My Not So Wicked Ex-Fiance by Jennifer Peel

Synopsis:

He rocked her world. She wrecked his. Now their worlds are colliding again.

Expensive schools and etiquette classes never prepared Shelby Duchane for Ryder Prescott. He would teach her more about life in his hay field classroom beneath a blanket of stars than anyone. Under that Georgia sky she would pledge forever to the farm boy with soul-melting chocolate brown eyes, even though it meant forfeiting her large inheritance. She couldn’t wait to clip coupons and buy clothes off the sales rack until death do they part. Until she received some photos of her intended with someone she had not intended. Brokenhearted, Shelby flees her hometown for Colorado without bothering to say goodbye to her cheating ex-fiancé.

A year later and wiser, Shelby’s doing her best to move on while running her boutique in Carrington Cove, when Ryder shows up and challenges all she thought she knew. Perhaps he wasn’t the wicked ex-fiancé she believed him to be after all. But will Ryder be able to swallow his pride enough to see why she was so persuaded? Will he realize before it’s too late that the only way to heal his own broken heart is to mend Shelby’s?

My Review: 5 Stars

Shelby Duchane moved to Carrington Cove for a fresh start away from her cheating ex-fiance, Ryder Prescott. Life was going great. She's finally out from under her controlling parents thumb and able to live the life that she wants to live.

But out of nowhere Shelby's cousin sends her an article about Prescott Technologies moving to Edenvale... a mere 45 minutes away from her. And if that wasn't bad enough, Ryder will be renting a cabin at the Carrington Ranch, where Shelby is currently living, for the summer. She has no idea how Ryder found her or why he's here but she's not ready to face him.

One year. It's been one year since Shelby and Ryder have laid eyes on each other. And the moment they do, sparks start flying. It doesn't matter how much hurt and anger has built up over the year, it can't hide the love that still shines in each of their eyes. Some things are hard to let go of.

But what if Shelby was wrong in leaving? What if things aren't always what they seem? Should she have talked to Ryder before she disappeared? Would it have made a difference? All she knows is she's definitely got her work cut out for her if she's ever going to win Ryder back.

Ryder doesn't want to admit it, but what Shelby did ripped his heart out and left him believing her parents were right. All he wanted was to be good enough for her, to deserve her. Over the last year, he hasn't been able to get her off his mind.

Shelby and Ryder will have to decide if it's too late for a second chance or if they'll be able to put their past behind them and move forward to their HEA. 

*dreamy sigh*

You guys! Can I just tell you how much I loved this book?! Holy wowzers! From the moment I picked it up, I had the hardest time putting it down. I found myself reading late into the night and waking up WAY before my alarm just so I can find out what happened next. I am a sucker for second chance love stories and this one did not disappoint.

Shelby and Ryder will have you believing that love is taking that second chance, home is not a place but a person, and infinite love is worth anything you have to endure. I can honestly say that they are definite favorites. And of course I loved seeing some of my favorites from My Not So Wicked Stepbrother and meeting new ones. That Bobby Jay... hahahahaha! I am loving Carrington Cove!  

I am absolutely LOVING this series! It is SO good! I cannot WAIT to read the next book! 

Y'all! Ms. Peel has done it again! She never ceases to amaze me. 

And can I just tell you how much I'm loving this casting?! Definitely one of my favorites! What do you think? 

Content: Mild language.

Midnight Promises by Jennifer Peel

Synopsis:

Can a midnight promise endure the light of day?

Jillian Jones knows a thing or two about the Nashville music scene, and she wants no part of it after the pain her ex-husband, a rising country star, put her through. But her resolve weakens when she's seated next to Music City legend Cole Pendleton on a red-eye flight home after finalizing her divorce. Between her emotional state, her fear of flying, and maybe a little alcohol, she finds herself taking comfort not only in Cole's arms but his lips during their four-hour flight.

Cole is drawn to his beautiful seatmate like no one else before, but he knows neither are in the right place to begin a relationship. He promises, though, to come looking for her once they are both ready to move forward. But he has two problems, his profession and his past demons. Some of the same demons that haunted Jillian's ex-husband.

A year later, with his concert tour ending and his past in the rearview mirror, Cole searches out Jillian intent on keeping his midnight promise. Jillian can't believe he remembered her even though she's thought about the charming cowboy more than she would like to admit. But now she must decide if he's worth risking her heart again and if his promises are true.

My Review: 5 Stars

Jillian has been hurt in the worst way by her country singer ex-husband. After being cheated on, lied to and made to feel invisible, she refuses to ever put herself in that position again. But heaven help her, she still believes in love.

Freaking out on the red-eye from Vegas to Nashville, she's too occupied to realize who her seatmate is. But during take off she feels her hand being held and the most soothing voice calming her. She sneaks a peek to see the one and only, Cole Pendleton, one of country's biggest stars. Oh heaven help her.

When Cole first lays eyes on Jillian he thinks that he must be hallucinating because he has never seen someone as beautiful as her. But when he realizes that she is real, he will do whatever he can to not only calm her down but get to know every little detail he can during their 4 hour flight. Between midnight kisses and promises, he is determined to be a better man so that he can deserve the beautiful Miss Jillian.

But can Jillian let her guard down enough to let Cole in? And will Cole be able to prove to her that he is nothing like her ex-husband? That being with her makes him want to be a better man? Giving up is not an option in his opinion and he will need all the help he can get if he's going to get Jillian to take a chance on love again.

Oh how I loved Midnight Promises! It was amazing! And I have to say poor Jillian never stood a chance... especially when her best friend Call was in Cole's corner. ;) I laughed out loud, I got teary eyed, I let out lots of dreamy sighs and had a permagrin on my face through the majority of the book. I found myself wanting to read as fast as I could so I would know how it would end. But then I found myself wanting to read slower so that I could savor every little non-date, every little kiss, every little detail of Jillian and Cole because I did not want it to end!

And can I just say that epilogue.... *dreamy sigh* It. Was. PERFECT! I LOVED it! <3

Jennifer Peel has done it yet again! Who knew that I would start loving novellas?! Maybe I have just been reading the wrong author's novellas... ;) I may just start liking them after all! Hehe.

As for my casting... this is actually not the original one I chose the first time around. The couple I had chosen just didn't fit for me as I was rereading this series. These two instantly came to mind this time around and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE them! What do you think?

Best of My Love by Jennifer Peel

Synopsis:

Can their friendship endure a marriage of convenience?

Jaime Seger has no delusions that her best friend, Christopher McKay, the man who has owned her heart and soul for the past twenty years, will ever see her as anything more than his faithful sidekick. After all, he married another woman. But when his wife dies unexpectedly, Jaime finds herself helping Christopher raise his young daughter, and on the end of an unlikely proposal. A proposal that promises everything she ever thought she wanted. Or does it?

As the best friends navigate married life, they find themselves torn apart by miscommunication and unrealized expectations. Jaime begins to doubt that Christopher will ever love her the way she loves him. Then near tragedy strikes and Jaime is allowed access into his private thoughts through the journal he's kept since they were in high school together. In its pages she discovers she's the main character, and it is her that he has always loved best. But after everything they've been through, is it too late? Can the best friends remain lovers too?

My Review: 4.5 Stars

Jaime and Chris met for the first time in the 6th grade. Even though they were complete opposites, they instantly became the best of friends. Throughout the years Jaime fell in love with Chris and dreamed of a happily ever after with him.

However, life doesn't always work out the way we want it to. Chris ends up marrying someone else, they have an adorable little girl named Allie and then, in an instant, Chris becomes a widower. He is desperate and reaches out to Jaime for help.

Being the best friend that she is, Jaime drops everything and is by his side in a heartbeat. Maybe now Chris will finally open his eyes and see what has been right in front of him all along. But Jaime ultimately realizes that she will never get her happily ever after with Chris and makes the hardest decision of her life. She's moving and taking a job 4 hours away.

Chris is in shock. He can't believe that Jaime is leaving him and Allie. He needs her and is desperate to keep her. But there is only way he can make this happen. He proposes marriage and makes promises he doesn't know if he can keep. Jaime says yes and can't wait to spend her life with her best friend, her soul mate, her other half.

But again, life doesn't always work out the way we want it to. Fast forward 2 years and Jaime is filing for divorce. She can't keep living the way she has been. She deserves better, Allie deserves better. But how can she move forward without Chris? He has been a part of her life for so long and moving on without him feels extremely wrong. What happened to her best friend? Their life wasn't supposed to be filled with broken promises. It was supposed to be filled with love, laughter and happily ever after!

But when tragedy strikes again it will have everyone rethinking their life's choices and they will have to decide, once and for all, which path to choose. Will they choose the path that will lead them to where they were meant to be all along? Or will broken promises keep them apart forever?

When Ms. Peel announced that she had rebranded the Pianos and Promises series to A Music City Love Story series and changed the covers, I thought it would be the perfect time to reread these books. And I fell in love with them all over again! I reread the series in one day! It was the perfect way to spend my Sunday. If you haven't read this series yet, then I highly recommend it!

And of course my review just wouldn't be complete without my casting. What do you think?!

Beck and Call by Jennifer Peel

Synopsis:

What happens when a dashing Englishman and a cheeky American collide? Sparks. And lots of them.

Call's life always seems to be on the cusp of working out, only to unravel at the last moment. For instance, when she meets the guy. The man she's been fantasizing about from afar. The one who walks his beautiful Siberian husky around her neighborhood. Their first meeting, which happens to be a job interview, is nothing like she hoped. Not only does she not get the job, but she vows to run the arrogant Beck over with her truck the next time she sees him.

But fate intervenes and Beck and Call find themselves thrown together again, this time by their pooches and some adorable puppies.

Through a series of long distant phone calls, the Englishman does his best to prove to Call he's nothing like the man she first met. He's taken with this beautiful songstress who gave up her recording contract to raise her younger brother and he would love nothing more than to charm his way into her guarded heart. Call worries, though that the dashing Brit is too good to be true. Life has taught her to quit dreaming. But what if Beck is more than a dream? Could he be her reality?

My Review: 5 Stars

Call never imagined her dreams of singing and recording contracts would come to a crashing halt. But that's exactly what happened when she found out her momma was dying and it was up to her to take care of her younger brother Noah. A year and a half later, Call is working two jobs to try to make ends meet and give her brother the best life she can give him. He has experienced way too much heartache in his life. She would do anything for him, including sacrificing her dreams and what little time she has to herself.

When her best friend, Jillian, tells her about a possible job opportunity, she jumps at the chance in order to give Noah an amazing Christmas. And if showing up 15 minutes late to her job interview wasn't bad enough, HE had to open the door looking all handsome and broody. Why oh why did she have to be late?! And why of why was it HIM that had to open the door?!

From the moment Beck met Ms. E. Call, he was drawn to the intriguingly, irritating beauty. Not only had she shown up late to her interview (which is one of his biggest pet peeves) but she was full of sass and not afraid to speak her mind. He had never met anyone like her and because he was in a bad mood during the interview, he may have ruined any chance he had to get to know her better. But if Beck was anything, it was determined. And with the help of both their dogs, Call had finally met her match.

Oh how I loved this book! I was sucked in from the very beginning and I seriously did not want to put it down! I laughed out loud, I cheered on our hero, I let out dreamy sighs, I fell in love and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Beck and Call get their happily ever after! And if that doesn't convince you that this book is amazing then you should know I have read this book twice already! Yes... I said TWICE! It was perfect and just what I needed!

Jennifer Peel has done it again! And she succeeded in obtaining something very rare from me. For those that don't know I am really not a novella person. Novellas don't give me enough time to feel connected to the characters and fall in love with them. Novellas usually get 3 star ratings from me. So for me to give a novella 4 stars is pretty big. But giving it 5 stars is HUGE! 5 stars for novellas doesn't happen very often so when it does... you know that I absolutely LOVED the book!

And can we just talk about this casting for a minute?! I mean come on! Aren't they GORGEOUS?! I think this is one of my favorites so far! *dreamy sigh*