Return to You by Kate Perry

Return To You (Laurel Heights, #3)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Blaze/Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Laurel Heights #3
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
344 pages

It’s been eleven years since Michael left town to pursue his dreams in Hollywood, leaving the love of his life, Olivia, behind. Now he’s come back to film a movie and has to face Olivia again. Olivia’s been nursing her broken heart for the eleven years Michael’s been gone, but can she love someone who hurt her so badly before?
 
I have enjoyed each of the Laurel Heights books that I’ve read and this one is no exception. There is just so much inner turmoil and angst with Michael and Olivia. I just wanted to lock them in a room together until they got everything sorted out…oh wait, that happened (only it was a shed instead of a room) and they still managed to not get anything sorted out. Had this one been a little less angsty (I think that’s a word), I would have enjoyed it more. I did find the secondary romance between Olivia’s father and his assistant sweet and tender.
 
If you like low conflict romances along the lines of Jill Shalvis’s Lucky Harbor series, this is a series I would highly recommend.

Rebound by Sabrina York

Rebound (Tryst Island, #1)
Grade-C-
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Tryst Island #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
84 pages

One weekend, Kristi and Cam both show up at the cabin that they own with other friends. That in itself wouldn’t be that unusual, but this time they both show up unattached. Usually at least one of them is in the middle of a relationship, but this time they are both free. So when a bet is made on a game of Hearts, there’s no reason for Cam and Kristi not to explore the lust that they each have for each other.
 
This one is a hard one for me to review because I didn’t have really strong feelings about it either way. Everything about the story was just so-so. If you like your romances to be low conflict and short, this might be worth reading. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be trying the next book in this series.

Fighting Love by Abby Niles

Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme, #2)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Love to the Extreme #2
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
352 pages

To say Tommy Sparks is down on his luck would be an understatement. He’s lost his MMA title, his self respect and his house. When he was at the top of his sport, he had it all. Money, women popularity and his best friend, Julie. Due to some of his issues, he lost it all. All of it except Julie. Now he has to move in with her until the insurance pays for the losses due to his house catching on fire.

Julie has loved Tommy since she was ten years old. He was her savior then and her very best friend since. They used to sneak into each other’s room at night, when their home lives became too much. She has watched an endless parade of friends and women come through Tommy’s life. And still, she loves him. She so desperately wants Tommy to see her as a woman and not his “sister”. When she offers him a place to stay she knows she has to be careful with her heart and feelings.

This was a great story and more emotional than I thought it would be. I felt bad for Tommy because he never thought that with his past, he’d be good enough for Julie. I really liked both characters up until the end. I thought Julie became kind of a shrew. I know she always felt second place to Tommy’s fame but seriously, Julie! Calm your ass down! I will not hesitate to read the first book in this series or any others that follow. I just hope that the heroines aren’t shrews.