Valinda Lacey’s mission in the steamy heart of New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But soon she discovers that here, freedom can also mean danger. When thugs destroy the school she has set up and then targets her, Valinda runs for her life—and straight into the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq.

As an architect from an old New Orleans family, Drake has a deeply personal interest in rebuilding the city. Raised by strong women, he recognizes Valinda’s determination. And he can’t stop admiring—or wanting—her. But when Valinda’s father demands she return home to marry a man she doesn’t love, her daring rebellion draws Drake into an irresistible intrigue.

Rebel: 

I can’t believe I haven’t read a Beverly Jenkins before this one. It was fantastic and I never knew that I needed it. 

Rebel follows teacher Valinda Lacey as she tries to help the newly emancipated community of New Orleans survive and thrive. And after her school is destroyed, Valinda herself then becomes a target. That is when she runs into the safety of Captain Drake LeVeq. And they can’t stop admiring one another, then Valinda’s father demands that she return home and marry another. 

I can’t begin to express how much I loved Rebel. It was fantastically written, with characters that were present and full. Both Valinda and Drake had such great character arcs and the reader can truly see them grow throughout the novel.

Valinda is such a brilliant female protagonist, I loved her so much. She was determined and tried not to let anything get her down and that was fantastic. While Drake was such a flirt and I loved it. He was such a fun character to be around. The romance was so beautiful in this one. Valinda and Drake made me smile the whole way through. They just brought such brightness to the page. And I loved that so much. 

Rebel also deals with newly emancipated slaves and I liked how Beverly Jenkins explores that. She explores the major tension that still was held in the communities and how while not slaves anymore, they were still being treated differently. 

Rebel by Beverly Jenkins is such a fantastic historical romance and I can’t wait to read more. The romance was fantastic and I enjoyed reading a book set in a different time than I normally read in my historical romance. I’ve not read many historical romances set after the Civil War but this was fantastic. If you are looking for a fantastic historical romance then his one is for you. 

Up Close and Personal by Kathryn Freeman

Pages: 400
Publish date: June 12th 2020
Publisher: One More Chapter
ISBN: 9780008365837
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Up Close and Personal:

I received a copy of Up Close and Personal by Kathryn Freeman from One More Chapter via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book. 

I was looking forward to reading this one, it sounded fun and excited and I was sadly disappointed. The romance felt off and I wasn’t able to connect with the characters fully. 

Up Close and Personal follows Kat Parker as she starts to protect her new charge; Zac Edwards. Zac is the lastest British heartthrob and has a stalker. When things start to get serious, Kat becomes his close protection officer. But being this close both Kat and Zac start to fall for one another – but Kat must stay professional. 

I wanted to love this book so much. It sounded like something that I would enjoy. But everything fell flat for me. Kat was a decent protagonist, but I just could not connect with her fully. I felt everything that she was holding back from Zac and that made it even harder to connect with her as a reader. I felt the same with Zac. Both characters lacked something and I can’t put my finger on it. 

Because of this, I did feel that the romance felt off. I also felt that we didn’t get enough of it. Or the connection. At first, the reader can see the tension, but then it stayed on that level, until the end. There was just this whole part that felt missing and I wanted more of that. 

In saying all this I felt the tension and stakes in the book were good and I did enjoy that aspect. I did guess some fo the things that were going to happen but then I was surprised by other things – which I found fantastic. 

Overall, Up Close and Personal by Kathryn Freeman was an okay read. I won’t be talking about it again, but I didn’t hate it. I wish the romance was focused on more and the reader was able to see it grow a lot more. Both Kat and Zac felt a little flat for me and I do wish they were a little more fleshed out. 

Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata

Pages: 628
Publish date: December 12th 2018
Publisher: –
ASIN: B07LBMPK54
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU 

Luna and the Lie:

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book. I had heard a lot of things about Mariana Zapata from romance bloggers and booktubers. But I never picked any of her books up, but I was going through a romance binge and I found this on Kindle Unlimited and I thought why not. 

Luna and the Lie follows Luna Allen as she tries and go through her life. She tries to put her past behind her but also doesn’t want to forget it. And she loves the life that she is living, then secrets start to surface and one of them is from the man who signs her paycheck. Rip is always angry. And doesn’t want to make friends with anyone. But Luna has a way with people. 

I wasn’t expecting to like this, but I did. I did have a few problems with it, but overall, I enjoyed reading this. Luna was a fabulous protagonist and I loved getting to know all about her. I loved her optimism and everything else that she worked. I adored that she worked in this ‘all-male’ environment. It just made her stand out more. Rip was intriguing, I do have to say, however, I didn’t love him. I wanted to, but I did feel disconnected with him. 

The romance in Luna and the Lie is very, very slow. If you don’t like a slow burn, then this one is not for you. I do enjoy slow burns, but at times this even felt slow for me. But I loved getting to know both Luna and Rip and seeing them fall for one another. One of my major issues with this book was that it was long, like very long. Too long, maybe? 

Overall, I enjoyed reading Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata. And I will and have will read more books from Mariana Zapata. The romance was an incredibly slow burn but I did hate that. I enjoyed Luna as a protagonist and liked Rip. If you are looking for a slow-burn romance that has many layers, then this book is for you. 

And those are my mini romance reviews! Have you read any of these? What did you think of them? What romance books have you read recently? Let’s Chat!