Review | Wrecked Series by Catherine Cowles
TITLE: Reckless Memories
SERIES: Wrecked #1
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
TROPES: Friends to Lovers / Second Chance / Small Town RELEASE DATE: May 12th, 2020
I loved him before I knew what the word meant.
From skinned knees to first dates and everything in between.
But he was never mine to love.
I settled for friendship, even though I always wanted more.
That was before.
Before he ripped my world apart and didn’t bother sticking around to help me pick up the pieces.
I knit every last shred back together all on my own.
And I’ve all but forgotten his name.
Now, he’s back, and everything is torn apart once more.
But he’s not the only one doing the tearing this time.
And there might be no stopping the person who has it out for us both.
⭐️ 4.5 Stars ⭐️
After falling in love with the Sutter Lake Series by Catherine Cowles, I was really excited to dive into another small town series from this author. There's just something so gripping about this trope with a sense of togetherness between supporting friends and family. Reckless Memories had all these elements and so much more.
"𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒍. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕."
Bell and Ford's relationship was one of profound friendship and forgiveness. After Ford being away from their small island town for eleven years, he's not well received by Bell, his once best friend. I loved how they gradually mend their broken friendship and explored their deep-rooted romantic feelings. Their relationship was truly exquisite to witness with all the emotional and tender moments as well as the passion.
"𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆."
The supporting cast was fantastic and made this read even more complete. Friends acting like family throughout the ordeal Bell and Ford faced with the threats on their lives. The intrigue was captivating and certainly kept me on edge and guessing. I loved this novel a lot and I'm ready for the next one in the series!
TITLE: Perfect Wreckage
SERIES: Wrecked #2
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
TROPES: Enemies to Lovers / Fling / Small Town RELEASE DATE: September 22nd, 2020
My past taught me to play it safe.
To stay far away from handsome men who promised it all.
My life was good without them. Stable, secure, predictable.
But one kiss showed me that I’d been playing it safe for far too long.
One night, and all I wanted was more of his wildfire.
One challenge and my carefully constructed walls tumbled down.
Amidst the rubble, I realized there was more to this man than I ever dreamed.
When everything fell apart, he showed me what it meant to stay.
How to truly live.
But when my demons return, that life might end up shorter than either of us expected…
⭐️ 5 "Brown Eyes" Stars ⭐️
As soon as I finished the previous novel in the Wrecked Series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Kenna and Crosby's story! The animosity between the flirty "surfer boy" and the impassible woman had me intrigued as I'm a fan of enemies to lovers romance. The sparks in their every interaction had me salivating over the potential of their own love story. Perfect Wreckage was such a winner for me! I loved every moment of my read between the laughing, the swooning, the crying. This novel transported me on an emotional journey I wasn't expecting.
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒊𝒕?”
Once again, all the characters from the little island town of Anchor charmed me. They're such a great group of friends always lending a hand for each other. What can I say about our main protagonists? These two were so perfect together! Crosby was the ideal man to help Kenna embrace life fully and without fear. The guy had me weak in the knees from his level of devotion! Kenna was also an interesting heroine with her strength and independance. She surpassed difficult obstacles in her life that made her scared to trust people. When she's in need of help, Crosby is there for her and their relationship blossoms so exquisitely into a beautiful love story! Between adorable and funny scenes, they also share a burning passion.
“𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆.”
Catherine Cowles had me totally hooked by this amazing couple and the great plot line. Perfect Wreckage was everything and more!
TITLE: Wrecked Palace
SERIES: Wrecked #3
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
TROPES: Guardian / Friends to Lovers / Small Town RELEASE DATE: January 18th, 2021
One night was all it took for everything to change.
From college student to guardian in a single breath.
My siblings became my world.
No time for date nights or romantic dreams.
I traded quiet weekends for sleepless nights.
Giving my all to make sure they were cared for.
But Griffin had a brokenness that called to me—one that mirrored my own.
Gruff and just a little bit reckless.
He was the last thing I needed. But everything I wanted.
Only someone isn’t happy about this new life I’m building.
Deciding to set fire to everything I hold close.
And when the smoke clears, there might be only ashes left behind…
⭐️ 5 "Magic Giant" Stars ⭐️
OMG! Wrecked Palace was just EVERYTHING! It's definitely my new favorite novel in the Wrecked Series. I was really intrigued about Caelyn's story and certainly wasn't disapointed in the least by her and Griffin's romance! Their relationship was incredibly sweet and gorgeous!
"𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑩𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕."
Griffin is this recluse man, hiding his past and sadness restoring his family mansion and Caelyn is devoting herself to provide for her younger siblings. When there's a treat on the O'Connors's safety, Griffin can only try to protect the little family and they all grow attached. I seriously couldn't get enough of Griffin's interaction with the O'Connors. Mia was such a sassy little girl and her instant affinity with the man so endearing. Her "Magic Giant" was so adorable with her and so protective. He was also very good with Ava, the quiet girl. His bonding with Will, the teenage boy of the family was amazing too. While he helped them immensely, they also help him live again after years really closed off.
“𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒖𝒎𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕.”
Everything felt so effortless between Griffin and Caelyn and that's what I loved the most about their romance. It was an excruciating slow burn, but oh so good! My heart was pounding so hard in my chest and I was smiling a lot during my read from all the emotion these characters gave me. Add a little suspense in the mix and I was happily captivated. The beloved characters from the previous novels made appreciated appearences throughout the story to make this read perfect! Wrecked Palace is the best kind of friends to lovers, small town romance there is!
TITLE: Reckless Refuge
SERIES: Wrecked #4
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
TROPES: Artist / Small Town RELEASE DATE: May 11th, 2021
There were shadows I was running from.
Ones that haunted and taunted.
Ones that made it so I had no choice but to disappear.
I’d spent years hiding from the world.
My little island haven, the only assurance of safety.
It all changed the moment he showed up at my door.
The hint of pain in his eyes told me that something haunted him, too.
And I couldn’t help but be drawn closer.
But finding the person I needed most came with risks I never expected.
And when our ghosts find us again, neither of us may make it out this time.
⭐️ 4.5 Stars ⭐️
Reckless Refuge was another incredible addition to the Wrecked Series. We didn't know a lot about Shay, having seen her just in passing in the previous novel of the series, but I was soon hooked by her situation.
The young woman is isolated on a small island by her own making, hiding from her psychopath brother. The arrival of the new owner of her safe haven, Brody, brings change in her life. The man is an artist from New York, trying to forget about troubling events that happened in his life. They slowly develop a beautiful friendship that turns into so much more when the undeniable attraction between them sparks a fire.
This novel had a great intrigue and kept me on my toes with all the suspense surrounding murders on the surrounding islands. It was also nice to get more of Bell, Ford, Kenna, Crosby, Caelyn and Griffin. This group of characters is truly fantastic! I'm now so eager for Hunter's story!!
TITLE: Beneath the Wreckage
SERIES: Wrecked #5
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
TROPES: Small Town RELEASE DATE: September 21st, 2021
It was supposed to be a summer we’d never forget.
Instead, everything was stolen from me.
The best friend who was more like a sister. The innocent way I looked at life.
Leaving me with only unanswered questions.
Returning to the island is the second chance I didn’t know I needed.
And Hunter is the surprise that knocks me sideways.
There’s a hurt in him that calls to my own.
A strength I find in sharing our scars.
Igniting a spark that turns to flame.
But someone isn’t happy about the world I’m building for myself.
And nothing will stop them from tearing it all apart…
⭐️ 4.5 Stars ⭐️
This last installment in the Wrecked Series was as good as its predecessors. I was curious about Hunter's story and was so glad to finally read it. His relationship with Piper was so beautiful! This couple was so perfect together!
The suspense was really intense and kept me invested all read long. Beneath the Wreckage was a great ending to a memorable series! I couldn't have asked for more!
CATHERINE COWLES
Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she's not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
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