REVIEW: Blazing Midsummer Nights

Title: Blazing Midsummer Nights
Author: Leslie Kelly
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Format: e-book
# of pages: n/a
Source: Netgalley
Links: goodreads

Summary:
(from goodreads)

Anything can happen on a magical midsummer's eve
Marketing director/workaholic Mimi Burdette has The Plan-work for her father and date his right-hand man. Problem is, there's no heat in the relationship. Not even a spark. And worse still, Mimi is having some seriously sexy, panties-ablaze dreams-and the star looks a lot like Xander McKinley, the hunky firefighter next door. Mimi's dreams might be due to the strange tea she drank. Or the predictions from the fortune cookie she ate. Or they could be due to Xander's smokin' hotness. But whether it's magic or just old-fashioned fireworks, Mimi is about to break all of the rules-including her own!

Review:
The title made me think of Shakespeare, haha.  But this isn't Shakespeare.  It's a hot romance by Leslie Kelly, who is one of my favorite authors.

The main characters, Mimi and Xander, are attracted to each other at first sight.  But Mimi is not looking for a hot man, as she's looking to earn a promotion from her father.  Instead, she's trying to date the Dad-approved guy.  And Xander decides to not get involved after learning that Mimi's an heiress.  But it seems like the universe has other plans and wants to keep throwing Mimi and Xander together.  First, with him mistakenly walking in on her half-naked in her bedroom, and then with him racing to her rescue and catching her when she falls from trees.  And then of course, there was the fortune cookie, strange tea, and vivid dreams.  I think this was Leslie's way of trying to add a unique aspect to this plot, but  Mimi didn't even remember the dreams when she woke up, except for her last dream, so I don't think it added much.


No doubt that these two have chemistry, allowing Xander to help Mimi release the real her and leading this book to be sweet, romantic, and funny at times.   However, the side characters didn't add much for me.  They were just there.  We hardly heard from them, since most of the book was just Mimi and her thoughts or Xander and his thoughts or them talking to each other.  We didn't get much interaction between Mimi and Dmitri, so I thought having him there was pretty pointless.  There was no real love triangle there, no conflict.  Mimi pretty much dismissed Dmitri as a romantic option at the beginning, and so I never got the sense that she was truly considering seriously dating him. I guess they were there as plot movers, creating scenarios for Mimi and Xander together and moving the plot along quickly.  But I felt like there could have been more interaction...I hope I'm making sense, lol.

And then, I'm a little iffy with the ending, but not because of Mimi and Xander's ending.  Dmitri ended up getting engaged to Helen, who he apparently had a relationship with before moving to Athens, GA.  When they saw each other at her parents' home, where Mimi also lives, after Helen had moved back, they were both shocked and tense.  I already knew they were going to get together when it was revealed that they knew each other.  But I want to know what happened between them!  How did they end up engaged?  I felt like that could've been a whole other book.  Or at least, a little more in the epilogue, other than Dmitri holding is soon-to-be wife and stepson.


But overall, the main characters were likable and this was a cute, easy read.  I recommend this if you're looking for a quick romance to read.

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REVIEW: Bet On a Cowboy

Title: Bet On a Cowboy
Author: Julie Benson
Series: A Cowboy for Every Mood
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Harlequin American Romance
Format: e-book
# of pages: n/a
Source: Netgalley
Challenge: n/a

Summary:
(from Goodreads)
Commitment phobic Colorado cowboy Griffin McAlister has it all figured out. Do the reality dating show, get the money his family desperately needs and go on with his life. Actually falling in love was never part of the deal...least of all falling in love with the show's spunky director.

Maggie Sullivan knows she's found a star the minute she meets Griffin. But as she gets to know the man behind the dimples, she realizes she might have found something more. It doesn't matter, though; she has a job to do. Besides, how could he ever notice her while he's busy wooing ten gorgeous women?

Now Griffin has a choice to make: stick with the plan and lose Maggie forever, or risk everything for a chance to win her heart!

Review:
I'm back with a review!  Finally, lol.  I get a break from school for a week, so I'm getting in as much reading as I can, while I have time. :P  I was looking to start with a light, fun read and definitely found it in Bet On a Cowboy.

The plot was not very original, but it was still fun.  The main characters are what make this book though.  They have great chemistry, leading to great dialogue and witty banter.  They didn't fall in love at first sight, though I do think Maggie fell in lust at first sight, but who wouldn't?  Griffin is described as tall, charismatic, very good looking and oozing sex appeal.  Maggie didn't stand a chance against lust here.  Though she does have some self-esteem issues which makes her think Griffin would never look twice at her.  And Griffin thought the same too, remarking on how plain Maggie looked, except for gorgeous emerald green eyes.  But Maggie is different from the usual girls Griffin dates, and so he doesn't know what hit him until later on in the book.

As they work on the Bachelor-esque show together, they get to know each other better, learning about each other's pasts.  Also, Maggie sees past Griffin's facade and doesn't fall for his bs, like women usually do.  She doesn't let him charm her into giving him everything that he wants, which is great.  They slowly realize they've fallen in love, but their romance is not easy as they are both torn between proclaiming their love for each other and their duties, Maggie's to the show and Griffin's to his mom.  But in the end, they get their happy ending.

I felt the story was just the right pace, not too fast and not too slow.  I really connected with Maggie and rooted for her and Griffin all the way.  It was also great to meet Griffin's family, who are all great characters.  Griffin's is the second book in this series.  His older brother, Rory, was the main character in the first book.  You don't need to read the first one to understand what's happening in this one.  I haven't read the first one and didn't feel I missed out on something I needed to know.  But I will try to get my hands on it, as I really like Julie's writing style.  Also, I think Grffin's sister, Avery, will be getting her own story too.  I recommend this book for a light, fun read!

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REVIEW: A Callahan Wedding

Title: A Callahan Wedding
Author: Tina Leonard
Series: Callahan Cowboys
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Harlequin American Romance
Format: ebook
# of pages: n/a
Source: Netgalley
Challenge: Read the Month (April)
Summary:
(from Harlequin.com)

Sabrina McKinley broke Jonas's heart when she left him for another man. Then the eldest Callahan brother gets the surprise of his life when he sees her again…holding his son. Even at six months, his bouncing baby boy was wearing the legendary Callahan smile!

Which means Sabrina has got to marry him, even if Jonas has to drag her to the altar.

Sabrina's been head over heels for the hunky cowboy doctor since the day she first came to Rancho Diablo; it's always been Jonas keeping her at arm's length. She won't settle for anything less than the real deal—the love and happiness that Jonas's five brothers have found.

But when a revelation about a family secret comes out, Sabrina can see Jonas is ready to look toward the future. He won't be the last bachelor on the ranch. After all, he's a Callahan!

Review:
This is the sixth book in Tina Leonard's Callahan Cowboys series.  I haven't read the previous books in the series, so it affected my reading and enjoyment a bit, since there are quite a few references to the other books.  I was left with some questions because of that, so I recommend reading the previous books before reading this one.

The main story is, of course, Jonas trying to win Sabrina back.  All of a sudden, he's accepted that Sabrina's son was his, so he had to marry her.  Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of Jonas from the start and that didn't change too much throughout the story.  I understand that he needs to be macho, but as Sabrina said, most of his proposals (if you could call them that) were chauvinistic.  He didn't ask her to marry him, he told her she needed to!  Also, I didn't get too much chemistry from Jonas and Sabrina together.  Maybe that's because I haven't read the previous books, since they got together before in a kind of "friends with benefits" type thing.  But there was a big lack of romance in their relationship in this book.  He didn't even tell her he loved her until the end!  He would tell himself, sure, but never mentioned that to her, so of course she wouldn't know how he felt!

There was also the added mystery of the family secret.  A man is hanging around the Callahan property trying to find out if any of the Callahans know the secret.  He was caught before, in one of the previous books, but was released and is on the prowl again.  The ending of this books makes it seem like it's probably not the last time you'll see him, so I imagine there'll be another book in this series.

Overall, the plot was okay and most of the characters were likable enough.  I would recommend this book if you're looking for an easy read about a cowboy romance in a small town.  But remember, read the previous books in the series first!  I think it'll help your enjoyment of this one...

Rating:

Plot:	★★★
Characters:	★★★
Ending:	★★★
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