Susan's Review of Caught Up In You-Claire Hastings Indigo Royal Resort Series #2

Leona Filipe loves her job. As the head of housekeeping at the luxurious Indigo Royal Resort on St. Thomas, USVI, she has seen it all and has the wild stories to prove it. She works with her best friends, is close enough to see her family often, and has the perfect friends-with-benefits relationship. Life is pretty damn amazing. Except for the two weeks each year that Cullen Cruz stays at the resort. He is the only man who can get under her skin. But that is all he’s getting under. She made that mistake years ago, and it will never happen again. 

Fresh off the news of his “retirement” from football, Cullen Cruz cannot wait to get to the Indigo Royal for his annual retreat before returning to England to figure out what’s next. Only this year, it’s been turned into a “working vacation” by his agent, who volunteered Cullen to run a skills camp for local kids. While that wouldn’t normally sit well, extending the trip to teach some kids how to kick a ball does mean two more weeks getting to see the woman he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since their first, and last, encounter ten years ago. 

When fate forces these two to confront what happened between them that night all those years ago, they find that there is more to each other than they realized, and that maybe they don’t annoy each other as much as they thought...

Are you looking for a fabulous end of summer read?

Set in in the Virgin Islands, Claire Hastings’ Caught Up In You is the perfect Labor Day weekend read. This second chance story has all the feels- a lush tropical setting, an engaging, relatable couple and a sensuous romance.

At first I wasn’t too sure how the pairing of housekeeper Leona Filipe and soccer star Cullen Cruz would work out. Claire Hasting’s descriptive voice and spot on storytelling brought these characters to life for me. Cullen and Leona are multifaceted characters. The author dug deep to provide the readers with a glimpse of Cullen’s past and contrasted with his playboy, soccer star image. Leona loves her job at the Indigo Royal and its perks but, her family and friends mean everything to her. The chemistry between the couple is sizzling hot and I loved their heartfelt, humorous and sexy conversations!

Caught Up In You is fast-paced and well written. Cullen and Leona’s story captivated me from the first page. I enjoyed this trip to the Indigo Royale and enjoyed catching up with Drea, Kyle, Dawson, Maeve and the uncles. Locking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the Author

Claire Hastings is a walking, talking awkward moment. She loves Diet Coke, gummi bears, the beach, and books (obvs). When not reading she can usually be found hanging with friends at a soccer match or grabbing food (although she probably still has a book in her purse). She and her husband Drew live in Atlanta with their fur-child Denali.

Click HERE to Visit Claire's website

Sign Up for Claire’s Newsletter HERE!

Susan's Review of The First To Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Fascinating, suspenseful and emotional –are the three words that describe Hank Phillippi Ryan’s First to Lie. The novel is filled with interesting, multi-faceted characters and the plot is teeming with suspense, deception and retribution.

TV news reporter Ellie Berensen’s investigation of Pharminex drew me into the story. Health care is a touchstone topic for everyone. People think drugs will help them, not harm them. Ellie’s determination to pursue the truth about the Pharminex drug Monifan kept me reading. The cast of characters including Nora, the pharmaceutical rep, Meg, Ellie’s assistant, attorney Gabe and police lieutenant Rafel Monterio added to the suspense filled storyline. The characters lie to each other throughout the novel. I loved trying to sort through the lies to see if there was a hint of honesty behind the deceptions.

Hank Phillippi Ryan blends the perfect amount of conflict and drama in this book to create a nail biting, intriguing story. There were lots of plot twists and turns. I felt like the characters were playing chess as each character waited for the other to make a move. I was focused on Ellie’s sorting through the facts and clues that I fell for a few of the strategically placed red herrings. First to Lie kept me on the edge of my chair as it was filled with suspense until the very last page.

First to Lie is engaging and well written—I found it hard to put down. I recommend it to all mystery and thriller readers.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC from publisher--All opinions are my own.

Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay - audio version

Paris is Always a Good Idea

by Jenn McKinlay

 ★★★★★

I want to start my review by saying the title first drew

me to the story. Then, I took a listen to the sample and

found the narrator to be pleasant. That is what it took

to get me to listen to Jenn McKinlay and her story,

Paris is Always a Good Idea. 

Chelsea Martin finds herself deep in hard feelings with

her family. We all find that happening sometimes. It's the worst.

It's even harder when you know you're behaving badly

and immature. You know you're doing it. But you just 

cannot help yourself. 

So Chelsea takes off on a trip. A trip full of mostly wonderful

memories. She is hoping that replaying the romance and

happiness from this trip will help her come to terms with the

family issues she is struggling with. 

She makes her way from Ireland to France to Italy. Only to 

find, of course, everything she is looking for is right back

where she started. At home. With her family.

The life she has built for herself. The people that make up 

that life. 

Great memories are good and all. But they aren't always

a part of your real long term life. It's a fun story. 

Constant fast pace. And of course, romance. 

I borrowed this from my library. 

Review by Lisa Hutson