One Last First Date: Flirting With Forever by Kate O'Keeffe

 There are a few funny things here & there but nothing like the book promises. Sure as little girls we all dream of our wedding day. I remember looking at Brides magazine. Checking them out at the library. Buying them & cutting my favorite ones in a notebook. Of course, all those dresses were way to expensive for me to ever wear. That part of Cassie's background I can buy. However, making a mathematical timeline for when you will get married & have kids is ridiculous! You can't predict that stuff. And you can't predict who you fall in love with. And believing a goddess of the beach exists is ludicrous! Marissa is the only sane one in the group of friends. Cassie hunts down her perfect husband very stalker like. Doing research on your "future" husband before you have even been out on a date is mad. The odds of that relationship making it to marriage are. slim. The odds of it leading to divorce if they did marry are higher. This is definitely why I finished this book but I will not be reading the rest of the series. This was my first book by this author. I couldn't believe Cassie was changing herself to be who Parker wanted her to be. That should have been a red flag for Cassie. If a guy wants you to charge for him he's not worth your time. He should love you for you! She also rationalized his red flags or bad behavior. I could never marry a guy with parents like Parker's!

Parker comes from filthy rich parents. His mom interrogated her & his dad is creepy as hell! Any old man who goes kissing his son's girlfriend on the lips is disgusting. And Parker has no backbone for allowing his father to do it. The fact that Parker's parents gave their approval like Cassie was a piece of meat they were bidding on rubs me the wrong way. Parker really was more like obsessed with Sara, this ex girlfriend.

Then there is Will a fun guy Cassie works with that everyone likes, except her. I think she feels threatened by him. Everything seems to come easy for him. He makes up a nickname for her that means toilet in another language. I thought it was blatantly obvious he liked her from the get go. Think about it what do little boys do to girls they like? Pull their hair, tease them, scare them with a frog, etc. I guess none of these women remembered being a child even though they were so young. Will really puts himself out there for her too. He teaches her golf for Pete's sake of course, I suspect he had ulterior motives. Especially, since they started going out to eat afterwards. Until I think deep down Cassie knew she was starting to have feelings for Will otherwise why would she stop taking lessons from him early? Let's not forget the grand jesture he made buying those expensive impossible to get Lady Gaga tickets that started their friendship. They both find out about a management position at work. Did I mention Will & Cassie are both competitive? The funny thing is Cassie wouldn't have even tried to get the job if it wasn't for Marissa convincing her. The interview process is two separate interviews because they put them on a team project to see how they do. Cassie thinks she's winning. She's confident & she challenges almost every suggestion Will gives. When she gets to the second interview & find out some of the employees were asked to give their feedback on how they both lead. When Cassie found out her employees thought she was dominant she wanted to be sick. She realized she had sabotaged herself because she was to competitive. She decided then & there she would change. She listened to others suggestions. She went back over things she turned down. And the turnaround was just the wake up call she needed. I'll not tell the ending but it might be a shock to some. 

Carve My Pumpkin by Chandelle LaVaun & Megan Montero

 Megan & Chandelle have outdone themselves! Can I just say that I cried through several chapters. Megan & Chandelle you guys can't do that to us. All kidding aside I love a good book that makes me feel emotions! And this book has it. I enjoyed Constantine but this book makes me really love him. I challenge Megan & Chandelle to write his soulmate. You know he will be hard to do! I always loved the dark brooding Mateo. This explains so much of his behavior in the past. I mean you can't deny that as many of his siblings that have soulmates it was going to happen for all of them. I can't imagine being in his shoes. You would feel like you were cheating on your soulmate. At least for other people who don't know it would make sense for them to keep dating after all not everyone has a soulmate. Mateo has always been charming & dressed to the nines. I may have just shown my age there. I imagine little toddler Mateo as soon as he could speak voicing his preferences over his clothing. 

Lexington who is the president of Preston Tech, the only tech that works on Megelle Island, offers a promotion to Collette. Keep in mind everyone loves her & she has worked in almost every department in the company. She thinks outside the box. Mateo signed off on her resume even. When Lexington offers her the position she is thrilled. This is her dream job. She has always wanted to travel. Her mom however, never wanted to leave the Island. In fact she didn't go into town. She had a small cottage on the edge of town in a wooded area. She has no electricity or tech. They live off the land. Imagine what that was like for Collette who started sneaking tech home in high school. Because her mom is 900 years old her friends are old as well.  Collette loves them & especially book club. You will love the shenanigans her golden girls as she affectionately calls them pull. Wait till you meet the famous member. I'm going to let that one be a surprise. Naturally Collette is a introvert. She has something wrong with her Fae wings & can't fly. Because of this she sees herself as a failure. I think it's why she throws herself into her work so hard. When she starts this job with Mateo she has to go through a two week probation period. That is to make sure they get along okay. The first day she starts she is brimming with excitement. Unfortunately, one look at her has Mateo treating her like the gum under her shoe. And they aren't traveling anywhere until her one task is done. It's a monumental task because he expects her to find his soulmate. Something he has tried to do for a year unsuccessfully. Yet, she only has two weeks. Not to mention using the company for personal gain is a gross misuse of her skills & unethical. Instead of telling anyone that could help her out of the situation she excepts the challenge. 

Collette uses the Spooky season help her in her search for Mateo's soulmate. Each way more out of the box. I love that through this process she gains friends her age who are willing to help her with any task. Of course, through all this Mateo can't even say a nice thing to her. No compliments on her ideas & he didn't even tell her what had already been tried. it's no wonder his last executive assistant had retired to the other side of the Island! One thing I do love is their banter back & forth. It gets quite intense. 

As time goes on Mateo hates himself for the way he is talking to Collette & treating her. Quite frankly he's attracted to her & if it wasn't for the soulmate mark he would have asked her out. That would be another company line he would have crossed. When they finally go to Peggy Bow to try magic they get their first look at her face. Collette snaps a picture of her. The problem is after going around to the older supernaturals of the Island no one has seen a dark green haired fae. Mateo finally comes to the conclusion that she is in Third Realm. When Mateo & Collette decide to call a truce over Mateo spiraling over boxes of craft supplies he was told to assemble things heat up. First it's moving her so she doesn't get squashed by a hippos butt. To grabbing her arm to keep her from falling in the forest. Then they are without a chaperone in the forest and the next thing you know they are locking lips & some tongue is involved. Collette ever the strong woman that she is pulls away. It wasn't fair to his soulmate or her to entertain the idea. Mateo couldn't imagine loving anyone more & was conflicted. Collette ran away because she knew if she stayed she wouldn't be able to keep her lips to herself. For the record this was the chapter I started crying in & it lasted for several more chapters. I will tell you by the end Collette ended up with so many new family members & friends. And a new job position. I will let you read the ending for yourself. I never like to ruin the ending because I am not the type to skip to the end and see

Cruel Alpha by Rachel Jonas

 There is a warning for 18+ for this book. For certain scenes that are inappropriate for teens. Parents if you are in doubt I always read the book first before letting my kids read them. That being said this book is hot!!! Annalise is a snarky, dominant, independent, wolf shifter who wants to change women's rights within her clan. She despises being told what to wear, who to mate, what she will do with her life, & being treated like a piece of property. She's been writing letters to the Alpha for quite awhile trying to get him to change things for women. Annalise is actually of noble birth & her parents died making her aunt & uncle her guardians. The aunt & uncle have tried several times to get her mated but for some reason they never worked out. When she gets invited to the Alpha's estate she automatically thinks he wants to discuss her changes to the women's way of life. When she gets to the Alpha she doesn't understand why he doesn't speak. He just keeps staring at her chest. She decides to take charge & starts talking. 

Alpha Caspian is surprised to learn that Annalise's aunt & uncle didn't tell her why she was invited here. He has to break the news to her that her family can't afford to survive without selling her to the Alpha. Annalise doesn't believe it. After they talk some more it sinks in. She immediately hates Caspian because she doesn't want to have a love less mate. She wants to choose her mate because she fell in love with him. Annalise feels trapped so she comes up with half a plan. Caspian expected her to stay there immediately. Annalise convinces him to let her have one more night at home. When she gets home she packs a bag & runs. She has trouble figuring out where to go. Let's just say that Caspian isn't as dumb as she thought! As punishment she is put in a cell for a week. Until she learns to act the way he wants her to. 

Over time hate turns into love as they learn more about each other. They start doing things for each other. And learn to navigate a relationship with honesty, jealousy, anger, & someone plotting against them. By the way Caspian is my new book boyfriend. He is so hot!

Hendrix (Guardian Group: Security Group) book 2 by Bree Livingston

 Brittany is Noah's baby sister. Who believes there is good in everyone? And that people deserve a second chance. She sees the world differently than everyone else. For instance, she has been receiving stuffed animals for over 6 months. She automatically thinks it's a guy who is shy & is gathering his courage to ask her out. If it was me I'd be like nope that's a red flag. A guy who likes you doesn't send headless stuffed animals to her dates. Brittany doesn't want to tell her brother because he would be overprotective. She had a wedding coming up & she had to go to Hawaii. She was one of the bridesmaids. Did I tell you that she's feisty, stubborn, & can manipulate circles around you?

Noah picks Hendrix to go with her & pretends to be her boyfriend. He's not exactly thrilled with the assignment. He thinks so low of himself. Over things that happened he was 14 and under. His parents weren't parents they were addicted to drugs. The things he had to do to survive will pull at your heart. Brittany gets him to open up by sharing things. The moment they touched they got an electric zap in their skin from touching,

The rest of the book is about Hendrix and Brittany navigating their fake relationship. Brittany wants to find a forever love. Hendrix is trying to keep his barriers up because this is Noah's sister, and he knows he doesn't want to lose his job. Plus once he tells Brittany about his past she will not want to stay with him. She will think he is a monster. Will love prevail or will the stalker win?

Saltcliff Secrets by Brenda Trim

 This is a new paranormal woman's fiction book. It's definitely different than her other series that all interconnect. This midlife series is started when Eliza decided after 20 years at a corporate job she wanted a change. She bought a house site unseen off the internet. It drained her 401K too. What she got was a lot more than she bargained for! Eliza comes from a long legendary line of witches. After college she decided she was done with it she wanted to live as a human. What she doesn't realize is the house she bought is alive. If that's not weird enough there is a portal to hell in her basement. 

While there are both supernaturals & humans in town her realtor is a witch. Zane is the best thing to come out of this move. He's a broody blue eyed hottie. He comes over to check the house out for demons. He tells her what to look for & how to fix the issue & Eliza still trying to grasp everything she's being told. Zane can help teach her the proper sigils to help seal portals & rips. He also happens to be a electrician. Astral the realtor becomes a close friend. While the three of them try to keep the portal sealed. They end up being called to scenes where demons are out in the open. They have to send them back to hell without the humans catching on. It is getting harder too because the veil between realms is getting thin. Add to that they have to do research on the house & try to find a better way to get that seal to stay closed in her basement. 

Eventually Eliza has to call in the Calvary. Extra has been working with her on her magic but Eliza realizes she needs to call her mom & grandma. With this team of five including Eliza they will tackle the seal issue at a time. They even do some travel to different realms before it's all over. This is a fabulous start to what is sure to be another series hit!

Hocus My Pocus by Chandelle LaVaun & Megan Montero

 These two are a mess. Neither one know how to stay somewhere for very long. For Indi it runs in the family her mom could barely stay home when her youngest reached a certain age. Indi ended up raising her sister. She took on several jobs so she could get paid under the table. At times they were barely able to afford rent. One summer Indi begged her mother for a break. Her mom told her she would stay home for the summer & watch her sister. This was the summer Indi fell in love & she was so sure this was the guy she wanted to be with forever. However, fate was cruel to her. When she brought him home to meet her mother & sister no one was there. Turns out her mom had lied. She sent her sister to a summer camp in Colorado. Her sister is Torren. She startled easily & then takes forever to calm down. And since they were living in the human realm Torren going to a human camp was a terrible idea! Indi had to go to Colorado then track her sister down because she had runaway from camp. When she found her she was practically starving to death. From then on she decided to never leave her sister with her mom. After Torren got to be a certain age Indi takes her to Megelle Island to see if shifters could help with her shifting. And if not at least she would be safe because there were no humans there. And then Indi starts her adventures in the human realm. 

While she is gone she meets a guy in a travel group online. They start chatting & the next thing you know they become best friends. They keep trying to meet but fate is unkind. They both think the other person is human. Indi finally comes home after two years of not seeing her little sister. Just in time to see her sister in the parade.

Will Bow is returning home after being gone for longer than anticipated. Will takes pictures & writes books about traveling for humans & supernaturals. He writes under a pen name. Indi thinks his name is Liam. They both head home for Spooky season. Halloween celebrated over a longer period of time. You would think with a family like the Bows that Will would want to be home more. However, what he comes home to sure makes him want to flee again. He catches his family in the kitchen making him a profile on the supernatural dating app. He watches for awhile before he shuts them down. He also came home for his adopted brother, Bash's first ever birthday party. 

Torren's antics really make this book. Of course, you can't leave out the shenanigans of Jimbo & Sal!

Ride & Die by Lucia Ashta

 If you read my reviews regularly then you know I always include warnings for conservative parents. While I love this book immensely it has a lot of f-bombs in it along with other cuss words. Really that is the only thing to worry about. If you have read anything else by Lucia this sci-fi is like nothing she has ever written which is why I really love it. Personally, I'd love to see this as a long series & more in this genre. When 5 high school friends are partying at a incomplete house that was never finished tragedy strikes. There is an accident & someone falls to their death. Students are horrified by the tragedy. When emergency services get there it's already too late. The high schoolers that are closest to the friend convince the paramedics to try to resuscitate once more. Miraculous their friend is alive & rushed to surgery. 

When he finally gets out of the hospital everyone starts calling him the, "Miracle Kid". Things get weird for him at home when his mom insists he starts complaining about symptoms he didn't have & acting differently when he was in public. The press started staking out his school & the entrance to the gated community they live in. One of the 5 friends sneaks into her house when they are skipping school. What she finds blows her mind. Her parents have been listening to their conversations in the treehouse. It only gets worse from there. 

All of their parents are liars. People are after them. And the why will shock you!