More Than Cocoa

Maple Leaf #5

by Christine DePetrillo

Book Five in The Maple Leaf Series Detective Rachel Lorensen has played so many roles in her undercover work with the Boston Police Department that she's not entirely sure who she is anymore. Taking down the bad guys satisfies her and she loves the thrill of solving difficult cases, but something is missing in her life. Something she thought she had once. Something she wouldn't mind having again. Former news anchor Harris Wilder just completed sixteen months in jail for making some bad decisions. Though his brother has offered him a place to crash, he is eager to get his life back on track, but ties to his former journalistic glory have all been cut. He's facing a complete reinvention of himself and doesn't know where to start. He'd thought life on the outside would be easier than prison life. Now he isn't so sure. When one steamy kiss mistakenly gets Harris involved in Rachel's latest undercover case, the safety of seventeen missing women is on the line. So is the mending of two broken hearts. The Maple Leaf Series: More Than Pancakes More Than Cookies More Than Rum More Than Pizza More Than Candy Corn - A Halloween Novella More Than Cocoa

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

374 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2015

About the author

Christine DePetrillo can often be found hugging trees, conversing with dragonflies, and walking barefoot through sun-warmed soil. She finds joy in listening to the wind, bathing in moonlight, and breathing in the fragrances of things that bloom. If she had her way, the sky would be the only roof over her head.

Her love of nature seeps into every story she tells. As does her obsession with bearded mountain men who build, often smell like sawdust, and know how to cherish the women they love. Today she writes tales meant to make you laugh, maybe make you sweat, and definitely make you believe in the power of love.

She lives in Vermont with her husband and cat who defend her fiercely from all evils.

Find Christine’s other titles at www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com. Connect on Facebook at www.facebook.com/christinedepetrilloa..., on Instagram at @christinedepetrillo, and at the Small Town Hearts Facebook Group.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than Cocoa bk 5 [The Maple Leaf Series]
This series is amazing, Some Romantic Suspense, Dark themes and Books 4-6 are set in Boston.. Each book follows a different Couple

I did not know what to think about this book because it follows a character called Harris who you meet in book 4 and i did not like his character in that book because of how he treated his brother but when i started reading this book i started to feel sorry for him because everyone said they wanted to forget about the past everytime Harris was going to say he was sorry but they keep trying to bring it up or telling him that you are going to be ok as long as you do not mess up again which means they are not helping him move forward because they keep bring up the past.. They should of seen how much Harris was trying to be better and seen that he was not the same person anymore

I started not liking how they treated Harris because he needs people on his side not have people thinking he would turn back into his old self.. I am glad that he showed everyone that he can be a better man and also he still has feelings for his ex which made him work hard to prove he could be better.. I really liked Rachel in book 4 because she was best friends with dex who is Harris brother but in this book i started not to like her character because of the way she treated Harris but i started to like her character again when she seen the real Harris

Harris used to be a new reporter but now works in a Construction company.. He works hard to prove that he is someone that people could love and be there for.. He has always just put himself first in everything but when he did to his brother changed everything for him and now he just wants to be a better man and try to find his way back to being a brother that dex needs.. He got hurt at work one day and got badly burned which now means he will have some scars but he did save one of his co-workers so he did not mind he got hurt.. I liked that Harris made some new friends and Hulk helped him save Rachel the woman Harris loves..

Rachel is a Detective and also works hard at her job.. She hates Harris because of the way he hurt dex but also does not like him because he is her ex and she does not think Harris will every change.. She starts an undercover job and runs into Harris which she has to get away from because she did not want to mess up the undercover work but when she nearly feel and they kissed that's when it changed and she had to bring him into the undercover job.. Now her and Harris has to fake date for her job because she had to find the women that are missing... When she was near Harris she started to feel things again for him and when they kissed it changed for both of them

This book is packed full of:
⦁ Awesome characters
⦁ Detective/Construction worker Romance
⦁ Second Chance Romance
⦁ Best friends Brother
⦁ Fake Dating Trope
⦁ Heroine was Undercover
⦁ No 3rd act break Up
⦁ Slow Burn
⦁ Some Steam near the end
⦁ Hot outdoor Kissing
⦁ Grumpy Heroine
⦁ Content: Hero has a lot of stuff to over come because of the way he treated his brother, Hero gets hurt and ends up with scars, Heroine has scars and has a sad past with her family, Kidnapping, and more
⦁ Heroine has scars
⦁ Hero has burn marks with scars
⦁ Dark themes
⦁ Caretaking
⦁ Cute Dog called Rodge
⦁ Forced Proximity
⦁ Romantic Suspense
⦁ Protective Hero
⦁ Hero saves Heroine
⦁ Heroine keeps people away from her heart because she does not want to get hurt
⦁ Fast read
⦁ Action packed
⦁ Plot twists
⦁ Mystery
⦁ Each book follows a different couple and books 4-6 are set in Boston

I really enjoyed Harris character and it was really nice to see more about his life and how he feels because i thought he done amazing job trying to show people that he is a better person and not the same old Harris everyone keeps thinking he is because he is trying to leave his old life in the past.. It was nice to see Harris make new friends who like him just the way he is which was sweet to read about but also he has friends that were there for him when he needed to talk..

Characters that i liked:
⦁ Harris [Construction worker, Twin Brother to Dex]
⦁ Rachel [Detective, Work Partner to Dex] I liked her character sometimes in this book
⦁ Dex [Detective, Married to Shaylee, Twin Brother to Harris]
⦁ Shaylee [Physical Therapist, Married to Dex]
⦁ Hain [Dex and Rachel's Boss, Father Figure to Dex & Harris]
⦁ Josie [Friends and works with Shaylee]
⦁ Charles [Friends and works with Shaylee]
⦁ Jake [Works with Rachel sometimes, Dog owner to Rodge]
⦁ Hulk [Works with Harris, Friends with Harris]
⦁ Joel [Harris's Boss]
⦁ Grady [Owns a Bar, Friends with Rachel]
⦁ Hannah [Friends with Rachel, meet while Rachel was working]
⦁ Becca [Friends with Rachel, meet while Rachel was working]

I really enjoyed Harris Character in this book because he done amazing to turn his life around even when people in his life were still trying to push his old life into his face and also thinking he would never change so i was so glad to see that he showed everyone that he can make a better life for himself and i was glad to see him making new friends that stick by him.. Harris should be Proud of himself because he was awesome and i really liked when he saved his co-workers life but i felt sorry for him when he got badly burned..

I am happy that everything turned out good in the end of the book.. I did enjoy Harris and Rachel's Relationship when she was not thinking about his past.. I am just glad that Harris got a happy Ending..

Characters i did not like:
⦁ Jackson Vennis [Bad Guy]
⦁ Guys how work for Mr. Vennis

[Coco.V]

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[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! Christine DePetrillo really knows her stories and writes them well! Highly recommend this one!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: "Book Five in The Maple Leaf Series

Detective Rachel Lorensen has played so many roles in her undercover work with the Boston Police Department that she’s not entirely sure who she is anymore. Taking down the bad guys satisfies her and she loves the thrill of solving difficult cases, but something is missing in her life. Something she thought she had once. Something she wouldn’t mind having again.

Former news anchor Harris Wilder just completed sixteen months in jail for making some bad decisions. Though his brother has offered him a place to crash, he is eager to get his life back on track, but ties to his former journalistic glory have all been cut. He’s facing a complete reinvention of himself and doesn’t know where to start. He’d thought life on the outside would be easier than prison life. Now he isn’t so sure.

When one steamy kiss mistakenly gets Harris involved in Rachel’s latest undercover case, the safety of seventeen missing women is on the line.

So is the mending of two broken hearts."

My Review: I have been a pretty big fan of this series but was a little hesitant to read Harris' story, he was not my favorite character in More Than Pizza and was not my type of guy to start with but of course I was still going to read this book. Now I am glad I did read it and got to see the redemption of his character. I like the banter between Rachel and Harris and the development of their relationship throughout the book even without constant contact like so many other book romances require. I do think the best part though was to watch Harris' character develop individually. I think there are only one or two more books in this series but I really hope we get to see more of Hulk and I really want to learn Grady's story! As a side note, you don't need to read all the books in the series to enjoy this one though More Than Pizza should be read for good backstory.

[J Lundsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved More Than Pizza so I was prepared to not like this story. How could I when Harris was so awful to Dax in the previous book? But Harris more than redeems himself. It was great to watch him struggle to get his life back, a new, better life. This is a stand a lone but definitely read More Than Pizza!