friends to lovers

No Strings Attached by Suzan Butler

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

No Strings Attached
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level- No Kink
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
250 pages

This was a great story of a pretty much lifelong friendship that slowly grew into something so much more.

Ethan is a wealthy soldier. His family has money and he is a trust fund baby. Complete with a marriage and children clause. He has been friends with Ashlynn since they were kids. They became best friends, then friends with benefits and when he had to marry, she was the logical choice. He had to marry and she needed stability for her and her son.

There was also suspense which dealt with her abusive ex-boyfriend and he kind of lifestyle he led. You were kind of on the edge of your seat waiting for him to show and cause chaos. He was a very bad guy. I was irritated with some of Ash’s choice regarding her safety but watching the two of them fall for each other and their acceptance of that was wonderful to read. I will definitely read more of this author.

Christmas on 4th Street by Susan Mallery

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Christmas on 4th Street (Fools Gold #12.5)
Grade-B+
Hotness Level-Ember
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Fool’s Gold #12.5
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
336 pages

“That’s the thing about love. We often get more than we deserve and isn’t that incredibly wonderful?”
Yet another installment of Susan Mallery’s Fool’s Gold series and I fall more in love with the series every book. This one is about Noelle who runs the Christmas Attic store in town. That’s right a store specializing in Christmas 365 days a year. I can’t help it, it warms my heart.  Noelle was very sick in the recent past but has overcome it. She lost her mother and grandmother to a auto accident and her fiancé to her illness. She made her way to Fool’s Gold and never looked back. She loves the town, townspeople, friends, her store and her home. But she wants her own HEA and watching her friends marry one by one is bittersweet
.
Gabriel Boylan is the brother of Gideon, who settled in the town a couple of years ago. Gabriel is a trauma specialist with the Army. He has worked overseas and had seen enough horror to last a lifetime. After losing his fiancé to a combat related his issue, he decides that he won’t ever fall in love again because it hurts too bad to lose someone you love. He comes to his brother’s house for the Christmas holiday and meets Noelle.

I so much enjoyed this book because of it’s sweetness. I’ll admit the ending was a little far fetched for most towns but not Fool’s Gold. I can’t wait for her next installment. My continued complaint regarding her separate books with this series is that the heat content is totally unacceptable.

The Christmas He Loved Her by Juliana Stone

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

The Christmas He Loved Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, #2)
Grade-A
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #2
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
352 pages

This is the second book in this series and I didn’t read the first one yet. I probably should’ve read them in order but honestly you don’t have to.

Jake is a former Army Ranger and served in Iraq with his fraternal twin brother, Jesse. Jesse married Raine who grew up with the boys in their hometown. These three got into all kinds of trouble together in their youth. Raine’s upbringing was non-traditional, so she enjoyed spending time with the boys and their parents.

When the story begins, you realize that Jesse was killed in action and Jake took a sabbatical from life. He returns home and sees Raine, his brother’s widow and the only woman he has ever loved. This story is the telling of their journey to one another.

I’ve wanted to read the first book in this series since I read about several months ago but at almost seven dollars a book, by an author I wasn’t sure about, that’s just too pricey. Well, after reading this one, as far as this series is concerned, Juliana Stone is an auto-buy for me now. I loved everything about this book. The characters were so real and the emotion so heartfelt. This was so very much more than a contemporary romance.

This is a story about love and it’s healing powers. It’s about family and facing a loss in the family. It’s about survivor’s guilt and the guilt associated with loving someone else after you lose your spouse. It was a story about redemption when it was never needed and the bonds formed through friendship. It was about the acceptance of one’s self, even with your faults. This was perfect for me. I just absolutely loved it!