The Kissing Game by Marie Harte

Rena Jackson has saved up enough money to open her own beauty salon so she's leaving her  job at, well, a dive bar. Of course, that means that she's going to be leaving behind the Viking hunk, Axel Heller. It's just too bad she never could connect with him.
Axel is ready to step up and finally ask Rena out. Eventually. There is a LOT of thinking about it. But the two finally get together but still have obstacles to overcome, including Rena's dreams going up in smoke.
Oh man. I usually like Marie Harte but the pacing in this book was just... weird. Scenes didn't follow each other well and it just got choppy.  I didn't mind the German insertions at first but, wow, they got to be a lot. Harte is a good author but this book does not prove it.

Two stars
This book came out February 4th
ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Handle with Care by Marie Harte

During his "real life," Evan Griffith is a high-paid accountant. At the moment, he's helping out with the company he co-owns with his cousins, working as a mover. The physicality is a plus. Also a plus? Meeting the cute gal whose roommate is moving out.
Evan is immediately attracted to Kenzie Sykes but she comes with a lot of baggage. Her physical baggage is her thirteen-year-old brother who she's raised for a long time (although the timing wasn't always consistent in my ARC.) And she's got emotional baggage from the last boyfriend who said he didn't mind that she had sole custody of her brother but then left them both. Now she's just going through her days, running her computer company (details are a little sketchy on this), and trying desperately not to be attracted to Evan. But first she falls into lust and then love (that pesky emotion ever-present in romance novels.) Will she be able to trust that he has her, and her brother's, best interests at heart?
In the main, this was a very good story: I cared about the characters; the overarching storyline connecting the series advanced nicely, and the writing flowed well. Until the end when a few things that had great set ups earlier in the story got chopped down to one sentence resolutions. I had to go back and re-read the last three chapters because I wondered what had happened.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out August 27th
Follows Smooth Moves
ARC kindly provided by SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Smooth Moves by Marie Harte

Jordan Fleming knows that Cash Griffith is trouble with a capital 'T.' Snarling and strong, the man runs toward situations rather than stopping to figure out what is going on and then working through them. She needs his help though; her younger brother is starting to get into a lot of trouble and she thinks Cash can probably reach him.
Cash knows that he has a connection to Jordan but she is an employee of the company he is a a part owner for so she is not on the list of "okay" people to date. She's not even really his type. Except that, smart mouthed and super sexy might actually be his type. In fact, Jordan might be his perfect woman.
Harte does a really good job of exploring a few things in this book. Jordan doesn't see her job in the moving company as long-term but Cash does; neither looks down on the other for their choices. Rafe not speaking up about his problem with math was delicately handled although Jordan's family's interactions were just a little confusing overall.

Four stars
This book comes out May 28
Followed by Handle with Care
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Whole Package by Marie Harte

Naomi Starr is running her own PR company. She just needs a few more good clients to prove to the "Big Fish" that she's the perfect person to help run their campaign so she can take her company to the next level. To that end, she knows that he's a veteran and she thinks that helping Vets on the Go!, a moving coming, will help prove how good she can be.
Reid Griffith, now out of the Marines, is trying to get enough business to support his whole team. But when one of his moving groups foils a robbery, they are instantly famous. And he understands that Naomi can help them channel that fame.
There are some problems with this story, it's the first in the series so there's a lot of world building (i.e. setup for future books in the series (e.g. the mover that looks exactly like Reid's (half?) brother)). There is also a LOT of back and forth on Reid and Naomi's relationship being a real relationship but they shouldn't be doing it because he's a client but she's so hot... blah, blah, blah.
Overall though, a nice fast, fun and fluffy read that didn't perturb me overly much.

Three stars
This book comes out January 29
Followed by Smooth Moves
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own