Code of Ethics

d'April White - SmartyPants Romance 2021

Résumé : There are three things you need to know about Oliver:
1) He’s a fabulously wealthy playboy who incidentally happens to be a code-writing genius,
2) For maybe the first time in his life, he’s trying to do the right thing, and
3) Someone wants him dead.

Oliver’s life has already been saved once by the gorgeous yet grumpy “close protection specialist” provided by Cipher Security, Dallas. She calls him uncooperative. He’d prefer to think of himself as unpredictable and stimulating.

But when an assassin gets way too close for comfort, the party boy is whisked away from the lively city where he’s the social king, to the desolate Yukon wilderness where Dallas is a master of survival (and grumpiness). Living wild and isolated reveals several illuminating truths, and suddenly they both find themselves in uncharted territory where grumpy can be sexy, sarcasm might be hot, capable is definitely dangerous, and trust is the strongest survival skill of all.


Au premier contact, il est difficile d'imaginer que Dallas et Oliver finiront ensemble, tellement ils sont à l'opposé l'un de l'autre. Même en tant que lecteur, on se demande ce qui pourra bien se passé pour que ces deux-là amorce une manoeuvre de rapprochement... Il faudra des assassins et une fuite dans le Yukon sauvage.

Quelqu'un veut tuer Oliver pour l'empêcher de diffuser un programme informatique très utile, Dallas est chargée de sa protection rapprochée. Mais quand ils manquent de se faire tuer plusieurs fois, la meilleure solution est d'aller se perdre dans la nature. Dallas emmène donc Oliver dans le domaine de sa famille, au fin fond du Yukon, en plein hiver. Fini le confort de son appartement, Oliver est projeté dans un modeste chalet sans eau courante ni électricité, avec Dallas pour lui apprendre les règles de base de la survie en milieu hostile.

Ai-je précisé au début, que Dallas et Oliver n'étaient pas trop fan de l'un de l'autre ? Tous deux vont devoir mettre leurs opinions de côté, travailler ensemble, se soutenir et se protéger. L'isolation et la proximité forcées, vont les faire s'ouvrir à l'autre et partager plus d'eux-mêmes que ce qu'on voit en surface. Il y a plus de profondeur et de blessure derrière l'image d'enfant gâté d'Oliver ; il y a plus de vibrance et d'émotions dans le coeur de Dallas derrière cette attitude distante et glaciale.

La famille de Dallas est issue des Premières Nations du Canada, lorsqu'Oliver se prépare à la rencontrer, il demande à Dallas de lui raconter son histoire : les traditions, le mode de vie, les évènements tragiques... Dès qu'ils arrivent dans le Yukon, on fait connaissance avec le conte du loup et du corbeau, je vous laisserais découvrir le rapprochement avec nos héros ;)

Je dirais que pour ce romantic suspense, c'est pas tant la romance le plus intéressant, mais plus l'histoire de vie des personnages et en particulier celle de Dallas : son rapport à son identité, les liens avec sa famille.

In the beginning, it's hard to imagine that Dallas and Oliver will end up together, as they are so opposed to each other. Even as a reader, one wonders what could possibly happen for these two to initiate a "get closer" maneuver... It will take assassins and an escape into the wild Yukon.

Someone wants to kill Oliver to prevent him from broadcasting a very useful computer program, Dallas is in charge of his close protection. But when they nearly get killed several times, the best solution is to go get lost in nature. Dallas takes Oliver to her family's home ground, deep in the Yukon, in the middle of winter. No more comfy apartment, Oliver is thrown into a modest cabin with no running water or electricity, with Dallas to teach him the basic rules of survival in a hostile environment.

Did I say, that Dallas and Oliver weren't too much of a fan of each other ? Both will have to put their opinions aside, work together, support and protect each other. The forced isolation and proximity will make them open up to each others and share more of themselves than what we see. There is more depth and hurt behind Oliver's spoiled child image ; there is more vibrance and feelings in the heart of Dallas behind this her distant and icy attitude.

Dallas' family is from the First Nations of Canada, when Oliver is about to meet them, he asks Dallas to tell him her story: the traditions, the way of life, the tragic events... As soon as they arrive in the Yukon, we learn the tale of the wolf and the raven, I'll let you discover the connection with our heroes ;)

I would say that for this romantic suspense, the romance isn't the most interesting bit, but the life story of the characters and in particular Dallas' stoty : her connection to her identity, the links with her family.

 

Read Code of Ethics TODAY !
Amazon US : https://amzn.to/2W0kaRm
Amazon UK : https://amzn.to/3yPk4dR
Amazon CA : https://amzn.to/3xoY4VF
Amazon AU : https://amzn.to/2TXKBGC
AppleBooks : https://apple.co/3luYkA7
Nook : https://bit.ly/3inehX3
Kobo : https://bit.ly/3fvld2h
Google Play : https://bit.ly/2TSH1xk
Add to Goodreads : https://bit.ly/3yR8yOP

Start the Cipher Security Series of standalones TODAY !
https://smartypantsromance.com/worlds/seduction-in-the-ci...

Give Love Chai

de Nanxi Wen (2021) Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Tia Wang’s Wedding Planning To-Do List :
1. Find the perfect dress
2. Win her future mother-in-law's approval
3. Divorce her not-so-ex husband, Andrew Parker

When she fell in love and married her childhood best friend on a whim in Vegas, Tia innocently thought love conquered all. Turns out, that was a crushing lie. Her world shattered as she and Andrew were torn apart by secrets and mistakes. Ten years later, Tia has left the pain behind and carved out a new life with Mr. Perfect. The only thing standing between her and happily ever after? A divorce from Andrew.

It should have been easy for Andrew to sign his name on the dotted line. Independent, prickly, and always in control, Andrew has done everything to escape his past. But seeing Tia on his doorstep after all these years? He can’t help wondering what might have been. Andrew has never forgotten Tia and vows to fight for their relationship this time around. If he has to hold those divorce papers hostage to get his second chance, he will.

Feelings resurface, stronger and more complex than ever. But Tia and Andrew have more than Mr. Perfect between them. Can they overcome past mistakes to forge a future together, or will new threats ruin their second chance at forever ?


J'ai un avis très partagé sur cette romance, même si je l'ai globalement bien aimé, j'ai trouvé qu'il y avait quand même des éléments un peu too much, et qu'Andrew avait bien besoin d'une bonne claque à un moment xD.

Le point de départ est assez intéressant : Tia veut se marier à Clayton, sauf qu'elle découvre qu'elle est toujours mariée à son amour de jeunesse Andrew, qu'elle n'a pas vu depuis 10 ans, ce divorce n'a jamais été finalisé... Donc Tia va voir Andrew pour lui donner les papiers à signer, et là problème : revoir Andrew réveille d'un coup ses anciennes passions et elle part précipitamment sans les papiers xD. Du coup, cette fois c'est Andrew qui se déplace pour aller la voir, tombe sur Clayton et réalise que non il peut pas signer ces papiers, il aime encore Tia ! Clayton devine l'embrouille et va laisser du temps à Tia pour qu'elle fasse son choix (le pauvre, il a pas le bon rôle, mais il est pas non un méchant).

Andrew va avoir 2 semaines pour convaincre Tia que leur histoire n'a jamais été terminée, que leurs erreurs d'ados peuvent être réparé maintenant qu'ils ont tous les deux grandit. Ils vont avoir beaucoup à se dire, ils avaient de gros problèmes de communication à l'époque et des anciennes blessures vont ressortir.

J'ai apprécié que Tia et Andrew galèrent quand même une fois qu'ils commencent à parler, quand ils apprennent les raison du quiproquo qui les a fait se séparer. Ce sont des êtres humains avec la présence d'esprit de ne pas être dans la rancoeur et d'admettre leur erreurs respectives.

Ce que j'ai trouvé too much dans ce roman, c'est tout le bin's avec le papa d'Andrew, je pense qu'il avait pas besoin de réapparaitre à la fin, que l'histoire pouvait se clôturer sans cette mini intrigue qui sortait de nulle part.

************

I have a very divided opinion on this romance, even if I liked it, there were still elements a little bit too much, and Andrew really needed a good slap at one point xD.

The starting point is quite interesting : Tia wants to marry Clayton, except that she finds out that she is still married to her childhood sweetheart Andrew, whom she has not seen in 10 years, their divorce has never been finalized... So Tia goes to Andrew to give him the papers to sign, and problem : seeing Andrew awakens her old passions and she leaves hastily without the papers xD. So this time it's Andrew who goes to see Tia, comes across Clayton and realizes that he can't sign these papers, he still loves Tia ! Clayton guesses the mess and gives Tia time to make her choice (poor man, he doesn't have the right role, but he's not a bad guy either).

Andrew has 2 weeks to convince Tia that their relationship and marriage were never over, that their teenage mistakes can be fixed now that they have both grown up. They are going to have a lot to say to each other, they had big communication problems at the time and old wounds will emerge.

I appreciated that Tia and Andrew still struggle once they start talking, when they learn the reasons for the misunderstanding that caused them to break up. They are human beings with the presence of mind not to be resentful and to admit their respective mistakes.

What I found too much in this novel is all the bits with Andrew's dad, I think he didn't need to reappear at the end, that the story could have ended without this mini plot that came out of nowhere.

Mad About Ewe

de Susannah Nix (2021) Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Dawn Botstein is doing just fine after her divorce, thank you very much. She’s got her yarn store to run, her house to herself for the first time in her life, and no use for men anymore. That is until the hottie silver fox who walks into her store turns out to be her old high school crush—the guy who rejected her 30 years ago.

No way is she going to lose her head over him this time, no matter how well he wears that salt-and-pepper lumberjack beard. Okay, so he’s the opposite of her ex in every way, and his attention gives her a thrill she thought she’d never feel again. She’s not risking her heart again.

Mike Pilota is having a mid-life crisis. Only instead of buying a red sports car he can’t afford and dressing like a 25-year-old who’s time-traveled from the 1990s, he quit his job after his second divorce to move closer to his recently widowed mother.

He didn’t expect to run into Dawn again, but as soon as he lays eyes on her he’s utterly smitten. So he sets out to make up for past mistakes and prove he can be the kind of man she deserves.

But is it too late for second chances? Or will these two lonely hearts find a way back to each other ?


J'imagine que ma note est peut-être biaisée : on lit tellement de romance avec des héros de 25 ans, que lorsqu'on en découvre une avec des quarantenaires on en profite à fond xD

Dawn et Mike ont eu chacun une première vie et viennent tout juste de commencer une nouvelle étape. Dawn profite de son célibat après son divorce et prend plaisir à s'occuper de son magasin de laine ; Mike, aussi divorcé, retourne dans sa ville natale pour s'occuper de sa mère après le décès de son père. Tous les deux étaient au lycée ensemble : elle était folle amoureuse de lui, mais lui était un ptit con à cet âge-là et ne voulait pas être vu avec elle (même s'il l'aimait bien)... 30 ans plus, ils se recroisent par hasard et c'est électrique, comme s'ils étaient 2 ados !

Même en étant tous les deux célibataires et très motivés à se donner une chance, il y a quand même des aléas de vie qui n'aident pas et des fragilités personnelles qui ne sont pas évidentes à surmonter quand elles sont ancrées depuis des décennies. Dawn et Mike vont se porter l'un l'autre pour arriver à se libérer des derniers freins qu'ils se mettaient et enfin vivre pleinement (dans tous les sens du terme).

Une romance qui fait du bien et qui montre que des gens de 45 ans peuvent aussi être des héros de romance sexy ^^

******************

I guess that my rating may be biased : we read so much romance with 25-year-old heroes, that when we discover one with 40-something, we take full advantage of it xD

Dawn and Mike had lived their first lives and have just started a new step. Dawn enjoys her celibacy after her divorce and takes pleasure in running her wool store ; Mike, also divorced, returns to his hometown to care for his mother after the death of his father. The two of them were in high school together : she had a massive crush on him, but he was a jerk at that time and didn't want to be seen with her (even though he liked her)... 30 years later, they meet again by chance and it's electric, as if they were back being teenagers !

Even being both single and very motivated to give each other a chance, there are still life events that do not help and personal weaknesses that are not easy to overcome when they have been embed for decades. Dawn and Mike are going to support each other to free themselves from their last brakes and finally live fully (in every sense of the word).

A feel good romance that shows that 45-year-olds can also be sexy romance heroes ^^