While romance is our first love, we are deeply partial to mysteries as well. This one is a winner.

Cormac Reilly has been assigned a series of cold cases, and he’s not thrilled about it. Still, he intends to keep his head down and follow orders so as not to incur the wrath of his superiors, but this proves difficult when his live-in girlfriend Emma calls him from outside the laboratory where she works. She’s quite distraught, and it takes Cormac a little while to understand what has happened, but he eventually understands that Emma has just witnessed a hit and run, and the victim appears to be dead.

Cormac rushes to the scene of the crime, and declares himself the Detective Inspector in charge of the investigation. He’s aware that taking the lead on the case could be seen as a conflict of interest due to Emma’s role as the only witness to what happened, but he brushes off those concerns and sets about the business of solving the crime. The victim is a young woman who is carrying the ID of Carline Darcy, a university student whose family owns one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and although Cormac initially believes Carline herself to be the victim, it soon becomes obvious this is not the case

As time passes and Cormac continues to look into the mysterious death of the unidentified young woman, he faces opposition at every turn. His coworkers want him off the case, citing his connection to Emma as reason enough for him to be reassigned, and the Darcy family is very reluctant to answer any of his questions. What secrets are they keeping? Who is the victim of the hit and run, and what connection does she have to the Darcy family? And, on a more personal note, could Emma know more about the crime than she’s willing to admit? With tons of questions and very few answers, Cormac is forced to put everything he holds dear on the line in order to solve one of the most complicated cases of his career.

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 here.

This is a fun read–it helps if you’ve read others in the series, however.

Ravenna Chastain is looking to start her life over again (as anyone would do after being accused of witchcraft and nearly executed). She decides to set up shop in the charming town of Illusion, where she figures she can pay her way as a matchmaker. Unfortunately, her first prominent client is completely impossible to match with anyone.

Ethan Sweetwater is set up on nine different dates by Ravenna, and each date is a total failure. In desperation, the two of them strike a bargain; they’ll pretend to be each other’s fake significant others for a business function (his) and grandparents’ anniversary party (hers). But Ethan’s motives are secretly much more complicated than they appear, and while Ravenna is willing to help him commit industrial espionage to favor the town’s fortunes, she doesn’t know he’s the latest in a long, long line of monster hunters. But it does come in handy when her life is threatened. Now, if he can only convince her to break the rules and get together with him…

It’s at Amazon for 2.99 here.

Caz thoroughly enjoyed this HR. 

I’m always up for a good fake-relationship story, and this is a very good one that came quite close to being a DIK.  The writing is excellent, the chemistry between the leads is fabulous and Ms. Shupe develops their slow-burn romance beautifully.  Her descriptions of New York’s Gilded Age are evocative and vivid, putting the reader firmly in the midst of glittering society ballrooms and the seedier venues down in the Tenderloin district.  Julius is a swoonworthy hero; handsome, sexy as hell and highly intelligent, he is quick to work out Nora’s reasons for wanting a fake-engagement and is determined to save her from herself by protecting her reputation even though she is equally determined to throw it away if it will get her what she wants.  But he’s yet another marriage-shy bachelor who avoids anything long term because he doesn’t want that sort of responsibility and believes it will only lead to disappointment.  (Although to be fair, once we meet his mother his position becomes more understandable.)  Nora is a spirited, intelligent young woman, and for the most part, I liked her; yet she puts herself and others in danger because of her desire to marry a man the reader knows from page one is not worthy of her.  Fortunately, she does learn from her mistakes and exhibits character growth as the story progresses; I ended up admiring her for her honesty and the fact that by the end, she is unwilling to settle for anything less than a man who loves her for herself….

A Daring Arrangement is a great read, packed with wonderful dialogue, strongly-drawn secondary characters, a well-developed romance and sensual love scenes.  I’m more than happy to recommend it to others and am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 here.

The Wild One is a DIK at AAR.

Juliet arrives in England from war-torn America. With her is her infant daughter, Charlotte. She is bound for Blackheath Castle in Berkshire in hopes that her deceased betrothed’s family, the de Monforte’s will accept both her and her daughter. Charles had told her that if anything should happen to him that his oldest brother Lucien should be Charlotte’s guardian. Charles was killed in battle.

En route, their coach is overtaken by a band of cutthroats who don’t think twice about shooting the passengers in cold blood. Juliet refuses to hand over the gold signet ring Charles gave to her and finds herself staring down the barrel of a pistol.

Twenty-three year-old Gareth de Monteforte has always been known as The Wild One, leading his merry band of debauched trouble makers from one scrape to another, but when he happens upon the stage coach robbery, he leaps into action – and gets himself shot.

So fate leads Juliet and her daughter into Blackheath Castle. Lucien de Montforte, lord of the castle and family patriarch sets into motion a cunning plan designed to lead Juliet straight into his younger brother’s arms, and force Gareth to become a man. And what a man he becomes!

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 here.

You can see all our current deals at our Amazon storefront here.

As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn a very small percentage of whatever you buy using our links. And remember, we get a percentage of EVERYTHING in your cart when you’ve begun your shopping with our links. That tiny sliver of money is what enables us to stay on line, so please, visit our links and click through to Amazon. Thanks!