Contemporary – Baskerville Book Reviews

Review: Starting Again

A sweet holiday romance in Henderson County.

When Dawn realizes starts prepping for the Christmas season, little does she know that it will be her last in the Henderson County. However, with the announcement of her ex-boyfriend’s wedding, Dawn wants to flee.
Until she meets Gage Baxter. He’s everything she wants in a man, except she has no plans to stay here anymore and Gage seems too good to be true.
One stormy night, she finds out that one secret Gage kept to himself that caused her to waste twelve years of her life waiting. Or was it destiny?

Review: Desires Uncovered

It was supposed to be a casual affair….

Dr. Teresa Roe moved from the bustling city to small-town Pennsylvania, hoping the slower pace would help her focus on finding a partner and building a family. Unfortunately, life had other plans, and Teresa finds herself single in her mid-40s, unable to have the children she craves. Determined to focus on the positives, she builds her thriving therapy practice and joins a hook-up app looking for a fun, no-strings-attached affair.

Mark Lancaster has no time to date or cultivate a relationship, so meeting women on hook-up apps is perfect for his busy schedule. When he meets Teresa, he can’t believe his fortune at finding someone so smart, sexy, and funny. In fact, his casual affair with her quickly becomes the highlight of his hectic life.

When Mark decides to run for County District Attorney, his opponent quickly reveals their relationship, spinning their affair as nefarious and creating a scandal that almost derails the campaign. Thankfully, Teresa agrees to enter into a fake engagement, saving him from ruin. But the road to victory isn’t easy, and as they grow closer, the relationship they both swear is casual begins to grow into something real….

Can two fiercely independent souls find true love amidst scandal?

Welcome back to Ardor Creek! If you love fake relationship shenanigans that lead to true love, this book is for you! As with all of Ayla’s books, there’s a slight holiday theme, and this one ends with a romantic Christmas. There are discussions of infertility and domestic abuse, so please consider that before listening. Enjoy!

Review: Starting Over

Cara Wallace is stunned to find Nathan Reynolds back in Henderson County. His sudden arrival brings to the fore unresolved questions of what might have been.
How could she unwrite the past?
How could she undo the mistakes?
How could she unlove him?

Nathan Reynolds can’t understand why Cara chose to stay in this small town. How could she sacrifice her career, her future and their love for a small run-down cottage in the middle of nowheresville? Whatever her reasons, Nathan intends to
find out and start over again!

Review: His Holiday Pact

Who knew a fake holiday relationship could be so fun?

Kayla Summers has had enough of her mother’s insistence that she find a man and get married. At thirty-three, she’s a successful attorney and has a fantastic life. Knowing her mother will grill her constantly over the upcoming holidays about her single existence, she dreads the visits home.

Carter Manheim is a self-proclaimed bachelor, dead set on seducing every beautiful woman in Manhattan. And why not? His parents’ disastrous marriage and divorce proved that lifelong commitments just aren’t viable. As his mother’s health worsens, his only wish is to give her one last happy holiday, even if it entails bringing home a girlfriend.

When Kayla’s sexy neighbor proposes they take each other home for the holidays as fake partners, she’s floored. However, getting her mother off her back is her number one priority and she agrees to the arrangement. Now, if she can only keep her heart from becoming emotionally entangled with the player of the century, she’ll be just fine…

This is a 40,000 word book filled with fast-paced, fake relationship shenanigans, and steamy scenes designed to melt your Kindle. The main character’s mother has late-stage cancer and there are adult language and situations, so please consider that before you read. Here’s hoping this funny, romantic story can give you a few hours of escape during the holidays! Enjoy!

Review: Apollo

For ballet dancer Laurel Berg, no amount of artistic expression ever seemed enough to satisfy the ravenous muse within her. Painting didn’t have enough brush strokes, music didn’t seem to have enough notes.

But when the company director announces Ace, front man of the band Apollo’s Suns would have a special appearance in their new production, she had no idea she’d be amidst the King of the Muses himself.

And when magical things start happening, things she can’t rationally explain, she’ll discover there’s more to rock star Ace than an ego the size of Mount Olympus and a dazzling smile that could put the sun to shame.

Review: Dragonfly Wishes

Once upon a time there was a fisherman and his wife…. Scratch that…. Once upon a time there was a fashion designer and a dragon shifter from another world….

Arianna Travers creates clothing that brings joy to others. Haunted by her mother’s disappearance and tormented by her overlording step-uncle, Arianna desires to escape reality, even if it’s only through the tip of her charcoal pencil.

A royal of Ellehcor, Kyan the dragon shifter spies the forlorn beauty through a magical window to another world. To meet her face-to-face, he leaves the sanctuary of his home realm and enters the portal, transforming into a dragonfly.

Things don’t go as planned when Kyan becomes entangled in spider silk. Arianna discovers the little blue dragonfly and rescues him. As a reward, Kyan offers to grant her wishes, but before Arianna can make a wish, the Overlord steals it from her.

As Kyan and Arianna’s relationship blossoms, so does the breadth of the Overlord’s wishes. Kyan strives to save Arianna from her uncle and his devious plans, but what can a dragonfly do?

Review: Wyrmrider Boxed Set

Four books of mermaids, sea dragons, vampires, and voodoo fill this urban fantasy adventure box set. You mess with this Southern belle…and she’ll ring yours all the way to dinner.

Joni Campbell was raised on faith, family, and chicken fried steak. But when she falls under a dragon’s curse, she has only one option: She must seek her ancestors in the mer-kingdom of Fomoria. But is she the one who needs saving, or do they need her, curse and all, if they hope to save their world?

Includes:

Wyrmrider Ascending (Book One)

Larger than dragons. Nastier than snakes. Terrifying as hell. The wyrms have escaped the void. They threaten the underwater mer-kingdom of Fomoria and the city of New Orleans. But are the wyrms the biggest threat to emerge from the void? Will Joni be able to tame the wyrms? It may be the only chance she has to take down the voidbringer.

Wyrmrider Vengeance (Book Two)

Zombie sharks! What the…? When someone animates zombie corpses, the newly crowned Fomorian Queen, Joni Campbell, has to find the caplata behind it all. Can she stop the sea-zombie apocalypse before the ocean falls, or worse, the pandemic spreads to the land?

Wyrmrider Justice (Book Three)

Time-traveling ghost-pirates…just when you thought you’d seen it all. These are more than cursed pirates aboard Jack Sparrow’s Black Pearl. They are commanded by a caplata, and they have their sights on more than Fomoria. They want to unmake the world. But how can Joni and the wyrmriders possibly stop them when everything the ghost-pirate fleet encounters gets absorbed into their world-devastating armada?

Wyrmrider Academy (Book Four)

With a new brood of wyrms coming of age, more wyrmriders need to be trained. But as a half-human and an outsider, not all of the Fomorian Wyrmriders accept Joni’s rule. Now, it’s not a threat from without that threatens Fomorian but one from within. Can Joni and the wyrmriders quell the rebellion?

Review: Bridgebreaker

The Bridgefinders have won a battle they never expected to walk away from. The Slyph has been pushed back, and now faces open rebellion from Grellnot. War is brewing on the Echo World, a war that has large implications for us. Within the Bridgefinders something rotten has taken hold, as one of their own starts down a dark path of jealousy, anger, and hate. When woman from a mysterious group known only as the Shrouded comes with a warning, her appearance proves to be a tipping point as the Bridgefinders face a new challenge, the evil within.

Review: Bat Shift Crazy

I think I’m going batty….

Literally….

I told myself I’d never go back.

I’m returning to the Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged….

Not to get treated…but perhaps Doctor Cain can help.

The world’s original werewolf…and its first murderer.

If anyone can help me get a handle on an undesirable shape-shifting situation…it’s him.

But there is a coven of bat-shifting vampires with other plans.

Surely their appearance and my…acquisition of this ability…isn’t a coincidence.

If I’ve learned anything hunting vampires, it’s that I can guarantee that they’re up to no good.

And I can’t help but wonder…am I the one hunting them?

Or have the tables turned?

Review: Scared Shiftless

A stiletto heel through a vampire’s heart…

Who ever said you had to sacrifice fabulous for functional? Eventually I’d find her, the one who stole my abilities. Now I was stuck like this…in a human body…a male body…I was scared shiftless. I’m out for more than vengeance. I want my life back. But even if I catch her, even if I kill the vampire who ruined my life…can I even take my shapeshifting abilities back? Or, am I destined to stay like this forever?