Audio: Flare up - Shannon Stacey

By: Shannon Stacey

Narrated by: Tatiana Sokolov

Series: Boston Fire, Book 6

Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 01-29-19

Language: English

Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Contemporary romance

My Thoughts:

There was a whole lovestory that we missed, instead the book opens with them meeting again. And what a meeting. Grant saves Ren from a burning building.

I get why Ren broke up and ran from him. Sometimes the answer is s silly but here, I got that she was scared and needed to run. Yes she should have talked to him, but I understood. And she was such a great person!

Grant, poor guy, he was all heartbroken and still he was willing to help her out after the fire. He as such a great guy, the best! Awww, oh Grant, yes he was a keeper.

So they start things again. And that danger is still there, that running away from danger. I actually expected it to get really dangerous, but it never truly did. But then this is not suspense, this is romance.

This is book 6, and yes there are a lot of couples nearby, but you do not feel lost. It did make me want to read about them though. It is such a great tight knit friendgroup.

Conclusin:

Romance, firemen and great friends. Makes for a sweet story.

Cover

Nothing to complain about

Narrator Tatiana Sokolov

I am so sure I have listened to her before, but then I looked at her books and found nothing. A real mystery. But hey I guess that is a good thing, I felt at home with that voice.

Ok so I am not a Bostonian and I do not know if she did it justice, but I certainly liked it. I do not know why but I really enjoy hearing the Boston A. 

She worked well with the different voices, and big A for the A

Story:

Meet the tough, dedicated men of Boston Fire-and the women who turn their lives upside down. 

Nursing a broken heart while everybody around him seems to be drowning in happiness has Grant Cutter wondering whether staying with Engine 59-or even Boston Fire-is in his future. It's tempting as hell to pack up what fits in his Jeep and hit the road. But then a 911 call brings the woman who shattered his heart back into his life, and he knows he won't ever be able to fully leave her in his rearview mirror. 

For a few months, Wren Everett had thought the nightmare of her past was behind her and she might live happily ever after with Grant. Until she got the phone call letting her know the time her ex had spent in jail for assault hadn't cooled his temper or determination that she belonged with him. Cutting ties with Grant was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do, but it was also the only way to keep him safe.Now that Grant is back, he's not letting Wren push him away again. And even with the trust issues between them, Wren dares to hope she and Grant might have a future together after all...if they're willing to fight for it. 

Carole's Sunday: The Cowboy's forgetful bride - Leslie North

Author: Leslie North

Title: The Cowboy’s Forgetful Bride

(Brothers of the Cooper Ranch)

Genre: Western, Romance

Pages: ebook

Published: December 27th 2018

Where I Got It: My shelf (Netgalley)

Bella Whitmore is the heir to the Whitmore Shipping fortune. Refusing to be pigeon-holed into the socialite box, Bella has worked her entire life to show her father that she can be the son he never had and take over the Whitmore Shipping Empire. So when she wakes up, on a ranch in Montana, missing the memories of the last month of her life, you’d think that would be the worst case scenario. And it is…until she realizes the devil she’d worked so hard to avoid for the last year is now her husband. 

Sawyer Cooper knows he’s a devil. Handsome, charismatic, and with an eye for feeding people’s vices, Sawyer’s reinvented himself as a shark in the business world, but very few realize that he’s actually a Cooper of the Country Coop fortune. But rather than resting on the laurels (and red-neck reputation) of Country Coop, Sawyer wants to show the world exactly how important farming can be. To do this, he needs Bella Whitmore’s help. Every bit as beautiful as her name suggests, and smarter than everyone else in the room, Sawyer knows that she could make his dreams come true, both inside and outside of the bedroom. And after a year of pursuing her, she’s finally said yes -- to everything. 

But after a horseback riding accident, Bella’s brain has reset back to the beginning, and Sawyer was never good at starting a game over. Especially not after he’d already won. Now, Sawyer needs to figure out how to woo her for a second time. Because this time around it’s not just his professional pride on the line: it’s his heart.

Who doesn't love a nice cowboy ;)? 

So the story follows Sawyer and Bella. Sawyer is a hunky cowboy who has an amazing business idea. Bella is the daughter of a business mogul who is a complete jerk and doesn't fully appreciate Bella and her brains. He just wants her to be a dumb socialite and marry a man he can leave the company to one day. Things happen, but we don't get to see them because one minute Bella goes to bed and wakes up a month or so later and she is now married to Sawyer in Montana. She can't remember a thing...

I wanted to slash the tires of Bella's dad. He was an absolute sexist jerk. Grr! *shakes fist* 

Sawyer was hunky and Bella was sweet and sassy and smart. Everything a cowboy businessman needs. 

The drama was good. Not over-the-top. I enjoyed seeing some of the business drama unfold as well. Bella and Sawyer were sweet together and I felt bad. However....I hated Sawyer at first. Sure, everyone has their weaknesses and whatnot, but his original reaction to Bella's memory loss threw me off. Ummmm....she is your wife. I would've slapped him. He gets better and makes up for his moment of selfishness, but still. I was not amused. 

I also wasn't 100% in love in how everything was resolved and "fixed". I GET IT. But....I don't know. I think it was a waste of time and money honestly. 

Overall, this was a cute one with some drama. Sawyer took a while to earn my love and the ending I wasn't really in love with it. However, the rest of the story was good. That would really stink to lose your memory!! D: I'll stamp this with 3 stars. 

Best of January

Happy Feb!! Here are our Best of's for January!

First, favorite movies:

Blodeuedd and I both had the same movie for the best of January! We both picked *drumroll*

A Star is Born (2018)

Blodeuedd: "A star is born obviously! Amazing movie that made me cry."

Carole: "Yes! This was an emotional, but amazing movie that everyone must see!"

Next, Book favorites:

First, my pick.............Lady of the Eternal City by Kate Quinn

"A great end to a series! I was so unsure how everything would end! Sooo good."

Now, Blodeuedd's pick.....The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire

"This series is amazing and she brings us another stunner"

Lastly, best covers:

Blodeuedd's is first and mine is second

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

Our Child of the Stars - Stephen Cox

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published January 24th 2019 by Jo Fletcher Books

Spec fic

Thank you JF for this copy

My Thoughts

Molly and Gene had their issues. Well, Molly had her issues. Gene stood by her even though things went downhill. I never thought about what a great guy Gene was!

Molly lost a child and sank into alcohol and depression. Then the meteor comes and with it a child, of the stars.

Ok so obviously you can guess that it's an alien. Yes the kid is an alien. It is the 60s. Soviet are knocking on the door. There are commie spies. There is the threat of nuclear war. And well alien tech, yes please to that!

Molly with her issues, was a good person, she saw this lost child and wanted to care for him. And she knew what the government would do *shakes fist at government*. She hides him and raises him as their son.

The book is about lost hope, loosing yourself and finding something to live for. A new goal, a new life. But there is danger as they will never stop looking, and well there are more things that I can not discuss. Those things made me want another book at the end. To see how things goes after the end, which was a good solid ending.

And you know if it happened today they would take him at once and do things, who cares if it is a child with feelings and speech. It is an alien after all.

Conclusion:

A good story, that packs danger, curiosity and most of all what it means to be family.

A different sort of alien story, that is truly worth reading

Edit: I asked the author and he will write another book! Good news cos even though there is an ending, there is so much more that could happen

Story

A lost child, the family who try to protect him and the secret that refuses to stay hidden . . .

Molly and Gene Myers were happy, until tragedy blighted their hopes of children. During the years of darkness and despair, they each put their marriage in jeopardy, but now they are starting to rebuild their fragile bond.

This is the year of Woodstock and the moon landings; war is raging in Vietnam and the superpowers are threatening each other with annihilation.

Then the Meteor crashes into Amber Grove, devastating the small New England town - and changing their lives for ever. Molly, a nurse, caught up in the thick of the disaster, is given care of a desperately ill patient rescued from the wreckage: a sick boy with a remarkable appearance, an orphan who needs a mother.

And soon the whole world will be looking for him.

Cory's arrival has changed everything. And the Myers will do anything to keep him safe.

A remarkable story of warmth, tenacity and generosity of spirit, set against the backdrop of a fast-changing, terrifying decade.