January 14, 2025 – My Sanctuary

The Reunion By Beth Reekles

Ten years after graduating, the class of 2014 are back at Tisdale Comprehensive for the reunion, packed into a school gym full of familiar faces—and plenty of new secrets.

MOST LIKELY TO END UP TOGETHER – Shaun and Steph were each other’s first love. Now, they’re settled and planning the perfect wedding— to other people. Could reconnecting spark a new romance?

MOST LIKELY TO BECOME FAMOUS – Bryony was supposed to travel the world, rule the West End, have a dazzling career as a TV actress… Now, she’s a drama teacher who’s exaggerated her whole life on Instagram, and is desperate to save face.

MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED – Hayden was told he’d achieve great things, like be on the cover of TIME, win a Nobel prize… or, the accolade his daughters just awarded him: World’s Best Dad. Is it too late for him to turn things around, and more importantly, does he even want to?

MOST LIKELY TO KILL EACH OTHER – Ashleigh was an A+ student, and Ryan the star of the school rugby team. After years of putting each other down, they left school each convinced they would have the better life. Now, that old rivalry finds them drawn back together in a new, intoxicating way—one they’re both determined to hide.

With an evening of power cuts, fire alarms, sneaking off to explore classrooms in the dark, stolen kisses and heated fights—it’s like they never left at all.

With This Ring By Amy Clipston

Dakota thought she had left her dreams of happily-ever-after behind, along with the pain of a broken engagement to her high school sweetheart, Hudson. Now, as the proud owner of Fairytale Bridal Shop in the picturesque town of Flowering Grove, she’s built a life and a business on helping brides find their perfect dress for their own fairytale weddings. But running a small business is not for the faint of heart, and when her ex-fiancé unexpectedly returns to town with a mission—to put a stop to his sister’s wedding—Dakota’s problems go from bad to worse.

Hudson Garrity should be living his dream. After selling his software company, he’s single, handsome, and rich, but an unexpected call from his baby sister has him flying down to his hometown, determined to protect Layla from yet another big mistake. Though he’s single-minded in his effort to derail the nuptials, he instead finds himself thrown into family chaos and roped into helping his sister with her plans . . . bringing him once more into contact with Dakota Jamison, the one who got away.

For Hudson, coming home means revisiting his painful childhood, repairing a strained relationship with his sister, and coming face-to-face with the woman he never stopped loving. For Dakota, it means confronting the tender memories she buried deep within her heart. As Layla’s wedding date draws close, the two reunited lovers begin to question if what went wrong between them really happened the way they remembered it at all. Will they continue believing the lies they’ve told themselves, or will they remain forever entangled in the threads of what could have been?

Track Her Down By Melinda Leigh

A teenager returns home from work and finds her parents shot to death in their bed. Responding to the call, Sheriff Bree Taggert realizes the crime wasn’t a burglary gone wrong. The couple was executed. The sole survivor: their traumatized teenage daughter, Claire Mason.

Bree teams up with investigator Matt Flynn to work the case, but together they uncover more questions than answers. When Claire is stalked at the park, it’s clear the killer isn’t finished—and she’s the next target.

As Bree and Matt sift through the past—suspect by suspect—a tangled web of deception emerges, and the truth becomes harder to see. Because the victims’ entire lives were a lie. And the only way to protect the vulnerable girl is to unravel her parents’ secrets.

Midnight In Paris By Gillian Harvey

Ten years. Two people. One last visit…

Sophie and Tom first visited Paris together as students. During their weekend away in the world’s most romantic city, falling in love – with the place, and each other – was simply inevitable.

They resolved to return every summer and kept their word, until something happened that changed their world forever.

Five years on, Sophie’s travelling to Paris alone to meet Tom again in their special place, on the Pont du Carrousel at midnight.

Because life has torn them apart. And now Sophie has something to tell Tom. Something that will change everything…

FROM REBEL TO MR. RIGHT NEXT DOOR?

Everyone’s heard of Matteo De Luca: tycoon, soccer player and international thrill seeker. Until an injury sees him permanently benched—and bored! So bored that when his neighbor’s kid drives off another nanny, Matteo volunteers to step in, adding “manny” to his CV. After unexpectedly becoming her nephew’s guardian, it’s clear Porsha’s defenses are high. But as Matteo gets to know the woman beneath, a startlingly intense connection emerges… Could this be his biggest adventure yet?

About The Author

My Review

We get stuck straight into the story when Matteo, stuck bored out of his mind in his London town house, gets assaulted by a shocking pink bra flung at him from across his garden fence. On tracking down the owner, he comes across his frazzled, uptight neighbour, Porsha, and her nephew, Fin. Without missing a beat, this newly retired super star football player soon finds himself mannying a 7 year old while fighting off a deep connection to his neighbour.

Matteo himself is known as a bit of a playboy and rebel – but it’s very early on that we learn that he’s so much more than that. He’s definitely a charmer but there’s something so boyishly adorable about him that I didn’t even try not to fall in love with him. But fear not, the man does have his issues. Luckily these are dealt with respectfully, honestly and just made him more real and even more likeable.

Porsha is nothing if not a romance heroine in the making. She’s a workaholic struggling with the responsibility and guilt of suddenly finding herself in the role of permanent guardian for her 7 year old nephew. Which also means dealing with both their grief. But she was stoic, solid and showed just enough cracks in her armour to be someone I was urging to get her happily ever after.

There was something so gentle about the relationship between Matteo and Porsha and how it changed and grew. But that’s not to say that they didn’t have chemistry from the very start because almost from the moment our couple meet, little hearts were appearing in both their eyes. But nothing is ever plain sailing (thankfully – because how boring would that be?) and there are definitely plenty of ups and downs for our couple. I honestly wondered how they would work things out, on occasion, but thankfully I know Rachael Stewart and Mills and Boon – so I knew all would be well. Once our pairing went through a little torture!

While we start off in London, we’re soon transported to sunny Italy. Rachael Stewart’s writing easily bring to life the landscape, the sights, the sounds, the smells, the people. It all appears before us as if we’re really there and just adds to the fresh, chilled, summer vibe that this book evokes. Ms Stewart also writes with her whole heart. You can feel the emotion, the love, the urgency – the highs and the lows. She makes me cry and then makes everything in the world right again.

My Rating