A Wine Lovers Book Blog / Books n Wine

***4.5 Stars*** I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had some great characters that I am crossing my toes that I will see again at some point in the future, the budding romance between Lucien and Emma hit all the right buttons and OMG the food. The. FOOD. I swear I gained 20lbs just reading the book, but all in all this was a great read. Lucien and Emma. I have a thing for broody, batter, grunting males and Lucien definitely fit the bill at the start, but what also came through was just how golden his heart was. His care, compassion and just overall protectiveness of those that he called his own totally won me over. Emma, I adored this woman. She has moxie. I loved her sass, sweetness and how she dealt with her world going sideways.  As for their journey to their HEA. It was all kinds of instant attraction, but with a slow burn pace. Both Lucien and Emma had things to work through and really liked how they tended to gain moments of clarity through their interactions. Now not all of t...

***2 Stars*** UGH… I really, REALLY, wanted to like this book ~ and for all intents and purposes I should have ~ the books I’ve read by this author I’ve thoroughly enjoyed (The Friend Zone has been re read more times than I can count), I love an enemies to lovers trope AND the food ~ OMG the FOOD ~ BUT ~ yes, the dreaded “BUT” ~ it ended up being just an okay read for me. Macon and Delilah ~ I honestly liked Delilah. She has a good heart ~ even if it gets her into situations it shouldn’t ~ and I loved her passion for cooking and making it her career. Macon. He isn’t a bad guy, but I just needed more from him. So to say their journey to their HEA didn’t work for me isn’t a surprise and it isn’t that I didn’t like them together, I just thought Delilah deserved so much more. I know all too well that not every book by authors one loves will end up being fav’s, but it still hurts to have to put it out into the world that this one just didn’t do it for me. The pacing dragged f...

Outmatched by Kristen Callihan and Samantha Young Release Date: November 19, 2019 Outmatched, an all-new standalone contemporary romance by New York Times bestselling authors Kristen Callihan and Samantha Young. What happens when a boxer finds chemistry with a geek? Parker Brown can’t believe she needs to hire a fake boyfriend. When she landed her dream job in renewable energy, she thought she’d be entering a world at the forefront of progressive thinking. But the head boss prefers to promote employees who are “settled.” Thankfully, she’s found the perfect candidate, a fellow intellectual looking for some quick cash. What Parker gets is his protective big brother—Rhys Morgan. The tall, muscled ex-boxer with a foul mouth shows up just as her boss does, and now she’s stuck with the manipulative jerk. Responsibility weighs heavily on Rhys. Now permanently out of the ring, he’s trying to hold together his late father’s gym and keep his younger brother, Dean, on the str...

“Callihan and Young teamed up in what can only be described as a winning combo of heavyweight championship proportions. Sexy, sassy and so much fun, Outmatched was a page turner that I wished never ended. I want MORE!” — USA Today Bestselling Author T Gephart Outmatched, an all-new standalone contemporary romance by New York Times bestselling authors Kristen Callihan and Samantha Young, is LIVE! What happens when a boxer finds chemistry with a geek? Parker Brown can’t believe she needs to hire a fake boyfriend. When she landed her dream job in renewable energy, she thought she’d be entering a world at the forefront of progressive thinking. But the head boss prefers to promote employees who are “settled.” Thankfully, she’s found the perfect candidate, a fellow intellectual looking for some quick cash. What Parker gets is his protective big brother—Rhys Morgan. The tall, muscled ex-boxer with a foul mouth shows up just as her boss does, and now she’s stuck with the manipula...

Outmatched by Kristen Callihan and Samantha Young Genre: Contemporary Romance Publishing date: November 19, 2019 Cover Designer: Hang Le What happens when a boxer finds chemistry with a geek? Parker Brown can’t believe she needs to hire a fake boyfriend. When she landed her dream job in renewable energy, she thought she’d be entering a world at the forefront of progressive thinking. But the head boss prefers to promote employees who are “settled.” Thankfully, she’s found the perfect candidate, a fellow intellectual looking for some quick cash. What Parker gets is his protective big brother—Rhys Morgan. The tall, muscled ex-boxer with a foul mouth shows up just as her boss does, and now she’s stuck with the manipulative jerk. Responsibility weighs heavily on Rhys. Now permanently out of the ring, he’s trying to hold together his late father’s gym and keep his younger brother, Dean, on the straight and narrow. To save Dean from himself, Rhys takes his place, ready to giv...

*** 5 “Take My Hand” Stars *** I’m sure everyone who is a fan of this series is with me when I say it feels like we’ve been waiting EONS for the next book in this series. EONS. And it’s not necessarily for a particular character to get a book, it’s simply THIS series. These characters, as a whole, are just so damn addicting that you can help but need more (I can always have more Gray Gray...and even Dex...but mostly Gray Gray...just sayin’) and it makes the wait practically intolerable. But the wait was so worth it! It was a sweet, smexy, swoon worthy read with a good dose of angst and a lot of heart that I wanted one to devour, but instead took my time to savor. I adored Finn and Chess. Finn is sexy, charming and has more charisma that he should given all his smexyness and like any good quarterback he knows how to read people. He’s got a laid back alpha vibe going on and once he decides on a path he sticks to it. Despite having it all and incident in his rece...