Swoony Worthy Spotlights #14

Welcome to Swoon Worthy Spotlights hosted by Bookworm Nation, Katie's Clean Book Collection and KJ's Book Nook! Once a month we will feature 1-3 of our favorite books that we have read during the month. We will share the cover(s), our review(s) and a link to each other's post so you can check out which books we have all chosen!

For this month's Swoon Worthy Spotlights I am going to choose...

Illegally Wedded by Jennifer Griffith

Once Hitched Twice Shy by Kimberly Krey

Jade's Cowboy Crush by Kimberly Krey

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And don't for get to check Katie's post here and Kathy's post here!

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Do you have a blog and want to join us for Swoon Worthy Spotlights? Then grab the picture and post with us! We will be posting on the last day of each month. Make sure you share your link with us so we can check out your favorite authors as well!

Happy reading my fellow bookworms!

Illegally Wedded by Jennifer Griffith

Synopsis:

He needs a promotion. She needs to stay in the country.

Piper Quinn has a great thing going. She’s young, talented, and the sole chef at Du Jour, San Antonio’s hottest lunch bistro. She and her business partner just have to stay open one year to be eligible for the coveted Texas Star.

Days before eligibility though, Piper gets terrible news: she’s getting deported. To New Zealand. Where her parents have joined a hobbit cult.

Attorney Zach Travis can’t seem to break into the partnership bracket at his big, respected firm—despite his stellar record. Then, Zach hears a rumor his bachelor status may be holding him back, and he needs a wife to advance his career. The girl at the bistro is an intriguing candidate.

As Piper shares her desperate plea for legal help, Zach realizes he can fix both their dilemmas—with a marriage certificate. However, their plan puts them in the cross-hairs of more than one vindictive enemy. Worse, neatly ending their marriage may be tricky due to a sparking chemistry neither Zach nor Piper can ignore.

My Review: 5 Stars

Piper's life is pretty near perfect. She's the sole chef at the up-and-coming restaurant, Du Jour, she's weeks away from receiving the coveted Texas Star Award, she's got crazy parents who love her, amazing friends who adore her, and she's happy. But one little word turns her life upside down and has her dreams coming to a screeching halt. Deportation. 

Zach has sacrificed and worked hard to get to where he is in the prestigious law firm he works at. With the higher ups retiring, he is so close to having his dream of partner come true. Once he makes partner, he'll have the time he needs to help heal his family and bring them back to life. But when he is passed up twice, he's got to figure out what's holding him back before the final opportunity passes him by. But one little word turns his life upside down and has his dreams coming to a screeching halt. Marriage. 

When Zach overhears Piper's situation, he approaches her with a business deal. Marriage of convenience to help keep her in the US and help him get promoted to partner. It seems like the perfect plan. Until one too many enemies come out of the wood work and do their best to bring Piper and Zach down. But the more curve balls being thrown their way has them turning to each other, rather than tearing them apart. The closer they become, the stronger their feelings grow. 

Do Piper and Zach have what is takes to overcome the bumps in the road that will lead them to a happily ever after?

*dreamy sigh* 

Oh my gosh! You guys! Can I just tell you how amazing this book is?! Because it's AMAZING! I absolutely LOVED Illegally Wedded! I lost all track of time while I was reading. I stayed up reading late into the night, only stopping when my kindle kept hitting me in the face when I would doze off. And I woke up early just to finish reading the book! One minute it was 7:00am and the next it was 12:45pm. There were no breaks of any kind... I just HAD to finish this book! 

I have only read a couple of books in this series and right now I'm asking myself WHY I haven't read ALL of them?! I think I need to get on that sooner, rather than later! ;) 

If you haven't read any of Ms. Griffith's books then you are definitely missing out! Any author who can get me out of that dreaded reading rut is and will always be a favorite! I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next! But in the meantime, I can devour all her books I haven't read yet... ;) Hehe. 

As for my casting... *dreamy sigh* I absolutely LOVE these two! What do you think?!

Swoon Worthy Spotlights #10

Welcome to Swoon Worthy Spotlights hosted by Bookworm Nation, Katie's Clean Book Collection and KJ's Book Nook! Once a month we will feature 1-3 of our favorite books that we have read during the month. We will share the cover(s), our review(s) and a link to each other's post so you can check out which books we have all chosen!

I had such a hard time trying to pick my favorites! I read so many this month that I absolutely LOVED! Be warned... I have more than 3 choices... ;) Hehe.

For this month's Swoon Worthy Spotlights I am going to choose...

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen

Just Maybe by Crystal Walton

Mergers & Acquisitions by Jennifer Griffith

Honeymoon for One in Christmas Falls by Jennifer Peel

Forever Yours in Christmas Falls by Susan Hatler

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And don't for get to check Kathy's post here and Katie's post here!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Do you have a blog and want to join us for Swoon Worthy Spotlights? Then grab the picture and post with us! We will be posting on the last day of each month. Make sure you share your link with us so we can check out your favorite authors as well!

Happy reading my fellow bookworms!

Mergers & Acquisitions by Jennifer Griffith

Synopsis:

Everyone would think lawyer Jillian Price has it made, with her cushy legal job at one of L.A.'s biggest talent agencies. It's most lawyers' dream come true. She even has a big name young star on her client list. But it's sucking away her life, and Jillian is secretly aching for a way out.

When she stumbles across a painting that has all the hallmarks of a never-before-seen masterpiece by a recently-deceased master, Jillian thinks she might have found her ticket out of law. Then, at a client meeting with her young star, she meets the breathtakingly gorgeous Aero Jantzen, a banker with the bluest eyes she's ever seen. Besides giving her a soul-shattering kiss, he also gives her life-changing advice: that she use the art to break into the sparkling world of art she originally dreamed of entering.

However, the second she starts the ball in motion, Aero--for some unknown reason--starts working against Jillian's success. Her greatest champion is now her biggest roadblock.

And worse, she's still crazy-attracted to him.

Will Jillian be able to negotiate a merger, or is she fighting an uphill battle against an inevitable acquisition?

My Review: 4.5 Stars

Jillian Price can't believe her luck! Who in the world finds a never-before-seen masterpiece by a recently deceased artist at a garage sale?! This just may be her ticket out of Entertainment law. All work and no play is really wrecking havoc on Jilly's life. 

But before Jilly can put too much thought into what this painting holds in store for her future, she must meet her young Hollywood star client, Ryker, at a local amusement park. Who in the world holds business meetings at an amusement park?! Oh wait... this is Ryker we're talking about! ;) 

Matchmaker Ryker has a surprise in store for Jilly. One Aero Jantzen. He is a banker turned agent to the crazy kid. And Ryker will do anything to get these two together. 

From the moment Jilly and Aero meet there is an instant connection. Never before has either one of them been able to open up so easily and be real with others. Aero helps Jilly to see that there is more to life than just work. He helps her to see that she can still make her dreams a reality. 

Jilly starts the ball rolling and sets out to do just that. But when Aero sees the masterpiece that has helped Jilly take that leap of faith, he is all the sudden trying to sabotage her success. He refuses to tell her his reasons behind it and she can see their new found relationship unraveling right before her eyes. 

However, Aero refuses to give up on getting his hands on that painting or his relationship with Jilly. But with the painting standing in between them, will they ever have a chance? 

*dreamy sigh* Oh how I loved this book! Talk about swoony! I found myself routing for Jilly and Aero from the very beginning! These two were perfect for each other! And oh my heck! Ryker! Haha! I loved that kid! He was goofy and crazy on the outside but on the inside he's an amazing young man who cares more about others than himself. He was the perfect side character. :) 

I do have to say that I'm kinda bummed that it just ended. There were a few questions that I would've loved to see answered. But I did devour it in a day so that's saying something. I love when a book can capture me the way this one did!

I have only read a few books by Ms. Griffith but I will definitely be reading more! I have already downloaded the other books in this series. Can wait to read them! 

As for my casting.. between the cover and my imagination this is who I came up with. And I have to say that I love them! What do you think? 

The Lost Art by Jennifer Griffith

Synopsis:

Dowdy art exhibit coordinator Ava Young is happy with her man-suits and sensible clogs. She likes the way they clip-clop on the museum’s tile floor. But they don’t win her any lovelorn looks from her office crush. In fact, the handsome new guy calls her “sir” when they first meet. Oh, well. She’s always known the only way a guy would take a second look at her was if she was the only person in the room. And on fire.

But after her workplace crush devastates her by, frankly, calling her something super-duper mean, Ava is ready to make some drastic changes inside and out, even if it means giving up chocolate, or taking hilariously out-of-date but strangely wise-sounding advice on femininity from a 1959 book on “How to Snare a Modern Man.”

Either way, she’d better hurry because when a priceless art exhibit gets a theft threat on Ava’s watch, a billionaire bachelor and a handsome FBI agent will be taking a good, long look at the art.

And at Ava.

My Review: 3.5 STARS

The Lost Art was definitely a rough book to get through for me. I am not sure if it was my mood or the craziness of real life or just what it was.

The first 55% of the book is kind of blah for me. We have Ava, who is a plain Jane, by the book kind of gal. She over hears a few comments from co-workers that are just mean. She gets a really bad flu and during her recovery time she decides that she is going to give herself a massive makeover. And with this massive makeover she decides that she has to "play the part" of the new and improved Ava. I personally did NOT like all the fakeness and the lies... they really got on my nerves. She wasn't being true to herself and became the ditzy blond that needed help from men all the time.

Enter in the "love interests". We have Kellen McMullen... the billionaire playboy... Riccardo Ford... the FBI agent assigned the the art theft... and Enzio Valente... the jerky co-worker. She is pretty much acting like a teenager when it comes to all the guys. With Kellen she has to keep him happy because he funded the whole exhibit... with Agent Ford she is instantly thinking of him as her future husband every chance she gets... and with Enzio she just wants to throw in his face that she is now a knock out and he can't have her. Childish and totally degrading herself in my opinion. By the end of the book she does figure out the balance between the old Ava and the new one. She ends up with exactly the right guy for her. I can't really give it away though. You'll just have to read it to find out who gets the girl! ;)

Anyway... things started looking up towards the end of the book. I'm not going to give anything away but lets just say I was not expecting what actually happened and I was completely wrong in guessing the "who done it".

I was really starting to like the book and was considering bumping up the rating to 4 stars... and then I got to the ending. And yes folks... another book that just ended!! Ugh!! I hate that!! And because of that ending it stayed at 3.5 stars. One word... EPILOGUE!! No matter how rough of a time I had with a book an amazing epilogue can change everything for me!!

All in all it was a good read... just wasn't the great read I was looking for! But I will definitely give this author another chance... who knows... maybe the next book I read will sweep me off my feet!