Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleypas

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After my contemporary binge this past weekend, I needed to get back to my planned tbr. I have the last two books in my Ravenels reread before getting to Devil in Disguise for the Rake Appreciation Society hosted by Crystal and Jen. I put off my reread a little bit since I was getting slumpy, but I am back and ready to go. Plus I have the Dark Romance Readathon this weekend, so my normal weekend time is going to be allocated to that. So book 5 of the Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas is Devil's Daughter. As I've mentioned in my previous reviews, any title with Devil in it is related to Sebastian. He's the popular Kleypas hero from Devil in Winter, in case you didn't know. Update: I applied this to the prompt of set outside the USA for the 3rd board of Summer of Swoon.

Here is a couple where we've previously met both. West is the younger brother to Devon (from Cold-Hearted Rake) and has been in the background working on restoring the Ravenel estate. Even over the first four books we've seen him grow and change as person peripherally. Our heroine is Phoebe, the widowed daughter of St. Vincent and older sister of Gabriel (from Devil in Spring). West was a bully to Phoebe's late husband in school. She has hatred towards him because of this and when they meet at Gabriel and Pandora's wedding, they are thrust together. West of course doesn't quite recognize who Phoebe is.

I forgot how much I loved this book. We get so much of Sebastian and Evie. I also love how Phoebe and her boys are portrayed. I've been reading a lot of single parent romances lately, so this was perfect to bridge the gap back into historical romance for me. There's so much good about this book. The only thing I would gripe about is the 3rd act conflict. It happens so late that I wish they would've discussed what their issues was and we got to see a little bit more of them happy in the end. There's not even an epilogue. We also get a few parallels between West and Sebastian and to Devil in Winter. I've mentioned this before, but my favorite wallflower book was It Happened One Autumn and my favorite Lisa Kleypas hero (so far) is Marcus Westcliff. I don't know, he just does it for me. We do get to see him a little bit in passing, and also learn that his older daughter Merritt is best friends with Phoebe.

When Lisa Kleypas announced there was going to be a book 7, everyone was intrigued on who the couple would be. When the blurb was finally announced, I was super happy to see the heroine would be Merritt, although that also means she became a widow between this book and hers. But back to Devil's Daughter. One thing that I've been really noticing lately and featured in this book was reaching out for help. When Phoebe went back to Essex and the Clare estate she could've not asked for help with the ledgers and just struggled. In so many books I've read, it would've happened that way so she could prove how strong and independent she was. Then the hero would hear through the grapevine or randomly show up to help out. Not here. Phoebe takes one look, realizes she's in over her head and immediately asks West for help. I loved that choice so much, and I feel like it really hit me more now than when I first read this book a couple years ago. I also loved how West was with Justin and Stephen and naturally had those father instincts that warmed my heart. Plus we get a cute kitty. I just love this book so much. I had previously rated this 4-stars, but upon reread this is a 5-star book. If I really want to split hairs, maybe like 4.90-stars, but let's not do that.

I can't wait to get to the last two books in the series and continue on. I feel like moving forward I need to have a Lisa Kleypas book in my tbr every month; at least one. Her books just give me the swoony, feel-good vibes that I love. If you haven't tried Lisa Kleypas yet, I couldn't recommend her more. She's widely considered one of the queens of historical romance and such a great place to start!

Have you read Devil's Daughter?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Devil's Daughter, Lisa Kleypas, 5-stars, 0 days, paperback, 375 pages, published in 2019

Grumpy Cowboy by Max Monroe

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Finishing my contemporary binge of the weekend was the final book in Max Monroe's Single Dad Collection, Grumpy Cowboy. When I had posted my story update on instagram for Single Dad Seeks Juliet, Shelby (the runner of Summer of Swoon) let me know that she loved this book in the series more than Hot Stuff. While I enjoyed it, it didn't quite live up to book one. I was nervous but excited for Grumpy Cowboy. Update: I applied this to the prompt of book Shelby read for the 3rd board of Summer of Swoon.

We shift from Southern California to Utah and a cattle ranch. Our single dad is Rhett, a former rodeo bronco rider and working to take over the family ranch. He has an adorable 5-year daughter Joey. He is with his cousin one night and stupidly decides to ride a bronco bareback. This leads to a pretty back injury on his leg and our grumpy cowboy gets grumpier. After fighting his doctors orders, his father collects on a favor and one of the orthopaedic doctors for the local basketball team is sent to help him rehab. There's some misdirection from her boss and they quickly butt heads.

This was such a sweet change of pace from the the first two books in the series. Rhett is the bull-headed cowboy trying to do everything himself, even at a detriment. I loved that Leah wasn't the stereotypical city girl. Does she like pretty dresses and heels, yes. Does she not want to get covered in cow and horse poop, yeah. Is she more than willing to put in the hard work to get the job done. 100%.I feel like a lot of the time city girls that show up on a ranch/farm are too overdone and take too long to adapt to their situation. This is not the case here. The only thing that Leah complained about out loud, was how grumpy Rhett was with her. And she told him to his face. Did she cringe on the inside when her shoes were covered in poop and fight the urge to visibly wipe it off on the, yeah. Who wouldn't?

Joey was really well done again, but she was a lot younger and didn't play quite as much of a role here. She was so cute though and reminded me a lot of the little girl I see at work everyday when she's not in school. Another thing I want to mention is how vivid their writing is. I didn't really mention it in my previous reviews, but their writing is so descriptive and I can really see and picture the landscape and events in my head. Maybe it was more vivid for me here since I've grown up farm/ranch adjacent for most of my life, but it was so well written. 

This didn't quite hit me as much as Single Dad Seeks Juliet, but did have some funny moments. I feel like it was more situational than banter in this one, but I did still chuckle a few times. I also thought the 3rd act conflict was a little predictable. It also took a while longer than I expected for them to get physically intimate, even just kissing. I'm okay with the timing of the full steam, but I would've like a little bit of kissing earlier. Or even little touches or other ways to amp the the tension.

I don't know if they play to write any more in the series, but this is the last book as of now. I am super happy I finally got to read some of Max Monroe's books and hope that I enjoy their other books just as much. I can't wait to dig into their backlist and will definitely be adding them to my contemporary author list. Always excited to add a new author to my small contemporary list!

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Grumpy Cowboy, Max Monroe, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 346 pages, published in 2021

Hot Stuff by Max Monroe

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After flying through Single Dad Seeks Juliet, I of course had to immediately jump into the next book in the series. Book two in Max Monroe's Single Dad Collection is Hot Stuff. I was able to apply this book to the Summer of Swoon board 2 prompt orange on the cover. 

We start with Garrett. He's Jake's best friend and we're a few months after his divorce. He's has 12-year old twins and is a local firefighter. A bit part of his divorce was his ex not being able to handle the schedule of a firefighter. His house also does a lot with wildfires, so there are times where he's gone for days or even weeks at a time with little contact. The youngest daughter of his chief, and new doctor is Lauren. She's moved back to town after working in New York. They first meet at his physical, then bump into each other a couple other times over the next few months before finally Garrett says enough. He cajoles Lauren to go on a date with him just to see if there's something to the chemistry between them.

I really liked this book. While the banter wasn't quite as on point as Single Dad Seeks Juliet, I still really enjoyed their connection. I also loved that while Lauren was also awkward and not the most able socially, she was awkward in a different way than Holley so it didn't feel rinse and repeat. Not that Max Monroe writes rinse and repeat, but I have read authors before that can get like that. This was also a lot more steamier and I feel like Garrett and Lauren really enjoyed their physical relationship. I can't quite decide if I wanted more emotional connection between them, not that I feel it's lacking, or if I want Jake and Holley to have more steamy scenes.

I once again loved how the kids were written. They really both had their own connection with Garrett, but also Lauren. I know this is the  point of the series, single dads, but Max Monroe just wrote the kids both so well in this series so far. It felt like a family unit through and through and I could really relate to the doubts about adding in another adult to a divorcee with kids. I also loved how Lauren got a pet fish via Garrett and how she starting talking to him all the time.

This was more a 4-star for me because her dad got a little overhanded for me. I also wished that Lauren didn't want their relationship to stay secret as long as they did. I really felt for Garrett when Lauren passed out and he felt torn going to her and unveiling the secret in front of her dad. He was so upset and worried about her and couldn't act on his worry. It just broke my heart a little bit. I did love that the fact he was a firefighter wasn't really made that much of an issue for Garrett and Lauren. I've always thought that not only is there the officer, firefighter or soldier needing to be thanked for their service, but their family as well. I feel like this was such a wonderful look into what it's like for a healthy relationship that's with someone of service. While I understand it is hard and puts extra strain on a relationship sometimes it can be glossed over in romance unless it's dealing with an ex that had issues.

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to moving forward in the series and Max Monroe's backlist. I'm so happy to finally get around to reading them. While I'm not usually drawn to contemporary, it's nice to have another author that I know has good humor to add to my rotation for when I'm in the mood.

Have you read Hot Stuff?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Hot Stuff, Max Monroe, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 330 pages, published in 2021

Single Dad Seeks Juliet by Max Monroe

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Continuing my contemporary binge over the weekend, I decided to jump to one of the contemporaries that would cover prompts for both challenges I have going right now. I decided to pick up Single Dad Seeks Juliet by Max Monroe. This is the first book in their Single Dad Collection and also the first book I've read from this writer duo. I was able to use this read to cover the prompts one of Shelby's favorite authors for Summer of Swoon board 2 and reality tv for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo.

Jake is a single dad, in his early 40s and a former Navy SEAL. His daughter Chloe is about to enter her senior year in high school and is worried about her dad being lonely after she goes to college. The local paper is running a Bachelor Anonymous event based off of the Bachelor tv show. To pick the bachelor, participants are to submit an ad for the paper to run and readers would vote on who the lucky bachelor is! Holley is our writer for the newspaper and set to run the series of articles, despite not wanting anything to do with it. She's still getting over her former fiancé not only cheating on her, but getting the other woman pregnant and them marrying her shortly after their break up. When she meets Jake to not only convince him to join the event, but to set up the dates things they start to connect more than expected.

First off, this book is absolutely hilarious. I was laughing so much throughout this book and it really hit the spot. I couldn't put it down and ended up staying up until after one and crashing while I was still reading it. At 86% done. Holley is a hot mess and I could relate to her so much. While my hot mess tendencies tend not get that extreme, I've definitely had moments like her before. Some of my favorite scenes were when Jake was waiting for her somewhere and she's walking to meet him and doesn't realize he's watching and things just start to happen, She goes to fix her shoe and almost falls then in correcting her balance drops her bag which of course falls upside-down and things start rolling away and just keeps going. I also love how Jake kept thinking she's a complete hot mess but couldn't stay away. Their banter was on point. While sometimes the "old talk" was a little much at times, come on Holley - you're the same age as me and in an industry that uses social media, it was still hilarious.

I absolutely loved Chloe. She felt like a mature teenager for her age, but still a teenager. Being raised by a single parent and having been a more mature teenager myself, she felt so real and relatable. I also loved the relationship between her and Jake. It was such a great father-daughter relationship and made Jake even more swoony (as Holley pointed out). I can't say how much I loved this book. It really hit the contemporary feeling I was looking for, but brought the rom-com elements that I feel are hard to hit, especially with a lot of the newer releases.

I'm so happy to finally read a Max Monroe book. They've been on my tbr for a while now and why did I not read them earlier? This series is definitely added to my tbr and I'm going to continue this series and get to Max Monroe's backlist for sure. I know that humor is subjective and I'm a little easier to make laugh than others, but this book really had me laughing and chuckling so many times. The romance was so nice too. I also liked the way the bachelor-esque feel happened without feeling as weird as the show does. I also loved Holley's dad. There's so much I love about this book! I could keep talking about the things I loved, but we should probably just end it here.

Have you read Single Dad Seeks Juliet?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Single Dad Seeks Juliet, Max Monroe, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 330 pages, published in 2020

Up to the Challenge by Terri Osburn

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After reading Meant to Be and absolutely loving it, I immediately jumped into Up to the Challenge. This is the second book in Terri Osburn's Anchor Island series. I was also able to apply this read to prompt guy on the right for Summer of Swoon board 2.

After seeing Lucas lose his fiancé in Meant to Be, we see him coming back to the island a few weeks later. His father has had a heart attack and he comes home to help out with the restaurant. What everybody doesn't know, is that he was on leave before the hospitalization since he was struggling. He decides to spend his time off on the island helping out. Pulling away from Joe's charter boat is Sid. She's usually his assistant and boat mechanic, but help is needed more at the restaurant. She has been in love with Lucas since high school, but he's never really noticed her feelings or her at all. Now that they are working close together, they both start to connect.

This was a little more angsty than the first book, but I kind of expected it going in. This isn't too long after Meant to Be, so Lucas is still struggling with his emotions. While he acknowledges that him and Beth wouldn't have had a good marriage, if they even got that far, and he does want them to be happy, he's still hurt by the situation. I loved how he kept snapping at people, but immediately apologizing and being upfront that he's trying to not to be bitter but it's hard sometimes. I also loved that while Sid kind of hero worshipped Lucas, it was more. She saw more of him and I feel like she did love him. It was fun to see her love change to being in love with him. 

There was great banter between them and I think I enjoyed their banter a little bit more. There was also more steam here, and it started earlier. Before then though, the sexual tension was once again on point. Terri Osburn so far is writing great chemistry and tension between the characters. I also loved how Sid was unabashedly herself. While at first Lucas thought it was because she was mechanic and she had a Napoleon complex, but she just was who she was. Yeah she wears snarky shirts and curses like a sailor, but she enjoys the shirts and works with sailors all day. It didn't feel like a front at all which was so nice. 

This just wasn't quite a 5-star read for me. When I finished, I just didn't feel like it was. When I started to think about it, there wasn't really anything to detract from it, but because I was struggling on how to rate it I realized that it meant it wasn't. After having some space and time from finishing, I didn't like a couple things. The main conflict at the end was kind of predictable, but it bothered me that it was a miscommunication and omission from both of them. I think the biggest thing I didn't like was Sid pushing against any help whatsoever. I am very much a person that doesn't like to ask for help as well, but she pushed so much against it that I got a little frustrated. Yes Lucas went a little overboard helping her without consent. But as I grow as a person I've been really trying to learn to be comfortable not only asking for help but accepting it as well. I just wish that that portion of their relationship was addressed as well instead of Lucas talking all the fault (for that specific situation).

I really enjoyed this series and the small town vibes I'm getting. I will definitely continue reading the series and also added Terri's backlist to my tbr. She has country musician series that sounds pretty fun too! I'm not going to immediately go into the third book, Home to Stay, right away though. We kind of get hints about Will's past and I know there's going to be some sort of trauma about abuse of something similar. I just need a little bit of a better mood before jumping into that one. I will get to it though.

Have you read Up to the Challenge?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STASISTICS: Up to the Challenge, Terri Osburn, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 350 pages, published in 2013