Melanie Moreland – Talk Nerdy Book Blog

Fervent Yet Vexing: The Boss by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 3-stars, ARC, Book Review

November 1, 2021

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The Gist: A dark romantic suspense novel that boasts a sweet romance yet proves vexing with its double standards.

Series: Men of Hidden Justice, #1*

Release Date: October 14, 2021

Synopsis

Men of Hidden Justice
Because love can bleed into the darkest heart

Terrified and on the run, I was lost.
He found me.

I witnessed his crime and he gave me a choice.
Marriage or death.

I never expected to love him.
But the choices were never really mine.

Could this avenging angel of death ever love me back?
His touch consumed me.

Did my heart stand a chance?

Previously published on Book+Main and in Take Me To Bed Collection. New added content for a complete romantic suspense experience.

Ending

HEA with Epilogue

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Suicide attempt (on-page)
• Gun violence
• Murder
• Reference to child pornography and sex trafficking
• Attempted murder
• reference to/discussion of abusive romantic relationship
— Heroine’s stalker is an ex-boyfriend of 6-months
*** there’s no physical abuse in the MCs relationship. However, there are some scenes that can be off-putting for some:
—— the couple have a discussion after a heated argument where the Hero mentions he stayed away because he was angry, feeling out of control and scared he would’ve physically lashed out:
—— Heroine is unable to leave the house without Hero’s permission because he has enemies.
• Reference to kidnapping

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Hero pushing the Heroine away
• No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 3-stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

Note: I received The Boss from Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Tender and Cozy: Harvest of Love by M. Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, ARC, Book Review

September 24, 2021

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The Gist: A tender and cozy romance that explores fresh starts and the importance of community and listening to one’s emotions.

Series: Insta-Spark Collection, #5*

Release Date: September 23, 2021

Synopsis

Danica Rawlins

She’s a career woman, constantly busy, under pressure, and in demand. But the job that once seemed like a dream to her now feels more like a nightmare.
When the stress gets too much, she escapes the office and drives, discovering beauty in the wide-open spaces that surround her in the country. Leaving the worries behind, if only temporarily.
The last thing she expected to find was him.

Noah Edwards

He left the big city behind him long ago and forged a different path. One of earth and sky instead of steel and smog. Acres of plants instead of thousands of people.
The day she stumbled into his life, everything changed.
He saw his former life in her.
And when he looked in her eyes, he saw his future.
He was determined to save her.
Show her a life she never dreamed existed—and a love that would enrich them both.

Book #5 of the Insta-Spark collection
Complete standalone reads with one thing in common – lots of sweetness and a guaranteed HEA. Instant attraction, little angst – love and happiness abounds in this series.

Ending

HEA with Epilogue

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Panic attacks (on-page)

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• No pushing away
• No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4-stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

Note: I received Harvest of Love from Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Moving and Intimate: Age of Ava by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 5-stars, ARC, Book Review

August 25, 2021

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The Gist: A moving and intimate opposites-attract romance with a perfectly grumpy Hero and badass Heroine that explores family and the rewards of vulnerability.

Series: ABC Corp, #4*

Release Date: August 26, 2021

Synopsis

AVA CALLAGHAN
A woman working in a male-dominated field.
Organized, strong, and tenacious.
That’s how she has to be to succeed.

HUNTER OWENS
A loner.
He needs no one, has no ties, and his future is an unanswered question mark.
It’s all he knows.
Until the day their lives intersect.

He sees the woman she hides from the world.
She nurtures the part of him he lost long ago.
But they both agree—their connection is temporary.
They are only for now.

Can their stubborn natures allow them to bend and accept that maybe, just maybe, there is more to life than they believed?
That love can heal.
That happiness can exist.
That for now can be forever.

Ending

HEA

Representation

• Side character with a congenital amputation of one of her arms (her right arm is only partially formed)

Possible Triggers: YES

• Death of Hero’s grandparents and mother
• Parental neglect and abandonment
• Verbal abuse (described, in the past)
• Medical trauma

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Hero (majorly) pushing the Heroine away
• No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 5-stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

Note: I received Age of Ava from Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Indulgently Sweet: Loved by Liam by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 3-stars, ARC, Book Review

July 29, 2021

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The Gist: An indulgently sweet companion romance to Finding Ronan’s Heart about the power of family and love yet fails to refresh its plot.

Series: ABC Corp, #3*

Release Date: July 29, 2021

Synopsis

Liam Callaghan is happy with the way things are.
He has a successful business, a family he loves, and a life he thinks is fulfilling and complete.
Until a favor for his brother brings him to her.
She sparks something inside him. Something he had no idea he was missing.
One touch and he knows Paige Winters is the woman he wants.
She and her daughter become his focus. His world.
He only has to convince her to believe in them.

Liam entered Paige’s life quietly, but from the moment he took her hand, her world exploded.
Larger-than-life, he stepped in, brightening her days and filling her with happiness.
But she has more than her own heart on the line.
Her daughter, Lucy, has to come first.
As much as her soul yearns for him, can she trust his words?
Can the seeds love plants take root and bloom, growing over the past?
If Liam has anything to do with it, they will.

Author Note: You have read their story as told through Ronan and Beth in FINDING RONAN’S HEART. But readers have asked to see it through the character’s eyes – and my characters agreed. This is a companion novel to be enjoyed with Vested Interest: ABC Corp Book 2.

Ending

HEA

Representation

• Supporting character with a congenital amputation of one of her arms (her right arm is only partially formed)
• Side character with a mobility disability

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Heroine’s ex-husband was verbally abusive and ableist
• Reference to bullying and ableism
• Hero’s university girlfriend died in a tragic skiing accident

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
– The MCs run into the Heroine’s ex-husband who is very rude and verbally abusive towards the Heroine
• Does have the Heroine briefly pushing the Hero away
• No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 3.75-stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

Note: I received Loved by Liam through Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Poignant and Impassioned: My Saving Grace by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, ARC, Book Review

February 11, 2021

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Cover of "My Saving Grace" by Melanie Moreland

The Gist: A poignant forbidden romance packed with some classic romance tropes: married in Vegas, grumpy Hero, employee-boss relationship and a second chance romance. The novel is riddled with angst and sweet moments and explores what it means to find The One at the exact wrong time and a Hero who will do all he can to win his girl back. Unfortunately, the plot suffers from a dumb misunderstanding, which detracted from my enjoyment of the novel.

Series: ABC Corp, #1*

Release Date: February 25, 2021

Synopsis

It’s time for the next generation of Vested Interest to find their Happily Ever Afters.

Grace VanRyan has her life mapped out. Law school, a career with ABC, and a bright future ahead of her.

Until Jaxson Richards steps into the picture. He’s everything she hasn’t planned for. Older, sexy, off-limits.

And her new boss.

When the passion between them explodes, will her life blow up along with it?

Ending

HEA

Representation

• Gay supporting character

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Sexual harassment
• Blackmail
• Child abuse and abandonment
• Reference to drug abuse and a child being a drug courier
• Near death experience in a gas like explosion

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OM drama
• Does kinda have OW drama
– The Hero is never with the OW but she sexually harasses him at work once on-page and becomes an issue later on in the MCs relationship.
• the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have the Hero pushing the Heroine away
• No separation
– They work together but they do break up romantically for a few weeks
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4-stars

*Each novel in the series is Standalone

Note: I received My Saving Grace through Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Saccharine Yet Endearing: Heart Strings by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, ARC, Book Review

September 29, 2020

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Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 12, 2020

Synopsis:

A woman drowning in sorrow. Invisible.

A man that notices it all. Sees her.

The only thing that gets Charlotte Prescott through the day is the haunting eyes and magnetic voice uplifting her in the subway station every evening.

All Montgomery Logan wants to do is ease the pain of the woman he feels a strange, protective pull to. He serenades her from afar, knowing their worlds will never intersect.

Until the day they do.

And everything changes.

Will their differences make them stronger or tear them apart?

A standalone contemporary romance coming October 12, 2020 from NYT/USA Today Bestselling Author Melanie Moreland.

Ending:

HEA with Extended Epilogue

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Death of parent due to heart attack when a child
• Death of brother due to leukemia when a child
• Discussion of homelessness and starvation

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• No pushing away
• No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

Note: I received Heart Strings through Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Bentley (Vested Interests, #1) by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

March 22, 2018

B

Series: Vested Interests*

Release Date: February 8th, 2018

Synopsis:

Three young men meet in university and form a lifelong friendship.
Their pasts dictate the men they are, but their present shapes their future.

What happens when these men meet the one person they are destined to be with? Can they fight their feelings and walk away? Or will they each succumb and learn the sweet agony of love?

Bentley
The leader of the group. He is uptight, formal, and cold. Rigid and set in his ways, always following the same path. Until the day, he stumbles upon her.

Emmy
She brings with her spontaneity and light. The world she lives in is so different from his, yet he cannot control the draw to her. Nor can he explain the way she makes him feel.
Happy.
Protective.
Loved.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Heroine was abandoned by her whole family (parents and older brother)
• Hero’s parents died when he was young
• Abduction
• Suicide

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does Not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

*Each novel in the series is Standalone

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The Contract (The Contract, #1) by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

March 8, 2018

T

Series: The Contract

Release Date: May 24th, 2016

Synopsis:

A tyrant by day, a playboy by night. That is the reputation that precedes Richard VanRyan. He lives life the way he wants, no concern for the opinion of others. He cares for no one, is completely unrepentant, and he has no desire to change his ways.

Katharine Elliott works under Richard as his PA. She despises him and his questionable ethics, but endures all the garbage he sends her way, because she needs the job. Her end goal is far more important than the daily abuse and demands she tolerates from her nasty tyrant of a boss.

Until the day, he asks her for something she never expected. A new role with a personal contract — fiancée instead of PA.

What happens when two people who loathe each other, have to live together and act as though they are madly in love?

Sparks.

That’s what happens.

Can the power of love really change a person?

Will they survive the contract?

What do you do when the one person you hate the most becomes the one person you can’t live without?

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Heroine’s parents died when she was young
• Heroine had a traumatic experience in foster care until she met her guardian
• Heroine’s guardian has dementia and dies of old age
• Hero was neglected as a child… resulted in him being an Asshole

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

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Beneath the Scars By Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

December 31, 2014

B

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 14th, 2014

Synopsis:

The sound of the ocean, the of the waves as they kick up against he sand and rocks – these are the only sounds Megan Greene wants to hear. She wants to leave the rest of the world behind, and find some peace.
The offer of a private house on the beach, set in a small town in Maine, is perfect. Time to think, to be by herself. It’s all she wants. it’s the escape she needs.

Until she stumbles across the painting that seems to echo her own chaotic mindset. Until she meets the unfriendly artist behind the stormy painting and discovers his secrets.

All Zachary Adams wants is to be left alone. His canvases, and the unending score of the ocean and sand, are his life. They direct him – fill his hours. Bring him focus.

Until she enters his life. She dredges up memories of the past – the haunting images he has hidden for years; the fears he has never shared. A story he keeps buried below the surface.

Can she make hims see what he is missing? Can he trust her enough to believe?

Together they embark on a journey where their pasts collide and threaten to tear them apart. Will their fragile bon hold or wash away with ebbing tide?

Ending

 HEA

Representation

• Side character with a disability

Possible Triggers

• Gaslighting
• Emotional abuse
• Attempted murder (Off-page, described)

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• Does have OM drama
– The Heroine’s ex-boyfriend steals her book and paints himself as a vindictive, gold-digging, lying woman
• No OW
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

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