Worth the Risk by Heather B. Moore

Synopsis:

When Alicia moves back to Pine Valley to help her mom through a serious addiction, the last person she wants to see is her teenage crush, Jeff Finch, who destroyed their friendship in one single disastrous night. Alicia is determined to not let anything about Jeff affect her, especially since she hasn't seen him in ten years. All she knows is that he's living a successful and charmed life, and she is more than happy to keep anything between them in the past. But when he shoes up with a date at the restaurant where she works, Alicia realizes she's still not over her feelings, and Jeff is definitely looking at her in a way he never has before.

Review:

I was excited when Heather said she was coming out with some more contemporary romance! This one was great and did not disappoint and to top it off it is a series with two more books coming. Woot Woot! The characters were very well developed. Alicia returned to Pine Valley to care for and help her mother who was struggling in different ways. It was interesting to read about her Mom's issues and how they helped her through it. Alicia works at an upscale restaurant and who comes to the restaurant but the one and only Jeff Finch, who ruined their friendship many years ago in high school. This is a wonderful book about friendship, forgiveness, learning to trust and second chance love. It was a sweet contemporary romance book that kept me turning the pages.  I look forward to reading more books about Pine Valley.

Stars: 4.5

Taking a Chance by Becky Monson

Synopsis:

Liza Parker has a fear of heights, crowds and small spaces. So what's a girl like her doing on a crowded elevator going to the top of the Empire State Building? Freaking out, that's what she is doing. Enter Jay Sanders, a tourist who thinks he might be able to help Liza face her fears, but she has to be willing to spend the day with a complete stranger. Maybe taking a chance on Jay is just what Liza needs.

Review:

This is a fun and witty romantic comedy. Oh man I feel Liza's pain in fearing heights! This was a super quick read but the story was cute about Jay who saw Liza on the elevator and decided to take a chance by trying to help her out. And she decides to take a chance on spending the day with a stranger. They form a cute friendship full of silly jokes and a few swoony moments. I like them and I  wish the book was longer but short and sweet with great details, a fun setting, and likeable characters makes for a great novella.

Stars: 4.5

The Curse of February Fourteenth by Liz Isaacson

Synopsis:

Cal Hodgkins, cowboy veterinarian at Bowman's Breeds, isn't planning to meet anyone at the masked dance in small-town Three Rivers. He just wants to get his bachelor friends off his back and sit on the sidelines to drink his punch. But when he sees a woman dressed in gorgeous butterfly wings and cowgirl boots with blue stitching, he's smitten. Too bad she runs away from the dance before he can get her name, leaving only her boot behind...
Katrina Salisbury has made Three Rivers her fourth small town stop after she escaped her high profile life as the #1 women's tennis player in the world. She loved the fame and money and attention, until she found out her fiancé was cheating on her. That was all her wrong kind of attention, and she's left tennis behind in favor of being a cowgirl for Bowman's Breeds. If she'd actually worn a pair of cowgirl boots or seen a horse in real life before, she might be able to pull things off.
She doesn't want any eyes on her, but when she sees her cowgirl boot on Cal's mantle, her heart flutters. As their friendship blooms into something more, she doesn't have the heart to tell him who she really is. Will Trina take a leap of faith and become Cal's Cinderella? Or will she do what she's gotten really good at: Running from the unpleasant?

Review:

This is a fun romantic novella that is part of the Three Rivers Ranch series. This was a cute retelling of Cinderella. Cal meets a beautiful woman dressed as a butterfly at a dance but she runs off leaving her cowboy boot behind. Cal wasn't looking to find someone and now he has met someone he is drawn to and enjoys spending time with but that cowboy boot keeps reminding him of the woman that ran out of the dance. This is a book of change, trust and finding a love that is real. I loved the chemistry between Trina and Cal I just wished she would have saved some heartache by being honest sooner. It was well written and for being a novella you didn't feel like it was rushed.

Stars: 4

The Secret of A Kiss by Kimberley Montpetit

Synopsis:

Linden Adair is a talented makeup artist on the New York Broadway show, Phantom of the Opera, creating the hideous scar for the actor who plays the phantom every night. But nobody knows the deep scar Linden carries after the divorce from her husband, Mark Denly- who is the famous director of Phantom. Why didn't somebody ever tell her that marrying your director was a bad idea, especially when he has a wandering eye?
Desperate to get away after enduring several years of heartache, Linden takes a cross-country trip to visit her best friend in Seattle. While driving on a deserted stretch of highway late at night, she hits a deer and crashes the rental car into a gully outside of Snow Valley, Montana. A devastatingly handsome stranger with a tow truck rescues Linden and her smashed vehicle, but when she catches sight of him in the light, she's shocked. Anton Baldwin possess a terrible scar on his face-just like the phantom she created every night at the theater.
But Anton is hiding more than the truth behind his scar, and during a whirlwind week while being recruited for a television show being filmed in Snow Valley, the secrets of the enigmatic man turn her world upside down. When Anton helps Linden open up to the world around her, Linden wonders if the small town of Snow Valley might hold the magic she needs to heal the scars on her broken heart.

Review:

Oh the cute little town of Snow Valley returns and once again this Snow Valley book did not disappoint. I love the cover...it is perfect for this book! Everyone has been through trial and heartache and I love that this book brought two people from different worlds together to help and heal each other. If it weren't for the accident Linden had outside of the town of Snow Valley she would have never met Anton. After their first meeting and some walls were broken down I loved the connection between Linden and Anton. They had quite the chemistry and shared some steamy kisses. I loved how the Phantom of the Opera was intertwined through out the book. It was well written and kept you engaged the whole time as it moved along quickly. Love it!

Stars: 5

Around the Bend by Liz Isaacson (Love me Tender box set)

Synopsis:

Cowboy Elliot Hawthorne has just lost his best friend and cabin mate to the worst thing imaginable-marriage. Elliot would be happy for his best friend if he weren't quite so jealous. When his brother calls about an accident with their father, Elliot rushes down to Gold Valley from the ranch only to be met with the most beautiful woman he's ever met.
His father's new physical therapist, Holland Marsh, likes the handsome face and gentle spirit she sees in Elliot too. The spark between them is instant and Elliot's grateful he's finally found someone he can connect to.
But without his brother's stamp of approval and with the way Holland's previous relationship ended, Elliot and Holland seem to be hitting the accelerator and the brake at the same time. Because her sister is now dating her ex-fiancé, Holland struggles to believe that Elliot could actually be interested in her. And when Brenda comes to town, Holland's sure Elliot will gravitate toward the more magnetic sister. Can Elliot and Holland navigate difficult family situations to find happily-ever-after?

Review:

I love Gold Valley and all the cute cowboy's that live in this town. This is a short and sweet novella that is part of the Gold Valley series but also part of the "Love Me Tender" box set. It had good descriptions for the length of the book and was very quick paced. Do you believe in first sight? Well Holland and Elliot didn't until one day... Holland has moved to Gold Valley to make a new life for herself and when he makes eye contact with one of her patience son's her life is forever changed. Elliot feels like the only one without a significant other and when he goes to help his father after he is injured his world is flipped upside down when he meets Holland. Sparks fly and a kiss happens before their first date... oo la la! Cute book about love, trials to overcome and life to continue living.

Stars: 4