Kate Baum

review requested by author , Kate asked me to read this for an honest review so here goes ....


This was a great read , I know I say that will Most of the books I read , If the blurb looks interesting then I am all for reading the book .

Blurb :

Graduate student Grace Locke moves from the Midwest to New York City to complete her Masters degree in Criminology. She longs to one day be a college professor. It is a field that is dominated by men. She is worried about succeeding in such an atmosphere. Past sexual relationships have caused her to feel intimidated. Her experiences with college men have left her jaded and unsatisfied. She gives herself a challenge. Time to toughen up or she won’t make it in a career she yearns for. She decides to surround herself with alpha males so that she can practice becoming what she sees as a strong confident woman. She finds power and defiance in her new attitude……..until Vinnie.

When Grace takes a part time secretarial job at a private investigator office, she assumes it will be interesting to watch how the cases unfold. It is close to her campus apartment and gives her the extra cash she needs as a struggling college student. Even more perfect is that the office is surrounded by street wise hardened males. Now, she can get the needed practice at increasing her confidence among men. She wasn’t prepared for Vinnie Lewis. A former hit man who decides to go straight, he is the ultimate “bad boy”. After growing up with a prostitute mother on the streets of New York City, he has no patience for nice girls like Grace. He is difficult to work with. She finds him just plain scary with his six foot four frame, bulging biceps, and a scar from a former knife fight that goes across his right ear to his chin. She shakes in his presence but then ……. is shocked when she can’t stop thinking of him.

Grace , has a crazy hectic life, she has 3 BFF's who all live in separate states , but always get together when home, or via web chatting on the internet . They all have lost their virginity within the same yr and recently discovered they all have never really experienced an orgasm , so as they meet for their last night in the same town , they all form a pack to get with an Older man and have then experience of an Orgasm within the yr .

Grace heads off to New York to go to Graduate School for her Criminology degree , and she needs to find a part time job also to have some cash coming in so after unpacking in her dorm room she heads out to check things out and get a coffee . That is where she stumbles upon A&V Investigations , where she is looking at the secretary help wanted sign when Jamie comes along and pulls her inside the place . Announcing to Anthony that he found their girl. Anthony is one of the two owners of the A&V PI business. Their business is taking off and is going strong. She goes through a quick interview with Anthony and they decide on the title of Office manager versus secretary .

they have no order what so ever in the business , everything is still packed in boxes and ect. It takes Grace a couple weeks to get things organized .

her and Jamie become quick BFF's as does she with his partner Luke , I Love Jamie he was totally awesome in the book . He takes Grace under his wing and fills her in little by little everyday about the guys and the business , as well as the cases they work on .


Vinnie, Ex Mob guy who was the Beef of the organization ,always the muscles. The Enforcer, The guy that gets things done. , Yeah he is that scary looking lol . Had a bad up bringing , His own mother and her antics had ruined him from ever even thinking about a relationship with a woman .His mother was a drug addict, prostitute who did all kinds of things with men in front of her son. He always treated woman like his mother was treated by the men in her life while he was growing up . That is Until he met Grace . Once he meets Grace his Alpha Male protectiveness kicks in , BUT it is not fast acting , for weeks all Grace gets from him is Grunts of hello , and she is terrified of him in the beginning . Who wouldn't be he is 6'4' Built like the Incredible Hulk , has a scar that runs from his ear to his chin line .


For weeks all Grace gets outta Vinnie is grunts of hello . then one day one of his skanky chics comes in ( Jamie has full warned her about the woman that Vinnie associates himself with ) she is going crazy wanting to see Vinnie and Vinnie gruntingly tells Grace to get rid of her , when the woman does not leave , grace tells her where Vinnie's office is ... Oppssss .. after he gets rid of the woman he takes his rage out on Grace , who starts to cry and says that it I QUIT .... Anthony walks in see's she is upset as she is trying to get her key off her ring and Vinnie stops her , and tells her to stop , that he is sorry , Anthony mouth hanging open looks at Vinnie ( yeahh MISTER tough big hulk guy has a soft spot and Grace found it )

after that Grace and Vinnie finally start to have normal conversations , she is slowly getting him to open up and talk and he is bringing out feelings in her , she never thought she would have for him .

weeks of flirting, touching , talking , and they are slowly getting to know each other and biulding a friendship , that turns into much more as weeks and months go by ..

Great story , I don't want to give it all away , but it sure was a fun read .

My only downside from it was no epilogue , BUT I see that Kate is going to have more stories with the rest of Grace's BFF's so I am hoping that we will hear more from Grace and Vinnie in future books .

Thanks Kate for Providing me a copy and allowing me to review this for you . I look forward to reading more of the Girls series
… (mehr)

Kate has not disappointed again . What a GREAT story !!!!

Brave Girl is the second Book in the Girls Series. The Girl series started with Nice Girl.

This is the story of 4 best friends Grace( who was in Nice Girl) Janie, Eve, & Dee who have grown up together, They went off to college going there separate ways but always maintained contact through Skype at least once a week. They spent their summers together working in the same area in their home towns. This was their last summer together before they all went their separate ways again.

As they spend their last nights together they sit and talk about what else but sex and orgasms and discover they never felt what a true orgasm was. (The last pact they made was to lose their virginity which they all did in their sophmore yr of college), so this time around They make a orgasm pact.

In Brave Girl we meet and follow Eve on her Journey. She applied through her Career Advisor to go to South Dakota for 5 yrs through an ICE program, Indigenous Culture for Education, She is going to be the School Librarian On an American Indian Reservation.

Once there she learns that she will be rooming with 3 other girls. They are different girls, but they all seem to get along great the more they get to know each other , become close friends as well.

They all 4 are dealt with a lot of hostility from the Principal at the school and it seems the people on the reservation has reservations about them as well. They even get issues from the local sheriff and his deputies.

As time goes on Eve and the girls discover that the last set of teachers that where there , did not leave a good impression and were actually sent away. Will fear of the all being sent away they all agree to just work their best and do what they went there to do.


Lou Red Wolf he is suppose to be in line to someday be the Chief of the Reservation, His mother nor the people of the tribe let him forget this . His mother is constantly putting Indian woman in front of him hoping he chooses one to be his wife, so that when he becomes chief he has a wife. When he discovers that one of the new teachers brought to the reservation is an Irish, Beautiful red head , he does not care what anyone thinks or how they will react. He is determined to explore his feelings for her, as thoughts of her continuously consume his mind.

“ I've never had a woman fascinate me like you do. I crave you like hunger or thirst.”

I loved this book. I loved how the $ girls dealt with the animosity, the anger, the dislike from everyone there. they kept their heads held High and did what they were sent there to do.

the relationship that built between Lou and Eve was awesome, I love how it was a built up and not something they just jumped right into.

I love the connection they made with the people in the tribe and how The people started to finally see that these 4 girls were nothing like the last ones that where there.

If you have not read this series you MUST . It definitely is worth it. Kate does an Amazing job of writing this series and brings the story to life. He writing Just flows awesome through the story.

Thank you Kate for providing me with a copy and asking me to read and review it . I can not wait for Janie's story next :)
























… (mehr)

The Good Stuff

Usually don`t do self published, but glad I did in this case
Wonderful escapist novel
Perfect for reading on the beach (or on a long plane ride). Our flight home from Cancun was almost 6 hours and I finished this and Messenger thanks to hubby who sat with Jesse (Hey I sat with two kids on the way there I earned it let me tell you)
Nice chemistry between Grace and Vinnie
Enjoyed the friendships between the characters - very refreshing and realistic
Nice to see a character want to become a stronger woman
Supporting characters added some great light moments
Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series
It's been a while since I read a contemporary romance so it was kinda fun
Felt a kinship to as we are very similar (even physically -well except I am more on the slim side but I was chubby) - well except for having the hots for overly muscular men LOL!
Positive gay/lesbian characters

The Not So Good Stuff

Frustrating at times with the will they or won`t they
I get it he has got bulging muscles and she thinks that is really hot
Also was irritated with Grace's obsession with exercise - but hey I really shouldn't judge as I am very similar - hmm maybe that was why I was so irritated - it struck a little too close to home (yes free therapy here LOL!)
With a little more tighter editing I say it could easily be published by one of the major publishers

Favorite Quotes/Passages

"How could she do anything for him tied up and spread eagle on the bed?" Dee asked. At that point, we didn't stop laughing for at least five minutes."

"India's parents were not that accepting of her sexual orientation. Those stories always made me so sad. How could you ever push away your child just because of who they love."

"If I was angry, my face shook when I spoke. I hated this part of me. It made me feel weak."

Who Should/Shouldn`t Read

Perfect book for those looking for something to escape life with for a while and have a good time
Fans of contemporary romance will eat this one up
Hate to fly and this one got me through it

3.5 Dewey`s

I received this from the author in exchange for an honest review… (mehr)