Mandy Baggot

After spending the last nine years running away from her past in London, Robyn Matthers is heading home to Portage, Michigan after her father falls ill and is admitted to the hospital. She is going to help him out by taking charge of his rundown bar, the Roadhouse and failing hockey team, the Portage Panthers.

Cole Ryan is a hockey player from Chicago, Illinois, who is moving to Portage, Michigan to work for a pharmaceutical company and escape his own painful past.

Robyn and Cole meet at the show more airport in Chicago while waiting for the connecting flight to Portage. When her backpack's strap breaks, Cole helps her retrieve the items that fell to the floor. They talked during the whole fight, and when they arrive in Portage, Robyn gives Cole a sizzling kiss goodbye and invites him to visit her father's bar. But coming home isn't going to be a bed of roses for Robyn, she's got a lot of issues to deal with and so does Cole. Can Robyn and Cole leave their troubled pasts behind, give into their mutual attraction, and take charge of their future?

Taking Charge is a fun romance novel that will keep you in stitches. Written in the third person narrative, the author weaves a heartwarming tale of romance with drama, comedy, and hockey added in the mix. The story has a lot of depth and emotions as it realistically deals with family and relationship issues, it will pull at your heartstrings. But it also has a lot of comedic relief in the form of the sassy one-liners, and tension filled drama in the hockey scenes.

The author has created a quirky cast of characters who are realistic, engaging and complex people. I absolutely loved Robyn's sassy personality: she's strong, bossy, feisty and demanding, she's a tell it like it is kind of girl! Cole has a laid back kind of personality, he takes things in stride and goes with the flow. But he also is the kind of guy that is fiercely loyal, caring and passionate. The author does a wonderful job with the character development, there are a lot of intriguing layers to both Robyn and Cole, the reader is easily drawn into the many twist and turns, it keeps you guessing how everything will turn out. I really enjoyed reading about Robyn and Cole's deep secrets and troubled pasts, and how their romantic relationship progressed as the story unfolded. The colorful supporting cast of characters, the smooth dialogues and humorous interactions make this one heck of an entertaining read.

Taking Charge is a wonderful romantic story that will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride with it's dramatic and comedic twists and turns, but ultimately it will leave you with a satisfied smile on your lips.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in the virtual book tour event hosted by Reading Addiction Blog Tours.

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This tale is "totes adorable" (Ok, I confess, I may have gritted my teeth at one to many "totes", but that is my only criticism of the book!) and not just for Christmas!

An escape to Paris with your best friend sounds like the perfect medicine for Ava to recover from a cheating ex, a nagging mother and the loss of a job. One drastic haircut later (and haven't we all done this once), a chance meeting with a handsome photographer, fantastic comic relief from best friend Debs all lead to a show more warm-hearted, feel-good tale. This book was good, laugh-out-loud fun. The characters are well-drawn, genuine and colorful, and the Paris settings are full of vivid images that have you longing for pain au chocolat.

Thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for providing me with an advanced copy. show less

George Frasier isn't your average woman. For one, she started her own business, Finger Food, from the ground up and have been steadily making a name for herself in the catering community. Yet, foodie success aside, there's a lot more to George than her business acumen. She's also a feisty beer-drinker, who's masochistic approach to repression and inherent ability to speak her mind make her an interesting character from page one.

She's had a bunch of tough breaks. Her heart is broken by the show more fabulous Paul, who was forced to move away, leaving her alone and unbeknownst to Paul, pregnant with their child. George, is forced to put the baby up for adoption. Now, over twenty years later, she's still being punished for past regrets, or at least where her mother is concerned. She's never forgiven George, despite all of the effort that George has put into turning her life around. Her hopes solely rest on making a solid go of her business.

Enter Quinn Blake, he's an American rock star who has all of the women captivated for his incredible good looks and all of the men addicted to his musical talent andheart-pounding anthems. Quinn is giving a three-night concert series and his PA, Michael Lambert, contacts George about handling the catering. This is a big break for George and she can't turn it down. So she enlists the help of her staff, the witty and off-beat Marisa, the hysterical Helen, the dry Curly Shirley, and her brother and music major, Adam, to help her pull it off.

That night, the event goes off without a hitch. The food is inventive, the feedback positive, and Michael is practically brimming with enthusiasm for night two. Still, George's nerves are entirely out of control, though that's got nothing to do with work-related stress and everything to do with the enigmatic Quinn Blake.

Quinn is used to having women throw themselves at his feet. What he's not used to is being told "no". When he sees George and becomes hyper-aware of her, he decides that she is the woman that he will spend the night with. The only problem is that George is having none of it. Especially when she finds out that he's engaged to the self-involved, botox-injected Taylor who give us Americans a bad name.

I don't always pick up romance immediately, but having met Mandy through http://www.loveahappyending.com, she quickly be came the author that I wanted to read. Oh was this book worth it! Mandy Baggot's style of writing is highly enjoyable; her characters are hysterical and feel like the friends that we all wish we had.

Characters who are more than they seem initially, appeal to me. I was almost instantly going to write off Quinn Blake as a sexist, narcissistic slime, good-looking or not. Yet, page by page we get exposed to another layer of each of these characters. Add to that a quickly developing series of subplots that make you wonder where the story is going to end up. Strings Attached flows so well that you never want to put it down.

Whether you are a mother, wife, daughter, best friend, or even a husband or boyfriend looking for some lines to get you out of trouble with your significant other, Strings Attached is a wonderful read. With more books being added to Baggot’s shelf of offerings in 2012, Lady Baggot is clearly an author to watch. show less

If you follow my blog at all, then you know that I often say “normally romances aren’t my thing”. That’s usually the case, but what I’ve found is that with a Mandy Baggot book, all bets are off. Baggot’s writing style is hip and engaging, her dialogue snappy and humorous. I found myself sucked into Autumn’s plight from page one. Here’s the interesting part, and what makes this such a great read. I didn’t want to like either character…in the beginning.

Autumn Raine is show more superficial, self-involved, and seems completely unappreciative of her glamorous life. Nathan Regan, is also instantaneously detestable, patronizing Autumn from their first meeting. However, the shift to engendering reader empathy is seamless in this book, in trend in all Baggot works. Before long our perception alters so that we’re not reading about two, obnoxious, narcissistic individuals, but instead about two lonely, damaged people who need to feel something again.

Security is a compelling, well-written work that will sucker you in immediately and refuse to let go. Whether you feel secure or not, or just like the idea of feeling that way with a stunning Baggot leading man, this book is for you! show less