ARC Review: Blaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett

(more like 4.5 feathers!)

Blaze of Winter

(Star Harbor #2)

by Elisabeth Barrett

Famous writer, T.R. Grayson aka Theo is finding it difficult to find his muse. Stuck in a rut, he takes his brother’s offer to spend some time in his hometown of Star Harbor to regroup and find some inspiration. Instead, he finds a sweet woman in Avery Newbridge, a social worker from Boston who is also struggling with finding out who she is.

As Avery delays and works at the Star Harbor Inn, the bad-boy-turned-good-boy Theo takes it upon himself to spend the rest of his time in Star Harbor at the Inn where he can write solidly for hours. Except distraction comes in the form of Avery’s sweet body and now, not even the swashbuckling adventures he writes is enough to hold his attention.

BLAZE OF WINTER easily became my favorite of the series so far. This book had it all: dynamic characters, interesting plot and a sense of honesty and simplicity that I love in all my favorite Contemporary Romances.

The romance builds at a slow pace, but don’t get me wrong. There is plenty of sizzling sexual tension to keep you satisfied. Barrett does a fantastic job of bringing two people who are searching for something more in their lives together and gives them the gift of love. With a touch of sweetness and a lot of chemistry, Barrett delivers the best of the Star Harbor series yet! I cannot wait for the next book!

*ARC provided by publisher

 

 Purchase Links: Amazon

ARC Review: Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett

(More like 3.5 feathers!)

Deep Autumn Heat

(Star Harbor #1)

by Elisabeth Barrett

In a brand new series called Star Harbor, Elisabeth Barrett introduces us to the sexy Grayson brothers. Each more hotter than the last, it seems that Elisabeth is planning on giving each brother a book in the series. You know what that means...there are only good things to come.

DEEP AUTUMN HEAT is the first book that features celebrity chef Sebastian Grayson and Lexie Meyers. When the worldly chef comes back to Star Harbor for awhile, Sebastian can’t help but notice Lexie Meyers and her coconut cake. A chef in her own right, Lexie has built her reputation from the ground up and you can see all the hard work she has put in to make her kitchen run the way she wants it to run. However, Sebastian can’t help but goad her as he tries to charm her. As sexual tension rises and tempers flare, the kitchen is just heating up between these two.

In the opening chapter, Barrett does a fantastic job of introducing the Grayson brothers in a way that made me immediately like them. I love the family dynamic and the “guy talk” between them is always very entertaining. I love small-town contemporary series that surround a family. It’s brings a lot of heart to the stories and also adds another type of love other than the romantic kind. I can already sense that family will be a big part of this series.

Sebastian Grayson thrilled me because he is the type of guy who knows what he wants. He doesn’t back down when there is an obstacle before him and I think that’s why his career is so promising. The same goes with Lexie. She works just as hard, but for some reason I didn’t connect with her so much. The difference is that Sebastian had some charm even when he was being overbearing and too forward. Lexie wasn’t very charming or endearing to me.

I had another issue with the plot. When Lexie receives threats tacked onto her door, she reads them, collects them, but doesn’t do anything about them. Then, one night she gets attacked by a masked man. This causes for some great suspense and drama, but I felt it was at the expense of Lexie. I don’t mind setting up a storyline that will pull the plot forward, but I just felt that it made Lexie’s character look dumb. Because of her non-actions, all of this occurred. If she did something about it, then there would be no story.

So while I thought the idea of the series was great and it started off with a bang, the rest of the storyline became predictable and Lexie lost some respect in my eyes. I’m still looking forward to the next book in the series.

*ARC provided by publisher

 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon