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A stack of broken hearts, a mistake, a lie, a kiss, and more than one little secret.

I always feel an odd mix of emotions when a deep series, one with more than a handful of titles, ends; satisfaction, sadness, joy, and excitement for new things to come.

With the Westbrooks, well, we are in deep—two series, a novella, and a side character spin-off deep—in this family. Then here comes One Little Secret, the book it has all been building to. I admit I had a significant level of angst going into this read.

Beginning with Cross My Heart, each story has gotten deeper, stronger, steamier, and more emotional, making me love the characters in this series like my family, and I wasn’t ready to let them go. Then Avery Maxwell did it again.

In One Little Secret, Maxwell has pulled all the loose threads of the epic tapestry woven in the previous stories together through Ashton Westbrook and Nova Blaine’s love story. And while she was at it, she wove a bit of herself and her readers into its fabric, assuring that these characters and their stories will live on in us for years to come.

While each of the nine series stories and the spinoff is complete with an HEA for the main characters, there are overarching plot lines completed in One Little Secret that lead me to recommend reading the stories in order of publication for best continuity and reading enjoyment, and you absolutely should read this series!

The Right Guy by Mel Walker
I just finished reading The Right Guy. I have to say it was delightful.
I have read romances written by male authors before and am always taken by the subtle (sometimes, not so subtle) shift in tone that the male voice brings to the page. This is no exception.
In Hunter, Mel Walker brings to life a character and perspective that is intriguing, genuine, and sometimes missing in the body of romance works. I love how Hunter pulls from himself exactly what each moment requires without forgetting who he is.
Walker's female characters are bright and thoughtfully written. And while The Right Guy isn't over the top explicit, there is an authentic, steamy. seductive, tension roiling below the surface of every encounter between Hunter and Catherine on the way to their happily ever after.
It was a lovely read that left me with all the warm fuzzies I expected. I recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect beach or rainy day read.

A Bright New World!!!

Without a Hitch is Avery Maxwell’s ninth book and her first step outside the Westbrook world she mastered in her first eight novels.

As with her series, in Without a Hitch, she continues themes of chosen family and personal healing, and while all of Avery’s books embrace worthiness and recognizing your worthiness as core themes, none does it quite the way Tilly and Lochlan’s story does. Both dynamic lead characters, from opposite sides of the tracks, are deeply wounded and doubting of their worth, yet each is uniquely suited to shine a bright light on the other’s worthiness and, in doing so, discovers their own.

Without A Hitch is a true standalone, which will enchant readers new to Maxwell’s work, with just enough cameo appearances from old favorites to appease Westbrook fans waiting for the next installment of that series. WoAH has a relaxed rom/com feel and all the raw emotion, and steam fans have come to expect from an Avery Maxwell book.
If you like books by the likes of Pippa Grant and Lucy Score, then you should give Without A Hitch a chance.

Small-town Real Feels-Instant attraction meets reno resistance.

Maggie, the social media rehab deva, isn’t afraid to take a sledgehammer to a wall if it serves her renovation vision. But when she meets the #HotLandscaperGuy determined to take a sledgehammer to the walls she’s built around her heart, things get steamy.

Silas isn’t your ordinary hero. Sure, he is hot and built and packing everything he needs to rock Maggie’s world, including a wonderful, albeit, messy dog, but he is also natural at almost everything he has ever done, and his all-in, jump with both feet, approach works for him, and he can’t see why it doesn’t work for everyone. He comes from a blended family that is incredibly supportive thanks to two dynamic moms who keep it real and two very aware dads who keep things grounded, and siblings who keep things funny. In Maggie, he sees his future and jumps in with both feet.

Maggie is a planner, who makes decisions after research, and analysis of the options, certainly not based on feelings and signs. Her rocky history has led her to believe she has to hustle for her worthiness, and she hustles so hard there is no time for anything else, and hustling keeps her heart safe, if she doesn’t have time for a relationship, she doesn’t have to deal with not being worthy of one either.

In Maggie Moves On, Lucy Score has hit the hot button for many who want to rage against toxic masculinity, but she has also touched the soul of women who feel for many reasons, that they have to work themselves into the ground, to prove themselves worthy of love, of success, of the dreams they are too busy to dream. Women who need someone to brazenly tear down their walls and love them fully, and all in. This ability to see into the realness of humanity and put it on the page in a way that makes you love it and hate it and feel it, is Lucy Score’s trademark.

Maggie Move On is everything I expect from a Lucy Score book, it’s well written, funny, poignant, surprising, and steamy, with strong themes of chosen family and acceptance. I loved it and highly recommend it to anyone who isn’t looking to be butt hurt by a romance novel.

One Little Kiss: Finding Foreverland
If you are a fan of Avery Maxwell’s The Westbrooks series, Broken Hearts, and Family Ties, then you know the family’s Peter Pan, fun loving, prankster, Colton Westbrook. If you have been paying attention to the subtle hints and easter eggs Avery has hidden in the first 8 books, you already know that there is more to Pan than meets the eye… or GG’s tarot cards.
In One Little Kiss, our beloved, not so lost boy, leaves Neverland to find his Foreverland in the guise of a curvy, complex, and untrusting girl first glimpsed in an airport and a special little boy who sees the Thupahero behind the glitter bombs.
In her signature style Maxwell brings a level of naked honesty to this band of ragtag billionaires and the resilient women who love them. She doesn’t hide from the uncomfortable “real” challenges and emotions, instead she explores them, confronts them, and finds healing for them, and as a result makes readers feel seen... and I think that makes the romance and the steam feel more visceral and authentic.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book, which ends in a happily ever after, but is part of an interconnected series that is best read in order.

Following Maggie: an instant attraction lights a heart fire
Small town insta- attraction.
Part 4 of the 9 part, 9 author series Coming Home
When a snowstorm grounds Maggie and Sebastian, an instant attraction lights a heart fire.
Following Maggie has the warm, comfortable feel of Moreland’s Over the Fence, small town, instant attraction, feel-good, sweet romance with a long fuse. At just 124 pages, it is a well-crafted, sweet, single-sitting read that doesn’t skimp on the feels.

Breaking the Speed Limit
Melanie Moreland.

Small Town Rom-Com with a Side of Suspense

I was honored to receive an advance review copy of Breaking the Speed Limit.
Revved to the Maxx, book one in the Reynold’s Restoration series is my favorite Melanie Moreland book. Grumpy growly protective guys are kind of my thing, and Reynold’s Restorations has them on staff in abundance.
In book two of the series, Breaking the Speed Limit, Moreland picks up the story with mechanic and artist Stefano Borelli.
If you like hot guys who whisper sweet nothings in your ear, in Italian. Sassy, self-sufficient women, who work and love hard. Funny kids who steal the show, and Italian mamas who are the glue that keeps the family together. A little danger and intrigue, and devoted chosen family. You will love this book.

The Commander, Men of Hidden Justice #3 is not what I expected. It is better!

The third installment in the Men of Hidden Justice world is the story of Julian Grayson, Commander of the secret white hat vigilante force, and the story I’d been waiting for since I read The Boss last fall. A Second Chance, secret baby story, with depth and substance and just enough darkness to be interesting.

As with The Boss and Second in Command, in The Commander, Moreland continues her commitment to writing female leads who are both vulnerable and resilient, and who are strong equals to their alpha male counterparts.

I fully expected The Commander to continue the journey into the darker side of Moreland’s signature Canadian Grey, and while there are elements of darkness in their story, Julian and Taliyah’s journey is instead, one that takes them both from darkness to light.

Julian is by far my favorite of the Men of Hidden Justice, and I wholeheartedly recommend this series, which I believe is best read in order.

Deeper into the “Canadian Grey”

Second In Command is the second in the Men of Hidden Justice Series from Melanie Moreland. A romantic suspense series that she has coined as "Canadian Grey", deals with darker suspense themes without delving too deeply into the horrors and balancing those aspects with steamy, heartfelt, romantic relationships.
The Men of Hidden Justice, a secret white hat agency, seek out evil and mete out justice, firmly, finally, and outside usual channels.

Marcus Gallo, who we meet in The Boss, as Matteo's Second In Command, is now leading the team.
Marcus: focused, driven, direct, and devoted to his passion for vigilante justice until he follows his instincts and meets her...

Mellisa: a victim, but so much more than just that, working with Marcus, she seeks to free herself from a life spent looking over her shoulder, while building something to live for, together.

Second In Command has all the makings of solid romantic suspense well crafted by Moreland's experienced hands. A bit steamier than The Boss, Moreland invites us deeper into the shadows of "Canadian Grey", a world of intrigue and desire that never quite becomes truly dark. Second In Command offers up unexpected twists and turns and, as with all good romances, a happily ever after and a giant tease for the next in the series, The Commander.

I am honored to have received an advanced copy for review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to Julian's story in the Commander.

Deeply Moving

One Little Lie by Avery Maxwell is the second in The Westbrooks: Family Ties series. It expands the world created in The Westbrooks: Broken Hearts novels. Each book in this series offers the main couple’s complete story. However, character development and an intriguing suspense subplot interweave throughout the entire series, so I recommend reading them in order for the best experience.

That said, this is Maxwell’s 7th book in The Westbrook franchise, each stronger, deeper, and steamier than the last. Maxwell hasn’t shied away from challenging topics in the preceding novels, handling them with kindness and compassion. One Little Lie continues that dedication to creating authentic characters with real-world problems that resonate with readers.

In One Little Lie, Brother’s best friend meets Second chance love with a hint of Forced proximity and a healthy dose of Maxwell’s signature Sassy Small-Town Steam combine to make One Little Lie a winner of a read for me. The ongoing theme of Chosen Family is ever present, as is the wisdom and snark of our beloved GG.

Rylan is Colton’s (Halton’s younger brother) Best Friend. Halton loves Rylan. When one little lie that seemed necessary at the time blows their teenage romance apart, Rylan moves away. When she comes back years later, Halton must decide to let her go or fix his shit.

Halton lives with social anxiety, and like many of us, deals with worthiness issues. His journey toward wellness and a shared happily ever after is profoundly moving, raw and authentic, and opens the door for serious conversations about the stigmas of mental health challenges. I applaud Maxwell’s bravery for taking on this timely and much-needed dialogue.

I fell in love with The Westbrooks a year ago, with Cross MY Heart, and I wholeheartedly recommend both The Westbrooks series and One Little Lie.

Welcome to the Chaos, again!

The Westbrooks have arrived.

One Little Mistake is book one in the new Westbrook series by Avery Maxwell.

Building upon the solid foundation of her Broken Hearts series, Maxwell has taken her characters to the next level. The Westbrook series features the younger brothers of fan-favorite Preston Westbrook. As with any family, the Westbrook siblings are growing up, spreading their wings, and diversifying their interests, all the while maintaining the strong family bonds that have made, Westbrook's motto “Welcome to the Chaos” a rallying cry for an ever-expanding family of both blood and choice.

In this series Debut, Easton Westbrook, grumpy, smart, sexy, talented, wounded, and absolutely not interested in a relationship, meets his match in his new personal assistant, even grumpier, smarter, sexier, perhaps more talented, every bit as wounded, and equally disinterested, Lexi Heart.

As the story unfolds, One Little Mistake becomes another, until another made in Vegas follows them home. This steamy, grumpy boss, enemies to lovers with a twist, fairytale adjacent story weaves the threads left hanging in The Broken Hearts series into the framework of the series yet to come as Easton and Lexi with a little help from their friends and family work together to build their Happily Ever After.

One Little Mistake brings all our favorites from the Broken Heart series, including a healthy dose of GG wisdom, Sylvie organization, and cameos of all the extended Westbrook family. It is super steamy and brings all the feels! You will need tissues for both happy and sad tears.

I highly recommend this book! While One Little Mistake is a complete story, it does build on the prior series and for the best possible enjoyment, should be read in order.