As a group, I thought all three were middling contemporary romances, one featuring a billionaire, one a bad boy/nice girl, and one a cowboy. They were all quick reads - a couple of hours at most - and well written, though I had problems with each.
The title of each book links to their Goodreads page, if you want to check out other reviews and the books' blurbs!
Exposed
Tracy Wolff
An Ethan Frost novel
Loveswept
Amazon
3 stars
Exposed is the third book in the Ethan Frost series. Featuring brilliant, self-made billionaire Ethan Frost, and his law intern love interest, Chloe, the series comes to a close with this book addressing how Chloe and Ethan will cope over the long term with their past constantly inserting itself into the present.
This book has a very, very slow start. While Ethan's perspective was welcome, I did find it to be rather monologue-y and repetitive. I probably would have put the book down if I didn't want to review it. Fortunately the second half of the book has a much faster pace, and I was grateful for that.
The back and forth over what to do about Ethan's younger brother was irritating, and while Chloe tried to take a stand repeatedly, I didn't get a great sense of her strength in this book, though her compassion was obvious. I *did* appreciate how the clash between Chloe's and Ethan's personal goals (namely to protect each other) was written. It was a believable point of conflict for these two.
Ultimately, I was glad to read the end of their journey, but I wasn't as satisfied by it as I wanted to be.
***
Charlotte Stein
A Dark Obsession Novel
Loveswept
Amazon
3.5 stars
I'm a Charlotte Stein fan but Never Loved was a bit meh for me. It wasn't as sexy as I wanted it to be, and I guess I just didn't see the chemistry between Serge and Bea as strongly as I wanted to.
Beatrix' background is, ah, let's say very conservative, while Serge's is violent. They seem mismatched, but of course, they're drawn to each other not only because they're misfits, but because they represent the wholesomeness or rebellion that they're missing in their lives.
The end of the book really brings everything together nicely, but I wasn't really into the conflict that carried most of the story. It was, like Exposed, very internal to the couple, and I really wanted them to get over themselves to make the relationship work. Frankly, there wasn't much about the book that was really memorable for me other than Serge's size (as in height!) and Beatrix' past, which I really wanted to delve into more.
Not my favourite by this author, but if you *really* like the bad boy/nice girl trope, or MMA fighters, you might give this one a try!
***
Maggie McGinnis
A Whisper Creek Novel
Loveswept
Amazon
4 stars
I devoured this cowboy-themed book. It reminded me heavily of another "cowboys trying to save the family ranch" series that I read a few years ago - to the point that I wasn't 100% sure it wasn't part of that series until I was about halfway through.
Cole is delightful. He's sexy, he's sweet, he's smart. He's the total package, rather flawless, really. Jess is also pretty delightful. She's got some dark secrets.
Now, these two had great chemistry, off-the-charts chemistry. I loved the way they flirted and danced around each other. I was rooting for them to find their way to each other.
What didn't quite work for me is that the impact of Jess' secrets was in drawing out the inevitable coming together of the couple. She doesn't address her issues until the last couple chapters of the book, and for me, that muted the problems of her past. I wanted Jess' issues to intrude earlier in the book, in more tangible ways.
Still, this one was sweet, and I really enjoyed the dance between Jess and Cole.
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