Making You Mine

Author: Elizabeth Reyes
Format: Kindle
Publication Date: December, 2011
Series: The Moreno Brothers #5 
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Synopsis:
Always in control, the meticulous and professional Salvador Moreno is thrown for a loop when the newly hired bartender Grace Zendejas suddenly invades his family’s restaurant, and infuriatingly, his every thought. For the first time in his life, Sal is fumbling. But after recovering from a few blunders he discovers his feelings for Grace run much deeper.

Things begin to heat up between him and Grace, but then the ever-perfect Sal does something even his brothers never did—screws up royally. Now he’s scrambling to cover up a mistake he knows could cost him dearly. As his relationship with Grace grows even more serious, Sal's secret is a ticking bomb, threatening to destroy the one thing he now lives and breathes for—his relationship with the love of his life—Grace.

Review:
As much as I love this series, I have to say that I was very disappointed. The book itself is not bad, but not good either. It is too predictable since the theme of the book is too much alike the other previously published books under the same series. The story started by Sal meets Grace. They fall in love. Sal is jealous that Grace interacts with other guys. They break up because of Sal's crazy ex. They finally overcome the misunderstanding. The end. Sounds familiar? Well, yes! Angel's story and Alex's story, not to mention Romero's and Sofia's as well. Even there are some changes, but the structure is almost the same. Uncanny!

I do mean I did not enjoy reading this book. Unfortunately, the familiarity is too strong, which bores me and I did what I am ashamed of... wishing this book was shorter! At one point, I just gave the page a quick glance and skipped to another one.

There are going to be more books in this series, as the author assured us. Vinnie and Rose, probably the children of the Moreno. Just cross my fingers that the books do not follow the same structure. It is so unrealistic that everyone in the family is going to face the same destiny when it comes to romance.

Romero

Author: Elizabeth Reyes
Format: Kindle
Publication Date: October 24, 2011
Series: The Moreno Brothers #4
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Synopsis:
Prim and proper middle school teacher Isabel Montenegro always runs the opposite direction from men like Ramon Romero. A foul-mouthed, uneducated, loose cannon has no place in her careful plans. But instead of running away, Isabel is completely captivated. The intensity of his nature, while a bit daunting, mesmerizes her in ways she can’t begin to understand. She’s unwilling to walk away—even when her instincts are screaming at her to run.

Romero has no idea what he's getting himself into when he first kisses Isabel. Shocked at the passion she invokes in him, he believes he can keep his usual short fuse under wraps. Falling fast and hard for someone so flawlessly sweet only makes him more aware that he’s far from perfect. If she is ever witness to his biggest imperfection, he’s sure she’ll bail. But when her meddling sister does the worst thing imaginable—bring other men between him and his Izzy—that fuse is lit and all bets are off.

Can two people who are worlds apart teach each other how to love, or will the reality of their differences drive them apart?

Review:
I was so excited when I finally got my hand on this book since I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Reyes. This is the first book I finished this year, so I was so thrilled that I chose this one and it was not any close to disappointment.

Frankly speaking I was a bit let down due to that last two books in the series did not live up to my expectation. When I finished the first book in the series, I was blown away by how great it was. Therefore, I really had a high expectation for this author. The other two books, event though they were not great, were not so bad after all. However, I am glad that "Romero" made me fall back in love with this series.

Speaking about this book, I feel connected with the characters. Ms. Reyes really does know what she is doing. Every expression is so meaningful. The characters are well-thought out. I specifically hate Izzy's sister, Patricia, to the bone, and I normally feel so when the characters are well-written. The way the author wrote about Pat is so clearly that she seems so real.

Maybe I am a bit a sucker for romance, but I really, really enjoy reading Romero and Isabelle. They are so different, yet so similar at the same time. How is that possible? :) But Ms. Reyes made it happen. Romero is, for one, not so romantic, but he is honest and loves Izzy for real. That what matters in relationship.

There are so points that I am not quite satisfied, unfortunately. Sometimes, Romero and Izzy have a fallout without logical reasons, which seems like there is no trust in their relationship. Izzy, on the other hand, is too weak to stand up to her bitchy sister. Not like it is possible that a grown-up woman would shut up all the time in the present of her sister, let alone when she is in a serious relationship. Another one is that there are a bit too many sex scenes, which might not be suitable for younger reader. Well, what can I say? It's adult contemporary romance. :)

Sweet Sofie

Author: Elizabeth Reyes
Format: Kindle
Publication Date: August 2011
Series: The Moreno Brothers #3 
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Synopsis:
Her entire life Sofia Moreno has dealt with her overprotective brothers. With three overbearing brothers always lurking, no boy would dare reach out to her. Luckily for Sofia the one boy she's got her heart set on has always been within reach: her brothers best friend Eric. Even though his loyalty to her brothers runs deep, Sofia knows there is only so much he can do before giving in to her.

Two years older than her, Eric Diego has always known there would be hell to pay if he messed with his best friend's kid sister Sofia. Through the years he watches as she blooms into a beautiful young lady right before his eyes. With teenage hormones raging and Sofia more than willing, Eric agrees to the unthinkable. A forbidden secret romance. Feeling emotions and a feverish passion that's new to them both,neither is ready for how quickly their romance spins out of control.

Review:
Since I read the first two books in the series and was generally impressed by how well Ms. Reyes's writing is, I could hardly wait to get my hand on Sweet Sofie, the story about how Sofia, the youngest child in the Moreno family, and Eric, Angel's best friend, fall for one another.


The book started off revealing the childhoods they shared. The bond between Eric and Sofia was formed since they were young and the way the author intensified their relationship was amazing. I, somehow, felt like the title and the story were not very consistent. Sofia is, according to the author, a beautiful girl. But I do not peg her as a sweet one. She is sneaky, stubborn and a bit of a hothead. In short, Sofia is everything, but sweet. I was so shocked when she cheated on Eric, the one who loves her unconditionally, using the excuse of being "inexperience and curious".

I love Eric! He is so together, protective, and more. For these qualities alone, Sofia's betrayal is unexceptionable. Well, the author is able to bend the story and create happy ending eventually. I ain't no writer, so I am holding any authority to judge. However, I feel the story kinda falls flat.

Always Been Mine

Author: Elizabeth Reyes
Format: Kindle
Publication Date: May 2011
Series: The Moreno Brothers #2
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Synopsis:
After one heartache too many, Valerie Zuniga vows to never let Alex Moreno hurt her again. A year later, she is forced to reunite with him at a party where one unexpected sizzling kiss tells her she’s far from over him. No way will she allow herself to get sucked back into that torment. She’ll resist him even if that means using the one thing that will stop Alex dead in his tracks: another man.

Alex is coming off one of the worst years of his life. He spent so much time wallowing in self-pity, he never realized how much he’d missed Valerie. That is, until that kiss. Now, he’s determined to get her back one way or another, and no other man will stand in his way. Especially after discovering that Valerie may be in danger, a danger he blames himself for.

Review: 
Always Been Mine is the second installment in The Moreno Brothers series. Due to the pleasant experience I got from the first book, I quickly picked up this book right after I finished Forever Mine. In the first book of the series, we met Sarah and other members of Moreno clan. This book, we continue the romantic journey to the love story between Alex and Valerie, Sarah's cousin.

Unlike the first book, this one started off with the breakup rather than love connection, for Alex and Valerie form their casual relationship since Forever Mine. Always Been Mine is, to some extend, explaining the reasons that Alex usually disappears from Valerie's life.

As usual, the author added problems to the story to buildup the tension. Problems, which normally involve crazy exes! I did not mind that, though. The intensity and the suspense make the story more interesting. However, I still think the second one cannot top the first one even I did enjoy both books similarly.

This book is not suitable for younger reader due to the adult content. Therefore, I recommence this book only to people who are over 18 year of age. Well, even if you are over 18, but you are not comfortable reading erotic (books contain "intimate" scenes), I do not think this book is appropriate for you either.

Forever Mine

Author: Elizabeth Reyes
Format: Kindle
Publication Date: September 6, 2010 
Series: The Moreno Brothers #1 
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Synopsis:

When her mother is sentenced to be put in jail, Sarah has no other choice, but to move to San Diego, where her aunt lives, just before her senior year. Leaving her best friend, Sydney, behind is another bad news added up to her misfortune. There, she meets Angel Moreno, a popular and handsome football player in the high school football team. They soon fall madly in love, but Sarah is still holding on to her decision – moving back to Arizona.

Review:

This book just amazed me to the point that I could not find words to describe. The book was so well-written and the plots were well-constructed. The book reveals many different sides of relationship that everyone can relate to. Reading this book gives me nothing but joy. I kept smiling to myself like crazy when I read to the parts that Angel and Sarah are together sharing their love. The protective side of Angel makes me feel connected to the character, somehow.

One disappointment I have about the book is the way the author kept raising the same problem repeatedly. We all know that Angel is being overprotected and everything, but mentioning the irritation Angel has with Sarah being with other men was kind of sweet and romantic at the first few times. However, when similar issues happened again and again, it became a letdown.

All in all, this book is perfectly suitable for people like me – madly in love with romance.