Review: Born for Starlight by Caitlyn O'Leary #10 - Jasper Creek series

Blurb

What if someone finally loved every chaotic, brilliant, untamable part of you?

Before she was a movie star, Angelica Drakos started her life as an abandoned baby in a Brazilian orphanage, where she was found by her four adoptive brothers who refused to leave her behind.

Fast forward three decades, and Angelica Drakos is part of the biggest, most chaotic family on Earth. That family — her parents and her big brothers — have been her safety net and rock as she worked her ass off making a name for herself in Hollywood. Now she had made it, but she was tired. It was time for a break. Time for some reevaluation, and where better than Jasper Creek, Tennessee, where some of her family and friends were calling home?

So she high-tailed it to Tennessee, figuring a couple of weeks would recharge her batteries, and then she could tackle whatever Hollywood threw at her next.

She sure didn't expect Matthew Grainger.

Laughing eyes. Tender heart. Big hands. Sometimes gruff. Always patient. And those shoulders.

Holy Hell.

But Matthew has secrets of his own, and Angelica's past isn't as far behind her as she thinks. When it pulls her back to Brazil, to a little girl named Luzia who needs someone to refuse to leave her behind, Angelica finally understands what her brothers gave her all those years ago. And she's about to find out whether Matthew is a man who stays.

book Link 🔗

AMAZON  | GOODREADS | STORYGRAPH 

Review

Born for Starlight: Small Town Romantic Suspense by Caitlyn O'Leary
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

BOOK: Born for Starlight by Caitlyn O'Leary (Format, e-book)
Status: Read | Rating: [5/5 ⭐] 
Total Pages 341
QUICK IMPRESSION  
This is book 10 in this series, I adore this series Jasper Creek is the perfect blend of small town romance and action and suspense.
QUICK NOTES  
(view spoiler)[
• [Chapter 14]: key scene note.
•I absolutely bawled through Zoe and Adam's wedding 💍 💒... Gosh Ms O'Leary's keyboard was on fire!
(hide spoiler)]

QUOTES TO KEEP  
• Milo – "I’m taking the train next time.”  
• Marty – “I am not paying for this flight.”  
• Zoe – "It turns out the best part of my story was a plot twist."  
• Matthew – "I took my time. And the moment when she went still and silent, like she was listening to something far away, I felt like a king."  
There are loads more I highlighted, but they're too spoilery!

KEY CHARACTERS  
• Angelica Drakos: [Role: Movie Star] Angelica started her life as an abandoned baby in a Brazilian orphanage, where she was found by her four adoptive brothers who refused to leave her behind.  
• Matthew Grainger: [Role: Consultant at Onyx Security] Guarded, with his past in the shadows, but he only has eyes for Angelica. Sometimes gruff. Always patient. And the perfect book boyfriend 🥰.

HONORABLE MENTION
• Little Grandma: [Role: Matriarch of Jasper Creek] Fiery and fiercely protective. Matchmaker, protector of outcasts and strangers. She's 102, and I'm convinced she's a fairy godmother 🤩.  
(There are more, and we get even more delicious alpha males, sassy ladies, and fun 😁!)

FINAL THOUGHTS  
• The Good: Ms. O'Leary's books just hit the sweet spot for me: the worldbuilding, pacing, plot twists, and characters... The town of Jasper Creek, Tennessee, is a fictional place I'd love to live in 😁. The book opens with a nail-biting scene, and when the storyline heads to Brazil, the tension mounts and I just got swept into the pages. Every scene with Little Grandma in it... and the wedding 💒 ❣️. Perfect.  
• The Bad: It ended 🤣... but there's Book 11 (Bruno Drakos's book) on pre-order now! And ooh, I predict this one will be 💥🧨 a 🎯 too. Plus, a spin-off series 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🤩.  
• Verdict: I LOVED IT—the tension, the tears (happy and sad). I've devoured every book Ms. O'Leary has written. I love a military/security/romantic suspense trope, so if you do too and haven't read any of Caitlyn O'Leary's books 📚, jump in and clap your hands, as she has an extensive back catalogue 🎯😍.

NOTE to Ms O'Leary I would love to read about Little Grandma... I bet she had a very interesting youth 🤣🕵🏼‍♀️ Jasper Creek OG series ❓

View all my reviews

Author Bio 

 Caitlyn O’Leary is a USA Today Bestselling Author, #1 Amazon Bestselling Author and a Golden Quill Finalist from Book Viral in 2015. 

Hampered with a mild form of dyslexia she began memorizing books at an early age until her grandmother, the English teacher, took the time to teach her to read -- then she never stopped. 

She began re-writing alternate endings for her Trixie Belden books into happily-ever-afters with Trixie's platonic friend Jim. When she was home with pneumonia at twelve, she read the entire set of World Book Encyclopedias -- a little more challenging to end those happily. 

Caitlyn loves writing about Alpha males with strong heroines who keep the men on their toes. There is plenty of action, suspense and humor in her books. She is never shy about tackling some of today’s tough and relevant issues.  

In addition to being an award-winning author of romantic suspense novels, she is a devoted aunt, an avid reader, a former corporate executive for a fortune 100 company, and totally in love with her husband of soon-to-be twenty-five years.

 

She recently moved back home to the Pacific Northwest from Southern California. She is so happy to see the seasons again; rain, rain and more rain. She has a large fan group on Facebook and through her e-mail list. Caitlyn is known for telling her “Caitlyn Factors”, where she relates her little and big life’s screw-ups. The list is long. She loves hearing and connecting with her fans on a daily basis.

Let Me See: Lockwood Legacy Book 2 by Kaylee Navarro

 

BLURB 

When stolen glances turn into an unstoppable obsession...

Harper Beckett, small town girl, park ranger and wildlife enthusiast. She never felt seen or understood or chosen at all, until Connor. Her brother's girlfriend's much older brother burst into her life and turned it all upside down...

Connor Lockwood, cybersecurity genius, protective older brother, enamored with his sisters, boyfriends much younger sister. With green eyes, golden blonde hair and a body that could stop traffic, Harper is everything he never thought he'd have and the only thing he refuses to lose.

When their worlds collide, can he do what is necessary to protect her? Can she accept him as he is?

BOOK LINKS 🔗 

Amazon | Goodreads 

REVIEW 

Let Me See: Lockwood Legacy Book 2 by Kaylee Navarro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let Me See: Lockwood Legacy Book 2
by Kaylee Navarro
4/5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I have not read book 1, and the author stated that it isn't required. 😁 I completely agree! The author includes enough backstory to keep you informed, but more importantly, it intrigued me enough to want to go back and read Calliope and Oliver's story. (Let Me Go) Is found here 👉🏼 https://amzn.to/4gQBz4A

BUT this book does literally start with the Male protagonist discussing 'Fred' from book 1. So I felt like I was missing something for a quick minute. Thankfully I soon got into the storyline and as the plot reveals itself, anything relevant to this story was explained 👏🏼. I have found in the past this doesn't happen, and then I am feeling slightly on the back foot.

The author does list the Tropes/warnings: so I've written my thoughts on those below:

*Age Gap 🩶 2/5 (the artwork makes Connor look younger) than his age in the book - 43 but he definitely got all the alpha male dominance traits that make him swoon worthy.
Harper, is 28 but she's definitely smart, independent and knows what she wants in a relationship... I also liked that even though she had never been in a dangerous position, she was smart and used her knowledge to keep herself in control.

*High Spice 🌶️ 4/5 Definitely spicy but I've read spicier , but I think the author has got the spicy/suspense and sweet mix just right 👍🏼, I've really enjoyed reading this book.

*Mafia (mentioned) 🕴🏼⚰️ 3/5 This was a good blend of small town country vibe with Mafia infiltration to create a suspenseful story set in the rural parkland where Harper works. Sergei was a favorite character too 😁
*Violence (on page) ⚔️🛡️🔫 3/5 I've definitely read darker, but the scenes are intense without being overly graphic 👏🏼 I think Queen is my favorite of Connor's team, but Thing 1 &Thing 2 are the ones that are most interesting 🧐
Note to Author: we need a Lockwood Cybersecurity series 😆

*Snakes (mentioned) 🐍 type 😂 and definitely the other type 🤪 (sorry couldn't resist)

*Kinks/Rough Sex 🪢3/5 We have some hot 🔥 scene's inside and outside 😁 gotta explore the woodland opportunities 😉 and Connor is definitely the one calling the shots 🪢🌶️

My final thoughts:
This is the first book I've read of this authors, and I think that considering this is Kaylees second book, and book 1 was released earlier this year (July) I predict we will be seeing more of this new authors works in the future 👏🏼🥰.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

View all my reviews

AUTHOR BIO 

Hey y'all. My name is Kaylee Navarro. I was born and raised in a small town in north west Washington state. After marrying my husband we moved to the south. We have lived in Oklahoma and Texas since 2015. I am a wife, mom and dog mom. Avid animal education advocate and animal lover. I am not just a writer but avid reader as well. I write small town stories because they are what I know. I pour my heart and soul into my characters and hope you love them as much as I do.

When I write, I write what I'd like to read. No extensive miscommunications here. All HEA's and no cheating! I like reading a third act breakup but can't bring myself to write one.

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