret a minute of your stay! Godspeed to my fictional friends.

An advance copy of this book was received. Receipt of this copy did not impact the content or independence of this review.

 

 

About the Author

Daisy Prescott is a USA Today bestselling author of small town romantic comedies. Series include Modern Love Stories, Wingmen, Love with Altitude, as well as the Bewitched and Wicked Society series of magical novellas. Tinfoil Heart is a romantic comedy standalone set in Roswell, New Mexico.

Daisy currently lives in a real life Stars Hollow in the Boston suburbs with her husband, their rescue dog Mulder, and an indeterminate number of imaginary house goats. When not writing, she can be found in the garden, traveling to satiate her wanderlust, lost in a good book, or on social media, usually talking about books, bearded men, and sloths.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub

 

 

 

Review – Trailer Park Heart by Rachel Higginson

Trailer park born and raised. It’s my legacy. That’s how my mama lived. And that’s how her mama lived. It’s the life I was born into and it’s the life I swore I would leave the second I was old enough to make it out.

Only legacies have a funny way of sneaking up on you. An innocent decision the night of high school graduation led to a series of complications in my plans to escape.

Seven years later, I’ve resigned myself to this small town and the roots I’m tied to. Nothing could make me leave. And nothing could make me spill the secrets that keep me here.

Until he walks back into town with a chip on his shoulder and a stupid hunch nobody else in town has been smart enough to follow.

Levi Cole is my opposite. Born on the right side of the tracks with family money to spare, he’s the kind of black sheep that can afford to be rebellious—because his family will always pay for his mistakes. He’s also the only living heir to Cole Family Farms, after his brother Logan was killed in duty seven years ago.

He sees something in my life that he thinks he has a right to. But he’s wrong. And obnoxious. And he needs to take his stubborn good looks and that intense way he looks at me and go back to wherever it was he came from.

I know better than to trust men like him. I was born and raised in a trailer park, I know nothing good happens to girls like me—girls with trailer park lives and trailer park hearts. Especially from gorgeous, kind, pigheaded men like him.

 

Buy Trailer Park Heart today!

Amazon      Barnes & Noble      iBooks

BFF K’s Review of Trailer Park Heart

Last night I finished a book that won’t stop bouncing around in my brain. It is the best book I’ve read in 2018 and that’s saying something….I’ve read 90+ books this year. This book is sweet and tender, full of angst and emotion, heartbreaking and soul affirming, complex and beautifully written. I want everyone to read this book.

Part of the reason that I’m so in love with this story is that it is set in Nebraska. I understand the critical role that small-town-Nebraska plays in this story. There is a level of poverty that exists alongside material wealth that is staggering. There can be a tremendous sense of hometown pride mixed with a clear desire to move beyond what you’ve always known. Nebraska is its own character in this book and I love it!

Ruby is a perplexing character. She is strong and fierce at the same time that she is insecure and withdrawn. She can’t shake the aura of trailer park that follows her everywhere. Ruby knows that no one looks past her former-stripper-mother and the poverty in which she was raised. She believes that her upbringing defines her in the eyes of the small town residents and busy bodies. Her only goal is to get out, go to college, move on. But her plans are derailed on graduation night. The emotional barriers she has built continue to rise.

Levi was Ruby’s nemesis in high school. Constantly in her orbit. Prodding and poking and urging her on. He was both friend and foe. And now he’s back. And he’s even more than he was before. He’s smarter and more persistent, more handsome, more clever and more irresistible. Levi has his sights set on Ruby and showing her that there is more to life and Clark City than she believes. Until he learns her most closely guarded secret. Will it destroy the way that he looks at her?

Perhaps Ruby didn’t understand Levi and his motivations as much as she thought. Or, perhaps she was attempting to protect herself. Maybe, just maybe, Ruby’s walls and defenses extend beyond just Levi. His return makes her question everything she’s believed about her life. Maybe someone can love her because of her trailer park heart and not in spite of it?

This book is just everything. Like Levi, it is just MORE. It is a stunning, emotional, fulfilling story that you need to read. It will make you think and force you to feel and in the end it will just live in a corner of your brain with a piece of your heart, trailer park included.

An advance copy of this book was received. Receipt of this copy did not impact the content or independence of this review.

 

Excerpt from Trailer Park Heart

He stared at me, unspeaking, unmoving. The hurt in his eyes and the frown on his face devastated my already broken spirit.

“And I don’t even know what to tell you,” I cried some more. “Because my mistake led me to Max and for that reason I can never really regret it. But I hate how I hurt you. I hate that my mistakes meant pushing you away. I hate that I finally know how I feel about you and it’s too late.”

His eyes flashed with something so intense I gasped for breath. “How do you feel about me?” How could he ask me that now? How did he not know? How had he not always known? “Don’t make me say it,” I whispered, my voice dragged over gravel. “It hurts too much.” “Ruby,” he pleaded, his voice just as fragmented. “Say it. Please.”

I didn’t bother brushing away the tears, there were too many of them, my grief was too heavy. “I love you,” I whispered. “I’ve always loved you. I’ve just been too afraid to say it.”

To admit it.

 

About the Author

Rachel Higginson is the best-selling author of The Opposite of You, The Five Stages of Falling in Love, Every Wrong Reason, Bet on Us and The Star-Crossed Series.

She was born and raised in Nebraska, and spent her college years traveling the world. She fell in love with Eastern Europe, Paris, Indian Food and the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka, but came back home to marry her high school sweetheart. Now she spends her days writing stories and raising five amazing kids.

 

 

You can visit Rachel:
Instagram @mywritesdntbite
rachelhigginson.com
facebook.com/rachelhigginsonauthor
Twitter @mywritesdntbite

 

Review – The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

City girl Calla Fletcher attempts to reconnect with her estranged father, and unwittingly finds herself torn between her desire to return to the bustle of Toronto and a budding relationship with a rugged Alaskan pilot in this masterful new romance from acclaimed author K.A. Tucker.

Calla Fletcher was two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when her father reaches out to inform her that his days are numbered, Calla knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.

She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this new subarctic environment, Jonah—the quiet, brooding, and proud Alaskan pilot who keeps her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.

Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. As time passes, she unexpectedly finds herself forming a bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago.

It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.

 

The Simple Wild Buy Links

Amazon    iBooks    B&N     Indigo    BAM    Kobo     Other
Audible    iTunes    Play    Audiobook

BFF K’s Review of The Simple Wild

Here’s a little something different for my review of The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker! I was invited to appear on an episode of All About Books on our local public radio station! How much fun is that? The interview included a review of one of my favorite books of 2018! If you have a few minutes, take a listen and learn all about The Simple Wild and why I absolutely LOVE this story!

I began by listening to this book on Audible, but loved it so much I also purchased the Kindle copy so I could finish reading it and highlighting my favorite parts. The story is beautiful and you’ll love it no matter how you read it.

Listen to it here on the blog or go directly to the NET All About Books Archives!

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.

She is the USA Today bestselling author of 17 books, including the Causal Enchantment, Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, and The Simple Wild. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, First for Women, and Publisher’s Weekly. She has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance 2013 for TEN TINY BREATHS and Best Romance 2018 for THE SIMPLE WILD. KEEP HER SAFE made Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2018 list for Romantic Suspense. Her novels have been translated into 16 languages.

K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her family.

Keep up with K.A. on all platforms:

Website ➜ http://www.katuckerbooks.com/
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