Spotlight Post: Blushing Bay Series 1-4 by Annie Rains

About:

​For years, Jack Sawyer’s family has been running their upscale seafood business like a finely tuned machine. But every machine breaks down eventually, and suddenly Jack needs a new office manager, a new kayak launch, and a new lease on life. Then Grace Donner shows up again. She’s smart, motivated, and perfect for the manager position, but if she’s anything like her mom, she can’t be trusted. And Jack has never been able to trust himself around Grace.

Grace hasn’t seen her former stepbrothers since their parents’ messy divorce, but she never forgot them—especially Jack. She misses being part of the big rambunctious Sawyer clan, and if there’s an opportunity to set things right, she means to do it. But she can’t ignore Jack’s irresistibly kissable lips, or the searing way he looks at her when he thinks she’s not looking. Their chemistry is more explosive than ever. And if the Sawyers can forgive and forget, anything is possible.

MY Review:

This was a great read for second chance, it was also the first one I’ve read that involve step siblings falling for each other. I was leery at first I wont lie, it seemed like a faux pas, but I am glad I read it. I love the relationships and town, the characters are well written and made me want more. Annie did a great job at making Jack so forgiving and easygoing, very middle child behavior. Grace has such a good heart and I loved the two of them together. With so many issues on both side of their families though I was curious how they would find their HEA. I was thrilled to know this was a four book series and I could know more about their relationship in other books. You will love their journey! As a lover of series books I have to commend Annie on keeping her characters true to who they are in not just their book but the others as well.

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Layover Lover by Jeannine Colette & Lauren Runow

About:

Flying the friendly skies has been more than just a job to me. It’s my home.

Ten years ago I ran away from everything I’ve known and vowed never to return. That is until my flight is canceled due to weather, and I’m stuck in San Francisco.

Fate is not on my side when I end up in an Uber rideshare with the one man I thought I’d never see again.

Zack Hunt was my high school sweetheart, and the boy I walked away from without a note saying goodbye. Except, he’s no longer a boy. No, this man is gorgeous, intense, and heated at the sight of me.

The anger searing off him is nothing compared to the way my heart pounds from seeing him again. Words are said. Feelings are crushed. But when he invites me into his bar to hash out our past, I find myself following him in, desperate for more.

The line between past and present is blurred when Zack challenges me to a dare—come back home with him to see what I walked away from.

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I do.

Then I challenge him right back to live a day in my shoes.

We drive home to rediscover the past

We fly abroad to live in the present.

When we stop moving, we realize we may never have a future.

Layover Lover is a second chance romance, aligned by fate. Can two lost souls really find love again on a layover? Or do they need to keep flying?

My Review:

 Most of the time when I find an author I love I will read everything I can find on them. This has happened to me with Lauren Runow. Then I was introduced to Jeannie Colette and Lauren writing together and have fallen in love!

Layover Lover is their newest book and I was blessed with an ARC to read and review. This is a great second chance lovers story that will make you laugh and ahhh a bunch. There are sad parts from the past that will come up but all in all this is a story that will make you want to live your dreams. These two authors write this contemporary romance in a way that makes you want to see more, do more, and appreciate what you have been given. This story is not only a second chance for love but a second chance at seeing what life is all about. I think we can all get caught up in the bigger picture, the speed of life and wanting more. When in reality if we stop and look around we will see that what we have is so much better and worth any sacrifice needed to hang onto it. That's why I say these two authors are amazing, because they don’t just give us a distraction they make you think and hold the stories close to our hearts. So grab this amazing book today and curl up to read! You will not regret it!

Links:

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Lauren Runow
Jeannine Colette

Last Chance by Lauren Runow

About:

Last Chance is a story of love and heartache proving that life is not always fair, but it's worth the pain to get the moments you’ll treasure forever.

Mackenzie

From the very first moment I laid eyes on him, I knew my heart was his for the taking. He was the boy who filled me with butterflies and made my palms turn clammy at the mere sight of him.

There was only one problem… he was my best friend’s older brother.

It’s been eight years since I’ve last seen him, and I refuse to live another day without telling him the truth. So here I stand, taking my last chance to get him to notice me, my last chance to see if he feels the same way.

I need to know if he is just a fantasy, or if he could be my reality…

Before my reality changes forever.

Connor

I never wanted a girlfriend; I was burned by love and vowed to never go down that road again. But when the beautiful girl I’ve known practically my entire life snuck her way into my arms there was something that changed in me. I wanted to be with her, next to her. Just simply kissing her lips made my life complete.

Now I have one mission.

To make hers complete, too.

My Review:

Lauren has a gift with her writing that is rare. She makes you truly Feel everything, you are more than just reading you are one with the story unfolding. This is just another example, it is not one of her sexier books though there are parts you feel the need to take a cold shower after reading. It has a lot of heart, family, true love in the face of life. I was torn between reading and sleeping once again but for all new reasons. There was just no option, I had to finish, I had to know what the lives of Mackenzie and Connor held for them.

It’s another from my favorite trope, childhood love, lol though Connor was clueless. You gotta love a guy who has no idea his best friends sister loves him from the time she’s ten. Though Lauren never wrights it in I did get the feeling he probably did have feelings for her at those young ages too, but you know boys. Some of my favorite parts are when they are re-getting to know each other, the fun they have is priceless. And with her friends and the antics they all get into. You will laugh and cry while reading but I assure you, this is a book you will love reading. Go grab yourselves a copy and curl up in that perfect spot for a good read!

Links:

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Lauren Runow

SPOTLIGHT POST: Gravity by Lauren Runow

About Book:

Gravity is not your normal, sweet romance of childhood friends to lovers. Spanning over twenty years—it’s raw, it’s real, asking the question if soul mates really exist.

Lily

At eight years old, the boy next door changed my life. He was the force pulling me toward him despite our differences. It was like magic.

We understood each other, supported each other and in the process became everything to each other.

But in chasing Trevin’s dream, I lost myself along the way.

Trevin

Through tremendous heartache, she was there. Through fame and fortune, she was there. Loving Lily was the one thing I got right.

Eclipsing her in my shadow, I took from her until she was empty. Now I must do anything to prove I can be the man she wants, no, the man she deserves.

My Review:

As I sit here listening to the soundtrack to the book Gravity by Lauren Runow I am filled again with the emotions I just finished living in this story. I don’t even know how to begin to share this book with you all. If you follow my blog and reviews you will see I don’t claim the title “best book” because I always thought it was not possible to do that. Until now that is. I am going to say it, Gravity by Lauren Runow is by far the best childhood, soulmates book I have ever read thus far!

Lily and Trevin start out in each others lives at the young age of eight and even through all the ups and downs of their lives they don’t abandon on another. Reading this book I wondered many times how it would end, how on earth could they possibly make it work. Lauren has weaved a story and characters that make you feel just as connected to them as they are to each other. You feel their triumphs and failures, you want to yell when they do something stupid that you know will mess everything up. You get mad at the town around the children for things and many times I wished I could jump into the book to help Lily or Trevin. This book is achingly real, makes you ask questions, is beyond raw, honest, heartwarming, touching, it has everything I look for and more in a book. I still don’t think I have done this book justice but I will say you need to read it! Go buy it right now and be prepared to not get any sleep, you will not be able to put it down! Even when I was forced to, at 4am, I was still thinking about it and had to finish it first thing in the morning. There was no option to not know what happened to them. I am still reeling and will be telling everyone I know to read this book! What are you waiting for… GO BUY IT! 

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Lauren Runow

Soundtrack:

Can be found at the end of the book. Lauren loves music and shares what songs inspired the writing of this amazing story!

Beyond Just Us by Kimberly Kincaid

About The Book:

Remington’s most cynical doctor is about to get upended by two little words:

I DO.

Tess Michaleson runs her ER like she runs her life—

no pretenses, no exceptions.

As a single mother, she can’t afford anything less.

As a woman who’s been burned by love?

She can’t believe in anything more.

Her son and her job are the center of her world.

That’s all Tess needs.

Until Declan Riley falls into her arms…

literally.

His tattoos and his Irish accent are enough to melt her panties

His diagnosis? That’s enough to break her heart.

But Tess can help him get the care he needs…

All she has to do is marry him.

Declan knows he should keep Tess at arm’s length.

What they have is temporary. Necessary.

And he knows from experience just

how dangerous getting close can be.

But the longer he’s around the smart, sexy doctor and her son,

the more Declan realizes

close isn’t enough.

He wants Tess. He wants it all.

Even if he has to do the one thing he swore he never would to have her.

My Review:

Brilliant, amazing, my absolute favorite book in this series! I have loved Tess from the first book, she is smart, a kick but single mom, opinionated, speaks her mind and truly cares about her patients and friends. I knew when her book came out it would be amazing but I had no clue how out of this world awesome it would really be. With the other characters in the books I could see the connections and knew who would be in their stories. I knew that they would find a way to their HEA and I loved reading about their journey to get there. With Tess I had no clue who her person was until I read the teasers. It was a shock and I was so happy! This book also kept me wondering how they could possibly find that HEA I wanted for them. I am not giving anything away because I want you to enjoy the ups and downs, the surprises and real life feels this book has to offer. Please go pre-order NOW so you can also get an exclusive extra chapter only given to people who pre-order.

    

*** I was gifted an ARC approved by the author to give my honest opinion of this book. *** 

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