Reviewed by Ambrea
Time again for a romance novel round up:
new romance novels to make you fall in love again—or gag from the saccharine
sweetness. I found this batch of romance novels on Tennessee READS simply
by good fortune or, in the case of Sarah Morgan, purely by accident when I
found their work in an ebook bundle.
In Driven to Distraction by
Lori Foster, Mary Daniels is a professional in all aspects of her life.
She acquires rare artifacts and unusual collectibles for her obscenely wealthy
boss, and she keeps her private life as far away from her public persona as
possible. But when she’s forced to hire a new driver as courier, she
meets Brodie Crews, a seemingly rough and rowdy playboy, and she finds her
professionalism—and her heart—is put to the test.
I’ve never read anything by Lori Foster, but
I’ve seen her name pop up quite a bit and I thought it was time I dived into
some of her work. (That, and I’m a sucker for books with muscle
cars.) Driven to Distraction is the first book in
Foster’s “Road to Love” series, which recently published in November
2018. Although it’s just the start of the series, it’s a pretty great
book. I really liked Mary, because she’s feisty, strong, and not about to
take anyone’s crap—least of all Brodie’s; moreover, I really liked Brodie,
because he’s unexpectedly insightful and, as it turns out, he’s a big ol’
marshmallow.
It’s an incredibly steamy romance novel, but
it’s also very sweet and unexpectedly nuanced with enjoyable characters,
compelling relationship building, and (my favorite) a lovable dog.
Some Kind of Wonderful by Sarah Morgan recounts the story of Brittany
Forrest, an archaeologist homebound after an injury, and Zachary Flynn, a
daredevil pilot who has come back to his roots to help his foster father.
Brittany and Zach were married when they were only eighteen—and then their
marriage went up in smoke after only ten days. Now, a decade later,
they’re reconnecting and discovering that time doesn’t heal all wounds.
I found Some Kind of Wonderful rolled
up with The Ladies Man by Susan Mallery and, after losing
interest in Mallery’s novel, I decided to give Morgan’s story a shot. I
really enjoyed reading Some Kind of Wonderful. It’s not
your typical boy-meets-girl romance; rather, boy-meets-girl and then they
divorce and reconnect much later. Their relationship is complicated and
painful and, occasionally, embarrassing, but the rekindling of their romance is
believable and, I think, paced very well. Their rediscovery of each other
feels genuine and sweet.
I’ll admit, it has a bit of a sappy conclusion,
but I enjoyed it immensely and I may or may not have squealed with
delight. It’s the first novel I’ve read by Sarah Morgan, and I can’t wait
to find more.
In The Wager by Rachel Van
Dyken, Char Lynn, a disgraced TV reporter, and Jake Titus, a playboy
billionaire of the first order, reconnect—and not in a good way. Char and
Jake share a best friend, and they’re both included in the wedding, which makes
everything horrible and awkward, especially since Char and Jake already have a
not-so-good history together.
I finished reading The Wager, but
I really didn’t like it as much as I hoped. I liked Jake’s nutty
grandmother and I liked the hijinks that ensue when Grandma Nadine conspires to
get Jake and Char together, but I just really did not like Jake. The book
has some good parts (i.e. Grandma Nadine); however, I just couldn’t get past
the general feelings of meh I had for Jake. He’s rich,
he’s entitled, and he has a chip on his shoulder. He changes too quickly
for the changes to feel believable, and he’s just not very likable at the
beginning or the middle or, dare I say it, the end.
Overall, I felt very ambivalent about the entire
book. I think I just don’t like novels with snotty, entitled billionaires
as the male lead. Money can’t buy happiness—and it can’t make me like you
when you’re a horrible character.
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