Susan's Review of Her Royal Payne by Shana Galen--Survivors Series -- 10

He’s a pain...literally.

Rowden Payne, known as The Royal Payne, makes his living in the high stakes world of bareknuckle boxing. The disavowed son of a duke likes the focus boxing requires. It keeps his mind off the tragedies in his past. But just as he’s poised to knock out his biggest rival, he’s mesmerized by a pair of exotic hazel eyes in the crowd. He finds himself flat on his back and short fifty pounds.

She’s a prude with a problem.

Modesty Brown’s father has vanished. Modesty’s only way of finding her is by asking the only man she knows of that class—Rowden Payne. Unfortunately, she’s the one responsible for the Royal Payne losing his crucial fight.

Sometimes the hardest hit is the one to the heart.

Rowden doesn’t want to care for anyone or anything, but if he can just help Modesty find her father, he can be rid of her. Soon the revelation of her father’s secrets and lies puts Modesty, Rowden, and their friends in danger.....

Danger . . .
Adventure . . .
Heartwarming Romances....

Shana Galen combines these story elements perfectly in the latest installment of The Survivor series-Her Royal Payne.

I enjoyed this well-paced, character driven novel. Shana Galen’s descriptive prose transports the reader into the boxing ring with Rowden. I could imagine Rowden dodging punches, evading his opponent and could sense the excitement of the crowd. I loved Rowden – his caring and protective nature appealed to me. The attraction between Rowden and Modesty is apparent from their first meeting and I loved how their feelings deepened. Modesty reaches out to Rowden for help after her Father disappears. Rowden arranges for Modesty to stay with Ewan Mostyn and Lady Lorraine and it was great fun to visit with one of my favorite couples!

Rowden’s manager Chibale Okoro is featured in this novel. Loved the relationship between Rowden and his boxing manager. Rowden trusted Chibale and took his advice on improving his boxing skills without hesitation. The author showed that even though Chibale was confident in giving orders to Rowden, he was hesitant in pursuing his relationship with modiste Therese Renauld. I rooted for this romance and enjoyed every word of their story.

Her Royal Payne has the perfect amount of passion, intrigue and danger. Shana Galen blends two romances with the excitement and danger of the boxing world. I enjoyed reading this novel because the author gave each couple time for their relationship to evolve. Rowden’s soft spot for Trogdon, Modesty’s desire to find her father, Chibale’s love for his family and Therese’s colorful bird Bluette enabled me to relate to each of the main characters. Loved the elements of danger that was threaded throughout the storyline.

I loved the characters and their stories in this fast paced novel and highly reccomend it.

Reviewed by

Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the author

Susan's Review of Perfectly Famous by Emily Liebert

As a mother and a famous author, Ward DeFleur has it all. She lives in a beautiful estate in picture-perfect Connecticut, along with her teenage daughter, Stevie, where nothing can go wrong. Until, one night, when Stevie is brutally murdered and Ward’s entire world is shattered. Consumed by panic and grief, Ward vows never to put pen to paper again.

Enter Bree Bennett.

Bree is a recently-divorced, former-journalist-cum-housewife, desperate to fill her days with something other than Pilates classes and grocery shopping. So she decides to start writing for the town newspaper. What begins as Bree’s effort to tell Ward’s tragic narrative turns into a fixation with finding her favorite author. Unfortunately, Ward doesn’t want to be found. Even worse, Stevie’s killer is still on the loose…

A chance encounter connects journalist Bree Bennett with author Ward DeFleur. On paper, the two woman have a lot in common; both have 16 year old daughters, live in the same town and both of them write for a living. The well-defined, complex characters and the fast-paced plot drew me into the story immediately.

Emily Liebert tells the story of bestselling author Ward DeFleur and Journalist Bree Bennet from the first person viewpoint by alternating chapters. I enjoyed this narrative choice because I was able to understand each characters feelings and motivations. This technique also heightened both the tension and the mystery elements in this page turner. Ward DeFleur is a bestselling author who vanishes after her daughter is kidnapped and dies. Ward disappears without a trace. Bree feels a connection with Ward and decides to tell Ward’s story.

The author creates outstanding female characters in this book. Loved Bree’s relationship with her mom and best friend Maggie. Bree’s mom is hilarious. She cares for Bree by trying to fix her up on dates with her friend’s sons. And she advises Bree to update her Facebook page with a photo with makeup. A subtle way of saying Bree needs to step up her image to find her next husband. Maggie is Bree’s true north friend-they share everything. Maggie is a psychologist and understands Bree’s need to move on emotionally. The push pull relationship between teenage Chloe and Bree was spot on. I understood Bree’s desire to reinvent herself after her divorce. She’s no longer someone’s wife; and her cookie baking and carpool days are behind her.

I figured out who was out to get Ward early on in the novel and I was patiently waiting for Bree to put the puzzle pieces together. I was invested in Bree’s desire to find Ward and to tell her story. The mystery of Ward’s disappearance held my interest—how can someone disappear in this age of the internet and social media?

In my opinion, the last few chapters seamed rushed and didn’t resonate with the feel of the book. I felt that the conclusion was more dramatic than suspenseful. The last page came out of nowhere and I have had a hard time believing the resolution.

Would I read another book by this author? Yes, I would. I enjoyed the fast paced suspenseful storyline and thought the characters of Bree, Maggie and Chloe and Ward were complex yet, very relatable.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by Net Galley