Sometimes a book has problematic elements, but it’s written so well that you turn a blind eye. Is that right? Probably not. Yet, when I’m in the flow of a good story, there is little that will stop me from pressing onward. I’ll tell you the great things about this story, but I’m going to throw in a few things that would have given me pause if the writing wasn’t great. I’ll start with the chemistry. Olive and Adam have a great connection that carries beyond any sexual tension. As much as Adam is considered a harsh taskmaster in their university department, it’s obvious he has a great heart. When it comes to Olive, Adam also has a soft touch. Olive has friends, but she’s used to being on her own and doing things for herself. There’s something about Adam that makes her feel safe to let her guard down and open up. One of the issues with this story is the way Olive basically assaults Adam by kissing him without consent. I mean, they aren’t even acquaintances. She just grabs him and lays one on him. For his part, Adam doesn’t let this slide. He talks about reporting her and bringing up a Title IX suit against her, but as the story progresses, it’s clear that it’s because he secretly likes her and feels used. Then, throughout the book, the Title IX thing is used as a sort of joke. This book was not published long enough ago for this to be something anyone should be joking about. As I said earlier, the way this story flowed and the wonderful way the author writes had me dismissing these things at the time. Looking back to write my review, I was flabbergasted that it didn’t bother me more. Back to the story. Sure, some things happened due to “romance reasons”, but I’m okay with that. The ending did get a little bit away from the author, getting more complicated than it had to be. I was okay with that, too. I was fully immersed in this story and these characters, even when they were making some dumb decisions. This is my first full-length Ali Hazelwood book. I decided to finally give her a try after reading her short story Cruel Winter with You, and I’m glad I did.

This is a new-to-me author, and I’ll definitely be reading more from him. This book felt like a warm hug. Not that there aren’t problems and some angst, but Ethan and Taylor are such lovable and kind characters that I couldn’t get enough. I love that these characters have been emailing for three years (Taylor is Ethan’s ex-wife’s assistant) but never met in person. Because of the nature of their relationship, neither thought too highly of the other. Ethan thought Taylor would be frigid and boring, and Taylor thought Ethan would be stubborn and rude. Not only are they both wrong, but they also feel an instant connection once they finally meet face to face. Yet, neither of them wants that connection. It would be nothing but a complication to act on their chemistry. It may be a challenge for them, but it’s a joy for the reader! Taylor and Ethan are both caregivers. They thrive at taking care of others in different ways. When they are put together, those differences complement one another. They’re great at helping others, but not so great at speaking up for what they want and need. That makes the growth of their relationship much harder than it has to be, yet the relationship still grows because of the strength of their chemistry. These two are meant to be. It was hard for me to see Amy, Ethan’s ex and Taylor’s boss, the way they saw her. Frankly, I didn’t like her. I knew a lot of the issue was her being too in her own head, and she has a bit of a redemption toward the end, but she was quite selfish and was always the foil to the natural progression of the relationship between this couple. I appreciate that Taylor and Ethan got their HEA, even though it took some time. True love is worth fighting for, and it’s also worth waiting for. **I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.**

I love North so much, so it pains me to admit that this was not a favorite. Sawyer Bennett is a go-to author for me, often getting me out of reading slumps, so it also pains me to say I think Farren is underdeveloped. There was a lot of telling and not showing when it came to that character. That means that while I liked North and Farren as a couple and absolutely believe they are meant for each other, I wasn’t feeling that they were meant for each other. Something I have come to expect from this author is feeling the chemistry. The book was over halfway through before Farren admitted that she is aimless. For the whole first half of the book, I couldn’t get a bead on if she was selfish, had anxiety issues, was unmotivated, or some other issues were holding her back from living her life once she showed up in Pittsburgh. Let me be clear, the things Farren is holding onto from her past that have shaped her romantic life are not what I’m talking about. I appreciate the author showing that something that seems like a tiny blip to one person may cause lifelong trauma for another person. I’m talking about Farren’s lack of a job and seeming to do nothing about not having a job while living off her brother’s kindness. It made it hard for me to connect with the character. Again, I do believe North and Farren are meant for each other. He can be laid back when it’s needed, but also has a way of pushing Farren without it feeling like he’s pressuring her. I enjoyed seeing her learn to trust. And I absolutely love how much of a cinnamon roll North ended up being. We’re gearing up for Penn’s story and I found myself more invested in the tidbits on Penn’s past than on the North/Farren story. That’s a problem. So while I enjoyed this story, it wasn’t necessarily the couple that it focuses on that kept me engaged.

It has been a couple of years since I’ve read a Nicole Helm book, and over 5 years since I’ve read one of her full-length novels. I always enjoyed this author, so I grabbed the opportunity for an ARC of this book when it was presented to me. While I did read the blurb, I did not pay enough attention to realize this is a straight-up mystery, not a romantic suspense as I had expected. To be fair to me, the blurb and the author had me believing this book would be a Romance. To be fair to the author and the publisher, nobody ever told me it was a Romance. While this story starts off with Sam and Nate, it is no more their story as it is also the story of Nate’s brothers, Cal and Landon, as well as their neighbor Jill and farmhand Aly. There are many players in this story. The storyline of the brothers finding equal footing and airing their grievances so they could figure out what was happening was the best part of this book. It shows how people view incidents in different ways, especially when they are of different ages, even when they are from the same family and raised with the same parents. The things these men repressed or ignored in their lives were heartbreaking, but they were able to build a stronger relationship when all was said and done. When it comes to Nate’s story, it just didn’t make sense to me. This boy ran away days after his mother’s murder and funeral and was never to be found again until 15 years later. Although multiple people stated they looked for him diligently, he somehow had joined the service when he was of age and never changed his name. I kept getting caught up in that, and other things about his time between running away and being in the military, that were kept blank or fuzzy. I know I should have chalked it up to storyline reasons and let it go, but it seemed like it should have been a bigger deal than it was. An actual child ran away after his mother was murdered, yet his father was never a suspect in the murder or questioned about where his child went? Anyway, I don’t read a lot of mysteries, so it’s hard for me to judge this one. I can only say what my experience with the story was. The mystery itself was interesting, and how things play out in the end wasn’t expected. There are things that weren’t followed up on, but this is part of a series so I’m unsure if that was purposeful; if these same characters are going to be the focus of the overall series. Because there were six characters, none of them felt fully fleshed out. They weren’t hollow, by any means. Yet there was so much missing to help me connect to them. While I’d love to learn more about them, I most likely won’t read any more of these particular books. My rating of this book takes into account that I was expecting a Romance and didn’t get one, so I bumped my rating up a bit. **I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

This story starts a series that is a spin-off of the Sworn Navy SEALs series. While I don’t think you have to read that series to enjoy this book, for those who have, this story starts during what would be book 3 in that other series. When Iron goes to help some friends get a relative out of a bad situation. There are a lot of potential triggers in this book, so please check for content warnings before proceeding. Not only was Viv’s diet restricted by her parents for her social media, but it turns out they had been doing it all her life. They are horrible people in so many ways, it’s a wonder Viv (and her sister Hannah) turned out to be such wonderful human beings. Iron has also had his demons. His issues are more internal, with him having to find a way to grapple with his military experiences; losing friends, losing a leg, survivor’s guilt, pain management, etc. As for the story, I greatly enjoyed the relationship between Iron and Viv. While they both have hangups of not being “good enough” for the other and not wanting to hold the other back, they are actually perfect for each other. Iron helps Viv to gain the confidence to spread her wings. He never oversteps or tries to steer her, he lets her lead the way. This is something she’s never before experienced. Viv helps Iron to see that he is worthy of friendship, love, and respect. She encourages him to open himself back up and allow his loved ones to support him. With as intense as the beginning of this book was, and the potential threats to Viv, the second half was surprisingly chill. There was a comfort to watching Viv grow and this pair find their rhythm. I did not anticipate enjoying that downtime so much, but I did. Although once the danger returned, I found it to be a bit anticlimactic. **I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

This story didn’t hit in the same way as the first book in the series did, but it was still good. I’ll warn you, it took a lot for me to get beyond the first chapter because the MMC was overbearing. This was published 10 years ago, and it shows. When Stephen and Hannah meet at a grocery store, he crowds her, blocks her from her car, and generally makes a nuisance of himself. He’s a walking red flag! He also, internally in the beginning, thinks about how he has been compared to the DT and loves the comparison. Ick!!! I pushed through the first chapter and was glad. Stephen turns out to be wonderful. Unfortunately, he keeps something big from Hannah. It’s understandable at first, but once he got to know her better he should have told her. And you know I’m not a fan of the “big secret.” With that secret, you can see the third-act breakup coming from a mile away. But there is a bit of a twist I wasn’t expecting that led to the breakup. Both of the main characters have heavy baggage, both are traumatic. I didn’t need the nitty gritty of each story, but I felt like Hannah’s experience wasn’t fully fleshed out. I guess the why and how didn’t matter in the long run, but the why is something she seemed to beat herself up about. So while I didn’t feel this book was quite as good as the first, it was still great. The chemistry was spot on, and the softer side of Stephen was a joy to see. Hannah has almost as big a family as Stephen and I was happy to see they have their own series.

Although there was a short novella since the Kurjans were defeated in Warrior’s Hope, it’s been a year and a half since that full-length book. It took my brain a minute to catch up to the story. Especially since the Kurjans were always seen as the bad guys (other than Vero). Now, we have Paxton as their king and Vero as his right-hand man, trying to ally his people with the rest of the Realm. I’ll admit it took me a minute to get into the adult, alpha, protector Vero. He was so etched in my brain as the more timid young man who tried to help Hope and her friends when they were young. I know he’s been shown as a grown-up, just not so prominently. So I had to get little Vero out of my brain and let this Vero take charge. There was a lot going on in this story. Not only is Vero worried about uniting the Kurjans under Paxton, there are also dead bodies popping up all over their land. There’s no telling who to trust, as not everyone is onboard with Pax being king or letting the humans go free. Then there’s Lyrica. A thorn in his side that he can’t stop thinking about. Lyrica has such a huge heart. She just wants to do right by the other human women, whether they were recently kidnapped by the bad Kurjans or have been mated to a Kurjan for centuries. The problem is that Lyrica has a hard time thinking outside the box. She knows how much she loves her freedom and autonomy and can’t understand why anyone would feel differently. This causes more than one tense situation with the Kurjan soldiers, and is a big bone of contention between her and Vero. I’m glad Lyrica didn’t back down when it came to things she felt were important. Sometimes she was proven wrong, but she wasn’t cowed by Vero or Pax. She slogged on with what she believed in until she could tangibly see it was the wrong course of action. And she also helped Vero find his softer side. He was such a kind child, but so much had been taken away from him through the years. Vero had hardened his heart to anything other than helping and protecting his people. These two were as fantastic a couple as I had hoped they would be. As always, the author sprinkles moments of humor to help break up the tension in this series. There are so many people I still want to see get their HEA, yet I’m unsure who the enemy is going to be when so many different factions have been brokering peace deals. I’m sure the author will think of something; she always does. **Full disclosure: I received an ARC of this book the day before it was released, but I had already preordered the book and hadn’t seen the email until after the publication date. What I’m saying is, I would have read this book regardless of receiving an ARC or not. As always, my opinions are my own and given freely.**