Review: Last Man Standing : A Small Town Protector Romance (His to Protect #3) by Jill Sorenson

 

Vanessa Nava returns to her Texas hometown as a newly divorced single mom, determined to give her imaginative four-year-old daughter a magical summer. But the serene lakeside cabin she rented? Double-booked. The current occupant is the hottest, grumpiest handyman she’s ever met—claiming it’s under construction and strictly off-limits.

Paul McPherson, a Houston native recovering from a gunshot wound, has retreated to Lost Lake to hide and heal in peace. He won’t share his safe haven with anyone—especially not the sheriff’s daughter and her bubbly little girl. Vanessa is stunning, stubborn, and way too tempting for a man with secrets.

Vanessa paid upfront and refuses to leave. She sets up camp on his doorstep, transforming mishap into lake days filled with laughter, lemonade stands, and hot summer nights—sending Paul’s buried protective instincts into overdrive.

Texas heat ignites a scorching affair neither saw coming. But when danger closes in and Paul’s cover is blown, Vanessa must decide: walk away from the summer fling… or fight for a love that could last forever?

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What I though about Last Man Standing

In this romantic suspense, Vanessa returns home to find someone else living in the house she was supposed to be renting. What starts out as forced proximity turns to frenemies and then more. Vanessa's daughter is adorable and adds to the story with cute banter. The romance does develop quickly between Vanessa and Paul, but there are plenty of other emotions in this protector story.

Overall, this was a sweet romance with just the right amount of everything -- good banter, attraction and heat, action and suspense. 4 stars

 

Review: Cowboy's Last Stand (His to Protect #1) by Jill Sorenson

 

U.S. Marine Jason Reed survived wounds that should have ended him. Instead, he’s stepping into the streets of Last Chance, Texas, to honor a battlefield promise to his fallen comrade. Haunted by war and torn between duty and the cowboy life calling him home, Jason plans to check on widowed Natalie Luna and move on. But Natalie’s fragile beauty and fierce resilience kindle a hunger he can’t outrun. When a dangerous suitor threatens her, Jason’s protective instincts surge, compelling him to stay awhile.

Natalie is barely holding on, juggling two jobs and a spirited son who tests her every day. She has no time for a charming stranger, even one trading handyman skills for a place to rest his head. Yet Jason’s disruptive presence stirs a longing she can’t ignore. She wants him in her bed, and if he proves worthy, maybe more. But Jason is a man of secrets—dare she trust him?

Can Jason protect Natalie from danger and win her heart? Or will the truth he hides destroy their shot at love? 

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What I thought about Cowboy's Last Stand

Young widow Natalie has her hands full working two jobs as a single parent. She doesn't complain about it, she just puts her nose down and does what needs to be done. Ever since her husband was killed in action, she's had to carry the entire load for the family. When she meets Jason one night at work, she doesn't know that it will change many things in her life.

Jason has been traveling on foot after a serious injury in combat. He didn't expect to fall for Natalie but he can't seem to leave her alone, especially after Jason experiences an altercation in the bar where she works that escalates into more drama and danger later in the evening. It's all the typical small town behaviors -- look out for those that live there -- and be very suspicious of outsiders. Jason is the outsider and he seems to attract trouble.

There aren't too many surprises in this romance. You'll figure out the big secret of jason's appearance on your own probably, but that's okay. It's the slow burn and development of Jason and Natalie's feeling for each other that makes this a lovely romance. They are good for each other and it just takes a while for both to get on the same page.

There are some light suspense elements to this story as well, when a murder occurs in town and outsider Jason gets accused. Everything comes to a head and Jason and Natalie are forced to figure out how they feel about each other.

The pace of the story is slow and steady, which works with the growing attraction between the two main characters. While this is insta-attraction, it takes a while for the deep feelings to develop. With a precocious son to help season things, Cowboy's Last Stand is a quiet, deliberate romance that I enjoyed. I'm looking forward to more in this series.

Review, Excerpt & Giveaway:Against the Wall by Jill Sorenson

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AGAINST THE WALL
Jill Sorenson

Releasing on February 2, 2016

Loveswept

Fans of Katie McGarry, Simone Elkeles, and Tammara Webber will love Against the Wall! As teenagers, they fell for each other despite the odds. But now that Eric and Meghan are all grown up, they’re reunited by fierce passion and dangerous secrets.

Eric Hernandez is the bad boy of every schoolgirl’s fantasies—and every mother’s nightmares. But after serving time for manslaughter, he’s ready to turn his life around. He just needs a chance to prove himself as a professional tattoo artist. The one thing that keeps him going is the memory of the innocent beauty he loved and left behind.

Meghan Young’s world isn’t as perfect as it looks. The preacher’s daughter is living a lie, especially now that Eric is back. Tougher, harder, and sexier than ever, he might be the only person she can trust. But there’s no telling what he’ll do to protect her if he learns the truth, and that’s a risk Meghan won’t let him take. And yet, back in the arms of the troubled boy with the artist’s soul, Meghan can’t help surrendering to the man he’s become.

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Excerpt

I didn’t want a party.

I’ve been out three months, living in the court-mandated halfway house in Chino Hills. I did thirty months of hard time and I’ll be on parole for another thirteen—if I stay out of trouble.

Easier said than done.

Today is my first day back in Chula Vista, the border town where I was born. It’s the only place I’ve ever called home. The only place I’ve ever been, besides Mexico. And prison. I’m still down for my barrio, Castle Park. I can hold my head high on these streets. I’ll probably die on these streets.

I told April not to make a big deal out of my homecoming, but I can see the decorations as soon as Jenny opens the door. Pink fucking balloons, like my prison release is a baby shower. I gave birth to a violent criminal record. Congrats!

Jenny is my niece, the daughter of my dead brother, Raul. She’s eight years old and cute as hell. I’ve only seen her a few times since I got locked up. April brought her to visit on my twenty-third birthday, about nine months ago. My eyes feel funny when I look at her.

She doesn’t hug me or say a word. She just smiles shyly, revealing a gummy gap between her front teeth. It reminds me of Chucho, one of my cellmates. He had missing teeth and a goofy smile that lit up his tattooed face.

“I’m looking for a little girl named Jenny,” I say. “She’s about this tall.” I hold my palm at my side, indicating a shorter kid.

“I’m Jenny,” she says, giggling.

“You can’t be! You’re too big.”

She steps aside to let me in. I set my backpack by the door. I took the bus from Chino Hills to the Chula Vista transit station and walked the last six blocks to the house. April is standing a few feet away next to her husband. She’s already crying.

Jee-sus.

How am I supposed to hold it together when she’s falling apart? I clear my throat and focus on Jenny again. She’s wearing a green dress. Her dark, shiny hair has pink ribbons in it. She’s the spitting image of her mother. Pretty and sweet, untainted by my brother’s bad blood.

I crouch down and remove a hastily wrapped present from my backpack. “I’m sorry I missed your birthday.”

Birthdays, plural. I’d missed three of them.

It’s just one of those balero cup toys, the kind with the ball on a string, but Jenny acts like it’s the best gift ever. Her delighted expression makes my eyes burn again. I have to take a deep breath to recover.

“What do you say?” April prompts.

“Thank you,” Jenny says, a dimple appearing in her cheek.

I straighten to greet April next. Her face is rounder, her body lush in a new way. She’s wearing a flowery top that clings to her breasts but hangs like a drape over her middle. When she steps forward to embrace me, her stomach bumps into mine.

“You’ve gained some weight,” I say in Spanish, a kinder language for pointing out such things.

She releases me with a laugh, wiping the tears from her eyes. Then she rests a hand on the gentle slope of her belly. She’s always been beautiful. Her pregnancy accentuates her best qualities, giving her softer features and fuller breasts.

Noah steps forward and slides his arm around her. His big hand covers hers, protective. He’s noticed my appraisal of his wife’s new curves, but he’s too pleased with the proof of his virility to glare at me.

He’s okay, for a cop.

Officer Young spoke on my behalf at the sentencing hearing. If he hadn’t, the judge might have slapped me with ten years, the maximum for manslaughter. Instead I got the minimum, minus six months.

I’m lucky to be out. Lucky to be alive. 

“Looks like you’ve been busy,” I say to Noah. I shake his hand and pat him on the back, as if he’s accomplished this feat on his own. He laughs and April rolls her eyes at us. I’m grinning from ear to ear, happy for them both.

“We’re due in August,” April says.

“Boy or a girl?”

“We don’t know. We want it to be a surprise.”

A surprise. Like this party. In addition to pink balloons, the living room is decorated with pale blue streamers and a handmade sign that says welcome home, eric. But this isn’t my home, and it never will be. It’s Noah’s home, and April’s and Jenny’s.

And . . . Meghan’s.

I realize that I’m searching the background for her. My smile slips and my chest tightens with unease.

Meghan won’t be happy to see me. The last time I saw her, when she’d visited the jail where I was processed, I said a lot of nasty things to her. I said she was an easy lay, that I’d had better, that I didn’t care about her.

Lies.

Noah doesn’t seem mad at me for disrespecting his little sister, so I’m assuming she didn’t share the details of our breakup. Or maybe he’s so high on baby-making with his hot wife that he can’t be brought down. They look great together, like a perfect family from a TV show. Except that April and Jenny are of Mexican heritage, same as me.

I feel a mild sort of resentment over the situation: Tall, handsome white guy—a gang unit cop, no less—swoops in and snaps up one of the nicest, most beautiful girls from the hood. Then I remember that I fucked his sister. And probably broke her heart, if only for a few brief weeks during an already tumultuous time.

“Meghan’s not here yet,” April says, as if she can read my thoughts.

I shrug it off. “I said I didn’t want a party.”

“This isn’t a party. It’s just us.”

  

What I thought about Against the Wall

 

Jill Sorenson is one of my favorite romantic suspense authors, so I was absolutely thrilled to read and review this title.

 

Just released from prison for serving time for manslaughter, Eric Hernandez is determined to make something of his life through his art, but staying out of trouble isn't easy. There's lots of temptation in front of Eric. His old friends in the gang are seeking him out and he's living with his ex-girlfriend's brother while he's getting on his feet. He hasn't forgotten Meghan, not by any means, but he knows Noah won't be happy about his sister taking up with an ex-con. He tries to keep his hands off but that isn't easy, especially after three years in prison.

 

Meghan never forgot her first love, and even though she's living with Chip, she can't wait to see Eric when he gets out of prison.  They have history together, and just having Eric around opens up her eyes to the problems in her relationship with Chip. When Chip becomes abusive to her, it's Eric that saves the day, resulting in these two live wires living in the same house.

 

Figuring out how that would end was a no brainer. There's a lot of chemistry between these two and it goes beyond physical attraction.  Neither Eric nor Meghan have forgotten their feelings for each other, and things follow the course nature intended.

But Eric's past catches up with him in a major way, and he's got to make some serious decisions about his future -- does he want to return to the gang life or not?

Jill Sorenson is a master at taking a flawed character and making him likeable and redeemable.  I adored Eric in Against the Wall.  He's rough around the edges, but he's committed to staying out of prison, and his resolve is evident even though he's facing many challenges. Meghan is a likeable character, too. She's trying to do the right thing too, although her consequences aren't as serious as Eric's.

 

There are some lovely secondary characters that work with Eric to put him on the right path and I loved that part of the story. It gave me hope that Eric would keep it together in a permanent way.

 

Overall, I enjoyed Against the Wall and was invested in finding out whether Eric could give up the gang life in the face of challenges and whether he could make a go of it with Meghan. Jill Sorenson did not disappoint!

 

ARC provided for review.

 

 

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Jill Sorenson is the RITA-nominated author of more than a dozen romantic-suspense novels. She has a degree in literature and writing from California State University. Her books have been selected as Red-Hot Reads by Cosmopolitan magazine, and have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Sorenson currently lives in the San Diego area with her family. She’s a soccer mom who loves nature, coffee, reading, Twitter, and reality TV.

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Special Guest: Jill Sorenson & Shooting Dirty

 

Please welcome my special guest on my blog today!  Jill Sorenson is here to talk about her new release, Shooting Dirty, the second book in the Dirty Eleven series from Carina Press.

Shooting Dirty releases today, September 21,2015.

Hello Red Hot Blue!
Thanks so much for having me!
Today I’m sharing a “clean” excerpt (sorry!) from

Shooting Dirty (Dirty Eleven #2).

Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy.

She's his only salvation

Ace Clemmons has wanted Janelle from the moment he first saw her. Taking her captive while he carried out his last hit as a member of Dirty Eleven nearly broke him. Now that he's gone straight, he's back in her life, looking to stake his claim. He can't erase the past but he'll do anything to make it up to her.

Janelle Parker needs a new start, far away from the trailer park and the strip club. A down and dirty affair with a tattooed criminal is a step in the wrong direction, but she can't resist Ace's deliciously commanding touch, which has haunted her dreams for months. Soon they're both in too deep, falling hard and fast—until an old feud with a rival motorcycle club explodes into an all-out war. Dirty Eleven's enemies won't hesitate to hurt Janelle to get to Ace. She has to fight to survive…and for the fiercest love she's ever known.

Book two of the Dirty Eleven MC series
84,000 words 

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EXCERPT:

This scene features one of my favorite real-life settings. Slab City is an off-grid desert community near the Salton Sea in Southern California. You can read more about it on my blog.

 

Ace was restless after his appointment with Bill, so he drove to Slab City.
      He didn’t feel like going home alone. Not tonight.
      Instead of cruising down the rows of trailers, he parked outside the art garden and walked through the maze of junk on display. Some of the pieces were as big as houses. Some of the pieces were houses. Replicas of houses, made with off-kilter frames, sharp edges and twisted metal parts. Houses with teeth.
     He wasn’t into art, and he didn’t know what the pieces were supposed to represent. The clutter and dysfunction made him sad. He used to want to raze the place. Just demolish everything and clear away the debris. Over time, he’d come to realize that cleaning up the Slabs wouldn’t change the sickness underneath. It would just sanitize the surface and smother the bad feelings, which were better out in the open. Like the art pieces. Whoever had taken the time to make this fucked-up shit had released some demons.
     He wished he could do the same.
     When he first got sober, he’d avoided all of his old haunts. The Dirty Eleven clubhouse, his favorite bars, every liquor store he’d frequented. He’d enjoyed his solitude the way a masochist enjoyed pain. Demolition work was exhausting. Bill had kept him busy with extra side jobs in his free hours. He’d visited Skye.  It had been a stark existence, but bearable.
     Until he met Janelle, and started to want more. 

Thanks for stopping by the blog, Jill! 

What I thought about Shooting Dirty

I've been wanting an Ace and Janelle story every since Badlands, when these two characters are introduced in that installment of the Aftershock series. Both of these characters are in need of some affection, and the spark between them is off the charts. 

Jill Sorenson does an awesome job of continuing that storyline into this Dirty Eleven MC series.This series takes a slightly different look at the Motorcycle Club genre, with characters that want out of the club, instead of getting in.

Ace has been pining after Janelle for some time, and Janelle hasn't forgotten him either, but they've got so much bad stuff between them that it would be difficult to see how they could even have a relationship. Jill Sorenson does an great job of making their relationship work and seem believable in light of the history between them. I loved how the different pieces of that story get wrapped up here.

I thought these two were like matches and gasoline together and their love scenes communicated that so very well. Yes, I thought they pushed the envelope when it came to smexy times and I loved that about this story, because it all just made absolute sense that these two would just about combust when they finally got together.

It isn't an easy road for them, but the ride to the HEA is exciting and the ending so very sweet. I adore how Jill Sorenson creates male characters that have done some terrible things in their past and she gives them a path to redemption.

Shooting Dirty and this gritty world of Slab City is a winner for me.

 

About Jill Sorenson

Jill Sorenson is the RITA-nominated author of more than a dozen novels, including the Aftershock series with HQN. She lives in the San Diego area with her husband and daughters.
 
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