The Hard Bargain (Love and the City) by Julie Tetel Andresen-a review

THE HARD BARGAIN (Love and the City #3) by Julie Tetel Andresen-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au / B&N

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 26, 2019.

The curtain goes up on an unforgettable contemporary when Arthur Wexler is forced to protect his birthright after his aunt triggers “the marriage clause.”

An old-fashioned clause in the Wexler corporate documents requires Arthur to either get married within the year or forfeit his inheritance. Upon being ambushed by his aunt and the company lawyers with the news the clause will be invoked, he acts as if he has everything in control. He calmly assures his aunt he’ll bring his fiancée to the next family dinner.

Now he has to scramble. With the help of his best friend – a theater producer – Arthur hires Carla Pereira, a talented but currently unemployed actress, to play his fiancée-for-a-day. Carla performs perfectly, but real life doesn’t come with a script, and Arthur and Carla have to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.

When one simple dinner turns into an invitation for Carla to join the family on a week-long Caribbean cruise, the question becomes: How long can Arthur keep up the charade before the lines start to blur between acting and real feelings?

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REVIEW:  THE HARD BARGAIN is the third instalment in Julie Tetel Andresen’s contemporary, adult LOVE THE CITY romance series. This is businessman Arthur Wexler, and stage actress Carla Pereira’s story line. THE HARD BARGAIN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. You do not have to have read the previous stories in the series.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Arthur and Carla) THE HARD BARGAIN follows the fake fiancé relationship between businessman Arthur Wexler and stage actress Carla Pereira. Arthur Wexler’s Aunt Jeanette, the family matriarch, has called in the ‘clause’ forcing Arthur to marry before his next birthday or risk losing his inheritance but Arthur isn’t currently dating anyone, and finds himself at the local auditions for an off-Broadway show his best friend Jason is about to direct. Enter stage actress Carla Pereira, and the woman with whom Arthur will fall in love. What ensues is the fake fiancé relationship between Carla and Arthur that turns into something more.

Carla’s introduction to Aunt Jeanette is filled with lies and secrets that force Carla into the best acting role of her life, but Carla and Arthur are blindsided when Aunt Jeanette invites Carla on the family’s yearly cruise, a cruise that forces Arthur and Carla to keep up the ruse of friends and lovers. Together and alone, Carla and Arthur act on their attraction that quickly turns their fake relationship into something more.

The relationship between Carla and Arthur begins as a business arrangement in which Carla is paid to act as Arthur’s fiancé but Carla has many secrets, that if revealed, may force Arthur to walk away before getting too involved. Carla must play the part of a well-travelled fiancé, a fiancé whose real life is less than glamorous, bordering on heart break and ruin. The $ex scenes are mostly implied.

The colorful secondary and supporting characters include Arthur’s brother Frederick and his fiancé David; Arthur’s friend and director Jason; Aunt Jeanette, Carla’s mother, and her Uncle Gabe.

THE HARD BARGAIN is a story of family, friendships, obligations and lies. The premise is engaging and entertaining; the characters are energetic and sassy; the romance is a slow build into love and a happily ever after.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Buy Me Love (Buy Me Love Shapeshifter Series #1) by Julie Tetel Andresen-a review

BUY ME LOVE (Buy Me Love Shapeshifter Series #1) by Julie Tetel Andresen

Buy Me Love

ebook ONLY 99¢  Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon. uk / KOBO / Chapters

ABOUT THE BOOK: RELEASE DATE May 11, 2017

WEREWOLVES. PUPPET MASTERS. DEAD BODIES. WAX MUSEUMS. WHAT OTHER MYSTERIES DOES LONDON HOLD?

Detective Chief Inspector Moses Reilly of Scotland Yard is the consummate bachelor, married to his job–and with good reason. On a covert mission to infiltrate an international crime ring, he poses undercover on dates to find criminals running online dating scams that separate unwitting love struck participants from their life savings. His powerful deduction skills and level head can usually keep him several steps ahead of the women he meets, but his latest date is making his head spin.

The mysterious Zelda Sachsen works as a Guardian for G4S, a private security firm in London that has a global reach and deep pockets. She is working undercover trying to sniff out a crime ring that has international implications of its own when her sensitive nose detects an intriguing smell that she can’t let go of.

Relentless pursuit of the truth behind an abnormally creative murder near G4S headquarters brings Scotland Yard and G4S together, led by DCI Reilly and Zelda. As Zelda turns Reilly’s world upside down, can they both keep their heads long enough to crack the case?

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REVIEW: BUY ME LOVE is the first installment in Julie Tetel Andresen’s contemporary, adult BUY ME LOVE SHAPESHIFTER paranormal, romantic suspense series. This is Detective Chief Inspector Moses Reilly of Scotland Yard, and G4S Guardian Zelda Sachsen’s story line.

Told from several third person points of view including Zelda and Moses BUY ME LOVE focuses on the hunt for a killer. While undercover investigating on online dating scam DCI Moses Reilly meets the sultry Zelda Sachsen and many of her ‘alternate personalities’. When a body is found ‘posed’ on a bench in Russell Square Moses will come face to face to the ‘real’ Zelda Sachsen, a Guardian and agent for the secretive G4S, and more than sparks will fly when the couple begin working together to solve the mystery behind the body in the park. What ensues is the immediate attraction and building relationship between our leading couple as they dig deeper into the who, what and why of the Russell Square murder.

BUY ME LOVE is a story of murders, mystery, the supernatural and fated mates. While Moses believes in the existence of the paranormal including werewolves and shifters, he is surprised to learn that they live and work under his nose. Zelda is an investigator and agent for G4S, and finds herself on a path towards forever when partnered with Scotland Yard’s prestigious Detective Chief Inspector Moses Reilly. Their immediate connection concerns our leading hero but Zelda knows exactly why she is attracted to Moses Reilly. The $ex scenes are intimate, fade to black and mostly implied.

There are a large number of secondary and supporting characters including several members of the Scotland Yard police force, as well as the introduction of the local werewolf pack and its’ Alpha Egon Hanover.

The world building focuses on the investigations and take down of a killer; the attraction between two people whose lives intersect on more than one occasion; and the existence of a supernatural world in modern times.

BUY ME LOVE is a slow building story line where, approximately, the first forty percent introduces the players and background surrounding the murder investigation in Russell Square Park, and the undercover operation focusing on an online dating scam. I struggled with the infinitely slow unveiling in the first part of the story including little to no mention about the paranormal/supernatural aspects of the story, but thereafter, the action, mystery and suspense including the fated relationship between Moses and Zelda begins to build until the final reveal. The premise is intriguing and entertaining; the characters are colorful and dynamic.

I will caution North American readers that the story line is awash in British language, text, slang and figures of speech that may or may not be familiar. There are also a couple of ‘erroneous errors’ as it pertains to American ideals and realities including the confusion between Daffy vs Donald Duck 😉 .

Copy supplied for review.

Reviewed by Sandy

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