Review – Wild Ever After by Rebecca Jenshak

Wild Ever After; Wildcats #3
(Standalone within an interconnected series)

Publication Date: February 7, 2023

Genre/Tropes: New Adult/Sports/Opposites Attract/Fake Marriage Romance

Author: Rebecca Jenshak

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
Swooney Ever After should be the title of this book because Declan is Jenshak’s biggest heart-throbbingist (yes, it’s a word) hero to date.

Rebecca Jenshak has outdone herself when it comes to the Wildcats and each one just gets dreamier and dreamier. Declan not only steps up when Jade needs a groom, but his love language really shines in noticing all the small things. He’s the guy that makes sure that the fridge is stocked with your favorite food, or makes sure your car is full of gas, or would even build you an office in his home so that you have a place to work. He sees to your comfort and also never wants to take credit for it either. Declan has lived a life in the background, he’s even played his hockey career just in the shadows allowing others to take the light. How is he still single when he’s so humble and perfect?

Don’t worry, Jade asks him repeatedly and speaking of Jade…

While Declan is the perfect guy, Jade is sort of a hot mess. I did struggle a little bit with her hot and cold messy life, but luckily Declan made up for everything that Jade threw a wrench in. She’s a bit self centered and her job is her life, which is what gets her into the mess she’s in in the first place. However, there are a lot of people who place their jobs first, so I didn’t necessarily dislike her for that, but the longer she only seemed to care about it and not about the people in her life…that grated on me just a bit. Because hello…Declan…he’s amazing.

In the end…of course it all worked out and the Jade I got to know from previous books resurfaced, so not all was lost, plus…Declan!!

Synopsis:
An opposites attract, marriage of convenience, hockey romance from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Jenshak.

I’m going to marry her.
Are we dating? No.
Was she engaged to someone else yesterday? Yes.
It’s not real. It’s to save her job after her fiancé dumped her days before their wedding.
But it’s good press for me, which my agent will love.
I just signed a seven-year contract with the Wildcats, maybe my final one, and I have to start thinking about life after hockey.
Did I mention she’s my coach’s daughter’s best friend?
She’s driven, fun, and the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
Too bad I’m not supposed to fall for my wife.

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Review – Bridges Burned by Marie James

Bridges Burned; Mission Mercenaries #3
(Interconnected standalone within a series)

Publication Date: February 2, 2023

Genre/Tropes: Mercenary/Dark/Mafia Romance

Author: Marie James

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
Bridges Burned is the third book in this dark mercenary series. While this book revolves around the mafia, revenge, and has a slow burn between the main couple, there is also a familiar feel to parts of this story. It didn’t make me like it any less, but perhaps that will help sort out why I continue to return to the comfort of this familiar world.

There seems to be a recurring theme among these mercenaries; kidnap a woman and then experience remorse while trying to figure out their next move. Yes, Hollis fell into the classic blunder that his fellow co-workers previously did. Silly mercenary. On top of that he swore off ever falling for anyone given his family history and isn’t that like waving a red flag in front of a romantic hero. He was going down and going down hard.

Hollis’ one goal in life is to take out the man who ruined his family and when he gets the opportunity, regardless of his job, those around him, even his own life, he takes it. He never stopped to think about collateral damage along the way, collateral damage in the form of a beautiful woman named Madelene.

As for the heroine, Madelene may have grown up in the mafia world and known all about the brutality and darkness, but what broke her was that she was eventually sold to the Severino family like a piece of furniture. Engaged to a monster, she is suffocated with the thoughts of her future, but when she’s kidnapped by a stranger, it might actually be the escape she never knew she’d get.

Neither Hollis or Madelene know about a healthy relationship or what love really is, but together they understand darkness and that is what I liked about the two of them. They really understood one another and what could be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. Their time together may have built slow, but it was meaningful. Plus….the twist at the end…brilliant.

Synopsis:

BRIDGES BURNED by Marie James coming February 2!

I didn’t swear vengeance on the Severino Family after Ellie’s death. I was only a child after all.

I didn’t swear vengeance when my father, a coward who wasn’t man enough to seek justice for her, drank himself into a divorce.

Going after them would be a death sentence.

I chose to live my life in the shadows, seeking revenge for others.

That was until I ran into the very man that took Ellie’s life.

I can still smell the smoke clinging to my skin from all the bridges I burned because of that man.

Walking away was no longer an option.

Killing him would be easy, but taking the woman that was promised to him seemed like a better wager.

Exacting retribution through her was the gamble I made.

Surviving her now seems impossible.

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