Review: Broadway Dreams by Leigh Morano

Broadway Dreams by Leigh Morano

Description:

Kelly was born to be a star. Unfortunately she was born into a world with more starlight than starlets. Despite the fact that most of her friends had surrendered to the idea that they would be part of Midwestern small town life for the rest of their lives, Kelly believed differently. When she looked up at the evening sky, the stars above her seemed to spell out her name, as if they were demanding that she be something more.

Kelly dutifully attended community college, but she found it difficult to succeed at something that she had so little passion for. She loved acting in high school plays and decided she was better off taking a chance and giving her Broadway dreams a shot. With the reluctant blessing of her family, Kelly took the great leap of moving to New York City. She had an grizzled old uncle who lived on a funky houseboat in the big city, and he was willing to take her in.
Kelly worked as a bartender and the work was her refuge. It was a hole in the wall waterside bar that was frequented mostly by locals.

It had been six years since she arrived in New York City and just as her belief in dreams had begun to fade, into the bar walks Chase. He was very handsome,rich and way out of her league, however, he was very attracted to her.
After a hot and sexy first night together, they experience high drama and tension during a powerful relationship.

A fling with some stranger had not been part of her New York actress plan.
So far it had left her sharing a houseboat with her alcoholic uncle, and working at a dive bar just to make ends meet. None of the Broadway dreams she had journeyed to the city with and come to fruition. Maybe, she thought to herself, it was time to give up and move back home.

Will she find true love with Chase ?
Will her Broadway dreams come true ?
Will she give up and move back home ?

My Thoughts:
This was just right for a short romance. A quick read, but a whole story. I like Chase. He is a sweet guy and puts up with Kelly even when she is very stubborn. I even teared up a bit at the end. Nice story if you need a quick, steamy romance fix.

My Rating: ****
Steam Factor: !!!!

My Source: author

Where to get it:
Amazon
 
Where to find the author:
Amazon Page

Review: Romance on the Bay by Leigh Morano

Romance on the Bay by Leigh Morano

My Description:
Audrianna is recovering from a recent divorce. She moved to Sausalito from San Fransisco and opened a bed and breakfast to give her something to keep herself busy, but it doesn't seem to be working. Then she gets her first guest. 

My Thoughts:
This novella is good for when you are in the mood for a romance but don't have a lot of time. You can feel Audrianna's sadness over the end of her marriage, and her internal conflict when she meets Paul. There are some steamy love scenes. The main conflict in the story is easily overcome, leading to a quick Happlily Ever After. The characters are not terribly well developed and there is not much back story, but I just needed a quick romance fix and this worked for me.

My Rating: ****
Steam Factor: !!!!

Where to get it:
Amazon

About the author:
My passion is writing stories that unleash the power of romantic relationships. I focus on the characters feelings, thoughts and sensual sensations in contemporary life. I write for women who are looking for escape in the form of romance, great sexual experiences that are positive and beautiful, thoughtful gestures and hunky heros with a desire for adventure. I live aboard a floating home in Sausalito, California with my boyfriend and cat.

Where to find the author:
Amazon author page

Excerpt from Romance on the Bay:

Audrianna had moved to Sausalito, just across the bay from San Francisco, to regroup in a new city. She had purchased a rundown bed and breakfast to pour her mind and effort into. Of course, perhaps, she had chosen unwisely. Every time she swung the paintbrush across a wall, she would glance over, expecting him to be there, to laugh at her attempt. Each time he was not, she found herself spiraling into a game of what went wrong?

Once she had been in love, so madly and so deeply that if anyone had declared she had made a mistake, she would have laughed in their face. Until one day she realized, her mistake was in thinking that her husband Kevin felt the same way. Now she was certain that he had not. For if he had ever been in love the way she was, he would not have been able to offer his love to someone else. They had been drifting apart over the years, but she thought it was only because life had taken their attention from each other. His business was very successful and he always had to attend to it. She had gone back to school with the idea that she would like to reinvent herself as an interior decorator. Perhaps she had been too busy to notice that he was changing, or that he needed more from her than she was offering. In the end she had no choice in the matter. He announced that he was in love with another woman, and her whole world spun around like a tornado, and this was where it had dropped her. Thirty-three years old and walking alone on a beach in Sausalito.

As she approached the entrance of the bed and breakfast that belonged to her as of one week ago, she wondered if she would ever be able to see it as home. Its wood was seasoned by weather, and its charm was worn down by time. What it lacked in beauty, it made up for in character. That was what she told herself as she grasped the rail and climbed the steps that led to the back porch. As she leaned her weight on the railing, the rotted wood snapped, and she fell face first into the sand beside the steps.

She lay there for a moment, as if surrendering to the weight of the world pressing down on her back. When she sat up she spit sand from between her lips and tried to shake it out of her hair. She felt a familiar frustration well up from deep within her. This was not the life she had expected. She did not want to be alone. She wanted to be wrapped up in the arms of a lover, who cared as deeply and intensely for her, as she did for him. She had believed in romance since she was a young girl, marrying her dolls off to each other. She had been certain that true love was what life was meant for. Now she felt so lost. All of the books that she had read, encouraged her to feel free and liberated. Her friends had suggested that she see her divorce as a second chance to fall in love. To Audrianna, love was for eternity, not for eleven years. No one seemed to understand that. Her closest friend had even accused her of being too old fashioned and sappy.

“Audrianna,” She had insisted. “Love is nothing more than hormones and timing.”
She sighed as she looked up at the sky once more. A few stars were beginning to show themselves. She would never understand who anyone could look up at the stars, or across the ocean, or deep into the eyes of another person, and not believe that life was about more than chemical hormones and timing.
Audrianna closed her eyes and hoped that just a little bit of the stars magic would rub off on her. Perhaps her fairy tale had not had a happy ending, but maybe it was possible that it was not over yet.

Review: Caribbean Romance by Leigh Morano

Caribbean Romance by Leigh Morano

Description:
Vanessa is the romantic type. She likes the idea of a man looking deeply into her eyes and professing his adoration, for only her. Secretly she enjoyes a man who is just a little jealous, just a little possessive, it makes her feel as if he could not live without her.
Here she is in a local coffee shop explaining to her best friend Marilyn, that she is in love with a man she met in a chat room as Marilyn listens with disparagement.
She knows that her friend is only trying to protect her, and she knows that she is probably right. Yet, Marcelo seems so different than the other men she has been with. “I am being careful.” She added as she sat back in her chair. “We've never even met.”
Marilyn smirked at that. It seemed rather strange to her that Vanessa could be gushing over a man she had only interacted with in a chat room and through e-mails.
“So how could you possibly be smiling like that about him?” Marilyn asked as she watched Vanessa's lips quirk up into a silly grin at the mere mention of Marcelo.
Vanessa sighed dreamily as she remembered the sound of Marcelo's voice whispering in her ear through her telephone. The first time they had taken the giant step from conversations on the computer to telephone, her stomach had been full of butterflies. She called him, of course, and blocked her number as a safety precaution. He picked up on the first ring.
He did not say Hello.
He said. “Vanessa,” In his low rich tone spiced by his sultry accent. He said it with such desperation and anticipation that Vanessa had not been able to respond at first. Instead she listened to the sound of his breath. He had not hung up. He listened right back.
Minutes passed in shared silence, before Vanessa was finally able to answer.
“Hi.” She had squeaked out, her heart racing, her body trembling like a teenager with a crush.
His laughter had been ambrosia to her, tickling her from the inside. They had been chatting for months, and Vanessa had suspected form their first conversation that there was something magical about him. When she heard his laughter, she was certain of it.
Vanessa's face was flushed crimson as she emerged from her memory to find Marilyn gazing at her expectantly.
“He is everything I have ever dreamed of.” Vanessa gushed as she looked stubbornly back at her friend. “So maybe our relationship is not the most conventional, but it works for us.”
Marilyn sighed and took a short sip of her coffee. She set the cup back down to the table, and settled her fiercest glare on Vanessa.
“Arthur and Scott were everything you dreamed of Vanessa. Maybe it is time you took a look at your dreams.”
Marilyn's words struck Vanessa hard, but she was not angry at her for them. She had made Marilyn promise her that if she ever got lost again she would do everything in her power to pull her back from the edge of what Vanessa would mistake for true love.
“Marcelo is different.” Vanessa insisted as she swept her white blonde hair back over her shoulders. The pin-straight strands rippled along the back of her blouse as they settled back into place. Marilyn shook her head as she took in the sight of her beautiful friend.

Welcome to the adventure of Vanessa and Marcelo and find out where the romance will lead. Will they fiind happiness from a chat room? The odds are against it but dreams can come true. Read on and find out for yourself.


My Thoughts:
Vanessa and Marcelo met online and have been chatting and talking on the phone for some time. What will happen when they finally meet in person? Vanessa has some issues from past relationships and Marcelo has a past relationship that comes back to haunt them. This is a quick read. Not much back story or interaction with other characters. Great for when you are in the mood for a sweet romance with some steamy love scenes. A satisfying, short romance.

My Rating: ****
Steam Factor: !!!!



Where to get it:
Amazon

Where to find the author:
Amazon Page