Slow Burn - Janice Maynard (HD #2769 - Nov 2020)

Series: Dynasties: Seven Sins (Book 7)

The prodigal playboy is back

and nothing is the same...

...except the attraction that still sizzles between Jake Lowell and the woman he left behind. But the globe-trotting bachelor is in for a surprise! Nikki Reardon is now a mother -- to the daughter he never knew. He once blamed Nikki for the fall of his iconic family...now he can't resist her. Will their slow burn spark a second chance or burn down all they hold dear?

Good book. It is the last in the series, and even though I haven't read the others (yet), I felt that I knew what was happening. Fifteen years earlier, both Jake's and Nikki's fathers were accomplices in embezzling from their company. Nikki's father died while fleeing from the police, and Jake's father disappeared. The ensuing scandal ruined the lives of many people, including Jake and Nikki. They had been high school sweethearts, and Jake broke her heart when he left.

Nikki and her mother were left with nothing after her father's death. Several years were very hard as they adjusted to their new circumstances. Five years ago, Nikki ran into Jake in Atlantic City, where they had an intense night together before Jake disappeared again.

Jake's method of coping was to flee the country. He hasn't been home in fifteen years and only recently reconnected with his brothers. Their father has been captured, and they plan to attend the court proceedings. Jake gets the shock of his life when he finds out he's the father of a four-year-old girl.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Nikki and Jake. He is knocked for a loop when he finds out about Emma. While he wants to do right by her, he has no plans to stick around. Nikki is wary of Jake's intentions and is reluctant to trust that him. Protective of her daughter, she doesn't want Emma to grow to love Jake, only to have him disappear from her life. Complicating matters is the intense attraction between Jake and Nikki. Their chemistry is explosive, but Jake has a hard time dealing with the feelings that come along with it.

I liked Jake, but there were times I wanted to shake him. He's great with Emma and wants to be a good father. He also believes that he isn't capable of the commitment needed because he ran away before. He yearns to have something more with Nikki but is afraid of the strength of his feelings. When he tries to half-ass his relationship with Nikki, she rightfully blasts him for being unwilling to take a chance.

I liked Nikki. She has come a long way since her days as a spoiled teenager. She is strong and resilient, and protective of her daughter and mother. Her worry over whether to trust Jake was understandable considering her experience with him. I liked that she was willing to give him a chance to get to know Emma. Though Nikki tried to protect her heart, she soon realized that she had never stopped loving him. Because of that, she refused to accept anything less than his love in return.

It took facing his mother and brothers, admitting his mistakes, and finally confronting his father for Jake to let go of the past. I loved his big moment at the end as, in an emotional scene with Nikki, he finally shared the feelings he'd been running from.

Twisted Twenty-Six - Janet Evanovich (Penguin - Nov 2019)

Series: Stephanie Plum (Book 26)

Stephanie Plum's career has taken more wrong turns than a student driver on the Jersey Turnpike, and her love life is a hopeless tangle. In order to save someone dear to her, she'll have to straighten things out.

Grandma Mazur is a widow...again. This time her marriage lasted a whole 45 minutes. The unlucky groom was one Jimmy Rosolli, local gangster, Lothario (senior division) and heart attack waiting to happen...well, the waiting's over.

It's a sad day, but if she can't have Jimmy at least Grandma can have all the attention she wants as the dutiful widow. But some kinds of attention are not welcomed, particularly when Jimmy's former "business partners" are convinced that his widow is keeping the keys to their financial success for herself.

As someone who has spent an entire career finding bad guys, a set of missing keys should be no challenge for Stephanie Plum. Problem is, the facts are as twisted as a boardwalk pretzel with mustard.

Good book, though these later books don't have the intensity, in either danger or humor, that the earlier books had. Be that as it may, it was still a fun read. At the end of the previous book, Grandma Mazur eloped with one of her senior citizen boyfriends. Unfortunately for her, the marriage lasted all of 45 minutes before her groom, Jimmy Rosolli, a local gangster, dropped dead of a heart attack.

Grandma finds herself the target of some unwanted attention. Jimmy's former business partners, an aging gang known as The La-Z-Boys, believe that Jimmy entrusted her with the secret of The Keys, and they want them back. Jimmy's sisters are convinced that Grandma is a gold-digger, and make their displeasure known in various ways. And one of Jimmy's ex-wives believes that she has more right to Jimmy's estate than Grandma does. How far are any of them willing to go to get what they want?

Now, on top of her bounty hunter duties, Stephanie has become Grandma's bodyguard. The best thing she can do is find the keys and end the threat. But this is Stephanie Plum, and nothing ever goes smoothly for her. There is plenty of fun with the usual zaniness that surrounds her. She has a relatively successful run of catching bail-jumpers, though not without challenges. Lula is always ready to aid and abet, and her antics contribute to some laugh-out-loud moments. She loses a car to a self-inflicted car bombing. Her love life is still complicated, though Morelli seems to have the inside track in this book. Ranger has his moments, and his simple "Babe" can convey so many different things. It was interesting to see Morelli and Ranger work together to keep Stephanie and Grandma safe - a somewhat uneasy partnership, but an effective one.

The central theme of Grandma and The Keys was pretty well done. It was fun to see more of Grandma in this book as she always livens things up. Stephanie's attempts to find out more about the keys led her down some twisted paths. The La-Z-Boys were occasionally amusing, more frequently creepy, and at the end, downright scary. The final confrontation was intense. I liked that both Stephanie and Grandma had no intention of giving in to panic. Stephanie's actions were great and reminded me somewhat of the first book. The story of the keys isn't entirely resolved, as a final twist in the story looks like a lead-in for the next book.

One thing I found unusual about this book is the depth of Stephanie's dissatisfaction with her life and work. She's had moments in previous stories, but she seems more serious about it here. It will be interesting to see if she takes it further in the future.