Publisher: Indigo Group
Genre: Romance
Source: Indigo Group ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: >He’s the heir to a fortune. He’s my aloof, intimidating, insanely handsome boss. And he just asked me to marry him.

Hayden Stuart is the quintessential English lord. He went to the most exclusive private schools. He hangs out with royals and other richy rich A-listers. His summer home is a castle.

Whereas I grew up on a peanut farm in Georgia.

When the spit hits the fan for Hayden, he asks me to be his wife. He makes it very clear to me that this is all for show.

Totally temporary.

Business only.

This is not a fake husband with benefits situation.

Of course I say yes.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a castle and have a staff take care of your every need? This is Beauty and the Beast, complete with the freaking library. Only Hayden’s crazy hot and knows how to eat soup without slurping it all over the place.

The problem is, the more time I spend pretending to be Hayden’s wife, the more desperate I feel to believe the lie.

And it’s not just about the castle.

It’s about the man.

Even Better Than the Real Thing is a swoon-worthy, uber-fun, opposites attract romance about a fake marriage between two people who couldn’t be more wrong for each other. It comes complete with a fabulous bestie, snarky staff, an evil stepbrother, and pastries fresh from the oven.

Ope’s Opinion: This is a 3.5, but I rounded up because it was original, mostly clean ( there a couple of steamy parts ), and not much foul language. Even though you know exactly how it is going to end, the journey is worth taking.

The fake marriage trope is one that I enjoy. I liked that in this story each of them is getting something out of the marriage. I also liked that Finely was not sitting around looking for a husband. She is independent, has a career goal and is strong enough to go after what she wants.

I liked this one enough to go look at what else Melanie Summers wrote.

Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Genre: Romance
Source: Entangled: Amara ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Aspiring artist Misty Delaney is not about to let her parents’ beloved café go under. Not when she can just merge the company by entering a quick marriage of convenience with the rich son of their family’s rival. But her sisters aren’t having it. They all made a they each get one month to find true love. She can’t just fold. To make sure Misty gives finding love a chance, they post a “Marry Misty!” billboard outside town. Surely that’ll give her options?

Watching Misty field marriage proposals from strangers, that she clearly doesn’t want, is a big cup of nope for café manager Lucas Reyes. He and Misty have been friends for years, but it’s time to step up and make his romantic feelings for her known. And what better way to start than by sending her unwanted suitors packing with an announcement that she’s already in a relationship. With him.

Lucas’s little stunt buys an extremely grateful Misty one week to come up with a solution that saves the café and keeps her sisters happy. A week during which she and Lucas need to act like they’re in love. Except, between late-night stargazing, crashed mopeds, and dancing in the rain, their pretend romance feels almost perfect. But it’s one thing to start falling. It’s another entirely to turn one week into forever…

Ope’s Opinion: This is the second in the Majestic Maine series. I did read the first one a while ago. It certainly can stand alone, but it was better to see the first brides story before reading this one.

Misty is the focus of this story. The other two sisters are involved in most of the book as well. I found Misty a bit whiney and woe is me. I did like that she and Lucas talked things out – they didn’t run away from their difficulties. They had a mature relationship. I liked that this is a clean, closed door romance. I also enjoyed the fact that Lucas and Misty knew each other and were friends for some time before the romance of their relationship started.

There is one more book – Last Bride Standing. I will be reading it soon.

Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Romance
Source: HQN Books ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Running a bookstore on a quaint Chesapeake island is exactly the life Deena Clark would have chosen for herself–but helping billionaire businessman Luis Dominguez figure out fatherhood is part of the package. Can bonding over books and one little girl help them open their hearts to each other?

Ope’s Opinion: The romance in this book is predictable. It is mostly closed door. The characters are fine, but not outstanding or unique.

The unique part is Luis and his relationship to his daughter Willow. How he found out about Willow is unusual. Willow has a disability – that was handled really well and informative. This was my favorite part of the book.

Carol is a flat character. I did not like her from the beginning. The things she did at the bookshop would have caused me to fire her at the start of it. She did not seem intelligent to me. She was very self centered and could only see things from her perspective.

This book did not make me want to go back and read the other ones in the series.

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Thriller
Source: G.P. Putnam’s Sons ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: The latest twisty psychological thriller from internationally-bestselling author Lucy Clarke, One of the Girls is the delicious story of a bachelorette trip on a stunning Greek island… that ends in murder.

It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-soaked Greek island for a bachelorette trip, to celebrate Lexi’s upcoming wedding. From the glorious ocean views to the quaint tavernas and whitewashed streets, the vacation seems too good to be true. But dangerous undercurrents run beneath the sunset swims and midnight cocktails – because each of the women is hiding a secret. Someone is determined to make sure that Lexi’s marriage never happens – and that one of them doesn’t leave the island alive.

Gripping, twisty, and full of sun-soaked suspense, this timely thriller examines the joys of female friendship…as well as the deadly consequences when a relationship goes wrong.

Ope’s Opinion: When you are first reading this story, I suggest a little note pad to keep all the characters, relationship to each other and personalities straight. It will be worth it.

There were so many twists and turns to this story. I thought it was great how connected they all were to each other. The lies and half truths came out slowly – everyone had their own secrets. The chapters were short, which kept me reading just one more!

Who dies? Why? All questions are answered and the ending is a good one too. I highly recommend this book.

Publisher: The Dial Press
Genre: Romance
Source: The Dial Press ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again, in this heartwarming, slow-burn romance by the author of Ready or Not

Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Her best friend, Lou, recently passed away after a battle with cancer, and her death has left Lenny feeling completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with Lou, and the list of things she’s supposed to do to help her live again. The only thing she can do is temporary babysitting gigs, and luckily, she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. It’s not perfect: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of… a huge jerk. But if Lenny acts like she has it all together, maybe no one will notice she’s falling apart.

Miles sees right through her though. Turns out, he knows a lot about grief and, surprisingly, he offers her a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the Lou has left behind, but she begins to spend more time with Miles, Lenny is surprised to discover that, sometimes, losing everything is only the first step to finding yourself, and love, again.

Ope’s Opinion: This story started out very weird. Miles walks in Lenny starts day dreaming strange dreams about him. Then he hangs around while she is babysitting. Why didn’t Reese just have Miles babysit. I don’t know I found the whole story just odd.

I read Ready or Not by this author and really enjoyed it, so it was not the writing. I just think it was the story that never grabbed me.

Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Nonfiction
Source: Dreamscape Media ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: David Roberts was Whitney Houston’s bodyguard, the real one.
Roberts was hired in 1988 for Houston’s UK portion of the Moment of Truth world tour. Accustomed to working for diplomats and Fortune 500 clients, Roberts had reservations about working with a pop star. But Houston’s heart of gold won him over from the moment they met at Heathrow airport.
There’s a high bar for those who work in this you must be willing to die for your boss. Houston made that easy. Roberts got to travel the globe with one of the most fun-loving and generous souls he’d ever met. His memoir reveals heartwarming anecdotes of life with one of the world’s most recognizable stars, including privately shared moments such as the birth of Bobbi Kristina.
But there are also shocking and heartbreaking revelations. Roberts was present for some of Houston’s most challenging ordeals. And he was helpless as he watched those who claimed to love and support her look the other way because they saw her voice box as a cash machine.
His heart was ultimately shattered as he witnessed her succumb to the one threat he could not protect her herself.

Ope’s Opinion: David’s voice was so easy to listen to. He revealed so much from his perspective without feeling like an intrusion on Whitney’s life. You could feel how real and honest David was in his retelling of what happened.

This may seem weird, but I would like to thank David for sharing his experiences. I could feel how he truly cared for Whitney – at times it seemed like he might have been one of the few that cared more for her than what they would get from her.

Publisher: Level Best Books
Genre: Mystery
Source: Level Best Books ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Josie Ashbury was a successful Hollywood actress with a booming career-until an on-set breakdown sends her back to her small Ohio hometown to recover. Taking a job teaching at her old high school, Josie is beginning to put the pieces of her life back together when one of her students dies under suspicious circumstances. The police close the case quickly, without any real answers. Josie is determined to find the truth behind the girl’s death. At the same time, Josie is battling demons of her own. As she faces debilitating insomnia that leaves her with gaps in her memory, she dives into the tangled secrets surrounding the investigation. When she finally unravels the web, she discovers that the truth lies much closer to home than she could have ever imagined.

Ope’s Opinion: The mystery itself was an interesting one. The story felt like it should be in the YA category. The detailed description of who was wearing what and the conversations felt young for an adult book.

I am not and never have been a fan of amateur sleuthing. I don’t buy it that if a trained professional can’t find the answer, but an amateur can some how figure it out.

The short chapters helped me keep reading.

Publisher: Griffin
Genre: Romance
Source: Griffin ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: College student Cassie Soul hasn’t spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston. Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that’s been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday… and maybe find herself a summer fling.

On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay’s fun-loving golden boy.

Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he’s always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she’s not the girl you play games with. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he’s ever met. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone… only to realize he made a huge mistake. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time.

And maybe even something more.

As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they’re about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets—and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.

Ope’s Opinion: I am obviously not the right reader for this book. I got tired to the “f” word. I wish the author had been a little more creative in her words.

Everyone was haphazardly hooking up with everyone else.

Just not my kind of book.

Publisher: Canary Street Press
Genre: Fiction
Source: Canary Street Press ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: 15 summers ago, everything changed…

Ava Howell seemed to have it all. She moved away from Emerald Creek, Idaho, married the love of her life and published a bestselling memoir. But she never expected that her husband would feel so betrayed by a secret from her past—the truth of what happened to her and her sister all those years ago—that he’d walk away. Now Ava is back home and trying to move on with the only person who can truly understand…

Following years of healing, Madison Howell is finally happy. After college she built a no-kill shelter where she works with animals every day, and she’s in love with the town veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry. But she can’t ever bring herself to tell him. Years ago, his dad died protecting Madi and her sister, so how could he ever love her back?

With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet. And as Ava and Madi attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.

Ope’s Opinion: I am such a RaeAnne Thayne fan, I did not read the synopsis before I agreed to read and review this book. The cover is deceiving, I assumed it was a romance. It has romance in it, but the crux of the story is about the sister relationship and the past they endured together.

I enjoyed the two sisters relationship. Parts of their past were hard to read about. This is not a light read.

Publisher: Storm Publishing
Genre: Thriller
Source: Storm Publishing ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: She wanted to give the ultimate gift. It became the ultimate betrayal.

Fabiola has spent her life being good. The perfect daughter to her single father. A supportive wife to her entrepreneurial husband, who’s throwing everything they have at launching his start-up. A devoted mother to her three beautiful children. And a loyal best friend to Liz, who’s been by Fabiola’s side since Liz married her oldest childhood friend, Peter.

When Liz needs help starting her own family, Fabiola comes up with the perfect plan. She’s good at being pregnant, and she so badly wants to help her friend. It seems like the greatest gift one woman can give another. And Peter? For Peter, she would do anything.

But then one reckless moment changes everything. Now Fabiola must decide who to her best friend, the man she’s never stopped loving, or the child growing inside her. With her marriage unraveling and her teenage daughter hiding secrets of her own, she’s discovering that the hardest promises to keep are the ones we make to ourselves.

A deeply moving and unforgettable exploration of motherhood, friendship, and the complex choices women make in the name of love, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Lucinda Berry and Liane Moriarty.

Ope’s Opinion: I read Caitlin Weaver’s Such A Good Family and could not put it down. So I may have had too high a hopes for this book. I did not like Fabiola ( main character ) from the start. She seemed to be wanting to do a good thing for a friend, but it ended up being very selfish.

This is in the thriller genre, but I think suspense is a better way to describe it. It does not have the intensity I think a thriller should have.

The ending is not believable at all. It was wrapped up too quickly and too neatly for the mess the rest of the story was. So if you can throw away your need for believability then you will like it.

I am still a Caitlin Weaver fan and I would read her next book.