Contemp Review: Sea Glass Winter: A Shelter Bay Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished reading "Sea Glass Winter" the 5th book in her Shelter Bay series by Joann Ross.

Product Description

He was used to getting what he wanted. And what he wanted was her.

As an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist, Dillon Slater had one of the most dangerous jobs in the military. Now, he’s enjoying the pace of life in Shelter Bay, where he teaches high school physics. He still gets to blow things up, but as the school basketball coach he also gets to impart leadership skills. His latest minefield: fifteen-year-old Matt Templeton — and Matt’s irresistible mother.

Claire Templeton moved her troubled teenage son to the small town of Shelter Bay to escape the bad influences at his school in L.A. But when his attitude earns her a visit from the handsome basketball coach, she wonders if this role model might be too much of a temptation — for her. Because though she isn’t looking for a relationship, she can’t seem to resist Dillon’s playful charm. But what she doesn’t realize is that Dillon isn’t playing games — he’s playing for keeps.

About the Author

JoAnn Ross lives with her husband and three rescued dogs in the Pacific Northwest.


Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Signet (December 31, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451238931
ISBN-13: 978-0451238931

My Review:

Dillon Slater is a former Explosive ordnance Disposal Specialist one of the most dangerous jobs in the military.  Now he is high school basketball coach who also teaches physics in Shelter Bay.  His latest is Matt Templeton and his irresistible mother.

Claire Templeton has moved her misfit son from the bad influences of his L.A. school to the quiet town of Shelter Bay.  One day when she receives a visit from his handsome basketball coach because of his bad behavior she is extremely tempted by him.  She isn't looking for a long term relationship but is seduced by his playful charm though she doesn't know that Dillon is playing for keeps.

I really like how Dillon is really interested in helping the team succeed and wants them to work well together even if they win or not.  Glad to see they finally start to learn each other strengths and weaknesses which helps them work together to become a better team.

I really liked Dillon and Claire's relationship because it was sweet and you can feel the chemistry between them.  He really cares for her and Matt and he know he wanted Claire and went for what he wanted.

4/5

Thanks Penguin Canada for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

Books in series:

1.  The Homecoming
2.  One Summer
3.  On Lavender Lane
4.  Moonshell Beach
5.  Sea Glass Winter
6.  Castaway Cove - August 6, 2013

Contemp Review: Read Pink The Homecoming: A Shelter Bay Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "The Homecoming" the 1st book in her Shelter Bay series by JoAnn Ross.

Product Description

First in a heartwarming new series from the New York Times bestselling author.

Former Navy SEAL Sax Douchett returns to his home town and is hailed as a local hero. But starting over is difficult when he unearths a long- buried secret that reunites him with a past he's never forgotten. She's Sheriff Kara Conway, a girl who's always held a special place in his heart. But as he cautiously reconnects with Kara and bonds with her young son, another long-held secret in Shelter Bar threatens their second chance at a life together ...

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Signet (September 25, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451416678
ISBN-13: 978-0451416674

My Review:

Former Navy SEAL Sax Douchett returns to Shelter Bay his hometown to try to put his former life behind him and start fresh.  He's hailed a hero but he doesn't believe he deserved the title .  Then his dog discovers a human bone on his property which bring his high school crush Sheriff Kara Conway back into his life.  Sax also has to contend with his ghostly comrades his former seal buddies who cheer him on, tease him and laugh with him.

Sheriff Kara Conway has moved back to Shelter Bay with her young son Trey after the death of her father.  She took over for him and both her and Trey are trying to rebuild their lives after the death of Jared Conway.  Jared died in the line of duty and she is hoping Shelter Bay would help them.

Sax and Kara's relationship was very heartwarming and I'm glad that it slowly built up to a loving one from friendship.  Kara realizes that Sax is a great male role model for her son Trey because he needs one in his life.

I really enjoyed the secondary romance between Faith (Kara's mother) and her husband's best friend because it shows you can find love for the second time around.

4/5

Books in series:

1.  The Homecoming
2.  One Summer
3.  On Lavender Lane
4.  Moonshell Beach
5.  Sea Glass Winter - January 1, 2013

Thanks Penguin Canada for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

Contemp Review: On Lavender Lane: A Shelter Bay Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "On Lavender Lane" the 3rd book in her Shelter Bay series by JoAnn Ross.

Product Description

Former Navy SEAL Lucas Chaffee is settling back into civilian life, refurbishing a farmhouse for an old friend who plans to turn it into a culinary school. Celebrity TV chef Madeline Durand has been publicly humiliated by a philandering husband. So Madeline jumps at the chance to return to Shelter Bay to recover and help her grandmother turn the family farm into a new business.

Little does she know that the man who broke her heart years ago is already on the job - or that he's going to cook up a recipe of passion, patience, and perseverance to win her over.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Signet; Original edition (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451235436
ISBN-13: 978-0451235435

My Review:

TV celebrity Madeline Durard has her own chief show and is also married to a chief.  During a live audience r her husband Maxine's sex tape is shown on air and everyone sees it.  After she hurries home to talk to her husband and finds out Maxine doesn't love her the way she did.  She returns home to Shelter Bay at her aunt Sophie's lavender farm to help with her new business venture.  She finds her ex-boyfriend Lucas has been hired by her aunt to remodel the farmhouse.  Can she forgive Lucas for his betrayal long ago?  Can he win her love back?

Lucas Chaffee is an ex-Navy Seal who decided to go into construction business with his dad but before he could his dad died.  He is hired by Sophie Madeline's aunt to help with her new business venture and is happy to have the a second chance to prove to Madeline he still loves her and why he did what he did all those years ago.  But you know a Seal's motto "Never Give Up!"

This was a very heartwarming story with well developed main and supporting characters and a sweet reunion love story.  I really liked how Lucas was the one who was chasing after Madeline, never gave up on her and he was upfront with her with his intentions this time (she was going to marry him).

4.5/5

Thanks Penguin Canada for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

Other books in series:

1.  The Homecoming
2.  One Summer
3.  Moonshell Beach - July 3, 2012

Private Pleasures (Hardcover)

I've just finished reading "Private Pleasures" by Joann Ross.

From Publishers Weekly

The struggles of a driven, appealing heroine shape this readable but formulaic novel. When young Cassie McBride begins working for the powerful Gallagher family, she hopes for a path away from her alcoholic mother and their poverty in Gallagher City, Okla. Miss Lillian Gallagher takes Cassie under her wing, teaching her about the art world and bringing her to auctions in Manhattan. But Cassie falls in love with the black sheep of the family, Roarke, and becomes pregnant with his baby. Thrown out of Gallagher City, Cassie escapes to New York, where she is rescued by Nina Grace, head of a modeling agency. Cassie becomes Jade, a famous model, but, fearing the wrath of the Gallagher clan, manages to hide her deaf daughter, Amy, from the world. Circumstances conspire to keep her and Roarke apart for 10 years, by which point she is a grieving widow and the wealthy owner of a San Francisco auction house specializing in Asian art.

From Library Journal
Pregnant, teenage Cassie finds herself destitute when her lover Roarke's father forces him to abandon her. She uses her beauty and a driving ambition to pull herself out of poverty and support her deaf daughter. When Roarke reenters her life several years later, she has been transformed into Jade, a top model. After his father manages to part them again, each marries someone else, but in spite of these unions, Jade's closely guarded secret, and even a murder, the lovers are eventually reunited.

From Kirkus Reviews

Second hardcover from the author of Secret Sins (1990): a contemporary romance that delves into worlds as disparate as auction houses, fashion modeling, and the particular problems of the deaf. Poor but gorgeous Cassie McBride is determined to get away from Gallagher City, Oklahoma, and her hard-drinking mother Belle. She lands a maid's job at the mansion of the town's richest oilman, Quinlan Gallagher. There, she learns to love fine Oriental antiques and dreams of one day presiding over an auction house. But antiques are not her only love: she falls fast and hard for the wealthy oilman's oldest son, Roarke. The two have a torrid affair, but it's broken up by the evil and powerful Quinlan, who has Cassie accused of theft and run out of town. She heads to New York, where she finds out she is pregnant, then is taken under the wing of Nina Grace, who owns a famous modeling agency. After the baby is born, Nina turns Cassie--now called Jade after her favorite stone--into a supermodel. Roarke finds her and tries to win her back, but Belle lets it slip that she and Quinlan were once lovers, so that Cassie and Roarke share a father. Cassie is horrified, particularly because her daughter was born deaf, a fact she's certain is due to her tainted parentage. But the ever-stoical Cassie, rejecting Roarke, throws herself into her work and eventually marries a wealthy older businessman, who sets her up in the auction business of which she's always dreamed. But the many lies she has told in order to protect herself and her child are unraveling; and when her husband Sam lies dying, he confronts her with what he has learned of her background. At the end, Belle's lies are exposed; Quinlan is dead; and the once poor little Okie is served her happiness on a silver platter.

Product Description

Cassie McBride has worked hard to become a famous model, but when the man who fathered her deaf daughter years before comes back into her life, she struggles with her feelings, and the man's ruthless father. By the author of Secret Sins.

No Safe Place (Mass Market Paperback)

I've just finished reading "No Safe Place" by Joann Ross.

Product Description

Chicago homicide detective Kate Delaney fiercely defends victims. Which is why -- despite death threats -- she's testifying to a federal grand jury about local police corruption. It's also why she's infuriated by the New Orleans police department's blasÉ attitude toward her estranged sister's death. But pursuing an investigation in a strange city means allying with someone who knows the territory. And the players. Someone with a total disregard for the rules.

As an ex-cop from a police family, New Orleans PI Nick Broussard knows that cops live by their own code. You don't rat out a fellow officer. The last thing he needs is some smart-mouthed, by-the-book outsider unknowingly injecting herself into his undercover search for the truth. Even worse is the way she conjures up visions of tangled sheets....

Nick and Kate's chase pits them against the criminal underworld of the sultry southern city. And as they peel away layers of deadly deception, they discover a dark secret too many are willing to kill to keep.

From the Back Cover

In the City That Care Forgot, two passionate opposites discover combustible attraction and danger.

A stunning new novel of chilling suspense and explosive chemistry from New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross.

Chicago homicide detective Kate Delaney fiercely defends victims. Which is why -- despite death threats -- she's testifying to a federal grand jury about local police corruption. It's also why she's infuriated by the New Orleans police department's blasé attitude toward her estranged sister's death. But pursuing an investigation in a strange city means allying with someone who knows the territory. And the players. Someone with a total disregard for the rules.

As an ex-cop from a police family, New Orleans PI Nick Broussard knows that cops live by their own code. You don't rat out a fellow officer. The last thing he needs is some smart-mouthed, by-the-book outsider unknowingly injecting herself into his undercover search for the truth. Even worse is the way she conjures up visions of tangled sheets. . .

Nick and Kate's chase pits them against the criminal underworld of the sultry southern city. And as they peel away layers of deadly deception, they discover a dark secret too many are willing to kill to keep.

About the Author
When New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross was seven-years-old, she had no doubt whatsoever that she'd grow up to play center field for the New York Yankees. Writing would be her backup occupation, something she planned to do after retiring from baseball. Those were, in her mind, her only options.

While waiting for the Yankees management to call, she wrote her first novella -- a tragic romance about two star-crossed mallard ducks -- for a second grade writing assignment. The paper earned a gold star. And JoAnn kept writing.

She's now written ninety-eight novels and has been published in twenty-six countries. Two of her titles have been excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine and her books have also been published by the Doubleday, Rhapsody, Mystery Guild, and Literary Guild book clubs and are available from Books-on-Tape. A member of the Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll of best-selling authors, she's won several awards, including Romantic Times's Career Achievement Awards in both category and contemporary single title.

Although the Yankees have yet to call her to New York to platoon center field, she figures making one out of two life goals isn't bad.

JoAnn lives with her husband and two fuzzy little rescued dogs (who pretty much rule the house) in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.