5+ stars for Rumor Has It by Morgan Malone #laterinliferomance #secondchance #enemiestolovers
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    • Dec 1, 2023
    • 4 min read

5+ stars for Rumor Has It by Morgan Malone #laterinliferomance #secondchance #enemiestolovers



Title: Rumor Has It (The I’ll Never Say “I Do” Club series, Book Three)

Author: Morgan Malone

Genre: Later-in-life Romance, Second Chance Romance, Enemies to Lovers Romance

 

Book Blurb: 

 

“I dare you, I double, triple dare you, to go online for three months and really look at the guys who are out there just waiting to fall in love with the awesome women you are! I bet you that you will all be head over heels and engaged by the end of the year!”


Serendipity, Jessica, Emily, and Olivia made a vow in college never to marry when they formed The “I’ll Never Say I Do” Club. Now, at 40, they are all rich and successful. And alone. Then Seri meets and falls in love with a man she improbably met online. At her Maine wedding, she issues a challenge to her three bridesmaids: three months to meet a man they want to marry. The consolation prize if they fail: a New Year’s trip to Hawaii. What have they got to lose?


They call her The Tigress. Newest partner of The Smith Firm. Feared by opponents. Admired by colleagues. Depended upon by her extended family. Loved by her three best friends, Seri, Jess and Em. And alone. Olivia Trask Morris has never fully recovered from the broken heart of her youth. Men are an accessory, a brief interlude, then out of her life. Except one man she has studiously avoided since their senior year in high school. The first man, the only man to whom she gave her heart, her dreams, and her innocence. The man who crushed her with his lies and infidelity. The man whose file has just been assigned to her by the senior partner.


He is the Playboy of the Western World. The Man with the Midas Touch. And he is about to walk away. Brookes Hamilton Fisk is tired of the deals, the money, and the women. For fifteen. years, he has conquered the business world and been the escort, and sometimes the lover, of a bevy of beautiful actresses, models, and socialites. Anything to keep the world from realizing that he gave his heart away when he was just eighteen, to a girl who tossed it back into his face. Now, he is pursuing his dearest dream: breeding the best thoroughbred race horses in the world. All he needs is the perfect farm in Saratoga Springs. And a tough-as-nails lawyer to help him get it.


They were made for each other. Brookes still believes that he can win back Olivia’s heart, even if he must scheme for her to be his lawyer to make it happen. Olivia hates nothing more than being manipulated by a man. Especially Brookes. She’s hated him for decades, at least that is what Olivia tells herself as they are thrown together and she sees glimmers of the boy she loved in the man she despises. Could she have been wrong all those years ago? Will Seri’s prediction come true or is this one deal that even Brookes can’t close?

 

My Review: 

 

Olivia may be a tigress in the courtroom but when it comes to falling in love with the one man she despises, she’s one scared kitten. Morgan Malone brings her A-game with Rumor Has It. This second-chance, enemies-to-lovers romance has so much pent-up emotion, I couldn’t stop reading it. The characters are irresistible to read and drive this story. There are misunderstandings galore. The banter is fierce and whip smart. But the reason why I love Rumor Has It so much is the romance.

 

Let’s start with the characters, shall we? Olivia is a heroine who’ll steal your heart, like she did mine. She’s got a tough exterior but inside she’s got walls around her heart to protect her from getting hurt. She keeps men at a distance and it’s all Brookes’ fault. But what if she got it all wrong? I love strong, independent women who know what they want and how to get it. Olivia is that but she also has a vulnerability I thoroughly enjoyed. I connected with her and at times wanted to shake her. The rest of the characters are well-written and authentic. Each one had something to offer to the story.

 

The descriptive narration is deep and very emotional. There are a lot of emotions simmering just underneath the surface. When they boil over, it makes for an enriching reading experience. After all, when it comes to matters of the heart, it’s all about emotion.

 

The writing is immersive and such a joy to read. The plot is perfectly paced. The conflict is just the right amount without going overboard. Morgan Malone writes romances readers want to read.

 

If you’re in the mood for a second-chance romance with all the drama and emotion, you’ll want to dive into Rumor Has It.

 

My Rating: 5+ stars

 

Buy it Now:   

 

 

 


Author Biography:

 

My pen name is Morgan Malone. A twist on the old “What is my stripper name? A combination of the name of your first pet and the street you grew up created Morgan Malone, an erudite yet brazen hussy, who left her career as an administrative law judge and counsel to pursue her first great love: writing.


I am a best-selling, award-winning published author of a variety of romance novels: some steaming hot, some sexy, some sweet, mostly contemporary but a Pirate trilogy is in the works. I also write romantic memoir. My mainstream essays have been broadcast on NPR’s 51%, a nationally broadcast show directed at women. I frequently give workshops at author-reader conferences about writing “later-in-life” love stories featuring heroes and heroines, who are falling in love for the last, or maybe the first, time in their lives. Because, if you’re over 25 (and I am), maybe your book boyfriend should be too!


I live in Saratoga County, NY with my rescue diva dog, Princess. My daughter is a clinical psychologist practicing in Westchester County and my son (the real estate magnate), daughter-in-law (award-winning registered nurse) and two grandsons, live nearby. I travel, paint watercolors, play Mah Jongg, officiate at weddings, and arbitrate employment contract disputes in between writing romance and memoir.

 

Social Media Links:

 

Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/author/morganmalone  

 

Reviewed by: Nancy

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