Category: Book Reviews

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Book Review: Street Cat Blues by Alison O’Leary

Street Cat Blues

by Alison O’Leary

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N 

 

After spending several months banged up in Sunny Banks rescue center, Aubrey, a large tabby cat, has finally found his forever home with Molly and Jeremy Goodman and life is looking good.

However, all that changes when a serial killer begins to target elderly victims in the neighborhood. Aubrey wasn’t particularly upset by the death of some of the previous victims, including Miss Jenkins whom Aubrey recalls as a vinegar-lipped bitch of an old woman who enjoyed throwing stones at cats, but Mr. Telling was different. Mr. Telling was a mate…

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It was the kind of smell that hung on the air and wrapped itself around you, an evil little hobgoblin of a stink that poked its slimy, skinny fingers up your nose and down the back of your throat, and kissed your skin with soft, wet lips so that even if you washed a thousand times you would still catch its foul breath.

 

It looked as out of place as a maiden aunt at a drugs bust. Never beautiful at the best of times, it stood dank and foreboding; a great, gothic pterodactyl of a building, the bare branches of the surrounding trees reaching blackly up into the sky like witches’ fingers.

 

He didn’t know what it was, but the stuff that Carlos had put on a saucer for him was the absolute business.

 

In Aubrey’s experience, cooking was usually done by girls, like Molly, unless you were big, hairy, sweaty, and frightening, like the bloke who cooked at the local steakhouse and who had fed Aubrey on the odd occasion that he’d passed by in his homeless days. He would have passed by more often, but there was something slightly unnerving about a bloke who habitually had a meat cleaver in his hand.

 

“She can’t help it. She thinks that she’s doing the right thing,” said Molly. “So did Hitler,” replied Jeremy.

 

My Review:

 

Shrewd insights, happenstance sleuthing, and wry humor weave an intriguing and vastly entertaining tale of murder, all through the wizened eye of a watchful tabby cat named Aubrey. But who better to observe the odd goings-on in his community?   However, this wasn’t just any old tomcat, this feline was tapped into a unique neighborhood-watch type network of house cats and an associated gang of free-roaming street cats. Aubrey was also respectfully acquainted with the nefarious racket running Siamese twins – feline Siamese, not the conjoined variety ~ snort. Someone was knocking off the elderly and the police hadn’t seemed to notice, but Aubrey was putting it together and his pals had a few additional thoughts to contribute as well.

 

Cunningly crafted and cleverly written, this was a fun and engaging story, and I derived great pleasure and enjoyment from Ms. O’Leary’s colorful descriptions and crisp writing style. And I was shocked right out of my favorite pair of red crocs to realize this deftly written and wily tale was a debut publication. Although it wasn’t a totally warm and toasty yarn that was only told with chortle producing or smirk-worthy levity, as the murders were a bit grim and as in reality, not all humans were kind to animals or each other.

 

I scored heavily for my Brit Word List with the new additions of milk float – which is milk delivery van; skip – a large outdoor waste receptacle; round the twist – crazy; and jobsworth – a rule-bound, lazy, or uncooperative worker who are unwilling or too petty to assist.

About the Author

I was born in London and spent my teenage years in Hertfordshire where I spent large amounts of time reading Agatha Christie novels and avoiding school. Failing to gain any qualifications in Science whatsoever, the dream of being a forensic scientist crashed and burned when a careers teacher suggested that I might like to work in a shop. Later studying Law, I decided to teach rather than go into practice and have spent many years working as a college lecturer teaching mainly Criminal Law to adults and young people.

I live on the south coast with my husband John and cat Archie. When not writing I enjoy crosswords, walking by the sea and drinking wine. Not necessarily in that order.

Social Media Links –

Facebook.com/Alison.oleary.1069   

twitter.com/alisonoleary81

https://www.alisonoleary.co.uk/

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Book Review: The Military Wife by Laura Trentham

 The Military Wife

by Laura Trentham

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

 

A young widow embraces a second chance at life when she reconnects with those who understand the sacrifices made by American soldiers and their families in award-winning author Laura Trentham’s The Military Wife.

Harper Lee Wilcox has been marking time in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina since her husband, Noah Wilcox’s death, nearly five years earlier. With her son Ben turning five and living at home with her mother, Harper fights a growing restlessness, worried that moving on means leaving the memory of her husband behind.

Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. Her husband, a former SEAL that served with Noah, was injured while deployed and has come home physically healed but fighting PTSD. With three children underfoot and unable to help her husband, Allison is at her wit’s end.

In an effort to reenergize her own life, Harper sees an opportunity to help not only Allison but a network of other military wives eager to support her idea of starting a string of coffee houses close to military bases around the country.

In her pursuit of her dream, Harper crosses paths with Bennett Caldwell, Noah’s best friend, and SEAL brother. A man who has a promise to keep, entangling their lives in ways neither of them can foresee. As her business grows so does an unexpected relationship with Bennett. Can Harper let go of her grief and build a future with Bennett even as the man they both loved haunts their pasts?

 

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“He’s been gone five years, sweetheart, and you haven’t gone on so much as a date.” “That’s not true. I went to lunch with Whit a few weeks ago.” “He was trying to sell you life insurance. Doesn’t count.”

 

He got out a pot and pulled down three cans. She moved close enough to see two were chili and one was dog food. She hoped she rated the chili.

 

Without thinking beyond the moment, she scooched closer and put her arm around him from behind. It was like hugging a gargoyle, and she half-expected him to shove her arm away as if comfort were a communicable disease.

 

Unable to unstick her gaze from him, she nodded, aware of him in ways that made parts of her tingle. Or was that the beginnings of frostbite?

 

His smile was like the sighting of a rare bird, and it filled her with the same kind of wonder.

 

And, in my mom’s eyes, you are officially the favorite of all my boyfriends. Although it’s not like the competition was steep. Not being a public nose picker put you in the lead.

 

I love bargaining. My husband says I can talk the devil down on buying a soul.

 

Time to push, Harper dear, but softly. We don’t want baby to squirt out and shoot across the room.

 

My Review:

 

This cleverly written book plumbed all the feels and insightfully covered several important and vexing societal issues with grace and finesse while bringing honor and recognition to some of the stressors bedeviling families that sacrifice to serve their country. The storylines were active and cleverly nuanced, highly relevant, emotive, evocative, and beautifully written with agility and artistry while well balanced with levity and witty quips. Ms. Trentham is a recent discovery for me with her delightfully appealing Cottonbloom series, and I have repeatedly noticed her special ninja-like talent for creating unique and complex characters who are unfailingly endearing yet extremely complicated, deeply flawed, and impossible not to love. Bennett and Harper included.

About the Author

Goodreads

Amazon

Website

Bookbub

LAURA TRENTHAM is an award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance. She is a member of RWA, and has been a finalist multiple times in the Golden Heart competition. A chemical engineer by training and a lover of books by nature, she lives in South Carolina.

 

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Book Review: Honey and Happiness (Hemlock Creek Book 4) by Josie Kerr

Honey and Happiness

(Hemlock Creek Book 4)

by Josie Kerr

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / Universal

B&N / iBooks / Kobo

Saffron McNabb is living her best life. After abandoning corporate rat race almost twenty years before, Saffy’s happily managing a small bed and breakfast in the north Georgia mountains. That is until the owner of the Creekside B & B wants to sell, and not to Saffy. 

Bruce Baird is in desperate need of a change. Bored both professionally and personally, when he’s forced to take a vacation, the normally unadventurous actuary decides to throw caution to the wind. 

A close encounter with one of Saffy’s rescued animals leaves the tightly-wound man and the free-spirited woman at odds. But when reality intrudes on the odd couple, they find they have more in common than not, and maybe, just maybe, Saffy and Bruce actually make a perfect combination. 

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Chances are his suitcase was lost despite the assurances of the airline, and if it was, he didn’t want to spend the next week looking like he was dressed in castoffs from a community theater production of Godspell.

 

“But I got to thinking—” “Oh, Saffy. Never, ever think when you’re locking lips with a handsome man.” “I know,” Saffy said with a sigh.

 

… so what type of person did that make her? A judgmental twatermelon…

 

 

My Review:

 

This has been one of my favorite series, like ever! And I smirked and sighed contentedly while reading this amusing, sweet, and sexy stand-alone installment. Aptly titled, as it was sweet as honey and certainly made me happy. This endearingly appealing tale arrived on my Kindle at the perfect time, as I needed something fun, refreshing, and pleasantly satisfying while definitely lighter in nature after an unhealthy diet of angst and tension. The alluring and adorable couple of Saffy and Bruce worked a charm. The storylines were fresh, delightfully upbeat, easy to follow and well paced, while laced with levity, a sweet romance, a few surprises, and hits of humorously delectable steam.

 

The lovely book cover alone continues to affect me like some sort of visual Xanax, as the gleeful and magnetically attractive woman featured has managed to magically elicit a smile every single time my eyes have landed on her joyful countenance. She makes my heart sing and was the perfect match for the character.

 

I enjoyed both of the quirky and enticing main characters, although I aspire to be as Zen in my world as Saffy was in hers; she had found her niche, enjoyed utilizing her skills, and had established a useful and satisfying outlet for her creativity. I adored her! Saffy had been living a calm and almost totally fulfilling life with her unusual menagerie of rescue animals while running a B&B and organic products store ingeniously named Goat Waggle ~ snort! Sounds like Nirvana to me, and a handsome and gentle vacationer turned out to be the tasty treat who tipped the scales toward total bliss. That was until a greedy twatwaffle attempted to sell it all out from under her with shady dealings. The hero of the day was not whom I expected and I look forward to hopefully peeling that onion in a subsequent volume in the series.

 


 

 

Josie Kerr   

Website

Twitter  authorjosiekerr

Goodreads

Josie Kerr is a transplanted West Texan living on the edge of semi-profoundly rural Georgia, a.k.a. the southernmost edge of the northernmost county in Metro Atlanta.

She has an M.Ed. in Secondary English Education but discovered that she hated high school more the second time than she did the first, so she decided to meld her love of technology with her education background and became an Instructional Designer. When not writing articles about how to fire someone without getting sued or why you should really not apply for jobs using your SexxyStud99@aol.com email address, she writes steamy romance novels that feature grown-up Heroes and Heroines.

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Book Review: Legend by Sawyer Bennett

Legend

(Arizona Vengeance, Book #3)

Sawyer Bennett

Release Date: February 5, 2019

Amazon| B&N|iBooks|Google Play|Kobo |Audible

 

The Arizona Vengeance is hockey’s hottest new team. But hockey’s hottest goalie is learning that even the best players sometimes need an assist.

Everything is clicking for the Vengeance. We may be new, but we’re well on our way to winning the championship, and I’m having the time of my life headlining the sports media as the hottest goalie—hell, player—ever. I for one am going to live up to my name . . . because I am Legend Bay.

Dragging my ass home from the gym, I’m blinded by some gaudy, glowing holiday lights. As usual, my hot-as-hell neighbor Pepper Nantais has gone way over the top. But just as I’m about to tell her off, something else catches my eye . . . Seems like Santa left me a present and not one I was expecting.

As life takes an unexpected turn, I realize that there’s much more to Pepper than meets the eye. Sure, she’s gorgeous. And exasperating. And her taste in decorating may be a bit . . . unique.

But beneath her carefree demeanor is a fierce determination and a heart of gold. And before I know it I’ve fallen for her. Hard . . .

Pepper is exactly the woman I never knew I needed.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My world just got narrowed down to this eight-pound bundle of wonderment in my arms and I am a different person as of now.

 

“Casual,” I confirm with a hard nod, but I do feel compelled to add on. “But exclusive.” Dax grins knowingly, because he understands that I just metaphorically peed on Pepper and marked my territory.

 

“You have nothing to be nervous about. You are wonderful and you could never embarrass me.” Relief wells in her eyes. “Unless you have an extreme case of flatulence at the table, and in that instance, I’m going to have to ask you to sit in the car and wait for me until I finish eating.”

 

I was 99.9 percent sure Pepper would say yes, but damn if that one-tenth of a point chance she might not didn’t have my body locked tight.

 

My Review:

 

I know next to nothing about hockey, other than it is played on the ice and it tends to violent, as the players are prone to brawl. So imagine my surprise when the tale turned out to be quite sweet. The storylines were well balanced with levity, erotically sensual steam, foul-mouthed characters, mental health issues, intrigue, and a tender yet sexy romance. The writing was observantly insightful and sneakily emotive. I enjoyed watching Legend’s awareness evolve and I found myself becoming quite unexpectedly fond of him, as he was protective and increasingly considerate of not just his innocent child but of Pepper and his struggling teammates. The storylines were briskly paced, well plotted, written with my favorite dual POV, and kept me continually entertained with a pleasantly engaging romance while also tickling my curiosity as I waited for the looming threat to arise.

 

The main characters were neighbors who had been somewhat at odds and annoying each other for several months as the highly structured and uptight hockey player, Legend, did not appreciate the colorful lawn displays and social lifestyle of Pepper, his somewhat bohemian next-door neighbor.   Pepper was free-spirited and had a kind and relaxed personality as well as a creative and artistic flair to her style.   I adored her. When her sexy yet cranky pain in the keister neighbor stumbled into her door in panic mode, Pepper did not hesitate to render assistance.   Legend was lucky she was so forgiving and generous with her time as his panic turned out to be warranted. A newborn baby had been left at his door in the dark with only a note, and that was only the beginning of the baby mama drama.

About the Author: Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in January 2013, Sawyer Bennett has released multiple books, many of which have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

A reformed trial lawyer fromNorth Carolina, Sawyer uses real-life experience to create relatable, sexy stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contemporary romance, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

Sawyer likes her Bloody Marys strong, her martinis dirty, and her heroes a combination of the two. When not bringing fictional romance to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to a very active daughter, as well as a full-time servant to her adorably naughty dogs. She believes in the good of others, and that a bad day can be cured with a great work-out, cake, or even better, both.

Sawyer also writes general and women’s fiction under the pen name S. Bennett and sweet romance under the name Juliette Poe.

Connect with Sawyer:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Book + Main Bites | BookBub | Amazon | Newsletter | Master Blogger List

 

 

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Book Review: Waiting for Willa by Kristen Proby

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Waiting for Willa, the newest installment in the beloved Big Sky Series by

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby is

live!

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Max Hull left Cunningham Falls a long time ago. Thanks to his killer instincts and business smarts, he’s come back to town richer than anyone’s wildest imagination. Now he’s closer to his family, living in his dream home, and at the top of his career—it sure looks like he has it all.

All but one thing. And she’s not interested.

Willa Monroe and Max were childhood sweethearts. She daydreamed about their wedding day and named their children, but Max’s dreams were bigger than her. After high school, he left her behind without another word. Now, Willa is a single mother and a successful business owner, and the heartbreak of losing Max was a very long time ago.

She’s moved on.

But when he walks into her shop and back into her life, suddenly it feels like no time has passed at all. He’s as handsome as ever, and more charming than she remembered. Once he makes friends with her son and turns his attention on her, how long will she be able to resist him?

And does she really want to? Sometimes you do get a second chance at first love.

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Download your copy today!

Amazon – https://amzn.to/2KSfbIL

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/WaitingforWillaKP

AppleBooks – https://apple.co/2FSpDkC

Nook – http://bit.ly/2Q8eyR2

Kobo – http://bit.ly/2FVwREn

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2UfuHTi

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I just had to have an eight-year-old show me how to drive a car. Is it too early for wine?

 

He looks at you like you’re a new computer… And that’s pretty great, because he loves his computers.

 

Oh, honey, this isn’t drama. Have you seen The Bachelor? That’s drama.

 

I want you to know that I like you. I respect you. And if you hurt my sister, my brother is the chief of police, I have more money than God himself, and I can make your death look like an accident.

 

“Why didn’t you call me when he asked?” “We were having sex at the time,” I say with a laugh. “Um, we need to change your proposal story. That can’t go in People magazine.”

 

My Review:

 

I enjoyed this cleverly amusing second chance romance, it was a pleasant and snappy read with crisp writing and fun and an entertaining plot. The characters were lovable and highly appealing and even included a curious child with a cute puppy. The storylines were relevant, engaging, and well balanced with healthy servings of levity and heart squeezes with a refreshingly low level of conflict and angst.   This is only my second exposure to the lovely Kristen Proby, with both experiences being top-rate. I excitedly perused her impressive listing and just realized I am extremely late to the party with Goodreads listing sixty-eight books to her credit.

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About Kristen:

Kristen was born and raised in a small resort town in her beloved Montana. In her mid-twenties, she decided to stretch her wings and move to the Pacific Northwest, where she made her home for more than a dozen years.

During that time, Kristen wrote many romance novels and joined organizations such as RWA and other small writing groups. She spent countless hours in workshops, and more mornings than she can count up before the dawn so she could write before going to work. She submitted many manuscripts to agents and editors alike, but was always told no. In the summer of 2012, the self-publishing scene was new and thriving, and Kristen had one goal: to publish just one book. It was something she longed to cross off of her bucket list.

Not only did she publish one book, she’s since published close to thirty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion Series.

Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their two pugs and two cats.

Connect with Kristen:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksByKristenProby/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Handbagjunkie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenproby/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kristen-proby
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2kBRdpj
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2BD4vfq
Pinterest: @handbagjunkie
Website: https://www.kristenprobyauthor.com/
Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/kristenproby/newsletter-sign-up

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Book Review: The Beantown Girls by Jane Healy

The Beantown Girls

by Jane Healy

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

A novel of love, courage, and danger unfolds as World War II’s brightest heroines—the best of friends—take on the front lines.

1944: Fiona Denning has her entire future planned out. She’ll work in city hall, marry her fiancé when he returns from the war, and settle down in the Boston suburbs. But when her fiancé is reported missing after being shot down in Germany, Fiona’s long-held plans are shattered.

Determined to learn her fiancé’s fate, Fiona leaves Boston to volunteer overseas as a Red Cross Clubmobile girl, recruiting her two best friends to come along. There’s the outspoken Viviana, who is more than happy to quit her secretarial job for a taste of adventure. Then there’s Dottie, a shy music teacher whose melodious talents are sure to bring heart and hope to the boys on the front lines.

Chosen for their inner strength and outer charm, the trio isn’t prepared for the daunting challenges of war. But through it all come new friendships and romances, unforeseen dangers, and unexpected dreams. As the three friends begin to understand the real reasons they all came to the front, their courage and camaraderie will see them through some of the best and worst times of their lives.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Ready or not, we’re on our way to England. We just went through six weeks of training for these jobs. I had to learn to play badminton, for the love of God. There’s no turning back now.

 

I realized I was in a much better mood than when I arrived. I was supposed to be the one boosting their spirits, but instead that’s exactly what these men had done for me. Sometimes morale was a two-way street.

 

… my heart was aching in ways that felt very familiar and yet so different. It turns out you can care for two men at the same time, but you never care for them in the exact same way.

 

“We’re off the coast of a place where thousands of American men died. And we’re dancing,” she said, squinting and tilting her head, looking out across the water. “It feels a little off, don’t you think?” “I’ve thought about that,” I said, nodding, leaning over the railing. “But honestly? I think any of the men killed here would say, Damn Hitler! Play that American music and dance. It gives these men some hope and cheers them up. Helps them fight another day.”

 

The beach was a haunted obstacle course of foxholes, concrete pillboxes, and debris… “The captain was right… You can feel the ghosts.” I got goose pimples on my arms again when she said it, because it was true. There was a heaviness to the air that had nothing to do with the dust.

 

Dick kept talking as we drove, in a trance, giving us the play-by-play of all that had happened to him, like a confessional. We couldn’t have stopped him if we had tried. And from the way he was going on, I knew that he would be haunted by the images of that day until he was an old man.

 

The ‘front’ is all around us; it’s not one straight line marked by barbed wire and a big sign.

 

My Review:

 

In addition to top-notch entertainment, this book was eye opening and surprisingly educational. I had no idea that Red Cross volunteers performed these functions. It sounded rather frivolous at first – driving around in trucks to cook and serve doughnuts and coffee to soldiers in battlefield and training encampments – however, they did so much more than that.   Heinously nicknamed Doughnut Dollies, they assisted the soldiers with writing letters; entertained them with music; provided a welcome break from the horrors of war with snacks, candy, and hygiene supplies; provided a kind personal touch while talking and listened to them about their experiences and news from their families at home; provided comfort and gentle reassurance to those coming off the battlefields and POW camps; helped them exchange information to their friends between compounds; although they weren’t nurses they willingly helped in a pinch with the wounded; and anything else they could possibly do to lift morale.

 

I was thoroughly engaged with this adventurous, poignant, profoundly moving and thoughtfully written story and was not surprised at all to learn that the author had performed a massive amount of research and had based her manuscript on actual events and archived writings of the brave and intrepid women who dared such hazardous feats. The storylines were beautifully crafted and expertly paced. I adored these spunky characters and greatly admired their grit and sacrifice. Ms. Healy’s writing was frequently emotive and tapped all the feels multiple times with considerable agility, yet was easy to follow and totally transportive. I instantly fell into a 1944 time machine and was completely immersed in their story – living and working right beside the three brave Bostonians Fiona, Viv, and Dottie. I could feel the rumble of the bomb blasts as well as their bone-weary fatigue, hear the jazz music playing, and smell the pungent and permeating scents of their cigarettes as well as the endless batches of doughnuts they tirelessly created. The author’s magical word skills were deft yet oceans deep; I also felt their excitement, fear, and profound heartache. My eyes stung and my throat constricted more than once at the horrific losses and moving encounters they exchanged with their new friends and frightened soldiers. Any writer who can move my cold heart to such extremes deserves a ten-star rating.

About the Author

Goodreads

Amazon

Website

Jane Healey left a career in high tech to become a freelance writer. Her passion for historical fiction became her new career when her debut novel, The Saturday Evening Girls Club, was published in 2017. Based on the true story of a group of Jewish and Italian immigrant women in Boston’s North End at the turn of the twentieth century, the Amazon bestseller was hailed by Redbook as “a breathtaking ode to female empowerment and the American dream.”

With the release of The Beantown Girls, she continues to fulfill her dream of writing about lesser-known stories of women in American history.

She shares a home north of Boston with her husband, two daughters, and two cats, and when she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, running, cooking, and going to the beach.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Did I Mention I Was Getting Married? by Julie Butterfield

 

Did I Mention I Was Getting Married?

by Julie Butterfield

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

 

Two years ago Rebecca Miles won the lottery and ended her marriage to her overbearing and unpleasant husband Daniel. She had every intention of putting the past behind her and starting again, but it turned out to be so much more difficult than she had imagined. Then Daniel announces he is getting married again and as Rebecca broods over how he has found it so easy to move on her daughter phones with good news – she’s getting married too! Determined not to be left behind Rebecca throws caution to the wind and finally meets someone who can give her the new start she so desperately wants. Now her ex-husband is back in her life, the future Mrs. Miles wants to be her best friend, she has her daughter’s wedding to plan and a ramshackle old wedding venue to renovate to its former perfection in just a few months, if only she can find a builder who will take on the job. There are challenges, surprises, love, and heartbreak ahead but at the end of a long, hot summer, will there be any weddings?

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘Well you know, the old Mrs Miles meeting the new Mrs Miles.’ Rebecca stared at the phone. He made it sound like a relay race where she would hand over the baton to her successor.

 

She was just starting to relax in his company when he produced several travel brochures featuring exotic and very expensive locations and said that it was Rebecca’s turn to pay for their next date and why didn’t they make it a fortnight in St Lucia.

 

Old girl? Had her ex just called her old girl? Still standing on the doorstep was a tiny creature, only an inch or so shorter than Rebecca but with an incredibly petite frame, a narrow waist that made Rebecca instinctively pull in her stomach and tiny sparrow hands that fluttered in the air, showing off an immaculate manicure and a large diamond ring.

 

Rebecca remembered reading somewhere that in Nature it was always the males who had the extravagant display of plumage and they would sway and wriggle and show off everything they had to the chosen female. The whole room seemed to be waiting for Charles to fluff up his feathers and perform the mating dance thought Rebecca wildly.

 

My Review:

 

I’ve gotten a big kick out of this series and book two was as cunningly humorous and sharply written as the first. I smirked and chuckled my through this delightfully comical and lushly appointed story. Julie Butterfield has a keen sense of humor yet she cleverly hovers her story on a well-honed edge between levity and tension with uncommon agility and enviable craft. This wily author tapped all the feels from gleeful joy to crushing heartbreak with insightful observations, rueful inner musings, and pained second-guessing being par for the course. The engaging storylines were enjoyably amusing and highly entertaining while the writing was lushly detailed and briskly paced.

 

Two years after their divorce Rebecca’s over-bearing ex-husband alerts her to his upcoming marriage, to an obvious gold-digger, although it is Rebecca’s gold that Annabelle is aiming to mine. Her obnoxious ex-husband has managed to attract a fiancé who more than rivaled his insufferable and demanding nature. Rebecca was again having difficulty locating her spine, although, to her credit, a few vertebrae did make an occasional appearance.   However, it appeared nearly impossible to stop the steamroller of expectations and expenses that the manipulative Annabelle shrewdly kept in motion.

About the Author

Julie Butterfield belongs to the rather large group of ‘always wanted to write’ authors who finally found the time to sit down and put pen to paper – or rather fingers to keyboard and wrote Did I Mention I Won the Lottery? It should be pointed out this is a complete work of fiction and she did not, in fact, receive millions in her bank account and forget to mention it her husband – even though he still asks her every day if she has anything to tell him! 


Her second book was Google Your Husband Back and the latest addition is Did I Mention I Was Getting Married? – which revisits Rebecca a few years after the lottery win which changed her life.

Social Media Links –

@juliebeewriter twitter

Giveaway

Win paperback copies of Did I Mention I Won The Lottery? & Did I Mention I Was Getting Married?  (Open INT)

Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Did I Mention I Won the Lottery? by Julie Butterfield

Did I Mention I Won the Lottery?

by Julie Butterfield

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

 

Rebecca Miles has won the lottery and is now living a millionaire lifestyle. The only problem is – she hasn’t told her husband. So at weekends, she’s a dutiful wife in Darlington, working at the local deli and making shepherd’s pie for dinner, but during the week she’s living in her new mansion in Leeds spending her days shopping whilst her husband thinks she’s looking after her sick mother. Will she get the courage to tell him before he finds out for himself? And can several million pounds in your bank account save a failing marriage?

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Before leaving the house she held the lottery ticket in her hand. It had lived in her pocket throughout the previous week and had gone everywhere with her. But now that she knew it was worth so much, she was frightened at the thought of taking it out of the house. Suppose she lost it? Suppose she put it in her purse and then she had her purse stolen? If she put it back in her pocket it might fall out.

 

She put the phone down and wiped the sweat from her forehead. If it was going to take this much out of her spending a few hundred pounds, how on earth would she cope with spending 15.7 million?

 

15.7 million pounds. Like a little mantra inside her head the number seemed to fit in with her footsteps as she walked towards the nearest shopping area. 15.7 million. Oh my God, she had won 15.7 million and it would soon be in her bank. Where should she start?

 

Her credit card, her trusty companion, had started to shout with glee when it was taken from her purse but even so, she had spent very little.

 

The only thing she didn’t do was tell Daniel. Each evening he came home and told her how hard his life was, how hard he had to work. And Rebecca did what she had been doing for years, nodding in the right places, serving his meal and waiting for him to shut up so blessed peace would reign in the house.

 

She took very little with her. She had of course shopped like a professional over the last weeks and the wardrobe of clothes she left behind in Leeds each Saturday morning reflected the amount of money in her bank account. In Darlington she was a different person. The downtrodden wife of a grumpy, belligerent man. It was getting harder and harder to play the role when she returned.

  

My Review:

 

This was a fun and cleverly penned tale; written with a sharp wit, crafty insights, heart-squeezes, edge of my seat anxious encounters, and wily plot twists. I was reluctant to put my Kindle down and enjoyed this shrewdly paced and well-crafted tale that hit all the feels. I chuckled, gasped, and huffed my way through this curiously enticing and cannily appealing story.

 

Rebecca had won a huge jackpot and didn’t tell anyone, least of all her arrogant and pompous husband. She couldn’t come to terms with the win herself for over a week.   Gradually she slowly began to enjoy and amass longed for items such as a lovely home in the town she had previously lived in and greatly missed – but it still wasn’t time to tell her obnoxious husband just yet; new clothes and toiletries – which she easily hid from her husband as he didn’t pay much attention to her anyway; a better quality of wine – which was cagily pushed to the back of the fridge; a new car that her husband wouldn’t approve of, so of course she couldn’t tell him about that.   No, it was never the right time to tell her husband of her good fortune as he was vile, controlling, overbearing, and hideous, he would certainly take over and where was the fun in that?

 

A large part of the problem was that Rebecca was spineless and had allowed her husband to browbeat and treat her in such an abominable fashion while their marriage steadily deteriorated over the last five years; I was quite frustrated with her lack of backbone and tendencies for indecision, avoidance, and waffling. I alternated between wanting to give her a good kick in her can and anxiously holding my breath that she was going to cave and give in to her overriding sense of guilt. She avoided detection for two months – eight weeks of heady bliss – by stealthily living a double life. Then it really hit the fan.

About the Author

Julie Butterfield belongs to the rather large group of ‘always wanted to write’ authors who finally found the time to sit down and put pen to paper – or rather fingers to keyboard and wrote Did I Mention I Won the Lottery? It should be pointed out this is a complete work of fiction and she did not, in fact, receive millions in her bank account and forget to mention it her husband – even though he still asks her every day if she has anything to tell him! 


Her second book was Google Your Husband Back and the latest addition is Did I Mention I Was Getting Married? – which revisits Rebecca a few years after the lottery win which changed her life.

Social Media Links –

@juliebeewriter twitter

Juliebutterfield.co.uk  – website 

Giveaway 

Win paperback copies of Did I Mention I Won The Lottery? & Did I Mention I Was Getting Married? (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Revenge on the Rye by Alice Castle

Revenge on the Rye

by Alice Castle

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA  

 

Beth Haldane, SE21’s answer to Miss Marple, thinks she is going for a carefree stroll on Peckham Rye with her best friend, Katie, and her annoying new puppy, Teddy. But before Beth knows it, she is embroiled in her most perplexing mystery yet.

Strange events from her family’s past, present-day skulduggery in the art world, and the pressures of moving school in south London threaten to overwhelm Beth. Will she be able to piece together the puzzle before her son’s crucial interview at Wyatt’s? Or will Beth’s insatiable curiosity finally drag down all her dreams for the future?

Join Beth, her irascible on-off boyfriend, Detective Inspector Harry York of the Metropolitan Police, and the dog walkers of Peckham Rye in a tale of murder, mayhem – and bloody revenge.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

So, you’re telling me there’s a bit of a #MeToo movement building up in the park against young Teddy here? … Perhaps you might want to think about getting him, erm, done? I’m not sure what age they need to be to have the op, but that would definitely sort out his hormones, I should think. Even a Dachshund isn’t going to look that irresistible if you’ve had your danglers cut off, I dare say.

 

‘Liquorice? Oh, is that your dog?’ looking under the bench at the little wiry-haired creature… ‘He’s very cute,’ said Beth dutifully, looking at Liquorice doubtfully. She supposed it was like being presented with other people’s babies. No matter how much they resembled Winston Churchill sucking a lemon, you were still obliged to say how utterly gorgeous they were.

 

Beth sometimes wondered how she’d grown to adulthood with such a light hand on the parental tiller. Her father had always been at work. She remembered trying to get into the garage, as a small child, as that was the place her father disappeared to every morning and the spot he emerged from every night. With her child’s logic, she assumed he spent his days shut away in there, and already she could see why he might want to.

 

Delving in the bread bin, she made the unwelcome discovery that she only had white sliced, which she was pretty sure Katie equated with crack cocaine. More horrifying still, one slice had a tiny fleck of blue on one edge. Mould! Hastily chopping off all the crusts and hurling them in the bin dealt with that problem. And penicillin was good for you, right?

 

… such an oily charmer, he’s totally the type to sell a double bed to the Pope. I’d take every word he said with a mine of salt.

 

Bursar looked as though he had been poured into his suit but had forgotten to say ‘when’.

 

My Review:

 

While she appeared to have started with an exceptional skill set and an enviable level of innate ability, Alice Castle continues to hone her craft as each new installment of this pleasantly entertaining and enticing series has proven to be even better than the last. Each cunningly plotted tale has provided ample servings of clever wry humor, engaging storylines, endearingly flawed and intriguing characters, and an unusual and unpredictable murder mystery. I am besotted with this quirky collection of characters; several of which reappear in each interconnected book. I am also totally enamored with this series and keenly await each new tale.

 

The main character of Beth is a pint-sized, pixie boot wearing young widow and single-mom with an insatiable curiosity, a somewhat short attention span, and a tenacious tendency to follow her own instincts. I adore her! She is as prone to daydreaming and being easily side-tracked as she is to stumbling into crime scenes and discovering murder victims. Her domestic skills and time sense are humorously haphazard yet she somehow keeps her beloved young son and well-adored pets fed and content, and is fortunate enough that her work output is largely unmonitored and her frequent absences go unnoticed. Beth generally intends to show up at her office, yet she just cannot seem to keep herself from careening off-track to snoop and delve into the lives of those unfortunate creatures she has found without a pulse. All despite the rigorous admonitions from her overworked and jaded police detective paramour to cease and desist.

 

In addition to providing high-quality entertainment, Ms. Castle has gifted me with a toy box full of new terms and idioms and for my Brit Word List with: in bits – to be very upset; titchy – a small person; chuntering – talk or grumble monotonously; swish – fashionable; inside gen – information; and Bonio – a popular brand of dog biscuit. What would I ever do without my blessed Mr. Google?

About the Author:
Before turning to crime, Alice Castle was a UK newspaper journalist for The Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Her first book, Hot Chocolate, set in Brussels and London, was a European hit and sold out in two weeks.

Death in Dulwich was published in September 2017 and has been a number one best-seller in the UK, US, France, Spain and Germany. A sequel, The Girl in the Gallery was published in December 2017 to critical acclaim. Calamity in Camberwell, the third book in the London Murder Mystery series, was published this summer, with Homicide in Herne Hill following in October 2018. Alice is currently working on the sixth London Murder Mystery adventure. Once again, it will feature Beth Haldane and DI Harry York.

Alice is also a top mummy blogger and book reviewer via her website.

Social Media Links – http://www.alicecastleauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicecastleauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDsDiary?lang=en

Links to buy books:

myBook.to/1DeathinDulwich,

myBook.to/GirlintheGallery,

myBook.to/CiC myBook.to/homicideinhernehill

Giveaway

Win a signed copy of Revenge on the Rye

(Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

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Book Review: Catastrophe Queen by Emma Hart

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One hot mess. One hot boss. One too many hot encounters…

Catastrophe Queen, an all-new hilarious office romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Emma Hart is available now!

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It’s not you. It’s me.

No, seriously. It is me. Not only does my name literally mean “unfortunate,” but that’s the story of my life.

Everything I touch turns to cr*p. An apartment fire—that I swear I was not responsible for—means I’m living back at home with my s*x-mad parents. Yay, me!

Which is why I need my new job as personal assistant to Cameron Reid to get back on my feet. Three months in this job and I can move back out and, hopefully, remember to turn off my flat iron once in a while.

Ahem.

On paper, my job is easy. Make coffee. Book appointments. Keep everything in order.

Until I walk in on my boss, half-naked, wearing nothing but the kind of tiny white towel that dreams are made of.

Now, nothing is easy—except our mutual attraction. But he’s my boss, and you know what they say about mixing work and pleasure: unless you do p*rn, it’s just not worth it.

Or is it?

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Download your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SzEyCn

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/2Jtpp1m

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/CatastropheQueen

Nook: http://bit.ly/2OmHHT2

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2RrrzkN

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2CRIskS

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

There was no doubting that I was blushing this time around. You could fry eggs on my cheeks.

 

“Eddie! Nobody wants to see those gnashers! They’re bad enough in your mouth when you smile like a serial killer!” Aunt Grace shouted, reaching over with the straw from Mom’s glass of water and prodding the dentures with it.

 

You mean my tall, thin, blonde-haired, blue-eyed colleague who could charm a condom onto a monk?

 

I wanted to check him out like a library book.

 

I was so single that my vagina had pretty much sewn itself up in anticipation of never getting laid again.

 

She insisted on you coming in so she could check you out and ask you everything including the size of your penis. She said, and I quote, “Never marry a man with a small penis.”

 

I wore my second-best dress which happened to be a little black number that gave me the confidence of a thousand witches ready to rise against humanity.

 

You are the dramatic one… You got one small cut from the broken mug this morning and declared that you were bleeding out.

 

My Review:

 

While reading this highly amusing and cleverly penned tale, my reading was frequently interrupted with giggle-snorts and full on laughing aloud. This was my introduction to the highly comedic Emma Hart but I was a quick convert to her cult. I was totally enamored with her agile wit, snappy writing style, and adorable characters.   Mallory had a sassy and keenly observant nature but was a Calamity Jane type and a hazard to herself as well as objects and others nearby, as she was accident-prone and a trouble magnet.   She also had a wickedly keen sense of humor, a flair for drama, a vivid imagination, a highly eccentric and loquacious family who excelled at squabbling, and a crush on her handsome new boss who appeared more than able to hold his own with her during exchanges of clever quips and verbal sparring. The storylines were highly appealing and pleasantly engaging while the writing was crisp and cunningly comical. I adored every well-chosen word and grieved reaching the final page.

 

Excerpt:

I took my coffee from the counter and scanned the room for an empty table. There wasn’t one, which killed my chances of wasting more time before I went home.

With a sigh, I checked my phone for the time and headed for the door. I was going to end up at home earlier than I’d planned, and I needed to check with my mom to make sure there wasn’t anything kinky happening somewhere in the house.

I’d considered bleaching my eyes enough in the last few weeks, thank you.

I was fairly sure I was safe because my grandfather and great aunt were coming to stay to celebrate Grandpa’s eightieth birthday. It was still a miracle my exhibitionist mother shared DNA with either of them. Unlike her, they were reserved, polite, and didn’t flash their flesh in the hopes of getting out of a speeding ticket.

Really, it was no wonder I was a walking disaster.

I pulled up my messages and clicked on my mom’s name. My thumb was poised to type the burning question of whether or not it was safe to come home when I glanced up.

And saw the car screeching to a stop, mere inches from me.

I screamed and stepped back. My heel caught on the curb, sending me toppling backward, and both my coffee and phone went flying. My cup slammed against the sidewalk, splattering hot liquid everywhere right as I managed to save my phone from certain death by concrete.

My heart was beating so fast it should have exploded, and adrenaline raced through my veins. I gripped my phone against me so tightly that the edges pressed painfully into my skin.

Oh my God.

I’d just almost died.

Maybe slightly dramatic, but I probably wasn’t far wrong. I didn’t even know I’d stepped into the road. When had that happened? Had I really been in that deep into my own little world that I hadn’t even checked for traffic?

Dear God.

How was I still alive?

The back door to the sleek, black car that somehow hadn’t run me over swung open. From my vantage position on the sidewalk, the first thing I saw was a pair of shiny, black shoes attached to legs wearing perfectly-pressed, light gray dress pants.

I dragged my gaze up from the feet, over the door of the perfectly clean car, and stared at the most beautiful man known to humankind.

Thick, dark, wavy hair covered his head, curling over his ears. Lashes the same dark shade of brown framed impossibly bright-blue eyes that regarded me with a mixture of shock and concern, and my ovaries about exploded when he rubbed a large hand over full pink lips and a stubbled, strong jaw.

“Miss—I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Scrambling to my feet as he approached me, I tugged down the leg of my pants and grabbed my pursed. “Yes. I mean—it was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention. I’m sorry.”

He let go of the car door, showing broad shoulders and just how well that gray suit was tailored to him, and picked up my coffee cup. “All the same, I think we can share blame. Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

Just my dignity, and by this point, I was running low on it anyway.

I shifted, taking a step back. “I’m fine, really. Thank you.”

“Can I replace your coffee? Give you a ride anyway to apologize?” His expression was so earnest, his concern so genuine that I almost gave in.

Almost.

I had almost walked into the front of his car, then proceeded to embarrass myself in front of everyone on the street.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m not far from home.” I clutched my phone and purse straps a little harder. “Again, thank you, but I should be going.”

He nodded as if he understood. “Uh, miss? Did you drop something there?”

My eyes followed the direction Mr. Dreamboat was pointing. On the side of the road, tucked against the curb, was a pair of white, cotton panties with flamingos on them.

My white, cotton panties with flamingos on them.

Swallowing, I met his bright eyes and shook my head. Dear God, please don’t let me blush. “No. I’ve never seen them before.” I backed up a little more. “Thank you for not running me over.”

Mr. Dreamboat grinned, his eyes brightening with his smile. “I’d never be able to forgive myself if I’d been responsible for running over someone as beautiful as you.” He glanced toward my panties, then winked at me.

There was no doubting that I was blushing this time around.

You could fry eggs on my cheeks.

So I did the only thing any self-respecting, twenty-five-year-old woman who’d just almost been run over, tripped, and dropped her dirty panties could do.

I ran.

But only like two blocks, because I was in heels, and I had the fitness levels of a hippo.

Then I grabbed a cab.

About Emma Hart

Emma Hart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels and has been translated into several different languages.

 

She is a mother, wife, lover of wine, Pink Goddess, and valiant rescuer of wild baby hedgehogs.

 

Emma prides herself on her realistic, snarky smut, with comebacks that would make a PMS-ing teenage girl proud.

 

Yes, really. She’s that sarcastic.

emmahart

Connect with Emma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHartBooks/

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2Dr0atq

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2Dq42ez

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2EBbZNe

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2D91d3T

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmahartauthor/

Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: https://www.emmahart.org/newsletter

Website: https://www.emmahart.org/home