ARC Review: The Church by Celia Aaron

The Church is the third book in The Cloister series by Celia Aaron, and should only be read after The Maiden and The Prophet. This book is the conclusion of the series and I couldn’t wait for it after the end of The Prophet. I had to know what would happen and how things would end and I can honestly say that Celia Aaron did this series and the characters justice and I am so glad that I took a chance on her with these books. I am now a huge fan of hers and can’t wait to read more of her stories. 

The Church picks up after the events of The Prophet, with Adam having destroyed himself for his feelings for Delilah. His life hangs in the balance and Delilah doesn’t know how to go on. Though Delilah is determined to get vengeance, the prophet is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that his life continues as it has been by whatever means necessary. 

I have really enjoyed getting to know both Delilah and Adam from the beginning of this series through this last book. This book is full of things that could be triggers for some readers and that should be taken seriously. But as much darkness and tough subjects as there are here, this series is also filled with hope and love as well. Adam and Delilah had a unique and undeniable connection right from the start, and with everything that they went through that only strengthened. These two were put through hell, but I never lost hope that they would get to where they were meant to be or find their own HEA. 

This series is one that sucked me in from the very start, and with each book I found myself unable to put them down, devouring every last word. I honestly couldn’t get enough and I wasn’t ready for the series to be over. I would love to see more of Adam’s brother and how his future progresses after everything happened. While I do think that this series is fantastic, I urge you to take the warnings serious. But if it sounds like something you can handle, these books are definitely worth reading! Adam and Delilah are characters I won’t forget and I look forward to reading more from Celia Aaron in the future.

**ARC Provided by IndieSage PR**

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Feature: Scotland or Bust by Kira Archer

After dumping her boyfriend, Nicole Franklin impulsively jumps on a plane and heads to Europe. Sure, money and a job would have been nice to line up first. Even a visa, for that matter. So now she has to play tour guide at an Outlander experience for the most obnoxious man on the planet. Until she stumbles into the wrong bed in the middle of the night and wakes up in Harrison’s arms. Now his family thinks they’re engaged, and the entire village is betting on how long before she’ll be running for the hills.

Harrison Troy has a reputation in the town for burning through assistants. And the bubbly new one he’s just hired is likely no different. But his family quickly has them “engaged.” He should be upset, but she’s the perfect buffer for his interfering family. She says she doesn’t need another man in her life--even if he comes with a castle--and that’s fine with him. So why can’t he stop thinking about the woman who is charming everyone in the town, and maybe even him?

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Review: Straight Up Love by Lexi Ryan

Straight Up Love is the second book in the Boys of Jackson Harbor Series by Lexi Ryan, and while I haven’t read the first book in the series, this story is easily read as a standalone. The books are interconnected though, so if you have read the first book you will see familiar faces here. There was a lot to like here, and yet in the end I had mixed feelings on the story overall. While I have enjoyed a lot of Lexi Ryan’s books in the past, this wasn’t my favorite of hers. 

Jake and Ava had been best friends forever, but they had always been platonic. Jake had been in love with Ava for as long as he could remember, but the one time he tried to let Ava know how he felt she rejected him. With a failed marriage and no prospects on her 30th birthday, Ava decides to take matters into her own hands for the one thing she has always wanted, a baby. While she knows being a single mom won’t be easy, she is ready to make it happen. But when she asks Jake for his help, they both quickly begin to realize that everything is about to change between them. Jake has no problem helping, as long as it means doing things the old fashioned way, and a chance to prove to Ava once and for all that they belong together. 

I liked both Ava and Jake, but if I’m honest I had trouble believing in their relationship. I saw Jake’s feelings and they were genuine to me. I really believed that he had loved Ava as more than a friend and pined for her for years. I had trouble believing Ava though. At first she was constantly saying that Jake was nothing more than a friend, and he was like a brother...she never saw him as more. Then suddenly things turned and she saw him as more, always had and had just buried it. I didn’t buy it. It can’t be both ways. Either she always had, but nothing had happened or she never did until now. It just didn’t make sense, and I couldn’t get behind their relationship 100% because of it. I did believe that they had a connection and chemistry, I just wasn’t believing the sudden switch in circumstances and backstory. 

Overall, this one was okay. I really wanted to love it, and don’t get me wrong there were things I did really like about it. But I wanted to believe the story from start to finish and the more I thought about it the more I didn’t like that it seemed like things just changed midway through the book. I definitely liked the characters though, and I want to read more in this series. I think that a lot of readers will enjoy this one, especially if they don’t get caught up in the details like I did.

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Feature and Giveaway: The Gunslinger's Vow by Amy Sandas

Three runaway brides
Determined to escape their fates
Flee West to find freedom that can only be had
in a cowboy’s arms…

Alexandra Brighton spent the last five years in Boston, erasing all evidence of the wild frontier girl she used to be. Before she settles down, she’s determined to visit her childhood home one final time. But when she finds herself stranded far from civilization, she has no choice but to trust her safety to the tall, dark and decidedly dangerous bounty hunter Malcolm Kincaid.

Now that Malcolm finally has the location his brother’s killer, he has no intention of wasting time protecting a pampered Eastern lady. But something about Alexandra speaks to the heart he long thought frozen—and her slow transformation from proper miss to wild-eyed beauty leaves him shaken. By the time they reach Montana, Malcolm must decide if seeking justice for past wrongs is worth losing a future with the woman he never expected to need…

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Feature and Giveaway: Cowboy Seal Redemption by Nicole Helm

Three former Navy SEALs
Injured in the line of duty
Desperate for a new beginning…
Searching for a place to call their own.

Jack Armstrong’s been slowly piecing his life back together after a career-ending injury bounced him from the SEALs. The only trouble is, his family’s on their way to his new haven in Montana...and Jack refuses to let them know he’s still hurting. Desperate, he makes a deal with local bad girl Rose Rogers: in exchange for some extra security, she’ll play the perfect loving girlfriend.

Rose doesn’t trust any man, much less some tough-as-nails former SEAL. But the more they settle into their ruse, the more things start to feel real, and the more Rose’s true fear surfaces—that she’ll never be good enough for love. But Jack isn’t about to lose Rose. He’s done running when things get tough, and he’s determined to prove—once and for all—that even the most troubled hearts can find their way to redemption.

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