Gracie

• Rated 3 stars

“Gracie C. McKeever (c) November 2009

Dr. Emma Sinclair, capable and intelligent ER doctor from New York would rather be anywhere but Wishful, California, a little town in the Sierras where everybody knows everybody and their business and they aren't shy about letting you know they do. The only reason she's returned is to run her father's clinic while he recovers from a minor heart attack. But while she's in town, she learns more about her father and herself than she ever thought she'd know...things that give her a clearer view of the man she remembers from her past and that he's not the villain her now-deceased mother built him up to be.

The middle brother of the Wilder clan, Stone is the laid back and steady one, the glue that holds everything and everyone together. He loves working with his brothers, guiding the wilderness tours and running the office, but his heart and soul is missing something. He needs something more...he wants someONE more.

At a glance Stone Wilder seems like just a beach bum who plays for a living. But from the moment Stone is brought into her Urgent Care bleeding and sweating over the prospect of a needle, Emma learns that there is much more than meets the eye to Stone and that that something means trouble and an entire world view overhaul for her.

Though nothing spectacularly new or different, I liked the characters, their chemistry and the premise. The subplots were equally engaging and rounded the book out to make this an enjoyable read. ”

Gracie wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 2 stars

“Gracie C. McKeever (c) November 2009

Sydnie Riley grew up the only girl with older brothers and a father that headed a successful construction and contracting firm. When the backstabbing corporate world of advertising doesn't live up to her expectations, Sydnie decides to go into business for herself, heading up a contracting business of her own called Studs for Hire.

Trevor Vanden Bosch is a former co-worker who Sydnie wanted to be more and who took a promotion that should have rightfully gone to Sydnie. It was Trevor's taking the promotion that caused Sydnie to pack up her stuff and quit the firm where they both worked.

When Trevor shows up at her door looking for a job as a carpenter with her company, Syd is understandably suspicious. She doesn't know what Trevor has up his sleeve, but she knows he has something to hide and that it would be a big mistake to trust him.

Though her common sense is telling her one thing, her heart is telling her something else--to give Trevor another chance.

The premise was cute and high-concept, but the characters were one-dimensional and just didn't measure up. The hero and heroine had no chemistry and I just didn't care about them enough as people to get me over the hump to like this book.”

Gracie wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 3 stars

“Gracie C. McKeever (c) November 2009

Katie Kramer has been a goody-goody all her life--reliable, responsible and organized--all of which served her well in her chosen field as an accountant, none of which helped her cope with being the only survivor of a major bridge collapse. After seeing her life flash before her eyes, a life that up until that moment hadn't included much living or excitement, Katie decides to live life balls out. But when she wakes up from her first night of peaceful sleep in months only to find a large and sexy stranger in her bedroom, she realizes that living life balls out might not mean just risking her life in wild adventures--it might mean risking her heart as well.

Bastard son of a reprobate and abandonned by his mother, Cameron is use to rejection. The love of his aunt Annie who helped raise him and his older brothers has helped him keep a straight head, but not even the support system of this family can save him when he wipes out in a spectacular boarding accident that almost kills him. Lost and not knowing what to do with his life after the crash, Cam leaves his family-owned and runned business to find himself and some satisfaction. He doesn't come close to finding either...not until he comes home and meets his kindred and injured soul in Katie.

Though there was nothing here to knock my socks off, this book featured a good solid couple, belieavable h/h chemistry, well-written story and an enchanting subplot romance (that I sometimes enjoyed more than the main story) that all added up to a good entertaining read. ”

Gracie wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 3 stars

“Gracie C. McKeever (c) November 2009

Kate Crawford has been a disappointment to her mother from the day of her conception. If her mother, an intelligent and driven career-minded woman had had her way, she would have had an abortion. Knowing this and that her mother disapproves of her and everything she does, does not prevent Kate from wanting to keep her own baby once she discovers she is pregnant. Not even the absence of the baby’s happy-go-lucky, rich author father can deter her. If she has to, she will raise the baby alone. But in one desperate effort to ensure that Drake Daniels is aware of his impending fatherhood and has a chance to be a part of the baby’s life, Kate rents a cottage on the beach next door to Drake with the hopes of garnering enough courage to tell him the truth.

Commitment-phobe Drake isn’t daddy material and he has let Kate know this in no uncertain terms. A known playboy he prefers the nightlife to settling down and only does the latter when he goes into seclusion to write his next bestseller and until the cycle of partying and promotion begins again. But Drake is hiding a lot of anguish and bad memories beneath his nonchalant, tough guy image, more than anyone could ever know…except Kate.

When Kate moves next door, Drake is initially angry believing that she will ruin his concentration. His long-time editor, Melissa believes that not only will Kate ruin Drake's concentration, but that Kate is a shameless groupie and fortune hunter. Melissa confronts Kate to tell her as much, behind Drake's back. But Kate will not be deterred from her mission, even if she isn’t yet sure what it is and even if a beautiful and leggy brunette editor is staying under Drake’s roof night and day with total access to his life.

Napier writes a tightly-wound story with a believable plot and three-dimensional hero and heroine. The secondary characters were also colorful and Drake and Kate especially had great chemistry. I loved the dialogue and snappy repartee they exchanged throughout the book. All put together, made this an enjoyable read. ”

Gracie wrote this review Wednesday, November 18 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“Gracie C. McKeever (c) November 2009

Brodie Hayes is a retired rodeo star who has settled down to ranching on the Cowboy Up. He's lived most of his life going against the grain. His father was a military man through and through and had always wanted Brodie to go into the military and follow his lead. But Brody always wanted to be a cowboy, is a cowboy through and through...until the day that private investigator Alex Donovan comes into his life with some shocking news.

Alex Donovan is a former cop who left the job after her last case where a missing girl was found dead. Alex's father always said she took everything to heart, but Alex knows she wouldn't have handled her last case any differently. She brought the little girl's parents some closure and that was good enough for Alex.

Now a private investigator working with her father, Alex still takes cases to heart, especially when one Helen Braxton comes into her office one day claiming that a cowboy in a news clipping is her son who was stolen from the hospital almost forty years ago. The cowboy in question is one Brodie Hayes.

Something in Mrs. Braxton's eyes and voice makes Alex take the case, even though she thinks nothing will come of it. She wants to help give the woman closure if she can. However, Alex soon realizes that taking on this case not only opens up Pandora's box more than gives anyone closure any time soon, but introduces her to a cowboy who could quite possibly be the man of her dreams...that is if either of them can get past the reasons that have brought them together in the first place.

This was a heartwarming, well-written story with engaging and realistic characters all of which made it a very enjoyable read. ”

Gracie wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 3 stars

“Gracie C. McKeever (c) November 2009

Former INS agent Mykola Chernichenko comes from a family of braniacs, and though he is no slouch in the brains department himself, he'd rather be in the trenches where the action is than behind a desk analyzing. When a hit is put on two of his siblings, Myk cuts his vacation short to lend a hand and keep safe an egghead scientist, one Lana Erickson, who's working on a project that could make the world better place...unless her ideas fall into the wrong hands.

The wrong hands happen to belong to crime lord Annabel Vega, an old nemesis of Agent Chernichenko. Myk is determined not only to thwart Vega's plans to steal the beautiful scientist's project but to keep Lana safe at all costs.

Lana has come through hell and back because of her intelligence and what she can do in a lab. She is determined never to become a prisoner again. As one can imagine, she does not take kindly to Myk's high-handed methods of securing her and refuses to submit to his orders without a fight.

The more Myk is around Lana, the more he realizes that she is not just a genuis scientist but much more. She is a wounded soul who needs not only his protection but to put her trust in someone. He wants that someone to be him.

Great h/h chemistry, colorful characters and a fast-paced story make this an entertaining read. ”

Gracie wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“Gracie C. McKeever (c) November 2009

Kat Cavanaugh left Persuasion two decades ago under the worst of circumstances. Dumped by the boyfriend she loved and hoped to spend the rest of her life with and pregnant with his child, she is thrown out of her home by her mother and left to her own teenage devices. She does not even get the chance to tell Riley that he is going to be a father before she leaves town.

Twenty years later, Kat is a gorgeous and rich woman and returns to her hometown to make several people eat crow, the least of which is her ex, Riley. But things don't turn out quite the way Kat expected as Riley is angry at HER for leaving and not telling him that he was going to be a father. Kat is shocked that he knows about his son. It was supposed to be her job to tell him. But Kat soon discovers that best laid plans don't always pan out and her best laid plans for revenge and to garner an apology from everyone who did her wrong go by the wayside the minute she lays eyes on Riley and realizes that she never stopped loving him.

A wonderful read with Donovan's trademark heart, humor and quirky characters on every delectable page. ”

Gracie wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Read this a long time ago, but don't remember much about it except I enjoyed it. ”

Gracie wrote this review Sunday, November 8 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“Gracie C .McKeever (c) October 2009

Shawna Mitchell is the widowed mother of three and has been raising her kids alone for the last eight years. She's been without her kids' father so long her youngest girl Toni has never known her father. Shawna has to put up with not only her friends and neighbors trying to hook her up, but Toni, who misses not having a father and is always getting nice looking men to push her on the swing in the park hoping her mother will meet and like them.

At thrity-eight Shawna has pretty much given up on having a man in her life, especially since she has three kids. Men run the other way from a woman with children. Not to mention, as her friends say, Shawna is just plain picky. She doesn't think she's being picky. She just doesn't want to settle for less than she had with Rodney.

Recently widowed Joe Murphy is at the end of his rope with his three kids. The entire family is still in mourning since his wife Cheryl died from a long bout with breast cancer. His daughter Rose is near unrecognizable to him, retreating in a world of Goth clothes and behavior. Joe can't count the number of times he's been to school for his youngest son Jimmy. And Joey, he's just quiet and shy and even more so since the death of his mother.

Joe reaches out on a network for those dealing with grief and loss and to his surprise, someone answers his pleas for help. That someone is Shawna Mitchell.

Shawna and Joe converse online for weeks, Shawna sharing her hardwon parenting knowledge with Joe whenever he asks for it, and slowly coming to see Joe as HER lifeline as much as he sees her as his. She looks forward to his e-mails more than he can ever know. And after a series of events reveals to her that she and Joe might live no more than a few blocks from each other, Shawna decides it's time for them to really "meet".

I loved this book. J.J. creates wonderful, heartfelt characters that the reader can really relate to, no matter her color or cultural background. Joe and Shawna and their brood made me laugh cry and just wish I could spend more time with them by the time I sped through the pages to the end. The story was realistic and sweet, without being maudlin and made me feel good about the world when it was done--exactly what escapism entertainment is supposed to do.

I highly recommend this book for anyone in the mood for a positive and uplifting read and an inspirational-without-being-too-preachy, IR romance. ”

Gracie wrote this review Saturday, October 31 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Another book I read a long, long time ago. I specifically remember a firebug/pyromaniac that was a friend to the teenage, drug-running protagonist and other vivid scenes come to mind. If I remember correctly, it was a Romeo and Juliet type plot with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks who meets a girl who's not and who makes him want to be a better person and leave the street life. I was originally drawn to it because of the setting (South Bronx [g]) and enjoyed it because of the characters and the story.”

Gracie wrote this review Wednesday, October 28 2009. ( reply | permalink )