All He Ever Desired by Shannon Stacey

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We've met both Ryan Kowalski and Lauren Carpenter in earlier Kowalski books and we also know that there is some "mystery" in their past that causes Ryan to avoid Lauren as much as he can whenever he returns to their hometown.
Well, it turns out that Ryan has always loved Lauren, even when she was married to his best friend. And he betrayed his best friend by asking Lauren to run away with him (it's in the first part of the book, not exactly a spoiler).
So... awkward. Right? And it's worked out for the two to avoid each other. But they can't now because Lauren's teenage son has caused some major damage at Ryan's family home and now he needs to work it off. Which mean the Lauren and Ryan will be seeing a lot more of each other. (heh)
I loved that conflicts were solved so fast because the damn characters talked to each other. Does that happen in romance novels? Not often. And Stacey made it work! Love it. That was what really bumped this book from a three to a four for me.

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

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What a wonderful story. I fell into it, splashed around in MacLean's world for almost two hours and emerged wishing that the fourth book in the series were already in my hands. 
Twelve years ago, Mara Lowe, the lovely daughter of a wealthy merchant, faked her own death. Terrified of her fiance, indeed, marriage in general, she picked up an unassuming boy in the pub and then drugged him, hoping to make it look like he had deflowered her. Then she ran, not realizing that she had vastly overestimated how much blood was needed and everyone assumed that William Hart had killed the girl who was to be his step-mother.
Though in line to be a duke, and even without proof of a body, everyone assumed William was a killer. Which spawned a nickname of "the Killer Duke." However, he has already re-branded himself as Temple and seeks absolution in the boxing ring, hoping that the pain he feels will help in find forgiveness for himself. You see, Mara drugged him so he never knew whether or not he was, in actuality, a killer. So, when Mara shows up at the Angel (his gambling establishment, where all of his fights earn the club a lot of money) he's none to happy.
We get to see two damaged characters find their way into love. It's a muddled process and there is a last sort-of Big Misunderstanding but all turns out as it should and we are left with wondering how it's all going to turn out for fourth owner of the club, Chase.

All He Ever Needed by Shannon Stacey

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I was on quite a Shannon Stacey roll and this book really helped to keep it going. Mitch Kowalski is in town to help out at the family lodge while his brother recuperates from a broken leg. He left town to evade the gossip and the past that everyone thinks they know about him. But, as long as he's back, he might as well scout out the fresh meat (my terms, Stacey's words are much classier.) Paige Sullivan has been in town for two years and has finally set down the roots that were missing during her nomadic youth. She's not really interested in a fling with Mitch (though most of the rest of town thinks that she should definitely go for it, and they tell her). I liked the secondary characters in this book. Yes, they're almost all sequel bait, but their stories are in the background with just enough setup to get a feeling for who they are without taking away from Paige and Mitch's story. I love the Stacey's books avoid the Big Misunderstanding. When Mitch or Paige has the feels, they tell each other. There is no drawn out, "Oh, he'll change his mind and love me soon..."

Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey

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In her first two books (Exclusively Yours and Undeniably Yours , Shannon Stacey took some of the regular romance tropes and straightened out many of the problems most authors have when using those tropes. This book presents the well-trod "Fake Fiance" path. Is she again successful? It's an okay book, but not as good as the first two.
Sean Kowalski is just back from the war. And it appears that he's acquired a fiancee in the form of a woman he's never met. Apparently, Emma Shaw was trying to convince her grandmother that she was doing-just-fine-thank-you-very-much and decided a fake fiance was the way to go. Of course, Emma had just been talking to her best friend earlier in the day and Sean's name had come up so she just blurted it out. Since then, she's had pictures photoshopped of the two of them together and expanded on the storyline. Now her grandmother's coming back up to visit and Emma needs a savior. Sean isn't cool with that. But then his family sort of guilts him into it so he goes along. 
Neither is interested in a complete relationship, but the more they fake it, the more they wonder if this thing could really work...

Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey

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We met Kevin Kowalski in Exclusively Yours as the brother of the hero. In this book, he gets his own HEA. Beth Hansen is a floater. She moves through life on her own terms, not setting down roots anywhere. Which is why it is a shock to come up pregnant after a one-night stand where protection was used. A one-night stand where she believed he was a player.
Kevin immediately jumps into protective mode. He just wants to make sure that Beth is taken care of. None of her jobs provide insurance and her apartment has... issues. So she moves in across from Kevin.
I loved that this story took place over a year. Kevin learned from his brother's mistake. Don't marry just because of the baby. Insurance wouldn't cover it anyway. But he thinks he's falling in love. It's sort of insta-love but we actually get to see that it sticks around.

A little better

I had a lieu day because of the Martin Luther King  Day Holiday so I used it to get up at 5:15 and pick up my friend Heidi so we could go to pilates. Then, I sat on the couch for longer than I care to admit. I grabbed the dog and finally made it out around 3:00. We were out for about 20 minutes and ran a total of a mile (with several walk breaks in between.) It was harder than it needed to be. At least in my mind. Intellectually, I know that running is different than aerobics but I am still fairly fit and... oof. Need to try this weekend again.

Run!