Hot For The Scot by Janice Maynard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hot for the Scot offered a lot of my favorites in one read. I received an early release copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was not only a great romance but, it was also a great armchair travel book. Hayley Smith and her two best friends were very close when growing up. But, when they were teens their lives all take different paths, with moving to other areas and choices they make that cause them to not be able to spend as much time together as they did as children. But, one thing they all have in common which keeps them close is their love for reading, especially a particular series with time travel and a historical romance based in Scotland. They each dream of meeting their very own 'Hot Scot' and make a pact to remove all modern obstacles during their trip like mobile phones and the Internet. They also agree to strike out individually for the month and become a part of the areas that each is visiting.

Hayley is immersing herself in the area she is visiting and early into her trip literally is thrown together with Angus Munro who is the epitome of 'Hot Scot'. Hayley dates but, she is unprepared for how quickly she falls for Angus. Despite being from a small Scottish village, Angus has lived a larger than life existence and has traveled and lived the life of an International star. He also has a mother that wants him all to herself. Despite all of the trials that Hayley and Angus face during the one month they spend time traveling and Angus is an excellent travel guide that knows the history of his country. Hayley is taken out of her list-making comfort zone but, she gets the vacation of a lifetime along with the romance of a lifetime. There are at least two more friends that we will see how they do with their Scottish adventure and I look forward to more Scottish armchair travel because Janice Maynard does an excellent job of helping the reader see the green hills of Scotland.

Fans of Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries will enjoy CAPTURED, a New Adult Contemporary Romance with a modern royals flair by award winning author Jennifer Chance. Lauren Grant is a hard-partying celebutante dedicated to avoiding anything that might tie her down, but Dimitri Korba, the gorgeous and arrogant captain of the Garronia National Security Force and her unwanted bodyguard just might change her mind in this new installment in Chance's Gowns & Crowns series.

Rafflecopter for Virtual Blitz Giveaway:
Jennifer is offering up some fabulous prizes during her Captured Virtual Blitz event. One (1) lucky grand prize winner will receive a $25 Gift Card for Amazon or B&N (winner’s choice) and two (2) runner-ups will win an eBook copy of Courted, book #1 in Jennifer’s Gowns & Crowns series! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

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About Captured:
Title: Captured
Author: Jennifer Chance
Publisher: Elewyn Publishing
Release Date: January 19, 2016
Series: Gowns & Crowns #2
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Length: 207 Pages
ISBN: 9781943768066

For beautiful, pampered Lauren Grant, the idea of love without strings is a fairy tale and a trap. Though she’s skillfully maintained her image as the carefree celebutante, for years she’s been systematically stalked by the richest—and most ruthless—golden boy of the Jet Set. To stay one step ahead, she’s used every resource at her disposal. But now, stuck in Garronia with the whole world watching, she’s finally cornered by her nemesis, with no way out.

Well, no way out but one: the stubborn, forceful, impossibly gorgeous captain of the Garronia National Security Force, Dimitri Korba. The first man she’s ever trusted… which makes him the most dangerous man of all.

Dimitri Korba’s greatest duty is to keep those in his care safe. Since losing his closest friend, he's vowed that he will not fail another. Not even the haughty, foolhardy American blonde whom he can’t get out of his mind. And once Dimitri glimpses the terror Lauren hides behind her icily perfect façade, protecting her becomes his only goal.
Dimitri has no idea how far his commitment will take him, however, nor how powerful his need for Lauren will flare when she’s not only in his care, but in his arms. With each stolen moment, the danger around them intensifies, burning away every doubt…until all that remains is their fierce, unexpected passion. But will that be enough to save them?

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Be sure to check out COURTED, book #1 in the Gowns & Crowns series by award winning author Jennifer Chance!

Title: Courted
Author: Jennifer Chance
Publisher: Elewyn Publishing
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Series: Gowns & Crowns #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Length: 222 Pages
ISBN: 9781943768042

Aspiring concert violist Emmaline Aurora Grace Andrews is torn between her love of family and her love of music. A year ago, she deferred entering a prestigious graduate program to help her parents recover from a devastating accident. Now the deferment is expiring, but her parents still need her. Worse, every time she plays her audition piece, she mangles it. Is it too late to be the musician she'd always dreamed of? Should she even try?

Determined to get clarity, Emmaline accepts a friend's offer for a whirlwind European vacation. First Stop: a real live fantasy kingdom—the perfect place to sort wishes from reality.

Prince Kristos Andris was a respected captain in his nation’s military… Was. In the wake of the tragic death of his elder brother, he's managed to avoid his duties as the new Crown Prince of Garronia for months. But now he must accept his responsibilities and leave his troops behind. Outraged at the restrictions of his new royal position, he'll do anything for one last adventure. So when opportunity suddenly lands in his arms in the form of a dreamy-eyed American girl, he embraces it (and her) for all he's worth. What's the harm in a quick fling, after all? It won’t change what he knows he must do…

Only this is Garronia in the summertime, where passion has a way of ruining even the most sensible of plans.

Add to your TBR List:  Goodreads
Buy Links:  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes


About Jennifer Chance:

Jennifer Chance is the award-winning author of the new adult Rule Breakers series as well as the modern royals Gowns & Crowns series. You can find her online at JenniferChance.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/authorJenniferChance and on Twitter at @Jenn_Chance.

Connect with Jennifer:  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads


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Captured: Gowns & Crowns by Jennifer Chance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Captured is Lauren's story in the Gowns & Crowns series. I have to admit I loved Emmaline's story and was really looking forward to seeing what was next in this series. The group of friends meet Prince Kristos and his fellow military friends in the first story. In this story the ladies are still on the island because of the huge media storm that started in the Courted so this is a direct continuation of the story but from a different perspective. I received an early release copy of Captured in exchange for review. I have to admit that Lauren was the one I liked the least of the friends. The ladies have very diverse backgrounds and personalities.

Lauren is the wealthy friend who has been having a problem for many years but it appears to be coming to a head in Captured. She is being stalked by a very wealthy man. She has stayed on the move and out of his reach for quite some time. With Lauren and her friends being "sequestered" on Garronia her stalker has her cornered. Dimitri is captain of the security force of Garronia and he has taken on the role that Kristos previously had before his role in the royal family changed. Dimitri and Lauren appear to severely dislike each other. They snipe constantly but, Dimitri is thrown into keeping Lauren safe, sometimes from herself. They both recognize that there is a physical attraction but it is something they keep internalized. Though Dimitri wants to stay as far away from Lauren as possible the dangerous situation she faces throws Dimitri into the danger to keep her from a man who wants to control her physically, mentally and financially.

Captured is a great addition to the Gowns & Crowns series. Though I started out the read gritting my teeth every time Lauren said something rude or disrespectful towards the end of the book I did feel for her situation, especially her relationship with her parents. But, seeing how the story was resolved for not only Lauren's fight against her stalker but also her tenuous relationship with her parents, I did begin to cheer for her and want her to be safe and accept the love and help that her friends, both old and new, offered her both emotionally and physically.

Forbidden by Lauren   Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tristan Kingston is working on his Master’s degree at Cambridge University. He has a very interesting family lineage and he is very attractive. Katherine or Kat is a first year undergraduate at another college at Cambridge University who has led a pretty sheltered life. She tends to work hard and keep mostly to herself because she and her father have moved around a lot for her father’s job. She starts extending herself more because she knows that she will be at Cambridge for at least 3 years. She has already made some great friends and now thinks maybe she might start dating someone when she sees Tristan for the first time. She is totally enamored of him as he is with her. But, Tristan has some really heavy things in his background that he is not necessarily keeping secret but, he doesn’t like to talk about them much. Tristan and Kat have hit it off pretty good but Kat still wants to protect her heart and Tristan has no clue what he is feeling because he has never experienced these feelings before.

Forbidden: Her British Stepbrother is a great story that takes the reader through the highs and lows of a relationship between two people that have never been in love and have things in their family lives that have greatly impacted their ability to have romantic relationships. Kat is a great character with lots of depth. The reader cannot help but like her and want the best for her. She is extremely bright, hard-working and loves books. What booklover wouldn’t love Kat? Tristan, despite his previous bad-boy ways draws the reader in with his bewildered attraction to Kat. If the reader did not sympathize so much with him they might get a good chuckle out of how confused he is at his own behavior. One thing I found very interesting is that 95% of the book is about their relationship and we learn about Kat’s father and Tristan’s mother but the poke in Tristan and Kat’s eyes, so-to-speak, does not occur until the very end giving the reader an additional chapter to see how the first meeting with the four of them goes and leaves the reader to pull out their hair as they wonder what happens next and when the next book is going to be released. 

Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Inconceivable fits in with my guilty pleasure reads, modern day royal romances. It is the story of Hatty and Prince John who is third in line for the throne after his grandmother and father, Prince Leopold. They meet at a Karaoke bar and though they expect to not see each other again Hatty is assigned to write a story about the royal family and they fall for each other all over again. As they grow closer together Hatty's professional life becomes a point of contention, especially a story she is covering on the smelting plant that the royal family owns. Things really heat up and they marry. Hatty becomes a target for every news agency and tabloid in the world that wants to sling mud and innuendo. She gives up everything to be with John, her job, finishing her degree and her home in the Ozarks.

Prince John and Hatty's marriage does work well and they grow closer and begin to have hopes of having a child which as a royal prince in line for the thrown is expected of John. Months go on and Hatty does not get pregnant and she begins to worry. She starts researching what could be happening and starts trying different tips she finds on the Internet. As more time goes and comments from Prince Leopold cause her worry to increase about her continuing not to get pregnant and the repurcussions it could have on her marriage. Hatty is alone in a foreign country and close to only her husband. The longer Hatty does not get pregnant the worse the situation and ridicule appears to get and someone is telling the tabloids their secrets. Hatty is being pushed by her own desire to be a mother, the comments from strangers and the comments from her husband's family. I have to admit this did not end the way I expected it to end, dare I say the way I hoped it end. But, I can say the resolution is still gratifying.

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Thousand Nights was a story that reads more like a long fable. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for review. I have to admit most of the time I was totally enthralled with this story. Other times I was a little tripped up by some of the world that was created because it was diverse and quite original. It did at times fell a bit slow but nothing that would stop the reader from being a part of the story. One thing I just noticed is that I can only remember one person's name in the story, Lo-Melkhiin. Everyone else was referred to mostly by their position like Sister or Lo-Melkhiin's mother or father. I literally cannot think of the protagonist's name which is odd. I did not realize it when I was reading the story because she also referred to as daughter or sister or daughter of my heart. Strange how when you are living in the moment of the story you do not realize that you don't know the character's name.

Lo-Melkhiin, a king of the lands, has a penchant for marrying and then as soon as his wife dies he goes to the next village and finds another wife to the tune of hundreds of wives. It is so bad that each village literally quakes with fear when he and his soldiers head in the village's direction. In this instance, the protagonist knows that her sister will be chosen and makes the sacrifice to be chosen in her place. It changes everyone in their village, especially her sister who takes on a role that it was not thought that she would take, that of sort of a priestess. With all of the daily prayers from her sister as well as her mother and her sister's mother and likely the prayers of everyone in their village, our protagonist is gifted with a power that has allowed her to live longer than any of the other wives. The reader learns why Lo-Melkhiin is the way he is and why the wives continue to die and we spend the story holding our breath hoping that she makes it another night and hopefully the rest of the nights.

A Thousand Nights has vivid characters that are so well drawn and a world that is so well drawn that I literally missed that I don't remember the names of any of the people or the world but everything in the story still seems to stand out. I would have never thought this story would be something I like as much as I did but, I was drawn to it based upon the synopsis and had to find out what was happening to each of these wives and why. It is a great story with mystery and intrigue.

Gambit by C.L. Denault
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gambit was one of those books that I was on the shelf about reading when I saw it on Netgalley. I was not sure if I would be able to read it because I am typically am not a fan of dystopian novels. I decided to give it a chance in exchange for a review and I am definitely happy that I read it. Gambit was awesome! It is the story of Willow Kent that was raised by her parents in one of the outlying areas which seems like it may be formerly Scotland. Willow is a 16 year old girl with a close family and many friends. They own a tavern that is always very packed. In this world, there are messengers that risk their lives to go to an area known as the Core which appears to previously be London. The messengers ride a very long distance by bicycle risking their lives to get news for the outlying areas. There are patrols that move around looking for what is known as prodigies, people with magical gifts that they are required to report to the Core. This concept is dark to me but, it is a dystopian novel. The Core has labs where they study these people where they try to harness these gifts for their own uses.

Willow has secrets that are going to change her entire life and that of her family. She has gifts that the Core want to know about and through their very heavy-handed tactics, they discover and literally rip her from her life. Willow has to determine who she can trust and how to live in this new world that is more like our world but with more advanced technology. The people she meets, Aspen, Duncan, Kane, Joshua, Reece, Gem, Morry and Fenn all play a huge part in how Willow's story moves and it is up to her to harness her gifts and try to take back control of her life. Gambit is an action-packed thrill to read. The characters are well-drawn. The story is interesting and there is also some mystery in it. I have to say I am seriously worried about this arranged marriage and how things will unfold with that, especially given the nature of the relationship between the two families. But, it is politics at its best and worst. I am really looking forward to the next book in this very exciting series!