Series: Heroes Come Home (Book 4)
Ex-navy SEAL Tom Cartwright is struggling to
return to civilian life. His little niece is his only ray of sunshine
and he agrees to be the "show" in her school show-and-tell.
Teacher
Caitlin Rose knows all about past disappointments—once, she danced in
the spotlight but now she shows others how to. She's learned the hard
way to rely only on herself. Yet as soon as Tom looks at her with those
big brown eyes, she's done for….
Can Caitlin crack the walls around this soldier's battle-worn heart?
Very good book. Tom was injured in an explosion and lost the hearing in one ear. This brought an end to his career as an active SEAL. Now he is working as an instructor, training new recruits. He is having a hard time adjusting to the loss, as he felt that being a SEAL was what and who he was. His niece Gabby is about the only thing that cheers him up. When he visits her school, he meets her teacher and finds something else that makes him happy. Caitlin knows how he feels, since she lost her own dreams several years earlier. She is also very cautious around Tom, having been abused by her military father and military ex-boyfriend. She finds pretty quickly that she actually feels safe with him, but also knows that he needs to deal with his problems before they can go on. I liked Tom and how gentle he was with Gabby. It showed Caitlin that he was a man who could be trusted. I could also see how the loss of his SEAL status was eating at him, and how he wasn't allowing himself to move on. Gabby's strength of character and the way she was able to stand up to Tom and make him listen to her was great. I also liked the way she made him see that teaching was just as important as what he had done before. The conclusion was fun, when he took her on the tour of the training. I loved the reactions they got. This has been a terrific series, and I hope there will be more.
Series: Sky High Air (Book 1)
Noah is a bad-boy rebel who's always gone his own
way, but when the stowaway on board turns out to be his secret crush,
he'll make it his mission to keep the passenger satisfied...
Flying Solo Is Way Overrated
Noah Fisher has worked for months to make Sky High the most prestigious
charter airline in California. He's long overdue for a break--something
involving ski slopes, cold beers, and hot ski bunny babes, not
necessarily in that order. The itinerary doesn't include being hijacked
by Bailey Sinclair, gorgeous widow of one of Sky High's wealthiest (ex-)
clients. But here they are, and being crammed in a cockpit with the
scared, stubborn, unbelievably sexy former model he's been fantasizing
about invokes Superman tendencies that could get Noah in serious
trouble.
Bailey is desperate to find the stash of money hidden by her conniving,
thieving late husband--before the bad guys he owed find her. It's a long
shot, but nothing compared to the gamble she's taking by being so close
to Noah. Every minute in his company has Bailey thinking about doing
crazy, reckless things like touching, grabbing, kissing...and oh wow,
being kissed right back. Suddenly, seat-of-your-pants seems like the
only way to fly, and maybe it's the altitude playing tricks, but this is
one trip she never wants to end...
Good book. Noah has been attracted to Bailey since she and her (now dead) husband started flying with him. Now she has hijacked him and his plane in an attempt to save her life. The bad guys told her that she had to find the money her husband stole from them or they'd kill her brother and her second grade students. At first, Noah wants nothing to do with it, but he soon realizes that she's really in trouble and scared. I really liked Noah and the way he is able to think on his feet and get them out of harm's way. He was certainly determined to help her and keep her safe. Bailey wanted to get to the half-built resorts to try to find the money, but she didn't want to endanger Noah any more than she already had. I mostly liked Bailey, and the way she was trying to keep from causing anyone else to be hurt. But I have to admit that I questioned her "smarts" on several occasions. She knew she was going to have to be able to move quickly, but she insisted on wearing totally wrong high-heeled shoes instead of sneakers or something else she could actually run in. She had a hard time following Noah's instructions, even when the bad guys were practically right on top of them. And she kept avoiding telling Noah the whole truth, supposedly to protect him - even though he was in it up to his neck from the moment she got on his plane. I got that they were really attracted to each other, but there were times they were indulging in that attraction that were just plain wrong. Overall, I really liked the book, just not one of my Jill Shalvis favorites.
Series: Matchmaking Mamas (Book 8)
THREE MEN...AND THE PERFECT LADY?
If there was one thing
single dad Micah Muldare lacked, it was time! The busy widower didn't
have enough hours in the day for his too-full to-do list-his
high-profile job demanded focus, and the rest of his not-so-spare time
was devoted to caring for his two little boys. He certainly had no room
in his hectic schedule for romance...until Tracy Ryan walked through his
door.
The once-burned attorney had long ago given up on finding
true love and a family of her own. She'd grown used to keeping her heart
under guard. But resisting handsome Micah-and his adorable children-was
proving difficult indeed! Maybe it was time Tracy reconsidered her
no-nonsense approach to life and took the ultimate risk to win the
family she'd always wanted!
Good book. I really liked Micah. He had devoted his life to his sons and his work, because he didn't want to go through the devastating pain that he had gone through when he lost his wife. When he needed a lawyer, he was given Tracy's name by a friend of his aunt's. He didn't expect to be attracted to her. Tracy had given up on the idea of a family of her own and now spent all her time working. She hadn't had any trouble resisting the urge until she met Micah and his boys. I loved Micah's devotion to his family, and his boys were simply adorable. I liked the way he was so straight with Tracy about his legal problems and what it meant to him. I loved the way that Tracy bonded with Micah's sons so quickly, and how well she fit into his life. I also thought that the way she worked at proving Micah innocent of the charges was great. And, as always, I love seeing people from previous books show up in later stories.
Series: Matchmaking Mamas (Book 7)
It's been eighteen years since Kara Calhoun laid eyes on David
Scarlatti, the one man who'd always gotten under her skin—the wrong way!
That doesn't stop a pair of matchmaking moms from believing their son
and daughter are made for each other. So Kara cooks up her own scheme to
prove them wrong. Even if it means temporarily dating the
super-geek-turned-dedicated-doctor…who's much too good-looking for this
video game tester's good!
The bubbly blonde dynamo is the skinny
tomboy who used to drive Dave crazy? Impossible! And agreeing to her
plan is even crazier…especially when Kara awakens irresistible desire in
the reserved physician. With their pretend romance flaring into
something neither expected, Dave devises a backup plan: convincing Kara
that that incredible first kiss won't be their last….
Good book. I loved the interaction between Kara and Dave. They really balanced each other well. Kara is impulsive, creative and mouthy. Dave is reserved and logical. Kara had picked on him constantly when they were kids. But when their moms cooked up a matchmaking scheme, Kara talked Dave into a fake relationship to stop them. What they didn't count on was their attraction to each other. They also found that they actually liked being with each other. I loved the way they took care of each other, even as they snarked at each other. Dave realized that Kara gave him the fun that he needed after hard days at the hospital or clinic. And Kara found that Dave gave her the steadiness that she had been looking for.
Series: Heroes Come Home (Book 3)
To the outside world, Daniel and Penny Cartwright have it all—a
lovely home, a beautiful daughter, successful military careers and a
rock-solid marriage. But when Daniel makes a reckless mistake, the
foundations of their marriage are shaken. Now he's got to act fast to
keep hold of his precious wife.
Daniel launches a campaign to win
Penny back: he has just a week to do whatever it takes to make her fall
in love with him all over again.
This was a different kind of story. I really wasn't sure at first if I was going to like it. I was firmly on Penny's side -- I don't know that I would forgive him either. But the more I read of the book, the more I came to believe that their marriage could be saved. They obviously did love each other and their daughter. I could see that Daniel deeply regretted what he had done and would do anything to save them. I could also see and understand Penny's reluctance to trust him. I liked the way they finally began to really communicate, as that was the only way they would be able to move forward.
