Steal His Heart by Diane Darcy

Synopsis:

What if keeping your job depended on keeping a secret?

Daisy Manning has been testing security by shoplifting in Worthingtons Department store for five months. Not once in that entire time has she been caught by security personnel. Until today.

Kent Whitaker is disgusted by the beautiful thief he’s caught red-handed, and even more disgusted by his attraction to her. While he won’t allow himself to become romantically involved with a thief, he can certainly help out a friend by curing his daughter of bad habits.

They both fight their growing attraction, Kent because dishonesty is the one trait he cannot tolerate, and Daisy because Kent is directly interfering with her long-range career goals.

But when an unskilled matchmaker tries his hand at getting them together, the unexpected happens to them both as Kent gets distracted and Daisy steals his heart!


My Review: 5 Stars

My second time reading Steal His Heart and it's still a 5 star read for me! I absolutely loved Daisy and Kent! They were hilarious!

Daisy is working as a shoplifter and Kent is working security in the same department store. They met for the first time when Kent caught her shoplifting. They were both instantly attracted to each other but neither one wanted to admit it. When Kent found out that Daisy was the daughter of his mentor he tells himself that he needs to "help" her overcome the shoplifting habit for her father's sake. He was a stubborn man who refused to admit his feelings about Daisy. Daisy really had a hard time lying to Kent. She wanted to tell him what she was really doing but in order to do her job she could not tell him. She had to let him think the worst of her just until she finished the job and then she hoped he would be able to understand why she had to lie in the first place.

Of course there are little ups and downs before they get their HEA. And let me tell you.. some of those ups and downs will have you giggling or just straight laughing out loud! I loved the ending of this book. It was perfect!

I couldn't help but notice this time around that this book is set up to be a possible series. I wonder if Daisy's sisters will eventually get their own books?! Crossing my fingers that they will! I'm thinking that Sam and Lily's story would be a fun read as well! ;)

Steal His Heart was one of the first books I read by Diane Darcy and she instantly became a favorite of mine! I would recommend her books to everyone! Can't wait to read even more by her!

Let's Cast That Book!

Or books in this case! One of my favorite authors, Shannon Guymon, loves to play "Cast That Movie!" with her books and I have become a little obsessed with it! So much so that I have even started a board on Pinterest for them! Granted the only ones that are on there so far are hers but still! It's a start, right?! ;o)

So... I am getting ready to reread her Love & Dessert, Love & Trust and Love & Flowers Trilogies again (yes... I said again!) and thought I would do a special post on my blog sharing my casting choices for her books. Some of these I searched long and hard for, a couple I took from Shannon herself (Layla Kendell, Kam Matafeo), and some I just knew right away would fit with these amazing characters!

Without further adieu... here are my casting choices...

In the Love and Dessert Trilogy:

In the Love and Trust Trilogy:

In the Love and Flowers Trilogy:

And as of right now the 3rd book in this series is not yet published so I'm not sure who are dear Cleo is going to end up with, Tai or Asher. Against my better judgement, I did one for both. And just so everyone knows... I'm Team Tai!! ;o) Hehe. 

I will update this post when we have a cover for Cleo's book... I can't wait! 

And to all of you who have NOT read these series by Shannon Guymon... What are you waiting for?! Go grab 'em and start reading!! They are AMAZING! I promise!! :o)

Review-Mania! List

Update: This little list may take a little longer than expected since this girl finally got a J-O-B!! YAY!! Love it but it REALLY cuts into my reading time!! ;) Hehe. So stay tuned for these reviews... they will be coming... I promise!! :)

After going through my list and getting a feel for my mood I have come up with 13 books. Ambitious? A little. But this girl loves to read! And I think it's a pretty good goal for the next month and a half. ;o)

So... without further adieu here is my list!

Soul of Flame by Rebecca Ethington
You Belong With Me by Shannon Guymon
I Belong With You by Shannon Guymon
My Sweetheart by Shannon Guymon
Come To Me by Shannon Guymon
Bound By Blood by Tracey Jane Jackson
Bound By Fire by Tracey Jane Jackson
Bound by Secrets by Tracey Jane Jackson
Bound by Song by Tracey Jane Jackson
Bound by Dreams by Tracey Jane Jackson
Beauty and the Beast by Jenni James
The Frog Prince by Jenni James
Steal His Heart by Diane Darcy

Now to get to reading... wish me luck! :o)

It's Review-Mania Time!

While browsing on Goodreads tonight, I noticed that there are several of my all time favorite books that do NOT have reviews from me! Sadly, and I'm rather embarrassed to admit this but, I have read some of them SEVERAL times! Ummm... why in the world have I not reviewed them yet?! I'm thinking it is WAY past time to get these reviews posted! So, for the month of August (and possibly part of September), I am going to reread these books and give them the amazing reviews that they deserve! I am calling it Review-Mania! And please... no making fun of the lame name... it is almost 2:00am and my creative juices just aren't flowing! Lol. This title is subject to change if I come up with something amazing! ;o) I will go through my books tomorrow... errr... ummm... I mean later today... to make a list and post what I will be reading. I would do it now but sadly I can't stop yawning and it's taking a lot more time and concentration than I thought it would just to type this post! Lol. So... until tomorrow my fellow book lovers... sweet dreams and happy reading! :o)

Family Matters by Heather Tullis

Synopsis:

Rosemary Keogh considers herself pretty adaptable—she dealt with her father’s death-bed edict that she move across the country to work at his latest hotel with five half-sisters, (most of whom she hadn’t known existed) hadn’t she? She settled into the routine, even grew to like most of them, but when tragedy leaves her birth daughter parentless—and she is named as the guardian—her world spins again.

Trying to raise a nine-year-old who shares her spunk and determination isn’t always an easy thing. When Rosemary starts having mysterious ‘accidents,’ though, her worries shift from being a bad mother to leaving her daughter an orphan yet again.

Adding to the confusion, Harrison Forest, head of the resort’s human resources department, decides it’s time to shift their relationship from semi-adversarial to something a whole lot more interesting. Can they get past the roadblocks she’s been throwing in their way to make things work? More importantly, will she survive that long?


My Review: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed Family Matters. It was a cute read and I finally got Rosemary's story! :)

So what's her story?! Rosemary had a daughter that she gave up for adoption. Rosemary was extremely close with the adoptive parents and was able to still be in Cleo's life but more as a family friend. She was shocked to find out that she was named as Cleo's legal guardian if anything were to happen to the adoptive parents. Sadly, something DID happen to them and watching Cleo go through everything that she did broke my heart! I felt so bad for that little girl! :(

I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't as much friction between Harrison and Rosemary before Cleo came into the picture. They were constantly at each other's throats in the other 3 books that I was expecting a little of that to carry over into this one so that you could really see why they were the way they were. You get little glimpses here and there but really it's them realizing what the root of the problem is and working on fixing it.

Rosemary has never, ever been told I love you from what I gathered. To her she is a meal ticket for her mother and a dirty secret to her father. She really, really needed love and that's where Cleo's adoptive parents came into the picture. They were really the only constant that she had in her life. She could never go do anything with her father because if anyone found out it would be a major scandal. I think Harrison was the first person to ever tell her I love you and actually mean it! Big kudos for Harrison! He is amazing! He knew really early on that Rosemary was the one for him and had to be extremely careful to not freak her out about it. He moved slow so that she could get used to the idea and actually BELIEVE that someone wants her in their life. So far I think Rosemary is the most screwed up in the entire bunch.

The bad guy in this story REALLY ticked me off!! I had a real problem with them going after an 9 year old girl!! Ugh!! Everyone thought that they were after Rosemary but really it was Cleo. That poor little girl really was put through the ringer in this book. Thank goodness for Harrison!! He was amazing with her!! I really loved him!!

All in all I liked Rosemary's story. Sage's is still my favorite but Rosemary's is my 2nd favorite!

Can't wait to carry on with this series. Delphi's story is next. I think I know her secret and it's definitely going to be hard for the hero to break through her tough shell. We shall see... ;)

Reclaiming His Bride by Heather Tullis

Synopsis:

Secrets rule Lana’s life. Her father’s death brought some out into the open, but she has a few of her own: 1) she’s been married to Blake for nearly a year—and trying to get a divorce for most of that time. 2) A moment of emotional weakness and too much champagne ended with her in her husband’s arms—and now she’s pregnant.

Blake hasn’t thought of another woman since they first met, though she believes otherwise. When Lana’s hotel-magnate father offers him the job of regional manager—and an office in the hotel Lana would be managing, Blake jumps at it. Keeping her attention when it’s split between her sisters, the ins and outs of running a resort, and the ‘ghost’ who’s been haunting the building isn’t easy. Learning about the baby convinces him to redouble his efforts though—he isn’t going to give up without a fight, and when someone comes after Lana, the stakes are raised again.


My Review: 3 Stars

I am rather irritated with this book at the moment and should probably sleep on it before I write my full review. I was NOT happy with the ending of this book and think that Lana should have had to go more than a stinkin day before getting her HEA. Blake fought for her for a whole flippin year to make ANY progress with the stubborn woman when everything was ALL HER FAULT because she wrongfully accused him of something he did not do!! So why should she get her HEA after only ONE day of "misery"?! I understand that she had trust issues because of her father but taking it out on Blake because she COMPLETELY misunderstood what she saw and REFUSED to speak with him about it shouldn't give her the free pass that she obviously got. And blaming her stupid comment on pregnancy hormones?! Big fat excuse in my opinion! As of right now I think that Lana is a brat and she does NOT deserve Blake AT ALL! He is WAY too good for her in my opinion! That poor man had to put up with being put down his entire life by his parents and told he was never good enough and then continued to be put down by Lana?! So NOT cool!! And she claims to love him?! Yeah.. she is in definite need of therapy! If the book was just a little bit longer with her doing LOTS of begging and groveling I might be feeling a little different right now. But alas... I am angry and wish that Blake would have just walked away!

And I am still in shock at who was behind everything! I just can't believe that this person could be so evil!! I don't want to give it away so you'll just have to read it to find out what I am talking about.

I may be back in a few days to change this review but as of right now I am posting how I honestly feel. I am definitely continuing one with this series because I am extremely curious about what secrets the other sisters are hiding. And I am SUPER excited that Rosemary's story is next! Hers is the one that I have been dying to read!!