Tag Archives: Denise Williams

Technically Yours by Denise Williams – Review & Giveaway

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Technically Yours by Denise Williams – Review & Giveaway

 

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Description:
Seven years ago, he fell in love with a stranger he couldn’t have—today, she’s back in his life and the sparks between them threaten to set her career on fire.

Pearl Harris has learned the hard way to be careful in work and in love. When she is appointed acting director of OurCode, a nonprofit aimed at inspiring high schoolers to code, she has a chance to make lasting change for the organization, but a scandal has put their reputation at risk. Further complicating matters, Pearl didn’t expect the one man she hasn’t stopped thinking about in seven years to be the newest member of her board of directors.

Cord Matthews fell for Pearl when they met in an elevator seven years ago. She’s just his type: smart, capable, and makes him laugh, but when she broke his heart, he decided love wasn’t for him. After five years with no contact, their connection is immediate despite the many roadblocks in their way and Cord must consider breaking his ban on serious relationships. But going public with a romance between them might derail Pearl’s career and the progress she’s made at OurCode. 

Pearl and Cord both are hesitant to trust their feelings and take a risk as they grow closer, but it becomes impossible to keep ignoring the electricity between them. Cord is a skilled programmer, but a workplace romance might spell disaster for both of them, and love isn’t easily debugged.

 

 

 

Review:

Technically Yours by Denise Williams is another one of her wonderful romance stories. The main characters are Pearl Harris and Cord Matthews, who we got a glimpse at in a previous book (The Fastest Way to Fall), with Cord very much in love with Pearl.   But she broke his heart five years ago, when she walked out of Cord’s life for a job opportunity in California that she had been waiting for.

Now Pearl is back in Chicago, with a job she loves, and to her surprise, she discovers that Cord has just joined the board of Pearl’s company, OurCode; a nonprofit organization aimed at inspiring high schoolers to code.  Cord is happy to see her, and privately tells her he still has feelings for her. Pearl is determined to keep Cord at a distance, especially since her ex-boss was fired, due to having an affair with a board member, causing issues from members and the board.  Pearl did not want to mix relationships that are personal and professional; and now she was promoted to Executive Director at OurCode. A romance between them would cause severe damage to her career and the progress she’s made at OurCode. 

The POV’s between Cord and Pearl go between the flashbacks in the past, when they met and loved; and the present time.  Cord immediately told Pearl about his feelings, but in a short time she also gave into her feelings, as their chemistry was off the wall. Pearl tries to keep their relationship quiet, as she feared she would lose her job.  The secondary characters were all very good, as I did like her family and friends, as well as Cord’s friends.  Tye (15 years old) was great, with her working with Cord on the codes, and Cord’s cat, Peach was cute. 

What follows is a wonderful, fun, emotional and sexy romance, with a fantastic couple we loved.  Pearl was a fabulous heroine, who also had strong feelings for Cord. At the same time, Cord was determined to protect Pearl, especially with her concerns about her job and keeping her director position. Cord would do anything to help Pearl, even if she did not want his help. Technically Yours was an emotional ride, that was also delightful, fun and engaging.  Technically Yours was very well written by Denise Williams.    I fully suggest if you enjoy pure romances, that you read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

BERKLEY ROMANCE is graciously offering a paper copy of TECHNICALLY YOURS to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.    

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8. Giveaway is open to USA only.

9. Giveaway runs from December 5 to December 9, 2023

 

 

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Love and Other Flight Delays by Denise Williams – a Review

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Love and Other Flight Delays by Denise Williams – a Review

 

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Description:
Love takes flight in a collection of sexy, fun novellas all set at the airport from the acclaimed author of The Fastest Way to Fall.

The Love Connection
An airport pet groomer meets her frequent-flier crush and finds herself in a fake-dating situation with a professional risk assessor who moonlights as a romance author.

The Missed Connection
Two strangers share a romantic night only to discover months later that they’re professional rivals about to embark on an extended business trip together in this grumpy-meets-sunshine romance.

The Sweetest Connection
Two best friends have one week to return a lost love letter found in a candy store at the airport–and work up the courage to confess the deep feelings between them–before one of them leaves the country.

 

Review:

Love and Other Flight Delays by Denise Williams is a collection of novellas, that I had previously read, that was set at airports.  All three novellas were cute fun romantic stories, with great couples.  Since I have already posted these novellas, below will be a condensed version.  I do suggest you read these novellas, as Denise Williams wrote them so well.

The Love Connection:
An airport pet groomer meets her frequent-flier crush and finds herself in a fake-dating situation with a professional risk assessor who moonlights as a romance author. Ollie Wright loves her job as a dog groomer, but isn’t interested in a romance, until she meets Bennett Baker. Bennett has a day job, but at night he writes romance novels, and is currently facing writer’s block. When he rescues a pup in the airport, he meets Ollie, who he immediately becomes enchanted with. The chemistry between them opens her heart and he becomes inspired to write again.

The Missed Connection:
Gia, our heroine, is at the airport, on her way home on New Year’s Eve; she is coming off of a break-up with her girlfriend.  She meets Felix at the bar, and they spent the evening talking, which ended with a kiss.  A few months later, she recognizes the man she met at the airport, who happens to be a rival academic who always criticized her work, and now he is her new coworker. Gia is very outgoing, fun, friendly, and Felix is the complete opposite; he doesn’t like associating with others, keeps to himself and comes across as very stuffy. The Missed Connection was a short story, that was very well written by Denise Williams.  I did enjoy the entire opposites attract romance, which was so very well done.

The Sweetest Connection:
We meet our heroine and hero at the start (Teagan & Silas), when they were freshmen paired up in an orientation event, which led to a wonderful strong friendship. The POV’s switched between past events and present time.  They had a wonderful history together as friends, as their bond was special. Teagan has a job in a candy shop, and Silas works as a problem solver in the airport. Silas knows he is very much in love with Teagan, but refrains from explaining his true feelings, as he is afraid to lose his best friend.  Of course, we know that Teagan also has feelings for Silas, with both hiding those feelings.  The Sweetest Connection was a cute, friends to lover’s short story.

If you have not read anything by Denise Williams, I suggest you need to read her fun romantic stories. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams – a Review

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Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams – a Review

 

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Description:
Divorce attorney RJ would never describe herself as romantic. But when she ends up officiating an unplanned wedding for a newly engaged couple in a park, her life is turned upside down. The video of the ceremony goes viral, and she finds herself in the unlikely position of being a sought-after local wedding officiant. Spending her free time overseeing “I dos” isn’t her most strategic career move, but she enjoys it, except for the type A dude-bro wedding planner she’s forced to work with.

Former pro-football event manager Lear is a people person, but after his longtime girlfriend betrayed him, he isn’t looking for love. He knows how to execute events and likes being in control, so working with an opinionated and inflexible officiant who can’t stand him is not high on his list. He’s never had trouble winning people over, but RJ seems immune to his charms.

Surrounded by love at every turn, their physical attraction pulls them together despite their best efforts to stay an arm’s length apart. Lear refuses to get hurt again. RJ refuses to let herself be vulnerable to anyone. But when it comes to happily ever after, their clients might not be the only ones saying “I do.”

 

 

Review:

Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams is another one of her sweet fun romances.  We meet our heroine, RJ, who is a successful divorce attorney, and after conducting a well written marriage ceremony in the park, which had a video going viral, she has become the most wanted wedding officiant. When RJ rushes from her job to perform a ceremony, she collides with a man, with all her paperwork flying all over. 

Lear, is an event planner, who is helping his cousin run the events.  Even though he crashed into RJ, Lear doesn’t apologize and is abrasive; to his surprise, he notices the woman he bumped into is the wedding officiant.   They both immediately do not like each other, with each being sarcastic; especially with Lear constantly interrupting RJ, telling her what he wants to do, and she is fuming, as she is in charge of the ceremony. 

RJ is very good at her job, being a divorce lawyer, working with wealthy clients, even if she does not believe in love.  Lear is also not interested in finding love, as he is still trying to get over a terrible breakup.  They both clash a lot at first, and gradually things will change and they become frenemies with benefits.  It was amazing to watch them slowly begin to feel the sexual tension between them, and their banter was also fun to watch; literally unable to keep their hands off each other. It was at times frustrating, as they continued to not allow themselves to fall hard for each other, only enjoying the sex. 

Do You Take This Man was a romance novel with a enemies to lovers trope,  that  is a fast-paced, sexy story with lots of banter, emotions, and humor. I did enjoy and root for RJ and Lear, but early on they were both very toxic to each other, but it did change fast.   

What follows is a wonderful, fun, emotional and sexy enemies to lover’s romance, with a couple that we weren’t sure they would fall in love. Do You Take This Man was a challenging, fun, engaging contemporary romance that was very well written by Denise Williams.    I fully suggest if you enjoy pure romances, that you read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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The Sweetest Connection by Denise Williams – a Review

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The Sweetest Connection by Denise Williams – a Review

 

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Description:
Teagan’s job in an airport candy store pays the bills but she dreams of traveling the world. With one week until she boards a plane for an international adventure, she finds an abandoned love letter in the store and talks her BFF into helping her figure out who it belongs to.

Silas solves problems for a living as an airline customer service representative. One problem he can’t solve is how to reveal a big secret to his best friend that would risk changing their entire relationship. When she proposes they work together to get the love letter back to its owner, he jumps at the chance.

Teagan and Silas stumble on romantic clues, old stories, and more than a few dead ends along the way while trying to play Cupid, all of which bring them closer together. With only a few days before Teagan’s transatlantic move, the two of them must decide if the sweet temptation of falling for their best friend is worth the potential heartbreak or if either can stand to keep their feelings wrapped up.

 

 

Review:

The Sweetest Connection by Denise Williams, was a cute, friends to lover’s short story set in her Airport novella series.  I did not read the previous two books, but this did read very well. We meet our heroine and hero at the start (Teagan & Silas), when they were freshmen paired up in an orientation event, which led to a wonderful strong friendship. The POV’s switched between past events and present time.

They had a wonderful history together as friends, as their bond was special. Teagan has a job in a candy shop, and Silas works as a problem solver in the airport.  In present time, Teagan is planning to leave shortly for a 5-month trip to Paris for research purposes; unknown to Teagan, Silas has broken up with his girlfriend.  A love letter is discovered, with both Teagan and Silas join up to try to find out who the couple is, pushing them to spend more time together before she leaves. 

Silas knows he is very much in love with Teagan, but refrains from explaining his true feelings, as he is afraid to lose his best friend.  Of course, we know that Teagan also has feelings for Silas, with both hiding those feelings.

The Sweetest Connection was a fun cute friend to lover’s story line.  I really did like Teagan and Silas together, and hoped they would finally admit their true feelings. As they played cupid with finding the owner of the note, the more time they spend together, as well as when Teagan is close to leaving for Paris; will force them own up to their fears of possible heartbreak. The Sweetest Connection was a short story that was very well written by Denise Williams. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

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The Missed Connection by Denise Williams – a Review

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The Missed Connection by Denise Williams – a Review

 

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Description:
Gia loves her job as a professor, even when it means dealing with an elusive rival academic who’s made it his mission to criticize her work. When she meets him for the first time, she’s shocked to learn they’ve met before. Months earlier, they shared a perfect New Year’s Eve together in an airport during a weather delay.

After months of working together, Felix still can’t believe the person whose research he’s been challenging is the same captivating woman he kissed that night. The two couldn’t be more different. Gia is bubbly, friendly, and extroverted and drives ordered, serious Felix nuts.

Now the two have been assigned to embark on a five-school tour for work. Gia and Felix can’t imagine a travel partner they’d enjoy less until they feel the sparks fly over their shared armrests, security mishaps, and a shared hotel room. They’ll need to decide if they can manage their professional tension, or risk missing the connection of a lifetime.

 

 

Review:

The Missed Connection by Denise Willams is the 2nd book in her Airport Novellas series.  Gia, our heroine, is at the airport, on her way home on New Year’s Eve; she is coming off of a break-up with her girlfriend.  She meets Felix at the bar, and they spent the evening talking, which ended with a kiss.  A few months later, she recognizes the man she met at the airport, who happens to be a rival academic who always criticized her work, and now he is her new coworker. 

Gia is very outgoing, fun, friendly, and Felix is the complete opposite; he doesn’t like associating with others, keeps to himself and comes across as very stuffy. Though they both are very good at their jobs, they do things differently.  When both are sent to visit academic schools across the country, slowly the sparks ignite between them; as they succumbed to their feelings. 

When the trip is over, Gia surprises Felix, by claiming that perhaps they need to separate, as they are colleagues, and it will not go over well.   I really liked Gia, and she was so much fun.  I also liked Felix, once he opened up and fell hard for Gia.  Will they be able to find a way to stay together or go their separate ways? 

The Missed Connection was a short story, that was very well written by Denise Williams.  I did enjoy the entire opposites attract romance, which was so very well done.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams – a Review

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The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams – a Review

 

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Description:
Britta didn’t plan on falling for her personal trainer, and Wes didn’t plan on Britta. Plans change and it’s unclear if love, career, or both will meet them at the finish line.

Britta Colby works for a lifestyle website, and when tasked to write about her experience with a hot new body-positive fitness app that includes personal coaching, she knows it’s a major opportunity to prove she should write for the site full-time.

As CEO of the FitMe app, Wes Lawson finally has the financial security he grew up without, but despite his success, his floundering love life and complicated family situation leaves him feeling isolated and unfulfilled. He decides to get back to what he loves—coaching. Britta’s his first new client and they click immediately.

As weeks pass, she’s surprised at how much she enjoys experimenting with her exercise routine. He’s surprised at how much he looks forward to talking to her every day. They convince themselves their attraction is harmless, but when they start working out in person, Wes and Britta find it increasingly challenging to deny their chemistry and maintain a professional distance.

Wes isn’t supposed to be training clients, much less meeting with them, and Britta’s credibility will be sunk if the lifestyle site finds out she’s practically dating the fitness coach she’s reviewing. Walking away from each other is the smartest thing to do, but running side by side feels like the start of something big.

 

 

Review:

The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams is another one of her standalone romantic novels, with some characters (and the lead in this one) having been in her previous book.

We meet our heroine, Britta Colby, who is an assistant for a lifestyle website, and she is determined to become a writer for the company.  She and her competitor Claire are assigned to test out two new fitness apps, write their thoughts and experiences, with one of them getting a promotion.  Britta joins the FitMe App, and though she is overweight, she feels this company concentrates mostly on health, rather than losing weight; especially since she is comfortable in her body.

Wes Lawson, our hero, is one of the owners of FitMe, and lately he has been distracted, as well as being annoyed by his ex and issues with his mother and sister. When he reads the application of a new member, and gets a kick out of her funny comments, Wes decides perhaps he needs a break, and becomes her coach.  In a short time, a friendship is built, with Wes enjoying his coaching and fun bantering with Britta. 

Britta surprises herself when she begins to enjoy her exercise routines, and the coach who helps push her to the max.  They both begin to enjoy their company, and despite the rules against becoming involved with a client, a bond forms as they begin to do workouts together, with Wes constantly pushing her to exceed. Though their chemistry heats up, they both know that they need to keep it professional, which becomes difficult with each passing day. Britta was a fantastic fun heroine, and Wes was sweet, caring and sexy.  Will they be able to walk away when Britta’s competition ends?

I loved most of the characters, whether they were Britta’s friends or Wes’s coworkers, as they were all very supportive.  I also loved the bantering between Britta and Wes.  Lots of fun.  I did find that part of the book was a bit slow at times, with some repetition, but overall, it was a great read.

What follows is a wonderful, fun, emotional and sexy romance, with a fantastic couple we quickly fell in love with.  Britta was a fabulous heroine, who was falling hard for Wes, but at the same time was concerned about her competition and getting a promotion.  Would that destroy her possible relationship with Wes.  The Fastest Way to Fall was a delightful, fun, engaging contemporary romance that was very well written by Denise Williams.    I fully suggest if you enjoy pure romances, that you read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams – a Review

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How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams – a Review

 

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Description:
One daring to-do list and a crash course in flirtation turn a Type A overachiever’s world upside down.

When her flailing department lands on the university’s chopping block, Professor Naya Turner’s friends convince her to shed her frumpy cardigan for an evening on the town. For one night her focus will stray from her demanding job and she’ll tackle a new kind of to-do list. When she meets a charming stranger in town on business, he presents the perfect opportunity to check off the items on her list. Let the guy buy her a drink. Check. Try something new. Check. A no-strings-attached hookup. Check…almost.

Jake makes her laugh and challenges Naya to rebuild her confidence, which was left toppled by her abusive ex-boyfriend. Soon she’s flirting with the chance at a more serious romantic relationship—except nothing can be that easy. The complicated strings around her dating Jake might destroy her career.

Naya has two options. She can protect her professional reputation and return to her old life or she can flirt with the unknown and stay with the person who makes her feel like she’s finally living again.

 

 

Review:

How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams is a romantic stand alone novel.  We meet Naya Turner, our heroine at the start, as she is concerned that she may lose her job. Naya is a Professor close to tenure, who leads a math department that educates teachers on student training.  Her department could be dropped; she is a workaholic, and dresses more on the frumpy side.  When Naya has dinner with her married friends, Felicia and Aaron, they put pressure on her to start living her life again, and to make a list of things she needs to do.  Naya had broken up with her ex abusive boyfriend a few years ago and lives an introverted lifestyle. 

In order to check things off of her list, she decides to go to a bar, and meets a charming stranger, who offers her a drink (one of things on her list).  Jake Shaw, is in Chicago, attending a wedding/meeting and finds himself enjoying the company of a beautiful and shy young lady, and they decide to go out for ice cream and get to know each other.  Of course, they do not tell each other their last names.  The fun begins as Jake constantly texts her and wants to go out on a date.  The bantering between them was sweet and fun, with Naya slowly gaining more confidence as she starts seeing Jake. Right from the start, I loved Jake and Naya together, as they made a perfect couple, and their chemistry was off the wall.

Problems arise when Naya learns that Jake is part of a group that is helping the University calculate what changes need to be made in all the departments.  At first Naya worries that It will harm her, if anyone finds out about her relationship with Jake, but he convinces her otherwise.  She is also appalled that her ex is friends with the University President, and he threatens her that he can help or harm her.

What follows is a wonderful, fun, emotional and steamy romance, with a fantastic couple we quickly fell in love with.  Naya was a fabulous heroine, who fell hard for Jake, but at the same time was concerned for her reputation if people would find out before the decisions would be made.  I thought Jake was great, and he was so caring and loyal, not to mention very sexy. To tell too much more would spoil the fun of this engaging romantic story.  How to Fail at Flirting was a delightful engaging story, so very well written by Denise Williams.  I fully suggest if you enjoy pure romances, that you read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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