Book Review: ‘Highland Games’ by Evie Alexander

Title: Highland Games (The Kinloch Series)

Published: 15th October 2021

Publisher: Emlin Press

Author: Evie Alexander

Facebook: www.facebook.com/eviealexanderauthor

Twitter: @Evie_author

Instagram: www.instagram.com/eviealexanderauthor

Blurb:

A fiery heroine, a Scottish god, a cabin, a castle, and enough heat to warm the coldest Scottish winter…

Zoe’s fed up with playing it safe. When she is left a ramshackle cabin in Scotland, she ditches her accountancy job and cosy London flat for the Highlands. But reality strikes when she arrives to find a leaking roof, a missing front door, and a scorching hot grouch of a neighbour who won’t even sell her wood. Now she’s facing a Scottish winter with no electricity, no heating, and no clue…

Ex-serviceman Rory is a grumpy man-bear with a fifty thousand tonne problem in the shape of Kinloch castle. It’s his job to make it profitable, but he’s no good with numbers, and everything’s falling apart. All he wants is a quiet life, alone in the cabin he loved as a child.

Rory and Zoe clash over the cabin; she needs his wood to keep her warm and he needs her spark to save his job. Will these enemies become lovers, or will everything become too hot to handle?

Let the games begin…

Highland Games is a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happy ever after (HEA).

Welcome to Kinloch, and the hottest winter Scotland’s ever seen…

Review:

Loved this book from start to finish. So much to amuse with the antics Zoe finds herself in, usually with Rory on hand shortly after to save the day, or cause the start of the problem to begin with, especially with Basil!

So Zoe has been left a run down cabin by her great uncle up in Scotland and after his loss she feels the need to return there to reclaim memories of a childhood happiness she hasn’t felt in a while. Good idea in theory but she hasn’t exactly done much planning. This is the first time she has ever done anything so crazy but she knows it’s now or never. Getting to said cabin in pitch black, finding it a bit worse for wear, her best plan of action is to have a drink for courage. With her mind being a bit fuzzy and not expecting anyone to be there, hearing a noise outside would give most people a fright. Don’t worry though because a can of baked beans comes in handy to help! Introducing yeti man Rory who isn’t too pleased she is there. Though not too worried as he doesn’t think she will last long before going back to where she came from.

Seems Rory had plans to live in the cabin too, thinking it would return to the castle estate, no such luck. He wants that place and is willing to do what ever it takes to get her to leave. Cows in the porch and a rat in the cabin are just two amusing ways come to mind. Basil does sound very cute and very intelligent. Doesn’t take long for Rory to see things a different way. He needs help with looking after the estate and getting the castle making money again and she needs help getting the cabin habitable so it looks like a deal could be struck.

Zoe doesn’t seem to mind the view when Rory is working but her reactions at times would be enough to give the poor man a complex. Hysterical laughing anyone! They might each think that they don’t want something to happen but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Getting close enough to burn, one spark sets off so much heat, doesn’t stop the laughing, though that pales when the heat increases. Too hot too fast or warm enough to last? When secrets are revealed – in a really shitty way, his mother is a right crazy cow – can they find their way back to each other and get the home and love they’ve both been searching for.

Great side characters. Loved Morag, mother hen food queen, you will not leave hungry after one of her meals. Fiona and Jamie were great too. Fun read with lots to entertain, would recommend this to anyone who wants a light-hearted, rom-com read.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review.

Book Review: ‘Maverick Mogul’ by Lila Monroe

Title: Maverick Mogul (Billionaire Bachelors Book 7)

Published: 24th January 2022

Publisher: Lila Monroe Books

Author: Lila Monroe

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lilamonroebooks

Twitter: @lilawrites

Blurb:

The Billionaire Bachelors are BACK! Fall for a new trope-tactic, fake dating rom-com series from USA Today bestselling author, Lila Monroe!

Playboy bachelor Charlie Fox is handsome, charming — and looking for a date to the TWELVE weddings he’s attending this month. He’s topping the city’s ‘Most Eligible’ lists, but he needs a woman who won’t swoon at his feet — or go diving to catch that bouquet. A fake girlfriend is the perfect solution, he’s just not expecting a very familiar face to show up as his plus-one…

Me.

The last time I saw Charlie, he was playing Mr Popular at our high-school… while I was stuck being Miss Invisible. Now — thanks to a rogue Chihuahua, my frat-bro boss, and a gallon of gluten-free frosting — he’s making me an offer I really should refuse. Play his fake girlfriend for a summer of wild weddings?

It’ll be worth it, as long as we can keep our hands to ourselves.
And our mouths.
And… other parts, too.

As the wedding marathon gets underway, the sparks between us are anything but fake – and breaking the rules has never been so fun. Can ‘just for now’ turn into ‘forever’? Find out in the sizzling, hilarious new romance from “the reigning queen of romantic comedy” Lila Monroe!

BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS SERIES:

1 Very Irresistible Playboy

2 Hot Stuff

3 Wild Card

4 Man Candy

5 Mr. Casanova

6 Best Man

7 Maverick Mogul (2022)

8 Renegade Roomie (2022)

9 Baller Boss (2022)

Review:

Loved it from start to finish. Olivia really needs to change the premise of her fake dating agency as most couples end up together, even her! She has a gift it seems for matching the perfect pair and Charlie and Grace are no exception.

Needing a fake date for a plus one for twelve weddings over the summer. Olivia has just the person in mind to help Charlie out. Liked the way they all meet / meet again in Grace and Charlie’s case. Grace’s former bosses son Bret was a spoilt man child who needed to be put in his place. Cake in the lap works wonders. Top marks for that one Grace. Slight problem with then having no job. That’s where Olivia steps in.

Seems Grace and Charlie are the perfect fake couple for these weddings. No feelings there to start with but it doesn’t take long for that to change. Few weddings down and the chemistry is starting to heat up. All comes to boiling point at the Ren Faire. Grace being hosed down to get spilt beer off her making her dress stick in all the right places will do the trick. Him stripping wet shirt off doesn’t hurt either. One look and you just see both thinking screw this and go for it.

Romance in the air but Charlie is adamant that he doesn’t want long term – one failed marriage put him off for life. Seems he can’t see how he acts with Grace and that the longer they spend together the closer they come. Running scared from his own feelings and airing his stupid thoughts allowed for her to hear not the best move. Especially when it costs him something great. Can he get out of his own head and own way to get what he really wants before it’s too late?

Great characters that draw you in. Loved Grace’s Aunts and Charlie’s friends. Those guys are in for a shock when love comes calling. Dash you are up next if Olivia has anything to do with it. She is always there at just the right moment.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review.

Book Review: ‘Zombie! Haunted Mansion’ by Zombie Origin Media

Title: Zombie! Haunted Mansion: Memoir of Jesse Jamieson

Published: 29^th May 2017

Author: Zombie Origin Media

Twitter: @zomoriginmedia

 

Blurb:

Stranded in the middle of nowhere, an unlikely group of high school friends embark on a series of adventures and mishaps to survive a remote zombie outbreak. With bloodthirsty ghouls trailing close behind, Jesse and his friends stumble upon an eerie mansion offering refuge from the zombie infested woods. But the residents of Krakuz Manor may be hiding a sinister secret more dangerous than the undead threat outside, or they might just be complete lunatics. Either way, Jesse and his friends must prepare for the impending zombie horde if they hope to survive their trip to hell. With no communication to the outside world for help, can a mismatched group of teenagers defend Krakus Manor against the undead, or will they fall victim to a living dead nightmare?

 

Review:

A zombie comedy of sorts that gets crazier the further along you go. So Jesse and his friends are riding together to get to a party. One wrong turn, an annoying back seat passenger, running over a zombie and crashing the car, leads to a crazy night trying to out run a massive hoard of zombies. Well that’s one way to start a story so it can only get crazier.

Jesse is trying to keep everyone alive and in the process impress Chloe with any skills he has to help. Emu has lots of “great ideas” with how to survive as he thinks he knows a lot about zombies (more to do with video games, which I swear he thinks he’s in). Chloe likes to keep the peace. Lexi is scared of everything. Poor Bud just can’t catch a break; he seems to miss most of the action and only shows up when something needs cutting off! Then there’s Becky, the stupidest person there, I’m sorry but every time she screams – for some stupid reason no less – you are just wishing that this time would be the time she gets eaten by a zombie. Talk about annoying in that car ride, and that’s just the start of it, later she thinks Dracula can set her up with his son!

So with Zombies closing in when you see a creepy abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere you run straight for it. Though it appears that this abandoned mansion isn’t so abandoned after all. Strange people just keep popping in and out at in the blink of the eye. Are they there to help or hinder?

How to survive a zombie attack? Well I wouldn’t say they had the best ideas all the way through but some did make it to the other side. It was just mayhem, one thing right on to the next with plans failing and more zombies coming closer to the mansion. Even the characters felt things were cliché at times, which was just funny. The interactions between all of them stayed true throughout but I did feel it dragged a little in the middle. Just needed to ramp up the crazy a bit quicker with how it all ends.

Interesting read that keeps you guessing what madcap plan they will come up with next to try stay alive. Funny cliché clicks and characters too with this zombie comedy.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Zombie Origin Media for my honest review.

Book Review: ‘Vic Boyo, Doofus Detective’ by Milo James Fowler

Title: Vic Boyo, Doofus Detective in: Double Murders are Twice as Bad

Published: 15^th March 2018

Publisher: Effervescent Press

Author: Milo James Fowler

 

Blurb:

Two murders. One detective. Half a brain.

1931, New York City: Detective Vic Boyo may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but that doesn’t stop him from solving cases as only he can. With a little luck and a whole lot of gumption, Boyo sets out to find the murderer of a local cop. Problem is, Boyo’s more interested in a gorgeous femme fatale accused of killing her husband. She’s destined for the electric chair, but Boyo’s got a hunch she might be innocent. And nobody gets in the way of Boyo’s hunches, not even Vic Boyo himself.

 

Review:

He might not be the best detective around – don’t tell him that – but he does seem to get results. This may be more to do with potluck and others than the skills he possess though. If Vic Boyo is on the case looks like it might, in a round about way, get solved.

Maria Merryface has been charged with killing her husband and Vic Boyo is on the case to clear her name – not that he is meant to be. Stepping in too fast could have been the reason his partner Bill was taken out of the equation or was there another reason? Two murders to solve and it seems Bill and Maria’s husband were connected – gambling and booze too much. Owing debts you can’t pay may get you killed, but who made the first move?

Boyo is just a magnet for trouble wherever he goes, or even if he stays at his home/office (which he mentions, a lot). He doesn’t do too well with kids but one seems to remind him of his younger self so helps him, and visa versa, when the need arises. His receptionist definitely deserves a raise for all the crazy stuff she has to deal with that follows Boyo around like a bad smell. Mostly after he gets a phone call to meet some place new which tends to equal danger and high chance of getting shot at.

Question: if you know you have a hit out on yourself would you go to a warehouse alone in the middle of the night? No, me neither, seems Boyo didn’t get the memo. Clues coming at him but not quite figuring them out fast enough. Booze ring in the prohibition era – who is playing who and how is it connected to the two murders? JoJo Fenenmen and Marty O’Sheeny are mob bosses who deal in booze and more, but are they the only players?

Boyo thinks very highly of himself and can’t always see how others might view him. He might think he is the best detective but that has more to do with mistakes he makes that help him stumble onto clues than really figuring them out first. Funny how he always gets into tricky situations with one leading right onto the next. He might crack the case wide open but in the meantime he will continue to be the doofus detective not seeing everything right in front of him. Humour throughout with what he gets into so is an interesting read that takes you along the crazy ride with him. Car chases, bullets flying, fires catching and a different mob boss calling the shots at each turn. Which way will Boyo go and will he get out unscathed? A witty read that’s worth checking out.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review.

Book Review: ‘Cupid’s Anonymous’ by Lila Monroe

Title: Cupid’s Anonymous (Cupids Book 1)

Published: 16^th July 2019

Publisher: Lila Monroe Books

Author: Lila Monroe

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lilamonroebooks

Twitter: @lilawrites

 

Blurb:

Rule #1 Don’t get hit by your own arrow.

I’m a professional Cyrano – minus the honking great nose. Need a love note, raunchy sext, or apology letter so epic that your other half will forget you hesitated a beat too long when you asked, ‘does this make me look fat?’? I’ve got you covered. But when my most frequent client, the annoyingly charming (or is that charmingly annoying?) Dylan Griffin comes to me with an unconventional new job, I discover that three little words can add up to one BIG complication…

Because Dylan doesn’t want help seducing another swimsuit model (for once in his life). He wants my help winning over his high-school crush (aka, his one true love) – and he’s prepared to make it worth my while. Throw in a summer Catskills trip that’s equal parts ‘Dirty Dancing’ and dirty-talking, and this Cupid is soon out of her depth – and head over heels with the last man I expected. But can I find the right words when it comes to my own heart? Or will this happily ever end in disaster?

Find out in the sparkling new romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author, Lila Monro

 

Review:

Goes down as another off my 2019 Bookworm Bingo Challenge – A book your mum would love. Classic fun romcom read, what’s not to love.

Poppy is your personal Cyrano – need a helping hand finding just the right words of love, or maybe just an apology, she’s your girl. Her best and most frequent client is Dylan, someone who seems content to plough through most of New York, one right on from the other. He owns the Griffin hotels and thinks he has finally made something of himself. This all comes to a head in his mind when at a party he sees someone from his past – Jasmine, his unattainable dream girl. A crush from his geeky school days where he couldn’t string two sentences together around her – not much has changed with that then. Step in Poppy to the rescue. If she can make Jasmine fall in love with him he will give her $50k. Talk about an incentive – she could use the money to really push her business. But Jasmine is a hard nut to crack and her and Dylan just don’t click at all. Something him and Poppy seem to do in spades without realising it. That is until a drunken night out ending in a heated make out session clears that up. Well for a moment until they decide that it shouldn’t have happened and she should get back to helping him.

Help he needs with the week ahead at his new hotels soft opening that he invited Jasmine to. He needs his romance guru Poppy along for the ride. An all expenses paid trip away in luxury hotel, yes please. Trying to stop thinking about a devil of kiss while getting said hot lips to click with another, not so good for Poppy. She does want to help him and Jasmine but the more she does the more they seem to pull apart leading him back to Poppy. Mainly to apologize with wine and cake when he’s messed up – yes please! They just act themselves when together, no front, so you can see the almost kisses again a mile off. Nothing runs smoothly for long, especially when ex’s pop up – hello falling on your ass a lot!

Seems the moment Dylan stops looking at what he thought he wanted and starts to see what is right in front of him the better because you know from the heat they are putting off its going to be hot. Shame old insecurities and long pauses rock the boat. Clear heads needed to see what they really want. Can Dylan find the right words on his own to get the one he really wants?

Great chemistry between Poppy and Dylan, started with friendship leading to more, even though they weren’t looking for it. Probably why they worked well as there was no pretending to be someone they weren’t, as they have known each other for a year. Clicking with how their minds work without truly seeing it to begin with. The drunken night that changed it all was their starting point to something great. Well as long as they don’t put up barriers to stop themselves finding the real thing.

Dylan’s friends Kyle and Sarah were fun. Loved it when Sarah gave him a piece of her mind. Just the right push he needed to get his head out of his ass and fix things. Loved Poppy’s friends April and Natalie too, going to be fun getting to know them more in next books. Another fun, sexy, romcom read that is sure to entertain so I think it’s time I moved onto the next.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review.