A Lie for a Lie (All In, book 1), by Helena Hunting

Format: e-ARC, 285 pages

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Published: 15 October 2019

ISBN: 9781542015356

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Romance

Back cover blurb: From the New York Times bestselling author of the Pucked series comes a romantic comedy about instant attraction, second chances, and not-so-little white lies.

Sometimes I need an escape from the demands, the puck bunnies, and the notoriety that come with being an NHL team captain. I just want to be a normal guy for a few weeks. So when I leave Chicago for some peace and quiet, the last thing I expect is for a gorgeous woman to literally fall into my lap on a flight to Alaska. Even better, she has absolutely no idea who I am.

Lainey is the perfect escape from my life. My plan for seclusion becomes a month-long sex fest punctuated with domestic bliss. But it ends just as abruptly as it began. When I’m called away on a family emergency, I realize too late that I have no way to contact Lainey.

A year later, a chance encounter throws Lainey and me together again. But I still have a lie hanging over my head, and Lainey’s keeping secrets of her own. With more than lust at stake, the truth may be our game changer.

My review: I didn’t think much of Rookie in the Pucked series, particularly in Lance’s book, but I immediately changed my view after only a few pages of Helena Hunting’s latest book and first in a new spinoff series. He was a wonderful hero and had obviously matured in the intervening period. Lainey was a good heroine but I couldn’t help feeling her lie was much bigger than his, tipping the balance in his favour for my sympathies. Thankfully, there was no contrived external conflict to break these two up in the latter part of the story. However, as other reviewers have stated, this book is not exactly what the blurb describes, and if you don’t like the trope – and I’m not a fan – you may feel blindsided. Still, I couldn’t put this down and will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 5/5

Amazon

Controlled Burn (Boston Fire #2), by Shannon Stacey

Format: e-ARC, 384 pages

Publisher: Carina Press

Published: December 1, 2015

ISBN: 9781426899973

Genre: Romance

Back cover blurb: Rick Gullotti lives the good life. He fights fires, dates beautiful women—though none long enough so they cast wistful glances at jewelry stores—and has great friends. And thanks to helping out the elderly couple who own his building, his rent is low. But when concerns about their health lead him to contact their only son, his life starts getting away from him.

Jessica Broussard has no interest in leaving sunny San Diego or her cushy corner office for Boston, but her father—who happens to be her boss—dispatches her to deal with the grandparents she’s never met. She’s unprepared for the frigid winter, loving relatives who aren’t the monsters she’s been led to believe, and the hot, scruffy firefighter who lives upstairs.

At first, Jessica is determined to get back to her comfortable life as quickly as possible. All she has to do is talk her grandparents into selling their monstrosity of a house and moving to a retirement community. But she underestimates Rick’s dedication—and his considerable charm. Nobody’s taking advantage of his friends on his watch, even if that makes the tempting southern California girl with the long legs his adversary. Unfortunately for them both, the only thing more urgent than the matter at hand is their sizzling chemistry, and it’s quickly becoming too strong to resist.

My review: Rick was a great hero but I didn’t have the same love for Jessica, who rubbed me up the wrong way even though she did become more likable in the middle of the story. I was glad to see some potential thawing of the situation with Davey and his parents, who were old sweeties, and it was nice to see the characters from the first book, albeit briefly.

In summary, not as engaging as the first book in the series, but still a great read. Looking forward to Scott’s book next 🙂

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 3.5/5

Amazon

Heat Exchange (Boston Fire #1), by Shannon Stacey

Format: e-ARC, 336 pages

Publisher: Carina Press

To be published: August 25, 2015

ISBN: 9781426899867

Genre: Romance

Back cover blurb: Lydia Kincaid left Boston to get away from the firefighting community—but family is number one, and her father needs her help running the pub he bought when he retired. Soon, Lydia finds it hard to resist the familiar comfort and routine, and even harder to resist her brother’s handsome friend Aidan.

Aidan Hunt is a firefighter because of the Kincaid family. He’s had the hots for Lydia for years, but if ever a woman was off-limits to him, it’s her. She’s his mentor’s daughter. His best friend’s sister. The ex-wife of a fellow firefighter. But his plan to play it cool fails, and soon he and Lydia have crossed a line they can’t uncross.

As flirtation turns into something more serious, Lydia knows she should be planning her escape. Being a firefighter’s wife was the hardest thing she’s ever done, and she doesn’t know if she has the strength to do it again. Aidan can’t imagine walking away from Boston Fire—the job and the brotherhood are his life. But if he wants Lydia in it, he’ll have to decide who’s first in his heart.

My review: Hot firefighters who play ice hockey in their downtime… need I say more? Oh, yes, this was hot. Just look at that cover! I’ve read a few of Shannon Stacey’s other works and I have to say this is my favourite so far.

Lydia is a great heroine, no-nonsense and ballsy enough to stand up to her overbearing father and cocky brother. Unfortunately for her, she breaks the firehouse code of brotherhood by giving in to her attraction to her brother’s best friend, the gorgeous Aidan. He is fantastic – a selfless firefighter with a dirty sense of humour and a penchant for answering the door only in his underwear. *sigh*

As well as writing a story that is extremely hot, Stacey has also done her homework regarding the firefighters’ routines, and I particularly enjoyed the way their boss stepped in to sort out the boys’ differences so they continued to have each other’s backs on the job. The secondary storyline involving Lydia’s sister and her firefighter husband was also well done.

This is a quick, easy read and a great start to a promising new series. I can’t wait to read the next book!

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 4/5

Amazon

Stacking the Shelves #8

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Welcome back to Stacking the Shelves, a regular meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga’s Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the latest books you have added to your shelves, physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course e-books! Here is my haul from this week.

Given to me as a gift

It’s been a bit of a quiet week for new books for me. It was my birthday, and my sister gave me a paperback copy of The Retribution by Val McDermid. It’s book 7 in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series and I haven’t read any of the others, so it should be interesting! McDermid comes highly recommended.

Purchased from iBooks

I also got some gift cards for my birthday and have so far bought Pucked by Helena Hunting. Really looking forward to reading this one! And there’s still plenty left on my cards for more purchasing in coming weeks.

Keep an eye out for my reviews of these in coming weeks. So what new books did you pick up this week? Let me know in the comments.