Tag Archives: women’s fiction

What Tomorrow Will Be by Kaira Rouda-review & excerpt

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What Tomorrow Will Be by Kaira Rouda-review & excerpt

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 3, 2026

Some loves never die. But only one will shape her future…

At nineteen, Sienna MacKay believed she had it all—a promising career ahead of her and a young love destined to last forever. But a tragic accident shatters that idyllic existence, leaving her with a heartbreaking loss.

Years later, Sienna has rebuilt her life. She’s a successful designer, a devoted mother, and a woman who has dared to love again—with Nate, a passionate, rising-star chef. But as Nate drifts further into ambition, cracks surface in their once-bright marriage. A stormy confrontation ends in disaster, and Sienna becomes caught between two worlds—her near-perfect past and her more complicated present—where she must ask herself: What is the price of true love…and is she willing to pay?

Set on the majestic, rugged coastline of Nova Scotia, What Tomorrow Will Be is a magical, emotional novel about first love, second chances, and finding the courage to stay…or the will to go.

••••••

REVIEW:WHAT TOMORROW WILL BE by Julianne MacLean is a contemporary, adult, women’s fictional story line focusing on interior designer Sienna MacKay and chef Nate Palmer.

Told from three first person perspectives (Sienna, Nate and their daughter Amanda) focusing on several timelines, WHAT TOMORROW WILL BE follows Sienna MacKay in the aftermath of the loss of the love of her life. At nineteen years of age, Sienna MacKay had her whole life before her but a devastating accident left our heroine fighting for her life, and the man whom she loved, gone. Several years later, Sienna will meet law student and aspiring chef Nate Palmer, giving Sienna a second chance at her own happily ever after. Fast forward to present day, the relationship between our couple is deteriorating, and Sienna is reconsidering her future with the man whom she loves. Life, once again, is about to spiral out of control, and this time the spiral will go viral in a world of social medi, consequences and aggressive interference.

The world building follows several timelines, covering approximately twenty-five years in the life of our story line couple. From Nate’s dysfunctional family and his need to prove his worth, to Sienna’s grief, and yearning for the love and attention from the man whose tunnel vision no longer includes the people at home, WHAT TOMORROW WILL BE focuses on the fall out of unrealized expectations, trauma, grief and loss.

The relationship between Nate and Sienna is one of immediate attraction but Sienna continues to battle with the heartbreak of loss, as Nate struggles with his future going forward.
We are introduced to Nate and Sienna’s children Connor and Amanda; Nate’s uncompromising parents Bill and Joan Palmer, his brother Arthur, and Sienna’s friend Becky.

WHAT TOMORROW WILL BE is a story of grief and loss, trauma and shock, family and friendships, relationships and love. The character driven premise is thought provoking, dramatic and edgy-there are some slight but limited paranormal plot points ; the romance is tender ; the characters are desperate, determined and conflicted.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Prologue

When I was nineteen, I’d thought I had it all figured out. I’d found my soulmate, the great love of my life, and I was on a clear, direct path to the career of my dreams. What could possibly go wrong? My life was golden—until I went for a hike in the winter sunshine, and fell off a mountain.

I wish I could say I’d learned a lot from the ordeal—that when the ground collapsed under my feet and I tumbled down a vertical rockface, I’d come to understand that life isn’t always steady or predictable. I also wish that afterward, I could have recognized the long-term power and potency of trauma. How, for the rest of your life, lingering scars can steer you off course and make you doubt that anything good is truly lasting.

I’d absorbed no such wisdom that day, nor in the months and years that followed. Even when death came calling a second time, I had not yet recognized my ignorance.

But there I go again, dwelling on the past when this is supposed to be a story about love, forgiveness, and soulmates, and not just the human kind.

It’s a story about lessons learned—that there can be joy after tragedy, and hope after forgiveness.

There is growth in the healing.

But maybe that’s something you learn from life, over decades. Not from a fleeting encounter with death, however intense it may be.

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The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton-review

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The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 30, 2025

London, 2024: American expat Margo Reynolds is renowned for her talent at sourcing rare antiques for her clients, but she’s never had a request quite like this one. She’s been hired to find a mysterious book published over a century ago. With a single copy left in existence, it has a storied past shrouded in secrecy—and her client isn’t the only person determined to procure it at any cost.

Havana, 1966: Librarian Pilar Castillo has devoted her life to books, and in the chaotic days following her husband’s unjust imprisonment by Fidel Castro, reading is her only source of solace. So when a neighbor fleeing Cuba asks her to return a valuable book to its rightful owner, Pilar will risk everything to protect the literary work entrusted to her care. It’s a dangerous mission that reveals to her the power of one book to change a life.

Boston, 1900: For Cuban school teacher and aspiring author Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to study for the summer is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a whirlwind adventure that leaves her little time to write, but a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. The story that pours out of her is one of forbidden love, secrets, and lies… and though Eva cannot yet see it, the book will be a danger and salvation for the lives it touches.

•••••

REVIEW: THE LOST STORY OF EVA FUENTES by Chanel Cleeton is an emotional, adult, historical fiction, women’s suspense story following three timelines and the search for a book titled A Time For Forgetting by Cuban born author Eva Fuentes.

Told from three omniscient third person perspectives (Margo, Pilar, Eva), following three timelines (2024, 1966-70, 1900) THE LOST STORY OF EVA FUENTES focuses on a book titled A Time For Forgetting. In 1900, teacher and wanna-be author Eva Fuentes was asked to participate in what was to be known as The Cuban Summer School, wherein 1300 Cuban teachers were invited to spend the summer learning about the American educational system and cultural values, at Harvard University. Having started to write a novel back home , everything changed upon arrival in America including the content and direction of the book she would write.

In 1966, Cuban librarian Pilar Castillo’s husband was imprisoned for political subversion, and in the interim Pilar found herself a target of the Cuban government in the wake of her husband’s arrest. Having been tasked with ‘hiding’ the only copy of A Time For Forgetting, Pilar took the initiative to hide many more books considered disinformation and propaganda only to discover her friends and co-workers had been conscripted by the Cuban government, and our heroine was no longer able to trust the people she knew.

In 2024, antiquities buyer, American Margo Reynolds, now living in England, has been contracted to locate the only known copy of A Time For Forgetting but the deeper Margo digs, death and destruction follow in her wake. With the help of her former husband Luke, an ex-detective specializing in art crime, our couple go in search of the truth including information that will connect all three timelines together, covering approximately 120 years, navigating between America, Cuba, England, Scotland and Spain.

THE LOST STORY OF EVA FUENTES is a fictionalized story surrounded by historical fact focusing on several lifetimes of betrayal and secrets, and books that have been banned, restricted or removed by the people in charge. The Spanish-American War, the Cuban War of Independence, Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro’s propaganda regime, and The Cuban Summer School at Harvard were all real-The Cuban Summer School at Harvard program was designed to introduce Cuban teachers to the American way of teaching, introducing cross-cultural empathy and understanding. The premise is dramatic, detailed and edgy; the characters are determined, dynamic and charismatic, and desperate enough to risk their lives for freedom, family and a new way of life.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake by Rachel Linden – a Review

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The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake by Rachel Linden – a Review

 

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Description:
Rising star Jules Costa loves re-creating vintage recipes for her popular online cooking show. But when personal and professional disaster strikes, her only chance of saving her career is to complete her new cookbook before the end of the summer. Panicked, Jules returns to her family’s beloved olive farm on the shores of Italy’s stunning Lake Garda. Seeking culinary inspiration, she’s hoping to convince her spunky eighty-year-old Nonna Bruna to share her precious collection of family recipes.

Jules’ plans quickly go awry as she discovers Nonna’s cookbook has magical and unpredictable powers. It only reveals one recipe at a time, offering a cooking experience guaranteed to satisfy the chef’s palate and bring clarity to their life. Yet it remains stubbornly blank for Jules. To make matters worse, the olive farm is in deep financial trouble, and Jules soon uncovers a web of family secrets involving the cookbook and a lost recipe for orange blossom cake that holds the key to everything. And Nicolo, the boy next door who broke her young heart, is now all grown up, even more attractive, and the only person poised to help her find answers.  

In a whirlwind summer beyond her imagination, Jules begins to unravel the mysteries baked into her family’s history and discovers the essential ingredients to create the future of her dreams.

 

 

Review:

The Secret of Orange Bloosom Cake by Rachel Linden is a sweet standalone story. Juliana Costa is a fan of wonderful popular food, which she shows on social media, called The Bygone Kitchen.  She works at Trader Joe’s to help pay the rent, and her partner in these videos, is Drew. Juliana’s cooking abilities help save the day for several people who enjoy the videos. When Drew receives a chance to work with someone else in LA; Jules decides to create her new Cookbook.

When Juliana’s mother makes plans to travel, she must take her 15year old niece, Alex to Italy, returning to her beloved family after many years.  Jules has not been back to the family farm since a tragedy 15 years earlier. Shel loves her wonderful aunt, beloved Nonna Bruna, who has a lovable olive grove farm in the shores of Lake Garda.  Jules is hoping to get Noona to share her personal family recipes, to add to her cookbook. Her half-sister, Alex, would only eat vegan/vegetarian diet.  But Alex love taking pictures, and in time when Nonna and Jules created wonderful food.  Alex was always there to load the pictures on videos, which became very successful with thousands of people looking.

The story makes matters worse, when Jule’s overhears Nonna discussing that they are in deep in financial trouble. They had planned for Jules’s to stay and help increase the farm.  Jules uncovers an old cookbook filled with secrets, as well as the recipe for the Orange Blossom Cake, that could be the key. The legend of the magical orange blossom cake and a family cookbook itself, was passed down through generations

The romance between her and Nicolo, who was the boy next door, with her leaving 15 years old. As they rekindle their friendship, she sees how attractive he is, and determined to help her find the family cookbook.  This does turn into a whirlwind love story, as they are now grown up.  Will Jules leave when the summer is over, or will she stay and help Noona, and her feelings for Nicola.

The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake was a sweet, wonderful, romance that was filled with love and family. I got a kick out of all the Italian food they created with each session, such as lemons, olive oil, pasta and the Orange Bloosom Cake, with all the secrets. The epilogue was great when Jule’s found herself falling in love with Nicolo, and both she and Alex would remain. The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake was very well written by Rachel Linden.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs – a Review

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Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs – a Review

 

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Description:
It was a place frozen in time, an ancient fortress haunted by echoes that whispered against the gray stone in a mysterious, heavy rhythm, as though this place was entirely separate from the rest of the world. A sign by the inner door read Our Lady of Charity Refuge and Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

Mairin’s breath caught in her throat as comprehension crept over her. This place was the one mentioned in scandalized whispers from the older girls at school. It was the one people gossiped about when a girl suddenly stopped showing up to class. It was the place angry parents—like her own mother—threatened their daughters “I’ll send you to the nuns, just you see if I won’t.”

Amid the turbulence of the Vietnam Era, in the all-American city of Buffalo, New York, teenage girls were condemned to forced labor at the Good Shepherd, a dark and secret institution controlled by the Sisters of Charity nuns.

In 1968 we meet six teens thrust into confinement at the Good Shepherd—merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly.

Mairin— free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants was committed to keep her safe from her stepfather.

Angela—denounced for her attraction to girls, was sent to the nuns for reform, but instead found herself the victim of a predator.

Helen—the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China, saw her “temporary” stay at the Good Shepherd stretch into years.

Odessa—caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident, found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence.

Denise—sentenced for brawling in a foster home, dared to dream of a better life.

Janice—deeply insecure, she couldn’t decide where her loyalty lay—except when it came to her friend Kay, who would never outgrow her childlike dependency.

Sister Bernadette—rescued from a dreadful childhood, she owed her loyalty to the Sisters of Charity even as her conscience weighed on her.

Wayward Girls is a haunting but thrilling tale of hope, solidarity, and the enduring strength of young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption…and justice.

 

 

 

Review:

Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs is a wrenching but life-affirming novel based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption when six girls come together in a Catholic reform (Good Shepherd) school in 1960s Buffalo, NY.  These girls are sent by family (various reasons) away from their normal school, to the Good Shepherd, which is like a prison handled by evil nuns.  The six girls are treated badly, being punished either for isolation, emotional abuse, forced labor and suffering harsh conditions.

Mairin— free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants was committed to keep her safe from her stepfather.
Angela—is raised by her illiterate Irish Catholic grandmother and was sent to the Good Shepard to be reformed. While at the school, she finds herself the victim of a predator.
Helen— is of Chinese descent; when her parents return to China for a couple of weeks; they are caught in the Chinese cultural revolution and are not allowed to leave China.  Her time at the Good Shepherd stretches into years.
Odessa—caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident, found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence.
Denise—sentenced for brawling in a foster home, dared to dream of a better life.
Janice—deeply insecure, except when it came to her friend Kay, who would never outgrow her childlike dependency.

Mairin is the lead in this story, as she was spirited and rebellious, always determined to find a way to escape; no matter what punishment she receives. In time, she comes up with a plan for her and her friends to escape. They manage to escape in the school bus, and all six of them find themselves being chased by police; with each of them finding separate ways to escape.  Mairin could not find any of them, but she discovers three of them were captured. The story continues with Mairin finding work at a farm, falling in love with Flynn, and having children.  Decades later, Mairin sees Angela, and together they try to find the friends they lost during their escape; and they slowly reconnect with some of their friends. They begin to share their stories about something that was so much bigger; as they planned to fight for recognition and healing. Their friendship and bond were great.

Wayward Girls is a harrowing and gripping historical fiction, which covered many serious situations, such as abuse, foster system, racism and pregnancy. Susan Wiggs wrote a powerful story of these young women who were confined to forced labor at a dark institution controlled by nuns.  Though this was fiction, it was based on those homes where the children were reformed. Wayward Girls was so very well written by Susan Wiggs.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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The Nantucket Restaurant by Pamela Kelley – a Review

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The Nantucket Restaurant by Pamela Kelley – a Review

 

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Description:
Three sisters. An inherited Nantucket restaurant. One year before they can sell.

Mandy, Emma and Jill are as close as three sisters who live hundreds of miles apart can be. They grew up together on Nantucket, but Mandy is the only one that stayed.

Jill lives a glamorous life in Manhattan as a co-owner of a successful executive search firm. Never married, she is in her mid-thirties and lives in a stunning, corner condo with breathtaking views of the city and Hudson river. Everyone thinks there’s something going on with her partner, Nick, because as a workaholic, she spends more time with him than anyone else. But there’s never been anything but friendship between them and Nick loves being a bachelor in NYC.

Emma lives in Arizona and is an elementary school teacher and aspiring photographer. She met her college professor husband, Peter, in grad school and they’ve been married for over fifteen years. In recent years, she’s noticed that Peter has grown distant. But when he shares a surprising secret, she doesn’t see it coming and her world is turned upside down.

Mandy followed her high school boyfriend, Cory to Boston College, and after graduation, they married and Cory joined a successful hedge fund in Boston, while Mandy stayed home and had two children, Blake and Brooke. They moved home to Nantucket when Cory opened a competing hedge fund. Now that the children are older, Mandy is eager to do more than coordinate local charity events. But Cory doesn’t want her to work. He thinks it doesn’t reflect well on him and appearances are everything to Cory. Though when Mandy finds a second cell phone in his gym bag, she begins to question what is really going on.

When their beloved grandmother, Ethel Ferguson passes peacefully in her sleep a week before her ninety-ninth birthday, she leaves them quite a surprise. In addition to her Nantucket home, they learn that she was the silent owner of Mimi’s Place, one of Nantucket’s most popular year-round restaurants.

There is of course, a catch–she left the restaurant equally to Mandy, Emma, and Jill–and also to Paul, the restaurant chef for the past fifteen years.

And before they can sell, all three girls must work at the restaurant for one year–or their shares of the restaurant will go to Paul.

The same Paul that broke one of their hearts many years ago.

 

 

 

Review:

The Nantucket Restaurant by Pamela Kelly is a wonderful sweet story focused on three sisters.  Mandy, Emma and Jill are very close sisters, with two (Jill and Emma) living many miles apart, with Mandy the only one who still lives in Nantucket.  The ladies learn that their grandmother passed away, and to their shock, they have inherited the restaurant Mimi’s Place, which they did not know their grandmother owned the place; with the chef Paul who also inherited. The will provides that they must work in the restaurant for one year, at which time they can sell or share.

Jill lives in New York city, and owns an executive search firm with her partner, Billy; who are best friends.  Jill’s job is hectic, and now she needs to stay at Nantucket to help with the restaurant, and she travels to New York every Friday/Saturday.  Emma is a school teacher, who was married to her husband for 15 years, and he now wants a divorce, since he plans to marry his boyfriend. Mandy is married to Cory, who is a wealthy hedge fund investor; and they have 2 children. Mandy discovers an invoice of Cory, and realizes that he has been seeing other women; she files for a divorce, and makes him move out of the house. 

The girls split up, taking turns to learn everything about the restaurant. Mandy works the day shift, until when the children come home.  Whenever Cory takes a turn with the kids, she may help later hours.  Jill mostly works at nights, helping at the bar or serving dinners; which allows her to work in the afternoon remotely. Emma will work different shifts, and becomes close to Paul, who was her first love years ago; and both begin to long for each other. Billy, Jill’s partner, also begins to realize that he has strong infections for her. 

I really enjoyed this story, especially the three sisters who were so close and great together.  It was nice to see the different kinds of food, that was terrific. The Nantucket Restaurant was a sweet, wonderful, family oriented and great sisters, who I did enjoy following them.  The Nantucket Restaurant was very well written by Pamela Kelly.  This was a fun story that I suggest you find time to read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean-review

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All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 25, 2025

1946: World War II is over, and Emma Clarkson is poised to take flight. With dreams of attending university, she’s ready to leave behind the wild beauty of Sable Island, the only home she’s ever known. But when a handsome British sea captain is rescued from a nearby shipwreck, her destiny is forever changed.

Emma falls deeply in love with Oliver Harris, but their romance is not meant to be. Oliver returns to the sea, while Emma vows to forget him and pursue her own ambitions. When a handsome veterinarian arrives on the island to study the wild horses, Emma finds love again, but soon discovers that all is not as it seems…

1995: Mourning the death of her beloved grandmother, Joanna Griffin is shocked to learn that her grandfather once loved a young woman named Emma, but lies, betrayals, and catastrophic events separated them forever. As Joanna crosses an ocean to solve the secrets of her grandfather’s past, she learns that love is a powerful force, even mightier than the passage of time…

A shining thread of hope illuminates this epic tale of lost love and fallen dreams, set in the remote splendor of Nova Scotia and spanning decades.

•••••

REVIEW:ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL GOODBYES by Julianne Maclean is an historical woman’s fiction story line focusing on two time periods (1946-55, and 1995) in the life of Emma Clarkson-Baxter.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Emma Clarkson, ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL GOODBYES begins in 1946, one year at the end of WWII, when a ship wreck near the shores of Sable Island, near Nova Scotia Canada would place Emma Clarkson on a journey towards her future, a future that diverges along numerous paths. Meeting Captain Oliver Harris stirred something in the then twenty-one year old Emma’s heart but Captain Oliver Harris was married, twelve years her senior, and a man whose lived his life circumventing the world. A new man would bounce into our heroine’s life but a man whose secrets are about to destroy all of Emma’s happiness for the future.

Fast forward to 1995, a young woman name Joanna Griffin would begin a search into her grandfather’s history, a history that brings her face to face with Emma Clarkson-Baxter, and the secrets our heroine has kept close to her heart.

ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL GOODBYES is a slow building story focusing on several heart breaks and betrayals, not only for Emma but for the man she once loved. Secrets and lies would pull our couple apart, neither knowing of the other’s life changes, changes that would remain hidden for close to forty years. From birth to death, family and relationships, forgiveness and acceptance, ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL GOODBYES follows one woman through the heartbreak of betrayal, lost love and lies, in the face of renewed hope and revelations.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo – a Review

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The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo – a Review

 

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Description:
It’s been ten years. In case you’re out there somewhere—in case you’re listening, I’m here. And I have so much to tell you.

It’s been nearly ten years since Gabe’s been gone when Lucy finds a tiny piece of paper in a box of his old photos. An address in Rome. Why did Gabe keep it, and what was he doing in Italy? Lucy buys a last-minute ticket. Impulsive, but Gabe always brought that out in her.

Lucy’s journey to uncover Gabe’s secret leads her to Dr. Dax Amstrong, a New Yorker in Italy working with an NGO. His broad shoulders and sad, intense eyes draw Lucy in. His touch reaches her in a forgotten place—one that no one has neared since Gabe.

But her old life awaits, along with an earth-shattering decision—whether she and Darren should tell their son Samuel the truth about his real father. How can Lucy move forward while she’s rooted in regret? Fate broke her heart in the past. Can finding new love set her free?

 

 

Review:

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo was a wonderful standalone novel.  This was a sequel to the previous book, The Light We Lost, which now takes picks up a decade after Gabe’s death, with his editor (Eric) calling Lucy to plan a promotion for a new book to be published.  Lucy ends up searching for Gabe boxes that has been in the closet for many years; she ends up finding an address in Italy with a drawing of a young boy.  Lucy decides to fly to Italy to do research on her own, why Gabe would have kept this address.  She will meet the family, including the young man (10 Years older), Bashire, who was a drawing expert whose photo was still cherished.

While in Italy, she meets Dax, a doctor who works with refugees coming into Italy. Lucy finds herself attracted to Dax, as he also falls hard for her.  When Dax returns to the states, their relationship escalates.  Though Gabe has been dead for 10 years, she wonders if her and Dax have found love. 

The main focus of this story revolves around Lucy, her three kids, and her ex, Darren and his wife, Courtney.   Lucy and Darren have shared custody, with each week the families switching to their house.  Their three kids – Violet, Liam, and Sam, make a very good happy family. Sam the youngest (8 years old) is actually Gabe’s son, which only Darren knows about.  Lucy decides she wants to tell Sam, and her other two kids, about Gabe; which infuriates Darren, who does not want this to be revealed.  Darren found out about Gabe, which was a reason for the divorce. The conflict between Darren and Lucy has them both at crossroads; but with help from Courtney, Lucy does tell her three kids about Gabe, and Sam realizes that he looks like Gabe. 

When Dax returns from Italy, their romance resumes, until Lucy fears her kids will not accept him.  She decides to break up with Dax, as she is reluctant to hurt her family; but when Dax has to help find Sam, and everything changes, including the kid’s acceptance.

The Love We Found was a very emotional and powerful journey, filled with grief, life, loss and secrets.  The Love We Found was very well written by Jill Santopolo.  This was a wonderful story, which I suggest you read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Business Casual by B.K. Borison – Review & Giveaway

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Business Casual by B.K. Borison – Review & Giveaway

 

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Description:
Two opposites will find out if one night together is enough to get each other out of their systems in the final book in the beloved Lovelight series.

Nova Porter isn’t looking for love, and she certainly has no explanation for her attraction to buttoned-up, three-piece-suit-wearing investment banker Charlie Milford. Maybe it’s his charm? Or maybe it’s his determination to help her fledgling business however he can. Either way, she’s distracted every time he’s around. With her new tattoo studio set to open in her hometown of Inglewild, she doesn’t have time for frivolous flirtations. 

In an effort to get Charlie out of her system once and for all, Nova offers a proposition. One night. No strings. They’ll kick their uncomfortable attraction to the curb and return to their respective responsibilities. But their explosive night together scatters their expectations like fallen leaves. And with Charlie in town as the temporary head of Lovelight Farms, Nova can’t quite avoid him. 

And Charlie? Well, Charlie knows a good investment when he sees one. He’s hoping he can convince Nova he’s worth some of her time.

 

 

Review:

Business Casual by B.K. Borison is the 4th book in her Lovelight series. I loved the first three books in this series, as they were wonderful sweet romances, and sad to say that this is the final book in this series.  Nova Porter, our heroine, isn’t interested in looking for love, as she is concentrating on her doing the final touches of perfection within her new tattoo studio; in her hometown of Inglewild. Nova’s family has always supported her, and she worries about disappointing them.   

Charlie Milford, our hero, is an investment banker in New York; but he loves constantly visiting his half-sister, Stella and her Christmas Tree Farm (Lovelight) and the residents of Inglewild. Charlie is always happy when he visits Stella; and even participates being part of the Town’s phone tree for latest gossips.   Charlie has arranged to stay in Inglewild for a month, as he is sending Stella and her husband, Luka, to Italy for a month. Charlie will work with Stella’s partners, as he will happily take care of Stella’s duties at the farm.

Everything starts at the wedding ceremony of Stella and Luka. Charlie is a shameless flirter, and always pays close attention to Nova. After a few drinks, she willingly accepts when Charlie asks her to dance. After a bit, Nova asks Charlie to come to her house when the wedding is over.  What Charlie didn’t realize, that Nova was looking for a one-night no-strings stand, and he thought she meant stopping over for snacks.  Which irritated Nova and she stormed away; but a few days later, Charlie tries to explain his mistake and Nova cannot hold back her attraction to him.  They decide to hook up for one night, and move on with their lives; but their explosive night together changes everything.  Best laid plans do not always work, as their attraction to each other escalates.   

What follows is a sweet, steamy and endearing romance relationship between Nova and Charlie, as they had awesome chemistry. I loved seeing all the fabulous characters we got to know throughout the series; such as Stella, Luka, Beckett, Evie, Layla and Caleb. 

Business Casual was another fun, heartwarming, cute, sweet romance, another great couple, and terrific secondary characters that we have all come to love. I did feel that this final book was even steamier than the previous book.  I adored the epilogue that was a fantastic ending to this series. Business Casual was a great series, and so very well written by B.K. Borison.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

B.K. Borison’s publisher, Berkley Romance is offering a paper copy of BUSINESS CASUAL to ONE (1) commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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