Tag / Claire Kent

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Substitute Bride by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Beaufort Brides, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: James Harwood
Heroine: Rose Beaufort
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: August 22, 2015
Started On: September 08, 2025
Finished On: September 11, 2025

Substitute Bride by Noelle Adams had everything that could have made it a deeply emotional, slow-burn romance; widowed single father, devoted nanny, and a simmering forbidden attraction, but somehow the execution never quite matched its potential. Yet despite the promising premise, the story feels like it’s missing the spark that usually makes her understated writing sing.

Rose Beaufort has been nanny to James Harwood’s two young daughters for more than two years, quietly holding the family together since the death of his wife. She is patient, kind, and almost too self-contained; a caretaker in every sense, both to the children and to the man she has never allowed herself to want. James, for his part, is a man trapped between grief, obligation, and guilt. He is engaged to a woman who seems perfect on paper but whose manipulative charm barely hides her selfishness. When that engagement implodes and he begins to really see Rose, what unfolds is a push and pull between propriety and passion, duty and desire.

James is perhaps quite the emotionally restrained hero, controlled to the point of frustration. His attraction to Rose builds with the kind of quiet inevitability that should have made for exquisite tension. Yet even as he begins to unravel, the story somehow feels too neat, too muted. Rose, despite being the heart of the novel, is written with so much restraint as well that her emotions never quite land with the impact they should. She feels more like an observer of her own love story rather than its participant. And while the fake engagement and later emotional confessions promised the sort of angst I live for, the delivery feels like it stops short of what I needed.

What works, as always with Adams, is her delicate portrayal of care and connection. The scenes between Rose, James, and the girls are some of the most genuine parts of the novel, quiet moments of tenderness that feel deeply lived-in. The way Rose tucks the girls into bed or helps James manage his stress speaks more of love than the words either of them can say aloud. And when Adams allows the emotion to break through, when the control finally slips, the intimacy is beautiful, both sensual and real.

Still, for all its sweetness and emotional potential, Substitute Bride never fully takes flight. The chemistry simmers and the resolution comes too easily when it should have hurt a little more. By the end, you are left satisfied but not moved, and that feels like the greatest loss in a story that had all the makings of a quietly devastating romance.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy single-dad romances, nannies with hidden strength, and gentle domestic love stories with a touch of southern charm.

Final Verdict: Sweet and restrained, Substitute Bride delivers a soft love story that’s easy to read but misses the emotional punch Noelle Adams usually masters.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Hired Bride by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Beaufort Brides, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Mitchell Graves
Heroine: Deanna Beaufort Graves
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: June 12, 2015
Started On: September 07, 2025
Finished On: September 09, 2025

Hired Bride by Noelle Adams is one of those reads that starts with promise; marriage of convenience, opposites attract, and a hint of emotional tension, but somehow does not quite reach the depth that usually defines her stories. While Adams is known for her subtle emotional resonance and slow-building intimacy, this one felt uneven, its heroine frustratingly inconsistent, and its resolution a little too neat for the angst it tries to evoke.

Deanna Beaufort Graves agrees to a six-month marriage to save her family’s crumbling Savannah home, entering into a deal that’s as transactional as it is necessary. Her husband, Mitchell Graves, needs a wife to secure a business contract, and Deanna, practical, reserved, and with a good heart, is the ideal candidate. What he does not anticipate is that beneath her quiet demeanor lies a strong will and a sharp tongue. He expects a compliant partner and instead finds someone who challenges him at every turn. Their marriage becomes a battle of expectations, attraction, and vulnerability neither of them are prepared for.

Mitchell is one of Adams’ more unpolished heroes (and I loved that); cocky, self-assured, and far less introspective than the usual restrained men she writes. But that confidence hides a man who is far more perceptive and emotionally grounded than Deanna gives him credit for.

Deanna, however, is more complicated. She is damaged by loss, weighed down by responsibility, and fiercely independent, but her judgments of Mitchell often border on hypocrisy. She wants emotional honesty but hides behind assumptions; she wants love but refuses to risk herself to earn it.

That contradiction is what makes her a difficult heroine to root for. The story hints at her trauma and fears but never dives deep enough to make her actions truly resonate. While Mitchell grows, Deanna stagnates, and her eventual change of heart feels more like surrender than revelation. Even her final declaration that she loves him as he is comes off hollow after spending most of the book berating him for the very traits she now claims to accept.

Still, Adams’ writing is as clean and engaging as ever. Her pacing is tight, and the sensual scenes though fewer here, carry her signature blend of intimacy and emotion. The Savannah setting lends the story a quiet charm, and Deanna’s eccentric grandmother adds levity to an otherwise emotionally restrained romance.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy quick, low-angst contemporary marriages of convenience and opposites-attract setups with a touch of southern charm.

Final Verdict: A promising marriage-of-convenience premise let down by an inconsistent heroine—Hired Bride is pleasant but lacks the spark Noelle Adams usually delivers.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Negotiated Marriage by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, FMC
Series: Convenient Marriages, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Luke Lyons
Heroine: Molly Lyons
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: January 11, 2013
Started On: September 05, 2025
Finished On: September 06, 2025

A Negotiated Marriage by Noelle Adams is a quiet, deeply intimate story that reminds me why I always return to her books, her ability to weave longing, vulnerability, and sensuality into something deceptively simple yet profoundly emotional. The premise is one of my favorite tropes: a marriage of convenience between two practical adults who believe they can outsmart the messiness of love. But as always, Adams shows that love has a way of slipping through even the most carefully negotiated boundaries.

Molly Lyons, a freelance corporate investigator, entered into a marriage with Luke Lyons, her then powerful CEO boss, for reasons that were more pragmatic than romantic. Three years later, they share an easy companionship, a rhythm built on mutual respect and quiet understanding. Until Luke, ever methodical and composed, decides to amend the terms of their arrangement: he wants to add sex to the mix.

For Molly, who is still nursing scars from a previous relationship, the idea terrifies her. She is content in their stable coexistence, safe in a marriage where her heart isn’t at risk. But Luke’s proposal and the emotions it slowly awakens begin to unravel every illusion of safety she has built.

Luke is one of those understated heroes who does not need grand gestures to command attention. He is structured, controlled, almost annoyingly rational, but beneath that composed surface is a man who feels deeply and loves even more so. What I adored about his character is how Adams lets his affection unfold in gestures rather than declarations; adjusting a necklace clasp, waiting up for her after long nights, quietly taking care of her wounds. You can feel his love long before he says it, and that makes his restraint all the more intoxicating.

Molly, on the other hand, is relatable in her caution. She is intelligent and self-sufficient, but her fear of emotional vulnerability makes her retreat from anything that feels too real. Watching her slowly fall for her husband, the man she thought she knew inside out, is the kind of emotional impact that makes stories like this unforgettable.

The story builds in that signature Noelle Adams fashion; small moments accumulating into something monumental. There is yearning threaded into every scene, through a mere brush of the hands and every shared glance. Even the sensual scenes, beautifully written and smoking hot, carry emotional weight. The tension isn’t in whether they will fall for each other, but in when they will finally admit that they already have.

If there is anything I wished for, it would be an epilogue. After all the tenderness and slow-burning intimacy, I was not ready to let go of Luke and Molly just yet. I wanted a glimpse of them beyond the last page, still loving, still building, still quietly choosing each other every day.

Recommended for: readers who love slow-burn contemporary romances, emotionally intelligent storytelling, and marriages of convenience that turn into something achingly real.

Final Verdict: Smart, sexy, and full of yearning; A Negotiated Marriage proves that even the most practical arrangements can turn into love stories worth fighting for.

Favorite Quotes

“So what should the terms be?” Molly tried to visualize how this new aspect of their arrangement would work. “I don’t want it to get complicated or for either of us to feel obliged or pressured to have sex whenever the other wants. Should we agree to like once a week or something?”
“Once a week is perfectly acceptable.” He arched an eyebrow. “Am I going to have to adjust our other terms to accommodate this new item?”
Molly chuckled, both at the irony and at his business-like language. “No, I guess not. I imagine I’ll be getting as much out of this as you will.”
A flare of heat awoke in his eyes. “I’ll make sure you do.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Devotion by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Central Cities, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Gabriel
Heroine: Jess
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: January 30, 2025
Started On: August 30, 2025
Finished On: September 01, 2025

I am psyched by how Claire Kent has taken her post-apocalyptic series setting for Kindled and taken it beyond expectations. She is introducing new lines of stories—some fairytale-driven, others set in the “wild” that faithful followers of the series will immediately recognize as threads of a larger world. She is also experimenting with different timelines that explore how humanity has evolved in the decades since the catastrophic event that reshaped the earth. Devotion is one such story, set forty odd years after the collapse, in the Central Cities where civilization has been rebuilt under the guise of order but thrives on control and quiet tyranny.

Jess, the heroine, has spent her entire life training to become a “palace partner”, a coveted role in which men and women devote themselves entirely to the pleasure and comfort of the ruling administrators. It is a system that glorifies service and submission, one she has never thought to question.

When she is chosen to serve Gabriel after having been overlooked for the role many times, for the new administrator who has come from the wilderness rather than the inner circles of the Capitol, she believes her life’s purpose has finally been fulfilled. But Gabriel doesn’t fit into the mold. He is distant, pragmatic, and clearly disillusioned by the hierarchy that rules the Central Cities. His refusal to indulge in the expected rituals of power begins to unravel everything Jess has been taught to believe.

Told solely from Jess’s point of view, Devotion immerses readers in her limited understanding of Gabriel and the society that has shaped her. For much of the book, she interprets her service to him as her life’s meaning, her devotion literal, physical, and constant. Claire Kent’s writing is bold and fearless here, particularly in how she uses eroticism to illustrate Jess’s awakening. The repetitive physical acts, acts that could easily have felt gratuitous, become a language of transformation. Each encounter subtly shifts their balance of power, as Jess begins to realize that devotion is not about submission but about mutual connection.

Gabriel is perhaps one of Kent’s most difficult heroes to read. Stoic and reserved, he often feels cold, even selfish, until his true intentions begin to emerge. Once the veil lifts, his quiet resistance to the oppressive system becomes the most powerful act of rebellion in the novel. He is not a man who needs to dominate but rather one who protects, questions, and ultimately loves in a way that honors freedom over control. Knowing that Gabriel is the son of Gabe and Olivia from Princess in the Kindled series makes his moral complexity even more rewarding; he carries both the legacy of survival and the yearning for something better.

Kent’s world-building remains top-tier, full of nuance and moral ambiguity. The Central Cities, with their polished facades and hidden cruelty, stand as a chilling reflection of how far humanity will go to preserve comfort at the cost of freedom, realities that we witness every day in real life. I loved how, as much as Jess was utterly devoted to her role, she became his confidante in matters of governance, where her advice was solicited by Gabriel, which made my heart happy in many ways.

Jess’s transformation within that structure, her slow realization that love and servitude cannot coexist unless it is something mutually wanted by both, is where Kent’s storytelling truly shines. While a brief separation between them might have strengthened the emotional arc, the story’s resolution still lands with satisfying emotional weight.

Recommended for: readers who love slow-burn dystopian romance, morally layered heroes, and erotic storytelling that doubles as social commentary.

Final Verdict: Devotion is an intoxicating blend of sensuality, rebellion, and emotional evolution, proving once again that no one writes post-apocalyptic intimacy quite like Claire Kent.

Favorite Quotes

“Gabriel, stop asking. Stop questioning it. I’ve spent most of my life waiting to be your partner. Waiting for this moment. Waiting to give all of me to you.”
He makes a weird, strangled sound. I’m not sure what it means. But his expression twists as if he’s touched by what I said. “I never realized it,” he murmurs, so low I can barely hear the words, “but I think I might have been waiting for you too.”

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: In Flight by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Isaac Becker
Heroine: River Kennedy
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: March 28, 2025
Started On: August 09, 2025
Finished On: August 09, 2025

“You don’t pick up vibes?”
Up go his eyebrows again. “I’ve never picked up a vibe in my life.”

My palate cleanser after the rough and deeply moving ride that was Heat by R. Lee Smith turned out to be In Flight by Noelle Adams, a light, funny, and endearingly awkward romance that unfolds almost entirely in the cramped confines of an airplane. What begins as an irritating series of encounters between two frequent fliers turns into a slow-burn love story about vulnerability, self-awareness, and taking risks when it’s easier to stay the course and keep your heart protected.

31-year old River Kennedy is an HR professional who likes structure, security, and her carefully curated quiet life in Savannah. Her neurotic tendencies and soft-hearted nature are balanced by a wry sense of humor and an almost compulsive tendency to giggle, even when exasperated. Isaac Becker, on the other hand, is her polar opposite; an analytical, grounded man with a corporate job in finance and a habit of dissecting people as though they are puzzles to be solved. The two of them end up seated next to each other on the same weekend flights between Savannah and Boston, week after week, and what starts as a battle of wits gradually morphs into something deeper.

Their banter is sharp and occasionally cutting, with moments that are as exhilarating as they are intimate. The emotional pull between River and Isaac grows naturally, driven by small gestures and conversations that reveal more than either intends. River’s guarded nature, born out of past heartbreaks and her fear of choosing wrong again, feels believable, even if her constant giggling sometimes made her come across as immature. Isaac, for all his rationality, is far more perceptive than he lets on, and his slow unraveling into someone more emotionally open gives the story its quiet payoff.

That said, I found the novel a little too contained for my liking. The entire story taking place on airplanes or around them, created a kind of narrative claustrophobia. I wanted more context for River’s world outside of those flights, more about her family, her friendships, her life beyond Isaac. Still, Ms. Noelle’s humor and emotional nuance kept the story buoyant, and ultimately, even though River tended to annoy me with her hypocritical stands on issues and constant need to giggle, she redeemed herself proper enough to give me the “giggles”.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy low-angst, character-driven contemporary romances with witty banter, opposites-attract dynamics, and a feel-good, slow-burn payoff.

Final Verdict: A slow-burn airplane romance that’s equal parts witty and tender and reminds you love sometimes takes off in the most unexpected places — even at 30,000 feet.

Favorite Quotes

“Have you ever known anyone who can sort out their own hearts without at least a little angst and confusion?”
“Now that you mention it, I’m not sure I have. Have you?”
“Only boring people.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Protected by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Deck
Heroine: Lilah
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: July 03, 2025
Started On: August 01, 2025
Finished On: August 02, 2025

Protected by Claire Kent takes readers back into the brutal, stripped-down world of the Kindled universe, where survival is a daily battle, where tenderness is a tough commodity to come by. Two years after the world-ending Impact, the Lilah is alone, starving, and running out of options. Forced to join a roaming group of scavengers led by the calculating and unflinchingly pragmatic Logan, Lilah finds herself having to adjust to the new normal.

Among the group is a giant of a man named Deck, a silent, imposing man who has not deemed to speak a word since the day the world fell apart. What begins as an uneasy alliance between two survivors slowly becomes a deeply emotional journey about finding connection, safety, and love when there is little left worth fighting for.

Lilah at twenty-four has already lost everything; her family, her lover, and her home and lives with a constant undercurrent of fear until she finds a semblance of normalcy with the group. Deck, at twenty-nine, is her opposite in temperament but mirrors her pain. Traumatized by what he has endured, he communicates through gestures, small acts of care, and unspoken understanding.

As their partnership evolves, the story draws its tension not from the chaos of the world around them but from the delicate intimacy that forms between two broken people. The slow, cautious bond they build, one gesture, one shared glance at a time, is where the novel finds its heartbeat.

Claire Kent excels at writing love that grows out of impossible circumstances, and Protected is a just another trophy that attests to her strength as a writer. Deck’s silence never diminishes his presence and rather amplifies it, drawing the reader to him, trying to catch a glimpse into the depths of the emotional gentle giant that he is.

Every protective act, every lesson Deck teaches Lilah in self-defense, carries emotional weight. His strength is not just physical; it’s moral and emotional too, a contrast to the violent and often amoral world they inhabit. Lilah’s evolution from vulnerability to someone of indomitable strength is one that I rooted for wholeheartedly.

While the story delivers on emotional depth and survivalist realism, the external tension involving Logan and his group occasionally feels secondary. The stalker-like dangers and raiding conflicts add grit, but the real draw remains the understated romance and how it redefines what safety and love mean in a world stripped of both.

Readers familiar with the Kindled series will appreciate Logan’s reappearance; he remains the enigmatic force behind the group’s survival, setting up what promises to be an equally compelling story in his own book, which I believe will take some time to be published.

While I have loved this constant stream of heroes who are gentle, emotional, and able to be more open about their trauma, I also want heroes of the kind that Ms. Kent used to write – men who brood a bit more, rarely give away what they are thinking or feeling, adding that delicious tangible angst to the story. I sorely miss that.

Recommended for: readers who love post-apocalyptic romance with quiet emotional intensity, protective and gentle giant heroes, and heroines who discover their strength.

Final Verdict: Protected is a slow-burn romance set in a world of ruin, where silence speaks louder than words and love becomes the last refuge of the human soul.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Restoration by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Worthings, #4
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Edmund Worthing
Heroine: Autumn
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: August 16, 2024
Started On: July 31, 2025
Finished On: August 01, 2025

Restoration by Noelle Adams is a beautifully paced, emotional romance about survival, self-discovery, and the gradual blossoming of love between two unlikely people.

Autumn has spent six years being the efficient, ever-capable assistant to Edmund Worthing, a wealthy, charming, and often exasperating man who has drifted through life without any real purpose. When she finally decides to quit and reclaim her life, the last thing she expects is to end up stranded with him on a deserted island after a violent storm at sea. What begins as a nightmare slowly turns into something transformative, both in terms of their survival and their hearts.

Autumn is practical, dependable, and tired of living her life in service to someone else’s whims. Edmund, on the other hand, is the definition of carefree privilege, a man who has never had to lift a finger for anything and masks his intelligence behind an easy, teasing charm. Stripped of the luxuries and distractions of his old world, Edmund is forced to face his own complacency, while Autumn is pushed beyond her comfort zone in ways she never imagined. Together, they learn how to endure hunger, illness, fear, and the stark reality of isolation, and in the process, they also learn how to see each other, truly see each other, for the first time.

The shift in their dynamic from boss and assistant to equals is one of the most satisfying elements of the story. Adams gives their relationship time to breathe, to evolve from mutual dependence to affection, and finally to love. The island becomes a crucible for both their growths: Edmund transforms from a spoiled socialite into a man capable of tenderness and grit, while Autumn, for all her composure, learns to let go of control and embrace vulnerability. The chemistry between them is charged, their connection deepened by moments of laughter, frustration, and the kind of intimacy that can only come from relying on someone with your life.

What I loved most about this story was how well Adams balanced the sensual with the emotional. The romance feels valid and not just a product of forced proximity but of two people who find their missing halves in one another. Edmund’s devotion, his quiet acts of care, and the way he steps up when Autumn falls ill all underscore how far he has come from the man she once worked for. The angst, particularly after their rescue, was perfectly handled. The inevitable readjustment to the real world hurts, but it makes their eventual reconciliation even more satisfying.

If there is one thing I might have wanted more of, it would be a deeper dive into the aftermath of their ordeal once they return home, how two people changed by survival reconcile that with normal life. But the epilogue delivers exactly what the reader hopes for, sealing their journey with warmth and fulfillment.

Recommended for: readers who love slow-burn, boss-assistant romances with emotional depth, strong character development, and a healthy dose of survival-driven angst.

Final Verdict: Tender, emotional, and quietly intense, Restoration is angsty, sensual, and deeply satisfying.

Favorite Quotes

We lie together afterward, holding each other urgently. His face is buried against my neck, and his heart is beating so fast and hard that I can feel it.
He doesn’t say anything else, and neither do I. We both know what just happened is goodbye.
It’s goodbye.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Redemption by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Worthings, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Caleb Morrison
Heroine: Louisa Worthing
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: February 16, 2024
Started On: July 31, 2025
Finished On: July 31, 2025

Redemption by Noelle Adams tells the story of Louisa Worthing, who was once the quintessential rich girl spiraling through parties and bad decisions. Louisa has spent the past three years rebuilding her life in quiet anonymity. Sober and focused on her art, and learning what it means to live without chaos. But when a stalker who was focused on someone else in her family shifts focus to her, Louisa’s peace is shattered, and the man assigned to protect her is none other than Caleb, the ex-military bodyguard who has seen her at her worst.

Their shared history stretches back years. Becoming part of her life when she was merely sixteen years old, he was the one man she could not manipulate, the one who drew boundaries and held firm even when she tried every trick in her arsenal to test them. When trouble comes calling and Caleb is reassigned to protect her, Louisa is determined that this time around, she will redeem herself.

The chemistry between them is undeniable, but Adams writes it with restraint and emotional depth rather than dramatics. Louisa’s attraction to Caleb is not born of rebellion anymore, but rather rooted in understanding and a deep sense of yearning that goes beyond anything she has experience before.

Caleb, for his part, fights a losing battle against his feelings, torn between loyalty, morality, and the haunting awareness that he has always wanted her, regardless. Their romance builds slowly, with Louisa determined to take responsibility for her prior life and actions, and Caleb equally determined not to hold them against her.

What stood out most to me was the sensitivity with which Adams handles Louisa’s recovery. There’s no melodrama here, just the day-to-day honesty of a woman who knows that redemption is never a straight path. Louisa’s guilt over her past isn’t glossed over, and Caleb’s hesitancy feels both justified and also adds that delicious layer of angst to the story. Caleb low-key reminded me of Grant from Princess by Claire Kent, another pseudonym used by Noelle Adams. Their love unfolds with a kind of gentle realism that makes the eventual connection feel that much more worth it when all is said and done.

The only weak thread in an otherwise beautifully told story was the stalker subplot. It serves its purpose in bringing Caleb back into Louisa’s life, but it remains peripheral to the emotional core of the novel. The tension it introduces feels muted compared to the internal struggles both characters face. That said, it does not detract from what truly matters here; their journey toward forgiveness, both of each other and themselves.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy emotional, character-driven romances with age-gap and forbidden elements, and second chances built on quiet strength rather than grand gestures.

Final Verdict: Thoughtful and tender, Redemption is a novel that is quietly powerful and deeply human!

Favorite Quotes

This is different from the other night.
This wasn’t fumbling together in the dark.
This is real.
This is us.
All of us.
He knows me completely—everything I’ve ever done, everything I’ve ever been—and he still wants me.
Right now it feels like he always will.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Recollection by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Worthings, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Arthur Worthing
Heroine: Scarlett Elizabeth Kingston
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: August 25, 2023
Started On: July 30, 2025
Finished On: July 30, 2025

Recollection by Noelle Adams is one of those quiet, aching love stories that sneaks up on you and refuses to let go. Told entirely from Scarlett Kingston’s perspective, it opens with her waking up in a hospital after an accident that wiped out six months of her life—six months that changed everything. Her father is dead, her life is unrecognizable, and she finds herself living in the sprawling, centuries-old Worthing estate under the care of Arthur Worthing, a man who was once merely her father’s friend.

Arthur is forty-six, a brilliant, scarred, and reclusive man whose sense of control masks a heart that feels too deeply. Scarlett, at twenty-eight, is raw from grief and confusion, her amnesia leaving her trapped between two realities; the one she barely remembers and the one she is now living.

The dynamic between them is immediately loaded with tension: gratitude, dependence, attraction, and the unspoken history she cannot recall. What unfolds is both tender and devastating, a slow, deliberate exploration of love rediscovered under the strangest of circumstances.

The story moves fluidly between past and present, peeling back layers of their relationship with a kind of aching inevitability. Arthur is a quintessential Noelle Adams hero; quietly protective, honorable to a fault, and burdened by his own insecurities. His restraint is painful to witness at times, especially as he struggles to keep his distance while Scarlett unknowingly falls for him all over again. Scarlett’s journey, meanwhile, is one of piecing herself back together, of rediscovering not only her love for Arthur but also her strength and sense of self after trauma.

What makes this book unforgettable is how Adams captures intimacy beyond the physical. Every touch between them feels earned, charged with emotion and memory. The sex scenes are sensual, yes, but they are also suffused with tenderness and pain, the awareness of what was lost and what might be regained. Arthur’s fear that he is holding her back, his conviction that she deserves a future unshaped by his scars or her dependency, gives the story its most heartbreaking edge.

If I had one complaint, it is that I wanted an epilogue, a glimpse into the happily ever after they fought so hard to earn. After the emotional whirlwind of their separation and reunion, I longed for that final exhale. But perhaps it is fitting that the story ends where it does, leaving readers to imagine the rest, as Scarlett once had to imagine the missing months of her life.

Recommended for: readers who love emotionally charged age-gap romances, scarred heroes who love quietly and fiercely, and heroines who must rediscover both themselves and the man they love.

Final Verdict: Poignant, sensual, and beautifully written, Recollection is a love story that asks what it means to fall in love twice—and makes you believe it’s possible.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Beacon by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Kindled, #8
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Malachi (Mack)
Heroine: Anna
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 11, 2024
Started On: July 20, 2025
Finished On: July 22, 2025

I just woke up one day and knew—I knew—that you were my resting place.

Nostalgia is the word that best describes how I felt reaching the end of Claire Kent’s Kindled series with Beacon. Throughout the series, on and off, Mack has been a towering presence in the background, the steady hand, the heart of the community, the man everyone leaned on when the world crumbled after the event known as Impact. His story has been one of the most anticipated of the series (which I am sure is a sentiment shared by many followers of the series), and while this installment may not have become my personal favorite, I can appreciate the way it brought his journey full circle.

Mack is a man who has carried the weight of countless battles, both physical and emotional. For ten years he has been the anchor in the storm, the one who kept order amidst chaos, and the one everyone else turned to for assistance. But even the strongest shoulders eventually give way and that is what happens when a certain chain of events becomes the final straw after years of loss and responsibility. Add to this, the loss of his dreams of a family with the woman who owns his heart, needless to say he withdraws completely, retreating into the wilderness to nurse wounds too deep to share.

When Mack fails to return back to the community even as months pass, it is Anna who finally sets out to bring him back, knowing that it may not be as easy as that. Mack who would rather nurse his wounds in private, is reluctant to let her in, both literally and figuratively, until he is forced into sharing his quarters with Anna, which serves to the start to the journey of shared healing for the two.

Though Anna is pivotal to the story, I often found myself struggling with her choices. At thirty-three, she is a survivor of an abusive marriage, determined never to lose her independence again. Her hesitancy to commit to Mack comes from a place of self-preservation, a belief that she cannot be the partner he deserves because she still has so much healing of her own to do. And yet, beneath all that, it is evident she has always loved him. She just could not let herself give in.

What I did admire was Anna’s decision to risk her life for Mack, both literally and figuratively. When she ventures into the dangerous forest to bring him back, it is as much about saving him physically as it is about proving her feelings at last. Mack’s need for reassurance, for proof that he is not alone and unloved, felt heartbreaking and necessary after all he has endured. It was only fair that she had to be the one to step forward and make that sacrifice, just as he has carried everyone else, including Anna, for so long.

The theme of positive masculinity runs strong here. Mack is written as a man of great strength, but also deep vulnerability. His willingness to shoulder responsibility, his devotion to community, and his steadfast love for Anna makes him a hero worth remembering.

Still, as much as I admired his character, I found myself less enamored with the romance than I expected. Perhaps it was the years of buildup between Anna and Mack throughout the series which Ms. Kent expected us to take notes of, or the way their relationship often simmered just below the surface, but when it finally took center stage, I did not connect with their love as deeply as I hoped.

That said, I do understand why the characters were written the way they were. Breanna, in her story, needed a gentler partner to help her heal, and while Mack’s trauma was different, he needed the space and solitude, time to grieve and recover privately before he could return whole. The conclusion between Anna and Mack perhaps makes sense for who they are, even if the emotional punch did not hit me with the same intensity as some of the earlier books in the series.

Now that the series has come to a close, I cannot help but feel a bittersweet ache. Beacon ties the threads together, but it also leaves me looking forward. Logan, who made only a small appearance here, completely stole my attention, and I am already anticipating his book with high hopes. Now there is a hero of the kind I identify with!

Recommended for: readers who love end-of-the-world survival romances, broken-but-steadfast heroes, and heroines learning to claim their own strength.

Final Verdict: A bittersweet finale; Mack’s story closes the series with quiet strength, even if the romance did not burn as brightly as I had hoped.

Purchase Links: Amazon