THEY SAY LOVE IS BLIND by Pepper Pace

Description: When plus-sized Tory meets blind Floresian hottie, Lee, on the bus, she has no idea that she’s in for the romance of a lifetime. The Good: Ms. Pace has created yet another compelling couple in Lee and Tory. Loved the details of Lee’s day-to-day life as a blind man, and especially loved learning about Flores, an island country I had never heard of before reading this book. I appreciated that they were both insecure about things the other didn’t mind, size for Tory, sight for Lee. Lee is an excellent hero, and his big family really makes this lovable story shine. The Bad: The main characters fall in love very quickly, which rings false, considering how insecure they are. Also, the story treads water for a bit in the middle. The...

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE by Celeste Anwar

Description: When sassy Kaeli collides with Cajun Lycan, Navarre Lyssandro, it’s chemistry at first sight. If they can survive the vampires who are out to get Navarre, they just might make it work. The Good: Really good action scenes. Kaeli was very sassy and Navarre was very sexy with clever claws that extended (kind of like Wolverine’s). Also, gotta love a Cajun accent. The Bad: Though I liked the characters, there was no time to get to know or care about them. And though the story has really good bones, it was clumsily executed. It felt like getting an outline as opposed to a fully fleshed out short. Also, see the Editing section. The Naughty: Steamy. Explicit language. Editing issues: Weird indents in places. Incorrect capitalization in places....

BABY GIRL AND THE MEAN BOSS by Pepper Pace

Description: Nicole–Baby Girl to her co-workers, even though she’s not that young–barely manages to put up with her grumpy boss, Marty. That is, until she gets into a terrible car accident and he unexpectedly comes through. Could this be a case of mistaken intentions, or is Nicole’s mean boss the perfect guy for her? The Good: This book is a highly romantic read, with one of my favorite tropes, damaged people–in this case literally and figuratively–finding healing in each other. I love that the heroine and the hero get to see each other at their worst, and Ms. Pace does a great job of illuminating the vulnerable people under their hard shells. There’s also a nice emotional mystery running through the story. You’ll...

WORTH THE PRICE (Hart’s Fall, Montana) by Delilah Hunt

Description: With her father facing possible bankruptcy, Danika turns to his worst enemy, Brandon Sharpe, for help. Brandon agrees to help her, but under one condition. She must become his wife! The Good: I love, love, love, blackmail marriage stories, and I love Ms. Hunt’s writing, so this was a good combination for me. I’m also a sucker for a hero who isn’t traditionally handsome. Brandon is not only tortured and vulnerable, he also has both emotional and physical scars. Sexy! Sexy! Also, there’s a very intriguing B story with Danika’s best friend that will definitely bring me back for the next installment of the Hart’s Fall, Montana series. The Bad: The story starts off strong, but falters when Ms. Hunt runs into a rather...

BRUSH STROKES by Dee Carney

Description: Tanya, a blocked artist, turns to her hot model, Joe, to help unlock her painting — and perhaps  her heart. The Good: I really got a kick out of reading about an artist as the main female character, and their first encounter was very hot. There was also an instance of sophisticated juxtaposition, when a literal fire raged as the H/H argued. Love the cover! The Bad: I was left with a few unanswered questions, most of which concerned Joe, the thinly drawn beta hero, who never did manage to reach three-dimensional status.There were also lots of unnecessary details, which made for chunks of clumsy exposition. The Naughty: Steamy. Hand job.  Editing issues: One incident of head hopping. Awkward grammar in places. Weird word choices. Publisher: Black...