Review // Three Simple Words, The Pact, and Center Mass

I read these books a long time ago so they're not exactly new, but it was about time I shared them.
Have you read any of these?

Three Simple Words by A.J. Pine

Contemporary Brother's Best Friend Romance, dual pov

Annie
I know where to find my happily ever after—between the pages of a romance novel. It’s why I sell books, why I blog about them, and why I’ll never get disappointed by love.

So what if my brother’s best friend from high school is now a bestselling author? Or that he just blew back into town on a Harley, filling out a pair of jeans like he never did before? Or that he’s agreed to do a signing at my bookstore on such short notice? Because despite all his adoring female fans, I kind of hated his book.

Wes
The last time I saw Annie Denning, she was a senior in high school, three years older than me and way out of my league.
Now I’m her last-minute date to a wedding, and what started as a night of pure fun has turned into something more real than either of us anticipated.

Annie is my muse. When I’m with her, my writer’s block fades away, and the words finally flow.

The only problem? She wants the fairy tale—her very own happily ever after—and anyone who’s read my book knows the truth. I just don’t believe they exist.

Rating: ★★★★★

Looking for a great, light, feel-good story? How about one that many of us can relate to? Then this is the book for you!!

I can't tell you how many times my mind and heart have been stuck in a book. Sometimes it takes a real long while for me to let the story go. And I have to admit that the female main character in this book reminded me of me. *shrugs* I love a tortured hero. Or one who truly believes that love just ain't in his cards. And I absolutely love watching him get knocked on his ass by the one woman he can't seem to resist!

Introducing Wes and Annie. Annie owns a bookstore and runs a blog titled "Happy Ever After". Her hopes, dreams and ideals about love come from romance novels and she can't find her HEA in real life. Wes is a newly successful author of a romance novel that isn't really romantic. He also happens to be Annie's younger brother's best friend. He believes that true love and HEAs ONLY belong in fiction. And yet, when these two start a mutually beneficial "arrangement", their stances on love and happy endings lose traction.

It felt surreal to read about a character that thought so much like me. I could easily put myself in Annie's shoes but it wasn't difficult to do the same with Wes. I adored both characters. They made me smile, cheer, laugh, giggle, grin, slap my forehead in frustration, but ultimately, they made me love them.

To quote the author: "Thank you, Annie and Wes, for showing us that love can conquer all and that happy endings are just the beginning."

Although part of a series, this book can definitely be read as a standalone. Fair warning: once you read it, I'm sure you'll be just as interested in the other books as I am.

The Pact by Karina Halle

Contemporary Friends-to-Lovers Romance, dual pov

It all started with a pinky swear…

Linden McGregor is tall, rugged, and gunslinger handsome; a helicopter pilot with a Scottish brogue and charm to spare. He’s also one of Stephanie Robson’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as she’s known him.

But some relationships can’t be boxed, can’t be classified, can’t be tamed.

Back in their mid-twenties and tired of the competitive hit-or-miss dating scene of San Francisco, Steph and Linden made a pact to marry each other if neither one of them are in a serious relationship by the time they hit thirty.

It sounds like fun and games but as the years to thirty tick past and lovers come and go out of their lives, the pact becomes larger than life.
Sex is inevitable. Friendships are tested. Hearts are on the line.

The pact is about to change everything.

Rating: ★★★★★

Simply put, this book was awesome! I can't believe it took me so long to read it. I found a quote in it that really stuck with me throughout the entire story:

"His dick is perfect. Just f*cking perfect. I can’t stop staring at it. It’s not just that it’s massive (and in a good way, not in a spearing your uterus kind of way), but that it’s smooth and thick and long and hard and perfectly proportioned. It’s the most gorgeous penis I’ve ever seen and it makes me wish I could paint because I could have a whole gallery devoted to the beauty of his dick and I would consistently sell out of all my paintings."

Yup, that and more can be found in this great book. Linden and Stephanie were amazing characters and I'm sad to see them go. It's nice to know that they're not forgotten, however, and make future appearances in the other McGregor books. The author found a way to captivate with warmth and light-hearted fun. I read the Acknowledgements and what the author said is true. There aren't many books that tackle the dating scene of actual adults. So thanks for this refreshing, heart-warming, hilarious addition!!

Center Mass by Lani Lynn Vale

Contemporary Single Parent Romance

Luke Roberts came to the small lazy town of Kilgore, Texas with one thing on his mind: Forgetting. He wanted to forget why he left. Forget those emerald green eyes that haunted his dreams. And forget how it felt to have his heart ripped out of his chest by a woman who didn’t like the fact that he had a child. It was something he’d been doing a damn fine job of doing, too. Until Reese smashed through every one of his defenses, and made him feel again.

Reese Doherty was just trying to do the best for her little girl. So she moved to the little boomtown nearly an hour from where she grew up to be the school nurse for Kilgore’s littlest people. That’s where she met him. The SWAT officer and the man that would change her life forever. The sexy man who liked to drive fast, and live life like it should be lived. He drove her crazy, and became something she could barely live without.

But Luke was a hero. A man used to risking his life to make the world a safer place. Something Reese had to decide whether she could handle or not. Preferably before her and her daughter became too attached.

Just when she’s ready to give him her whole heart, her world takes a huge hit, and everything she thought she knew wasn’t as it seemed.

Luke
wasn’t a quitter, though. Damn far from it, and he’d prove to her that he’d be there when the dust settled. Whether she wanted him to be or not.

Character details:

Lucas "Luke" Roberts + Reese Francesca Doherty

   Children:
     Katerina "Katy" Roberts (Lucas's daughter) — Hide Your Crazy
     Rowen Diane Roberts (Reese's daughter) — Just Kidding
     Derek Roberts — Fries Before Guys

   Luke's Family:
     Travis (father)
     Paige (mother)
     Baylee (sister) — Lights to my Siren

   Reese's Family:
     Frank (father)
     Daniella (mother)
     Tru (sister) — Charge to my Line

Rating: ★★★★★

I gave this book 5 stars not because it was the greatest book of all time but because of how it made me feel in the end.

There's something about reading a book involving single parents that hits home for me. It could be because I can empathize with the characters. It could be because children in the story is always a treat! I'm not sure but the author did a fantastic job of bringing single parents Luke and Reese to life.

I liked how realistic their daily lives were. They were juggling their children, work, and attempts at a dating life. Their support systems (family & friends) were awesome. I really liked that there wasn't a huge conversation about the status of their relationship. They just kinda fell into commitment with one another and it was wonderful to watch it unfold.

I knew that Luke being SWAT and Assistant Chief would add an element of suspense. When the action came in the story, it wasn't crazy intense but it was definitely interesting. I wonder if more details concerning the aftermath will be revealed in other books in the series.

The epilogue was freaking fantastic!!

I laughed. I swooned over Luke's (and his team's) Alpha-ness. I giggled over the children. I raged at the angst caused by the exes. And I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this read.