February 2022 – My Sanctuary

Book Review – Protecting The Desert Princess By Carol Marinelli

Synopsis

Seven days without her crown!

Princess Layla of Ishla craves just one week outside the gilded cage of her palace. A chance to try absolutely everything that is forbidden!

1. Sharing a romantic dinner

2. Dancing the night away

3. Kissing a gorgeous man…

The only exception? She must remain pure for her future husband! When she arrives in Australia, she finds there’s only one man who can help her fulfill this dream….

Revered yet feared, Mikael Romanov has earned his ruthless legal reputation, yet spirited Layla quickly gets beneath his skin. Mikael’s sworn to protect her, but can he protect Layla from himself?

Published Date: 21 October 2014

My Review

Layla has been protected all her life in her castle by her father. Being able to go see the outside world is something that she dream of doing. And the opportunity arises when her father allow her to accompany her brother and sister in law to Australia. She has it all plan. She leave the hotel that they booked in and seek the help of Mikael to prevent her brother to go after her and allow her to stay and do what she have planned. Mikael, taken aback by the request and relented when he saw just how desperate she was. Mikael, took her into his stride and introduce to her (on her own instigation) things that in her bucket list. During the course, Layla found herself to be attracted to him but Mikael knows that there are both from a different world and there is no way that they can be together.

It is a fun story of a princess that keen to see the world and prepared months before her outing to runaway as soon as she arrive her destination in order for her to experience her freedom eventhough it is temporary. I admired her courage for the action that she undertakes though it was rather irresponsible in her part. I also love her naivety and her absolutely clueless of the reality world that makes the story fun to read.

My Rating

Book Review – To Defy A Sheikh By Maisey Yates

Synopsis

Princess Samarah Al-Azem knows you cannot rush revenge. Having bided her time, she’s finally ready to bring down Ferran, her kingdom’s enemy and the man who took everything from her. In the still of night, she lies in wait in his bedchamber….

It isn’t the first time Sheikh Ferran has found himself at the edge of an assassin’s blade…but never has it been wielded by such a beautiful assailant. Soon he has her at his mercy—something he’s wanted for years!

Now Samarah must decide: imprisonment in a cell…or in diamond shackles as his wife.

Published Date: 21 October 2014

My Review

Samarah attack Sheikh Ferran because he kills her father when she was only a little girl. Obviously, her attempt failed and as a compromise, he demand marriage in exchange of imprisonment to reunite both their nation. Realising that there are other other ways, she reluctantly agreed and as the story progressed, she start to realized just how she was about him and she begin to understand the circumstance leading to the killing of her father. This has also make her begin to love him but Ferran is a broken man and he thought that he is incapable of love.

This is a love story between two persons who are bought being burden by their past history and connection and being weighed down by their responsibility to their nation. I like both Samarah and Ferran for their individuality uniqueness that has to work past their history which somehow seems to be interconnected. In their course of recovery, both of them has help to heal their wound from the past. Overall, it is a sweet romance for me with well developed plot and strong main characters

My Rating

Book Review – A Child’s Christmas By Kate James

Synopsis

Single mother Paige Summerville wants to give her seven-year-old son the Christmas of his dreams. Jason needs surgery to beat the illness that’s plagued his young life, leaving Paige desperate to make ends meet. So she turns to a charity that grants the wishes of sick children . . .

Then a stranger arrives bearing gifts for Jason—and for her. He’s Daniel Kinsley, a lawyer who’s grown cynical about family. But his kindness in making Jason’s wishes come true offers him more than he ever imagined. Is there room in Paige’s heart for a man who could fulfill all their dreams? And not just at Christmas!

Published Date: 1 November 2014

My Review

Paige is struggling and is emotional depressed when the cancer is back again in her son’s life. A single mother, She needs money for the operation and have been saving for that. Realising that this would be her child’s last Christmas, she wasnted to make one unforgettable occation for her son. A friend asked her to put his wish with a non profitable organization that helps to fulfill wishes by terminally ill chidlrens. Daniel was asked to help her to fulfill Jason’s wishes. Jason wanted a train set but due to the holiday season, the toy manufacturer unable to make it on time for Jason. It can only be ready in time for Christmas. Trying not to disappoint him, Daniel took the initiative to visit him nand passed the gift to him. He ended up having fun with Jason and has dinner with both Paige and Jason. It was the start of a beautiful relationship between the two persons who only wants the best for Jason.

Both Paige and Daniel is afraid of getting hurt and to take the step for the happily ever after is something that too big a step for them. The author did a good job in writing about the struggles of a mother especially when the child has issues. This story is filled with hope, friendship and love and most suitable in this season of giving.

My Rating

Book Review – A Bravo Christmas Wedding By Christine Rimmer

Synopsis

Love on the Range?

Princess Aurora Bravo-Calabretti is wishing for a mountain man this Christmas! But her most unroyal crush—rancher Walker McKellan—insists that they remain “just friends.” Now he’s her round-the-clock bodyguard while she is the maid of honor at her cousin’s holiday wedding. Rory can’t resist this Colorado cowboy…but she wishes she was walking down the aisle to meet Walker at the altar!

Both the best man to the groom and Rory’s bodyguard, Walker can’t shake his charge. As he begins to see Rory in a different light, a surprise snowstorm strands him with his princess…and sparks ignite into a holiday love affair! Can their Christmas passion blossom into a very Bravo happily-ever-after?

Published Date: 18 November 2014

My Review

Rory doesn’t like to have bodyguards which she have to endured her whole life but given the fact that she is a princess, she could not run away from it even though she is not the heir apparent to the throne. To make matter worse for her, she is attracted to a rancher, Walker who has been employed by her mother to guard her while she is at the ranch attending her cousin’s wedding. Things could not be worse of what Rory is experiencing for Walker because he is too find it too a temptation to be under one roof as Rory. Up to her visit this round, Walker has been keeping their relationship purely business but things are getting harder now when it is difficult to contain his attraction to her. He well known that given the differences in their status and age, they are in two different league altogether.

This is the final book in the series and it tells the story of friendship turned into lover where both Rory and Walker has known each other for a long time and have plenty of history between them. It also means that Walker understand her well. Rory wanted more out of her relationship with Walker but being employed as a bodyguard by her mother, she knows that Walker will not go beyond his boundary his position and its frustrate her. It also showed that she is truly independent and is willing to take fate into her hand. I like the way she tries to convince Walker that she likes normal life and how much she loves his town and trying to convince him that she is nothing like his ex. All these while Walker struggle to maintain his sanity. Overall, It is a fun read for me 😉

My Rating

Book Review – Starting Over At Primrose Woods By Jill Steeples

Synopsis

Abbey Carter should be feeling on top of the world.

She has the home of her dreams – a picturesque cottage just walking distance from her beloved Primrose Woods. She has a job she loves, great friends, and most exciting of all – a wedding dress hanging in her wardrobe ready to be worn. So why does she feel so lonely…

Lizzie Baker loves her job at the Treetops café in Primrose Woods, and she loves being a grandmother even more. If only she could face her fear of flying and see her granddaughter in person rather than on a screen.

Rhianna West is head over heels for her boyfriend Jay. She just wishes he could see her more regularly. His excuses are starting to wear thin, and Rhi’s dreams for the future are beginning to fade.

Can the fun and friendships, the picture-perfect scenery and rolling seasons in Primrose Woods help the women find the happy endings they deserve? After all anything is possible if you dare to dream…

An absolute treat of a book. Let Jill Steeples whisk you away into the beautiful countryside for the perfect feel-good comfort read. Just right for fans of Cathy Bramley, Heidi Swain and Julie Houston

Published Date: 1st February 2022

My Review

The story focus on 3 different women at a different stages of their life. Abbey is planning her wedding to her long time partner, Rhi is excited with her newfound lover and Lizzie is a widow in her late fifties who is about to find her 2nd chance in love.

Abbey, Lizzie and Rhi met each other and become good friends under difficult circumstance make their story really stand out. It highlight the important of friendship and courage to admit and move to overcome own fears. This is a cosy and heartwarming story to read that left me with a happy warm feeling in the end.

My Rating

Book Review – Never Let Me Go By Kianna Alexander

Synopsis

Architect Maxwell Devers is laser-focused on winning the contract to build a new cultural arts center–his biggest project yet. But as a single dad of a beautiful baby girl, he has to find some help if he’s going to stay on track.

Yvonne Markham is thrilled to get her first nanny assignment. She knows the high-paying job will speed her progress toward owning a child care center of her own. Maxwell’s daughter is a delight, and she quickly comes to love the bouncing baby girl. Falling for her handsome new boss, however, was not part of the plan…

Published Date: 23 March 2021

My Review

This is a story of Maxwell who engaged Yvonne as a nanny for his months old baby girl while his ex gf was away on a medical mission. From the start, both Max and Yvonne are attracted to each other and neither of them denying it. Their relationship began to develop really well. Yvonne have a dream to open her own child care nursery. She have been saving for the nursery and she is near to saving enough for down payment. But Max have a different idea of his other half. He didn’t realise that his expectation has been cause of all his past relationship until it is too late.

This is heartwarming read for me. As I read on this book, I couldn’t help smiling away

My Rating

Book Review – The Perfect Match By Anita Lemke

Synopsis

Matchmakers don’t fall in love with their clients… unless they do.

She doesn’t believe in love…

Victoria Medrano is a professional modern-day matchmaker who earns her living by finding suitable husbands for her rich clients’ daughters using a foolproof system – one that takes love out of the equation. Snaring the right clients and establishing a sterling reputation is the career stepping stone she needs to finally earn the kind of money she’s always dreamed of.

… but love can be found in unlikely places.

When her best friend Tonya becomes her client and gets set up with the handsome and charming-when-he-wants-to-be Mark Dunham, Victoria is inexplicably drawn to him. As she suddenly questions her beliefs about love, she has to make a decision. Is it okay to fall in love with your best friend’s perfect match?

Published Date: 11 June 2020

My Review

Victoria is a famous professional matchmaker. She take pride in what she do and she make sure she give the best service to client. When her best friend Tonya asked for her service, she agreed to find one perfect man for her friend… but it turn out that she is attracted to him too. Mark is also looking for a woman to marry in order for him to get the trust money. He needed it for his mother’s treatment. When Victoria appeared into his life and have make clear fo him that she want nothing from him, he would have walk away but he is not. When the relationship between Tonya and Mark getting serious, Victoria questioning herself.

Overall is a good read for me. Love Victoria and her “logical” thinking and the internal conflict with herself. I love the ending of this story very much. Cant help shed some tears at the end too.

My Rating

Book Review – Snow Angel Cove By Raeanne Thayne

Synopsis

Nothing short of a miracle can restore Eliza Hayward’s Christmas cheer. The job she pinned her dreams on has gone up in smoke—literally—and now she’s stuck in an unfamiliar, if breathtaking, small town. Precariously close to being destitute, Eliza needs a helping hand…for her sick young daughter’s sake as well as her own. But she’s not expecting her holiday hero to almost run her down with his car!

Rescuing Eliza is pure instinct for tech genius Aidan Caine. At first, putting the renovation of his lakeside guest lodge in Eliza’s hands assuages his guilt—until he sees how quickly he could fall for her. Having focused solely on his business for years, he never knew that what his life was missing was Eliza and her little girl. But is he willing to risk hoping for a yuletide romance that could lead to forever?

Published Date: 28 October 2014

My Review

Eliza and her daughter, Maddie arrived at Lake Haven in the hope of starting her new job but only to find out that the hotel where she is supposed to work has burnt down leaving her without a job. She have no idea what she will do now. With all these in her mind, she crossed the road with her daughter and Bang! She was knocked down by Aiden who have problem in controlling his car. He feels terrible for her and have offered her a place to stay and upon knowing her predicament, he offered her a position to manage his house since his family is coming over.

I love the story of Aiden and Eliza. Both of them have their own past burden which they continue to carries and though they realised that their feeling for each other, it takes time for them to make acknowledge it. I love the way Eliza helped him in connecting with his family again especially after the tumor scare that he went thru alone. Being alone for so long despite having a big family, it is a totally new feeling that Aiden needs to tackle on his own especially when it comes to Eliza and Maddie. Overall, it is a great holiday read for me.

My Rating

Author Interview – Allie Boniface

Allie was born and raised in a tiny community in upstate New York, which probably explains her fascination with the magic of small town life. She earned her B.A. in English from the University of Rochester in New York and a M.A. in English Literature from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1997, she has enjoyed life in the northern NYC suburbs, where she lives with her husband and teaches English and Education to high school students. In her spare time, she and her husband love to travel. She is also a runner, a musician and an animal–lover.

Allie writes sensual contemporary romance. She reads in all genres and loves chatting with other readers and writers about any topic under the sun. You can find her around the Web, at writers’ conferences, giving workshops, swapping stories, and generally chatting about romance writing. Allie loves stories set in small towns and is a firm believer in the power of love and the emotions that connect us all!

What inspire you to write a book?

Relationships!

Do you write full time? If yes, is it tiring to write day in day out?

No, I’m a fulltime high school teacher, so I mostly write on the weekends or during my time off from school.

Which of the book that the story plot touches you the most and
the hardest for you to let go?

I fall in love with the characters. They are the hardest to let go, which is probably why in this series they always reappear in later books!

Do you read other author’s book specifically from the same industry as you?

Occasionally

Which part of the writing process that you find it hardest to go
thru i.e. from writing to the published book?

Finishing a book when I get stuck halfway through!

Find More About The Author Here:

Webpage

Facebook

Twitter

Book Spotlight : Because Of You (Welcome To Drake Isle) By Allie Boniface

Please share the opening lines of this book

“ Blake Carter stared at State Street from eighteen stories up and wondered how it would feel if he fell.

Cars, trucks, bicyclists and pedestrians filled the Financial District below. He leaned forward, testing the grip of his toes inside his shoes. Would he die before impact? He thought he’d read someplace that anyone falling from a great height was likely to have a heart attack long before their body hit the pavement. But maybe that was just an old wives’ tale. Maybe, instead, he’d stay alive until the very last second, watching the ground rush up at him. His fingers curled. Would he feel the impact? Would he be recognizable after the impact?

Crumpled at his feet lay a letter from Misterion College, inviting him to his ten-year reunion. Delta Eta Chi’s charter would be reinstated, the letter informed him, and its suspension lifted. The board also planned on reopening a satellite campus on Drake Isle. Blake leaned forward until his forehead rested on the glass. He hadn’t thought about Misterion or the island or his fraternity brothers in ages.

Traffic was beginning to slow, but if he fell, he’d still land squarely in a steady stream of commuters. Piper Townsend hadn’t landed in the middle of anyone. No one had witnessed her last seconds, at least not that Blake was aware. She’d been found hours later on the sidewalk outside the Delta Eta Chi house, as the tide rolled in and the earliest rays of sun lit the water. A broken body. A broken railing above her. Broken petals on the flowers beneath her.

And everything that came after had broken Blake, too. That single night, and the days that followed, had almost crippled him.”

Fun fact about the main characters in this book..

Blake and Emmy are college sweethearts who broke up after a tragedy and haven’t seen each other in 10 years. Because of You is all about second chance romance.

In five words, describe the story..

Island romance with powerful angst!

Can you share your favorite the excerpt in this book?

“Okay. Here it is, Em. I love you. I always have. When we broke up after college I was wrecked. Didn’t even want to get out of bed. Didn’t want to do anything except go back in time and change everything that happened. I’ve never been as good a man as when I was with you. Never.”

“And yet you managed to pick yourself up, get engaged, and become CEO of Eastefire. You couldn’t have been that wrecked.”

“You want to know why?”

“Why you became a huge success? Sure, I’d love to.” The sarcasm fell heavy from her tongue.

“After Piper died, my mom made me talk to the family priest. Father Michael. It didn’t help much, to be honest. He kept talking about God and heaven and trusting that better things were waiting for all of us. We just had to believe they were out there.”

She wound a loose curl around one finger. Behind her, the sun rose higher in the sky, lighting her face. “So what happened? You became newly devout and that helped you heal?”

“No. But I did realize that you’re my heaven. You’re my better place, my hope. You always were. If bad things happened, you made them okay. When I lost you, the only thing that kept me going was believing I’d see you again. Maybe in this life, maybe not until the next one, but that’s what got me out of bed each day. Believing that somehow, someday, I’d see you again.”

Reader should read this book..

To escape to an island where romance, love and mystery go hand in hand, and to get lost in the question of what happened to Piper Townsend all those years ago.