Book Review: Falling for Jillian by Kristen Proby

Falling for Jillian (Love Under the Big Sky #3) by Kristen Proby

 

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This series was my first taste of Kristen Proby. And I must say I really enjoyed these books. Falling for Jillian is my favorite out of the ones I have read. These are standalone romances, but the other characters make a lot of appearances. I mean the main character Zack has a twin brother – how could they both not make an appearance?  King twins = gold.

And they both are alpha, protective, and super sweet.

Zack King has returned from the army to take care of his son, which his ex-wife abandoned on his brother’s doorstep while he was gone. Jill has moved back into town to get away from her horrible ex-husband and to start fresh.  After a quick one night fling from the last time she was in town, Zack and Jill cannot help be awkward around each other. Avoidance is key.

Even if the flame and tension still dances hot when they are around each other. The joys of having a similar friend set, am I right?

That is until a huge snow storm hit Montana, and Jill is without heat. She calls her best friend to rescue her. Cara is with both the King twins at the time of the call. Worried for Jill, Zack has to step up to and save Jill.  Figuring that her heater cannot be fixed at least till after the storm, Zack insist that Jill return with him to the ranch. The RANCH! What a perfect setting for this charming and sweet winter romance.

I wish I could have read it closer to Christmas time, but the winter weather around her was enough to really drive the setting home.   And I think I want to move to Montana now.

As Zack and Jill get closer, Jill also gets to know Zack’s twelve year old son, Seth.  And she slowly begins to feel a connection and protective motherly instinct over the boy who has had a rough past.   Seth is still struggling to accept that he is away from his horrible mother and learning that his family cares for him. Zack is dealing with his young teenage son and the return from war. And Jill is carrying around a lot of baggage of her own. It is not easy sailing for this group.

I would describe this book as smooth and direct. I loved how well each chapter flowed and how easily it was to read. The characters do connect quickly and easily with each other. And even though there is conflict it was smoothed over well. My only wish as a reader, was that I could have seen a little more tension/emotional turmoil with each character. Like Zack struggles with PTSD from the war, but it is barely touched on. 

But overall enjoyed the character connections, especially seeing Seth and Zack interact. Jill was a strong, stubborn character that I feel many women can relate with. Plus, I really enjoyed her feisty kick butt side.

I had heard that these books were a bit corny. Knowing that going in, I felt like corny was too strong of a word. These books: makes you smile a lot, reads super easy, presents conflicts but wraps it up well, and make you love the characters.  I really enjoyed the sticky, sweet fluff of goodness. I will definitely be picking up more Kristen Proby books soon!

Thanks to NetGalley and Pocket Books for providing this copy in exchange for a honest review.

 

 

Book Review: Sacrifice (Elemental #5) by Brigid Kemmerer

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Four "Love the Merrick brothers" StarsLove the elemental series!

First just let me say if you enjoy paranormal books, then you have to try this YA series!

Just stop, drop, and roll on over to book 1 in the series, Strom (my review here). You will not be disappointed.

Michael has always looked out for those around him. When this includes his own younger brothers, Hunter, his girlfriend Hanna and her little boy, Michael feels overwhelmed. This is because he is not just trying to help them from day to day life, he is also trying to keep them safe from the Guides coming to town. Even if it means making sacrifices. When the threats are carried out, and even appear at their own front door – Michael knows something has to change.

Only as Michael tries to protect those around him, he pushes them away. And instead of bringing justice to his family, those in the community begin to think it is a little to convenient that Michael is always at the scene of the crime. Unable to explain the reason behind everything, Michael finds himself in even more trouble with the community. Especially the fire marshal who is Hannah's father.

I have described these books as The Outsiders merge with Captain Planet…and that is probably the reason I love them so. The supernatural elemental brings a lot of action to the plot. While The Outsiders component gets to the heart of the characters and the bonds of brothers. Which always gets me right in the heart too. However, the brothers were lacking a lot in this book. The moments that they were all together warmed my heart, and were probably some of my favorite parts of the book. Yet, Michael does not take any lessons from his brothers’ (or Hunter’s) books and tries to take on the Guides (and problems) himself. This really frustrated me because I knew it was the last book, and I wanted a lot of Merrick bonding moments.

Adam, Tyler, and especially Hunter played a major role in these books. And since I love all of these characters, I was really excited to see them. But some grim moments take place in this book, and it made me wonder where in the world were Becca and Layne. Also, Hannah was the first Merrick girlfriend/boyfriend that I did not absolutely love. And I really liked her appearances in the other books, and she grew on me here, but she also frustrated me a lot.

The writing was face paced, and flowed perfectly with the plot. And true to Brigid Kemmerer form the characters were fleshed out and relatable. She really has a talent for making all her characters pop off the page. And as always she never shies away from facing the big problems, the big moments, or the big plot twists. And she always can get to the emotion of the problem and make your heart break with the characters

The end of series always make me nervous. And I knew that reading about my favorite Merrick brother wouldn’t be any different. I knew something b-i-g was about to happen, but I did not see it actually coming till a few moments before. And ack, it was a huge plot twist moment.

The ending made the series complete, but I wanted more. More explanations, more brothers interacting, and maybe just maybe an epilogue! Too much was left unanswered for me to actually feel like the series was wrapped up. Seriously, even a little novella now with a few months down the road would make my day! So this book finished everything up, and it was nice to be in Michael Merrick’s head. There was a lot of action and some heart crushing scenes, and all and all I enjoyed the finale. The ending is a bit abrupt, but then again Brigid Kemmerer covered all the bases and left me wanting more! So really I cannot complain too much.

It was going to be a three star read for me, but because of my general love for the Merrick’s and for some really great moments in the book and the awesome writing– I bumped it to four stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing this copy in exchange for a honest review.