Tuesday, February 25, 2014

[Kame's Review]: "The Fireside Inn" + "Bonfire Beach" + "Lantern Lake"

Kame: This trilogy of novellas follows Leo, Zane and Cooper who have been newly inducted into the Biltmore Club in Manhattan. Their sponsor Miles has gotten engaged and asks each of the men to help with a part of his wedding.  These three men are confirmed bachelors and seem to not believe in love. Miles challenges them to come to the small island where his wedding will take place, and if they can make it to his wedding without changing their mind he will give them his helicopter; of course each man feels this is an easy bet.  The three novellas each tell the story of a different bachelor.

TBQ: Below you will find all three reviews, in order. 

Enjoy!


The Fireside Inn by Lily Everett
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (January 7, 2014) 
Series: The Billionaire Bachelors, 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance


They’re single, they’re rich, and now these billionaire bachelors are heading to Sanctuary Island in a new e-original novella series from Lily Everett! Fall in love with the island’s latest catch. 

Leo, Zane, and Cooper made a pact to stay bachelors and enjoy the single life forever, and when they receive an invitation to their friend Miles’ wedding, they head down to Sanctuary Island determined to talk some sense into the errant groom before he makes a life-changing mistake. But Miles knows his own mind, and he makes a vow of his own: before he walks down the aisle, he’ll have Leo, Zane, and Cooper changing their tune about matrimony. Because Miles knows, better than anyone, that all it takes is a little Sanctuary Island magic to turn romantic cynics into true believers.

The Honorable Lord Leo Strathairn inherited his family’s money, his title, and his position in London society. When he meets Sanctuary Island’s funky young librarian, Serena Lightfoot, he’s determined to get a lot closer. Despite the simmering attraction between them, Serena isn’t at all interested in putting up with a pampered playboy. But as Leo ramps up his seduction attempts, Serena sees that he’s nothing like the empty-headed aristocrat she’d assumed.






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Kame's Review:


Leo is the son of a British Lord, but because of birth order he will never have a title. He is known for quoting Shakespeare and is the one tasked with finding a poem or other work of fiction to be read at the wedding. His first stop when he reaches Sanctuary Island is the library, where he is convinced he can get the librarian to find the perfect passage for him to recite. Serena takes her job as head librarian seriously and can’t understand why Leo would rather have her find the perfect passage for the wedding rather than review the sources Serena has found and pick one out himself.



This was a perfect story for a novella. I liked Leo, he was rather loveable. Serena’s love of the library was very evident and believable. When the sparks flew between these two characters is was immediate; but alluded to. Reading on a plane or at your desk during lunch hour will not cause you embarrassment. The conflict that threatens their HEA was realistic and resolved nicely. After the Prologue this novella centers on Leo and Serena and few other characters are mentioned.  A nice quick read, I will definitely read the other books in this trilogy.

    
   4 STARS!



Bonfire Beach by Lily Everett
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (January 14, 2014) 
Series: The Billionaire Bachelors, 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance



They’re single, they’re rich, and now these billionaire bachelors are heading to Sanctuary Island in a new e-original novella series from Lily Everett! Fall in love with the island’s latest catch.

Leo, Zane, and Cooper made a pact to stay bachelors and enjoy the single life forever, and when they receive an invitation to their friend Miles’ wedding, they head down to Sanctuary Island determined to talk some sense into the errant groom before he makes a life-changing mistake. But Miles knows his own mind, and he makes a vow of his own: before he walks down the aisle, he’ll have Leo, Zane, and Cooper changing their tune about matrimony. Because Miles knows, better than anyone, that all it takes is a little Sanctuary Island magic to turn romantic cynics into true believers.

Zane Bishop has always been the life of the party, the guy who makes sure everyone is having a blast, and he turned his experiences as a college DJ into a multi-billion-dollar entertainment company. He can’t wait to take control of the bachelor party, but Zane’s plans for an all-night rager come up against wedding consultant Felicity Carlson’s ideas about getting Miles to the church on time and sober.  While Zane works overtime tempting Felicity into having fun, she discovers that there’s more to the party boy than meets the eye—but can a woman who makes her living planning other people’s perfect romances ever find true love of her own?





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Kame's Review:

Zane has been tasked with helping with the ceremony and reception and he has decided it has to be fun.  He walks into the location for the ceremony and starts to tear things apart. Felicity is the wedding planner the happy couple hired and is hoping that creating a romantic dream wedding for Miles and Greta will earn her many a new client.  Unfortunately her romantic dream wedding does not fit into Zane’s fun ceremony ideas.


This story seemed too short for me.  I think more pages needed to be devoted to their relationship.  Zane and Felicity both have painful elements in their past that at first they wanted to keep guarded, but eventually shared. Their relationship did not seem as deep as Leo and Serena’s in the first installment. I questioned whether they would have a HEA.



My favorite part in the novella was Zane’s time with Cooper who is the bachelor of the third installment.  That scene stirred my interest in his novella.


3 1/2 STARS!



Lantern Lake by Lily Everett
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (January 21, 2014) 
Series: The Billionaire Bachelors, 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance



They’re single, they’re rich, and now these billionaire bachelors are heading to Sanctuary Island in a new e-original novella series from Lily Everett! Fall in love with the heartwarming island’s latest catch.

Leo, Zane, and Cooper made a pact to stay bachelors and enjoy the single life forever, and when they receive an invitation to their friend Miles’ wedding, they head down to Sanctuary Island determined to talk some sense into the errant groom before he makes a life-changing mistake. But Miles knows his own mind, and he makes a vow of his own: before he walks down the aisle, he’ll have Leo, Zane, and Cooper changing their tune about matrimony. Because Miles knows, better than anyone, that all it takes is a little Sanctuary Island magic to turn romantic cynics into true believers.

Cooper Haynes can’t believe how easily his friends have all succumbed to the lure of romance. Luckily, he knows he’s safe, since the one woman he ever loved is lost to him forever. But when he gets a look at the wedding program and sees the list of bridesmaids, Cooper knows he’s in trouble, because there she is: Vivian Banks. After her shattering break-up with Cooper, Vivian never wanted to see him again, but when Greta asks her to be a bridesmaid, Vivian can’t refuse…even knowing it’ll bring her face to face with the man who broke her heart and stomped on the pieces. But Sanctuary Island has a way of reminding people of what really matters, and teaching them the power of the human heart to forgive, heal, and fall in love all over again.





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Kame's Review:

A fateful day in Cooper’s past caused him to start traveling the world, to get away from the pain. He gave his heart, he loved with every part of him, but it wasn’t enough for her; she just walked away from it all.  He was determined to never love again, but that was before Vivian walked down the aisle at his friend’s wedding.


This by far was my favorite novella in this trilogy. I enjoyed Cooper and Vivian, their past and their journey to rediscover their love. I would have loved to read a full length novel of this love story. There seems to be much more to the characters than the short glimpse we get. I felt Cooper’s hostility towards Vivian was believable, and even though his idea of revenge seemed cruel I thought it was appropriate for the character. The ordeal Vivian lived through during their ten years apart was more than enough penance for the pain she caused Cooper.



Where I was satisfied with the depth of character development in the other two novellas in this trilogy, I found myself wanting in this one. I think it was because I really enjoyed the story line and wanted more detail. Out of the three novellas this one had the steamiest scenes; but again nothing was overly graphic. Cooper and Vivian were the most believable couple in my opinion and left me believing they did have a HEA.


4 STARS! 

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Kame received an e-copy of all 3 books from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for her honest opinion.
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Meet Kame:

Kame is part of a family of readers; one day she picked up the Nook she purchased for her husband and discovered her love of e-books. A few months later he purchased one for her so he could have his back! Kame’s Nook is never far, and she is hard pressed to pick a favorite book, genre or author. As long as there are characters that make her want to sit down and have a chat and a plot keeps the pages turning, she’ll read it.

Kame's GoodReads 




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Thanks for the review, Kame! :) *sigh* I bet you know what I'm going to say. Yep, another series going on my list! 

Have you read Lily Everett before?











Enjoy!


Until Next Time,

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  *TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

2 comments :

Pat Egan Fordyce said...

Wow, three books at once??? My head would be spinning...great job Kame!

Kame said...

3 Novellas - and they were so connected. The reviews were short - so made sense