Book Review! Live, Ranch, Love by Emma Lucy

Live, Ranch, Love (Willow Ridge #1) by Emma Lucy
Genre: Adult Fiction (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: September 30, 2025
Publisher: Avon

She’s here to sell my ranch, but now I think she might steal my heart.

Rory Jones prided herself on the successful life she’d built as a wellness influencer and author - until she walked in on her boyfriend with another woman after a family funeral. Forced to run away to her late great aunt’s ranch in Colorado, Rory’s hoping that fixing up and selling the place will help her find her confidence and inspiration to write again.

But Wyatt Hensley, the grumpy head rancher, isn’t willing to hand over the reins to the job he gave everything up for. Especially not to a yoga-loving, manifestation guru who doesn’t even know how to ride a horse. Yet, with a past that’s taught him to not bother dreaming anymore, even Wyatt knows he can’t hold on forever.

Until one day they strike a deal that might just save both of their careers – help Rory turn the ranch into a wellness retreat and Wyatt can stay.

With Rory’s shattered self-confidence and Wyatt’s last drop of hope also on the line, staying professional is a must. But can they ignore the sizzling tension growing between them that could jeopardise it all?

Especially when the rocky path ahead seems a lot easier with the other riding beside them.

Live, Ranch, Love is the first book in the Willow Ridge series by Emma Lucy. Rory had her life set until her world got flipped. As a result, when she arrived at her newly inherited ranch, Wyatt's world flipped too. It started off enemies to lovers in the very beginning, but it changed to insta-love pretty quick once the characters plans started changing. Their story was cute. They were cute together. I love this kind of story, especially on a ranch setting. There was some repetition, which I can usually overlook unless it gets ridiculous, And for the most part, I did this time around too, but both characters liked to use the word GD about every other page. I'm definitely not opposed to cussing, but that one is one of my peeves. It makes me cringe internally. Especially, when it pops up every other page or so. The overall story was fun and entertaining, and I'd be curious which character's story gets told. Cherry & Duke?? There's gotta be a story there! 

Live, Ranch, Love by Emma Lucy was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.

Emma Lucy is a romance author based in London who loves writing books that will make you swoon, blush, and hopefully learn to believe in yourself a little more. When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, listening to whatever new country music artist she’s obsessed with, or trying to convince her boyfriend to go to a bookstore with her. Live, Ranch, Love is Emma’s debut novel.

To learn more about Emma Lucy and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads & Pinterest.

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Book Review: Blood-Kissed Sky by J.A. London

Blood-Kissed Sky (Darkness Before Dawn #2) by J.A. London
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal Romance)
Date Published: December 26, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins

There's nowhere left to hide.

I thought vampires were our enemies - they controlled our lives, isolated our cities, and demanded our blood - until I met Victor. With Victor taking over as the new Lord Valentine, things were supposed to get better. Instead, they're worse than ever.

Day Walkers, a new breed of vampires who can walk in the sun, are terrorizing the city. Blood supplies are low, and if Victor's vampires don't get enough, they will become infected with the Thirst - a disease that will turn them into mindless killers.

To stop it, I must journey across the desolate wasteland to the very place where the sickness began. I can only hope that the answers that await me are enough to save us all... before it's too late.

“I'm leaving the door partly open," he says as he follows Tegan. "You scream if you need me."

Once he is outside, Richard says, "He does realize that if he hears your scream, it's already too late.”

Blood-Kissed Sky is the second book in the Darkness Before Dawn trilogy by J.A. London. I really like this world’s take on vampires. It’s different from most books. There was a lot going on this time around. We get answers to lingering questions from book one, and we get more information and happenings, leading to more questions along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it kept my attention the whole way so through. This was an excellent second book.

Have you read the first book yet? 

J.A. London is the mother-son writing team of Rachel Hawthorne(Lorraine Heath) and her son, Alex London. Rachel has written many novels for teens, including the popular Dark Guardian series. Alex, a recent graduate with a degree in Historical Studies, enjoys combining history and fiction to create unique worlds. The Darkness Before Dawn series is their first joint project.

To learn more about J.A. London and their books, visit their website. You can also find them on Goodreads.

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Book Review: A Curse of Blood & Stone by K.A. Tucker

A Curse of Blood & Stone (Fate & Flame #2) by K.A. Tucker 
Genre: Adult Fiction (Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: July 12, 2022
Publisher: Self

“I do not know how to love you and be a good king to my people.”

Romeria has fled Cirilea as a traitor. Zander has sacrificed his crown to save her life but dreads what her existence means for the future of his realm. They both know that no immortal will ever welcome her as Islor's queen. Side-by-side as outcasts - yet with a growing distance between them - they watch as a new threat to the kingdom unfurls, one larger than they could have imagined.

Guided by an uncertain prophecy and with their allies rapidly losing faith, their company journeys to the Venhorn Mountains in search of answers. Yet with Romeria struggling to wield her newfound abilities and the mortal rebellion growing in strength, it may already be too late.

From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker comes the second novel in her Fate and Flame series, an adult fantasy story that should be read in series order.

A Curse of Blood & Stone is the second book in the Fate & Flame trilogy by K.A. Tucker. This one definitely fell into the Second Book Syndrome category for me. I hate saying that but everything I loved about the characters in the first book was missing from the second book… and Where did the plot go? There was a lot of wondering around, but what really happened? How did the plot progress? I don’t feel like it did. I think it's me. I feel like I missed something!

Check out more by this author!

Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

To learn more about K.A. Tucker and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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Book Review: Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

Ashes (Ashes #1) by Ilsa J. Bick
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Dystopian Horror)
Date Published: November 29, 2011
Publisher: Egmont USA

It could happen tomorrow . . .

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling post-apocalyptic novel about a world that could become ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

Ashes is the first book in the Ashes Trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick. This story has a big The Walking Dead feel to it, with a touch of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, it stands on its own completely. I’m not quite sure if we’re dealing with zombies or just people whose brains got scrambled after the big zap or what yet, but these guys are way worse than most zombies you read about. They can actually think somewhat. They are brutal and not what you want to come across in the woods. In this world, I wouldn’t want to come across an actual human either. Everything and everyone is potentially dangerous. The first parts of the book kept me completely engaged. I loved the dynamic between Alex, Tom, and Ellie. They were believable and relatable. Once we got to Rule, things slowed up significantly. Then the ending left me needing the next book now! 

Chapter 1

Four days later, Alex perched on a knuckle of bone-cold rock and whittled an alder branch to a toothpick as she waited for her coffee water to boil. A stiff wind gusted in from the northwest, wet and cold. Far below, the Moss River sparkled with sun dazzle, a glittering ribbon that wound through a deep valley of leafless hardwoods, silver-blue spruce, and the darker green of dense hemlock and feathery white pine. The chilly air smelled chilly—which is to say that for Alex, it really smelled like nothing at all. Which Alex was pretty used to, having not smelled anything for well over a year.

The cold was a surprise, but then she’d never hiked the Waucamaw in late September either. The Waucamaw Wilderness had always been a summer adventure with her parents when pesky no-see-ums, bloodsucking mosquitoes, and heat that could melt a person to a sweat puddle were her biggest problems. Now, she was crunching over brittle ice and skidding on frost-covered roots and bare rock every morning. The going was treacherous, each step an invitation to turn an ankle. The farther north and the closer to Lake Superior she got—still two days in the future and nothing but a hazy purple smear smudging the horizon—the greater the risk of bad weather. She could just make out, to the very far west, beneath a slate layer of clouds, the feathery, blue-gray swirls of rain blowing south. But for her, the way ahead was nothing but blue skies: a day that promised to be crisp and picture-perfect, and something she was pretty sure her parents would’ve loved.

If only she could remember who they were.

In the beginning, there’d been smoke.

She was fifteen and an orphan by then, which was kind of sucky, although she’d had a year to get over it already. When the smoky stink persisted and there was no fire, her aunt decided Alex was having one of those post-traumatic things and shipped her off to a shrink, a complete gestapo-wannabe who probably wore black stilettos and beat her husband: Ah zo, ze smoke, zis is a repetition of your parents’ crash, yah? Only the shrink was also pretty smart and promptly shipped Alex off to Barrett, a neurosurgeon, who found the monster.

Of course, the tumor was cancerous and inoperable. So she got chemo and radiation, and her hair and eyebrows fell out. The upside: her legs and pits never needed shaving. The downside was that the antinausea drugs didn’t work—so just her luck—and she puked about every five minutes, driving the bulimics at school a little nuts because she was, like, this total pro. In between treatments, she stopped puking and her hair, rich and red as blood, grew back. A chronic headache muttered in her temples, but like Barrett said, no one ever died from pain. True, but some days you didn’t much enjoy living either. Eventually, the smell of smoke went away—but so did the smell of everything else, because the monster didn’t shrivel up but continued silently growing and munching.

What no one warned her about was that when you had no sense of smell at all, a lot of memories fizzled. Like the way the smell of a pine tree conjured a quick brain-snapshot of tinsel and Christmas lights and a glittery angel, or the spice of nutmeg and buttery cinnamon made you flash to a bright kitchen and your mother humming as she pressed pie crust into a glass dish. With no sense of smell, your memories dropped like pennies out of a ripped pocket, until the past was ashes and your parents were blanks: nothing more than the holes in Swiss cheese.

A stuttering beat, something between a lawnmower and a semiautomatic rifle, broke the silence. A moment later, she spotted the plane—a white, single-prop job—buzzing over the valley, heading north and west. Her eyes dropped to her watch: ten minutes to eight. Sucker was right on time. After four days, she decided that it was the same plane that made a twice-daily run, a little before eight every morning and about twenty minutes after four every afternoon. She could pretty much set her watch by the guy.

The buzz of the plane faded and the quiet descended again like a bell jar over the forest. The hollow thock-thock-thock of a woodpecker drifted up from the valley far below. A trio of crows grated to one another in the pines, and a hawk carved a lazy spiral against the sky.

She sipped her coffee, heard herself swallow. The coffee smelled and tasted like nothing, just hot and brown. Then, something—a soft, tan blur—moved out of the corner of her eye, off to the right. She tossed a quick glance, not expecting anything more exciting than a squirrel or maybe a chipmunk.So the dog was, well, kind of a surprise.

Among other things, I was an English major in college and so I know that I'm supposed to write things like, "Ilsa J. Bick is ." Except I hate writing about myself in the third person like I'm not in the room. Helloooo, I'm right here . . . So let's just say that I'm a child psychiatrist (yeah, you read that right)as well as a film scholar, surgeon wannabe (meaning I did an internship in surgery and LOVED it and maybe shoulda stuck), former Air Force major—and an award-winning, best-selling author of short stories, e-books, and novels. Believe me, no one is more shocked about this than I . . . unless you talk to my mother.

To learn more about Ilsa J. Bick and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, BookBub, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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Book Review: Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London

Darkness Before Dawn (Darkness Before Dawn #1) by J.A. London
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal Romance)
Date Published: May 29, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins

At seventeen, Dawn Montgomery knows that monsters really do come out at night—after all, they are her job. It’s just after the thirty-years war between vampires and humans, and as an ambassador between the two sides (a role she inherited when her parents were killed), Dawn quickly learns that balancing schoolwork, teen life, and the requests of Lord Valentine, the most frightening vampire in the region, isn’t easy.

And it only gets more complicated when she forms a tentative friendship with Victor, the mysterious stranger who rescued her from a hoard of vampires…only to discover that not only is Victor a vampire, but that he is Lord Valentine’s son.

Soon Dawn is struggling to remember that with everything on the line, she can’t afford to fall for the enemy…

Darkness Before Dawn is the first book in the Darkness Before Dawn Trilogy by J. A. London. Dawn is a super strong lead, and she’s placed in an impossible situation after the death of her parents. As ambassador between humans and vampires, she’s at risk of death anytime she meets with Lord Valentine. Dealing with the humans isn’t all fun and games either, since they lost the war. There’s fear and prejudices on both sides.. and rightly so. Aftermath of War is never pretty. Plus, Dawn’s still in high school, so there’s that. There’s sort of a love triangle, if you can call it that. The world they live in is intriguing, and the human/vampire situationship going on is definitely interesting. This one has my attention.

“The vampires took everything from me, but I'm looking into the eyes of one who has the power to give me back a reason to live, who can heal my gaping hole of sorrow.”

Have you read the second book yet? 

J.A. London is the mother-son writing team of Rachel Hawthorne(Lorraine Heath) and her son, Alex London. Rachel has written many novels for teens, including the popular Dark Guardian series. Alex, a recent graduate with a degree in Historical Studies, enjoys combining history and fiction to create unique worlds. The Darkness Before Dawn series is their first joint project.

To learn more about J.A. London and their books, visit their website. You can also find them on Goodreads.

Buy this book at: