One Lucky Cowboy - Carolyn Brown

One Lucky Cowboy by Carolyn Brown
Form: ARC Book
Genre: Romance

Jane Day is on the run from the paid assassin who had been her fiance. In Wichita Falls, Texas, she meets Nellie Luckadeau, a spitfire of an old lady who desperately needs someone to work on her ranch. But Nellie's drop-dead gorgeous grandson "Lucky Slade" is sure he can spot a con artist a mile away. He's determined not to let some upstart like Jane fleece his granny.
When his signature intimidation methods don't convince Jane to leave, he pours on the charm to make her spill what she's up to. She's happy to play along, but she's not going to let this hot, hostile cowboy run her off his land when all she needs is a lucky break.

Source: booksamillion.com

I really enjoyed reading One Lucky Cowboy. Jane is fun, crazy, mischievous and wonderful all wrapped into one, and she gives Slade a run for his money at every twist and turn. Honestly, I’m a little surprised that she wasn’t written as a red-head, as she has all the attributes of a stereo-typical redhead. Slade was very much a cowboy and was so hung up on pride that half the time he had a hard time seeing his nose despite his face, or maybe it was just that he had a hard time admitting to what his feelings truly were. There are so many different scenes and events that really develop Jane and Slade’s characters, you get to know them rather well. Nellie was also an awesome character, and I loved all of her group of friends.

There were a lot of references to music, movies, books and authors in this book – I sort of wondered if Carolyn Brown was throwing in some of her favorites for us to enjoy, (although I have to say that I had never seen The Bucket List and probably won’t now that I know it ends up so sad…). I did like that these everyday things were included in the lives of Jane and Slade, because so often it seems that books have so many other things going on in them – the characters stop being real people doing real things.

The moving line of the book was really the best part of all. The action kept a reasonable pace, and allowed for even more opportunity for Jane and Slade to get to know each other, and became real friends – but there were times when I felt the scenes were crossing the line of believable; i.e. while at the safe house. All-in-all, I found One Lucky Cowboy to be very entertaining.

Wild Blue Under - Judi Fennell

Wild Blue Under by Judi Fennell

Form: ARC Book

Genre: Adult Fantasy

The underwater kingdom is his as soon as he claims his queen
Rod Tritone has the looks and charm to snag any queen he wants for his Mer kingdom, but unfortunately, it's not up to him. As fate would have it, the one woman destined to rule with him is terrified of water

She lives in land-locked Kansas and has no idea she's a princess
Valerie Dumere thinks Rod is gorgeous and irresistible but why does he keep insisting she has another side to herself that only he can show her?

Source: Booksamillion.com

Wild Blue Under is the second of a Mer-human series by Judi Fennell, the first being In Over Her Head. Judi Fennell has created a very imaginative romance series about Mer-humans and a whole new take on the water and animal world around us. There are many books that are based around the mythical City of Atlantis, and the creatures that reside there, most of them have a darker feel about them, more evil; Judi Fennell’s world is like a breath of fresh air, bright and happy despite the danger and suspense. I think that is what appeals to me the most about her books. I love paranormal/fantasy romance novels; I enjoy the dark, aggressive heroes – but the sweet tenderness of Rod’s (and Reel’s) character and the less evil and sinister feel of the books as a whole provides a nice change.

What I liked most about Wild Blue Under is that Valerie and Rod had a chance to develop their relationship. Sure, there was the obvious instant sexual attraction that usually takes place in a romance novel, but they were given a chance to get to know one another. Each talked about their life, growing up, who they were, who they wish they were. It made the relationship between the two more believable. When they finally joined as a couple, they loved each other; it wasn’t merely an attraction.

My least favorite part; all the talking birds. I understand that this is fantasy, and I absolutely 100% agree that in these books anything and everything can happen and is fair game, but the talking birds continued to transform this into a “it could happen” novel to a “this could be a cartoon” novel for me. Most of the time I was just reading and trying to keep the thought that Livingston was just another character in the book, and kept his bird status deep in the back of my head.