Florist Lara Williams gave up on love the day her soulmate rode off on his motorcycle into the sunset. Since then, she’s been living vicariously through her clients. As the owner of Stems, the leading florist for theme weddings in Beloved, Colorado, she’s responsible for making other’s dreams come true. Lara ’s resigned to live a life without love, but when Grayson rolls back into town, their relationship is full of thorns. Can an abandoned garden be brought back to life or is it destined to be fallow forever?

Tattoo artist Grayson Greer has everything he could possibly want. He always has. As the owner of the hottest tattoo parlor in Southern California, he’s living the dream. There is no end to the string of beautiful women lining up for a chance to be with him, but his heart belongs to another. When he’s summoned back to Beloved by his mother, he comes face to face with Lara, the one he left behind over a decade ago. He never meant to be gone forever, and now that he’s back, he’s determined to remind her what they once shared.

Will Grayson bring life back to a heart that wilted years ago? Or will Lara’s pain from the last time he left be as permanent as tattoo ink?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

While she trimmed the apricot colored roses for the bride’s bouquet, she thought back to the silliest names she’d come across in her career. There was a Fister, a Wacko, and a Loser, but the worst had to be the Shittles. Poor Dorothy had waited forty years for the man of her dreams, and he turned out to be a shit— well, a Shittle.

 

She loved Aidy— her life-long best friend— but she would describe her as a gossipaholic. If there was something new to be learned, someone new in town or some tidbit of gossip to share, Aidy was all over it… Lara wasn’t a gossipmonger. She listened to Aidy as a public service… Lara was afraid if she didn’t let Aidy have her ear for at least five minutes, poor Aidy would suffer elevated blood pressure or an information aneurysm.

 

Couldn’t let you go. You’ve always been with me, Lara… You’re like a dormant virus.

 

She was coming to his house because his mother invited her. This was like seeing an eclipse of a blood moon. Something profound and rare was in the works.

  

My Review:

 

This was the start of a new duet series featuring a second chance romance for a couple who had been high school sweethearts in a small-town. The plot and storylines were entertaining and easy to follow with a colorful cast of somewhat vexatious characters who, like most people I know, were not always likable. Their first romance had ended suddenly and dramatically, which remained a source of angst and resentment for Lara, as she was still bitter and angry at being cast aside over a decade ago as Grayson was on his way out of town.

 

Grayson had become a successful businessman and only returned to his small hometown after being summoned back by his ailing mother. Grayson deserved several well-placed kicks to the pants for being such an indulged and oblivious mama’s boy. The narrative alternated between angst, humor, and a few steamy delights. Comic relief was frequently provided by Lara’s over-exuberant best friend Aidy, who thrived on gossip and rumor in much the same way that I require my daily allotments of wine and cheese.

About the Author

Michele PW is back with THE EVIL THAT WAS DONE, the shocking conclusion where long-buried secrets will finally be revealed. Time is running out for Becca to prove she isn’t responsible for the recent disappearances in her childhood hometown, Redemption. Fans of Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts, and Holly Seddon will devour this addicting award-winning series.

It’s happening again—people are disappearing.

And just like before, the finger is pointed at Becca.

She knows how it looks … and that she’s being set up.

Someone is following her. Sneaking into her house. Planting evidence to make her look guilty.

The problem is, she has no idea why.

The bigger problem is, no one believes her.

And time is running out.

 As the 2018 Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewers’ Choice Book Series Winner, the Secrets of Redemption series is a must read. Fans of psychological thrillers, romantic suspense, and mystery novels will devour the twisty and addicting series. Grab your copies today! Also, available in Kindle Unlimited!

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

I was starting to feel like one of those kids in a horror movie who goes down into the basement without turning the light on. Honestly, it made sense at the time.

 

My Review:

 

I was totally annoyed and completely exasperated with the main character of Becca – she dithered, she waffled, she was immature and irresponsible and made one boneheaded decision after another. I was so disgusted with her I declared her limited brain cells aloud to my Kindle with, “What a moron!”   Yet I couldn’t have stopped reading if my hair had been on fire. I was deeply invested and had to know what happened if I ever wanted to sleep again as the diabolical storyteller known as Michelle P.W. had my attention. There were lots of twists and turns and surprising revelations. I spun and cast aside several theories and was oh so confident that I had it figured out… I was so very wrong. The storylines were active, taut with tension and angst, and involved so many poor choices that I wondered if Becca might have suffered one too many blows to the head, but I couldn’t have been happier with the choice of life-saving hero.

It Began With A Lie, Book #1 on Amazon

This Happened To Jessica, Book #2 on Amazon

THE EVIL THAT WAS DONE #3 Only Available on Amazon and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

“So, if we’re done grilling JD, maybe we can move on to other topics of interest now,” Barry said. “Like Daniel.”

I spilled my wine.

“Oh, clean up on aisle ten,” Barry said, as JD handed me his coaster napkin to mop it up. “Maybe we need to get a refill.”

“I’m good, really,” I said. The last thing I needed was more wine. Or to talk about Daniel.

“It’s not a big deal. Daniel can bring it over when he comes over.” Barry started signaling with his hand.

Wait a minute. Daniel was here? He was supposed to be working. That’s why he canceled our date. Did he lie to me?

A part of me wanted to march over to wherever he was and give him a piece of my mind. I had asked him straight out if he really wanted to do this, to try dating. I had already told him I would understand if he thought it was going to be too complicated for him to date me and be a cop in this town.

He assured me he wanted to try.

I believed him.

And, here he was, standing me up again.

A small voice inside me immediately wanted to argue—fifteen years ago, Daniel didn’t actually stand me up. And, regardless, Daniel wasn’t standing me up right then, because he had called to cancel.

Yet it somehow still felt like I was sixteen again, standing alone in the woods, wondering where Daniel was … and feeling like a total fool.

Of course, I couldn’t say any of that in front of all our friends. Maybe I should just leave. That would kill two birds with one stone. Not only would I avoid seeing Daniel, but I could also get away from JD and his strange, intense energy.

Before I could figure out how exactly to sneak away, there was Daniel, doling out drinks—including another glass of wine for me. He was wearing a blue tee shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes. His blonde hair was getting a little long, curling around the back of his shirt.

Speaking of his eyes, they darted between me and JD, but he didn’t say a word. Not only that, but his face was completely unreadable—a professional mask. His cop face. He pulled a chair over and turned it around before he sat down, so he was straddling it backwards. He was careful not to look at me, but I could still feel the sparks dancing between us. I was having trouble breathing, something that happened often when I was near him.

“So, since you’re here, does that mean Ellen is safe and sound?” Mia asked.

He took a pull from his beer. “No, but there’s not much we can do right now.”

“What happened?” Daphne asked. On the surface, her voice sounded neutral, like she was simply inquiring about an acquaintance, but I could hear the confusion and worry swirling beneath the calm.

He shrugged. “No one seems to know. She didn’t show up at work today, which is unlike her. They had tried calling her home and her cell, but there was no answer, so they called her mother. Her mother was the one who came in to file a missing persons report, but since there’s no sign of foul play, there’s not a lot we can do right now.”

I felt a shiver run down my spine, like I had just been blasted by air conditioning.

“What about putting an alert out?” Mia asked.

“We can, but she hasn’t even been missing for a day. It’s not a crime for an adult to disappear. We’re in wait-and-see mode.”

“And, Ellen has been known to just take off without telling anyone,” Daphne said darkly, pressing her lips together so hard they turned white.

“Not to mention it’s pretty common here for people to leave quickly, making it seem like they’ve disappeared,” Mia said, after a quick glance at Daphne.

“Yeah, I had heard that,” JD said. “Something about how, if the town doesn’t like you, it makes sure you don’t stay?”

Celia rolled her eyes. “It’s all a bunch of nonsense.”

“It is NOT a bunch of nonsense,” Mia said. “Weird things DO happen here. And, they have for years. Over a hundred years.”

“Weird things happen in every town,” Celia said. “It’s no different here.”

“I don’t know, we sure seem to have more than our share of weirdness,” Daphne said.

When Michele was 3 years old, she taught herself to read because she wanted to write stories so badly.

As you can imagine, writing has been a driving passion throughout her life. She became a professional copywriter (which is writing promotional materials for businesses), which led to her founding a copywriting and marketing company that serves clients all over the world.

Along with being a copywriter, she is also a bestselling, award-winning fiction and nonfiction author.

For fiction, she writes psychological thriller/mystery/romantic suspense novels. She also hosts a popular book and entertainment blog. Check out MPWNovels.com for more.

For nonfiction, she’s the main author and creator of the “Love-Based Business” series that include both business and personal development books. For articles and resources on business, writing, success and more, visit LoveBasedBiz.com.

She holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.

Follow Michele: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Newsletter | BookBub | Amazon | Instagram | Pinterest

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The Wedding Planner

by Eve Devon

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… that story was for another time she liked to call ‘Never’.

 

‘Go now,’ she said, her eyes flashing white-hot fire as she snatched the book out of his hands and held it threateningly. ‘Go before I Jason-Bourne-kill-you with this book.’

 

When you grew up poor it wasn’t that you didn’t believe money could bring you happiness. To be honest you weren’t interested in happiness, you were only interested in not being poor.

 

‘We need to cast the line,’ he said, his voice curling like smoke into her ear, tickling her ear canal and causing enough jolts of electricity so that by the time the line went in the water, she was sure the fishes would all come flying out.

 

‘I have two left feet.’ ‘That’s okay. I have two right ones.’

 

She looked down and when she saw the eyeful she was giving them all, inhaled with shock, which only made the picture worse… Gloria stared at how much of her bust was on display. ‘The only thing that’s going to fix this is scaffolding.’ With a moan of distress she reached down to try and pull the bodice of the dress upwards to cover her breasts… ‘I look like my chest is a shelf. People will be trying to leave their drinks on me.’

 

My Review:

 

This was my first time reading Ms. Devon’s work and I enjoyed her acerbic wit, engaging writing style, and uniquely quirky and compelling characters. Despite being the third book in a series, I had no difficulty following the story although I’m sure I would have enjoyed it, even more, had I read the first two installments as all the characters appear to have continued through.   Regardless, The Wedding Planner provided an interesting character study with the evolution of Gloria, who was a caustic and acid-tongued prickly pear with a built-in “sarcasmometer” and could be rather thoughtless and proved quite difficult for me to warm up to as Gloria and I could have been related…

 

Gloria had been deeply scarred by her family and failed marriage, was beyond jaded and well past difficult and could toss off snarky insults and throw attitude like it was an Olympic sport – I will confess to greatly admiring her level of skill. She initially appeared selfish and hostile, yet she had a big heart that she kept under wraps, well and truly hidden, like deeply buried in the core of the earth.   Once I understood her insecurity and the root of her issues, my heart began to thaw and felt less inclined to give her a good smack or two to disengage her cranium from her posterior region. Seth, on the other hand, was a total dreamboat and I was completely and fully besotted with him.   He was the perfect foil for Gloria and appeared to have been blessed with the body of a god as well as the patience and insight of a saint – which would also make him the perfect match for me!

Mistletoe Summer  (Applebottom Dog Lovers Book 3)

Favorite Quotes:

 

 Delilah gripped her coffee like it was the last Tickle Me Elmo at Walmart.

 

“They have a Christmas in July here. So we start decorations early.” “Why?” Grandma’s eyes met hers with sadness. “Because many of us won’t see another holiday season.”

 

 My Review:

 

While sweet and wholesome is not my typical fare, I am gleefully enjoying Abby Tyler’s delightful small-town romances, this entire series has been sweet enough to cause dental issues. This quick installment covered a lot of ground with a wide range of characters including a seriously wounded and recovering and vet suffering from PTSD, senior citizens, a cancer survivor, teachers, small-town matchmaking busybodies, service dogs, parades, Christmas out of season, and a Manic Pixie Dream Girl – a moniker which required the unlimited resources of Mr. Google to fully appreciate.   The storylines are thoughtfully written, easy to follow, and pleasantly entertaining while observantly insightful and wryly amusing and host a lively and enticing cast of uniquely quirky characters. I’m already eagerly awaiting the next volume.

 

About the Author