Joanne Rock

Good conclusion to the Fathers and Sons mini-series. Sierra is a journalist who has worked hard from Book One to find the father of an infant boy found abandoned in the hospital parking lot. She believes she has done so but is frustrated at the lack of response to her texts and emails. In desperation, she finally sends one last bluntly worded text, hoping for a response. She never expected him to show up on her doorstep the next day.

Colt was stunned to find out that he was the father of an show more infant son. He has been in France for the last year, establishing a winery that had been his grandfather's dream. When he finds out the circumstances of Micah's birth and abandonment, he is riddled with guilt. Now he is determined to be the best father possible to little Micah, even if that means trusting a journalist to teach him.

I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Sierra and Colt develop. Over the past few months, Sierra has become attached to the little boy, so she is happy to help Colt while he and Micah get to know each other. This entails moving in with Colt, which wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the inconvenient attraction she feels for him. Colt is just as attracted to Sierra, but his guilt over Micah's mother makes him reluctant to do anything about it. To reinforce his decision, he tells Sierra he plans to return to France and take Micah with him as soon as possible. This upsets Sierra, who thinks they should remain in Royal. She hopes she can convince him to stay.

I loved seeing Colt bond with little Micah. From the moment he arrived, it was obvious that Colt was all-in as a father. From feeding to teething to bedtime, Colt was sweet in his efforts to do it all. But all those "daddy lessons" meant time spent with Sierra, and the sparks between them continued to grow. Giving into the attraction is inevitable, but things get complicated when Sierra's secrets come to light. One is personal, and one is professional, and either can derail their growing relationship.

I ached for Sierra with her personal secret and its effect on her life and self-worth. It was easy to understand why Micah meant so much to her and why it hurt to think of him and Colt leaving Royal. I loved Colt's reaction when she told him and how much it meant to her. The professional secret wasn't as easily dealt with. While searching for Micah's father, Sierra has also been researching one of Royal's founders for a book. She has been searching for the woman's diary to get the answers she needs and believes it is on Colt's ranch. With his distrust of reporters, she delays telling him of her search until she finds the book. He doesn't take it well. I ached for both of them as their conflict pulled them apart, leaving them miserable. I liked how they faced their issues and found a way forward together. show less

Good book. Quinton is in Alaska to find his estranged half-brother but finds Clay's gorgeous red-haired stepsister instead. McKenna runs Clay's bar when he is away. She is very protective of him and refuses to tell Quint where he is. Quint and McKenna butt heads over their conflicting missions. Neither expected the intense attraction they felt for each other.

I liked Quint and McKenna. Quint is a good man who wants to ensure that Clay gets what he deserves from their father's estate. Though show more he grew up on the ranch, he left it behind as soon as he could, driven away by his tough, unyielding father and the memories of his mother's death. McKenna's childhood was tough until her father married Clay's mother, giving McKenna the stability she craved. Clay was there for her when her life fell apart, giving her a safe place to start over.

I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Quint and McKenna. Neither is happy about the intense attraction they feel for each other. Due to her previous relationship, McKenna has deep trust issues, and Quint feels guilty about desiring his brother's stepsister. While McKenna holds tight to her knowledge of Clay's whereabouts, she and Quint get to know each other. Quint is different than she expected, and he earns some of her trust when he offers to help her with the issue that brought her to Alaska.

Quint and McKenna can no longer resist the sparks when a storm strands them together. But guilt and insecurities pull them apart even when neither can forget the connection they felt. Time apart gives them perspective about their feelings, but there is still the issue of finding Clay to get past. There is some drama there, but I loved the ending and seeing how they resolved their conflict. show less

The Last Book Club completely hooked me in the first half because I was constantly trying to connect the dots between the characters, the timelines, and what really happened. Every chapter felt like another piece of messy gossip getting dropped into the story and I ate that up.

The best part for me was definitely the book club itself. The tension, secrets, hidden motives, and dysfunctional group dynamics made this feel so entertaining. Everyone felt suspicious at some point and I love show more mysteries that make you question every character.

The audiobook narration also worked really well for this story because each character had such a distinct voice and personality. It made all the drama and shifting dynamics easier to follow and way more immersive.

My biggest struggle was honestly keeping track of everyone and all the jumps between past and present timelines. There’s A LOT happening and a lot of moving pieces, so at times it felt slightly overwhelming. I actually think this story would work incredibly well as a TV series or movie because the visual aspect would probably make the timelines and characters easier to follow.

That said, I still had fun with this one and flew through it because I needed to know what the truth actually was. show less

Annamae Jessup's family had a reality television series where the cameras followed them everywhere. Annamae was engaged to a well known baseball player and she accidentally broke-up with him on a radio talk show. She immediately took off to a small town to meet her grandmother and to find out who she really was. That would be the mother of her father who she had never met - neither her father or grandmother. While looking for a place to live she met Wynn, an apple farmer. Wynn is in witness show more protection and keeping a low profile so when Annamae showed up he didn't want her there. The last thing he wanted was the attention that a reality TV star would bring. After all he's in witness protection for a reason, which is that he doesn't want the drug cartel he's going to be testifying against to find him before the trial.

Wynn realizes it's saver to have Annamae stay with him than to send her away so that his enemies can't find or harm her. The more time they spend together the more they are attracted to each other.

I loved this book and didn't want to stop reading. The writing was excellent making the story easy to follow. The sex scenes were so well written that I actually squirmed during them.

I loved the characters. Both Annamae and Wynn had difficulties in their lives but were strong enough to overcome them. Being together was dangerous for them but they were better together. show less