Well Acquainted

de Laney Hatcher - Smartypants Romance (2022)

Résumé : There are three things you need to know about Lady Eliza Morgan:
1. In addition to being a busy physician, she’s an accomplished seamstress.
2. She’s the victim of a broken heart.
3. The man who shattered it is the one man she can never have.

Some things are better left in the past, but Eliza has spent years running from hers. When the man who upended her life re-enters it in the most unexpected way, Eliza must decide if reacquainting herself with Nicolas is worth the heartache. He’s charming and irritating and makes her realize there is so much more than the life she’s been living. But first she must confront her painful past if she and Nicolas have any hope for a future.

Après Neanderthal Seeks Duchess, c'est au tour du tome 2 de Penny Reid, Friends Without Benefits d'avoir sa réécriture en historique.

Dans le tome précédent, Lady Eliza découvrait avec surprise le visage de Nicolas dans les journaux, dans un article sur une pièce de théâtre dont il a le premier rôle. Savoir qu'il est à Londres, si près, sans nouvelles depuis des années, fait ressortir tout un passé douloureux chez Eliza. D'autant que peu de temps après, Nico frappe à la porte de son cabinet médical avec un enfant malade. Malgré son trouble, Eliza reprend sa tâche et va tour faire pour aider la fillette.

Eliza et Nico se connaissent depuis leur enfance, ils auraient pu grandir et ne plus être que des amis, mais la vie en a décidé autrement. Un drame, de mauvaises décisions et des années de silence ont eu raison du coeur d'Eliza. Elle se sent coupable de ce qui s'est passé et se refuse à imaginer qu'un coeur brisé peut se réparer. Heureusement, Nico est bien déterminé à lui prouver le contraire.

Tout comme le premier tome, j'ai beaucoup apprécié celui-ci, la façon dont Laney Hatcher s'empare de l'histoire et la réarrange à sa sauce pour en faire quelque chose de différent, mais sans trop s'éloigner de l'âme du livre originel.

Et donc évidemment, ce tome 2, nous offre un teaser du 3, et évidement, je l'attendrais avec impatience !

After Neanderthal Seeks Duchess, it's the turn of Penny Reid's book #2, Friends Without Benefits to have its rewrite in history romance.

In the previous volume, Lady Eliza was surprised to discover Nicolas' face in the newspapers, in an article about a play in which he had the leading role. Knowing that he is in London, so close, without news for years, brings out a whole painful past in Eliza. Especially since shortly after, Nico knocks on her medical office's door with a sick child. Despite her confusion, Eliza resumes her task and goes out of her way to help the little girl.

Eliza and Nico have known each other since they were kids, they could have grown up and been more than friends, but life decided otherwise. Tragedy, bad decisions and years of silence have taken a toll on Eliza's heart. She feels guilty for what happened and refuses to imagine that a broken heart can be repaired. Fortunately, Nico is determined to prove her wrong.

Like the first book, I enjoyed this one a lot, the way Laney Hatcher takes the story and rearranges it in her own way to make it something different, but without straying too far from the soul of the original book.

And so obviously, this book offers us a teaser of the 3, and obviously, I would be waiting for it impatiently !


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Architecture and Artistry

de Nora Everly - Smartypants Romance (2022)

Résumé : Sadie Hill has a lot going on.

New job, twin boys, deadbeat ex, and a mother from hell. Her life is chaos and no matter how hard she holds on, every plan she makes flies straight out of her grasp. The last thing she needs is for her devastatingly hot co-worker to become her new neighbor. A distraction like Barrett does not fit into her precarious plans for the future.

Barrett Monroe has got it going on.

His wicked ex-wife is nothing but a memory, his daughter is back home where she belongs, and he loves his job. His control-freak ways have paid off and he can finally relax into his perfectly scheduled life—alone, just how he wants it. The last thing he needs is an irresistible single mom and her adorable kids to move in next door. Sadie was hard enough to stay away from when she was just his co-worker.

But one night spent stranded in a snowstorm together finds these two sneaking around, sharing stolen kisses, and losing their hearts. Will they give into the flying sparks between them? Or drive each other crazy fighting their feelings instead?


Enfin le tome de Barrett ! Après l'avoir aperçu en personnage secondaire des tomes de ses frères, on savait bien que l'ainé de la fratrie avait beaucoup de potentiel. Et Nora Everly ne nous a pas déçu *-*

Barrett est enfin à un moment de sa vie où tout semble calme : son ex-femme n'est plus qu'un lointain souvenir, sa fille est revenue vivre chez lui, son travail lui plait. Malheureusement pour lui, il n'arrête pas de penser à Sadie depuis qu'elle a emménagé à côté de chez lui. Il pouvait gérer quand il la voyait juste au travail, mais maintenant qu'il la côtoie dans la sphère privée, il ne peut s'empêcher de craquer encore plus pour elle et ses jumeaux terribles.

Sadie, de son côté, peut enfin commencer une vie normale : son divorce est enfin prononcé, et après avoir galéré elle peut enfin offrir une stabilité à ses enfants dans une maison dans sa ville natale, Green Valley. Emménagé avec sa soeur est aussi un avantage pour elle. On me mentionnera pas que Barrett est désormais son voisin, si elle peut éviter de sortir de chez elle en pyjama et les cheveux en bataille ça serait pas mal...

Sadie et Barrett se plaisent depuis longtemps, et maintenant qu'ils sont tous les deux divorcés, qu'est-ce qui les empêcheraient de tenter quelque chose ? Il leur en faut pas beaucoup pour finalement se sauter dessus, parcontre là où il va y avoir des difficultés vont être leurs enfants : les jumeaux sont jeunes et encore traumatisés pas l'abandon de leur père, la fille de 19 ans de Barrett est en pleine crise amoureuse elle aussi. A cela s'ajoute, le retour en ville de l'ex-mari de Sadie qui cherche les embrouilles.

Ce tome propose aussi une belle conclusion pour le clan Monroe avec plusieurs apparitions des 3 autres frères.

Finally Barrett's Book ! After having seen him as a secondary character in his brothers' books, we knew that the elder of the siblings had a lot of potential. And Nora Everly did not disappoint us *-*

Barrett is finally at a point in his life where everything seems calm : his ex-wife is just a distant memory, his daughter has returned to live with him, he likes his job. Unfortunately for him, he can't stop thinking about Sadie since she moved in next door. He could handle it when he just saw her at work, but now that he's around her in their private life, he can't help but fall for her and her terrible twins even more.

Sadie, for her part, can finally start a normal life: her divorce is done, and after struggling she can finally offer stability to her children in a house in her hometown, Green Valley. Moving in with her sister is also an advantage for her. No one will mention that Barrett is now her neighbor, if she can avoid leaving her house in her pajamas and her hair in disarray that would be great...

Sadie and Barrett have been attracted to each other for a long time, and now that they're both divorced, what's to stop them from trying something? It doesn't take much time for them to finally jump each other, but where there will be difficulties will be their children: the twins are young and still traumatized by the abandonment of their father, Barrett's 19-year-old daughter is in full love crisis too. Added to this is the return to town of Sadie's ex-husband who is looking for trouble.

This volume also offers a nice conclusion for the Monroe clan with several appearances of the 3 other brothers.


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Knock Out

de Jiffy Kate - Smartypants Romance (2022)

Résumé : In the blink of an eye, Willow Bernard goes from stocking shelves at the Piggly Wiggly to kicking butt at Viking MMA.

Willow Bernard has taken a lot of hits in her twenty-two years but always manages to come back swinging. Hoping to fly under the radar for a change, she relocates to Green Valley. Her strategy works until one fateful phone call initiates a series of events that shakes up her quiet existence.

Tattooed adventure-seeker Ozzi Erickson goes where the wind takes him. When he blows into Green Valley for his big brother’s wedding—and to figure out his next move—he isn’t prepared for the knock-out punch coming his way.

With Ozzi sticking around the Tennessee mountain town, his brother gives him a temporary assignment as Willow Bernard’s trainer.

His job is to teach her how to fight. But will she have the skills required to protect her heart?


Willow et Ozzi ne pouvaient pas être plus différents l'un de l'autre.

Willow est arrivée à Green Valley avec l'intention d'y rester pour démarrer une nouvelle vie après sa sortie de famille d'accueil. Elle a un travail et espère un jour trouver mieux que son mobil home. Au début du roman, elle apprend que sa mère est décédée, elle ne l'avait plus aucun lien avec elle depuis 15 ans, et qu'elle a une petite soeur de 9 ans, Hazel. Si Willow ne devient pas sa tutrice légale, la petite fille ira en famille d'accueil elle aussi, Willow connait le système et ne veut absolument pas que cela arrive à sa soeur. Elle va donc tout mettre en place afin d'en obtenir la garde. Entre temps, après une mauvaise altercation dans un bar, on lui recommande d'aller faire un tour à Viking MMA, car a priori elle est une combattante née...

De son côté, Ozzi est de passage chez ses frères à Green Valley, avant dernier de la fratrie, il ne sait pas encore ce qu'il veut faire de sa vie. Sans attache, il part à l'aventure quand l'envie lui prend, n'étant pas encore prêt à se poser quelque part définitivement. Il est présent dans la salle de sport quand débarque une jour cette jeune femme un peu perdue, qui ne sait pas vraiment pourquoi elle est venue. C'est Cage qui lui fait passer un test pour voir son niveau, et elle est excellente, sans même avoir reçu d'entrainement. Etant bien occupé, Cage demande à Ozzi d'entrainer Willow (vu qu'il est là autant se rendre utile hein) et de la motiver à peut-être faire un premier combat professionnel.

Willow et Ozzi ont un truc entre eux, mais ils vont devoir d'abord s'apprivoiser car ils sont tous les deux sauvages à leur manière. Surtout, ils ont chacun un projet de vie qui ne semble pas compatible avec celui de l'autre : Ozzi est-il prêt à s'engager auprès de quelqu'un qui sera parent d'une enfant ? Lui qui apprécie la liberté de partir quand il veut où il veut... Willow va chambouler sa vie et l'organiser de manière a prendre soin de sa soeur, est-ce qu'une romance est idéale au même moment, est-ce qu'elle a l'énergie émotionnelle de s'engager des deux côtés ?...

Même si je comprendrais jamais rien au monde du MMA, l'histoire de Willow et Ozzi est toute mimi. L'auteur nous fait également plaisir en incluant pas mal les autres couples de la série, à savoir les frères et leurs femmes, car ce tome clôt la série. C'est un HEA pour tout le monde... Sauf qu'il reste un frère dans le lot, l'aîné, mais on va en entendre parler ;)

Willow and Ozzi couldn't be more different from each other.

Willow arrived in Green Valley with the intention of staying there to start a new life after being released from foster care some years ago. She has a job and hopes one day to find something better than her trailer. At the start of the book, she learns that her mother has died, she had no connection with her for 15 years, and that she has a 9-year-old little sister, Hazel. If Willow doesn't become her legal guardian, the little girl will go to foster care too, Willow knows the system and absolutely refuse to let this happen to her sister. She will therefore put everything in place to obtain custody. In the meantime, after a bad altercation in a bar, she is recommended to go to Viking MMA, because it seems she is a born fighter...

For his part, Ozzi is visiting his brothers in Green Valley, second to last of the siblings, he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life yet. Unattached, he goes on adventures when the mood takes him, not yet being ready to stay somewhere definitively. He is present in the gym when this young woman arrives a little lost, who does not really know why she came. It's Cage who gives her a test to see her fight, and she is excellent, even without any training. Being very busy, Cage asks Ozzi to train Willow (since he is there why not make himself useful eh) and to motivate her to perhaps make a first professional fight.

Willow and Ozzi have a thing between them, but they're going to have to tame each other first because they're both wild in their own way. Above all, they each have a life project that does not seem compatible with the other : is Ozzi ready to commit to someone who will be a parent of a child ? He who appreciates the freedom to leave when he wants and where he wants... Willow will turn her life upside down and organize it in such a way as to take care of her sister, is a romance ideal at the same time ? has she the emotional energy to engage on both sides ?...

Although I would never understand anything in the world of MMA, the story of Willow and Ozzi is so cute. The author also pleases us by including quite a few other couples in the series, namely the brothers and their wives, because this volume closes the series. It's a HEA for everyone... Except that there is still a brother in the lot, the eldest, but we'll hear about it ;)


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