Rocky Mountain Heat (previously published as All of Me) (Wedding Veil Wishes (4)) by Lori Wilde

Title: Rocky Mountain Heat (previously published as All of Me) (Wedding Veil Wishes (4))
Previous title: All of Me
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wedding Veil Wishes (4) (Book 4)
Format: Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Forever; Reprint edition (December 17, 2019)
ISBN-10: 1538700190
ISBN-13: 978-1538700198
Author's Website: https://loriwilde.com/
Notes: I received an ARC from the publisher for review purposes. This in no way affected my rating or review.


Legend has it long ago a witch created beautiful lace bridal veils. Her last and final creation she enchanted with a spell, or so the story goes...

“Once upon a time, in long-ago Ireland, there lived a beautiful young witch named Morag who possessed a great talent for tatting lace. People came from far and wide to buy the lovely wedding veils she created. But there were other women in the community who were envious of Morag’s beauty and talent. These women made up a lie and told the magistrate that Morag was casting spells on the men of the village.

The magistrate was engaged to a woman that he admired, but did not love. He arrested Morag, but found himself falling madly in love with her. Convinced that she must have cast a spell upon him as well, he moved to have her tried for practicing witchcraft. If found guilty, she would be burned at the stake. But in the end, the magistrate could not resist the power of true love.

On the eve before Morag was to stand trial, he kidnapped her from the jail in the dead of night and spirited her away to America, giving up everything for her love. To prove that she had not cast a spell over him, Morag promised never to use magic again. As her final act of witchcraft, she made one last wedding veil, investing it with the power to grant the deepest wish of the wearer’s soul...”

Now, hundreds of years later, the veil has found itself in the possession of a group of friends. The final, and last of the friends to try the veil, Jillian, doesn't believe in magic. Truth be told, she doesn't believe in love, at least not for herself. She believes the love matches her friends made after wishing upon the veil were just coincidental and not the result of their wishes. On night, after a friend's funeral, however, Jillian finds herself in a vulnerable state and makes a wish. That wish will change everything...

 "I wish I had a brand new life."

This is the fourth installment of the Wedding Veil Wishes series. The series centers around four friends and an enchanted wedding veil. 'Rocky Mountain Heat', previously published under the title of 'All of Me', can definitely be read out of order and you won't feel lost. At the beginning of this story, three of Jillian's friends have already found their soul mates, but Jillian is a hard sell on the magical powers said to be possessed by the wedding veil. She's the most skeptical of the bunch and doesn't believe the veil had anything to do with her friend's love matches. She vows to never make a wish with the veil.  As we all know, however, you should never say never. In a moment of emotional weakness, she makes a wish. That is when all the fun begins.

Men have disappointed Jillian Sanders all her life. The last time she tried to put herself out there things ended badly. Believing most men are jerks and those who aren't are taken, she's pretty much given up on relationships, but deep down she still wants someone to love. When her best friend and mentor dies, she feels everything so much more, especially when her ex-boyfriend ends up becoming her new boss. Feeling like her life is falling apart, she decides to do the one thing she never thought she'd do--make a wish.

Tuck Manning is a widower who is a shadow of his former self. He loved his wife dearly, but has still not come to terms with her passing even though it's been two years since she died. When Jillian comes to town she challenges him, excites him (even though he's loath to admit it), and makes him feel again. Despite that, however, he still has to come to terms with having feeling for someone other than his deceased wife. He's a great guy but the big question is can he overcome his grief and guilt that he feels at the thought of moving on--preferably with Jillian?

I admit I had mixed feelings about Tuck. While I liked how much he'd loved his wife, I felt it sometimes didn't bode well for his relationship with Jillian. There were times when if I'd been Julian's friend I would have advised her to cut him loose, but I have to admit I've seen others act similarly in real life so I can't really fault Ms. Wilde for it. It took quite some time before Tuck won me over.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. It was a sweet, funny, and charming romance with some twists and hurdles thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed seeing these two fall for one another despite their trying to resist the pull they felt for one another,  I loved the situation which developed as they tried to figure out who truly owned the lake house. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

Order of the Wedding Veil Wishes series:

All of Me (Love Between the Bases #1) by Jennifer Bernard

Title: All of Me: A Love Between the Bases Novel
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Contemporary Romace
Series: Between the Bases
Format: Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (May 26, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0062372165
ISBN-13: 978-0062372161
Notes: I am part of Jennifer Bernard's Street Team which means I love her books enough to help get the word out when they get released. I also occasionally get free swag and access to ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies), but I'd still be part of her street team even if those weren't offered.  

Some relationships end amicably. Some relationships end with hurt feelings. When Sadie broke off her relationship with Hamilton Wade, however, it ended in a most horrific way. He posted pictures of her in various states of undress on Facebook as well as circulating an embarrassing video, all of which she had no idea he'd taken. After being betrayed so badly, Sadie's hesitant to get involved with anyone again. When Caleb Hart starts paying her attention, she's determined not to make the same mistake twice by dating the wrong type of guy, but Caleb is making that decision hard.

Caleb Hart was in the major leagues until his pitching took a turn for the worse. Now playing for the Kilby Catfish, a minor league team, he's hoping to break his streak of bad luck and get himself back in the majors. He's a nice guy who has helped raise his younger siblings, Like Sadie, he has a past, but unlike Sadie he's managed to keep it a secret. When he feels a strong attraction to Sadie, he'll try to convince her to take a chance on him but will their pasts get in the way?

While no one's perfect, each will end up wondering if the other can accept 'All of Me.'

This is the first book of a new series that I thoroughly enjoyed. It brought to light some of the dangers the age of camera phones brings with it--namely that pictures and videos can be taken very easily without someone's knowledge. It reminded me a little of the Paris Hilton's sex video that was released by her ex-boyfriend. While Paris managed to gain notoriety and profit from her embarrassing video, Sadie gained nothing but a bad reputation. Yes, ladies it's a whole new world out there and you need to be careful.

I enjoyed how the book had so many uplifting messages like we shouldn't let our past define us and that things can get better. I adored Sadie's inextinguishable spirit which never let her give in to the despair of what her ex-boyfriend did to her. Bouncing back from something like that would not be easy. Additionally, I like how Ms Bernard touches on how we are our own person and aren't defined by the mistakes our parents make. We can choose to be our own person, learn from other's mistakes, and choose our own path.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. While the book touched on some serious subject matter, it still contained a lot of Jennifer's signature humor. It delved into a wide range of emotions and I liked how these two likable characters got what they each deserved--each other. As I read, the saying, 'When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." came to mind. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a  STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.