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Book Lovin’ Mamas Monthly Round-Up: October 2020
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ARC Review: ‘My Last Duchess’ by Eloisa James
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
My Last Duchess
by Eloisa James
Series: The Wildes of Lindow Castle #0.5
Published by Avon on October 27, 2020
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 432
Format: eArc
Source: publisher
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New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James returns to the Wildes series with a prequel about the Wilde children's parents, Hugo, Duke of Lindow, and Ophelia, Lady Astley.
Every Duke needs a Duchess...
Hugo Wilde, the Duke of Lindow, has a drafty castle, eight naughty children—and no wife. Ophelia, Lady Astley, has a fine house, one well-behaved daughter—and no husband.
Hugo takes one look at Ophelia and loses his heart, but she doesn’t want more children or a castle. She takes one look at him and heads for her carriage.
Desperate to find a duchess, Hugo identifies an appropriate lady to woo. Yet when he meets Ophelia again, the duke realizes that he will marry her, or no one.
Now he faces the greatest challenge of his life.
He must convince Ophelia that their blazing sensuality, his exquisite castle, and his eight charming children add up to a match made in heaven.
When duke finds his duchess, can he win her heart?
A Wildes series prequel about the Wilde children’s parents, Hugo, Duke of Lindow, and Ophelia, Lady Astley.
ARC Review: ‘Crazy Stupid Bromance’ by Lyssa Kay Adams
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Crazy Stupid Bromance
by Lyssa Kay Adams
Series: Bromance Book Club #3
Published by Berkley on October 27, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 352
Format: eArc
Source: publisher, Netgalley
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Goodreads 
Alexis Carlisle and her cat café, ToeBeans, have shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef’s sexual harassment. When a new customer approaches to confide in her, the last thing Alexis expects is for the woman to claim they’re sisters. Unsure what to do, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts—her best friend, Noah Logan.
Computer genius Noah left his rebellious teenage hacker past behind to become a computer security expert. Now he only uses his old skills for the right cause. But Noah’s got a secret: He’s madly in love with Alexis. When she asks for his help, he wonders if the timing will ever be right to confess his crush.
Noah’s pals in The Bromance Book Club are more than willing to share their beloved “manuals” to help him go from bud to boyfriend. But he must decide if telling the truth is worth risking the best friendship he’s ever had.
A hacktivist and a cat café owner decode the friend zone in this romantic comedy from the author of Undercover Bromance.
ARC Review: ‘Love is a Rogue’ by Lenora Bell
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Love Is a Rogue
by Lenora Bell
Series: Wallflowers vs. Rogues #1
Published by Avon on October 27, 2020
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eArc
Source: publisher, Edelweiss
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Goodreads
Once upon a time in Mayfair, a group of wallflowers formed a secret society with goals that had absolutely nothing to do with matrimony. Their most troublesome obstacle? Rogues!
They call her Beastly Beatrice.
Wallflower Lady Beatrice Bentley longs to remain in the wilds of Cornwall to complete her etymological dictionary. Too bad her brother's Gothic mansion is under renovation. How can she work with an annoyingly arrogant and too-handsome rogue swinging a hammer nearby?
Rogue. Scoundrel. Call him anything you like as long as you pay him.
Navy man Stamford Wright is leaving England soon, and renovating Thornhill House is just a job. It's not about the duke's bookish sister or her fiery copper hair. Or the etymology lessons the prim-yet-alluring lady insists on giving him. Or the forbidden things he'd love to teach her.
They say never mix business with pleasure. But when Beatrice and Ford aren't arguing, they're kissing.
Sometimes, temptation proves too strong to resist…even if the cost is a heart.
ARC Review: ‘Below the Bones’ by Kendra Elliot
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Below the Bones
by Kendra Elliot
Series: Widow's Island #5
Published by Montlake Romance on October 27, 2020
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 91
Format: eArc
Source: publisher, Netgalley
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A former FBI special agent must come out of retirement to solve a murder in the fifth novella in the Widow’s Island series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot.
Former FBI special agent Cate Wilde is a new bakery and bookstore owner—and retirement is now complete with a doctor boyfriend. Although she struggles with PTSD, the sweet life she’s living is a far cry from the gruesome work she left behind six months ago.
But when skeletal remains turn up on Widow’s Island—and the MO of the killer is too familiar to Cate—the dream comes to an abrupt end. What if the case she solved eight years ago isn’t as closed as she thought? Her hometown needs her, and despite her mental health and her boyfriend’s protests, she has no choice but to return to her dangerous past life.
Soon Cate is in a desperate race to stop a cold-blooded murderer from killing again, once and for all…only this time, she’ll have so much more to lose.
Review: ‘Undercover Bromance’ by Lyssa Kay Adams
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Undercover Bromance
by Lyssa Kay Adams
Series: Bromance Book Club #2
Published by Berkley on March 10, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 320
Format: eArc
Source: publisher, Netgalley
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Goodreads 
Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction.
Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she’ll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.
Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv’s blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He’ll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.
Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assist Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart… even while she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.
Review: ‘Spiraled’ by Kendra Elliot
Spiraled
by Kendra Elliot
Series: Callahan & McLane #3
Published by Montlake Romance on June 2, 2015
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 305
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased, Scribd
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Goodreads
FBI Special Agent Ava McLane solves crimes; she doesn’t witness them. When she’s trapped in a mall without her weapon as a shooter picks off victims, she hides with a wounded teen and prays for her survival.
But that’s only the beginning…
An epidemic of mass shootings has swept across Oregon. The young shooters terrify the public, committing random murders before taking their own lives. The task force assembled to solve the case—which includes Ava’s boyfriend, detective Mason Callahan—remains stumped. And on top of this chaos, Ava’s troubled twin sister reappears, throwing Ava’s already-tumultuous life into a tailspin.
An old-fashioned cop with a strong sense of duty, Mason struggles to find the cause of the shootings as workaholic Ava spins ever closer to breaking down. But can one detective save the lives of countless innocents—and prevent the woman he loves from going over the edge?
Review: ‘Bridged’ by Kendra Elliot
Bridged
by Kendra Elliot
Series: Callahan & McLane #2
Published by Montlake Romance on February 10, 2015
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 295
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased, Scribd
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | Audible
Goodreads
After a congressman’s tortured body is found dangling from a Portland bridge, the FBI joins the Oregon State Police to investigate the case—and FBI Special Agent Ava McLane, still recovering from a bullet wound, hunts the twisted killer alongside the man who captured her heart, police detective Mason Callahan.
But once a third body appears and all evidence points to a serial killer, the public furiously clamors for answers—and the couple’s relationship grows fractured under the pressure. Ava and Mason search in the past for clues that predict the future. And when Ava’s mentally ill twin spins out of control, the FBI agent who battles monsters every day wonders if she shares her sister’s self-destructive streak…
In the latest thrilling romantic suspense novel from award-winning author Kendra Elliot, the past and the present violently collide…and the fallout can be deadly.
Review: ‘Archangel’s War’ by Nalini Singh
Archangel's War
by Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter #12
Published by Berkley on September 24, 2019
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 471
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased, Scribd
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Goodreads
Wings of silver. Wings of blue. Mortal heart. Broken dreams. Shatter. Shatter. Shatter. A sundering. A grave. I see the end. I see. . .
The world is in chaos as the power surge of the Cascade rises to a devastating crescendo. In furiously resisting its attempts to turn Elena into a vessel for Raphael’s power, Elena and her archangel are irrevocably changed. . .far beyond the prophecy of a cursed Ancient.
At the same time, violent and eerie events around the world threaten to wipe out entire populations. And in the Archangel Lijuan’s former territory, an unnatural fog weaves through the land, leaving only a bone-chilling silence in its wake. Soon it becomes clear that even the archangels are not immune to this deadly evil. This time, even the combined power of the Cadre may not be enough. . .
This war could end them all.
Review: ‘Vanished’ by Kendra Elliot
Vanished
by Kendra Elliot
Series: Callahan & McLane #1
Published by Montlake Romance on June 24, 2014
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 337
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | Audible
Goodreads
From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot.
When an eleven-year-old is abducted on her way to school, the FBI doesn’t waste a moment, sending agents to scour the area and embedding Special Agent Ava McLane with the distraught family. In the eye of the storm is local detective Mason Callahan, whose life is crumbling to pieces—he’s related to the victim, and his longtime confidential informant has just been murdered.
Both he and Agent McLane hole up in the victim’s family home. Every second counts in a kidnapping case, and the stakes keep rising the longer the girl is missing. As Ava and Mason struggle to hold the family together in their darkest hour, the two investigators find themselves drawn to each other.
2015 Overall Daphne du Maurier Award Winner