Accidental Engagement (Accidentally Yours #4)

ACCIDENTAL ENGAGEMENT                         SCOTT WILDER

I’m Leslie Kaufman, co-owner of KLeaning Services Unlimited.
The name says it all, I guess.
I’m used to pandering to the excesses of rich and eccentric clients.
Billionaire Jack Morton fits the bill, for sure.
He requests some rather unorthodox help from me.
He needs to fool his mother into thinking he is engaged.
To me.
I’m not sure why I agreed to do it; maybe to add some excitement to my boring existence.

Things spin out of control quickly when his mother shows up with her aloof manner and spouting her disappointments about Jack’s personal life. 

MY REVIEW

Strong alpha male billionaire hires a strong alpha female employees to work above and beyond. Jack hires Leslie one of the owners of the cleaning service that manages his estate who he knows has spunk and is very attractive, to be his fake girlfriend. You see his mother believes he is much too old to still be out there womanizing. It is time for him to settle down with a good woman and give her the grandchildren she so wants. When his mother call to surprise him, to tell him that she is on her way for a visit and that she hopes to see that he actually has a real girlfriend. Him being a problem solver decides after meeting Leslie and see she doesn’t back down from a challenge, he believes she’s the one. At first, she thinks he is crazy. But when he’s not and offers cash who is she to judge. But they are left with egg on their faces when they get played by the best. She makes no excuses for her ruse either. But when the ending comes. It is less than perfect for the was the rest of the story was running. It felt abrupt and so rushed to nowhere. Received this during the July book giveaway. I give this: 4 stars.

The Single Dad CEO

THE SINGLE DAD CEO                                    NICOLE CASEY

The moment I lay eyes on her in the elevator, I know I have to have her.
Those curves, that hair, and the way she looks at me with those innocent eyes make me want to take her right in my office. Whenever I see her, every fiber of my body wants to feel her body entwined with mine.
But she’s my employee.
She’s off-limits.
And my focus should be on my son and my business after my gold digger ex-wife had left.
It will break all my rules, but I just can’t resist her any longer.
I need to make her mine. 

This is a sweet and steamy office romance short story with no cliffhanger and a HEA!
 

MY REVIEW

For sixty-one pages I have to say this author did rather well. Can’t expect War & Peace and if you are you are really looking in two wrong sections shorts and free. Now, that said, the characters were what you might expect a CEO who works too much and are still bitter over his gold-digging ex-wife that for choosing to leave the most valuable gift their son. Her loss is for sure his gain because his son is the most precious gift she ever gave him, Shaun, seven. This is where his own redeeming qualities come in, Shaun as a way of just melting him. So, he is a work in progress working so much, he does show his employees he cares. It’s when Kate joins their team as he calls them that his world turns upside down. The lower half of his body has been dormant since the breakup. But, the new girl Kate wakes that all up. Kate may be new to the company but she highly qualified in her field. She has been taken in by rich men and comes with a chip on her shoulder. So, she was leery that first day. But their attraction for one another is strong. See how and who helps them to the point of being a couple at the end. Yet, it wasn’t smooth sailing and it was insta love after all. I give this: 4 stars. Received during July book giveaway.

Must Love Dogs...and Hockey (Bears Hockey #1)

 MUST LOVE DOGS...AND HOCKEY                        KELLY JAMIESON

Lilly: My life is like the love child of a train wreck and a dumpster fire right now. I’ve been canned, my professional reputation is shredded, and now I’m walking dogs to make ends meet.
But I still believe everything will work out. Somehow.
Then a dog at the park attacks my friend’s dog. At first, I’m ready to give the owner hell—but it turns out he’s in desperate need of doggie daycare. I figure, why not? I love dogs and I need the cash.
Too bad his cocky bad boy attitude annoys me. He’s too damn cute for his own good. And I’m not talking about the dog.

Easton: My coach is riding my ass and I’m not handling it well. When I’m saddled with an abandoned pooch, my teammate thinks a dog will keep my temper in check. I think I have enough problems already.
But when my new dog gets into a tussle that leads me to meet a smoking hot chick who knows how to handle the rascal, I start to think pet ownership isn’t all bad. At least it gives me an excuse to see Lilly again. . . .
Neither of us are interested in a relationship. First, they steal your bed, then they steal your heart. And I’m not talking about the dog. 

PAT'S REVIEW

Lilly’s life has down in flames, at least her professional life. Fired again from another job in the same field she is now looking at never working again in the hospitality field. This is all going through her mind of course as she has no job and no prospects for one either. Hockey player Easton is still feeling new to the team that traded for him and he has not opened up to any of the other players. He has been getting a lot of lip from the coach and he is tired of hearing it. Home form a road trip, he enters his apartment complex only to see a woman stepping into an elevator and the dog she has been caught on the outside of the door. With the dog being straggled he rushes to the door and is able to disconnect the dog from his leash. The woman comes downstairs and gives Easton the dog running out of the apartment complex. Lilly has begun walking a dog for money and while at the dog park her dog is being jumped on by another dog. When the owner of that dog comes over, she is surprised at how good looking he is but is still upset with him about allowing his dog to be off its leash. Easton thinking that Lilly is very attractive tells her that he has just gotten the dog named Otis and it is not until much later that she finds out what happened in order for him to get the dog. Later that day he asks her if she would be willing to watch his dog for three days because he has to go out of town. She agrees. It is after this that she decides to start a dog walking business and Easton helps her as much as she will let him. This is not a fast romance story. Though they both like each other the author makes this a slow build-up and as they become more into each other both of their pasts are becoming a problem. Each has to work through them in order to have a future. The issues that she deals with especially with Easton’s coach is something that is not tolerated anymore and I am surprised to say when I played sports in the early to mid-seventies some of those practices were allowed. Of course, not now but even then, as a teen I thought what the coach was doing was wrong but none of us said anything. I am glad for all of the issues that were talked about and for the wonderful story about these two characters. Another good Kelly Jamieson book. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

Peggy Lee: A Century of Song

 PEGGY LEE                                                         TISH ONEY

Lee stood out among her peers as an exquisite singer possessing a cool vocal style, a songwriter frequently collaborating with leading composers of American jazz and film music, and a globally-loved entertainer with star quality. Tish Oney sheds new light upon this Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner's impressive musical talents while guiding the reader through the best of Lee's fifty-plus albums, radio and TV performances, creative contributions to the film industry, and over half a century of finely-polished live performances.

Oney focuses on the evolution of Peggy Lee's recorded music, vocal development, artistic achievements, and contributions to American music while interviews with Lee's family, friends, and music colleagues reveal new insights and memories of this musical icon. Peggy Lee enables readers to discover a brilliant artist's inimitable legacy in the history of American popular music. 

PAT'S REVIEW

I found this book to be full of information about a woman that I grew up listening to. What I did not know though was that she also wrote songs and some for movies. One of her most famous ones was “Lady and the Tramp”. That was very interesting information. Here the book follows her life from Jamestown North Dakota to then singing with the Benny Goodman Band then leaving with another band member to marry they moved to Hollywood. Here is where she would write for movies and star in some and also co-write with other people and come out with other albums. “New American Blues” and “Pete Kelly Blues” would be two big records for her. She would write three songs for the movie “Lady and the Tramp” the title song which she sang, the Siamese cat song, and “He’s a Tramp”. This I did not know. She would later co-write a song with Duke Ellington and also Cy Coleman. Still her rendition of the song “Fever” from 1958 which is still a fantastic song and one that I remembered her from. Once I learned about her I then knew that I had heard her also growing up for my father listened to Benny Goodman and so she was one of the early singers. The information about her songwriting I did not know and was glad to find out. Overall a very good book about a wonderful singer. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com