For the fans of Ms Taites books get ready for another great read. For those who haven’t read any of Ms Taite’s work be prepared to become a fan. Senator Meredith Mitchell’s family has always been in the public eye, her father has served as Governor of New York for three terms and now runs a non-profit. Meredith is already serving as Senator for New York but has her eye on becoming president, sometime down the road but after her friend has to step down from running Meredith’s ‘sometime’ is now. She has always been out so everyone already knows she’s a lesbian. Stevie Palmer works as a public defender, helping her clients have the best legal defence she can offer. She leads a quiet life, never seeking the limelight. Ms Taite also gives us fans a chance to reconnect with the characters from her earlier novels, ‘Courtship’ with Addison Riley and Julia Scott and A More Perfect Union’ with Zoey Granger and Rook Daniels. Simply a wonderful read. Very, very enjoyable.
ARC via NetGalley

This book is the second in a series, and I unfortunately didn't get the chance to read the first book yet. I've read some of the other reviews and I think I missed out on some character development since the characters seem to overlap between books, but all in all, this was a standalone novel and I wasn't lost in any way by starting on this book first.

To me, this book was good but not great. It was nice to see communication between the characters, but it really bothered me that the romance was insta-love. For me, that's a huge pet peeve, and it's hard for me personally to really get into a book if there's insta-love involved.

Even though this is a 'crime' novel, this one felt like it had more romance than crime involved. I enjoyed that Powell added in tension without making it manufactured angsty drama. The secondary cast of characters was wonderful! Honestly, the secondary cast was one of my favorite parts of this one.

Even though this won't make my favorites list it was still very enjoyable. I am still hoping and looking forward to book 3 in this series, and will definitely seek it out for a read if/when Powell writes it.

For me, this was a 3.5 read, rounded down to 3.

**Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.**

I really loved reading Second in Command by VK Powell. This is the second book in the Fairview Station series, but don’t worry if you haven’t read the first one. This book can be read as a standalone book.

This story centers around Lieutenant Jazz Perry, adopted daughter of the Carlyle family, social worker Emory Blake, and a young at-risk child named Shea Spencer, who has been in and out of the foster care system. There are a good many secondary characters, both good and bad. Those of you who have already read the first book will meet several familiar faces. All of the characters are well-drawn, realistic and likeable (except the bad guys of course). I liked that the author let the characters have flaws, both physically and socially. They weren’t all super thin models with unrealistic bodies and perfect histories. It was refreshing to see more realistic characters still described as beautiful.

There is mystery and intrigue in this tale, and of course romance. The story and the characters will keep you reading until the end. I know it did for me, and now I want to go back and read the first book. I also hope we will see more books in the series about the rest of the Carlyle family.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections:
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This was a nice read that presents a full figure women struggling a little with body image. Emory Blake, is a social worker and a stickler for the rules which in her opinion serve to help the children in the foster care system. Emory is older and maybe looking for a relationship. Lieutenant Jazz Perry, is the good looking police officer, lonely and tired of not having a family. Jazz is a product of the foster care system and believes some rules should be bent. The women are back and forth with each other because of their passion for the foster care system and each other.

I really enjoyed this one. This is the second book in Powell’s Fairview Station series. I liked the first book and remembered being one of many reviewers who was hoping for a sequel. The family of three sisters, two cops and one doctor, were just screaming for each person to get their own book. The first book is about Bennett and this book was about Jazz. It would be good to read these in order since the characters do overlap. However, the story is contained enough that you could start here if you had too. For me this book was even better than the first.

I really liked the feel of this book. While it was angsty at times, it was more the kind of angst the characters needed to work on together with. These characters actually communicated which was so nice to see. There was plenty going on to keep the pages turning and the characters spinning without having to force any angst.

My one slight issue is this story is pretty insta-lovey. I am not a fan of insta-love. It wasn’t super quick in this book, but it was pretty fast. My honest take was I just didn’t care. I loved the character of Jazz and wanted her to be happy and stupidly in love so screw my normal objections. So overall I did enjoy the romance. Plus, the sex scenes were good like in almost all of Powell’s books.

Besides the romance and interesting jobs the characters have, once again the Carlyle family stole the show. The secondary characters in this series are excellent. It’s hard not to fall in love with this family. There is one sister left who is the doctor, and she promised never to date a cop, so I’m thinking that is book three’s storyline right there. At least I hope so as I will defiantly read it.

V.K Powell what a talented writer. The romance was great,with a wonderful plot. I now want to read the first in the series and any others available. I could relate to Emory and didn't trust Karen from the moment she came into the picture. Once you start this book you won't want to put it down.

I absolutely loved this book! Five enthusiastic stars. First of all, let me say that for some reason I hadn't read any VK Powell until the Pine Cone romance this summer, probably because police procedural stories aren't my favorite and for some reason I had pigeonholed her into that genre. I adored her contribution to the Pine Cone series and was very excited to pick this up. Reading through the previous reviews I learned that the Carlyle clan was introduced in an earlier book, which I will now go back and read, along with every other book VK Powell has written.

This story ticked every box for me. Age gap, butch/femme, former player finally ready to settle down, plus just enough outside intrigue. Reviewers who were bothered by Emory's preoccupation with her own self-esteem issues have obviously never had a weight problem. I could completely relate to this aspect of the story, and in fact, it was one of my favorite parts. I also loved the Carlyle matriarchs and the love among the family they created was palpable. Last but not least, the sexual chemistry between Jazz and Emory was off the charts.

Fantastic book by a talented author I can't wait to read more of!

This book was a pleasant read. Not dark and twisty as I expected. The characters are memorable, even the one I wanted to slap for being spineless most of the time. She eventually breaks out of that pattern and grows, so don't give up on her. The rest of the cast is so memorable, I was still thinking about some of them days later.

I'd like to see if these characters turn up anywhere else in the author's imaginary universe. They're the kind of people I could have Sunday brunch with. Wonder how I can get an invitation?

Good read by VK Powell. You can always count on a well written plot with likeable characters. This is another romantic drama that will keep you interested from the beginning to end. I enjoy VK's book and have read them all. This was a little slow for me but don't let that skew you away from reading it. I believe you will enjoy it and find her work enjoyable. I recommend it.

Do you remember the first time you knew she is THE ONE?

This sweet romance will take you back to the indecision of how to move forward, the thrill of your first kiss and the confusion of how to survive your first argument.

I greatly enjoyed reading this story and going down my own memory lane with Jazz and Emory.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

Jazz is a cop with a heart of gold. She has been brought up within the foster system since the age of four when she lost her mother. Emory is a social worker who works for the CPS. She is very self conscious about her appearance and is dubious as to whether to have a relationship or not. To be honest I loved Jazz, but, I could not take to Emory for most of the book. I found her to be boring and uninteresting. The story line was ok. As I did not take to Emory, I could not really get into the book. I thought at the beginning that Karen (secondary character) would be a better option for Jazz but soon changed my mind. I really liked Shea (the kid that Jazz is trying to help).

I have read many of VK Powell’s other books over the years and enjoyed them, but I don’t think this is one of her best imo.

I really enjoyed this even though I haven’t read the first in the series. I will go back and read it for enjoyment rather than necessity. Jasmine (Jazz) Perry is a lieutenant in the Greensboro Police Department where her sister is the Captain. One night she rescues an 11-year-old girl, Shea, from being chased by a dog and quickly ascertains that she is in and out of the system thanks to the neglect of her father. Having taken her to the hospital for a check-up she finds herself face-to-face with gorgeous Emory Blake.

Emory is a case-worker for CPS and takes her responsibility very seriously, having a strong belief that the rules are there to protect all concerned. An impending move to privatise all CPS adoption responsibilities has Emory on edge, not only because it might mean the loss of her job but also because she worries that the frontrunner in the bid may not be in the best interests of the children.

Emory is older than Jazz and portrayed as a woman with a Rubenesque figure. This is one of the things I really liked about this novel. I find it sad that it’s such a rarity in lesfic and just as sad that, more often than not, the character has to deal with feelings of insecurity around their fuller figure (which, I suppose, is fairly realistic). Emory sees herself in competition for Jazz’s affection when she’s pitted against the model-like perfection of Karen, the lead bidder for CPS’s adoption services.

The story centres around Shea and her safety with regards to her negligent father and foster care rather than a crime/murder mystery. This in one of the things I really appreciated because I feel as though I’ve read too many novels recently with bodies littered across the pages. Jazz wants the pain of being in the foster system limited where Shea is concerned and is prepared to bend the rules to ensure it. Emory doesn’t believe in bending the rules and Karen is falling over herself to help Jazz.

So, more romance than crime (no skop, skiet en donder), some difference in the characters, good tension without manufactured drama, great cast of secondary characters, lots of chemistry and hot sex scenes. It worked for me.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

3.5 stars. This was an enjoyable typical romance with a small mystery thrown in. I wasn't a big fan of Emory. She clearly had valid esteem issues, but she really fulfilled the "ice queen" title for me. This was an easy read with a little education about the foster care system. I didn't read the previous book, though I wish I had since there are many recurring characters who's backstories I couldn't appreciate. I prefer to always read in order, so that's on me. This book is fine as a stand alone. I really like this author's thrillers over these simple love stories, but she's a great author either way.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Lieutenant Jazz Perry met social worker Emory Blake there was an immediate connection.
Jazz was at a point in her life that she wanted that certain someone to share her life and have a family. Emory, fourteen years older, suffered from self esteem and insecurity issues due to how a previous relationship ended.This was a major problem throughout the story. Other issues dealt with were: the potential privatization of CPS services, 11 year old Shea, a foster child, who was desperate to have a normal family life and get away from her drug addict and dealer father, and Karen, a woman Emory perceived as her rival, professionally and personally.

Initially, it was hard to like Emory with her contradictory personality. One minutes she was enamored with Jazz, and the next she was lashing out and telling her to leave, especially whenever there was a difference of opinion involved in their conversation. Jazz had to constantly explain herself and apologize. This emotional angst went on for about three quarters of the book until Emory realized she needed to end her destructive cycle. But by this point, it was already overplayed and somewhat took away from the story.

I did enjoy visiting the Bennet clan again (from Captain’s Choice) and their Sunday brunch gatherings. I also really the connection between Jazz and Shea. I wish there was a little more focus on this and the problems they faced as foster children. I think it would have added more depth to the story.

Except where noted, overall, this was a good read.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cute Romance with some drama.

Emory is a social worker who is self-conscious of her appearance what I like about her character is she a bit like me when it comes to being self-conscious about your appearance even though it was a bit repetitive.

Jazz is a lieutenant who is adopted by a loving family. She has a hard time letting love in when comes to relationship. While on the job she find a young girl named Shea who in foster care where she take to the hospital to get check out as she forms a bind with the girl she vows to help her find a forever family.

While she there at the hospital runs into Emory who she met when she was eighteen and there an instant attraction as this throws them for a loop there are obstacles in there way that stopping them from forming a relationship.

I have the feeling that this book could have been better.

Emory is a social worker, in her fifties, who is too much self conscious about her physical appearance, which makes her reluctant to have a relationship. So many doubts are caused by the way her previous sentimental relationship ended.

Jazz is a police lieutenant, with a childhood marked by having lost her parents and having to enter the adoption system, with very bad experiences, she was finally adopted by a family that has loved and supported her, giving her the stability she needed . But when it comes to romantic relationships, her moto is to have uncomplicated relationships.

When Emory and Jazz meet, the perspective of a relationship seems to change them and their behavior becomes the opposite of their usual, especially Jazz. Almost without having spoken two sentences with her, she begins to think about the happily ever after.

The plot includes some tension with a girl who is in the adoption system since her father is a drug addict and she is in the middle of that tense situation that reminds Jazz of her own. That causes some drama. There is also another social worker, a little muddy and overbearing, who gets between Jazz and Emory and also creates some tension in the relationship.

But the story has seemed very repetitive and Emory's doubts and the irregular behavior of Jazz have become tiresome.

So not completely enjoyable for me although it is not totally a bad reading either, surely someone will appreciate this story better than me.