As told by a short synopsis and my Kindle notes while reading them.
Stealing Jason Wilde by Dee Ernst – Here we have a book about four grown women who kind-of-sort-of kidnap an actor, only not really, while on vacation. Wilde passes out in their car and they have to Weekend at Bernie’s him into their beach house, and his stupid manager tells him to stay hidden and calls the FBI, and all of these women somehow make the bad decision to play along? And here we meet the obligatory character so stupid I want to kill them, on behalf of myself and the other characters in the book. And yet another in what I’m sure will be a long line of consecutive bad decisions. These are grown, adult women. Mothers, professionals; why are they making such stupid-ass decisions?Ok see; this is reassuring- that they’re not all just fumbling around in this stupid plot. And that somebody calls him on being a jerk. Sure, he’s hot. Sure, he’s somehow strangely intuitive & charismatic, but he’s a horrible actor… and truly just a irresponsible jerk. The fact that GROWN-WOMEN go along with this plot makes me want to tear my hair out, not keep reading. I mean, if I loosen up a bit and give in to the willing suspension of disbelief, then it could have a quirky screwball comedy flair to it that is slightly enjoyable, but… I didn’t get there till almost the end of the book, so this book gets a pass from me. (Your mileage may vary, and it’s free for Kindle as of today, so … )
Everywhere and Every Way (Billionaire Builders Book 1) by Jennifer Probst – This book is based on the ridiculous will requirements trope, and I have, unfortunately, read a better version of it already. On the pro side: This book is steamy from the get-go, and the main characters are involved in more than one super tense bicker-off, which I tend to enjoy. On the con side, more than one trope that I do not like equals a book I can’t get behind (hey there, random new character: Do I know that you’re going to show up in the sequel before we get anywhere near there? Yes, yes I do.) And also one completely baffling scene re: hair care that leads to this note-rant: ‘I am so confused by this: I mean, we’ve all heard the ‘don’t shave your legs’ rule of dating (bc if you don’t, you won’t go all the way), but I can’t imagine a grown woman being so… Immature? As to freak out about it mid-make out session. Maybe it is my lack of hands on experience with this, but I just can’t. And I know the author is playing it both for laughs and to show how ridiculous it is, but… It really is uber ridiculous and I can’t imagine this put together lady having a near breakdown about some goddamn stubble… not one who’s supposed to be as put together and smart as Morgan. (Again: YMMV – Probst is a bestselling author, and this book has near to five stars on Amazon.)
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt -There’s a foundling home, an independent woman of very little means, her family, some murders, a vigilante and a nobleman of note. Of course, a nobleman of note. The only irritating thing about the book was my nagging semi familiarity with the characters, which formed a 99% suspicion that I had read at least some of them before, somewhere? Which lead me to the assumption that I have read another book in this series, but it didn’t leave enough of a mark for me to recall which one, and Goodreads tells me nothing, so I hurumphed my way through the book, with that thought nagging in the back of my head. However it was pretty good for what it was- a rogues redemption and an independent woman’s realization that independent doesn’t trump all. Not unusual, given the genre, but good enough all the same. (Also currently Kindle free, for those of you who are interested.)