Usually romances that feature someone who very recently broke up or divorced someone start off on the wrong foot for me mentally, as I think there needs to be breathing room between relationships. This was no exception on that front. Other than that, Katerina and Roman were well-matched, and fun to read.

Kat is assigned to be a shooting range instructor for six weeks for the police department after punching her cheating husband and receiving divorce papers. Roman, one of the policemen, is infatuated with her and determine to spend time together. He enlists her help with an after-school program mentoring troubled teens. Roman devises physical challenges for Kat, knowing her competitive nature. The challenges make the story interesting and the troubled teens add excitement. As Kat spends time with Valerie, she reexamines her own life to see if there is a place for Roman. Good book, honest insights into the importance of being yourself.

Every Step by C.J. Burright

Kat is the new fire arms instructor and Roman is her first student police officer there for a refresher course and he beats her. The love hate relationship begins. Having just had a nasty divorce from a nasty lying cheating husband who takes everything & happens to be a colleague.
Roman challenges her to a contest of skills & wit. Which she can’t resist.

Having not read any of books in the series this didn’t matter. Well written that just slowly drags you in until your hooked & cant put down.

Enjoyed the twists and unexpected outcome.

3 stars
I loved Roman. He was such a fun and upbeat guy. And then there is Kat, his polar opposite. She is jaded and kind of miserable. Kate is in Graywood after her divorce and to be closer to her sister (who was a far more lovable character!!).
I enjoyed this series so far. Every book is different !

I received a free copy of Every Step in exchange for an honest review. This was a love hate book for me. I loved Katerina. She was full of snark and attitude and "nailed" her role. Roman was also a great addition. He dished it right back at Katerina, and he never gave up on her. I enjoyed the sidebar addressing human trafficking and Valerie was a great secondary character adding depth to the plot.

Even with these great characters, I found some of the themes were repetitive, and the plot kept stalling. For that reason, I had a difficult time staying engaged and finishing the book. The "grand finale" was also over embellished. I was hoping for a more tactical approach with a more realistic response for entering an abandoned building with armed subjects inside.

Thank you Totally Bound Publishing and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.
Every step is the third book of the Music, Love and Other Miseries series by C.J. Burright but you can read it as a standalone. It’s the first book I’ve read by this series but after reading this book I intent to read the other books as well.

This book has everything I look for in a romance. The main characters are great and I fell in love with Roman from the start. It’s a book I highly recommend if you like strong, badass woman and love a man who goes all the way for the woman he falls for.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I was not completely sure about this book. I had read the rest of the series which each have their own story. Kat comes to live with her sister and get something straight in her head. That is how she means Roman. He loves to just push her buttons. That is when he challenges her to a contest. They both have their issues and have to overcome them to get to where they want to end up.

I have to admit to mixed feelings on this one. That makes it hard for me to decide how many stars to give it on reviews. So I ended up liking it but with some reservations. On the plus side was that Katerina (Kat) and Roman who were both interesting people. And they each had their own emotional challenges in their lives. I did get a big kick out of how Roman loved how challenging Kat was. Instead of being turned off by her unique personality, he embraced it. It took her a while to realize he saw more of her than her beauty or kick-butt skills, he saw her.
Kat doesn't know what to make of Roman. Right off the bat he irritates her but as time goes on he confuses her more and more. But she's a Hellman and they don't back up from any kind of competition. Roman also can speak in a monotone voice with almost no expressions on his face. That is something that she finds hard to deal with. But she also has a plate full of problems that are trying to push her to her breaking point.
Another person who adds snark and interest is a young woman in foster care named Valerie.
Some of her poor decisions also add to the danger factor.
For me, there were times when the story seemed to drag a bit. I think it's the times where certain issues were hashed over and over. It also felt like there was an over use of the phrase about Roman's spicy, sweet (holiday) scent. I do have admit though that the other parts of the story was good when it came to descriptions of locations and other parts of the story. So can you see my dilemma?
There is a good dramatic ending to the story. Also add in a good Epilogue which shows some tenderness, and a H.E.A.
"I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I enjoyed the third book (fourth installment) to Music, Love and Other Miseries and C.J. Burright has quickly become a writer I get excited to read. Intriguing characters and a well-paced, engaging story made this a thoroughly enjoyable read and I will definitely recommend and read more by this author.

I thought that this was a really good story, having read the previous three books in the series I was really keen to get started on this one!

It was fast paced and it was an easy read that had a great natural flow to it. I thought that the characters were well developed and I liked getting to know them as the book developed, the only downside was I felt that there was a little too much detail at times for me but it was still a great read.

There was a good mix of tension and romance in the book. It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!

Every Step is the third story in C.J. Bright’s Music, Love and Other Miseries series and I was thrilled to see Kat and Roman finally get their story. How do two determined, focused and tough police officers, learn to let down their guard, show emotion and vulnerability as they navigate the rocky road each relationship much travel to find true happiness at the end? The author did a fabulous job of depicting their journey and the angst and drama that was part and parcel of their tale. A wonderful story to settle in and read in one sitting.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was beyond amazing! It was exciting and fast paced. I literally could not put it down until I finished it. I loved this story it’s one of the best romances I’ve read in a very long time. These characters were so engaging and relatable. This author is now on my auto buy list and I can’t wait to check out more of their books.
5 stars.

Katerina Hellman is ready for a change. After she leaves behind her cheating husband and is forced to take a leave of absence she decides rooming with her sister in Graywood is as good a place as any. Bonus when the local police chief offers her a position as the temporary firearms instructor, sign her up! She's only focused on getting through the six weeks and proving she is still capable of doing her job.

Roman Farkos has his sights on Katerina. He had been mesmerized by her after meeting under less than ideal circumstances. And he'll use any means necessary to get her to give him a chance, even a challenge she won't say no to. Now he needs the six weeks and insider information from her sister to break down her walls and show her she can have someone in her corner.

The blurb of this book made me curious. So although I hadn't read anything of C.J. Burright, not even the other books of this series of Music, Love and Other Miseries, I dove right in. And this was definitely a slow burn story, because Kat and Roman really hate each other. Kat wants to have nothing to do with men, after her cheating and lying ex-husband embarrassed her by calling her the ice queen to all of their colleagues.
So, when she punched him in the face, she got an extended leave for harassing her co-workers. And now she needs to do something to keep her mind of things. When she is asked to be the temporarily firearms instructor in her old hometown, where her sister lives, she happily agrees. She didn't count on the annoying Roman to be pushing her buttons at every move she makes.
Roman doesn't know why, but he feels a need to get Kat riled up. Because he is convinced she is not the ice queen her colleagues name her to be. So, they agree on a six-weeks-challenge to find out who is the better cop. But throughout the challenges, both Roman and Kat learn that there is so much more than meets the eye, their mutual hate turns into trust. And then into something more... Until Kate finds out that Roman has been hiding something. Can she learn to trust again? Or will she turn ice queen once more? Find out for yourself in this wonderful read. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Katerina Hellman is known for her strength, badass attitude and her ability with firearms. She taught firearms at the police academy, attended sniper school and is now employed as the temporary firearms instructor in Graywood. Officer Roman Farkos is a senior officer in Graywood and is struck by her beauty and demeanor when she arrives in town, she intrigues him. Katerina is recovering from her impending divorce and tries to avoid him, but he slowly seduces her with his words. The entertaining dialog, between these two main characters, carries on throughout the story. Homeless teenagers disappearing from the area could mean that they have moved on, but Roman with his work at the after-school club, doesn’t think so. When a new group brings trouble to Graywood, will Roman and Katerina be up to the challenge? I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

This is a story of Kat and Roman. Kat is such a strong character. What I most liked about this book that Kat took the time to get involved with Roman. She tried to understand him first. Roman is funny, his devotion to Kat was remarkable.

Both protagonists are tough cops. They are trying to understand each other. However, this book was too long for me as the plot was very vague except the romance between Kat and Roman. I was kind of annoyed a few times because the push and pull between the protagonists seemed silly and pointless. it's an ok read for me. Everything was kind of predictable, no plot twist or anything. It was just a cute story.

Wow! Just wow! I wasn’t sure what to expect when requesting this book, but I am glad I requested it. What I got was the perfect mix of romance and mystery. This book had just the right amount of twists and turns to keep me reading and engaged. I laughed, I cried, and I was thrown off by the plot twist towards the end. I liked this book so much, after finishing (in just a couple of days), I immediately jumped on Amazon to order the other books in the series. I am hooked!

Every Step is the third installment in the Music, Love and other Miseries series. However it can be read as a standalone. Which is what I did.

The story is about Kat, who after her divorce is not doing so well. So she decides to stay with her sister for a while in the small town of Graywood and temporarily work for their police department as a firearms instructor.
In comes Rowan her new collegue, who is all to eager to try and convince Kat that despite her trust issues sometimes its worth it to let down your walls and let someone in again.

If you are into funny banter, an emotionally scarred heroine and a charming hero who is determined to break down her walls. This book is for you! The best thing I liked about Kat and Rowan's story was their chemistry and banter. However, the rest of the plot just didn't capture my attention as much and I had a hard time focussing on the story outside of Kat and Rowan's interactions.

Although it was an ok read for me I believe that if you are already a fan of the series or if the plot sounds interesting to you should you definitley still read it and give it a chance. This is just my opinion and I am a bit of a mood reader so perhaps I just read this at the wrong time.

Thank you for Netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Katerina is a different sort of heroine for romance novels. She’s a police officer who is a crack sharpshooter. And now she has had to take a leave from her job after she punched her husband, another policeman, when she found out he was cheating on her. She’s come to a small town where her sister lives and is tasked with giving shooting lessons to members of their police department including the sexy and charming Roman Farkos. Roman is a delight. He clearly has fallen deeply in love with Katerina, but he understands her personality and personal strengths and weaknesses. I really enjoyed his gentle teasing and the efforts he goes to in order to set up opportunities for Katerina to get over her suspicions of all guys and really get to know him Add in their joint efforts to help a young girl stuck in a crummy foster care system and uncover a human trafficking operation in their area and there is plenty to keep the reader interested from beginning to end.

My one complaint was that the author kept misspelling the name of Yankee great, Lou Gehrig. For shame.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

I've read the other books in this series and I have to say this one fell a bit short. I would struggle to call it a "stand alone" because the previous book is mentioned often without a lot of clarification or a summary. I read the previous book and even still I was having a hard time following the references. This storyline would only be seamless if you read this series back to back.
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While there is a lot of good in this book there are also some gaps in the story. There is a police case that comes to light in this book and there are a few wholes and parts of the mystery left completely unexplained by the end. There is a separate plot line that is referenced repeatedly in the story that resolves with no explanation.
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It's possible that some of those missing storylines are being saved for a future book, but as it stands it just makes this book feel rushed at the end and incomplete.
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I received and ARC of this title from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.