Discovering You by Brenda Novak

Regular Novak readers are going to love this book. LOVE it. It's got the drama and the feels and just that... Novak-ness that regular readers have come to expect. Will new readers to the Whiskey Creek series enjoy this book as much? I think so. While we do get some characters from previous books, it makes sense when they come in (no shoehorning here.)
India Sommers has lost her husband in a horrifying manner. And she blames herself for what happened. It all stems from her love of bad boys. So when she comes up on Rod Amos soon after he beats a guy (the guy really had it coming), she feels the attraction, but doesn't want to act on it. Although, to be honest, she doesn't really hold out all that long. She feels like she can probably be in and out of a very physical relationship before her daughter comes back from visiting her grandparents.
Rod is a complicated guy who is a couple of sort-of-in-but-not-really-and-I'm-sure-the-girl-understands-that relationships when he meets India. He knows that he's attracted to her and he knows that she's attracted to him. So why won't she just get together with him already?
Well, when her past comes a'calling, it's Rod that India turns to for help.
I didn't love the last quarter of this book so it took it down a little but it's still three and a half stars for me.

This book comes out May 24
Follows A Winter Wedding

A Winter Wedding by Brenda Novak

Oof. I'm so glad I got to read this book. The last two in the series were hard reads (because Brenda Novak tends to write outside the lines of your stereotypical romance stories, maybe not quite real life but definitely some harder emotions than a lot of romance novels) and this one was no less hard but maybe just a little less on the unending "feels" which made for a nice change-up in the Whiskey Creek series.
In this book, Kyle Houseman finally gets his HEA. And it's not with the quiet homebody that he always thought he wanted. Instead, his life is invaded by Lourdes Bennett, a country star whose star is somewhat on the wane.
Neither actually wants to get involved with the other. For one thing, Lourdes is engaged to the man (her manager) she's been dating for three years. Even if he has been distant lately and more concerned about an up-and-comer than Lourdes.
And Kyle isn't interested in someone who's almost a decade younger than he is. Especially someone who certainly isn't going to want to live in Whiskey Creek, a place he can't imagine leaving. Besides, he only seems to attract crazy women (e.g. ex-wife, Noelle who can't seem to leave him be) and is still in love with his step-brother's wife, Olivia (even more complicated, she's Noelle's sister).
Like a lot of the books in this series, there is a lot of build-up to what seems to be a fairly fast ending which can be a bit disconcerting. But I'm really glad I've stuck with the series because it's one that doesn't fall into the stereotypical romance lines (which, by the way are most of my favorite books). I really, really hope that we're going to get a Baxter story. There aren't really any other friends in their group left and I'd hate to see him be left out.

Followed by Discovering You

This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak

Brenda Novak is a straight three-mile author for me with occasional forays into the four-mile category (A random note, I give very few five-mile reviews so three is darn good). Part of the reason that I keep reading her books is that her stories make me so darn uncomfortable, often tackling hard subjects. In this book, it's the return of a girl who got knocked up as a teenager and was accused of running down the girl her ex dumped her for. 17 years later, she's just getting out of prison and returning home to Whiskey Creek to live with the obese, hoarder mother who has just gotten worse since she's been gone. No, Phoenix Fuller is not your ordinary romance heroine.

The story opens with Phoenix meeting her now sixteen-year-old son along with his father, Riley Stinson. Riley is understandably cautious. After all, this is a woman who was convicted of killing someone.
Phoenix keeps reminding herself that she was wrongly accused (do we need to know this so many times?) but that doesn't seem to help her confidence levels much. After all, it's not like she has a lot to live for.  And going to prison didn't help.
But somehow, Riley and Phoenix work together to find a way to integrate themselves back into a family, complete with an HEA.

She was not a very likable character. Do we really want a martyr who has forgiven all her enemies as a heroine? Most of the book was spent propping up her self-esteem and she wasn't even the one to set up a confrontation with Penny, Riley had to set it all up for her. And then to have no consequences for Penny... It's hard. But, actually, now that I think of it, very consistent with Novak's writing style.
I also wasn't really sure of the romance between these two. It was a little tepid and I didn't really see the attraction between Riley and Phoenix. The plus side was that there was no insta-love. The relationship between Phoenix and her son was perfect though

Heart of Christmas by Brenda Novak

Image linked from Goodreads

Eve isn’t the kind of woman to wake up next to a stranger, and yet, on the morning of her 35th birthday, she does just that. It’s embarrassing enough but she has the complicating factors of Noelle Arnold (vindictive gossip) dropping them off at her house and the man staying at her B&B. Rex isn’t in a place to create relationships. He really just wanted a night to forget about his problems. But Whiskey Creek seems like a place that he can not only hide out from his own problems, but also protect Scarlet Jones, a photographer with a stalker. I liked Eve. She was aware of the fact that her parents might hear about her escapade, and rather than create some kooky plan to prevent them ever hearing it, she ‘fesses up immediately. Rex... was a little more mysterious and hard to nail down. He was a nice enough guy "with a past" One minor comment. I liked the name Brent. I wish that had been his real name and Rex the alias. It makes more sense in my head. But I did have some larger issues

I like Novak's books so much better when everything isn't SUCH A BIG DEAL. And how many times could she point out that Cheyenne's baby was her husband's brother but she wasn't going to tell and only four people knew? Good freaking lord. Maybe that will change before the book goes into print. I certainly hope so. And what was up with the Scarlet Jones subplot? Was it there to get Rex back to his house? It made no sense for this long build up and then nothing actually happens.

How the Scoundrel Seduces by Sabrina Jeffries

Image linked from Goodreads

I was so unsure of this book, and, a week later, I'm still not sure how I feel. Jeffries writing is fantastic. She took a storyline that I didn't particularly like and created a story that made me finish even though I was having doubts the whole time. If you've read the other two "Duke's Men" stories, I'd definitely read this one as well.
In a previous story, Lady Zoe Keane, daughter of the Duke of Olivier,did a favor for the Duke's Men. And now, she wants to call it in. Specifically, she wants them to investigate who she is.
Tristan Bonnaud wants nothing more in life than to ensure that his titled half-brother doesn't bother him anymore. He just wants to be an investigator and definitely doesn't want to deal with the upper classes. Lady Zoe... she intrigues him. And so does her mysterious background.
If you like Sabrina Jeffries, I think you'll like this book. She's a wonderful writer and this is a series I'll definitely keep reading.

Come Home to Me by Brenda Novak

Oh the feels. The many, many feels. Brenda Novak does not always craft a... comfortable story,

Image linked from Goodreads

but she always manages to evoke strong emotions in her readers. At least me. Lots of spoilers in this review so I'm going to hide most of it.

SECRET BABY! Maybe two secret babies. This is such an overused storyline in the Harlequin romance novels and it irked me for much of the first part of the story. But... these are damaged people that Novak is writing about. They're not some white-bread secretary who only hides the baby because of some twisted logic. Okay, yes, Presley should have told Aaron. But, by the stated parameters of their relationship, they were only hooking up. And she was taking a lot of drugs at that point so... who knows. Then there's the burden of the relationship she had after she ran away to Arizona. It sounds... dark. Very dark.
The whole plotline with Cheyenne wanting to artificially inseminate herself with her brother-in-law's sperm also felt like it should be irksome. But, it somehow wasn't that bad once we found out that Dylan was also hiding things in their marriage. Again, coming from the same families as Presley and Aaron, these are two people who love each other so much but have never been around a good marriage to see how burdens shared can be burdens lightened (oh, god, that's so twee but yet so true.) I spent the second half of the book with my fingers crossed that they would just talk to each other and trusting in Novak to bring all of the tangled webs to a happy conclusion.

Take Me Home for Christmas by Brenda Novak

As always, Brenda Novak writes a fiercely compelling book with hard-to-deal-with themes.
I've been wondering about Sophia's story. She was the golden girl of high school, the bitch who treated everyone with disdain, including Ted Dixon. But in past books, she's been working her way back into the group of friends Novak has been centering her books around.

And that's what I didn't love in this book. She's obviously been abused and is trying to make amends but everyone seems to still blame her for not only what she did oh so many years ago but also for the pyramid scheme her husband set up.

Now, it seems that her husband, Bill, a real jerk who has defrauded most of the town with a Ponzi scheme, had died and Sophia's left holding the bag. She has no working skills and a daughter to care for.
The only person semi willing to help is Ted, a guy she unceremoniously dumped in high school. He, and his mother both still hold a grudge. Besides, he's dating another girl in their group of friends. But that doesn't mean that he is completely heartless. He gives Sophia a job as his housekeeper (did I mention that he's come up in the world?).
A familiar romance trope with a uniquely Novak-spin. The characters are fully-developed and evoke a feeling of camaraderie in the reader. It can be heartbreaking but definitely worth the read.

Home to Whiskey Creek by Brenda Novak

Image from Goodreads

Oh Brenda Novak, you just keep ripping out my heart with these fantastic characters with major, major flaws and just making me fall in love with them.
We know Noah Rackham from earlier Whiskey Creek novels. He's a handsome biker (mountain, not motor) whose best friend, Baxter, is completely in love with. Unforunately for Baxter (who, dear God in heaven, please let us read his story soon, he needs a good man), Noah is straight, a huge player in fact,... and about to meet his own match.
The story opens when he hears a voice coming from the same mine where his fraternal twin died in high school. It's Adelaide Davies who has been beaten, threatened, and tossed down a mine (I accidentally typed "well" twice. Which would have been a great story, but not this one). From the blurb on the back, you can probably figure out the secret that Addy is keeping but it might be considered a spoiler by some, so I'll hide it.

In high school, Addy was raped by five boys on the baseball team, including Noah's brother who died when Addy finally was able to fight back. Now she's involved with his brother? Whose parents don't want to believe anything bad about their beloved, long-dead son? Um, issues!

Suffice it to say, it's a secret that is long reaching and big enough to divide the town.
She didn't want to come back to this place, the place where her life changed overnight, but her grandmother is sick and Addy needs to be with her, even if it means stirring up sleeping dogs. But not if it means coming into contact with Noah, the boy who she obsessed over for years. But she can't seem to stay away...
Good condom use in this story. Love Novak for that and deserves a bump up to four-and-a-half stars.