Hidden Miles by Claire Kingsley

Leo Miles hasn't left his family's property in three years. Not since he came back from the war scarred down one side of his body and with PTSD that confines him to the vineyard. His solace is his online gaming where he hangs out with his friend Gigz (short for giggles.) Hearing her voice just makes him feel good. When he hears her voice at a wedding on the family property, he's astonished. But he can't show her his physical self.

Hannah Tate knows she needs to leave her relationship but she's terrified that her abusive boyfriend will hurt her when she does (TW for physical harm). She is shocked to have a moment with a stranger at her boyfriend's cousin's wedding but intrigued. When she finds out the man is her online gaming buddy, Badger, she's shocked. But it turns out to be a blessing because he ends up being the only one she can call when her boyfriend does put her in the hospital. She ends up staying with him and eventually falling in love. Well, lust for sure. But he doesn't seem to feel the same. Or maybe he can't. But their feelings are about to be crystallized because the storyline involving Leo's father that has run through all four books in the series is about to come to a head.

This was some serious relationship whiplash in this book. If you don't like the h/h to have a relationship at the beginning of a book, this book will not be for you. Hannah's boyfriend is defintely an asshat but she doesn't get rid of him for well into the book. And there were so many Big Misunderstandings at the end... it just kept going. 

Three stars

This book came out March 22nd, 2019

Follows Reckless Miles

Followed by Gaining Miles

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Reckless Miles by Claire Kingsley

I would not have enjoyed this book nearly as much if I hadn't listened to Jessen and Juliette on the "Smart Women Read Romance" podcast squee so much over it. I didn't love it quite as much (the characters were more New Adult, which is not my favorite, and the insta-love was a little hard to grasp, especially since Cooper had been set up as a man who enjoyed... the favors... of many women, never sticking to just one and Amelia had quite literally just been dumped at the altar) but I am enjoying the series in general and will more than likely read more by Kingsley.

Cooper Miles usually babbles somewhat incoherently but not usually at strangers. And not strangers who understand him so well. But this woman in a wedding dress sitting next to him seems to understand him. And she's really hot. AND willing to follow him home and spend some time on a "Cooper-moon" while she sorts through her options. 

Amelia is pretty used to doing what other people tell her to do. She sort of falls in with Cooper but then falls in love both with him and his slightly crazy family. Is it a little too fast? She wonders about that as well but she does feel like this could be the real thing.

There is a subplot with Cooper's dad that seems to be the running thread through all of the books and takes up a LOT of the book. 

Three stars

This book came out September 21st, 2018

Follows Forbidden Miles

Followed by Hidden Miles

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Forbidden Miles by Claire Kingsley

I don't really get the whole sturm and drang of dating a sibling's best friend. If I hadn't been working my way through the series, I might have skipped this book. Especially since I also don't love New Adult and Brynn is twenty-one. Can people find their OTL at twenty-one? Certainly. But it's not my favorite reading. 

After finding her best friend and boyfriend together, Brynn Miles is okay with moving back home. She's got a friends-with-benefits who is helping her move back home. Little does she know that PDA with the FWB will help her find the love of her life... a man she already knows.

Chase Reilley never looked twice at Brynn Miles. His best friend for life is her brother, Cooper, and the two have been set up in the previous book as man-sluts. They'll sleep with anything that has a vagina but never actually pair up with any of them. However, seeing Brynn in the back booth of the local diner makes Chase suddenly realize that she is a Woman. And she must be his. But Cooper can't know.

Which, admittedly, Cooper doesn't take the news of their dating well but that also might be because he walks in on the two of them before they have a chance to talk to him (which Chase WAS planning on doing).

This is a fast and furious romance with the "I love yous" and marriage proposal happening just after the 50% mark. That means that there have to be a least a couple of Big Misunderstandings in the latter half of the book. And for some of the series arc to take up space that might have been given to a lengthier courting and more understanding that these characters might be finding their HEA and not just a HFN.

Three stars

This book came out July 20th, 2018

Follows Broken Miles

Followed by Reckless Miles

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Broken Miles by Claire Kingsley

Roland Miles is the oldest of his siblings and, as such, his father expected him to take over the family vineyard. Roland ran hard and ran fast. All the way to San Francisco. Too bad his need to prove himself cost him his marriage. Not that he sees it that way. All he knows is that Zoe left him. And he's not upset by it anymore. So when his brother Leo calls and tells him that the family vineyard is about to be taken by the bank, he only hesitates for a moment. Has it really been almost two years since he's been home?

Zoe Sutton is shocked that Roland has returned. But she's even more surprised that her feelings for him don't seem to have diminished at all. Even though her heart was broken, and it's been a long time since their divorce, she is still having some feels. 

Fast, fun, and fluffy. I enjoyed the book.

Four stars

This book came out March 5th, 2018

Followed by Forbidden Miles

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own